Ch.310IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (7)

When I was very young, I have vague memories of moving from place to place following Kagami, but since I entered kindergarten, we’ve been staying in one place.

Well, to be honest, “very young” for me only refers to a year or two ago.

The place we live in is a Japanese-style single-room apartment.

Maybe it’s because we’re still in the 90s, or perhaps Japan just has these kinds of decades-old housing structures. Come to think of it, even going back 30 years from now would only take us to the 1960s, so I suppose it’s not unusual for such places to exist.

There are various residents in the apartment. Some are noisy, some barely make a sound. I know a few people by face. Among them is a family with two children. To be honest, their room seems like it might be uncomfortably small.

At least Kagami and I are just two people, so we don’t have much to complain about. I’m still very small, so this single room feels quite spacious to me.

Looking back, Kagami is quite tall for a woman. I’m not sure exactly how many centimeters. Since in my previous life I used to measure people’s heights and object sizes relative to “my height,” it’s difficult to gauge now that I’m still in early childhood.

Hmm, considering that Kagami looks especially tall because I’m small, she must be at least in the late 160s cm. She might even reach 170 cm… well, maybe not quite that tall.

She’s not fully grown yet, but isn’t she approaching the age where growth stops? Then again, everyone develops at different rates, so I can’t be certain.

Anyway, judging by how people tend to believe Kagami when she puts on slightly heavier makeup and tries to deceive them despite her youthful face, her impressive height must be quite helpful. That’s fortunate, I suppose.

…I’ve gone off on a tangent, but getting back to the main topic about our room, I’m satisfied with everything except for one thing.

This room is rather cold.

As expected of a cheap place, the walls aren’t very thick, so not only can we hear various living noises from the neighboring rooms, but the outside cold easily seeps in.

Still, it’s much better than living on the streets, but in winter, you can sometimes see your breath even inside the house, which says it all.

In summer, if we can endure the daytime heat, the temperature becomes bearable enough to sleep with just a fan by bedtime, but in winter, the house is so cold that we can’t even appreciate the fact that Japanese winters are milder than Korean ones.

In the end, for minimal survival during winter, Kagami and I chose to stay close together.

Just until the middle of this year, I felt a bit uncomfortable being held by Kagami. No matter how much I look like a child, Kagami is still a minor.

Of course, whenever I distanced myself from Kagami, she would always look hurt, so I would end up in her arms anyway, but in winter, there was really no choice.

It’s not that we don’t have any heating devices at home. We have an electric blanket and an electric kotatsu. But these heating devices aren’t enough to warm the entire house evenly.

“…”

As I wiggled to get deeper into Kagami’s arms while sitting with my lower body tucked into the kotatsu, Kagami let out a laugh, seemingly pleased by my movement.

Then, as if trying to protect me with her body heat, she wrapped her arms around me more tightly.

Some variety show was playing on TV, but I wasn’t paying much attention to it. Unfortunately, most of the shows I like won’t be released for at least a few years to a decade.

Good grief, forget YouTube or smartphones—we’re not even in the era where everyone carries a mobile phone yet. Most cameras still use film, and computers are enormously large, heavy, and slow, not to mention expensive.

The fact that the only “fun” machine in our house is the TV was almost inevitable.

“Kotone, Kotone.”

As I clung to Kagami without showing any interest in the TV, I felt a hand gently stroking the back of my head.

This touch was difficult to get used to at first… but now it feels so natural.

“Shall we make something warm and delicious to eat?”

“Warm and delicious?”

When I responded half-asleep without even lifting my head, Kagami hugged me tightly as if I were the most adorable being in the world and lightly kissed my head.

“Yes, we still have ingredients for pancakes.”

“Pancakes…”

As I exhaled a long breath along with my words, already half-breathing evenly, Kagami stroked my head and carefully laid me down.

When our bodies separated, cold air filled the space that had just been warmed by Kagami’s body heat, and my body grew cold as well.

When I flailed my arms reaching forward, Kagami laughed again and laid me down on the blanket.

She turned off the kotatsu, placed me on the electric blanket, pulled up the comforter to cover me up to my neck, and lightly kissed my cheek again.

As I stretched both hands forward, Kagami held them firmly in her own.

“Uh.”

Although I had briefly felt the cold air, I wasn’t completely awake. Kagami burst into laughter again seeing me struggling to keep my eyes open.

“Wait just a moment. I’ll be right back.”

“…Okay…”

Without the strength to follow Kagami to the kitchen, I just collapsed on the blanket.

*

Though I fell asleep, it wasn’t a deep hour-long sleep.

It was probably just a few minutes, or a little over ten minutes at most.

