Chapter 99
Chapter 12 – Preparation and malaise (11)
Translator – Vodka
“There’s only one thing I would like to ask you . ”
Said the man, Kirasaka’s dad . Having said so, he was silent for a while . Then, he continued in a refined manner .
“As you know, I have a daughter . From my perspective, she is an exceedingly brilliant daughter . ”
“That’s true . Anybody would say so……apart from her character . ”
I muttered the last few words in a voice inaudible to the other party .
Kuroi-san, who was standing behind me, might have heard me since I could hear his muffled laughter .
……You shouldn’t be laughing at the person you serve you know .
Kirasaka’s dad nodded at my words .
There was neither denial nor affirmation .
“I want her to inherit my company in the future . She has the makings for that . The circumstances too are appropriate . I believe this is the best choice for my daughter’s happiness, but……”
His smooth sailing of words came to a stop .
It was as if he was thinking about something .
It was a signifier of his reluctance to say what was coming next .
“My daughter opposed the decision……when I asked her the reason, she only said one word, “No”……that’s when I remembered hearing about you . ”
“Me?”
I was curious as to how that situation led him to think of me . However, I decided to not ask that .
With this, I could finally unearth the reason for his earlier reluctance . The options at hand were either Kirasaka’s refusal, or his being reminded of me . Now, it was quite clear to me that it was the latter .
Since it was her we were talking about, she might have had brought up my name in the middle of some worthless conversation .
However, even more importantly, I was surprised by the possibility of her speaking normally to her family .
Was she loquacious at home? Or did she indifferently engage in the minimum amount of conversation as necessitated by the situation?
I was extremely curious .
“She, who usually wouldn’t speak more than necessary, talks about the events at school……she says she wants to keep spending her days like this . ”
“……”
To think Kirasaka would say something like that .
I wondered when those ordinary days had become something precious to her .
No, it was probably just me who hadn’t thought about it . These ordinary days had probably been irreplaceable in her eyes since long ago .
Doting of his daughter, this man was similar to my dad .
Moreover, that daughter was none other than Kirasaka Ren .
This was just my supposition until the bitter end . However, given her personality, there shouldn’t be any drastic differences between her school and home versions .
Even at home, she probably remained engrossed in reading and went about her unfettered ways .
That was why this man must have had noticed the slightest change in her emotions .
When the taciturn her talked about an individual, it must have piqued his interest .
…… . Let’s say that is how that played out .
Self-interpretation was important .
Every day felt like a parade of self-interpretations, but it wouldn’t do for me to worry about that now .
“Your selling point is that you can’t lie, right?”
“Could you please not make it sound like a catchphrase?”
I replied without a moment’s delay .
Where have you heard that from?……
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That was something Yuuto had said .
I hadn’t communicated anything of that sort .
The slightly upturned corner of his lips and the warped expression on his face were just like Kirasaka’s .
I had a feeling that I was able to re-confirm that they were indeed father and daughter .
I turned to check up on Kuroi-san . With a serious countenance, he was listening to our conversation .
“As I said earlier, I want to hear your honest thoughts……Do you think I am wrong?”
“……”
A person couldn’t be said to have been in the wrong for thinking what was best for his family .
No, he shouldn’t be said to have been in the wrong for thinking what was best for his family .
It would be one thing if it were someone who ignored his family and did not take care of them, but not a shard of that could felt from this man in front of me .
From the flow of the conversation, however, I could feel that something was amiss . Hence, I proceeded to point it out .
“Did you ask her what she wanted to do in the future……?”
I wouldn’t know if she would succeed her father or not .
Just that, it was important to know what she was thinking, and which path she wanted to walk in the future .
A proper conversation would have sufficed to dispel the need to ask the opinion of an outsider like me .
This taciturn pair of a father and daughter .
Wasn’t it just that they didn’t have a proper conversation yet or something?
Suddenly, Kirasaka’s figure flipping through foreign books in the bookstore came to mind .
She had a road she wanted to walk .
“If you have the time to ask for the opinion of a stranger of a brat such as myself, it would be better to talk to your daughter as soon as possible, I think . ”
“……Fufu . ”
A smile surfaced on Kirasaksan’s face . He probably couldn’t hold it in .
Hey hey, I haven’t said it to get a laugh . Besides, it’s nothing to laugh about .
I looked at him with a sullen expression . However, the very next moment, his smiling face was nowhere to be seen .
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“It was like Rei said . You have a composure unsuitable for your age…… . No, I am reluctant to use the term ‘composure’ . ”
“Sorry……?”
“It has been helpful . Sorry for taking up your time . ”
With Kirasaksan issuing words sounding like a soliloquy, our conversation came to an end . Then, he got up from the bench and left .
Taken aback by that overwhelmingly egoistic action, I stood stock-still . Kuroi-san offered a bow and chased after him .
“What was that……?”
He appeared all of a sudden, became one-sidedly convinced, and then left arbitrarily .
“He is like a typhoon”, I thought deep in my heart .
When I realized that more time had passed than I expected, I hurriedly returned to the training .
If they get angry at me for this, I am so gonna complain to Kirasaka .
“Hah……I am tired . ”
The training came to an end . When I stepped outside from the hotel reception, a warm breeze greeted me .
It didn’t feel so good as I was a bit sticky from the sweat that I had worked up .
My body felt heavy with fatigue . Partaking in unfamiliar activities was more exhausting than I had thought .
I wanted to return home posthaste, take a bath, have supper and get into bed as soon as possible .
That was how I wanted to devote myself to recuperating my physical strength .
I went past the station . As I was going to enter the residential area, I saw a high school girl standing in front of a vending machine .
I am seeing a lot of vending machines today……
The first thing that came to mind was the option of pretending not to notice her and walk past . However, I had met her father today only .
Besides, there was a thing I wanted to give her .
I stood next to her who seemed troubled over what drink to buy, and decisively pressed a button to finish a purchase .
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“Ara? Isn’t it Shinrkun?”
“What’s with that “Ara”, huh? Your house is in the opposite direction . ”
Despite her house being in the opposite direction to mine, she was here . I could easily predict the reason .
She was waiting for me here, probably because Kuroi-san had contacted her .
I handed over the cold café au lait I just bought, to her .
“What’s this I wonder? Your treat?”
“No way it is……pass it on to your father for me . ”
“My father?……Why I wonder?”
Asked Kirasaka, her head bent slightly to the side, to which I issued a short reply .
“I hate not being able to return a treat . ”
Kirasaka seemed unable to make sense of what I just said, but I paid it no heed and started walking towards my home .
Shizuku too was probably waiting at my home with a nonchalant look, anyways .
[TN – I felt like I should clarify the usage of the ‘nonchalant look’ part . You know it’s like how she had been casually popping up now and then at his house, as if there is nothing out of the ordinary with that . ]
She was assigned to the same workplace as Kirasaka, after all .
“It feels like it’s been quite a while since only the two of us have taken a walk . ”
“Isn’t that great?……”
The Kirasaka walking next to me with a smile on her face shone beautifully under the evening sun .
No wonder, people’s gazes would gather on her .
I kept on wondering if I had given the correct answer to her dad .
“Ah……this is delicious . ”
“You don’t drink it……more like, go back already . ”
As expected, she was beyond anyone’s control .
……Now that I have said it out loud, let’s have her return .
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