Saijo no Osewa ~ Takane no Hana [LN] - V1 Chp 2 part 9
Let’s talk about the past for a bit.
I was taken care of by the Miyakojima family once before.
The Tomonari family has been struggling to make ends meet all year round, but in fact, my parents only attempted to divorce once. It seems that useless humans felt comfortable in the company of another useless human, and although they’ve been living a sloppy life, they seemed to be on the same page.
But when I was 10 years old. A divorce almost occurred once.
Something had triggered my father and my mother so they tried to pin the reason for their poverty on the other.
The riot intensified to an unusual degree in the Tomonari family, and my mother decided to run away from home, and I was taken away without any reason.
Even though she ran away from home, she had nowhere to go, as her parents already disinherited her.
So my mother visited her relatives’ house instead of her parents’.
And it was… The Miyakojima family.
I later learned that my maternal grandmother was the daughter of the Miyakojima family. However, she, just like my mother, lived a life of self-indulgence and depravity, so she eventually got disowned.
However, my mother insisted [It was my mother who was disowned, not me!!], and decided to become a resident of the Miyakojima family. Surprisingly, this worked.
Thus, at the age of ten, I was suddenly ushered into the most opulent and luxurious Japanese style house I’ve ever seen, and welcomed as a guest of the Miyakojima family.
However, we were uninvited guests. The Miyakojima family clearly saw my mother as a nuisance and an interloper. I, her son, was not excluded from this. I still remember the cold stares I received at that time.
It was on the second day of living at the Miyakojima household.
I first encountered Miyakojima Narika.
[W-Who is it!?]
The girl was swinging a shinai, a bamboo sword, at the dojo.
The girl yelled at me as I approached her because I thought she looked unusual.
[Um, My name is Tomonari Itsuki. I’ve been here since yesterday]
I didn’t know a single thing about etiquette, but I still managed to give a polite and respectful greeting.
But the girl hung her eyes.
[Listen here, Itsuki! I don’t like any weak things!!]
[Yes]
[I’ve heard so much about you! You guys don’t do any work, all you do is eat!]
[…Yes]
I didn’t expect to hear such thing from a person of the opposite sex in my age, and I felt depressed. But it was true.
[So, I’m going to give you a job! You’ll have to take care of me, from now on!!]
[…Yes?]
I tilted my head at the girl who said it so proudly.
I’m not sure what she meant by taking care of her… In any case, I’m a houseguest. If I am given a job, I have no choice but to accept.
From then on, I stayed with the girl most of the time when I was staying with the Miyakojima family.
The girl called me more than 10 times a day.
[Uwaaaa!? Itsuki! T-There’s a bug in my room~!!]
[Yes yes, I’ll take care of it]
On behalf of the girl, I effortlessly drove the black thing out of the room.
[Uwaaa!? Itsuki! F-Father got angry~~!?]
[Yes yes, it was hard wasn’t it]
I patted the crying girl’s head to calm her down.
The girl’s father was giving me a fierce glare, and I actually wanted to cry.
[Itsuki… is stronger than me]
[Is that so?]
[Yeah. Because, unlike me, you don’t cry when there’s bugs, or when adults get mad at you]
There were days when it was noisy, and there were days when the girl would occasionally let out weak cries.
In hindsight, I think the girl wanted to have someone to support her. As the only daughter of the Miyakojima family, she had no one to show her weakness to.
The girl was strong, but only physically, not mentally.
For example, it’s said that at the age of ten, her kendo skills were as good as any adult.
But her heart… wasn’t any older, but even less children her age.
[Hey, Itsuki. As the sole daughter of the Miyakojima family… I want to become stronger]
The girl spoke to me with a somber, pained expression on her face.
[But, I don’t have courage]
[Courage, is it?]
[I can’t even go outside by myself… Even though I’m already grown up]
I heard that the girl was forced to live an overprotected life as the daughter of the Miyakojima family.
She’d been taught from a young age that everything outside her home is a dangerous place, and she has come to fear the outside. However, when she was driving to school the other day, she was struck by the sight of her classmates going to school without a care, and felt envious of them.
[Would you like to come out with me as a test?]
[…Eh?]
[I think it’s fine if it’s just for a little bit]
Having grown in a general household, the outside is something I’m used to.
With that in mind, I took the girl’s hand and ran out of the house.
[Amazing!]
The girl was excited. It was the first time she’d been outside alone without an adult.
[Amazing! Amazing, amazing, amazing! I feel— Free!!] (TN: Eren flashbacks kekw)
On a mere street, the girl was smiling with her arms stretched as if she’s walking through a field of flowers.
[Hey, Itsuki! What is that!?]
[It’s a candy store. Would you like to go in?]
[Yeah!]
It was a good thing I had some coins in my pocket, so I can buy her some candy.
To be honest, I didn’t feel comfortable being stared at coldly by the servants while I was in the mansion, so I was more than happy to be outside.
[Itsuki, what’s this!?]
[It’s an umaibo]
[It’s good!]
[Because it’s an umaibo] (TN: umaibo is like a japanese stick snack, and there’s a joke where she says “umai na!” and he responds this way because umai is a japanese way to say it’s good/delicious.)
The girl ate the snack with a curious look on her face.
The game of taking her outside continued for the next few days.
We were told that if her father found out, he would be furious, so we kept sneaking out of the house so that the servants wouldn’t find us, and we would only spend a short time outside so they wouldn’t be suspicious..
But eventually, this little game of ours was discovered.
The girl’s father scolded me.
[What are you going to do if something happens to Narika!? I’m not going to let you seduce my daughter, even if she’s a child! Get out of here now!!]
I didn’t understand it at the time, but it seems that the Miyakojima family daughter shouldn’t be taken out of the house so easily. As compensation for endangering her, my mother and I were kicked out.
They must’ve originally planned to kick us in the near future. The servants quickly packed our belongings, and my mother and I were easily driven out.
[Itsuki!!]
When we were about to leave, a girl shouted my name with tears streaming down her face.
[I’ll become strong, I promise–!!]
Those were the last words I heard from her.
♢♢♢
That girl is Miyakojima Narika, the female student in front of me.
In other words, me and her are— cousins.
[Itsuki! Itsuki, Itsuki, Itsuki!! I missed you so much!!] (TN: this girl really likes to repeat words)
[…Yes yes]
While patting Narika’s head, who was hugging me, I casually looked around.
Fortunately, there was no one else in the hallway but us. If anyone saw us in this situation, it would be the end. On my second day of transfer, I’d be accused of impure sexual relationship.
[Narika, for the time being, calm down. What if someone sees us?]
[Uu.. Uuugh.. My back gave out…]
[Eh?]
[I’m so happy, my back gave out…!]
With tears streaming down her face, Narika crouched down on the spot.
This isn’t… getting stronger at all…
I’ve finished all parts for chapter 2, so I should be posting those if I don’t suddenly get sick again.
TL: Ezu
ED: Animu
PR: Mateo