Chapter 98: Greetings

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

---

On that day, I went all the way with Nodoka and Airi.

As a side note, I ended up breaking my own record by a margin that surprised even me.

But this was where we let our guard down.

The four of us were completely exhausted and fell asleep like logs.

“So, um… does this mean that you’re dating our Nodoka?”

By a stroke of bad luck, Nodoka’s parents had come home earlier than usual and happened to run into us.

For the moment, we were seated across from each other at the dining table.

Even so, cold sweat was running down my back like a waterfall.

“Yes, that’s right…”

There was no way I could say, “Your daughter is my pet.”

Besides, she was practically my girlfriend anyway.

Nodoka’s father glared at me.

“What you did with Nodoka is something I can’t forgive, even if I were to take a hundred steps back!”

“Dear, what are you saying!?”

Nodoka’s mother immediately smacked her husband on the back.

“Um… your name was Ren, right?”

“Yes.”

“If Nodoka consented to it, then there’s nothing that can be done about it now. What’s happened has happened.”

“N-Nodoka, is that true!? Did you actually agree to it!?”

Nodoka’s father leaned toward his daughter with enough force that it looked like he might spray saliva everywhere.

Nodoka answered with a hint of irritation in her voice.

“Of course I did! I was the one who begged him!”

“N-No way… This can’t be true! Our Nodoka… the same pure Nodoka she used to be!”

“Will you please be quiet for a moment!?”

Her mother smacked him on the back once again.

…I deliberately chose not to notice that her father’s eyes had become slightly moist.

After regaining control of the conversation, Nodoka’s mother turned back to me.

“There could always be accidents, you know. I don’t think you’re just playing around, Ren-kun, but you’re still too young to take responsibility. So, um… what about contraception…?”

“Mom, what are you even talking about? Do you know how careful Ren is about that?”

“Really?”

“I told him I didn’t mind even if I got pregnant and asked him to do it without protection, but Ren was the one who insisted that I at least take the pill!”

“Wha—what exactly do you mean by—”

Nodoka’s father tried to interrupt, but her mother covered his mouth with her hand.

“So you’re at least taking basic precautions, then…”

“That’s what I’ve been saying! And Ren has the ability to take responsibility if something happens! That’s why I thought I could accept getting pregnant if it was with him!”

“I-Is that so…?”

Nodoka’s mother stared at my face as though trying to bore a hole through it.

…Apparently, I didn’t look like someone capable of that at all.

Well, I was just an ordinary student on the surface.

“Anyway, I understand what Nodoka is trying to say. But, um… what about the other girls who were with you?”

Right.

Compared to my relationship with Nodoka, this was actually the main issue.

Would they really be able to understand a two-timing relationship…?

For the record, Airi and Yui were currently in Nodoka’s room.

“Well, Yui is… kind of like Ren’s maid, I guess?”

“M-Maid?”

“And Airi-senpai was the second friend I ever made in my life… and we’re sharing Ren.”

“…Huh? S-Sharing?”

Nodoka stated it matter-of-factly, but her mother was visibly confused.

Not that I could blame her.

…Even when I thought about it myself, it was far from normal.

Nodoka’s father let out a low grunt and cracked his knuckles.

“Hmph… while having my precious daughter, you’re also involved with other women…”

“Dad, why have you been picking on Ren this whole time!? You haven’t forgotten that he’s the one who saved my life, have you!?”

“Ah, r-right. That’s true… First of all, thank you. Thank you for saving our daughter.”

Mr. and Mrs. Komori bowed their heads to me at the same time.

“No, I only did what I believed I should do.”

“We should have thanked you much earlier, but both of us had obligations we absolutely couldn’t avoid.”

“And your mother has always been helping Anna, too.”

As far as Anna was concerned, my mom helped because she wanted to.

There was no need for them to feel indebted.

More importantly, I needed to obtain their approval for my relationship with Nodoka—and by extension, for us to continue living together.

…This really was the worst possible timing for an introduction.

“I care deeply about Nodoka. More than just as someone I’m dating—I truly believe she’s someone I want to spend my entire life with.”

“Ara, ara…”

At my words, Nodoka’s ears turned bright red.

Without pausing, I continued.

