Chapter 47

I had a place I always wanted to go once I became a middle school student and could walk around on my own.

It was the house where I lived in my previous life.

This world is almost the same as the Japan where I lived in my previous life, with landmarks, station names, and addresses.

But there are some differences. Of course, these include Ruan Academy and the houses, companies, and people that appear in *KanDol*.

However, apart from that, it is really almost the same as the town in Japan that I know. So, maybe, my family might still be living in the house where I lived.

I had been thinking about it for a long time.

Maybe, I could meet them again.

The town where I lived with my family in my previous life is a bit outside of Tokyo.

There, my parents, my sister, and I, four of us, lived in an apartment.

My father was an ordinary salaryman. He would wander around in his pajamas after a bath and get booed by the family, a bit of a failure at home.

My mother was a housewife and a good cook. On the days I returned from a forest school trip or a study trip, she would always make my favorite mixed rice, meat and potatoes, and oden. For my sister, it was a hamburger with ketchup, chawanmushi, and tofu and shiitake miso soup.

When I came back after a few days, the smell of my favorite food would waft through the house as soon as I opened the door. I felt relieved to be back.

What about when my father came back from a business trip? Ah, the usual canned beer turned into a bottle of beer. He would drink it happily, saying, "Beer is just different, isn't it?"

In my previous life, I was always lounging around at home and getting scolded by my mother.

"Study," "Do your homework quickly." Why do I lose the motivation to do it when I'm told to do it first?

My room was tidied up while I was away, and we fought over it. Even though it was trivial to my mother, it was important to me. "Why did you throw it away?"

My sister was a clever girl.

She would see me being scolded and find a way to escape.

"You're the older sister, so you should endure," "You're the older sister, so you should give in," every time an adult said that, I felt frustrated. I kind of disliked my sister.

But on nights when we watched scary TV, we would sleep in the same futon. We would hold hands when going to the bathroom and take turns singing outside the door.

On the day of my coming-of-age ceremony, she gave me zori and a bag with the money she earned from part-time work. She laughed and said, "Lend them to me when it's my turn."

My father was always slouching on the sofa, like a stranded walrus. My mother would say, "You got your lazy habits from your father."

But on weekends, he would take us on family outings, driving us to the sea or the mountains. A traffic safety charm I bought on a study trip hung from the rearview mirror of his car.

I arrived at the station of the town where I lived.

The area in front of the station was mostly the same as my memory. There were some differences, like a large supermarket, but it was a nostalgic scene.

My house was about a 10-minute walk from the station, in a residential area off the main street, on the 7th floor of an apartment building.

Just a little more. I could see it soon. When I turned that corner──

The apartment building where I lived was not there.

Instead of the brick apartment building, an old beige building stood there.

My house and my family were nowhere to be found.

On the way back, I was picked up by the Kichijouji family's car.

Riding the train after a long time was nerve-wracking. Being picked up by a car is really convenient.

Once you get used to this life, you can't go back to a normal life.

After all, I've been living this life for a long time. There's no helping it.

When I got home, my brother was there, which was rare.

He seemed busy since entering university and rarely made it to dinner recently.

He was relaxing on the sofa in the living room, so I sat next to him and clung to him.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Reika?"

I just wanted to be a clingy bug.

Please keep reading your book without worrying.

I pressed my head against my brother's arm.

He silently became the tree for my clingy bug.

At that moment──

Ah, I knew it.

This is a manga world, so they wouldn't be there.

But I had hoped.

If I could meet them again, just once.

I wanted to tell them how much I loved them.

I should have learned cooking from my mother. I can never taste her cooking again because I never helped her. It's my punishment.

I should have accompanied my father to baseball games. I read manga in my room, saying I wasn't interested. Since I'm the daughter of a walrus, I should have lain around with him in the living room.

I should have been kinder to my sister. When she lost my accessories, I really fought with her. As the older sister, I should have given in.

I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for being such a bad person.

I want to see you.

I want to see you just once more.

I'm lonely.

I've been lonely for a long, long time.

Dad, Mom, Yuka...

I must have fallen asleep.

A blanket was draped over me on the sofa.

Did my brother put it there?

No one is in the living room now.

This is the Kichijouji family.

I am Kichijouji Reika.

My family now is that father, mother, and my brother.

This time, I will cherish my family.

I will definitely protect them.

I've made that decision.

"Hey, Reika, you're awake?"

My brother returned to the living room.

"Hehehe."

I jumped onto my brother.