College life was definitely more fun than I expected.
The level of the classes suddenly shot up, and maybe it was because the professors had not actually received specialized training in education, but sometimes they said things that students couldn’t understand. Still, isn’t that what textbooks are for? I managed to keep up by interpreting the professors’ words based on the textbooks.
I’m still just a freshman, after all.
I’ve been to the group MT that each department has. I, Koko, and Yuka almost always stuck together, so surprisingly, I didn’t feel any fear or anxiety about human relationships.
Above all, Koko and I are “identical twins” and we looked younger than other students who were in the same year, which earned us a lot of cuteness points.
However, there were some differences from what I expected.
I feel like I immediately drank alcohol the moment I became a college student in my previous life, but in Japan, the legal drinking age isn’t “exactly the year you become an adult.”
In Korea, you can drink alcohol once you turn 19 by the Korean age system, so you could technically start drinking around the beginning of college. But in Japan, it’s “20 years and older.” Moreover, the definition of an adult is also “20 years or older,” meaning a first-year college student is not yet an adult. If I recall correctly, there was talk in the 2020s about lowering the age of adulthood to 18, but as it stands, we’re still in the 2000s.
For reference, unlike Korea, it’s not based on “calculated age” but “actual age,” so you even have to wait until your birthday. What a world.
Most students seem to accept that. I think there are some who drink secretly and smoke, but for now, Koko, Yuka, and I have decided to stick to the legal limits.
What was it again?
No matter what, I feel a little guilty about making Koko drink. I guess it’s a good excuse to put it off.
“Being a college student might not be that big of a deal after all.”
Saying such things while being in a university that many people would recognize globally seemed a bit odd, but on the other hand, I could see Yuka’s point.
If I still can’t do what I couldn’t do in high school after becoming a college student, then I might not feel much has changed.
“It might be because the digits of our age haven’t changed yet.”
I said quite seriously.
We all are still only 18, truly. In Korea, once you enter college, they say you’re “20,” so it feels like you’ve become an adult all of a sudden, but when you’re called “18,” it does feel young.
I wouldn’t be an adult until my birthday this year, and I wouldn’t finally become one until after my birthday next year.
“Still, you can get a driver’s license.”
“That’s something you could do in high school too.”
“If I want to get a license before entering college, I’d have to give up studying that year, right?”
Given how long it takes to get a license in Japan. Plus, even if I got it in high school, I’d still have to wait until my birthday to start driving, which could significantly impact my center exam.
“Uhmm…”
Yuka still seemed to be pondering something that just wouldn’t settle.
I honestly couldn’t tell if this Yuka, who acted like a hardened person just a few years ago, was indeed the same. It’s been two years since she stopped being a Yōkai hunter, after all.
“Asking your mom to buy you one… that won’t happen.”
“Of course not.”
I answered while gazing at a distant mountain at Yuka’s words.
Kagami becomes extremely strict about anything related to me. Not that she’s strict about everything, though. Honestly, if it were Kagami, she would’ve spoiled me even if I was loafing around without going to college or working.
But for some reason, she was strict about anything involving “the law.”
I wonder if she wished for me to live normally if I couldn’t live fully outside of the ordinary expectations.
Thinking about it, what kind of person Kagami would have been had I been born into this world from the start.
…
Wait, that’s wrong.
Kozuzu would still be alive back then.
I’m sure there’d be all sorts of enormous issues. I might have had to bear the role of Kagami myself.
“How about asking your dad or grandfather instead?”
“That definitely wouldn’t work.”
Yuka replied without hesitation.
Yeah, that makes sense. If they were stricter than Kagami, they’d definitely not budge.
But more importantly, why on earth do we want to drink so badly? Is it really about feeling like we’ve become adults that much?
“Uuh?”
Turning my gaze to Koko, who had been eating ice cream, she tilted her head in confusion.
Thinking about it, can Koko and I even get drunk?
If we could, how much would it take to get us tipsy? What kind of drinking habits would we end up having if we got drunk?
I really hope it won’t be like becoming a puddle of mush or something disastrous.
