Chapter 264: I want to look only at Miyagi — 264

Chapter 264: I want to look only at Miyagi — 264

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「Aloha.」

As soon as I opened the front door, Mio’s voice echoed in my ears.

「Aloha.」

When I returned the same words in the same tone, Mio came inside and closed the door with a disappointed look on her face.

「...Where’s Shiori-chan?」

「Shiori-chan’s there.」 Rread latest chapters at novelhall.com

Calling me uninteresting, I went out of my way to call Miyagi by name and point to the back of the room. Miyagi, who looked unhappy at the intercom that rang earlier than scheduled, is waiting for Mio in my room.

「Mio, it’s good that you come early, but isn’t more than thirty minutes before too early?」

「That’s what I thought, so I reached out to you just in case.」

「But still, you’re too early.」

I appreciated the warning that I would arrive earlier than planned, but I also wish I had gone somewhere else to kill some time if such consideration was possible.

If she had come twenty minutes later, or even ten minutes later, Miyagi might have considered doing more than that. They could have had more marks put on them without even thinking that far.

「I left the house early to look for Hazuki’s beloved cat.」

Mio says in a voice that is not offensive.

「Was she there? Mike-chan.」

「Yes, Mike-chan’s there.」

Mio hands me a white bag that is far from Mike-chan as she utters the name of the tortoiseshell cat I named her. I accept it and look inside to see that it contains treats, and I know that she has stopped by the convenience store.

「I got tired of looking for Mike-chan. So I stopped by a convenience store and came straight here.」

「Thanks.」

When I say to Mio,「the room’s here,」she replies,「sorry for intruding,」which isn’t the norm for her to come on time, even though she’s considerate enough to visit us with a gift. I wait for her to take off her shoes and coat, and we both go to the common area.

「Heh, it’s just like this.」

I told Mio, who was scurrying around with a curious look on her face, that there was「nothing interesting to see,」and opened the door to my room.

「Mio, Miyagi’s waiting there.」

「Is that Shiori-chan’s room there?」

「It’s my room.」

When I said so, Mio, who was looking at the common space, came and entered the room with a very energetic voice.

「Shiori-chan. Alo—」

「Mio, you don’t usually do that. That kind of greeting.」

I take away Mio’s words and close the door.

「It’s fine. This kind of greeting once in a while. Aloha, Shiori-chan.」

「...Hello.」

「Eh, you should say “Aloha” there.」

「Mio. That’s enough with the greetings. Sit down.」

I let the happy Mio sit across from Miyagi, and I put her coat on a hanger before sitting down diagonally in front of Miyagi.

「Is Shiori-chan’s room, next door?」

「Ah, yeah. It’s next door.」

Miyagi replies in a troubled voice.

I can tell that she is wary of the words that Mio will say next, but being wary doesn’t help. The words that Mio utters will not change, and the future that Miyagi is troubled by will not change either.

「I want to see Shiori-chan’s room later.」

Mio says the expected words.

So I answer on behalf of Miyagi.

「You don’t need to see it, just stay here.」

「I’m asking Shiori-chan here.」

「Probably because it’s the same answer.」

「Really?」

「Yeah, well.」

Miyagi answered vaguely and looked about between Mio and me.

I think she is like a borrowed cat today.

I can tell that she’s more uncomfortable with Mio than I imagined because she’s different from the whimsical, stray cat-like Miyagi when she is with me and the softer Miyagi when she is with Utsunomiya.

「But wasn’t she like distant to you?」

「What do you mean, “distant”?」

「How to call her. Why family name instead of given name? If it were Hazuki, you would call her Shiori.」

Mio said something that I didn’t want to be told too much, and I pressed the area under the collarbone—— the area that Miyagi had marked.

「I’ve always called her Miyagi.」

If I could call her Shiori, I would have already.

Since she won’t let me call her that, I have to call her Miyagi.

「Hazuki, you always call your friends by their first names.」

「Well, yes. We were in different groups in high school, and I kind of came as I was in Miyagi.」

Somehow, the chance to change it never came.

I don’t even know if it will come in the future.

I am not even allowed to call her Shiori-chan like Mio.

I swallow a sigh and look at the door.

I don’t want to continue this conversation with Mio.

I asked her to get a cold drink instead of a hot one so that she could come back soon, but I’m not sure if I should call Miyagi, who didn’t come back easily.

「Hazuki, what’s wrong?」

Mio looks at the door, perhaps noticing my gaze.

「Miyagi, she’s late.」

Just as I was about to get up, the door opened. Miyagi came in immediately with a tray with glasses for three people and placed the cider in front of Mio.

「Thank you, Shiori-chan.」

After a cheerful voice echoes, Miyagi asks,「Sendai-san, were you sure you want barley tea?」and asks something she wouldn’t normally ask.

「Yeah, thanks.」

Barley tea is placed in front of me and the last glass is placed across from Mio, who is drinking cider.

「Shiori-chan, why don’t you call Hazuki by her name? Isn’t Sendai-san a bit distant for someone you live with?」

「Err, I’ve always called her Sendai-san, so it’s easier to call her that.」

Miyagi, sitting across from Mio, says in a troubled voice. Then, she drinks a clear liquid, perhaps cider.

「Why don’t you both take this opportunity to call each other by my given name?」

I would be happy if Mio would say so, but Miyagi remains like a borrowed cat, neither saying she doesn’t like it nor saying it’s good. She sits with an ambiguous expression on her face.

I don’t want to call her by her name.

I didn’t say it clearly earlier, but that is what Miyagi meant when she said「Sendai-san is easier to call,」and I know that will not change when I hear Mio’s words.

「It’s hard to suddenly change what I call her, so I guess I’ll just leave it the way it is.」

I drink my barley tea, saying the words I don’t want to say but have no choice but to say.

「Eh. What about Shiori-chan?」

「Mio. Don’t bully Miyagi too much.」

「I said I wasn’t bullying her. I was just trying to make the two of us get along better, but Hazuki-mama is so overprotective!」

Mio said in a joking tone and continued,「Hey, Shiori-chan.」

「Don’t be silly, eat some dorayaki.」

「O–kay. Mama.」

「I don’t remember giving birth to you, Mio.」

「Don’t say that. Why don’t you become a Mama? Ah, and how about the three of us, parent and child, sharing a room together?」

Mio looks at Miyagi as if seeking agreement.

So I totally denied Mio’s words before Miyagi opened her mouth.

「Don’t make it the three of us, parent and child, without permission. Also, I don’t have a spare room in this house.」

I don’t want Miyagi to affirm the word that the three of us share a room, let alone parent and child. I don’t want to be a joke.

I can be the only roommate for Miyagi.

I have been and will continue to be.

No one else should be her roommate but me.

「Today, you are cold, Hazuki. You should be nicer to Mio-chan.」

Mio says while imitating wiping her tears.

She even said “Ehhn” in a deliberate voice, which distracted me. Mio was always the same, no matter where she was.

「I’ll be nice to you, and you can have some dorayaki.」

I took a dorayaki from the table and handed it to Mio.

「Then, let’s have a snack time.」

When I said this, Mio smiled at me.