As I said, my summer schedule is really busy.
A month can be a long time for a working person. It’s not exactly short for a student either. In Japan, the length of vacations varies, and the longest one is summer vacation.
But even that month can feel packed if I have plans occupying several days in a row.
First of all, I’ve got the part-time job I’m currently doing. These days, I mostly go in at random times, but my boss still hasn’t fired me. It seems like they think I have a good influence when Miki and Shii meet up with me.
Since I work part-time three times a week, I have at least three days scheduled per week.
The problem is, I had two travel plans during the vacation.
One is, of course, regarding the literature club retreat. This trip also lasted three days and two nights. It doesn’t take up half a week, but with such a schedule in the middle of the week, that week can pass in the blink of an eye.
The other one was a family trip with Kagami and Koko, also for two nights and three days. We went to the nearby sea and just lounged on the beach.
Kagami wore a white one-piece swimsuit and happened to get hit on twice during those two nights. Just for reference, both times happened on the second day.
When I called out to Kagami as “Mom” from behind, everyone was super awkward and turned back to their own places.
Thank goodness this world is a different one. Imagine a young mom with twin daughters! What a great material for a story. But the problem is, those two daughters are strong enough to tear apart a few people with their bare hands.
“Did you worry that Mommy might leave you behind? Don’t worry, that will never happen~”
Seeing Kagami hugging us tightly while saying that made me unsure of how to react, so I just chose to stay still.
I’ve only been in this world for just over a year, so honestly, I haven’t completely adapted yet. My identity hasn’t been entirely discarded.
Even though Kagami is a mom… I can’t fully think of her as my mom just yet. It will probably take some time. So, until then, it’s unavoidable for me to act somewhat embarrassed in this somewhat embarrassing situation.
Kagami bought us both the same one-piece swimsuits. They were much more… how do I say this, wholesome compared to what Yuka picked out.
But still, is a mom still a mom?
We took a ton of photos. Well, she is my mom, after all.
At night, as always, as per Kagami’s insistence, all three of us gathered in the same bed to sleep.
“What if we grow up and there isn’t enough space?”
Both of us were already high school students, so maybe we wouldn’t grow much taller, but I asked anyway.
Just because we become college students doesn’t mean we wouldn’t travel together, and after becoming adults, I guess we could also go on trips whenever we had the time.
Would we still sleep in the same bed then?
“If we grow up, I was thinking we’d sleep separately…?”
But Kagami looked shocked at my question.
“……….”
My younger sibling was a girl. Well, she still is a girl, but back then, I was a boy myself.
Of course, we had each our own rooms since we were pretty young, so I thought that was natural. People around me usually did that unless there were unavoidable circumstances. If anything, it was more common to save on living expenses by sharing a place with friends.
Is it possible that Kagami doesn’t know what’s “normal”? No, maybe she knew but was just being a bit stubborn. It hadn’t been long since she found her daughter after all.
Considering we didn’t share our childhood together, wanting compensation didn’t seem strange at all.
“No.”
So, I responded like that and just snuggled up beside Kagami.
“Right? A mom is the best, right?”
Oh boy.
Now that I think about it, is that expression even common sense? Usually, people ask whether they prefer their mom or dad, but in this situation, it was only about mom.
Naturally, the best person would have to be my mom.
“……….”
What a strange feeling.
It’s good that I recognize her as my mom, but thinking about who my favorite person is felt a bit odd.
Shall I say it feels a bit cringe? After all, I still see myself as an adult.
“……yeah.”
Still, I just answered the way Kagami wanted.
The best in the world.
If I had to be picky, I’d say I liked this world. I have friends and family here. I want to live a long time in this world.
So, it wasn’t exactly incorrect.
Kagami didn’t bother to respond to that.
She simply tightened her embrace around Koko and me with both arms.
Now I’ve grown used to that embrace, and I comfortably drifted off to sleep.
*
And thus, my time with Kagami ended very comfortably.
A perfectly ordinary family trip that Kagami had longed for her entire life.
After those two travel schedules wrapped up, vacation was almost at its end.
Of course, there were a ton of other schedules in between. When I say I was busy all summer, it wasn’t just about the travel plans.
For example, there was that festival from last time.
Originally, it was supposed to end in just one day, but somehow, since my friends ended up spending the night, it turned into a two-day event. We stayed at home for quite a while playing on the second day, so it certainly wasn’t a short schedule.
Moreover—
Yeah, between trips, there was an important schedule that I dreaded coming up.
That was, the Comiket.
“……Wow.”
There were really an unbelievable amount of people.
From what I heard, the Comiket suddenly gained visitors since 2005, so it was probably the most crowded this year.
There was no pre-sale or anything, so we had to stand in line to get in, and even though we went at dawn, we were greeted with a crowded line.
“Wow!”
Yuka seemed stunned too even though she prepared herself for it.
Kagami didn’t come, and neither did my other friends. To be honest, among the people around me, nobody enjoyed comics like this—
…….
Um, if I’m being picky, I was the only one.
To be fair, Yuka liked games and comics a bit, and Koko enjoyed children’s cartoons, but unfortunately, there were no otaku like me.
……Otaku.
Originally, the most enjoyable period for an otaku is during their teens, especially middle school and high school.
Collecting small amounts of money over time, worrying about whether comics would be released, eagerly awaiting new publications and going to bookstores every weekend.
Sometimes spending tens of thousands on figures or model kits just to display them, showing them off to otaku friends.
I lived in Seoul, so I hadn’t been to a comic market, but I had attended other events. Buying related magazines at these events while having my favorite manga was quite enjoyable.
I liked manga even as an adult, but my enthusiasm had somewhat dwindled. Once I started earning money and could buy most things reasonably, it became difficult to feel excitement.
Maybe it was also because there wasn’t a summer vacation.
Anyway.
So, what about me now—
I stood there with a bag already stuffed to the brim, looking anxious.
That’s right. I’d even packed cosplay items.
To be honest, when Yuka brought it up, I felt a little iffy. I enjoyed manga and games as an otaku, but I wasn’t the type to bring joy to others.
“Still, it’s too cute to just let it go, right? Everybody else is doing it, so how about giving it a shot?”
Maybe I was swayed by Yuka’s persuasion because I’ve seen TS stories in web novels before.
To be fair, I had thought about wanting to try cosplaying. I didn’t really play male characters, and when I had the funds to do so, I felt I was already an adult.
There are people who cosplay even in their 30s, but I wonder. By that time, I really wouldn’t have that much time. I ended up living quite a busy life, unexpectedly.
In the end, I was more tempted by how Koko was delighted by the costumes than Yuka’s persuasion.
“Are you nervous?”
Holding the cosplay costume in hand while only I was getting nervous was funny.
“……Yes.”
However, I could only nod a little sheepishly as if it was embarrassing.
I was nervous.
This was a completely different story from working part-time in a maid outfit.
Performing in front of hundreds of people is a whole different kind of shame.
But at the same time, as I thought about it, I was a bit silly standing in line, feeling all fluttery.
Well, I’m a teenager.
Isn’t all of this a memory?
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