Volume 3 - CH 13

“Father… father?　Wait, father?”

“…That’s amazing.”

While Arisa repeatedly asked, Hijiri let out an exclamation of surprise.

Chiharu, on the other hand, seems to be in a good mood at Arisa’s reaction.

“By f, father… which father?”

” My father. Our Uenishi will bear the child of the father and pass the blood to the daughter.”

And then Arisa noticed something strange and asked Chiharu.

“… Are you making fun of me?　It’s ridiculous, you know. Because… that would mean that Chiharu-san’s father is two thousand years old.”

Uenishi will give birth to a daughter of their father.　　

This means that Chiharu’s “father” will be her mother’s “father” and her grandmother’s “father” at the same time.`

There is only one father… and if the history of Uenishi is 2,000 years old as the legend says, then Chiharu’s “father” is over 2,000 years old.

“Though I’m making fun of you, I’m not lying, okay?”

Chiharu smirked.

By listening to her words, Hirjiri let out an “Ah~”.

He seemed to have guessed the point.

“Since he is a god, it wouldn’t be strange for him to live for more than two thousand years, would it?”

So Chiharu finally cleared up the matter.

That’s right, Chiharu Uenishi is a demigod, a human deity.

For generations, Uenishi has spun history by conceiving the children of the gods to whom they have dedicated themselves.

” Eh? ..Really, with a God?”

“No, of course not. It’s just a matter of faith.”

Chiharu said in a deadpan tone.

She was the daughter of a shrine and supposed to be a living deity.., but she has very little faith.

“Well, in other words… you’re practically getting the seed from somewhere else. There are no boys in the Uenishi family tree. That’s to protect matrilineal inheritance.”

You can’t marry because you are going to have a child with a god.

This was a system created by Uenishi to prevent a son-in-law from taking over the family.

Of course, if they don’t have sexual intercourse, they can’t have children, so some people become de facto husbands.

However, they are not recorded in the family tree and are not treated as family members.

And that’s how it is.

“Our clan, the Uenishi, is made up entirely of women. Isn’t that interesting?”

“I see… So that’s how it is. That is interesting.”

Arisa’s eyes shone a little.

In response to Arisa’s expression, Chiharu proudly stuck out her large chest.

It was a little poisonous to the eyes.

“Hm?　Isn’t that strange?　A son could be born, too. It’s not like you’re an Amazonian.”

And then Hijiri interrupted her.

Biologically, Chiharu was a respectable homo sapiens, not some mythical mysterious race or species, so of course, she could have a boy.

“Ah… They do get born these days. But we put them up for adoption… strictly speaking, we put them in the de facto husband’s registry.”

“…These days?”

“It is said that they weren’t born in the past.”

To Chiharu’s words, Hijiri had an expression of “what is she talking about”.

Then he immediately let out the words “oh…” and shut up.

“He~e, There are some mysterious things huh…”

Arisa, on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice.

She seems to think that there really were no boys born in the past.

“Eh? What’s going on, everyone?”

“No, it’s nothing, Arisa. Yeah, it’s… mysterious.”

Yuzuru said, agreeing with Arisa…, and covered up the situation.

There is no need to notice what you don’t need to notice.

The pure Arisa was cute as she was.

“I was just thinking, Chiharu-chan’s mother would be, in other words, Chiharu-chan’s older sister, right?”

Ayaka remarked as if she had an epiphany.

If they all had a common father, then all the women in Uenishi would be sisters.

“Well, I suppose you’re right. That means I’m going to be giving birth to a sister.”

“It’s a world of myth right… It really is like a myth.”

Tenka wondered to herself.

“In other words, according to the “setting,” the Uenishi family line is forever multiplying itself within the family… Genetically speaking, you and your father are ninety-nine percent the same person, right?”

“Well, that’s true. As the time passes, the first generation’s blood gets thinner and the father’s blood gets thicker.”

When Hijiri and Yuzuru said this, Chiharu puffed out her large chest.

“You can call me God Chiharu, okay?”

“… In effect, it’s like you’re having a baby with yourself.”

Soichiro muttered.

Then Ayaka let out a slightly over-excited, raised voice.

“That’s practically mast… what is it? Soichiro-kun?”

“We’re eating.”

Soichiro stopped Ayaka from ranting.　

But then Chiharu said in a cheerful voice.

“Essentially it’s masturbating!”

“You said that yourself huh…”

Yuzuru couldn’t help but let out a bewildered voice.　

Arisa, on the other hand, giggled.

“Wel… It might be Kojiki, but it’s a pretty amazing story.” (TN: Kojiki – Record of ancient matters. More like legends)

There was no unpleasantness in Arisa’s expression or tone of voice.

Rather, she seemed to be enjoying it a little.

…surprisingly she seems to be comfortable with the crude stuff.

However, in retrospect, it’s not that Arisa is a prude, it’s just that she’s not used to men.

If it’s a joke, it’s probably within the acceptable range.

But if it was an obscene conversation, it might be a different story.

(… I tried not to make jokes like that because I didn’t want her to dislike me. But surprisingly, it’s okay to do it?)

Next time there is an opportunity, perhaps I should try to find out what Arisa’s tolerance level is.

That’s what Yuzuru thought.

That evening.

“Thank you for today.”

Arisa thanked the person on the other end of the phone.

