Ch.77Chapter 12. Lantern (1)

At least I got a day off.

I never expected my summer vacation to be this busy.

Whether for better or worse, I’ve been caught up in all sorts of things and it’s been hectic.

The second semester starts on September 1st, so there’s still quite a bit of vacation left.

From what I’ve heard, winter break in Japan isn’t as long as in Korea. About two weeks. There’s also a third semester, and after that ends, there’s spring break before the second semester starts again, so it feels like they’ve chopped up the breaks and scattered them toward the end.

Still, I was hoping the rest of the vacation might be a bit more relaxing.

The most important summer vacation event in the main story is over. I’ve met Kaoru and Izumi, and we even promised to call each other by our first names.

I already hung out with Mako, Yuu, and Harumi at the beginning of the vacation.

Of course, I still had to work part-time during the break, which kept me fairly busy, but I had three days off per week, and I wasn’t working full days. I had a decent amount of free time.

…The remaining issue was making sure Koko stayed put at home.

So I came up with an idea, which was to take Koko out all morning and afternoon.

That’s right.

I figured if I took Koko out and let her expend all that energy, she might stay quietly at home with Kuro until I returned.

It felt a bit like treating her like a dog, which made me uncomfortable, but what could I do? It was the only solution I could come up with.

And leaving her with someone else seemed… a bit too much.

On Saturdays and Sundays, I’d have to leave earlier, but I could play with her as much as possible during those short mornings.

Today was Thursday, my workday.

I took Koko around the neighborhood, returning home several times before heading out again, repeating this pattern multiple times.

The sun was hot, and it was still humid, so I was exhausted when we got back. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could work properly in this state.

But me not working properly was far better than Koko disappearing.

That’s why I kept returning home and then going out again while wandering around the neighborhood. So that Koko could find her way back if she went out.

Koko was much smarter than she looked. If she knew the way, she could definitely return home.

“…Understand? You absolutely cannot go out.”

“Cannot?”

“Cannot.”

“Uu.”

I wasn’t sure if that “uu” meant she understood or she didn’t like it.

But judging by her expression, she seemed to understand.

I know we can’t keep going like this forever.

Koko isn’t a cat. Even though she sometimes imitates Kuro and drools when she sees cat food, I think she’s a person with intelligence similar to mine.

So, someday I’ll let her wander around the neighborhood on her own.

But not now.

Actually, even as I said that, I felt a bit strange.

This wasn’t the first time I’d left Koko at home to go to work. Even without me, Koko wouldn’t go outside. She hadn’t before.

So why was I so anxious?

As if I had lost Koko once—

…Ah.

I see.

I hadn’t lost her.

I hadn’t lost her, but… the thought that I could lose her had occurred to me.

The face that came to mind was someone who looked strangely similar to Kagami. Kagami’s sister, who carried around some invisible being. Someone who thought she could take human lives as she pleased, someone who only cared about herself.

Even though I knew Koko wouldn’t go out, I was worried that if by some remote chance she did go outside, something might happen to her.

“Understand?”

So, I decided to make sure she promised.

“Play with Kuro. I’ll…”

I looked at the clock on the wall.

It was a large clock I had bought and hung up recently.

After debating between digital and analog, I chose analog. If Koko perfectly understood numbers and the concept of time, a digital clock might be better, but I wasn’t sure about that.

With an analog clock, I could point out exactly when the “small hand” would reach a certain point.

“This small hand.”

I spoke with deliberately slow, exaggerated movements so Koko could see.

“I’ll be home before it gets here.”

Koko stood up and looked at the number I was pointing to.

“From here, to here.”

After pointing to the current time, I pointed to the number 10, and Koko blinked.

“Here.”

I took Koko’s hand, made her raise a finger, and repeated the same action.

“From here, to here.”

Koko nodded.

“Yes.”

“Do you understand?”

Koko blinked once.

“Yes.”

…I wasn’t sure.

But I had no better way to explain it.

And I couldn’t take Koko to work with me.

“…Take good care of Kuro.”

So I picked up Kuro, who was rolling on the floor with his belly up, and handed him to Koko.

“Nyaaaa!?”

Kuro screamed as he was suddenly lifted, but before he could struggle against my body, he was already in Koko’s arms.

“Can you take good care of him?”

“Yes!”

Koko nodded vigorously with a bright smile at my question.

…This seemed trustworthy.

*

“Senpai!”

Shii greeted me as usual when we met after a few days.

I was worried she might have developed some trauma, but thinking about it again, even in the original story, Shii quickly recovered after seeing the ghoul.

…Shii’s trauma is in her past. Meeting her biological mother would probably be more terrifying than seeing something like a ghoul.

Besides, Shii had seen Sasaki’s blood defeat the monster.

She probably feels very secure being with her brother.

“Have you been well?”

