Ch.91Chapter 14. Accident (6)

# The Next Day

I thought I’d be incredibly tired today after waking up late last night to talk with Yuka, but surprisingly, I wasn’t.

Thinking about it again, I had been unconscious until I woke up then. If I count that time as “sleep,” I actually got quite a lot of rest.

The one who should really be tired was Yuka. She had stayed by my side until I woke up.

While my combat skills were gradually improving, I had enough tact not to mention that in front of Yuka. How much mental damage would it cause if someone who’s hospitalized from injuries told the person who waited for them, “Now I’m pretty good at fighting!”

Still, we both went back to sleep shortly after our conversation, so Yuka probably got decent rest too…

“Today, don’t go anywhere else. Come straight home.”

That’s what Yuka told me.

As we got off the subway together, I noticed her eyes were slightly bloodshot. She didn’t seem completely sleep-deprived, but knowing her fatigue was because of me made me feel nothing but sorry.

“…”

And Koko’s attitude had changed a bit too.

She wasn’t grabbing my arm or hugging me, but she was walking so close to me that it made me nervous in many ways.

Yet after what happened yesterday, I couldn’t bring myself to push her away. I was just as worried about her.

Ah… I’ve committed quite a sin.

“Did something happen yesterday?”

Miura asked in surprise, noticing Koko’s unusually gloomy expression.

“Well…”

“Koko—”

Before I could think of an excuse, Koko started to speak, so I quickly stepped in front of her and said:

“No, it’s fine. Nothing happened.”

Something definitely did happen, but it wasn’t a story suitable for normal people to hear. Fighting life-threatening battles with invisible monsters… well, no matter what excuse I came up with, it wouldn’t be a pleasant story.

“…Really?”

Ah, but Miura clearly didn’t believe me.

Her attitude suggested she was just refraining from asking more because I didn’t want to talk about it.

Fukuda, who sat behind Miura, was resting her chin on her desk and watching me intently. Though she hadn’t shared any additional information since the festival, Kagami was probably still close with Fukuda’s father. I wonder if Fukuda still thought she might become my sister?

…Well, it doesn’t seem like she’s thinking that far. While her attitude was as friendly as Miura’s, Fukuda had a way of drawing a certain line and not crossing it. That line just happened to be very close to me.

The one drawing that line was probably Miura, not Fukuda herself. At first, I thought the three of them were generally friendly with everyone in class, but after observing for a while, I understood better. Miura was definitely the center of their group. If someone had little connection with Miura, they also had little connection with Fukuda or Yamashita.

Speaking of which, Yamashita was also glancing at me. She seemed concerned about my condition too.

Come to think of it, technically Yamashita and I are cousins. Maternal cousins. Of course, I wasn’t certain if we were actually blood-related.

The same goes for Koko.

Looking at it again, my interpersonal relationships were truly a minefield. Or rather, I was the only mine, with everyone else just lightly placing their toes on it and pressing down together.

…

I had no intention of building extensive relationships. In fact, I’d been living here almost like a passing breeze. I’d only impulsively caused trouble a few times, yet somehow I was surrounded by people who genuinely cared about me.

What should I do, really?

Until now, I thought I could just leave when the time came, but when I actually considered it, the ripple effect my death would cause seemed too great.

…

Maybe this is just my ego talking.

Worrying about a future that hasn’t even arrived yet, and thinking I’m at the center of it all—yes, that must be my ego.

I helped Koko to her seat, then sat down at mine.

Koko kept looking my way anxiously. Yesterday’s events seemed to have left a significant trauma.

I could almost feel my conscience bleeding profusely.

*

“No.”

Hmm.

Yes, I had a feeling this would happen.

When I tried to head to work on the subway, Koko attempted to follow me. Yuka tried to take Koko with her, but Koko stood firmly in place, refusing to move.

For a brief moment, I was so startled that I even checked under Koko’s feet. If she had somehow created large nails under her feet to anchor herself to the ground, that would be a serious problem.