“This may sound incredibly presumptuous from your perspective. But I have absolutely no intention of neglecting Nodoka. I promise I’ll make her happy.”

I bowed deeply to the Komori couple.

Honestly, it felt less like introducing myself as a boyfriend and more like a prospective son-in-law coming to ask for marriage.

Nodoka’s father looked back and forth between his wife and me with a troubled expression.

“Well… I can tell you’re not a bad person. I can see your sense of responsibility and your sincerity. But… having two girlfriends is still a bit…”

“Nodoka, we’re not trying to reject this outright. But you need to explain it in a way we can understand.”

“…Okay. I’ll tell you everything. Why I decided to share Ren with Airi-senpai.”

Come to think of it, I had never actually heard how Nodoka and Airi ended up joining forces.

“Actually, it was Airi-senpai who made me realize I was in love with Ren.”

Nodoka slowly began speaking, as if retracing her memories.

As I thought, Airi had been the one who made the proposal first.

And at the heart of it all was—

“I didn’t want to fight with the friend I’d finally managed to make over Ren. And I like Airi-senpai too… Besides, if it weren’t for her, I probably never would’ve ended up in this kind of relationship with Ren in the first place.”

“I understand how you feel. But don’t you feel jealous at all?”

“Not really…? If anything, I’ve come to like Senpai even more. She’s always looking out for me. She even gives me advice on how to make things work between Ren and me.”

“You certainly have a strange relationship…”

Perhaps because they could sense that Nodoka was being completely sincere, the Komori couple fell silent for a while.

Eventually, Nodoka’s mother turned toward me.

“Ren-kun, can you really take responsibility for both our Nodoka and the other girl as well?”

“Yes. That’s my intention.”

“It’s not that I doubt you, Ren-kun, but…”

Apparently, she suspected they were just empty words.

And honestly, that was only natural.

I pulled a card out of my wallet.

“Money isn’t everything, but…”

It was a personalized transportation IC card.

Of course, it wasn’t just any transportation IC card.

Most of my investments were in U.S. stocks, but I also owned several Japanese stocks.

One of them was a railway company stock that I had purchased for its dividends.

“This is… an all-line shareholder pass?”

“Don’t you need to own at least five thousand or even ten thousand shares to get one of those?”

“Then wouldn’t that mean it’s worth at least ten million yen, no matter how conservatively you estimate it?”

As expected of two business owners, they immediately understood what they were looking at.

“This wasn’t purchased from a ticket reseller or anything like that. It was issued and registered under my own name.”

Of course, the fastest way to prove it would have been to open my brokerage app and show them my portfolio.

But I wanted to keep that as a last resort.

Nodoka puffed out her chest proudly.

“Ren is super rich, you know! Have you heard of that idol group that’s been really popular lately, Jirai-chan Syndrome? Ren is one of their sponsors!”

“Yes, so there’s really no need to worry too much about money.”

I took out several other shareholder benefit cards and showed them as well.

To be honest, I rarely used any of them.

I never imagined they would come in handy in a situation like this.

“…It seems that Ren-kun really is wealthy. At this rate, he may even have more assets than we do.”

“B-But even so, having two girlfriends is still a bit…”

“It seems Nodoka has already made up her mind. Nodoka, what would you do if we opposed this until the very end?”

Nodoka answered her mother’s question without hesitation.

“Then I’d never see you again.”

“N-Nodoka?”

“Both of you come home late every day, and I’m the one who spends all day taking care of Anna. And if you won’t even accept the person I chose for myself—the person I want to spend the rest of my life with—then why should I stay in this house?”

“Ugh…”

Nodoka’s father couldn’t come up with a response.

Unfazed, Nodoka continued.

“Even if I have to take Anna with me, I’ll go to Ren’s side.”

That was practically a declaration of severing ties.

…The strength of her resolve left me speechless.

At the same time, it made me reflect on my own actions a little.

“Dear, this child has never been this stubborn before. We’ve lost.”

“Guh…”

Even so, Nodoka’s father still couldn’t completely give in.

Just as my mother had advised, I decided to give him a way to back down gracefully.

“Um, I heard that you run a startup company.”

“Well, yes, I suppose I do…”

“By any chance, are you currently trying to raise capital?”

“Huh? D-Don’t tell me…”

I nodded.

“I’ll become your angel investor.”