After greeting me, Shii tilted her head.

As if feeling something was awkward, she tilted her head and then went “Ah!” and nodded.

Then, with a serious expression,

“…How is Koko-san doing?”

she asked.

Maybe she was concerned because I had been taking Koko around.

Actually, Koko had been living with me for some time before Shii knew about it.

But Shii met Koko directly during our beach trip last time. In Shii’s eyes, Koko might have appeared to have some disability.

So, naturally, she might be worried about Koko being alone—

…

…Wait. What I did, thinking about it again, was it neglect?

Only after hearing Shii’s words did I start to worry again.

I don’t think Koko’s intelligence is that low, but I might have misjudged.

“She’ll be fine.”

I answered as if talking to myself.

Hearing my answer, Shii also looked a bit worried, but Koko was already about an hour and a half away from me.

All I could do was hope she was doing well.

*

The manager wore his usual indifferent expression.

I was worried he might say something about me taking too many days off, but he didn’t seem to mind.

He just sat near the counter with his chin resting on his hand, looking bored as always, making coffee when orders came in and getting ingredients from the refrigerator.

And it wasn’t just the manager; the other maids were the same.

Since this was a place where they hired people without proper contracts or background checks, just paying for work, the maids didn’t seem interested in meddling in others’ affairs.

Well, people sometimes changed without notice. There were no farewell greetings when someone quit, no exchanging contact information to meet again later.

People just came and went, leaving only a faint impression in others’ memories.

Well, some had worked here longer than I had. But that didn’t mean we had friendly conversations.

“Thank you for your work today.”

“Yeah.”

As we exchanged greetings, the manager just slightly raised one hand.

“Go on.”

That was it. As always.

Even if this was my last day and I was quitting, would the manager react the same way?

Probably.

Both the manager and I would probably just vaguely remember years later, “There was such a person working at that place.”

That was enough.

“Today, after a long time…?”

“Ah.”

When I started speaking, Shii reacted as if a bit surprised.

As I tilted my head at her reaction, Shii continued carefully, as if reminding me of something I had forgotten.

“Um, Kurosawa-senpai, wouldn’t Koko-san be waiting for you at home?”

“…Ah.”

That’s right.

Having spent such a ‘normal’ afternoon after so long, I had momentarily forgotten.

“…”

Remembering now, I suddenly became extremely worried.

Would Kuro be okay?

Come to think of it, Koko had often watched me cook from behind.

I hadn’t made anything fancy, but sometimes I used knives, and sometimes I used fire.

And I had never warned her about these things.

Realizing this, I suddenly felt like all the blood was draining from my body.

That apartment probably doesn’t have sprinklers. I don’t even know if it was built following proper building codes.

If a fire started, it would probably become uncontrollable before anything could be done.

…Plus, neither Koko nor the house had a phone.

“Maybe you should go home as early as possible today?”

Shii asked, looking a bit worried after seeing my expression.

“…Yeah.”

I nodded.

“Ramen will still be there tomorrow, and the day after.”

At Shii’s words, I nodded again.

“Then, I’ll go ahead.”

“Yes, see you tomorrow!”

I waved to Shii and started running.

*

“Koko!”

“Waa?”

When I burst through the door, Koko turned to look at me with a slightly surprised expression.

Koko was sitting right in front of the TV, which was turned on.

The TV was showing commercials.

…That’s right.

Koko liked commercial videos. Many of them were actually funny.

Since Koko’s vocabulary wasn’t perfect yet, she really enjoyed the short-form commercials.

“…Haah.”

I let out a long sigh.

…Thank goodness. Nothing happened.

Kuro was in Koko’s hands, looking somewhat exhausted. Seeing Koko almost unconsciously playing with Kuro’s paws, it seemed Kuro had been tormented by Koko while I was away.

“Were you good?”

“Yes!”

Koko nodded at my question and smiled brightly.

“…”

I felt relieved.

And also a bit of a strange feeling.

I hadn’t experienced this kind of… atmosphere for too long.

It’s not like I had a lover or wife.

And family… I had lost them a long time ago.

When I opened the door and came in, all that greeted me was a dark, cramped room.

I never expected to meet someone waiting eagerly for me in a lit home like this.

…A strange feeling.

…No, a nostalgic feeling.

Koko approached me while holding Kuro.

Kuro’s expression showed a lot of dissatisfaction. You might know the internet meme called “longcat.” It’s a photo where hands are placed under a cat’s armpits and the cat is lifted up, with the cat’s waist stretching down, which became popular because it looked funny.

Kuro’s waist swayed from side to side as Koko moved.

“…When you hold him, you should hold him properly.”

I grabbed Koko’s arms and helped her hold Kuro correctly. Of course, Kuro looked up at me with resentful eyes for not freeing him from Koko’s grasp, but I ignored that gaze.