But even Koko wouldn’t throw a tantrum to that extent.

After all, that would prevent her from following me too.

“Don’t be like that. Stay with Yuka. I’ll come right after work is done.”

“Kotone, you said the same thing yesterday.”

“…”

Ugh.

I let out a short groan.

She was right. That’s what I had told Koko. I had even left her with Yuka specifically to go do “that,” so I couldn’t deny it.

If Koko hadn’t barged in at the end, I might not even be here now.

“Koko…”

As I said this, I tried not to look at Yuka.

The fact that I almost turned to look at Yuka for a moment meant I was relying on her that much. In this situation, I was the one who needed to persuade Koko. Especially since Yuka had agreed to look after Koko again today.

“If you just wait a little—”

“Today is Saturday.”

Koko stated.

“Kotone, you go early and come back late.”

“…”

Once again, I was hit by the facts Koko wielded.

Throughout the entire vacation, whenever we weren’t out somewhere, Koko would wait for me in my room with Kuro.

Contrary to my worries, Koko listened to me very, very well. When I told her to wait at home, she really did stay only at home.

I still couldn’t figure out how to treat Koko… what age group she belonged to.

She seems to have existed before me. But she looks my age, while speaking like a child.

However, regardless of which age I considered her to be, I thought it might be a bit sad to prevent her from going outside to play.

And that’s why I was surprised now.

Had Koko… ever expressed her dissatisfaction to me so clearly before?

Perhaps I had just assumed Koko was a child who would obediently follow whatever I said?

“Koko.”

Yuka gently placed her hand on Koko’s shoulder.

Koko liked Yuka too. They had become quite close during the last vacation when Yuka helped us. They had known each other before that as well, and Yuka had even stayed overnight at our house.

Still, she didn’t seem to like Yuka as much as she liked me.

“…”

Yuka, who was about to say something, closed her mouth.

Then she stared at me expressionlessly.

Why?

I didn’t ask that out loud. Since yesterday, I had been in a state of self-restraint, determined not to talk back to Yuka unless something was truly unfair.

And Yuka would never make an unreasonable request to me…

“You’re right.”

…would never make…

“Let’s do this. Koko, don’t you want to know where Kotone works?”

…an unreasonable request, huh?

“Want to go eat something delicious together?”

“Something delicious?”

Koko responded to Yuka’s words.

If she had heard similar words under normal circumstances, her eyes would have sparkled, but her expression was still somewhat dark.

“Somewhere where you can see Kotone.”

“Kotone?”

But as soon as Yuka said that, light slowly began to return to her face.

“…Yuka?”

“I just realized there’s no reason why we can’t.”

When I called Yuka’s name, she looked at me with a determined expression.

“It’s a café, right? As long as we have money to buy food, we can sit there as much as we want.”

Well…

That’s true, but…

…

I tried to calm my mind as much as possible.

Right, I’m in a period of self-restraint, self-restraint.

Though I hadn’t determined how long this period would last, I had decided not to talk back to Yuka no matter what she said.

Besides, this was just a matter of my feelings; there was actually nothing wrong with what Yuka said. She didn’t even need my permission for this.

If there was a problem, it was that Yuka would be spending money for Koko. Even if I tried to pay her back later, Yuka would obviously refuse.

And all of this was because of what I went through yesterday.

So in the end, it all circled back to being my fault.

“…Alright.”

In the end, I had no choice but to answer like that.

Seeing Koko’s eyes light up as if she’d been invited on a trip somewhere did make me feel a bit relieved.

Yes, I’ll take comfort in that.

In the end, I had no choice but to lead the two of them to the maid café.

*

I was wondering about this sense of déjà vu, and I think it’s because of when Yamashita briefly stayed at our house.

Whether she didn’t want to be alone in that small, shabby house, or felt anxious being alone in a place that wasn’t her home—I still couldn’t read Yamashita’s expressions accurately, but that was probably why she had followed me.

