Chapter 14 | New Year’s Greetings to the Relative’s Grandfather

I am attending the New Year’s party of the main family.

At Kaida’s mansion.

“Hey, Shinji-kun!”

Bump! Saburo, a man in black, approaches me, waving his hand.

“You’d be surprised how suddenly the black-clad terminator comes…”

Rika, a classmate of mine, backs away to hide behind me.

“What’s wrong, Saburo?”

“Kogen-sama and Ojou-sama are ready to see you. They want to say hello.”

Rika tilted her head.

“Kogen-sama?”

“I’m talking about my grandfather in the main house. I thought I couldn’t say hello to him because there are so many people here, but I guess my timing is perfect.

I stood up and went next to Saburo.

“I’m going to go see him now, so wait a bit, Rika.”

“Oh, the thing is, Shinji-kun. Apparently, Kogen-sama wants to meet Rika-chan.”

Grandpa?

I wonder why…

“Well… what do you think, Rika?”

“I’ll go. I want to say hello to Shin-chan’s grandfather.”

“Oh?”

Why is that?

If you are not related, greetings are not a necessity.

“… one day I’ll be a relative of yours.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Come on, take me with you!”

Saburo led us to another room.

After a long hallway and a lot of walking…

“Excuse me! I’m Saburo! I’ve brought Shinji-kun and his fiancée!”

“”Wha~…?””

“Who’s the fiancée…?!”

Rika’s face turned bright red and she smacked Saburo’s chest plate.

“Eh~? You wanted to follow me, didn’t you?”

“Wha~…?”

Rika opens and closes her mouth like a goldfish.

“What do you mean, you don’t know…?”

“I don’t know!”

And then…

“Saburo. Come in.”

I heard a dignified voice from inside the room.

“Oh, yes. Look, the young lady is waiting for you. Come on in.”

Saburo-san opened the fusuma (sliding door).

In the back of the room, a woman was sitting on the floor.

Walking on the tatami mats, I approached [her].

“Wow…she’s beautiful…”

Rika murmured as she looked at her.

A petite girl with pure white hair was sitting upright.

At a glance, she appeared to be a small girl in her early teens.

But as you get closer, you notice her face is more mature.

Her eyes widened.

Her red, rabbit-like eyes look at me.

She looks at me and smiles.

“Nice to meet you, Shin. Happy New Year.”

“Yes, it is. Happy New Year, Ryu-chan!”

A beautiful girl in kimono… Ryu-chan greets me.

“Shhhh, Shin…and Ryu-chan…”

Rika is trembling for some reason.

“Shin. Who’s the young lady over there?”

“Oh, yeah. Rika. This is Ryu-chan… Ryuko Kaida. She’s my…”

And that’s when it happened.

“He’s my fiancée.”

The sliding door opens, and an old man in kimono enters.

He is over 80 years old.

But his face, his body, and his steps are steady.

“Fiancée…?!”

The old man approaches with leisurely steps, despite Rika’s surprise.

The old man sits next to Rika.

His eyes are as sharp as a bird of prey.

Pure white hair, just like Ryu-chan’s.

He is touching his long beard with his hand.

I and Ryu-chan sigh together.

This old man again…

“Happy New Year, Grandpa”

The grandfather of the main family smiles at me.

“Shinji. Happy New Year!”

Rika is panicking.

“Hey, Shin-chan! Is it true that Ryuko is your fiancée?”

Rika, tugging on my arm, asked me, half crying.

“She’s not. Hey?”

I said to Grandpa

“Oh no.” “No, it’s not wrong”

Both of them answered differently.

“Which one is it?”

Haa… Ryu-chan let out a sigh.

Ryu-chan sighs.

“Grandpa, stop playing around. Shin’s girlfriend is in trouble.”

“Ha ha ha! I see I see, I’m sorry about that.”

The old man bowed his head to Rika, who was clinging to my arm.

“I’m sorry, Matsumoto Rika. That was just a joke.

Rika’s mouth was open.

