Chapter 98

The conversation moves a little bit.

"I'm back."

It was evening.

After the sun had set, Arisa returned home.

There was no reply.

Not that no one was home.

Arisa slowly, with a somewhat heavy step, made her way to the dining kitchen.

Her adoptive mother, Ami Tachikawa, was in the middle of washing dishes in the kitchen.

"I'm back. ...Ami-san"

Usually, making dinner was Aria's job.

It wasn't a strict rule, but it had become a habit for Aria to do it.

However, today she had to return late because she was having dinner with Yugen.

So, it was unusual for Ami to make dinner.

Of course, Aria had informed her in advance...

But she still felt a bit uneasy.

On the other hand, Ami, who had been called by Aria, answered without turning around while washing the dishes.

"Oh, welcome back. ...You're quite late today."

Immediately, a sarcastic remark came flying.

Aria thought it was troublesome and replied.

"Yes. ...I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"No, I don't think it's an inconvenience at all. ...You've been busy, haven't you? With all sorts of things."

"...Yes."

It was a loaded statement.

However, Aria, who had learned that if she took it seriously or argued, it would come back at her tenfold, brushed it off.

"Then, I'll be going now..."

Aria tried to leave the scene to return to her room and go to bed quickly.

But Ami threw a word at her.

"Oh, right... Make sure to wash your dirty body before you go to bed. And your dirty 'underwear'... I don't want to put it in the same washing machine."

By specifying "underwear" instead of "clothes," her intention was clear.

Ami thought Aria had "slept" with Yugen.

"...Yes, I understand."

Of course, it was just a sarcastic remark, and it wasn't clear if she really meant it from the bottom of her heart, and it wasn't important.

So, correcting her would be pointless.

Besides...

(Well... there's not much point in correcting it anyway.)

If the relationship with Yugen was a misunderstanding, Aria would want to deny it...

But it wasn't that far off.

Aria went to the bathroom as instructed and took a shower.

"That person... has become so docile..."

Honestly, Ami's sarcasm was a letdown for Aria.

A while ago, she would have been subjected to much worse.

The sharpness of Ami's "verbal knives" had clearly dulled.

It was probably because Aria and Yugen's relationship was going well.

Yugen wasn't putting any special pressure on her...

But the fact that his family name was a shield for Aria was undeniable.

(It's embarrassing to keep relying on him...)

Thinking back, she had received an extremely expensive gift at Christmas.

If asked if she had given something commensurate in return, Aria couldn't confidently say yes.

Of course, Yugen might say that she didn't need to return anything...

(As a person... I don't want to fall into depravity...)

If she kept relying on him and just taking, she would undoubtedly fall into depravity.

She didn't want to be a person whose only redeeming quality was having a "wonderful boyfriend."

After getting out of the shower, Aria quickly dried her body, changed into her pajamas, and dried her hair.

She left the changing room and headed to her room.

Aria's room was originally a storage room that had been renovated.

This wasn't because Aria's treatment was particularly bad...

Rather, it was because Aria was an "irregular third child" for the Tachikawas.

While it was a middle-class household, they didn't have the excess wealth of the Kasegawa or Tachibana families, so they didn't have the means to build an additional children's room for Aria.

However, even though it was a storage room, the insulation and other structural aspects were the same as the other rooms, and the heating and cooling worked properly, so Aria had no particular complaints.

As she walked down the hallway...

"Arisa... you're back, huh?"

"Yes, a little while ago."

She encountered her cousin, Daisho Tachikawa.

He was currently back at his parents' house for the spring break from university.

(I wish he would go back soon...)

Originally, Aria didn't have a good impression of Daisho...

But after learning that he was involved in the background of an incident with a former classmate, her impression of him had plummeted.

I wish he would go back to his university apartment.

She often thought this, though she never said it out loud.

"Today... I heard you had a marathon. You're quite late."

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

Aria replied coldly.

Even Daisho, who was usually confident, seemed to notice Aria's bad mood and flinched.

"No, no... I'm sorry. I asked a thoughtless question."

"..."

Aria frowned involuntarily.

He flinched... apparently because of some misunderstanding.

Somehow, Aria felt unpleasant.

"It's not like anything happened with Yugen-san."

"R-really... That's good, then..."

It seemed the misunderstanding hadn't been cleared up.

Finding it troublesome, Aria tried to end the conversation quickly and return to her room, but...

"Arisa! ...I'll do my best to help you, too!"

Her arm was grabbed, and she was told this.

"...What are you talking about?"

"Well... you know, that thing."

Daisho's expression twisted slightly, as if he found it hard to say...

But he looked Aria straight in the eye and answered.

"About the engagement... There's no need to do what he says..."

Instantly, Aria felt her blood boil.

"Please don't say bad things about Yugen-san."

