World Record

The next day, Sunday.
Iwato was kept waiting at the park near his house.
--Together with Tsumugu.

[Why girls like to arrange to meet? Isn"t it better to go together straight away because we"re staying in the same house?]
[Nn...those two are immature. The longer the time spent together...the better]

Such two people who don"t know a maiden"s heart.
In the first place, regarding Tsumugu, she"s a 9-year-old loli, but her way of thinking is 『How long we can stay together』. That"s why, the two of them are together like this, but--

[[......Ah, they came]]

The two said so, and looked at the park"s entrance.
There"s the figures of the two people who dressed up smartly, and upon seeing that, Iwato and Tsumugu leaked these words.

[[Is...there really a point to do this?]]

☆☆☆

After meeting up, they take the bus at the bus stop about two minutes walking distance from the park.
And after one hour, they reached the Sapporo station.

[Hoeee......It"s my first time coming here]

Karen leaked such voice, and Ayame looked around curiously as if she"s also the same.
However, the one that stands out the most is--the AR Tower towering high to the sky.
The nearby Bikkuri Camera which sells electrical appliances, is connected to the inside. Other than this, it"s all in the AR Tower, and for the trains, it"s located at the underground first floor.
Iwato turned his eyes away from the two, and looked at his status application. Then, he operated it a little, and raised his face.

[First, I think let"s go to a sports shop...... It looks like there"s a nice sports shop here]

Iwato said so, and took Tsumugu"s hand and started walking.
Upon seeing that, the two became fl.u.s.tered, and they quickly followed Iwato, but--as expected, they can"t help but to be bothered by the connecting hands.
The two knew it already that Iwato is seriously not interested in love. He would never love someone voluntarily.
Therefore, they need to take actions in order to make him 『inevitably』 fall in love. The reason why Iwato hold hands is 『so that she won"t get lost』.
But--

Grin.

Tsumugu showed a grin to the two.
As if saying 『How is it? Jealous, right?』.
--No, she"s definitely thinking so.
While thinking of such thing, Iwato called out the three.

[I don"t particularly mind your exchange of gaze, but do you have anywhere you want to go?]

Upon hearing that, their bodies sprang up.
Although Iwato doesn"t realized Tsumugu"s feelings, he completely realized what Karen and Ayame were trying to do.
That"s why, he often hindered their strategy and plan like this.
For example, in this situation, he could see a future of 『a harem protagonist holding hands with three girls』. It"s good to prevent it.
Iwato sighed as no one replied him, and he looked at Tsumugu.

[Tsumu, don"t you want to see new publication of the light novel?]

Tsumugu reacted to those words with a twitch.
Iwato knew that today is Tsumugu"s favorite light novel"s release date.

[Karen, it"s a rare chance to come to Sapporo. So why don"t we eat ramen for lunch?]

Karen reacted to those words with a twitch.
Iwato knew that Karen has never ate the ramen in Sapporo.

[Ayame, did you know that today is the last day of screening of the movie, 『Kimi no Na wo』?]
(TL note : it"s Kimi no Na wo. Not Kimi no Na wa)

Ayame reacted to those words with a twitch.
Iwato knew that Ayame has not watch 『Kimi no Na wo』 yet. Well, Iwato too, though.
When Iwato realized it, the three have become completely quiet, and upon seeing that, Iwato loosens his expression.

[It"s a rare chance coming here. Don"t think of something like that, and have some fun normally]

Upon hearing those words, the three nodded.

☆☆☆

About ten minutes later.
Iwato and the others entered the sports shop in the AR Tower to look for his new partner(jersey).

[How"s this one?]

Karen said that, and brought a white jersey with red lines.

[Oh, isn"t it cool?]

Upon seeing that, Iwato said so with good impression on it, but Ayame who brought a different jersey, cut into the conversation.

[But if you pick that one, you will match with Karen]
[Ah, then nevermind]
[The blue one is also matching with mine, you know!?]

That"s right, Karen wears a white jersey under a blue coat in the winter while in the summer, she wears a blue jersey above a shirt. She wore those according to Iwato"s preference.
Iwato puts his hand on his chin and thinks, and he looks at the jersey Ayame brought.
Grey-colored from the chest to the bottom, and black-colored from the shoulder to the arm. It"s an adult-like jersey.

[Iwato-sama has always been wearing that cheap-looking blue jersey. Therefore, why not try this one this time?]

Ayame said so, and placed the jersey in front of Iwato.
Although Iwato"s not wearing it, it looks suitable for him. A jersey that changes the shining coolness in his untidiness up until now to a conspicuous adult coolness.
Iwato who looked at himself through the mirror, muttered [Oh]. Karen who saw that Iwato looked good in the jersey and it was brought by Ayame, looked frustrated.