“Well, it’s true, though, he was my fiancée.”

“What are you talking about, Grandpa…”

“It’s been more than ten years, Grandpa…”

Haa… Ryu-chan and I sighed.

“Huh? What? What do you mean…?”

I explained from the beginning.

“This girl is Ryu-chan, whom I mentioned earlier. This is Ryuko Kaida, the head of the family. And the most important member of the family is this old man, Kaida Kogen-san”

The old man smiles gracefully and bows his head.

“When your father died, there was talk that I, a member of a branch family, would be adopted as his son-in-law.”

“Don’t worry, Rika, it went away right away.”

Rika’s eyes flashed as Ryu-chan smiled at her.

“So, what you’re saying is, you used to be engaged, but now you’re not?”

“That’s right.”

Rika breathes a deep sigh of relief.

“I see… Yes, I see…that’s good…”

“Eh, You’re glad…? What’s…?”

Rika’s face turns red and she shakes her head hard from side to side.

“It’s nothing! Baka, baka, ugh! You had me worried!”\

Did I do something to worry her?

Ryu-chan, on the other hand, chuckles.

“You’ve got quite a cute girlfriend, Shin.”

“Cute, I agree. But she’s not my girlfriend… Aggh. What?”

Rika pinches my side with a pout of her lips.

But she immediately let go with a snap.

What is it?

“‘Mm, it’s good that you get along so well. Rika-san. Take care of Shinji.”

The old man claps his hands.

The sliding door opened and a glamorous woman dressed in black entered.

In her hand was a large furoshiki (wrapping cloth).

She put the furoshiki down in front of the old man and left.

“Here are New Year’s presents for you two. Take it.”

“A New Year’s gift? This furoshiki?

Rika looks at me with a curious look.

“I’m sorry it’s not much, but there’s one for you too. Open it.”

Fearfully, I unwrapped the furoshiki wrapping cloth.

When Rika saw what had come out, she was shocked to see it.

“What…what…is this pile of money…?

She shivered and pointed to two stacks of cash.

“How much is it this year?”

“About 50 million.”

“50 million…? Kyu~…?”

Rika fainted immediately.

“Rika! Oh, no! Grandpa’s an idiot! What did you do!”

I hurriedly pick Rika up in my arms.

“Hmm. What’s wrong?”

“…Grandfather, a 50 million yen New Year’s gift to the common people is too much of a shock.”

Haa… Ryu-chan sighs heavily.

“Hmmm, I see. I heard that Rika’s house is in particularly bad shape right now, so I put in a little more… but I guess it had the opposite effect.”

“What are you talking about? Rika! Saburo!”

Pop! The sliding door opens and Saburo-san comes in.

“What’s wrong?”

“Take Rika to the infirmary!”

“Understood!”

Saburo-san carried Rika in a princess’s carriage and left quickly.

“Moou! Grandpa, you always do so many unnecessary things!”

He has been meddling in my life for a long time.

“Haha, well, forgive me. I’ll transfer the money to her account at home.”

The old man clapped his hands, and the woman in black came in again to collect the money.

“Hey, is Rika’s house bad? Is it true?”

I asked my grandfather and he nodded.

“‘Apparently her mother divorced when she was very young. She works part-time, too. It’s not easy to make a living.”

“I see.”

She may be in a more serious situation than I thought.

I don’t know much about her…

I’m curious…hmm?

“…Grandpa, how do you know about Rika’s house?”

“Grandpa, don’t tell me you’re meddling again?”

Ryu-chan glares at Grandpa reproachfully.

He nodded his head without a hint of apology.

“If she’s going to join our family in the near future, she’s going to have to go through a background check, right?”

“It’s none of your business…!”

Haa… Ryu-chan and I sigh.

“Well, forgive me. I haven’t investigated too deeply.”

“Of course! It is an invasion of privacy!”

I turned back and headed for the doctor’s office.

It’s been a hell of a New Year’s Eve, thanks to my grandfather…!

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