CH 15

"Look, look!"

Reina proudly shows me the completed answer sheet.

67 points, 72 points, 61 points...

I can't say that any of the scores were very high, but it seems that she managed to avoid getting a failing mark in every subject.

"You did it. Congratulations."

"I know I did! Are you impressed?"

"No, that's not a very impressive score."

"Now I can cook a proper meal! I'm sorry for the lazy cooking I've been doing lately."

Reina gave me a peace sign, looking happy.

"About that..."

"Hmm? What? Do you have a request you want to eat?"

"Reina, why don't you want to go back to your parents house?"

The moment I told her that, the light of joy disappeared from Reina's eyes.

"You mean I should leave...?"

"It's not that. I just think it's better for high school students to live with their parents."

"You're saying I should leave!"

"Calm down. I'm not."

"Am I annoying? Mmm-hmm. Okay, okay. Then I'll go."

"I don't think you're bothering me. I'm grateful that Reina is here. It helps me mentally as well as with the housework."

"Then why are you trying to kick me out?"

Her eyes started to blur with tears.

I was expecting her to get more angry or reopen her mouth if I brazenly persisted, so I was surprised by her reaction.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to get rid of you. If that's the case, let me at least meet with Reina's mother. The three of us can talk about it."

"I can't."

"Don't say that. Whether Reina stays in this house or not, we need to have a proper talk."

Reina turned her head and held back her tears, her mouth tightly tied in a knot.

It was painful to see her suffering, but she couldn't let this problem just go on.

I think we need to have a proper discussion.

After a proper discussion, if Reina says she wants to stay at my house, and her mother allows it, then what will I say?

On the day set by Reina.

I wore a suit that I don't usually wear and left the house with her.

By the way, I was not told where it was, so I had to drive the car under Reina's direction.

It was obvious that Reina was not keen on the idea, so she sat curled up with her knees on the passenger seat.

"Oh, right around that corner."

"Huh? You should have said something earlier. It's not like I'm on a bike." (TL: saying can't turn quickly)

"Shut up. It's a good thing you were able to make that turn."

She put her chin on her knees and stuck out her tongue in disapproval.

It's a small, annoying thing.

"If you give me the address, I'll put it in the navigation system. It's too complicated for you to explain everything, right?"

"It's fine. Just drive without talking. Oh, there on the left."

"Oh- again!"

We left the residential area and went through the city area, heading more and more towards the mountains.

I wondered if she really lived in a place like this.

I wonder if she's lying because she doesn't want to take me with her.

After about thirty minutes of driving, we arrived at a hill with a nice view that was surrounded by lush greenery.

"This is it."

"What... is this place...?"

The signboard said "Utsukushigaoka Cemetery" in large letters.

"My mother is resting here."

She muttered to herself, her eyes looking further than the sign and beyond the cemetery.

Then she quietly began to talk about her upbringing and what had happened to her.

When she was one year old, her parents divorced, so she never knew her father's face.

When she was in elementary school, a strange man started coming to her house.

By the time Reina was in the third grade, he was living with them.

"The man's last name was Asami."

"I see. That was your last name when you met me at the campsite, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. But it would be a bit of a turn off if someone suddenly said 'new dad'."

Reina smiled wryly and continued with her story.

She never missed him, and the man didn't care about her either.

When she started junior high school, the man suddenly disappeared.

From then on, it was back to just her and her mother.

"I don't know if he got another woman, ran off in debt, or got caught by the police, because she never told me why. I don't know. Anyway, after that, Mom spent more and more days in seclusion."

Still, life went on.

Mom worked from morning to night, and Reina took charge of all the household chores.

It was hard, but it was better than living with a stranger.

She said with a soft smile.

However, perhaps it was because she was overworked, a tragedy occurred when she was a freshman in high school.

Her mother was driving a scooter when she got into an accident due to negligence.

"We rushed her to the hospital, but by that time she was already..."

Reina curled up, burying her face to hide her expression.

But I didn't have to check to see what kind of expression she had on her face when I saw her shoulders shaking slightly.

"I didn't know that. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

I hugged Reina's body.

Reiai leaned her weight against me in my embrace.

"Then we had a dispute over who would take care of me. I'm a gal, and I look like this, and my mom wasn't well-liked among my relatives, so no one wanted to take me in."

I heard that she was forced to stay at her mother's brother's house.

There was a girl there who was the same age as her, and unlike Reina, she had excellent grades.

Her uncle was somewhat kind to her, but her aunt, who was not related to her by blood, was cold to Reina.

"I felt that I didn't belong here. That's what I've always thought. On top of that, my cousin's examinations were coming up soon and her grades were not improving according to her expectations. The whole house was on edge. That's why I said I'd leave."

"You didn't even know where you were going?"

"When I told her I was going to roll over to some guy's house, she just told me to keep it to myself, and in the end, as if in disgust, she said, 'Do what you want'."

Reina looked up and laughed, her face streaked with tears.

Her strong smile was painful to see, and as if to soothe the wounds in her heart, I stroked her head.

"I'm sure your family didn't expect the man you're moving in with to be this old."

"Sorry about that, old man."

"He's not an old man. He's just a sweet older brother."

He sounds like a nice guy.

"But if I had told you that I was moving in with a guy, you would have been appalled. I would have actually left out of fear."

"I don't mind. That way, my uncle and his family won't feel guilty about kicking me out."

"You're a child, but you've always got a weird mind."

"I'm not a child. Besides, you've taken care of me for about a year, so I should repay you at least that much."

She tries to make things work out by making people hate her.

The clumsy but adorable kindness of Reina made my heart tighten.

"Come on, let's go."

I get out of the car and urge Reina to get out.

"What? To my uncle's house?"

"No way. I'm visiting the grave. You're here to ask your mother's permission for Reiai to live in my house, aren't you?"

"Yes!"

Reina gets out of the car almost as fast as a little dog.

Suddenly you're so cheerful.

With a grin on my face, I followed after Reina.