“Then how about this?”
After a brief moment of thought, I proposed to Yuka.
“How about we get our driver’s license and go on a trip?”
Yuka looked a bit intrigued by my suggestion.
“That does sound… worth trying.”
“How about we go as far as Hokkaido and visit various places?”
That’s one of the perks of being a freshman; you might not get many chances to just have fun as your years progress with responsibilities piling up. Though there should still be a bit of time for a short getaway.
“Alright, then let’s aim for getting our driver’s licenses this year!”
How about aiming for good grades instead?
But then again, Yuka probably just considers that ‘standard practice.’ Maybe she doesn’t even think of it as a goal.
No matter how you slice it, she’s the protagonist. Protagonists back then were all weirdly diligent.
A driver’s license, huh?
Should I prepare to get mine too, along with her.
*
My friends, well, my classmates, all become college students.
And besides them, there’s one more person who became a college student.
That would be Kagami.
Honestly, I think the three of us slacked off for two years and only seriously studied for one year to come to this school, which is kind of shameless, but then with someone like Kagami, I can’t even imagine how bright her family’s intellect must be.
First off, Kagami could take the center exam because Japan has a system similar to a graduation qualification exam.
Or maybe she managed to graduate from high school somehow. Of course, she probably didn’t graduate in a conventional way, but not graduating completely might attract too much attention.
Anyway, Kagami legitimately passed the exams and entered the university.
She’s in the same department as us, but… maybe out of consideration for me, Kagami doesn’t cling to us that much while at school.
That doesn’t mean that the people in our major don’t know about our relationship.
Nobody openly shows discomfort regarding this. Many think that the combination of twins and their mom is exceedingly peculiar, yet strangely most just accept it with a ‘Oh, I see.’
With how I have come this far, it might be obvious she won’t fail her studies, so they likely made their peace with it.
Kagami’s looks probably helped too. Though she wears quite simple clothes at the university, they suit her well enough.
Even though she doesn’t look like a green freshman newly entering university, some boys are already looking at her with admiration.
Still, no one has personally approached her to be friends yet.
I get it. Honestly, I’d find it a bit overwhelming too. Who knows, with time spent in the same department, they might slowly get to know each other.
“Hmph, hmph~”
Kagami, in such a situation, doesn’t seem to mind much and seems content just attending the same school as Koko and me.
Of course. After all, if her beloved two daughters go to school, Kagami will be left home alone.
Due to the surrounding circumstances, she hasn’t really had a chance to make friends, and the ones she knows personally are not really easygoing playmates.
I don’t mind the situation; instead, I watch Kagami enjoy eating a jumbo parfait with warmth.
“Oh, right.”
Kagami said.
“It seems Yu’s parents are going to hold a wedding soon.”
“Yeah, I know.”
I also received word from Yu.
It’s confirmed that they will be getting married this year, and they’re coordinating the date.
Looks like Yu will play the part of the groom.
So, it’s finally happening, huh, Mori?
What should I say? She has been somewhat fixated in a peculiar way among the people I’ve met so far. But well, there aren’t that many people around me who are that devoted.
Fukuda still seems to have some lingering feelings for Kagami, but then again, I guess she never expected much to begin with, so she hasn’t really pursued us. It seems like a completely different story compared to Mori’s fixation.
“Are you going to the wedding?”
“Um… I don’t know.”
Kagami made a hesitant expression at my question.
“I guess I’m considered related to the first wife.”
Ah, right.
That’s true.
Yamashita’s first wife is Kozuzu, after all.
…Things didn’t end very well there, and Kagami has continued that connection to this day, but she’s also Kozuzu’s younger sister.
If anyone were to ask about the relationships there, it could get incredibly awkward.
“But still…”
“I’m fine with it.”
“No, I’ll ask about it once.”
If I go as ‘friend’s mom,’ it shouldn’t be an issue, right?
The important part is Mori’s will, but considering that Kagami played Santa during last year’s Christmas, it shouldn’t be a problem.
“Hehe.”
Hearing my words, Kagami smiled happily.
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