Kagami has always been attentive to my health, so I’ve never lacked sleep.

“Mmm.”

I rubbed my eyes with both hands as I got up, then hesitated for a moment.

I didn’t want to leave the warmth of the blanket. The electric blanket temperature was just right, and it was obvious I’d feel extremely cold the moment I stepped out.

I could hear something being cooked in the kitchen.

I pulled back the blanket, got up with a shiver, and walked toward the kitchen.

Although it’s a single room, the kitchen and living room are somewhat separated. There’s a sliding door with translucent glass between them, perhaps to prevent food smells from entering the room.

When I opened the sliding door, I saw Kagami’s back.

She looks young when you see her face, but from behind, that’s not necessarily the case. Her height could easily pass for an adult woman’s, and her physical development was almost complete.

Plus, wearing an apron, her back view gave off a definite “mother” vibe to anyone who saw it.

I wobbled over and lightly grabbed Kagami’s skirt, and she turned her head toward me.

“Kotone, it’s almost ready. Just a little longer.”

“Okay.”

I answered like that, but I didn’t let go of Kagami’s skirt.

Though I haven’t lived in this world for many years, there’s one thing I know for certain.

Kagami will always be on my side, no matter the situation.

Of course, people’s hearts can change, and the relationship between Kagami and me might not always remain good, but at least for me, with no other means of protection, Kagami is the only person I can rely on.

Perhaps happy that I was leaning on her, Kagami turned off the gas and transferred what was in the frying pan to a plate.

Then she slowly walked toward the room.

Maybe she was afraid I might fall while following her. With her tall stature, she could have walked much faster, but she deliberately matched her pace to mine as I held onto her skirt.

When Kagami placed the pancakes on the kotatsu, the delicious smell spread throughout the room.

Without realizing it, my gaze became fixed on the three well-cooked pancakes on the plate.

Kagami gently held my shoulders, sat me down, and went back to the kitchen.

She returned with milk and two cups.

Sitting next to me, Kagami poured milk into the cups. One was an adult’s glass cup, and the other was a small, lightweight plastic cup with handles on both sides.

“I’ll cut it for you~”

Is that really necessary? Shouldn’t children learn things too?

I’m always grateful to Kagami, but honestly, sometimes she seems a bit overprotective.

…

Well, it doesn’t matter.

I just need to keep my wits about me. Not cause trouble or worry her.

This is my second life, after all.

In my previous life, I lost my family too suddenly. I regretted all the things I couldn’t do for them for the rest of my life.

I have no power yet, but I hope things won’t turn out that way in this world.

The pancakes were delicious.

Kagami’s cooking skills are excellent. Everything I’ve eaten here has been tasty.

Someday, will I miss Kagami’s cooking and think of it as my mother’s food?

I pondered that vaguely while munching on the cake.

*

Kagami thought Kotone was an unusual child.

That doesn’t mean she didn’t love her because of it. She was just worried sometimes.

Having decided to become a mother, Kagami had no intention of proceeding without learning anything. She wanted to raise her child well at home, not just relying on kindergarten.

Since parents are like mirrors for their children, home education is important for a child’s development.

But strangely, Kotone was different in many ways from the “young children” Kagami had learned about.

She never threw tantrums or cried. At the store, she would quietly look up at toys, but when asked if she wanted them, she would tilt her head. As if wondering whether she should like it or not.

She never suggested going somewhere on holidays, nor did she throw fits about disliking or wanting to do something. She didn’t spend hours staring at the TV either.

So, Kagami worried.

She thought perhaps she hadn’t provided enough for Kotone, making her reluctant to ask for things she wanted.

That scared her.

She feared that in the distant future, Kotone might say she didn’t need anything. That she might become a child who thought wanting things was meaningless—

But such worries gradually disappeared as Kotone grew.

Kotone likes Kagami’s embrace. She likes warm and soft places, and sometimes makes faces showing she doesn’t want to leave the blanket.

She sometimes dozes off when being read picture books. She also likes sweet and delicious food. Even now, her expression while eating pancakes and drinking milk occasionally showed satisfaction.

So, Kotone is just a slightly unusual child.

And that “unusualness” simply comes from being a bit smarter, reading the atmosphere, and being considerate of others.

“…”

Don’t take it for granted.

Kagami thought this while looking down at Kotone munching on pancakes.

Perhaps feeling the gaze, Kotone glanced up at Kagami, then stabbed a piece of pancake with her fork and held it up to Kagami’s face.

“Hehe.”

Kagami found herself laughing as she ate the pancake Kotone offered, then gently stroked Kotone’s head.

Christmas is coming soon.

What gift would be good for Kotone?

With a slightly excited heart, she thought about this.