Yes, I can teach her.

That fire is dangerous, that knives shouldn’t be used carelessly. Letters, words. I can teach her one by one.

Just like I took care of my younger sibling when I was young.

“From tomorrow, I have something to teach you.”

“Uu?”

Maybe I spoke too abruptly.

Koko tilted her head.

I smiled and patted Koko’s head.

“…Let’s talk after I wash up.”

Koko had already bathed after our walk earlier, so she was fine, but I was drenched in sweat. I had been running in the already hot weather.

I’ll wake up a bit earlier tomorrow.

I’ll go to a nearby bookstore and buy some writing books and a few fairy tales.

Looking at Koko, who was looking up at me and tilting her head, I made that resolution.

*

And it was effective.

It seemed like Koko was proving once again that she was intelligent.

Of course, her characteristic innocence didn’t disappear, but Koko really enjoyed when I read fairy tales to her.

I bought a few thin fairy tale books and read them together with Koko.

Before going to bed, before turning off the lights, we would lie on our stomachs on the blanket and read fairy tales.

I pointed to each character as I read, and Koko showed interest. If there was something confusing, I would explain it repeatedly.

Well, I didn’t make her practice writing letters. I didn’t feel the need for that yet.

I also taught her how to use various things in the house, why dangerous things were dangerous, and why she needed to be careful.

I also bought fairy tales with good morals and showed them to her.

After a few days of this, Koko could clumsily read hiragana and katakana. Actually, she had encountered written characters quite a bit before, so she could understand to some extent.

It had only been a few days, so she hadn’t completely mastered reading yet.

When I say “it was effective for me too,” I mean this:

At least I felt a bit more at ease while working. I still couldn’t completely shake off my worries, but I could feel that Koko was definitely acquiring knowledge.

By the time I went to work on Sunday, I could almost put my mind at ease.

“How is Koko-san doing?”

Shii asked again today.

But her expression wasn’t as worried as when she first asked.

“…Yes. She’s doing well.”

I answered.

Perhaps my expression looked a bit lighter than usual when I answered. Shii also smiled and nodded back.

Today was busier than usual.

During summer vacation, I hadn’t noticed, but apparently it was a holiday period. Obon, they called it.

I don’t know much about Japanese holidays, but it seems there are various festivals and events during this time.

Today was the second day of the three-day holiday.

“…Is it okay on a day like today?”

I only remembered to ask in the middle of work, and Shii lowered the ends of her fine eyebrows slightly and gave a regretful smile.

“There’s always tomorrow.”

“…”

The house where they lived seemed to be in an area of Tokyo famous for high land prices, but all they had received was just that house.

Electricity bills, phone costs, even food expenses.

According to the novel’s setting, the two of them were covering these costs with part-time jobs.

Maybe Shii had other part-time jobs besides this one.

Not just Shii, but Sasaki also seemed to work part-time.

“I see.”

I nodded in response. I decided not to ask for more details.

Anyway, I’m not sure if there are substitute holidays in Japan in 2004, but whether there are or not, a holiday is a holiday. Some people might spend time lounging at home, but others might go out with their entire family.

I occasionally saw families with children. This is a maid cafe, though. Well, at a glance, it was just a cafe except that the employees were maids. If only the manager wasn’t so serious about coffee.

The street outside… Well, the Akihabara area is always bustling, even without Obon. It seems like quite a few foreigners visit too.

While working busier than usual, my phone rang.

It was an email.

[Are you free tomorrow?]

It was an email from Harumi.

Ah, come to think of it, wasn’t there a lantern festival at the local shrine?

[Yes]

I wrote back simply. It’s Monday.

[Then shall we meet tomorrow afternoon?]

[Sure]

After answering like that, I paused in thought for a moment and then wrote another email.

[Can I bring my sister?]

Somehow, I felt like we’d be away from home for a long time. Koko seemed somewhat used to being at home, but I didn’t want to leave her alone even on my day off.

[You have a sister?]

It was a bit strange to hear surprise in a text message.

That means I’ve talked with Harumi quite often. Because I know her tone well.

…She was a good kid. A kid who would approach someone sitting quietly with their mouth shut and talk to them about various things.

[Yes]

While Sasaki and Shii easily accepted Koko’s existence, I wasn’t sure about the other kids.

I didn’t want to explain everything about Koko in an email, but I thought I should give some warning.

[Should be fine? How old?]

[Same age]

[Same age???]

Three question marks.

[Twins]

[Twins?????]

This time, five question marks.

That makes sense. It would be completely new information.

[Definitely bring her]

Was she interested in the fact that I had a twin? Harumi replied like that.

[Okay]

After replying with a smile, I folded my phone and put it in my apron pocket.

Mako and Yuu would probably come too.

…I had some concerns, but it was hard not to look forward to it.