Here it is.
After finishing the greetings, I entered the Aris household.
The interior resembles a typical Japanese countryside wooden house.
I could hear the sound of a wind chime tinkling from the eaves.
The place I was guided to by Aris’ Grandmother was the tatami room.
Creak, thud.
Aris’ Grandmother closes the sliding door.
In the room, there were just me, Aris, Seira, and…
“Cough, cough. Is our A-chan here?”
A beautiful girl, looking around 15, half-rises from the futon and coughs.
Definitely a face I’ve never seen before.
But somehow, I feel like I know who she is.
“Hmm. Who is that? A-chan?”
Seira asks while looking at Aris.
Aris blushes slightly and brushes her hair aside.
“That’s my mother.”
Aris’ mother blushes at her words.
Wait, mother?
[Wow, your mother looks really young…]
The Black Prince trails off at the end of his sentence.
That’s not just young!
First, there’s the ageless Grandmother, and now a young mother.
Even if it’s a common cliche in light novels for heroine families, is it really okay to follow it this closely?
“Oh my… I see.”
Seira fans herself to cover her flushed face, looking a bit awkward.
The lace fan flutters.
“Cough, cough.”
Aris’ mother coughs.
Since there was a setup that Aris’ mother was sick, this appearance fits.
Seeing her reminds me of my own mom back in the original world, making my heart feel a bit heavy.
Memories of visiting my mother in the hospital come to mind.
Her voice telling me not to worry and to study hard for a good job.
Ever since I got involved here, I’ve been trying hard not to think about what happened in my original world, whether I was declared dead or missing, if my mother is doing okay, and how my father is getting along.
All the worries I’ve been trying to suppress rise to the surface.
Damn it.
My heart feels all jumbled up.
I can’t settle down in this world.
I must absolutely not give up on returning.
“A-chan, how is life in Tokyo? Cough.”
Aris’ mother speaks while coughing.
If she hadn’t mentioned being a mother, I would’ve mistaken her for Aris’ younger sister because of her youthful appearance.
Aris approaches her with a familiar expression, takes her mother’s hand, and says, “I’m doing well. Recently, we had a cultural festival, and the President and Kim Deok-Sung have been treating me well, so school life has been smooth.”
“I’m having a pretty ordinary school life thanks to you.”
A smile appears on Aris’s face.
“I’m glad to hear that. Ah-choo. Oh, who is that cute little kid?”
Aris’s mother’s gaze turns toward Seira.
“Ahem.”
Seira clears her throat.
Her expression is brightened by the mention of being cute.
Whether it’s at the front gate earlier or hearing comments about looking young, she can’t help but feel good.
“Hmm, I am a bit cute, aren’t I? Hehe.”
Seira mutters to herself in a low voice.
She takes out a dazzlingly decorated black hand mirror from her arms to check her face.
[······.]
The Black Prince in her head remains silent.
It’s true that her appearance is that of a doll-like beautiful girl.
Not just anyone can be a light novel heroine.
But the problem is that when she opens her mouth and claims she’s cute, that charming image disappears entirely.
How can she say she’s cute herself?
Things would have been fine if she hadn’t said that.
“Mother, that person is our academy president.”
Aris introduces Seira.
Only then does Aris’s mother show a slightly surprised expression.
“Ahem. Yes, indeed. I am the president of Shuo Hero Academy, Yoshizaki Seira. Nice to meet you, Aris’s mother.”
Seira approaches and greets her politely.
Aris’s mother claps her hands while looking at Seira.
“Oh my! President, you look so young! Hehe. If someone saw you, they might mistake you for a young boy these days!”
Aris’s mother praises Seira in a Kansai dialect.
Seira’s shoulders perk up in excitement at the compliment.
With a proud expression and tone, she says, “Hehe. But you’re quite youthful yourself, dear mother. Not quite on my level, but a pretty cute beautiful girl. Someone might mistake you for Aris’s sister instead of her mother.”
Seira subtly assumes she’s cuter than Aris’s mother while saying that.
Whether she realizes it or not, Aris’s mother smiles and replies.
“Oh dear, even saying that makes me really embarrassed. Hehehe.”
Aris’s mother’s face turns red as she pleasantries.
“I do get told often that I look young around the neighborhood.”
“Right? Hehe. I’m the same. When I go out, most people treat me as a student because I’m such a cute beautiful girl. It seems that people who look young have a special bond.”
Seira continues in a more excited manner.
A special bond among youthful-looking people?
What on earth am I listening to right now?
My head is spinning.
“Mrs. President is so wonderful, I’m really glad she’s Aris’s teacher… cough, cough!”
Aris’s mother can’t finish her sentence as she coughs.
“Are you okay?”
Seira asks, looking worriedly at Aris’s mother.
Aris’s mother waves her hands dismissively, smiling weakly.
“Yes, I’m fine… By the way, what about over here…?”
Her gaze turns towards me.
“Are you Kim Deok-Sung?”
Before I could even introduce myself, my name comes up already.
I wonder how much Aris has told her about me, just like that old lady earlier.
I don’t know.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Come here. Cough! Cough!”
Aris’s mother calls me with a wave.
Aris’s face, which was next to me, turns bright red again.
