Chapter 9

After the meal, Yugen decided to see Arisa home.

Arisa insisted that it was fine to just take her to the station... but even though it had gotten brighter recently, he felt uneasy about letting a girl walk alone at night.

In the first place, the reason Arisa was returning late was because she had served Yugen dinner.

"Mr. Takasegawa, you're surprisingly gentlemanly, aren't you?"

Arisa suddenly said this, sounding impressed.

Yugen didn't claim to be a gentleman, but he found the word "surprisingly" a bit regrettable.

"What do you mean by 'surprisingly'? What do you mean by 'surprisingly'?"

"If it offends you, I'm sorry. But... when I saw you casually walk on the side of the road, I thought you had that kind of side."

When walking alongside a girl, the teaching from parents and grandparents is to let the girl walk on the sidewalk side.

Men must protect women... this might be a somewhat conservative view in today's society, but the Takasegawa family is precisely that kind of family.

"It's just the way I was raised. To be honest, my family is a bit old-fashioned and has some feudal remnants. Men should protect women... but, well... I couldn't do that when I was on crutches."

When Yugen said this, Arisa fell silent.

She slightly lowered her head.

Her well-featured face, illuminated by the streetlights, looked a bit downcast.

"Did I cause you trouble?"

"Huh? ...Why?"

"Because of me... did Mr. Takasegawa get scolded by your parents?"

In other words, since Yugen, a man, was being protected by Arisa, a woman, it went against the family's teachings, and he might have been scolded by his parents...

That seemed to be her concern.

"No way! No matter what, we don't have such fossilized values. Besides, my parents are very hands-off. You're overthinking it."

"...Is that so? If that's the case, I'm relieved."

Arisa sighed in relief.

But her expression still had a hint of worry.

She still seemed concerned that her actions might have caused Yugen to be scolded by his parents.

"Was everything okay with Yuki after that?"

"...After that?"

"After the arranged meeting, when you got home... did you get scolded?"

In response to Yugen's question, Arisa didn't answer.

But her troubled expression and silence eloquently told Yugen that his concerns were true.

"Did you get scolded?"

"...It's my fault. Don't worry about it."

Arisa said this in a rejecting tone.

It was as if she was pushing him away, creating a wall between them.

But... at the same time, she looked extremely sad and pained.

Yugen decided that if he pressed her, she would only reject him and get hurt.

But ignoring it didn't seem like the best solution either.

"If you say so, I won't pry into your situation."

"Thank you. I don't want to cause Mr. Takasegawa any more trouble..."

"I don't think it's a trouble, though."

Yugen said this, interrupting Arisa's words.

Then, without looking at Arisa, he continued, as if talking to himself.

"Since we are engaged, I'm not just an outsider when it comes to your family matters."

It's not that he can't do anything at all.

Yugen conveyed this to Arisa and then said again:

"But I'm not your real fiancé. So, I respect your will. If it's meddling, it's meddling. If it's a trouble, it's a trouble. If you dislike it, say you dislike it. If you hate it, say you hate it. I'd be happy if you could clearly express your feelings."

After a moment of silence, Arisa answered Yugen in a clear voice.

"Right now, I don't intend to ask Mr. Takasegawa for help. It's a bit exaggerated... and meddling."

"I see. Well, that's true."

Even if Yugen went to talk to Arisa's parents, there's no guarantee they would act as he intended.

Unless they were particularly foolish, if they were, it could end badly.

Arisa couldn't take that risk, and Yugen couldn't take the responsibility.

"But, Mr. Takasegawa..."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for respecting my will. I genuinely appreciate it."

Arisa's voice was much softer than usual.

After a while, they arrived at a position where Arisa's house was visible.

Arisa turned to Yugen and bowed, saying it was fine to stop here.

"Thank you for today. I had a good time."

Arisa's expression was the same as always, a composed face.

But her words didn't seem to be a lie.

"I had a good time too. The food was delicious."

"I'll take that as a sincere compliment. ...You ate a lot."

Arisa nodded slightly in response to Yugen's praise.

Then, after a moment of contemplation, she spoke.

"Mr. Takasegawa... Can I come over next week to play games? I'll make the food in return."

"Next week? Sure. There are still some things I haven't touched yet. ...But you don't have to do it as a 'return.' It's just a game. Of course, I'll be happy to eat if you make it."

Yugen didn't want to force Arisa to cook.

To him, letting her play games and treating her to a little cake was enough compensation... making her cook seemed a bit excessive.

"That's not it. ...Let me rephrase. Please let me cook. It's easier that way."

"Oh... I see."

If Yugen didn't let her cook, it meant she would go home early and cook at the Tachikawa house.

Yugen didn't know the exact family structure of the Tachikawa household... but cooking for two people was probably easier for her.

In other words, she wanted to avoid it.

"I'll gladly help. ...You can come over every day if you want."

When Yugen said this half-jokingly...

"Hehe... I'll think about it."

Arisa smiled, but it was unclear whether it was a joke or serious.

Every Saturday, Arisa would go to Yugen's house, play games, and then cook dinner before going home.

This relationship continued for about a month.

Mid-June.

"Hello, what's up, grandpa?"

"Do I need a reason to call my grandson?"

"You've never called without a reason. Hurry up."

Yugen answered, and the old man grumbled, "Well, you don't have to be so cold."

Just as Yugen was getting impatient and about to urge him again...

"Do you know what day it is in a week?"

"No idea."

"This isn't a time to be joking. It's an important day."

Even if he was told it was an important day, he didn't know what it was.

He tilted his head, wondering what day it could be...

"It's a birthday. The Tachikawa girl's birthday."

"Oh, right... I think so?"

Before the arranged meeting, he had seen her date of birth in the materials.

She was a bit older than Yugen, despite appearances (or maybe because of them).

"Really... are you really thinking of being a fiancé?"

"Y-Yeah..."

He had completely forgotten about birthdays.

If they were a loving couple, they should know each other's birthdays.

"I owe you one, grandpa. Yeah, I'll prepare a gift."

"Sure. ...Hurry up and show me my great-grandchild."

"If you want that, you'll have to live for another six years. I don't plan to get married until I graduate from university."

Yugen said this and hung up the phone.

"Well, what should I do?"

Yugen sighed.

Current affection level: 30%

Weak point (omitted)

Since the affection level has exceeded 25%, the relationship has shifted from "close acquaintance" to "friend of the opposite sex."

If you find this interesting, want to know what happens next, and hope the heroine finds happiness, please bookmark and rate (change the stars at the bottom of the table of contents from ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★). It will boost the author's motivation to write until the happy ending.