Chapter 68
The Hiiragi Family’s Circumstances – 1
Since Hiiragi-chan was heading back to her parent’s house, her apartment would be empty for two days . She told me that I could freely use anything in her apartment, but the idea of going there without Hiiragi-chan being there gave me a weird feeling, so I decided to obediently wait for her to return to her tidy apartment .
We were keeping in contact through texts and phone like usual, but that day, the phone call that came was not from Hiiragi-chan .
“Hello? Thief-kun?”
“Eh? Natsumi-chan? Why are you calling from Haruksan’s cellphone…?”
“It’s because I didn’t know your phone number, so I borrowed Haru-chan’s cellphone . More importantly, it’s terrible!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Haru-chan—she might be getting married!”
“Haaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
What’s with thaaaaat!?
“Ah . Is she marrying me?”
“Nope . That’s completely wrong . ”
Well, of course .
“Wait . What’s happening?”
“You knew that Haru-chan really didn’t want to go back home, right?”
“Eh… What?”
“If you don’t know, it’s not really something I should be saying so I won’t tell you… Anyways, it’s been decided that there will be some marriage interview . ”
Hiiragi-chan never really seemed to want to talk about her family, or her parents . I didn’t want to force her to tell me, since I believed the time would come where she would tell me about it . However, it seems that it came in an unexpected form .
“Still, she’s with Thief-kun, so she strongly refused . However, she was forced to accept . ”
“What about Haruksan? What is she doing right now? Is she close by?”
“No . Right now, she’s under house arrest… I think she doesn’t want Thief-kun to know about it . ”
House arrest? What is going on? She’s like a damsel in distress .
Natsumi-chan’ve voice over the phone seemed more panicked than usual, as she repeated over and over again, “What should I do!?” .
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“Calm down . The marriage meeting, when is it going to happen?”
“Tomorrow!”
Will it go from a forced marriage meeting into actual marriage? If I wait, Hiiragi-chan will some come back—No, but if she refused, wouldn’t she normally be put under house arrest by her family again?
“I’ll go tomorrow . Do you know where it is?”
“Y-yeah . I heard that the person was a servant that liked to talk . ”
Is Hiiragi-chan’s family perhaps a really rich one? Natsumi is even going to a rich girl’s school after all . She just said servant without any hesitation at all .
Now that I think about it, I don’t know Hiiragi-chan’s alma mater . Maybe it’s the same as Natsumi-chan’s…?
“The location is Youto Hotel, the 32nd floor . The time is noon at 12! Sorry, that’s all I know . ”
“That’s enough . Thank you . ”
Ending the call, I closed my cellphone .
Youto Hotel should be a luxury hotel in the next prefecture over . From here, it should take about 2 hours by train .
I said I would go, but what can I do by going there . Run off with Hiiragi-chan? Just like a hero in a story?
At a marriage interview, the parents of both sides would probably be there talking to each other . If I act as the bad guy and run off with Hiiragi-chan . What about after that—what about the future?
If the me right now were to say my greetings to Hiiragi-chan… There’s no way for their impression of me is going to be good . There’s the negative element of me being a high school student right now and her being my teacher .
Still, I can’t just stand by and watch . These are parents, who even in this age, insist on having a marriage interview, and force a house arrest if refused . If I just leave it alone, I don’t know what would happen to Hiiragi-chan .
Spending a sleepless night, I stuff as much money as possible into my wallet, and left the house .
It’s a good thing I worked part time .
[Thief-kun, you’re going to stop the marriage interview, and then what?]
I received a text message from Natsumi-chan . It seems that she copied my phone number that Hiiragi-chan had entered into her cellphone .
If I stop it here, in the end, the same thing might just repeat again .
[Even so, I can’t just bite on my fingernails and watch . ]
A specific way to counteract it really doesn’t come up in my mind though .
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I tried to refute Natsumi-chan as much as possible . My future with Hiiragi-chan would fall into a bad place, but if I don’t do anything, it’ll become even worse .
[That’s nice . Haru-chan, is quite loved . ]
Nishishi, Natsumi’s laughing face floated into my mind .
[Thief-kun, do your best! I’ll be cheering for you!]
After getting on the train and arriving at the closest station, I soon found the hotel that was set to be the venue .
It was a tall building that you would have to look up at, and once I entered, I looked at the hotel guide . At the top-most 32nd floor was a high-class restaurant . The view below was probably also really nice .
It’s a good thing I didn’t come in my school uniform . I knew that it was a hotel beforehand, so today, I secretly borrowed a suit to wear from my father . If you just take a quick look, it doesn’t feel out of place . Looking at my face though, I can instantly be recognized as being too young .