Now it was similar.

Unlike Yamashita, whose expressions were hard to read, Koko was a child whose emotions were easy to understand.

When she’s happy, she grins broadly; when angry, she becomes expressionless; when sad, she panics. Compared to normal people, these changes might be considered somewhat intense.

Yuka… was calmer than Koko, but she wasn’t exactly someone who restrained her emotional expressions.

She was honest, like a female protagonist should be.

No, wait—in the original work, she was extremely prickly toward the protagonist. She was a tsundere. The reason she’s so honest now is probably because I haven’t interfered in that romance.

She couldn’t express her feelings honestly because it was her first love, but the problem is that in this world, that first love never even began.

I felt a bit sorry about that too.

“Senior, senior.”

As I was absently looking at where Yuka and Koko were sitting, Shii called out to me from beside me.

“What’s going on with those two?”

I was injured in Ota Ward.

While it’s not extremely far from Chiyoda Ward, where Minato Ward and Akihabara are located, it’s still far enough that news wouldn’t easily reach unless something major happened. Especially since I was only attacked inside that bathroom.

“Well…”

I had to rack my brain to come up with a suitable excuse.

“Today, Yuka just wanted to hang out with Koko for a bit…”

That was the only pitiful excuse I could manage.

Saying Yuka wanted to hang out with Koko wasn’t entirely untrue, but considering today’s situation, it was close to a lie.

“Is that so…”

Shii tilted her head, but since I didn’t offer any further explanation, she seemed to accept it.

Honestly, I don’t think that will last long.

No matter how much you want to play with a friend’s younger sister, you’d normally play at home or go somewhere else specifically to play—you wouldn’t come to your friend’s workplace and sit there for hours.

For reference, Shii’s reaction was relatively mild.

“…”

The manager had been looking back and forth between me and Koko with a very meaningful gaze since earlier.

I don’t know what the story is, but last time when I said I needed to help my sister study, the manager had taken both me and Shii off work. He had reacted especially strongly to the mention of borderline intelligence.

I didn’t feel close enough to ask, but I wondered if someone in his family was like that?

When I brought Yamashita, he had said miserly things like “Our shop doesn’t have a referral system, so you don’t get a bonus for bringing customers,” but now he seemed somewhat restless.

What’s more, what Koko and Yuka were doing at their table was a coloring book.

Well… I’m not saying they shouldn’t do that, but…

“…Kurosawa.”

The manager sidled up next to me and spoke in a very small voice.

“…Yes.”

“Is there anything your sister can’t eat?”

…

Is there?

I don’t think so.

It might be a bit inappropriate to say this about Koko, but she’s a child who would happily eat even cat food. If the first thing I had given her was raw meat or an animal carcass, she probably would have eaten that deliciously too. Though now, thanks to my constant nagging, she doesn’t eat anything other than human food.

“No, there isn’t.”

“Really? No allergies or anything? Like peanuts?”

“…”

Why is the manager acting like this?

When I looked at him with that emotion, the manager cleared his throat awkwardly and said:

“Ah, well. Since an employee’s family came. I thought I’d provide some welfare.”

“…”

“I-I don’t have any other thoughts, you know.”

I know.

I know the manager isn’t the type to be swayed by someone’s appearance and give them food. Since it’s an unspoken rule at the café not to dig deeply into each other’s private lives, just as the manager doesn’t ask us a lot of questions, we don’t pretend to be close to the manager either.

So, in a way, this could be seen as the manager breaking the rules.

But.

“I’m not going to ask for money or anything.”

When the manager goes this far, there’s no reason to refuse. I know he’s not a bad person.

“It’s fine. She’ll probably eat anything you give her.”

She could probably down a straight espresso with nothing added. If I had to say, she does prefer sweet foods, but still.

“Really? Alright.”

At my words, the manager nodded and—

—did nothing for a while.

He just quietly observed Yuka and Koko.

