The Hiiragi Family"s Circ.u.mstances - 3
Since Hiiragi-chan and Sanjou-bocchan returned faster than expected, The parents were all suspicious of the two.
In the hotel lounge, the last tea party for today had just started.
Just like I did at the restaurant, I moved to a nearby table to watch over them. The parents from both families started a conversation, asking the two about how the garden had gone.
Hiiragi-chan herself had pa.s.sed it off with an appropriate fake smile, but Sanjou-bocchan openly displayed his bad mood. The reason for that seems to be because he failed in bringing Hiiragi-chan to his room. That"s just karma though. Rather, if he really thought he would succeed in that way he must be quite an optimistic person.
"Takafumi? Is something wrong?"
Sanjou-bocchan"s father asked him. It seems that his name is Takafumi.
"Earlier, at the rooftop garden we were just talking."
Sanjou-bocchan played with his hair with an unhappy expression.
"… This person, she has a boyfriend or something. She has absolutely noooo interest at all in me."
This person…! He was the one with the s.e.xual hara.s.sment and yet now he"s acting all innocent…!
Hiiragi-chan"s expression stiffened. Everyone at the table directed their eyes at her.
All she had to say was that it was a lie. Just tell them that it was a lie made to stop his s.e.xual hara.s.sment. If you end up revealing the s.e.xual hara.s.sment part, then he"s the one that would be troubled.
"Haruka? Is that true?"
Hiiragi-chan Mama, who was sitting next to her, asked. Hiiragi-chan Mama was wearing black rimmed gla.s.ses and seemed to be a bit paranoid. It"s just, her face looked similar in every way when compared with Hiiragi-chan.
I shook my head. It"s fine to say it"s a lie. He"s the one that did something uncalled for after all. It"s the same as saying a lie in order to dodge a colleague"s question—
Understanding my intentions, Hiiragi-chan smiled, and shook her head.
"I"m sorry? I don"t want to lie… I don"t want to say that there isn"t…!"
Most likely, Hiiragi-chan had even more resolve than me, in choosing to date me. She just didn"t show it.
Being colleagues and talking about the presence or absence of a boyfriend it is a completely different matter when it involves parents at a marriage interview. The weight of it is completely different.
Even I felt a knot in my stomach. If you dream of getting married, it"s a gateway that must be pa.s.sed.
The table once again got loud.
"But, you never said anything about that…."
"You guys just didn"t want to listen, right…!? You guys always selfishly decide on things like this! And so I thought I would at least endure for today!"
—You knew that Haru-chan really didn"t want to go back home, right?"
I remembered what Natsumi-chan had said on the phone yesterday.
"When it came to my friends in high school and college! All of it! Even this time! I"m not just a tool!"
Letting out her tears, Hiiragi-chan stood up from her seat. The rift between Hiiragi-chan and her parents was deeper than I thought.
The last time my time leap was released and I returned to the present time, I wasn"t able to gain approval to marry her. Maybe that was because Hiiragi-chan had taken me back to her home due to the circ.u.mstances right now.
Because I wasn"t one picked by her parents, because I wasn"t approved by them, I wasn"t able to marry her—
The same applied when it came to the yearly income of over 10 million. He probably was exaggerating quite a bit at that time though. Hiiragi-chan had followed up with me telling me that it was just her father being surprised.
Worried about Hiiragi-chan, I also stood up from my seat. On the way, I put my hand on Sanjou-bocchan"s back, as he was lounging about with his legs put up. I easily forced him to fall over, causing him to let out a sound.
"Oww… Gufuu…"
"Excuse me."
I walked away. Hiiragi-chan was crouching by the entrance to a nearby bathroom.
"Haruksan."
"Seiji-kun… I"m sorry… If I lied, I probably would have been made to accept it I think…"
In respect to her being asked further, she did what she could to hide or misdirect them. However, Hiiragi-chan never said anything that would distort the truth of our relationship.
That"s the type of person Hiiragi-chan is. A woman who 100% puts emotions first. If she properly thought about the future, she probably wouldn"t have said OK to my confession.
Pulling on her hand, I walked towards the stairs where less people could see.
"I want to go somewhere far away with just the two of us…"
Hiiragi-chan once again cried into my chest.
There was probably nowhere that was okay for us to run to. If we didn"t have friends or family, if that was the case then we would still be fine. However, in reality, there are Hiiragi-chan"s parents and her little sister. I also have a home and family to return to. She has work. I have school. Real life is just like that, it"s full of various obligations.
If I were a real immature high school student, I would have said that everything would be fine if we eloped. I love her that much after all.
But I want to make this person happy. I won"t be satisfied unless our future was bright, the people that are involved with us are happy, and we have a stupidly sweet happy end.
"… Let"s not run, and try for a little longer?"
Hiiragi-chan nodded without saying anything.
"Ah, it"s this guy."
Sanjou-bocchan and Hiiragi-chan Papa had come chasing.
"He hit me in the garden!"
"… You are?"
Hiiragi-chan Papa was wearing frameless gla.s.ses and his suit look really expensive. He looked just like a capable businessman. A huge difference from my own father.
"I"m… My name is Sanada… Earlier in the garden, that person was trying to hara.s.s her, so I ended up stepping in to stop her."
Hiiragi-chan Papa"s eyes turned towards Sanjou-bocchan.
"N-no, that"s… Hahaha…."
"Otou-san, that"s not a lie, you know? It"s the truth. He tried to force me to go to his room and even touched my thighs…"
Sanjou-bocchan then ran away and fled the scene.
Seeing that, Hiiragi-chan Papa lowered his head a bit.
"Thank you for helping out my daughter."
"It"s nothing…"
"And you are… Sanadkun, you appeared in front of my crying daughter and comforted her. You"re not just some sort of hero or something, right?"
His implied question was, who are you?
"You seem to be very young. A high school student?"
"Yes."
I just happened to be in the same place, pa.s.sing by——
I tried to say that, but stopped.
Hiiragi-chan was straight about her relationship with me. She hid it until now, but she didn"t lie about our relationship. Even if all she needed to say was one lie to avoid her situation, she didn"t run away. That is true strength, sincerity, her resolve in dating me.
Even I should have the same resolve. I will hide, and misdirect. However, I don"t want to distort anything. We haven"t done anything to be ashamed of—
Hiiragi-chan Papa was asking me with a sincere look. Who are you?
I looked straight back at those eyes. Stuck out my chest. In order to encourage me, Hiiragi-chan held onto my hand.
"I am— My name is Sanada Seiji. I"m currently in a serious relationship with Haruksan."