ch21-ch40 · 024-ch24
Chapter 24: My Humblest Apologies
Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuurgle...
"I'm hungry!"
Me, waking up with a start as I throw off the futon.
Waking up because I'm hungry... even I have to admit my stomach is quite mischievous.
...Wait, huh? This isn't my bed.
This is the living room. The futon... this is the one Papa was sleeping in yesterday!
Sunlight is streaming in through the window. It's already morning.
I guess I was watching over Papa and ended up dozing off from exhaustion... come to think of it, I didn't even eat dinner. No wonder I'm hungry.
Speaking of which, I wonder where Papa went. Just as that thought crossed my mind, I noticed a delicious smell coming from the kitchen.
"Papa!"
"Good morning, Ai. You slept well."
Papa was in the kitchen making miso soup, wearing his usual apron.
The bandages wrapped around his arm and the gauze on his forehead and cheeks look painful, but he seems surprisingly energetic.
Otherwise, he's just like his usual self... oh, his glasses are different. He's wearing his spare silver-rimmed round glasses.
"Is it okay for you to be up?"
"Yeah. Papa might look like this, but I'm actually pretty tough. Breakfast will be ready in a little bit, so just wait a bit. Or would you prefer to take a bath first?"
Come to think of it, I haven't even changed my clothes. I just took off my uniform jacket.
"But if I take a bath, I'll probably be late for school... wait, it's already 8:30!? Gyaah, why didn't you wake me up!?"
Me, shouting as I look at the wall clock in the kitchen.
But Papa just grins.
"Let's take today off. I've already called the school. To keep you from worrying, you should call Kiriko-chan and Sumi-chan later too."
"Eh? U, um..."
Papa is always kind, but this is the first time he's told me it's okay to skip school, and I'm surprised.
Is something going on? Maybe, after all, it's about the other world—
― ◆ ―
"This is most peculiar, I daresay."
I, Mikato Reiya, have lost count of how many times I've muttered those same words.
Today as well, thinking to give my morning greetings, I went to visit Class 1, only to find that unfortunately, Ai-chan is absent today.
When I asked Kiriko-san, she told me it's not due to poor health but rather family circumstances, so I'm relieved.
Of course, it's painful that I cannot see Ai-chan, but when I say "peculiar," I'm not referring to Ai-chan.
What's peculiar is the state of Ai-chan's two best friends, Kiriko-san and Sumi-san.
If you talk to her, Kiriko-san will respond properly, but if left alone, she just rests her chin on her hand at her desk, with a creepy... no, my apologies, a mysterious reminiscent smile on her face.
When I ask her why,
"Eeeeh~? That's a bit, umm, maybe I can't tell youuu~"
she wiggles her body and evasively answers in an irrita... I mean, in a showy manner.
I would never stoop to something so vulgar as prying into matters that cannot be spoken of.
Well, she has probably found some new anime that she's become engrossed in. I'm not particularly worried about Kiriko-san's case.
However, the other one, Sumi-san, is more serious.
"Sumi-san, good morning."
"...Ah, mornin', ReiRei~"
The delay! Why, when she's right before my eyes??
Sumi-san is originally a rather slow-talking person, but today she's especially so.
Moreover, though she does respond, I notice that before long, she's gazing into the distance, lost in her own world.
Like Kiriko-san, she's resting her chin on her hand, but unlike Kiriko-san, she's not smiling dreamily.
"...Sigh..."
With a melancholic expression, she occasionally just lets out a sigh.
Perhaps it's just my imagination, but there's something slightly sweet about that sigh... now, why did that happen? I feel as though I've read a description of such a sigh in a novel or something...
Ah, I remember now! This is precisely the sigh of a shoujo manga heroine when she's troubled by thoughts of love.
"...Sumi-san, could it be that you've developed feelings for someone?"
...Clatter clatter clatter!!
N-now what? Perhaps it's my imagination, but it seems the people around us had an excessive reaction.
Be that as it may, as for the person in question.
"Eh... eeeh, eeekk... asshhi, it's not like I... like that, you know? Maybe? Ummm~"
Both hands pressed to her slightly embarrassed cheeks... they're red! How adorable, they are!
"Sumi-san, you're in love, aren't you!?"
Perhaps my words removed her reservations, as the other girls gathered around with a "waaah!".
"Sumi, for real?"
"Who who who who?"
"There's some awesome guy who'd catch Sumi's attention in this school!?"
The other girls with eyes sparkling.
I understand. After all, talks of love make one's heart flutter!... Oh my, Kiriko-san is still at her own desk, smiling to herself as usual.
"Eeeeh~? Wait a sec, it's not like that yet, 'kay?"
Unlike the excitement around her, Sumi-san seems a bit bewildered.
"Yet!?"
"Eh, that sounds pretty serious to me!"
"Tell us in detaillll!"
Sumi-san, forcing a smile as she's pressed by everyone.
To ask such a question in the classroom, I may have acted a bit hastily, I suppose.
"Hey, get back to your seats~ we're having homeroom. Mikato, get back to your own class~"
Before I knew it, Senkaga-sensei had arrived, saying those words we've all become quite familiar with. Everyone was so excited they didn't even notice the chime.
Though I regret leaving, I shall return to my own class for now.
On my way back, among the excited girls returning to their seats, I saw several boys slumped over their desks, utterly devastated. My humblest apologies.
Translator's Notes:
- Mikato Reiya uses the Japanese first-person pronoun "watakushi" (私), which is a formal, somewhat archaic form that conveys aristocratic or refined speech patterns. In English, this formality is conveyed through her refined vocabulary and sentence structure rather than leaving the Japanese word untranslated.
- Mikato's character voice is maintained through formal expressions like "This is most peculiar, I daresay" and "My humblest apologies" which preserve her ojou-sama (refined young lady) speech patterns in natural English.