I stand up and move closer to her lying down.
Grab.
Aris’s mother takes my hand.
Our eyes meet.
“Oh my. You look really sturdy…”
Aris’s mother speaks to me in a rural grandmother-like tone.
“Hehe. This is the first time I’ve directly seen the face of my future son-in-law.”
Aris’s mother laughs.
A beautiful girl using a rural grandmother’s speech.
I still can’t get used to it.
But what? Future son-in-law?
Just when I felt flustered.
“Uh, what do you mean, Mom?! Future son-in-law?! What kind of nonsense is that?!”
Aris, with a flushed face, waves her hands in confusion.
A dialect slips out of her hurried mouth.
“Hehe. Your mom talks so much about the Kim guy that I thought you two were already making progress.”
Aris’s mother makes a bombshell statement with a smile.
Hearing her words, Aris fiddles with the hem of her dress, bowing her head.
“P-progress? Kim Deok-Sung and I aren’t in that kind of relationship!”
“Oh? Really? Hehe. My daughter is so shy, but in situations like this, you need to push her down!”
Aris’s mother, still smiling, wiggles her fingers as she lets go of my hand.
“Push down? What kind of shameful talk is that?! Mom, you can’t say such things!”
Aris yells with a red face.
Her cheeks tremble.
“Wow, how embarrassing! Hehe. I also met your dad at school when I was your age, and we quickly got married right after graduation. Hehe. You just have to do like your mom did.”
Did Aris’s parents have a shotgun wedding?
This small detail wasn’t in the setting book or the original, so I had no idea.
“Oh, doing like Mom did! P-please don’t say such ridiculous things!”
“Being shy… Hehe. You’re just too lacking in confidence.”
“I’m not!”
Aris is stuck in front of her mother.
I can see Aris’s ears turning bright red.
“Hehe. Well, it’s fine now. I’ve seen my daughter and my future son-in-law’s faces, so it’s all good.”
“I’m not your future son-in-law…”
Aris mumbles in a shy voice until the very end.
Her words make Aris’s mother laugh.
“Anyway, Aris. Why don’t you go out with our son-in-law and take a walk around the neighborhood? What do they call it these days? They say to go on a date.”
At her mother’s suggestion, Aris’s cheeks tremble.
Her eyes shake.
“Uh, do you dislike it?”
“Ah, no. It’s not that I dislike it…”
She flinches.
Aris looks at me while shaking.
“Kim Deok-Sung… I mean, is it okay with you?”
Aris corrects her dialect and asks me.
A walk around the neighborhood.
I have no reason not to go.
Above all, Aris’s mother, who is in pain, is watching this scene.
I’m watching.
I don’t want to make things awkward for Aris by outright rejecting her in front of her mother.
“I’m fine.”
As soon as I accept, Aris’s face slightly brightens.
“Thank you, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
She gives a slight bow to me.
“Hehe. Looks like our son-in-law has feelings for A-chan too. They really suit each other.”
Just then, Aris’s mother was smiling at the sight.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Seira waves her fan and says, “Ahem. Then, I too shall join Aris in her hometown…”
“President.”
Aris’s mother cuts off Seira mid-sentence.
“I have something important to discuss with you as a parent, so you’ll stay, right?”
Aris’s mother says with a smile.
At her words, Seira’s cheeks quiver.
Seira and Aris’s mother.
Between these two beautiful girls, who look so alike they could be sisters, a short clash of glances occurs.
A moment of silence passes.
“…I suppose so.”
Yoshizaki Seira breaks the silence, looking a bit disappointed.
[Big sister… It was the best strategy not to say something that won’t even get you back to square one…]
The Black Prince lets out a sigh in my head.
“Hehe. Understood. Then mom will have a chat with the teacher, so A-chan, have fun alone together.”
Leaving Seira in Aris’s mother’s room, Aris and I received her send-off and, not long after entering home, found ourselves heading out again.
*
Creak, clack.
I shut the gate and step outside.
The rural landscape comes into view.
As the wind from the fields blows, Aris’s silver hair dances in the breeze.
“………”
Aris, red-faced, bows her head.
An awkward silence hangs between us.
[Partner, say something. It’s even more awkward for me being stuck in the middle.]
The Black Prince urges me in my head.
Who’s the one who got stuck in the middle anyway?
Though his words are ridiculous, the atmosphere is undeniably awkward.
I should just throw out any words at this point.
Just as I was thinking that and about to say something…
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
Aris calls me, gripping her skirt tightly with her reddened face.
“Since my hometown is rural, there’s not much to see, sorry for inviting you to this backwater…”
Aris gives an awkward smile.
Sorry, huh.
“No, there’s no need to apologize. I don’t dislike the countryside.”
There’s really no need to go that far.
Upon hearing my words, Aris’s face brightens slightly.
Just as she was about to say something, her lips moving…
Something strange catches my eye, like a weird statue.
“Senpai.”
“Why do you call for me, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung?”
Aris smiles and looks at me with curiosity.
I point at the statue with my finger.
“Is that statue originally from your hometown, Senpai?”
Aris’s gaze follows the tip of my finger.
And there it is.
A gleaming silver statue of Aris.
Wow, it’s right here.
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