Chapter 8

8

Hasumi sat in a relaxed state.

He still could appear like this, as expected of a true young master I admired.

“You can order something. I recommend tea or coffee.”

“Then I'll have tea. Do you come here often?”

“Occasionally. The shopkeeper here was originally someone from my house, he looked after me when I was younger.”

“So it's like this…..”

I'm stumped. Now that I think about it, me and Hasumi have no common topics.

What to do, what shall we talk about?

“Say, you are Yuto’s nee-san, right?”

When I was still looking for a topic, Hasumi came up with something first.

While feeling relieved at that, I responded.

“Yes. It seem like my little brother had been in your care?”

“No, since Yuto is excellent there was no need for me to expressively look after him.”

“Maa, is it really like this? My brother has said that Hasumi-sama had taken care of him though.”

Tension rose inside me at having my little brother praised.

You seem to have got it nicely Hasumi.

Even so, my little brother is amazingly excellent!

“I think it was more Subaru that looked after him than me though.”

“Is that so, I see, it was Tojo-sama……”

My tension dropped at the mention of the prince's name.

I can't say thanks to the prince though…...and I don't even feel like making a chance either.

But he has been taking care of my cute little brother…fine, I'll thank him, here in my mind.

Thank you, please continue to get along with my brother. I don't want to get involved so I'm fine like this.

“Why are you avoiding Subaru?”

“I'm not really avoiding……”

“Not meeting him face to face is called avoiding, you know?”

Guh. Is this fellow treating me like an idiot?

For being an idiot, I am an idiot, but I am an idiot that does well in studies.

“I know that.”

“Then, what's the reason for you to avoid him?”

“I simply don't want to meet him.”

“That's why I'm asking you for the reason.”

“Do you need to know?”

“I don't really need it, but I'm interested. I mean, that's unusual right. A woman that avoids Subaru.”

I returned Hasumi’s question.

It's not like I can tell him, right? I can't say that I have my previous life’s memories, this is a shoujo manga’s world and, because I am the heroine, I don't want to be tied to the prince, so I am avoiding him. It's not like I don’t want to say it though.

“There are many women in society, so there must surely be other women that avoid Tojo-sama.”

“.....without any reasons?”

“If you want to know my reason, then I wish to hear yours too.”

“My reason?”

“Yes. Why do you want those two to stay together? If things go on like this, they will get engaged and then marry.”

I know why. But that's just knowledge from the manga, I didn't actually hear it from Hasumi.

I want to hear it from Hasumi's mouth.

“......it certainly is like you said. But that still isn’t ‘definite.’”

“Is it no good unless it's ‘definite?’”

“.......yes, it's ‘no good’ unless it's ‘definite.'”

“Why?”

The usual me wouldn't have asked. But I persisted.

If I don't do so, I won't be able to hear what I want to hear the most.

“That’s…..”

Said Hasumi. Then he closed his mouth.

I decided that I'll wait until he says it.

“I've kept you waiting, here is the coffee and tea.”

When silence started to rule, as if reading the mood, the shopkeeper appeared.

He put coffee in front of Hasumi with elegance, and brewed my tea on the spot.

The pleasant scent of coffee and tea reached me.

Hasumi and I quickly sip our drinks.

Delicious.

It's the most delicious tea I've drunk till now.

It probably is from the technique he used to brew it, perhaps because of the tea leaves too. He blended a variety of tea leaves in it, right? This flavor is to my liking.

So, guessed my tongue after tasting it.

“It's really delicious…..”

“Thank you very much, ojou-sama. I'm most thankful that it appears to be of your taste.”

Oji-san laughed looking happy, after bowing elegantly he went back.

“That’s nostalgic…..”

Said Hasumi, narrowing his eyes and softly laughing.

“When it was hard to speak to my father, he always came to deliver us drinks. Making us relax a bit.”

“My, that's a wonderful memory.”

“Aah. That person really did look after me.”

He said and, in an instant, he looked straight to my eyes.

“To continue the talk from earlier, the reason that it’s ‘no good’ unless It's ‘definite,’ is because I want to give up.”

“What is the thing you want to give up?”

“I want to give up on Miku. I like Miku. That's why I want to give up on her”

At being faced with his serious look, I felt my chest throbbing.

Is this violent throbbing from finally hearing what I wanted? Or is that……―――

“Is that so….”

“Miku is in love with Subaru. What Subaru feels towards her isn’t love, but he treasures her. If both of them feel affection towards each other, everything will be settled. I don't need those feelings.”

Hasumi, a bit harshly, said.

I wonder if Hasumi thought that he didn't need his emotions till now.

That's just too sad. I mean, Hasumi's feelings aren’t bad.

“......It's not good to deny your own emotions. Miku-sama and Tojo-sama, the fun memories the three of you pa.s.sed with each other too, the feeling of wanting them to be happy too, are all thoughts to match Miku-sama, right? Isn't it wrong to say that you don't need them? Your feelings aren’t something to be thrown away.”

I said to Hasumi without diverting my eyes.

Hasumi's eyes opened wide from the surprise, and then averted them.

“......I didn’t expect to hear that from your mouth of all people.”

“............what do you mean?”

Even though someone is trying to encourage you through your pains!

What a rude fellow!

While I was fuming with anger by myself, Hasumi made a rare awkward face, and said.

“.........thank you.”

Blankly, without thinking, I stared at his face.

If I looked closely, I could see his face and ears were slightly red.

Don't tell me, is he embarra.s.sed?

Yada, doesn't Hasumi have a cute part too?

Is he a tsundere? No, he doesn’t go tsun tsun…...Kuudere? Is he a kuudere?

In any case, I saw something rare.

Tn: Naoriel

Ed: Aeternatrix

Nao's little corner°•▪••

The ship is sailing!!! σ(≧ε≦ｏ)