Mother’s homecoming (3)
Translator – Vodka
Here is the chapter of the last week .
“Is she Minato-kun’s second wife candidate?”
Mom’s careless question .
She must have asked it out of genuine curiosity .
Until today, I had never brought a girl before my mother . Shizuku and Kaede were the only girls around me .
Since this was the first time that I had brought a girl other than Shizuku or Kaede, along, I could understand her curiosity .
However, Shizuku, who had been all smiles until a while ago, turned to look at me . Her face was pale, and she had tears welling up in her eyes .
……What do you suggest I do?
She turned to look away from me, and before Kirasaka could even reply,
“Yo, you’re wrong! She is only a classmate!”
she had issued these words .
Shizuku freed herself from my mother’s embrace and fell back a little . She extended her hands horizontally to the side to try and cut off Kirasaka from mom’s field of vision .
She was like a kid who wanted to hide the puppy she had picked up, from her parents .
“Ara, you are emphasizing on the ‘classmate’ part quite a bit there, huh”
Kirasaka folded her arms . Since she was a tad bit taller than Shizuku, she was looking down on her . There was a sharp glint in her eyes .
She was like a lion who had set a target on its prey .
If Shizuku was her usual self, she would have glared back at Kirasaka, undaunted, or expressionlessly looked at her with an ice-cold gaze . However, today was different .
There wasn’t any room for counters . She was stretching out her hands in desperation, to try and hide Kirasaka from mom, to the best of her abilities .
“Eh, Is that so? I thought since she was a cutie like Shizuku-chan, it would be good to have her as a candidate though?”
Mom inquired Kirasaka .
Should I say she was a natural airhead? She had always been saying things out loud without reading the mood .
It would seem that Kaede had inherited this side of hers .
Kirasaka, who had been looking at Shizuku until now, turned to look at the person standing in front her and……
“We are meeting here for the first time . I am Kirasaka Ren, from the same class as Minato-san”
With practised movements, she made a bow .
Unconsciously, I ended up thinking about her personality and how she was on the inside . However, she still was a young lady with a distinguished background .
There wasn’t a doubt that she had gone to places we commoners never could, several times .
As expected, having seen this kind of demeanour, I had a thought .
Let’s have her teach me these mannerisms . It could come in handy during really important events .
“There is something unsettling about you adding a ‘san’ to my name”
Though I must say, it was uncomfortable to hear her calling me by my first name .
She always called me by my family name . So, when she suddenly called me by my first name, I had unconsciously put myself on guard . It felt like she was scheming something .
It went without saying that she was chuckling at my reaction . She seemed to be enjoying this .
“Ara, ara, that is very polite of you . I am Kotone, Minato’s mother . Thank you for taking care of him”
“Please do not mind it . I too am having a lot of fun at school because of Minato-san”
“You’re wrong about that……”
Since she was standing right next to me, I knew that she could hear me well . So, I let out a few words of complaint .
Because of me? Nope . I had no hand in her ‘fun’ . She was just doing whatever she wanted .
She was putting on the proper lady act, a broad smile plastered on her face . That perfectly executed smiling face of hers was an aggravating sight to behold .
After they were done with first-time greetings, I inquired about a certain point in the conversation that had raised a doubt in my mind .
“Hold on, what was that again? Bride candidate? The person in question hasn’t heard about anything like that though?”
What kind of a rom-com was this?
I couldn’t recall anything that had to do with this ‘bride candidate’ thing . The memory of having made such a promise in the distant past, back when we used to play together as kids, didn’t exist……or so I thought I would say .
No, well, even if I couldn’t deny it, it was a story from when I was still a kid . Back then, I was still an innocent child who was ignorant in the ways of the world .
I thought that it was naturally invalid now .
“I am obviously talking about your bride candidates, Minato-chan . And of course, Shizuku-chan is the first candidate”
What should I say to my mother, who sounded like someone who had said something obvious?
Then there was Shizuku, standing next to her and nodding happily at her words . I wanted to say something to her .
“……”
I turned to look at Kirasaka for help, but it seemed like she was thinking about something .
Was she scheming something?
“For the time being, I am not a candidate . Well, you could say that I am undecided”
Kirasaka issued a short reply .
……She was thinking about mom’s question from before, wasn’t she?
“You too, don’t go about answering that question……”
“That won’t do . It’s a question from your mother, after all”
It would seem, that depending on who the other party was, she decided whether she would give them a reply or not .
Many students at school had tried to start a conversation with her, but they didn’t receive any reply . I guess they only amounted to that much in her eyes .
“Ara, is that so? As expected of my Minato-chan! You’re popular with the cuties”
Just because there were two girls who didn’t think badly of her son, she was filled with joy . I looked at this foolishly rejoicing doting parent of mine .
If things were to continue like this, it would require us a considerable amount of time to even depart from the station .
I ignored my mother, who was frolicking around and started walking towards the direction of my house by myself .
“Do you understand? You aren’t a candidate or anything, ok? It’s enough that I am here . We don’t need any other candidates”
“Ara, I think it will be better to have more candidates, though? He too will have more options”
“N, not allowed!……What happens if Minato-kun gets swayed!?”
You could put yourself at ease . For the time being, I wasn’t swaying or anything .
The three women followed me from behind .
The way back home was a bizarre sight to behold . Two girls could be seen quarrelling with each other while another woman was looking at their exchanges, with a smile on her face . Then there was this boy who was casually walking in front of them; his bearing seemed to imply nothing out of the ordinary happening around him .