Ch.325IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (21)

Ryohei felt a strange sensation whenever he saw the Kurosawa mother and daughter.

It wasn’t simply because Kagami resembled his ex-wife. Kosuzu was a beautiful woman, but it’s not like Ryohei and Kosuzu had a relationship built on love.

They thought each other useful, and considered their relationship useful. That’s why they could continue despite their complicated backgrounds.

Kosuzu appeared to be an ideal mother on the surface. But that didn’t make her an ideal wife.

Even though they weren’t connected by love, Kosuzu demanded love from Ryohei.

He thought that was reasonable. For a married couple, doing their best for each other is good for maintaining the relationship. Even in the many political marriages of the past, failure to do so inevitably led to disaster.

However, Kosuzu was a much more willful woman than Ryohei had initially thought—

“……”

Taking a sip of still-warm green tea, Ryohei looked at Kagami sitting across from him.

She resembled her.

But she didn’t resemble her.

At a glance, Kagami had almost identical looks to Kosuzu, but at least Kagami hadn’t casually cut off her own child like Kosuzu had.

To begin with, Ryohei never understood what Kosuzu wanted from Yuu. Even if she worshipped some forgotten old god, she was still human in body, and a child born from a relationship with a human could only be human.

“…Thank you for accepting my request.”

“Mm.”

As Kagami bowed her head slightly while speaking, Ryohei finally felt a bit uncomfortable.

She was still—a young person. Though she had just become an adult, that was all.

Compared even to Miho, who had been following Ryohei closely lately, there wasn’t much age difference—she was still young enough that it wouldn’t be strange to call her a student if necessary.

Many young women had made various “requests” of Ryohei. Some succeeded in catching his interest, and among those, some inevitably betrayed that interest.

Even so, Ryohei didn’t particularly care. Most were just humans hungry for money, and once they left with that small amount, they never appeared again.

But the Kagami before him was somewhat different.

“I haven’t done anything deserving of thanks.”

Strictly speaking, Ryohei hadn’t invited Kotone, nor had he given permission to Yuu to invite her. He knew it was natural for children to bring friends over.

Even if Kotone was some special existence—right now she was just Yuu’s friend.

But for Kagami, Kotone’s mother, it seemed to have a slightly different meaning.

“I thought it might be uncomfortable to arrange this meeting, considering the relationship between you and me, Mr. Yamashita.”

Ah, so that’s what it was.

Well, from a general perspective, it was an uncomfortable relationship.

And hearing Kagami speak like this, Ryohei became a bit more interested.

She was Kosuzu’s sister. There were even rumors that she had given birth to a “child of god.”

Yet for such a being to have such ordinary human sensibilities—Ryohei found it somewhat incomprehensible.

In Ryohei’s memory, his impression of Kagami was blurry. She wasn’t someone he could meet often to begin with. Kosuzu had hidden Kagami in a very deep place and never showed her to Ryohei.

He was barely able to see Kagami shortly after she gave birth to Kotone.

Due to the merit of giving birth to a “child of god,” Kagami was elevated to a very important position by Kosuzu, and only then did Ryohei get to see Kagami directly.

A woman like a decoration.

That was the dry assessment Ryohei had made of Kagami when he first saw her.

A face that seemed to stare into the distance as if uninterested in anything in the world. Resembling Kosuzu, she looked somewhat vicious, but because of that, she seemed too detached to appear human—in some sense, a being that seemed somewhat lacking in humanity.

Though he had never deeply loved Kosuzu, Ryohei thought Kagami seemed even more like a doll than Kosuzu did.

Shortly after that, Kosuzu ended her relationship with Ryohei with an incredibly confident attitude. As if to say “it’s done now.” Ryohei was perplexed for a while, but—

“That’s not the case.”

So, rather, it wasn’t uncomfortable. In Ryohei’s view, Kagami was essentially a completely different being from Kosuzu.

“Whatever happened in the past, we’re neighbors now, aren’t we?”

“……”

“Besides, I find it much more comfortable to converse with specific conditions. Given my line of work, I find that easier than pure human relationships.”

