CH 68

Chapter 8 – Mother’s homecoming (8)

Translator – Vodka

“Mom! Didn’t I tell you that you don’t need to tell that to Nii-san?”

Kaede urged mom in a loud voice which bordered on being filled with anger.

Wait, what?

It was supposed to be about me, but my sister was in the possession of the information, while no one had communicated to me about something so important.

Could I get a hint here, guys?

“Th-that’s right, Kotone-san! Didn’t I say that it would fine if Minato-kun and I got married?”

Strangely, even Shizuku couldn’t stay quiet in this situation.

“Let’s say that after you have gotten the acknowledgement of all the parties concerned, ok?……This is the first time I am hearing this”

From the looks of it, she didn’t hear what I said. She was completely concentrated on my mom.

But I must say mom’s words had too much of an impact.

“I am not interested in a divorcee……I prefer fresh goods”

You’re already assuming that I am going to get divorced, hah……Don’t say ‘fresh goods’! Say ‘unmarried’”

Was she messing around? Was she being serious?

Lacking somewhat on the reaction front was very much like her.

The bustling dining table had an amicable environment going for it. It had lasted until the moment of the big revelation. When mom had brought up the topic of my marriage interview, it had immediately become noisy.

Mom too had a bitter smile on her face as she tried to calm the three girls down. It looked tough.

To refrain from saying anything unnecessary, I was silently immersing myself in the food. However, Shizuku continued.

“That being the case, Minato-kun’s marriage interview is still only a possibility, right?”

Shizuku listened to mom’s explanation and then went on to comment on behalf of me on how things stood at this moment.

This marriage interview was something my dad and the dad of the other party had decided upon. Surely, they were too excited to have made such a ridiculous decision.

They still haven’t gotten their children to agree to this union, so at this stage, it was still just a hope that their kids could agree to this arrangement they had put in place and get married.

I was a little relieved.

If I really had to go through this marriage interview, I might have had to remain on the run every night.

I suddenly felt tired. Mom turned to look at me and said this.

“I too think that parents shouldn’t get to decide the future of their children. So, I too will try hard to convince your dad!”

She put on an extremely gentle smile.

It was a smile so wonderful that I thought that the corners of my mouth would inadvertently curl up.

Kaede too seemed like she was a bit satisfied with mom’s words, as she reluctantly withdrew herself to her seat.

As expected, it would seem that she couldn’t stay silent when she heard about the possibility of her brother having to go through a marriage interview.

Good grief! She loves her Onii-chan too much. It can’t be helped……

“Even if Nii-san wen to a marriage interview, isn’t it like decided that he would get rejected? It’s a waste of time! Since I would be looking after him for a while, there is no need for a marriage interview!”

Something pierced my heart.

The sharpness belonged to that of a katana even.

What she said at the end made me happy, but my dignity as the elder brother has become a nullity at this point.

Onii-chan is lonely.

Honestly, when I suddenly heard them talking about my marriage interview, it sounded unreal. I could only see it as someone else’s affair. Besides, the three girls were panicking in my stead anyways. I didn’t even feel like panicking anymore.

Anyways, mom was unable to receive my acknowledgement regarding this matter. After she has gone back to where dad was, she would talk to him about this matter, and communicate to us about how things went down.

[TN – probably the author will cover the “things went down” part later]

If would be the most satisfactory outcome if this topic came to an end after that.

Time went by, slowly, but certainly. Dinner was over and things had calmed down. The clock showed us the time. It was already past nine.

“Thank you for the meal! I am happy that I could meet you like this, Kotone-san” (Shizuku)

“I am happy to have met you too. Thank you for even inviting us to dinner” (Kirasaka)

The girls stood at the entrance and extended their greetings to mom.

It would be a while before the girls would be able to meet her again.

Well, it was going to be the same for Kaede and me. When she would have gone back to where dad was, we too wouldn’t be able to meet her for a while.

Mom gently patted their heads and said this.

“Please take care of Minato-chan for me. When left alone, he couldn’t make any friends. He would always be by himself”

“Yes!”

“Please leave it to me”

“I am more worried about them……”

On the contrary, it was me who should be worried, because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it through school safely.

Nonetheless, mom must have been simply happy at the fact that there were students who would approach me.

As a parent, she must have been worried that her son was alone, friendless.

I am sorry, mother. Sorry for making you worry all the time.

Shizuku and Kirasaka departed from the entrance. We saw them off, and with this, the day had finally come to an end.

It felt like a long day.

It was still the same old twenty-four hours, but it felt like three days had passed.

Suddenly, I was overcome by fatigue. I washed off the sweat in the bathroom and threw myself down onto the bed in my room.

“Can mom sleep here too?”

Mom was peeking into my room from the entrance and asking me this. She was holding a futon and a pillow in her hands.

“……Yes, you can”

Ordinarily, I would have had refused, but……

Isn’t it fine? It is going to be only for today, after all.

I too wasn’t a kid. I wouldn’t treat my mother with cruelty, whom I have met after a long time.

Mom laid down the futon on the floor next to my bed. Then, she laid down on it while smilingly looking up at me.

Kaede’s futon had also been smartly laid down next to her.

Kaede was washing the dishes right now. She would probably come over after she took her bath.

For the three of us to be sleeping next to each other like this would be a first in a long time, wouldn’t it?

It wasn’t bad once in a while.

After a while, Kaede made her appearance. Her hair was wet from the bath, and so, as usual, I helped her dry her hair. Then the three of us retired to bed.

A day was twenty fours. Nothing could change that.

However, depending on how a person was feeling, a day carried the impression of being longer or shorter. It was truly a strange thing.

Today was something similar. The former half of the day went by fast, whereas the latter half took forever.

Even then, when I thought about Kaede’s happy face, or how the girls and mom had fun, it didn’t feel bad.

In the dark room, I was staring at the ceiling and thinking about all these things. A small voice emanated from my side and entered my ears.

“Good night Minato-chan. Tomorrow, mom will wake you for the first time in a while”

“Thanks……good night”

It would seem that today, I would be able to sleep more peacefully than usual.

I didn’t need the alarm either.

I operated the smartphone and switched off the alarm. Then, I looked at the two family members of mine lying next to me with a fleeting glance and closed my eyes too.

Strangely, it seemed like today I would be able to sleep well.