She couldn't help but raise her voice.

Seeing Daisho's stunned expression, Aria snapped back to reality.

"...I'm sorry."

She bowed her head slightly and hurried to her room.

Then...

"An argument... that's rare."

A girl was standing in front of Aria's room.

Aria's cousin, her step-sister.

Mai Tachikawa.

"Ah... Mai. ...Did I interrupt your studying?"

"No, I was just playing on my phone, so it's fine. Oh... please don't tell Mom."

The rule in the Tachikawa household, set by Ami, was one hour of gaming per day.

She hated games.

The reason Aria didn't play games much was due to this Tachikawa household policy.

Of course, while they could manage game consoles, they couldn't completely monitor mobile games.

So, the resourceful Mai often played mobile games in secret.

She even managed to get her father to overlook small in-app purchases.

She had a dexterity that Aria couldn't match.

"Also, I have something to talk to Aria-san about."

"...To me?"

"Yes. It's about the engagement."

Aria's expression stiffened involuntarily.

Ignoring her, Mai continued on her own.

"Actually, Father... asked me if, in case the engagement between Aria-san and Kasegawa-san falls through, I could step in. Oh... of course, he was much more considerate in his wording."

Aria's mind went blank.

But she managed to squeeze out some words.

"S-so... what do you mean by that?"

"Purely hypothetical, if either Aria-san or Kasegawa-san, or both, come to dislike each other and the engagement becomes uncertain... it's a backup plan, apparently."

Aria let out a sigh of relief.

It didn't seem like the engagement had actually fallen through.

(Ah... now that I think about it...)

Aria remembered that her adoptive father, Naoki, had asked her if she really didn't want the engagement.

She hadn't been able to give a clear answer.

She couldn't tell what his intention was.

She wanted to say "No" immediately...

But she was a bit afraid that "Yes" might be what Naoki wanted to hear.

So, she had resorted to a passive, non-answer as a "cop-out."

Naoki had said, "You can answer later," but they hadn't had the chance to talk since then, and it had dragged on without an answer.

"...I see. So, what about you, Mai?"

"I don't want to marry Kasegawa-san. I've never met him in person. ...Besides, I want to take over Father's business."

Daisho, who had a poor relationship with Naoki—though it was more one-sided on Daisho's part—had chosen a department unrelated to Naoki's company for his studies.

He had little interest in taking over the company, and Naoki didn't force him to.

In contrast, Mai seemed to have a certain willingness to take over.

Of course, she was still in sixth grade, so it was uncertain how things would turn out.

"I see."

Aria let out a sigh of relief.

Regardless of Naoki's intentions, as long as Mai didn't want to, Aria was the only one who could marry Yugen.

"Still, even if you marry Kasegawa-san, it doesn't mean you can't take over the company."

"...Huh?"

"I've never met him in person, but from the photos... I think he's very handsome. His personality doesn't seem bad either—though my brother is harsh in his evaluation, it's a minority opinion."

Mai smiled slightly.

"Besides, he's rich. If Aria-san doesn't want to... I wouldn't mind. Of course, after meeting him and talking to him."

Then, to the stunned Aria, Mai asked.

"So, how do you really feel about marrying Kasegawa-san?"

Aria couldn't answer Mai's question immediately.

If Mai was enthusiastic about the engagement and Naoki thought she was more suitable than Aria...

Aria didn't have the courage to say no.

"Um... what about you, Mai?"

She couldn't say "Yes" or "No," so she chose to deflect the question with another question, a "cop-out."

"But I'm the one asking. Besides, I already told you my thoughts..."

Mai looked exasperated.

Seeing Aria's silence, she sighed.

"Alright, it's fine. ...Marriage is a distant future, and it's strange to expect an immediate answer. I'm not ready to decide my future partner at this age either."

But it's better to clearly show your current will.

Of course, if you're indifferent, that's a different story.

With that, Mai left the scene.

Aria entered her room silently and closed the door.

Then...

"...Yugen-san"

She leaned against the door, whispering her beloved's name as if seeking help.

Arisa is meek with people she perceives as stronger than herself.

Conversely, she is assertive with people she perceives as weaker.

Yugen is someone Aria perceives as stronger, but because of his usual kindness and the help he has given her, she feels safe with him.

Arisa, with her puppy-like mentality, is so cute...

If you think so, I would appreciate it if you could bookmark and rate this (change the stars below the table of contents to five stars).

By the way, it's the release day today.

Well, it seems to have been on sale a few days early.

Of course, the initial sales are important, but I'm also hoping for a quick re-print.

Thank you in advance.

December 1, 7:00 PM Update

The cover illustration by my illustrator, Kuriya, has been published on pixiv.

I'll introduce it.

https://www.pixiv.net/artworks/86015838

*If there's a problem with the URL, please let me know.