Ryohei said this and then moistened his throat with green tea again.

As if following Ryohei’s lead, Kagami also took a sip of green tea to moisten her throat.

As if understanding Ryohei’s implication to ‘just state your conditions,’ Kagami slowly opened her mouth.

“I was wondering if you’ve noticed any signs of movement from the Kurosawa family.”

Knowing how rude such a question could be, and feeling afraid to ask it despite that, Kagami asked anyway.

Rationally thinking, Kagami’s behavior should have been difficult to understand.

It would have been much better if Kagami had just taken Ryohei’s help and fled, like the women who had done so before. The money Ryohei had given wasn’t enough to hide for a lifetime, but it was enough to settle somewhere quiet.

But Kagami didn’t do that.

Even if she lived in Tokyo, it might have been better to stay as far away as possible within the city. It might have been better to find some decent man, change her name, and settle down.

But again, Kagami didn’t do that.

She wanted to raise Kotone as a “normal child.”

Ryohei quietly recalled what Kagami had said.

“I haven’t seen any movement from the Kurosawa family.”

Ryohei slowly moved his lips to answer.

“And even if they did move, they couldn’t directly strike at us.”

What the Kurosawa family wanted was moderately significant power that could commit illegal acts. Since Kosuzu had separated from Ryohei, the Kurosawa family didn’t have the power to directly attack this house.

Kagami probably knew this fact and was lingering around this area because of it.

“I see.”

Kagami answered with an expression still not free from anxiety.

“……”

Silence fell between them for a moment.

This time, Kagami was the first to speak.

“Mr. Yamashita.”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever heard what Yuu says about Kotone?”

“…Pardon?”

At this somewhat unexpected question, Ryohei blinked.

“Yuu is Kotone’s friend. Since she wasn’t able to make friends broadly since kindergarten…”

Huh.

Ryohei’s mouth opened slightly.

“…I haven’t heard anything particular, but if I do hear anything unusual, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.”

Kagami bowed her head again as she answered.

Ryohei once more turned over the words “normal child” in his mind.

I see.

Kagami had been hidden away in that house since her childhood. It’s unknown what kind of education she received, but if they wanted to teach her, they certainly could have.

She probably doesn’t have memories like other children.

In this country, if one is determined to run away, one can.

But that’s far from a “normal daily life.” You can’t make friends, and you’d have little time to study properly.

Rather than that, it might be better to receive maximum security in a place where safety is guaranteed.

…And one of those methods was for her daughter to become friends with someone who “could protect her.”

Ryohei drank the green tea in his cup as if emptying it into his mouth.

Indeed, is that so.

I thought they were completely different beings, but surprisingly, they do have similarities.

Cunning, but—

Ryohei looked at the clock on the wall. About 10 minutes had passed since they sat down together.

“Well then, shall we go to Kotone?”

“Ah, yes.”

As Ryohei said this and stood up, Kagami quickly followed suit.

She seemed more interested in her daughter than in conversing with Ryohei. Well, looking at Kagami’s actions so far, her reason for living seemed to be focused on her daughter.

Is she simply projecting what she wanted?

Or does she truly love her?

Ryohei didn’t need to think that far.

However.

What if Kosuzu had had a personality similar to Kagami’s?

Looking at Kagami’s back as she walked ahead of him, he pondered this strange thought.

The contemplation didn’t last long. After all, Ryohei wasn’t such a wholesome and diligent person. Above all, with a girl not much younger than Kagami already in this house, Ryohei was in a situation where he needed to be several times more careful.

“Kotone!”

“Mom!”

When they reached the front of Yuu’s room, Kagami called out to Kotone with a smile, and Kotone immediately ran out and embraced Kagami.

Like a scene from a painting.

“……”

But when Kotone stared up at Ryohei for a moment, he couldn’t help but recall Kosuzu’s face.

Perhaps the niece resembles her aunt more than sisters resemble each other.

…I definitely shouldn’t get close to her, if only because of her daughter.

Ryohei thought, somewhat jokingly.