I’ll grab Hiiragi-chan before it starts and ask her about the situation .
While I looked around the lobby for my beloved goddess, even though the time was approaching, I couldn’t see her at all .
She’ll definitely pass through here though . It’s now passed 12 .
I hope not, but maybe there’s some special path or elevator for VIP’s… For instance, an elevator that would allow you to go from the underground parking lot to the top-most floor .
It’s possible .
Panicking greatly, I get on an elevator and head to 32nd floor .
After getting off the elevator, I quickly entered the restaurant and had a host guide me to a seat .
Looking around for a bit, I found Hiiragi-chan .
Today, she was wearing a mature evening dress, her shoulders exposed, and a bit open around the chest . It’s sexy and looks good on her, but I feel that it’s not something that matches Hiiragi-chan’s tastes .
She currently had on an awkward smile . Next to her were people that looked like Hiiragi-chan Papa and Mama . Across from her was today’s marriage interview candidate and his parents .
The other man seemed to be in the first half of his thirties . He felt like a rich man with a good amount of age to him .
In order to ask about the situation in more detail, I first need to let Hiiragi-chan know that I was here . However, she probably didn’t have her phone… How should I do it…?
I saw a waiter approach Hiiragi-chan’s table and had an epiphany .
I raised my hand .
“A bottle of red for me please . ”
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“Understood . ”
Since a cheap brand wouldn’t be great, I got a slightly expensive one .
Maybe it seemed like I was used to ordering, maybe it was due to the suit I was wearing, or maybe it was because the atmosphere I had was like that of a middle-aged man, the waiter didn’t mind my age and brought a bottle of red wine just as I had ordered . Unexpectedly, being a bit bold seems to make it harder to notice .
I wasn’t going to drink this wine though .
Temporarily going to the restroom, I organize my dress to make it look like that of a waiter . I also change my hairstyle to match .
Holding the bottom of the bottle with my hand, I approached Hiiragi-chan’s table with a composed face .
Bingo, they were going through a course dinner like I thought . Moreover, it was currently on the meat dish, the perfect timing for red wine .
With a solemn expression, I held the bottle of wine that I bought and said, “A 1996 bottle of Bordeaux red wine,” or something like that . I had never dreamed that the knowledge that I learned during my part-time work in my university years would come in handy here .
With a waiter like attitude, I poured it into Hiiragi-chan’s glass . The parents were all smiling, but since Hiiragi-chan continued to look down and depressed, not looking in my direction at all and so she didn’t notice .
Kon, I struck the glass with the bottle . And at an easily heard volume, I apologize .
“My apologies . ”
She took a sidelong glance, and our eyes met .
“Ah . ”
“Rather than wine, would a beer have been more to your taste?”
“Yeah…”
Hiiragi-chan was struggling to keep her tears from falling .
“The restroom is located over there, please use it if you need to . ”
It better get through .
Whether or not my thoughts were transmitted, Hiiragi-chan nodded repeatedly .
Alright . Before I was found out, I made a small bow and distanced myself from the table .
Hiiragi-chan stood up from her seat, and headed towards the restroom . I hurriedly followed and chased after her .
“Seiji-kun . ”
Without going inside, Hiiragi-chan was waiting at the entrance, and when she saw me, she hugged me .
“Fumiiiiii… Seiji-kun… Seiji-kun…”
With a weird way of crying, Hiiragi-chan blew her nose and cried into my chest .
“Wai——!? Stop . There are a lot of people here . ”
Well, it was inside a hotel . There were people everywhere .
I then found a set of emergency stairs, and pulled Hiiragi-chan’s arm towards the deserted area .
“Are you working here…?”
While still hugging my tightly, Hiiragi-chan asked .
“Of course that isn’t the case . It’s because I heard about today from Natsumi-chan…Are you okay? Isn’t it difficult?”
“Thank you for coming . Also, I’m sorry for worrying you, I’m fine . I was just kind of forced into the marriage interview this time . Of course, I feel bad for the other person, but I’m rejecting it . ”
“I see . That’s good…”
Still, isn’t it a bit too forced? Leaving me aside, if it’s Hiiragi-chan, there would probably be many willing to take Hiiragi-chan as a bride even without a marriage interview .
“You came to help me, right?”
“It isn’t that, but… No, it is, but…”
“Mou, which is it?”
It was the smile that I knew very well .
This time, it was my head that was petted .
“I’m fine . It won’t get more than this . It’ll turn into a walk after this, and it’ll be super super boring, but I’ll manage with a fake smile . ”
“You seem surprisingly okay . ”
She stroked my chest in her normal manner .
“Nope . It’s because Seiji-kun came, you know?”
She smiled, and gave me a kiss on the cheek .