Intermission 1
13.5 Kusuhara and Toujou
In a quiet, pitch black room, a man was facing the computer at his own personal desk.
His name was Toujou Kenichirou. He turned 45 last month. He looked young for his age, but the increase in wrinkles on his face from from his younger days exposed his age, and from their depth, one could see his weariness.
For the past two days, he hadn"t kept normal sleeping hours. There was still work left, but under the lure of sleep, he shut his eyes.
Knock knock.
At the sound of knocking on the door, the man awoke with a start. He thought that spent quite some time sleeping and checked his wrist.w.a.tch, but not even five minutes had pa.s.sed. In that short time he had such a nostalgic dream, so he thought with a bitter smile that he must be incredibly tired.
It was still too early to call it the middle of the night, but it was rather late. His secretary had gone home long ago and there weren"t any meetings in particular scheduled. As such, there was only one person whose face came to mind.
"I"m coming in."
At that low yet gentle characteristic voice, he became certain. With a click and making an extremely loud sound, the door opened.
"It"s been a long time, Kusuhara."
Toujou greeted his friend through the darkness. He, Kusuhara Shigeharu, had been his friend since junior high school.
"Mm, it alright if I turn on the lights?"
Shigeharu asked without reservation. In the Kusuhara household, it was unlikely for it to be pitch black in the house, so he felt a little uncomfortable in this darkness.
Suddenly facing light was a strong stimulus for eyes that had grown used to the dark, so Toujou squinted.
"Your job seems tough, huh?"
"Obviously. Who do you think I am?"
Toujou smiled boldly and Shigeharu sighed, "You"re the same as always."
"So, you coming here…did something happen with that girl?"
Toujou"s expression turned serious. That was a hint to cut to the chase. Shigeharu took a breath and opened his mouth.
"That girl joined the student council."
"…Reiryuu"s?"
When Toujou asked that, Shiegeharu nodded. He had heard from Shigeharu that "that girl" had entered Reiryuu Academy. If there was one well-known thing about Reiryuu Academy, it was that their student council was a group of the nation"s top elites. It should have been surprising, but he simply accepted it for some reason. "That girl" had the capability for that, no, the capability for even more than that.
"She struggled a lot over whether or not to enter the student council. There was all that back in elementary school, and that girl was thinking about our family"s situation… And probably, more than anything, you were weighing on her heart."
Shigeharu sat on the black leather sofa in the middle of the room.
"It"s fine for that girl to do as she likes. She doesn"t need to concern herself with me. It"s because of that, that girl is with you…"
"I know that. But that girl probably wants to hear it properly from you."
For a while, neither of them opened their mouths. The silence wasn"t awkward due to their amiable relationship.
"Well then, I finished my report, so I"ll head back."
"Kusuhara."
Toujou called Shigeharu to a halt as he headed toward the door. There was a lot he wanted to talk about with his friend he hadn"t met in a long time. However, within his organized mind, there was one thing he wanted to tell Shigeharu.
"…I leave Meru to you."
"…Yeah."
Shigeharu grinned and disappeared beyond the door.
With Shigeharu gone, Toujou became alone once more. The only thing that was different from a short while ago was that the light was on.
"I"m sorry…"
Toujou murmured even though his words wouldn"t reach anyone. He wondered what kind of smile the expressionless girl in the dream he had had earlier had become able to show.
Her happiness was his only wish.
Well that confirms the adoption. I suppose it now makes sense why the author later added a route for her "brother." This chapter also hurt my heart a bit ahaha, that last line. The hints about the past are really making me curious. Also, her mom. Well, onward we go.