Chapter 2

Reading Settings

Translator: Soafp

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Upon graduating from high school and moving to this cheap apartment to attend university, there were quite a few preparations and arrangements to make, making it reasonably hectic.

Having lost my mother in a traffic accident when I was young, I was fortunate enough to be able to handle household chores and cooking to some extent on my own.

Considering living with my paternal grandparents, who had taken care of me due to various circumstances, was an option, but the two-and-a-half-hour train ride was quite demanding.

“Take care of yourself… Make sure to come back during summer and winter breaks.”

My paternal grandparents, Grandpa and Grandma, who have been taking care of me and my life now…

“We’ve both found jobs, so we might not be able to keep in touch much for a while… Let’s hang out again when things settle down.”

My seniors at the part-time job where we goofed around together…

“If anything gets too difficult for you… just contact us. We’ll help you as much as we can.”

The people who have been pivotal in my life… respected mentors and others…

While there was some anxiety and loneliness about parting ways with them, it wasn’t like it was a farewell for life. Above all, I wanted to show that I could manage on my own.

However… considering I got into a university with a considerably high entrance exam score, just keeping up with assignments and keeping pace with the curriculum was quite a struggle.

Moreover, even though my grandparents are covering my tuition fees, if I were to mess around and end up failing a year, it would be truly embarrassing.

Among my university peers, I noticed some who were skillfully enjoying drinking parties at clubs or using dating apps to pick up girls… but it all seemed like events from a distant world to me.

It’s not like I had no expectations for new encounters or anything like that, but amidst the busy days, such thoughts seemed to have vanished somewhere.

And so, before I knew it, a year had passed, and I had completely adjusted to such a lifestyle… It was on one particular day.

On a rare morning off, when I was indulging in my sleep in the apartment, someone unusual visited. While in the early days of moving in, newspaper salesmen and religious recruiters occasionally came by, lately, even that had stopped.

As the doorbell rang repeatedly, I grumbled about who on earth it could be and, still half-asleep, opened the front door to find…

“I’m sorry to ask such a strange question, but… You’re Souya Yamashiro, right? Son of Soichiro and Mana Yamashiro?”

It was a girl with a still somewhat childish and cute face, probably a middle school or high school student. I couldn’t be certain about her age due to her short stature, but the volume of her white sailor uniform pushed up against her made her seem quite impressive.

Although my father, mother, and my name were mentioned, I was meeting her for the first time… Yet, somehow, there was a sense of familiarity. Have I met her somewhere before…?

She seemed to take my silence as confirmation, bowing politely before introducing herself.

“I’m… Mina Yamanaka. Uhm, do you remember me…?”

“Um… sorry. I feel like I recognize you, but… have we met somewhere before?”

I hesitated to cut my words to be honest. Nevertheless, she managed to speak with what seemed like all her might.

“Well, you see, we used to play together a lot—I’m your cousin, Mina. The high school I wanted to go to—well, actually, the one I got into—is far from home. So, I’ll be living on my own starting this spring.”

“…Haa”

Come to think of it, there was or wasn’t a daughter like that in my maternal cousin’s family. Yeah, that’s right. I’m starting to remember.

I’m sure…

“Um… Could it be… you’re Mina from Aunt Kona…?”

That’s right. It’s been a while since we talked about it, but when I was a kid, during the Obon holidays when we visited my mom’s hometown, there was a niece of my aunt’s who was very fond of me.

Sometimes, she would come over to our house to play with my family, and we were quite close.

Even after my mom passed away, we continued to see each other until I entered high school.

It’s been… about four years since then?

Back then, there were a lot of things going on, and I never had the chance to get in touch with her again.

The last time we met, was she in elementary school? She’s grown a lot since then.

Now that I look closely, there’s a resemblance, but I didn’t notice until she mentioned it.

“Oh yes, that’s right, that’s right! It’s been a long time, Sou-nii—Souya-san!”

She clapped her hands and smiled, affirming my response.

“It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? When was the last time we met… Congratulations on getting into high school. …You said you’d be living alone, but did you move nearby? Where are you staying?”

“Ah, uhm, could it be that you haven’t heard anything…?”

“About what?”

While scratching her cheek with her delicate fingers, Mina continued awkwardly.

“Well, while I was looking for a place near my high school… I found this place that was cheap and came with a bath and kitchen, so I decided to stay here. Then, a while ago, my parents happened to contact Uncle Soichiro’s family, and they heard that you were living here. So, they thought it would be nice to ask for your help since you were nearby.”

—What the hell, I didn’t hear anything about that.

As I stood there dumbfounded, she added like a final blow,

“Oh, but of course, our rooms are separate. I’m your neighbor, Souya-san. Um… well, nice to meet you, okay?”

“Eh… Haa. You are lying!?”

Even I, at that moment—shouted out a completely bewildered scream, I think.