Volume 1 - CH 62

A hot meal is lined up in front of me.

It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal prepared by my mother.

“”Itadakimasu!””

Himekawa takes a bite of the freshly made cabbage roll.

Himekawa also made it with my mother, so you could say it was a joint effort, perhaps…

“It’s delicious.”

“Is that so? Isn’t it just normal?”

“Tsukasa always ate them, didn’t he? It tastes the same, right?”

“Well, it tastes the same as usual.”

“Tendo-kun’s mother is a good cook, isn’t she?”

“I’m not going to serve bad food at my boarding house. And you can call me “mother” here.”

“Oh, you’re my mother-in-law?”

“Yes, we are all family at the boarding house. I am your mother. You don’t call me by my last name, you call me by my first name, okay?”

“Oh, there’s a rule about that?”

I’ve never heard of such a rule.

“Gohashi Boarding House Rules. The rule book is in the drawer there!”

She pointed to a tea drawer.

I hold a pair of chopsticks in one hand and open the drawer.

There is a reasonably old notebook. On the cover is written in cute round letters, “The rule book of the boarding house.”

Whose handwriting is that? I’ve never seen such handwriting before.

“Oh, I’ll check it later.”

I return to my seat and resume eating.

I looked at Himekawa and saw that she was mumbling something and chanting a prayer.

Could it be that she felt some kind of bitterness toward this note?

I take a sip of the soup. Yes, it tastes the same as usual. Oh no, it tastes nostalgic!

“By the way, are Tsukasa and Anri-chan dating?”

“Bwhooooooooo! Goho-goho…”

I spit out some of the soup I was about to drink.

And then the soup got into places it shouldn’t have and I swallowed it hard.

How dare you ask me that!

Ah, Himekawa, who rubs my back even in such a situation, thank you.

“Hey, are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Something just went down my throat.”

“Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have asked that?”

Mom is in a state of “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that”. Well, we don’t have that kind of relationship.

We are just classmates living under one roof, nothing more, nothing less.

I took a sip of water and quenched my thirst. It was bad.

“We’re not…”

“Oh, um…! Why did you suddenly ask that?”

Himekawa spoke to Mom with a panicked look.

Himekawa, who was still rubbing my back, looked like an angel.

“What? Because we have separate rooms, but don’t you sleep in the same room? Both of you.”

Himekawa and I must have thought the same thing.

It was the moment when our synchronization matched each other.

We both got up from our seats at the same time and went to my room at the same time.

There I found my bed and a set of futon folded next to it.

Ah, the futon that Himekawa had used yesterday was still there.

I wondered if I had left it there this morning.

We look at each other, and a little sweat runs down our cheeks.

“I just happened to hit my head yesterday and Himekawa, who was concerned about it, took care of me in the same room. I have nothing to be guilty of!”

“That’s right. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even get on a lap pillow or anything!”

Himekawa, you don’t have to say that!

Just be quiet and eat your salad or something!

“Look, I hurt my finger a little bit, too.”

I show my finger to Mom. The pain was not as bad as it was yesterday, and it had gone down to the point where I could manage to live a normal life.

Thank you, Kuma-san!

“That’s right! I was just about to go into the bath when the door swung open!”

…Himekawa-san? Are you following me?

“Well, to sum it up, Tsukasa tried to sneak a look at Anri-chan’s bath, and Anri-chan’s attack damaged him, and even made him nurse her?”

No! Not at all! No, maybe a little bit, but what I want to tell you is not conveyed properly!

“That is not true! Tendo-kun would never do such a thing!”

“Eh? Then you should have been more clear.”

I slurred my words a little, but I managed to clear up the misunderstanding, and Mom was convinced.

Well, it’s not easy to convince people, is it?

“I’ll smoke it out next time you two aren’t around. This house is pretty old…”

Mom looked at me with a distant look. I’m sure Mom had the same thing happen to her.

“I thought you two were dating. I’m sorry.”

After the meal and dessert, my mother was putting away the dishes with a smile on her face, and Himekawa was helping her.

I, who had nowhere else to go, was watching them.

“Since Tsukasa is injured, you don’t have to do the housework for a while.”

“I’ll do my best instead.”

I take their word for it and watch TV while rolling around on the sofa alone.

I miss the time when I was cooking with Himekawa.

“I’m going to go prepare the bath, so do you mind if I leave the kitchen to you?”

“Yes! I’m fine!”

Mom wipes her hands on her apron and leaves the kitchen.

Himekawa quietly washes the dishes by herself, rinses off the bubbles, and puts them in the basket.

If it were true, I would be right next to her.

“Hey, you want some help?”

…There is no reply. Maybe she didn’t hear me?

Slightly worried, I slowly approach Himekawa.

Once again I hear the reminder in my ears.

“Tsukasa-kun, Tsukasa-kun, Tsukasa-kun, Tsukasa-kun…”

Himekawa is calling my name repeatedly.

It seems the word I thought was a prayer was my name.

Himekawa-san, aren’t you a little scary?

“Himekawa?”

I stand next to Himekawa and put my hand on her shoulder.

“Uhyah–Ouch!”

Himekawa is in pain at the same time as her strange voice.

Looking at her fingertips, she was washing the fruit knife she used for dessert.

It seems that she had cut her fingertip with the tip of the knife.

Oh no, I didn’t notice that part.