After returning home, I contacted Haruka and she told me, 「Father wants to speak with you too.」 Hearing this, a cold chill ran down my back. I replied, 「I won’t die, right?」, to which she responded, 「Ah, well… father probably won’t go as far as murder…」. I couldn’t help but think, I just got out of the hospital today though…
Later, I drove to the address Haruka had given me. Since it was Saturday, it felt a bit like a trip.
「S County, N City, huh? It’s been a long time since I’ve been there.」 Dad said nostalgically from the driver’s seat.
「Yes, we went there before we got married.」 Mom added from the passenger seat, also feeling nostalgic.
「Seigo-san, what kind of place is N City?」
「N City is famous for its seafood, and if you cross a mountain, there are many hot springs.」
「Hot springs! I love hot springs!」
Seigo-san and Elina-san were happily chatting.
Meanwhile, I was being worried about by the person sitting next to me, Hikari.
「Yuuki… are you okay?」
「Ah, yeah, I’m fine…」 I replied, trying to hide my unease.
「You definitely don’t look fine!」
There were no traffic jams or problems, but in about two hours, a life-threatening situation awaited me.
The beautiful scenery outside the car window… was just a bunch of tunnels.
I tried to distract myself by focusing on the view, but it didn’t help.
As I kept thinking about all the possible bad outcomes, the view… yep, another tunnel!
Seeing my expression, Hikari said, 「I’ll pick up your bones!」 in a cheerful voice. That made me feel even more hopeless, and I stared off into the distance.
◇◆◇◆
It was around lunchtime, so we exited the highway. According to dad, service areas on weekends are so crowded that it’s hard to eat comfortably or find a seat for a large group, so he preferred to exit the highway and find somewhere else to eat for a better experience.
By the way, the restaurant we were going to today was in O City, famous for its seafood rice bowls made with local fish. The reservation had already been made.
After exiting the highway and passing through a small junction onto the general road, I caught sight of Mount Fuji, much larger than I usually saw back home. Since it was summer, there was no snow, but even though it was in the same prefecture, I was surprised to see it so big from this angle.
Afterwards, we went to the restaurant where we had made a reservation and ordered the seafood rice bowl. I also ordered some fried chicken and salad, as they were supposed to be delicious.
When the seafood rice bowl was brought to the table, I couldn’t help but say, 「Whoa… this is huge.」 The portion was massive, and the slices of various fish on top were so large that lifting them gave a sense of their weight. The fried chicken and salad I ordered as sides were also plentiful, and by the time I finished eating, I was completely full.
I took a picture of Hikari eating happily and set it as my phone wallpaper. Hikari looked so cute with his cheeks puffed out as he took a bite of the seafood rice bowl… Elina-san also asked me for the photo data.
Afterwards, we got back in the car and drove for less than two hours. We arrived at an area with a large wall running along the road. As we continued, a house with a gate about five meters tall came into view. I sent a message to Haruka, and a man, who seemed to be a disciple, opened the large gate… it was a sliding gate.
We parked the car at the designated area and got out. In front of us were a large dojo and what looked like an archery hall. There was also a building resembling a training camp where disciples were coming and going, and a two-story house that was slightly larger than a typical home.
As I stood there, taken aback by the size of the facility, the door of the house opened. Wait, it’s a sliding door? It’s a western-style entrance! From inside, I saw the familiar lapis-colored hair that I had become used to over the past few weeks.
She’s running so fast… Hey, Hikari, don’t get too far ahead! Even your parents are coming too!
「Yuuki-oniichaaaaaaan!!!!」
Touka charged towards me with what seemed like world record-breaking speed. I caught her and absorbed the impact, trying to stop the spinning. This felt like one of those spinning anime scenes… I’m getting dizzy.
We both fell onto the gravel path, and Touka pressed her head against my chest, rubbing her face back and forth.
「Suuu…」 Oh, not you too, Touka. Hey, stop sniffing me!
「Yuuki’s scent is so calming, isn’t it?」 Hikari said, speaking thoughtfully.
「Yeah, it is! Isn’t it, Hikari-oneechan!」 Touka agreed while snuggling up and making a muffled sound.
As the two of them shared this strange tag team moment, Haruka came out of the house.
She was wearing a large dress in a color that matched her hair, with leggings and sandals, creating a stylish outfit. By the way, Touka was wearing a version in a different color.
「Touka! It’s dangerous to suddenly jump at me like that!」 Haruka scolded her with a tone that almost sounded like an effect from a sound effect.
「How about you, Haruka? Yuuki-oniichan smells really good, you know?」
「Huh, really?」 Haruka crouched down and started sniffing my neck.
「Haruka, stay back! Too close, too close!」 I couldn’t stand the embarrassment anymore and said it out loud. Haruka’s face turned bright red as she hurriedly stood up.
「S-Sorry! I-I couldn’t help it!」 Her face was flushed with red, and she looked upset.
「It’s okay, just… don’t do it too much. I won’t stop you, but…」
「Ah, thank you…」
「Hey, what about me?」 「Haruka’s the only one being unfair!」 The two of them came at me with complaints.
「You two would do it without me saying anything anyway!」
As we were all messing around, we heard footsteps on the gravel and a cleared throat.
When I looked up, I saw Shuuji-san with a stern expression and Himeka-san grinning broadly with a mischievous smile.
(Oh… maybe I should’ve written a will…)
I thought as I looked up at the sky… the blue sky is really beautiful.
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Author’s Note
By the way, the restaurant in this chapter is a real one, and I used to go there about four times a week until I moved. I was writing this while thinking I’d love to eat there again.
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