Chapter 159

Chapter 159 – Family Gathering +1

After a restless school day, I went home with Umi, changed my clothes and immediately went to her house together with her.

“Your hands are sweaty, are you okay?”

“Of course not! I’m nervous…”

“Actually, me too… After calling you this morning, dad has been silent. It’s hard to approach him when he’s like that…”

“…In any case, we should wipe our hands.”

“Alright.”

After wiping each other’s hands, we intertwined our fingers once again.

This would be the first time for Daichi-san to see the state of our relationship. Sora-san knew that we were lovers and she probably told him a thing or two about us, but he never actually saw us together before.

I knew that he was a kind person, but having to tell him directly that I was in a relationship with his daughter and wanted to take her on a trip with just the two of us made me nervous.

Would he forgive me if I were to ask him bluntly? He wouldn’t step on my head or something like that, right?

I would lower my head together with Umi, but would everything be alright?

When I arrived at Umi’s house, Daichi-san was washing his car in front of the house.

He was wearing a tight shirt, showing his bulging muscles, and shorts.

Save me. He’s so scary.

“Long time no see, Daichi-san.”

“Ah, yes, long time no see… You look different from the boy that cried in our house back then, Maki-kun.”

“Yes… Thanks to Umi for taking care of me…”

“…I can see that.”

He took a brief look at my hand that was intertwined with Umi’s before continuing his job. The sun shone on the mist that was created by the hose, creating a small rainbow.

Did that mean he approved of our relationship?

“Umi.”

“Yes, dad?”

“…Am I supposed to say ‘Good for you’ in a situation like this?”

“Of course. Also, even if you’re against our relationship, I won’t stop loving him, okay?”

“You can do whatever you want. Rather than not approving of your relationship, I think your mom and I will persuade you to continue even if you say you want to break up with him. There aren’t many people out there who could handle you, you know? You have to treasure him properly.”

“W-Why are we talking about that now?! W-Where is mom anyway?”

“She’s on the phone. It’ll take a while, so you should wait in the living room with Maki-kun. I’ll join you after I’m done with this, we’ll talk about the trip then.” 

We parted with Daichi-san and went inside. An appetizing aroma greeted us right after we entered.

“Yes… Yes… I understand, mother-in-law, Daichi is having a difficult time with his schedule… Yes, I’m sorry about that…”

As Daichi-san said, Sora-san seemed to be on the phone. It sounded like she was talking to Daichi-san’s parents… Well, I shouldn’t pry about it.

I gave her a light bow before sitting on the sofa, while Umi went to her room to change.

There was an unusual person sitting in front of me, though.

“Hello, Riku-san.”

“Heya, Maki. It’s been a while since we last talked, huh? How long ago was it? Half a year?”

“Uhh… Around that long, yeah.”

Why was that the case even though he was always at home? …Well, let’s not think about it for now…

“By the way, you’re all dressed up today, Riku-san. Are you going somewhere?”

“Well, I went somewhere earlier, just got home, actually… I have something to take care of, y’see…”

“T-That’s?”

He took out a file out of his bag. It contained a list of job offers and other materials on how to write resumes and stuff.

It seemed like he went to an employment agency.

Riku-san had something going on that made him retire from his previous job a few years back. I thought it would take longer for him to recover from that.

“…Are you surprised?”

“Eh. Uh… Not really… Just a little bit.”

“Honest aren’t you? Well, I just went to Hello Work briefly today, I don’t have an interview scheduled or anything like that.”

‘Nothing would happen if I didn’t start anything’, he continued. Considering how he had been acting so far, this was a big step for him.

Should I start looking for a part-time job as well? Mom said that I didn’t need to and that she could afford everything I needed, but I didn’t want to depend on her forever.

“But, why so suddenly? You didn’t spend all your savings already, right?”

“Nah, I only spend on my console’s hardware and software, I can still afford living like a leech for a bit longer.”

“Then, why?”

“Well…”

He seemed to be reluctant to answer me, so I decided not to be too pushy about it.

Riku-san was ten years older than Umi, he probably thought that he couldn’t afford to stay like this forever since he was twenty seven now.

I should give him my support from the shadows. I hope everything goes well for him.

“…Yes, next month, definitely… Yes, I’m sorry, there’s a guest coming over, so I have to hang up now, yes, yes… Phew… It’s finally over… Welcome, Maki-kun. Sorry, I couldn’t tend to you earlier.”

“It’s fine, Sora-san, sorry to bother you today… Um, about the thing…”

“Yes, let’s talk about it while we’re eating, my husband is done with his car it seems… Umi’s here too.”

As she said that, Daichi-san and Umi entered the living room at the exact same time.

In the living room, there were Daichi-san, Sora-san, Riku-san, Umi and the sole outsider, me.

This was the second time I was in this situation. The first time was back in December, but this time, I felt even more tense than before.

…Ugh, my stomach… Could I make it through this?