CH 60

It feels nice. Like a family.

Translated by Dawn

It feels nice. Like a family.

The next day…

“Hey, big brother. It’s time to wake up. Mom has already gone to work, and Karin-chan and I are already up.”

“Ugh… hmm…”

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening and someone rushing into the room could be heard.

Even without seeing her, I could tell who it was from her voice. It was my little sister, Mai.

By the way, after last night’s game, Mizutani and Mai became quite friendly and started calling each other by their first names and even using “-chan”. It was really enviable. I was still calling Mizutani by her last name.

“What time is it now?”

“It’s almost noon.”

“No way…”

Well, if I thought about it calmly, it was not that strange.

Yesterday, taking advantage of our mother’s sleeping, we played games until quite late.

I’d been sleep-deprived lately, and if I didn’t have any plans, I usually sleep until noon.

“So, I’m going to my club activities now. Oh, and don’t do anything weird because you’re alone with Karin-chan.”

“As if I would!”

With those final words added, I fully woke up.

I jumped out of bed and denied her, but Mai stuck her tongue out and fled from the room.

By the time I got out of the room, she was already gone.

“That girl, saying unnecessary things…”

As I muttered while looking at the empty entrance, I heard a voice from behind saying, “Good morning.” When I turned around, Mizutani, dressed in her uniform, was there. Mai’s words were still lingering in my mind, and I felt awkward, so I looked away.

“…Good morning.”

“Hehe. It’s not exactly good morning anymore, is it?”

“…I’ll go wash my face real quick.”

Although I knew that, meeting Mizutani right after waking up was too stimulating for me.

I wanted a buffer zone, so I told her that and headed to the washroom. Before washing my face, I looked closely at myself in the mirror.

…I think waking up was the ugliest time of the day. And now, Mizutani just saw my ugly face. Well, considering how I looked in general, it was probably not that different from how others see me, but it still bothered me a little.

After washing my face, I left the washroom.

I returned to my room, changed clothes, and went to the living room where Mizutani was watching TV.

The living room was cool with the air conditioner.

“What are we going to do today?”

“Well… before that, Aizawa, do you want to skip breakfast?”

I hesitated for a moment, then Mizutani turned toward me and said.

I looked at the clock on the TV. It was 11:30, as Mai had said, it was almost noon.

“I woke up late, so let’s just have brunch today.”

“That’s not brunch, you just skipped breakfast.”

“I guess you can say that.”

While expressing exasperation, Mizutani laughed.

Then, after thinking in silence for a while, she said casually.

“By the way, I want to cook. She won’t let me cook at home.”

“Come to think of it, you did say that.”

Maybe Mizutani suggested helping with making curry yesterday because she wanted to cook, not out of kindness. Looking back now, that was how she felt maybe. Cooking was just one way to satisfy hunger, and I never thought of it that way since I usually see it as just a little side dish.

“What specifically do you want to make?”

“I wonder… maybe ginger pork?”

“Ginger pork, huh? Sounds good.”

I opened the refrigerator and checked its contents. We had cabbage and ginger, but no pork. While mentally listing the things I wanted to buy and noting them on my phone, I realized that ginger pork alone wouldn’t be enough, so I thought about other side dishes as well.

After deciding on the menu, I decided to cook rice in the rice cooker before going shopping.

Mizutani showed a curious expression as she came to the kitchen.

“So, we’re going to make rice now?”

“I’m not making it. Farmers make it, we just rinse it. And the rice cooker does the cooking.”

“Oh, the way you said that just now had a nice rhythm to it. ‘Farmers make it, we just rinse it. And the rice cooker does the cooking.'”

I don’t know what’s so funny, but Mizutani kept repeating it with delight.

Come to think of it, had Mizutani never rinsed rice before?

“If you want, do you want to try rinsing the rice?”

“Oh, I’d like to give it a try.”

Mizutani nodded at my suggestion.

It was not particularly interesting, but I explained how to rinse the rice to Mizutani.

Mizutani followed the instructions and showed a satisfied expression when she finished the task.

I transferred the rinsed rice to the rice cooker and pressed the switch.

Now the rice cooker will do its job on its own. I turned to Mizutani and said,

“Okay, shall we go to the supermarket now?”

“Sure,” Mizutani smiled.

***

After buying pork and other ingredients at the supermarket,

When we returned home, the two of us stood side by side in the kitchen.

Mizutani was wearing her school uniform with an apron.

I lent her Mai’s apron, but it suited Mizutani better than Mai.

As I was captivated for a moment, Mizutani couldn’t help but want to cook and started cutting the cabbage on her own. Her technique was very suspicious, so I hurriedly stepped in to guide her.

While teaching Mizutani step by step, we proceeded through the process at a slower pace than when I cooked alone. Just as she put the flour-coated pork into the oil-coated frying pan, Mizutani muttered softly.

“Feels nice. Like a family.”

“…Huh?”

Startled, I turned to Mizutani.

Because, well, didn’t that mean something like becoming a family?

If Mizutani and I were to become family… something like that.

But as I looked at Mizutani, who had a kind gaze focused on the frying pan, that thought vanished from my mind.

Based on what I heard from Mizutani yesterday…

It seemed that the concept of a typical family gathering, the kind that most households would have, was something that didn’t exist in Mizutani’s home. If it did exist, it was likely very rare.

While my own family only consists of a single parent, fortunately, our family bond was not strained, and I had never felt inconvenienced by my father’s absence. Perhaps Mizutani was much more yearning for a “normal family” than I thought.

“…Yeah, it does feel like a family.”

After hesitating, I spoke those words.

Mizutani glanced at me briefly, a faint smile appearing on her face.

“Thank you.”