[Although I have been wearing blue all the time, this might be good somehow]

Iwato muttered so--and his clothes" hem was pulled.

[Here comes...the star]

Upon hearing such cute voice, Iwato looked at Tsumugu--and opened his eyes wide.

[T-Th-That"s!?]

It"s a perfect combination of the top and bottom.
The top is a light blue jersey, and the bottom is a black jersey.
When Iwato realized it, he has already took the jersey in his hand, and he opened his eyes wide by the quality that he wanted.

[The sleeves are elastic and zip fasteners are attached on both pockets. On top of hard to be torn, a high-cla.s.s item with super-sweat absorbtion. Besides that, it can even react to the temperature so it can be worn in the summer and winter. An All-Green Super Jersey...... Though it conceals the nape...... Ah, it has a hood...... This is amazing]

Upon seeing Iwato who started to mutter as if he"s being possessed, Karen and Ayame instinctively twitch their face, and Tsumugu said this in satisfaction.

[By the way...the price is...180000]
[Yosh, bought!]

For the time being, Iwato bought three of the same kind.

☆☆☆

[I"m home~!]
[I"m home]
[I"m home~]
[Oh, welcome home]

Although only one person said a different thing, Iwato and the girls returned home at the evening.
After buying the jersey, they bought tickets for the movie, and while waiting for the movie to start, they went to the bookshop to buy the newly released light novel. And, after watching 『Kimi no Na wo』, they ate ramen.
Well, after that, they went to the gla.s.ses shop and played around with sungla.s.ses. Then, Karen said that she wanted to go to the pool, so the girls went to buy swimsuits. In the meanwhile, Iwato sat on the bench to kill time. Then, he was fl.u.s.tered that Tsumugu got lost.
Many things happened, but--

[Well, it sure was fun......]

As a result, it was quite fun.
Iwato said so, and sat on the sofa.
Then, Tsumugu, Karen and Ayame approached him while hiding their hands behind.
Upon seeing that, Iwato inclined his head, but he opened his eyes wide when he heard Tsumugu"s words.

[Um......N-Niisan. T-Thank you...for all this time]

She said that, and presented a box to Iwato.

[......T-This is?]
[Nn, open it and see]

Tsumugu replied so to Iwato"s confused voice.
Iwato received the box timidly, and he opened the box--and opened his eyes wide.

[Nii-san...for my sake...um...you don"t...buy things...for yourself...right?]

The thing in the box is the shoes that he saw during the shopping.

[Also, this is from me]
[This...is from me]

Just like that, Karen gave the t-shirt to be worn under the jersey, and Ayame gave the black jersey that he didn"t buy.
Iwato doesn"t know how to react to this, and he looked at the girls without any meaning.

It"s certain that Iwato doesn"t use much money on himself.
Even for the shampoo, he would only buy the minimum amount in order to improve the shampoo, and as for the three jerseys bought today, if Tsumugu didn"t pick for him, he would have only buy one jersey.
For Iwato, he"s not doing it as he thought of it.
However, he unconsciously thinks of the future of Tsumugu and the girls. That"s why, he took such actions.
So that he can use the money for the girls when they found what they want to do in the future.

[W-Well......the t-shirt and shoes still can be used, you know? The t-shirt is not that worn out, and my shoe size has not change yet]

Iwato said so while smiling forcefully.
However, Karen and Ayame who heard that, sighed in amazed, and told him the truth.

[No one will wear the same clothes for three years]
[Even if you change some, you have a wonderful poor mind. Even though you"re rich]

Upon hearing those words, Iwato was shocked.
Certainly, he felt strange stares when he walked on the street, but he"s convinced that it"s because of his black hair.
Tsumugu steps forward to Iwato, and opens her mouth while staring at his eyes.

[I know...that Nii-san is using money..for me. That"s why...this is my first...filial piety. A token of appreciation]

That"s right. For Tsumugu, Iwato is a brother--and a parent.
Her father died three years ago, and many things happened after that, but still, in these three years, the person who has been raising Tsumugu is no other than--Iwato.
When Iwato realized it, he had already covered his face, and Tsumugu said this to him.

[Nii-san. Thank you for all this time. Even after this...please take care of me...okay?]

Sobbing can be heard somewhere.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That"s all for this chapter.
Well, I won"t tell in details now, but Iwato has a quite harsh past at the time Tsumu live in the Nagumo house.
Therefore, after reading Iwato and Tsumugu"s past, you may have a different impression.