CH 47

Good morning

Translated by Dawn

Good morning.

Kanakanakana…The sound of a cicada awakened my consciousness.

Perhaps it was my imagination, but the sound of cicadas was closer than usual.

Moreover, it was kind of hot… I opened my eyes and was speechless at the sight that unfolded before me.

“…….”

I saw a swing set at the top of my vision and a slide below.

And a car stopped in front.

No matter how I looked at it, it looked like a park somewhere.

……Huh? Why am I here now?

Let’s look back at yesterday.

I was getting anxious when I didn’t hear back from Mizutani, and as I recall, he contacted me suddenly in the middle of the night, so I ran out of the house…

That’s right. No matter how much I searched my brain, I didn’t remember going home after that.

If I didn’t remember, it meant I didn’t go home.

Did I spend the night in the park last night (or rather, tonight)?

I turned over and looked straight up.

The bench on which I lay was just covered by a large tree.

The early morning sun was shining through the trees, shining gently on my stomach.

…Apparently, I really was sleeping in the park.

Well, I had no problem sleeping in the park by myself.

Though, if my mother had found out, she would have been furious when I got home.

If she didn’t, I wouldn’t be blamed for anything.

But for a wooden bench, my head felt really soft.

Is that…really the feel of a bench?

Come to think of it, I didn’t remember parting with Mizutani before I went to sleep.

How about Mizutani? As expected, I assumed she went home right away, right?

As I sat up, I heard a voice behind me say, “Nn…”

Shaken by the strangely seductive voice, I fearfully turned around.

There, I found Mizutani sleeping on the back of the…bench.

I see. I was sleeping with Mizutani’s lap as a pillow when I thought the feeling I had just felt was unusually soft. Well, now all the mysteries were finally solved. Now, I feel refreshed…wait, that’s not it.

What time was it?

If her mother found out about Mizutani’s midnight outing, wouldn’t she be in far worse trouble than I was?

I hurriedly pulled out my phone from the pocket of my jeans and checked the current time.

It was now 4:53 a.m. At this hour, even Mizutani’s mother was probably sleeping.

In other words, if I woke Mizutani up now, she would be able to escape from the crisis.

I looked at Mizutani’s sleeping face again.

I had never seen her face so defenseless before.

Her mouth was slightly open, her head was downcast, and her eyes were closed.

Thinking about it again, a girl like this sleeping on a park bench in the middle of the night was dangerous, wasn’t it?

Next time, I’d better make sure I didn’t sleep first.

Though I didn’t remember which one of us went to bed first.

“Mizutani, wake up. It’s time to go home.”

I apologized even though you were sleeping soundly.

While thinking so, I steeled my heart and shook Mizutani’s shoulder.

“Ahh, it’s you, Aizawa… Good morning.”

Mizutani said casually with a defenseless smile on her face.

Honestly, she looked really cute, but now was not the time to think about such things.

Holding back my mouth from loosening, I showed Mizutani the current time on my phone.

“Enough already, you need to go home. I’m scared that your mom will get mad at you.”

“Huh, is it that late already? I’ve been trying so hard not to fall asleep… I didn’t realize how much time had passed…”

Her voice sounded very fuzzy as if she had not fully awakened to the situation.

Still, she seemed to somehow understand what I had said, and stood up from the bench, rubbing her sleepy eyes. I followed Mizutani’s lead.

We walked out of the park, passing by a parking lot.

I asked him, “Do you want me to walk you home?” Mizutani pointed to a house a little further down the street “My home is right there.” I guess it was fine at that distance.

“I get it. Well, I guess this is it for today.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow. …If you run this far every day, you will get stronger, Aizawa.”

“………”

I knew it, she knew that I had come running.

I was not offended that she would stab me at this timing, as if she had just woken up from sleep and was dazed.

I was somehow scared, even though her house was not that far, so I watched Mizutani’s back.

I took a breath on the spot after confirming that she had indeed entered the house.

***

Over the next few days, I continued to meet Mizutani late at night.

The meeting place was the park. Mizutani decided that it would be dangerous to contact her on her phone every time because of the need to retrieve her confiscated phone, so after that night, we have been meeting at a set time.

…I’m not sure if what I’m doing is right.

Looking at me now objectively.

A mediocre high school student who repeatedly left the house late at night without admonishing Mizutani or showing her another option, and who simply complied with her, emerged.

Even Mizutani’s behavior would be discovered by her mother at some point.

If that was the case, then it must not go on like this.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought this, but I have not been able to make up my mind.

—Another option, huh?

Actually, it wasn’t that I hadn’t thought of anything.

But that choice could cause a definite rift in the Mizutani family.

Right now, the rift between Mizutani and her mother had not yet developed on the surface.

Mizutani’s mother was unaware of Mizutani’s late-night outing, and Mizutani herself was obedient and docile in front of her mother.

So, for the time being, it was okay to leave things as they were. Of course, the current situation wasn’t great, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Mizutani seemed to be in good spirits while we were meeting like this, so I thought we could maintain this situation for a while—

“Aizawa, what’s wrong?”

A low-temperature voice reached my ears and I returned from the sea of thoughts.

Mizutani’s pretty face came into view, peering at me with a quizzical look on her face.

The light from the street lamps in the park behind her reached us faintly.

“Are you sleepy again? Do you need me to lend you my knee?”

“…It’s fine. I don’t want a repeat of the other night.”

When I shook my head and said no, Mizutani simply muttered, “I see.”

After a short pause, Mizutani stood up quickly and looked back at me.

“You should go home today. You must be tired, because of me.”

“No, that’s not what…”

Just as I was about to deny that I was tired, an ill-timed yawn broke out.

I felt embarrassed and looked away from Mizutani. Mizutani giggled and then put on a straight face.

“You have no objections, right?”

“……yes”

I got up from the bench.

I hadn’t been getting a good night’s sleep recently, so I was sleepy.

I’d better take Mizutani’s word for it today.

I left the park and watched Mizutani’s back.

I thought to myself, I didn’t tell Mizutani about the “other option” today either.

…Well, that’s okay. I’ll see Mizutani again tomorrow.

***

After persuading Akito to leave.

Karin walked a short distance through a residential area and arrived at a two-story house.

This was her home.

There was a gate in front of the house.

If she did not open it carefully, it would make a rusty squeaking sound.

When she left home late at night, opening this gate was the most nerve-wracking moment for her.

“…..”

As usual, she carefully opened the gate so as not to make any noise.

The trick was to open it just wide enough to allow her thin body to pass through.

If she tried to open it too wide, the sound of the hinges would be unavoidable.

After safely passing through the gate and through the front yard, the next step was to open the front door.

Although this door did not make as loud a sound as the gate, she had to be careful because of its proximity to the interior. In other words, she must be careful here, too.

This was the fourth time she had run left home today.

She quickly opened the front door and entered the house.

The entrance was unexpectedly bright. The lights were on.

—Strange.

Karin immediately felt a sense of discomfort.

Because right now there were only two people in the house, Karin and her mother. If one of them was asleep and the light at the entrance was on, it would mean that Karin had turned on the light.

However, Karin did not turn on the light. It was obvious.

If she turned on the light before leaving the house, the probability of her leaving the house would increase.

Then, who in the world would have put on this light?

She immediately had an idea.

There was only one answer.

Except in exceptional circumstances, such as when the house had been burglarized…

“…Karin. You, at this late hour, where have you been?”

When her mother came out of the living room and asked her that as the first thing she said—

Karin had already prepared herself.