The other party was… Ayaka Tachibana.

[“No, don’t worry about it. It’s just meddling on my part.”]

Just as Yuzuru was troubled about his “love” with Arisa,

Arisa was also worried about her “love” with Yuzuru.

And if they were to become lovers, it was only natural that Arisa would be concerned about her reputation among the people around her.

Unlike Yuzuru, she was the one who was concerned about it, so she was deeply worried about it.

[“Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I’ll help you, and I’m sure Chiharu-chan and Tenka-chan will too.”]

“… Yes. I understand.”

When Ayaka said in a cheerful voice, Arisa bowed her head and said so.

To put it bluntly, Arisa felt uncomfortable with the “group” she was a part of.

In fact, she was sick and tired …of the company she belonged to, where she would just bob and weave to uninteresting conversations and reply to unproductive emails.

Of course, she didn’t like it that much before …but as her relationship with Ayaka and the others deepened, she realized that the “group” she belonged to was not so “fun”.

Especially when it comes to the “Keeping-in-check” of lovers and relationships within their own “group”, she felt a kind of disgust.

When she didn’t particularly like someone, it didn’t bother her that much, but… now it’s just an obstacle.

This is why Arisa wanted to keep her distance.

… But, she was afraid of bullying.

Even if it doesn’t develop into bullying, being bad-mouthed and isolated is no less frightening for the feeble-minded Arisa.

It was Ayaka and the others who offered their cooperation to Arisa.

If Ayaka and the others are willing to become her allies in case of emergency, Arisa could rest assured.

[“As for me, it’s in my interest to ingratiate myself with the next Mrs. Takasegawa, Arisa-chan. You should give payment at the time of childbirth.”]

“Haha…It’s too soon to tell.”

Arisa couldn’t help but chuckle.

Sometimes she suddenly feels it.

Ayaka and her friends are more mature than herself.

Or perhaps it could be called insightful.

They don’t want to get used to each other or have a casual relationship with each other like the “group” to which Arisa belongs, but they want a clear “profit and loss”.

At first, this confused her, but once she got used to it, she felt comfortable.

It was easier to draw a line when it was clearly stated, because it was easier to understand, and it made things easier.

“…I don’t even know how much Yuzuru-san likes me.”

[“……”]

When Arisa said that, there was a moment of silence.

Then Ayaka replied.

[“A Family of Schemers.”]

“…… Yes?”

[“That’s the evaluation of the Takasegawa family. That household is very good at behind-the-scenes maneuvering and that sort of thing. Their methods are rather nasty in many ways…”]

Judging by the words alone, it was just bad-mouthing.

But the tone of her voice was anything but bad-mouthing.

[“I don’t know if they’re dexterous or clumsy, but they’re able to hold back their emotions at the moment. That’s why they look heartless. Takasegawa is calm, cool-headed, and cold-blooded… They put reason and planning ahead of temporary emotions. So, it may be frustrating, but wait for him.”]

“… Yes, I know.”

Ayaka’s words showed her deep understanding and trust in “Yuzuru Takasegawa”.

Arisa was a little bit jealous of that…

Of course, she already knows that she is not in love with him and he certainly is not in love with her.

“Doesn’t Ayaka-san…”

[“Yeah?”]

“Don’t you think marriage is… too early or something?”

Arisa suddenly asked a question that she had been wondering about.

She was already thinking that she could marry Yuzuru, or even that she wanted to.

However, it’s not common for high school students to be thinking that much.

But Ayaka doesn’t seem to have any doubts about Yuzuru and Arisa getting married.

[“By early, you mean in high school?　That’s too early.”]

“No, of course not… I’m not thinking of getting registered while I’m still in school or anything like that… I’m thinking that after high school graduation is the earliest. But I think it’s too early to be thinking about such things while you’re still in high school…”

At least the high school sweethearts around them are not thinking that far into the future.

…Of course, there can be a pattern of excessive lack of thought also.

[“I don’t know about in general…”]

Ayaka replied to Arisa’s question.

[“I and Yuzurun must have a child someday to keep our family and blood together.”]

“……”

[“I’ve been thinking about it ever since I can remember.”]

Arisa was convinced that this was true when she was told.

At the same time, she felt a culture shock.　

From the beginning, they had different attitudes toward the idea of marriage.

“Ayaka-san…..”

[“Yeah?”]

“With, um, Satake-san?”

When Arisa asked, and after a moment of silence, she heard Ayaka’s voice.

[“I wonder….. Soichiro-kun is Satake’s eldest son.”]

“I see… I’m sorr….”

[“But Soichiro-kun is a passionate man despite his appearance. He told me that he was willing to give up his right to inherit the family name for my sake.”]

That was a little unexpected for Arisa.

For Arisa, Soichiro Satake is a person who… to put it bluntly, she doesn’t really know what he’s thinking.

[“Well, you see… I’m the only daughter of the Tachibana family. I can only hope that Soichiro-kun will throw away a lot of things for me now…”]

Arisa felt that her words contained a hint of optimism, resignation, and envy.

And Ayaka, without waiting for Arisa’s words, said.

[“Yuzurun is also in a similar position to me. Arisa-chan also… should prepare yourself, for many reasons.”]

Those words weighed heavily on Arisa’s mind.

New Dere degree: 40% → 45%