This is a story from a few days before Tsuneda’s past was revealed.
To be more precise, it’s about how Kagami ended up singing that ‘Dining Out Song’.
Ever since Kagami started being called ‘Mom’, Koko naturally followed suit and began calling Kagami ‘Mom’ as well. During that time, Kagami looked incredibly happy. Almost perfect as a family.
Honestly, it still felt awkward calling her ‘Mom’. The only time I called Kagami that was when I was addressing her first. It would probably take a few more months before it felt natural.
Japan and Korea are countries separated by just a sea, but culturally, they’re quite different, especially in terms of the ‘fiscal year’.
I hear it’s the standard for the government to set budgets and so on; however, I don’t really know the exact meaning. The important thing to note is that most workplaces align with that ‘fiscal year’.
The fiscal year in Japan runs from April 1 to March 31 of the following year.
Naturally, the school schedule aligns with that too, starting school in early April and taking a summer break in August. The second semester finishes at the end of December, followed by a short break, then the third semester, and another short summer break.
As someone who used to enjoy long breaks twice a year, this arrangement feels a bit strange. It’s almost like splitting winter vacation in two.
What’s even stranger is that there’s another Golden Week at the end of April. It’s about a week long, and it feels like a huge stretch right after spring vacation just ended.
Of course, there’s no way I’d ever feel like I was resting too much. Holidays are always a good thing!
Technically, there’s a Saturday and Monday in between, but Hanagawa High School chose to just take a break. I’m not sure if this is the norm at other schools, but for me and Koko, from April 29 to May 5, it was a continuous break.
“…You’re staying over at a friend’s house?”
Surprisingly, it seems Kagami wanted to enjoy a trip like the last one during this Golden Week too.
When Koko and I said that, Kagami looked like she had lost a country, replying in disbelief.
“…Yeah.”
Hasn’t it been a while since she last did that?
Oh, of course, that might seem a bit strange from my previous life’s perspective. It was only in college that I first stayed over at a friend’s place. After all, in my teenage years, having parents at home made sleeping over at a friend’s house feel a bit awkward. It goes the same for parents too.
Maybe because this world is from a light novel, or maybe sleeping over at a friend’s house is considered normal in Japan, I found myself often inviting friends over or sleeping at their places.
Considering I had been living semi-independently for a while, it’s only natural. When living alone, you invite friends over, right?
The problem, however, is that my perception of the situation and my thoughts sometimes don’t align.
Seeing Kagami slump down onto the floor made me feel a twinge of guilt.
That’s right.
Even living with Kagami, I never thought she would come up with such a plan.
I’ve just become so accustomed to acting like it’s all my call.
“Um… I’m not going to stay over the whole break.”
“Of course!”
Kagami exclaimed.
“Family time together should definitely be a thing, right?”
R-Right.
Once Koko and I leave for school, Kagami will be home alone.
It’s almost a fate for housewives, but unfortunately for Kagami, she has neither a husband nor belongs to a network of married women living nearby.
Maybe because she spends most of her time alone? Since she’s come to think of Koko and me as family, she seems to be feeling lonelier.
Had she never had that, it’s possible she wouldn’t know the difference, but once you feel that emptiness after having it, it grows larger. I could empathize, having lived with Koko to some extent.
“…”
After a short moment of thought, I said, “Then, how about we go dining out once the break is over? An afternoon during the weekdays is fine too.”
Routine weekends with Kagami together seem likely anyway, so I decided not to negotiate weekends. If I did, Kagami might later ask for different terms when I mentioned going out with friends on weekends.
I wasn’t sure if this was appropriate for a mother and daughter relationship, but aren’t we still getting closer? If we don’t set a certain frequency for meetings, we could easily drift apart again.
Kagami paused thoughtfully at my words, then nodded seriously.
“Then, how about four times?”
“…Four times?”
“Aren’t we talking about spending a night?”
Well… that’s true.
I initially thought she might feel like spending a little more time, but seeing Kagami’s reaction made it seem unlikely.
“If we divide a day into two, then count it as dining out once to offset that makes it four times.”
Seeing Kagami with an expression of ‘that’s generous,’ I had many things I wanted to say, but I managed to force myself to hold back.
If I opposed that here, she might actually divide the time into portions to offset everything!
Besides, well, I also understood her feelings.
“…Okay then.”
“Great! It’s a promise.”
I nodded at Kagami’s words.
“Then, I’m off.”
“Take care!”
As I turned to leave,
“Wait a moment!”
At Kagami’s call, I stopped in my tracks.
When I looked back, Kagami had her arms stretched out to the sides, looking at us.
“You should greet your mom properly before you go.”
She isn’t forgetting that, huh.
What is it? I hoped she might forget a little, but it seems Kagami had no intention of doing so. But I guess she never forgets in the morning either.
Koko was already at Kagami’s side, wrapping her arms around her waist.
Kagami stood with her arms wide open, as if she wouldn’t close them until I approached.
As I slowly walked over, Kagami gently hugged the two of us tightly.
“Have a good time.”
That heartfelt voice made it even more embarrassing than a hug from a friend, tickling at my insides.
This is why I can’t get used to it.
I grumbled in my mind.
*
Anyway, Kagami ended up singing that strange song about ‘shrinking if we don’t dine out’ because of that promise.
I didn’t particularly try to forget it. It’s just that I got so caught up in school life that I lost track of it.
Since Kagami didn’t forget, that was fine. In the end, the promise was kept.
…Anyway, let’s put that story aside for now.
The place I decided to stay overnight at was Yuka’s house.
Honestly, I thought about visiting Yuuki too, but I felt like it was better for Kagami to go with me.
After all, we are technically relatives.
Even though I couldn’t possibly call ‘Yamashita’ ‘uncle,’ the fact that Yuu is my cousin should be fairly easy for both of us to accept.
Visiting family and chatting should be fine, right? It’s a spacious place after all. We just needed to set a prior plan and bring a gift along.
On the other hand, no matter how I thought about it, bringing Kagami to Yuka’s house didn’t seem like a good idea.
Staying over was out of the question, and it felt like it would be better for my mental health if Kagami and Yuka’s family didn’t meet.
“Welcome!”
The moment I pressed the doorbell, Yuka opened the door wide, as if she had been waiting.
The expression on Yuka’s face from when she dealt with Nirlas had completely vanished. It was a good thing. It meant there was no trace of shadows anymore.
Today, she looked especially joyful.
“Tonight’s dinner is sukiyaki!”
Sukiyaki.
That was the first dish I had eaten at this house.
Right. Originally, I had no intention of getting close to Yuka.
Somehow, we ended up eating together and, by chance, I got invited.
The reason Yuka had initially invited me wasn’t just to feed me. It was because of the ‘Kokkuri-san’ incident we had sparked in the club.
I had been lured by the mention of sukiyaki and ended up here, and after all these events, we could meet and smile at each other like this.
And again, sukiyaki.
I wasn’t sure if Yuka had remembered to choose that dish on purpose or if she simply often cooked it at home and it happened to coincide.
But then again, it probably didn’t matter.
The feelings of the one who invited you are what’s truly important.
“Sukiyaki!”
Koko’s eyes sparkled as she echoed Yuka’s words.
Yuka stepped aside to create space, and we quickly took off our shoes and entered.
Today’s sleepover would probably be pretty ordinary.
We’d eat, go to the room to do a bit of homework, chat over snacks, and then enjoy a movie or game until late into the night.
After today, it would likely be a mundane routine that I wouldn’t even remember, but that was enough.
That’s why I came all the way here.
As I headed toward the kitchen, smelling delicious aromas, I thought about that.
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