While I served other tables, cleared empty cups and plates, and did several more rounds of serving, the manager kept watching. Finally, he took a deep breath and took out a slice of cream cake. It was a cake with a soft piece of chocolate on top.

And with a somewhat tense expression… an expression I rarely see, he slowly approached the two.

Instead of placing the plate directly in front of them, he set it down at a slight distance and gently pushed it forward, stopping short of reaching them.

“…Ah.”

Yuka was the first to notice.

Yuka, who had been watching Koko color with colored pencils with a gentle expression, looked up at the manager’s face after seeing the cake placed in front of them.

“This is on the house.”

The manager told Yuka.

Yuka’s eyes blinked.

“Because you’re family of an employee here.”

Yet he didn’t give anything to Yamashita.

Ah, but at that time, he didn’t know we were cousins. Even Yamashita herself didn’t know.

…Right. If he says it’s a service only for “family,” it’s not incomprehensible.

“Thank you.”

Yuka seemed to hesitate for a very brief moment, but in the end, she decided to accept the cake.

“Wow!”

When the cake arrived in front of her, Koko looked up too.

“Here, the manager is giving this to us. You should say thank you.”

“Thank you!”

The manager couldn’t even acknowledge the thanks and just stared blankly at Koko.

Koko didn’t pay attention to the manager’s reaction and immediately looked at the cake.

She picked up a fork and poked the chocolate piece on top of the cake.

I thought she was going to bring it to her mouth, but suddenly she looked around.

When our eyes met, Koko jumped up from her seat and ran toward me. If she had wanted to, she could have moved much faster than a human, but fortunately, Koko didn’t always have such intentions.

She didn’t seem to be conscious of the gazes around her. Is it simply because there was no “need” for it?

“Kotone.”

“Yes?”

Koko pointed her fork toward me.

As I was absently watching Koko, Yuka, and the manager from behind the counter with no customers around, I was momentarily stunned when I saw Koko offering me the chocolate.

“Kotone.”

“…Are you giving this to me?”

“Yes!”

Koko nodded and held the chocolate, which had a bit of cream near the tip, so close it almost touched my lips.

“…Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

I said that and took the chocolate into my mouth.

Although the cake wasn’t made here but delivered from a factory… the chocolate was still delicious.

I wondered how she managed to pick it up with a fork—it was a bit soft, like that famous Japanese chocolate. It had a slightly mochi-like feel, but when you actually chewed it, it wasn’t that chewy and had the characteristic crunch of chocolate.

Manager, you’re selling quite expensive stuff. Well, I already knew that.

“…It’s delicious.”

When I said that after finishing it, Koko smiled brightly.

Then she ran back to her seat and plopped down.

As she was about to scoop up a bit of cake with her fork and put it in her mouth—perhaps remembering Yuka sitting next to her, Koko offered it to her too.

“No, I’m fine.”

Yuka, who had been watching with a very pleased expression as Koko fed me the chocolate, declined the cake offered to her.

“Okay!”

Koko brought the cake to her own mouth without hesitation.

“Delicious!”

“You should finish chewing before you speak.”

Yuka said that while wiping the cream from the corner of Koko’s mouth.

“…”

The manager, who had been watching until the end, suddenly turned around.

Of course, he was looking at me.

His expression… somehow looked sad.

I thought I heard a sniffling sound.

The manager quickly walked back behind the counter and—

“…You have a good friend.”

He said that quietly to me.

“…She’s too good for me.”

At my words, the manager covered his mouth slightly and quickly passed behind me to sit in his usual spot.

I didn’t bother looking at the manager’s face from behind the counter and quickly came out to find something to do.

Somehow, it seemed like the manager needed some time alone.

“Senior.”

Shii urgently called out to me as I came out from behind the counter.

“Yes?”

“…No, um.”

Shii hesitated for a moment, then took out a handkerchief from her apron pocket.

And silently handed it to me.

I silently took it and lightly wiped the corners of my eyes.