Akatsuki Translations

“Ah, hehe,” I sighed and giggled.

“What’s with this girl? It’s creepy. Decide whether you’re sighing or laughing,” Mom said, exasperated.

When I returned home after a long time, Dad seemed to be sleeping in late. I only reported to Mom that I had come back safely this time too. While watching TV in the living room, I had no interest in its content. All I could think about was that night.

And that detestable Nagumo. What an insensitive man.

No matter how you look at it, it was that kind of situation. What was he thinking, bringing Yuuta along? It’s completely unforgivable. Yet, when I think about what we were doing until just a while ago, I can’t help but grin. From the looks of it, he probably won’t go to school today.

What should I do tomorrow? Mom made a dumbfounded face and left. Seeing that, I pulled out the image of Yuuta that I had captured.

“Even so, he’s become quite handsome,” I mused.

This man did all sorts of things to me. I was truly happy. Thinking that we could do more from now on made me feel blissful.

“Wow, who’s this guy? He’s incredibly good-looking,” a voice suddenly spoke from behind me. It was my older sister, Mei, who had peeked over my shoulder without me noticing.

“H-hey, don’t look!” I hurriedly hid the photo. Even if she was my sister, I didn’t want to show her those kinds of photos of Yuuta.

“Who is this? You took this photo yourself, right, Misuzu?” Mei asked.

“What are you doing here? Are you unexpectedly free, Onee-chan?” I retorted. I always had the impression that she was around whenever I came home.

“How rude. Well, it’s true that I’m not working as much as before. Today is special, though. I was supposed to work with Evie, but she suddenly canceled on me. She went to America. I’m sure she’s thrilled, but it’s a real inconvenience for me. She’s not the type to do something like this, so I wonder what happened,” Mei explained.

“America? Is she coming back to Japan?” I asked.

“Of course she’s coming back. What are you saying?” Mei looked at me quizzically.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing,” I brushed it off.

“Anyway, who’s that guy?” Mei pressed.

“Yuuta,” I replied.

“Yuuta? The boy from your party that you mentioned before? Was he such a handsome guy?” Even Mei, who was used to seeing good-looking men, seemed surprised.

“Well, he wasn’t this good-looking before, but he somehow leveled up and suddenly became incredibly handsome,” I explained.

“What did his face look like before?”

“I don’t really remember,” I lied. I had photos, but I didn’t want to show them. The Yuuta from back then was my precious treasure.

“Huh. To change that much from a classmate who didn’t leave an impression…” Mei mused.

“D-don’t ever tell Yuuta about that. He might hate me,” I pleaded.

“How would I tell someone I just learned the face of? Well, I’ve heard that people who change do so drastically, but he seems like the prime example. No wonder you’re so into him. Since you have those kinds of photos, have you already done it?” Mei asked bluntly.

“No. I thought I could be forceful, but he said he wanted to wait,” I admitted.

Mei shrugged without saying anything. I thought to myself that Yuuta often says lines that girls should be saying.

“Do you think he hates me? He says he doesn’t want to until he’s 18,” I wondered aloud.

“He’s not the type I often see around me. Maybe he lacks confidence in himself?” Mei suggested.

“That’s… possible,” I conceded.

“Any idea why?”

“He was bullied at school,” I revealed.

“Ah, there were kids getting bullied in my time too… They suddenly change their appearance. Become stronger. Popular with girls. Maybe his heart can’t keep up?” Mei pondered.

“You think so?”

“Evie seems crazy about him too. If you and Evie both go after him, he’ll be overwhelmed. When explorers become exceptionally handsome, they often start playing around with women. If he’s asking you to wait until he’s 18, then wait for him properly. Normally, guys don’t say things like that. He probably doesn’t want to hurt anyone,” Mei advised.

“…I tried to be quite forceful last night,” I confessed.

“You’re getting carried away with your first serious crush on a guy, Misuzu,” Mei pointed out.

“Getting carried away, huh…” I pondered. That was certainly true. More than anything, that’s why I was so desperate not to lose him.

“Make sure to introduce him to me next time. I’ll properly check what kind of guy he is,” Mei said with a mischievous grin.

“I don’t mind introducing him, but you absolutely can’t make a move on him, okay?” I warned.

“Okaaay,” Mei replied in a tone that didn’t inspire confidence. It seemed like I was gaining unnecessary rivals in addition to Evie. I wondered if there was a place of respite for me.

“So, how was the 2nd floor?” Mei asked, changing the subject.

“Surprisingly, we managed somehow. We even found the stairs,” I answered.

“Misuzu, you unexpectedly seem suited for being an explorer. At this rate, I wonder if you’ll really become a high-level explorer. I heard that just being able to do the first reincarnation changes your lifespan. If that happens, I’ll be counting on you for my old age,” Mei joked.

“In that case, I’ll be counting on you for Mom,” I replied.

Before I realized it, Mom had returned to the room. She must have heard our conversation.

“What are you talking about? You can’t know about things so far in the future. Oh, Mom, I’m not going to school, okay?” I said. Rather than not wanting to go to school, I felt it was better to heed Koharu’s warning based on what Ikemoto told me. When Yuuta comes back from America, I’ll discuss with him what to do next. Until then, I’ll be staying at home.

“I won’t say anything even if you don’t go anymore. You properly greeted everyone the other day, right? Just relax at home,” Mom said.

“Isn’t that totally different from what you said before?” I asked, surprised.

“Mom is starting to get interested in leveling up,” Mei explained.

“Hey, Misuzu. Do you think even I could reach around level 3?” Mom asked.

“Well…”

Mom, who had married quite young, was only 45 years old. Being the mother of a top model, she was a beautiful woman. She was what you’d call a beautiful mature woman. Influenced by Mei, she took care of her beauty and had no sagging parts on her body.

In fact, when Mom walked with Mei and the others, she was often mistaken for their sister because of how youthful she looked.

“Yeah, I think you’ll be fine if you can kill goblins,” I said.

“I looked that up on the internet, and it said it’s quite tough. How was it for you two?” Mom asked.

“We threw up and wet ourselves,” Mei and I said simultaneously. We really were sisters, I thought.

“That’s unladylike,” Mom chided.

“Mom, you’ll understand if you enter the dungeon,” Mei said.

“That seriously makes you puke,” I added.

“Those things come at you with the intent to kill, so it’s so scary that you wet yourself.”

“Yeah, everything about it is the worst.”

“Is that so? Wetting myself at this age… But it’s better than getting menopausal disorders, I suppose,” Mom said, pondering with her hand on her cheek. Despite the content of our conversation, Mom looked genuinely alluring. I really wondered what went wrong for her to marry Dad.

“Well, anyway, I think I can help you level up once I reach level 200. Why don’t you just try entering?” I suggested.

“You’re right. Alright. I’ll prepare myself mentally until then. Oh, I haven’t told your father, but is it okay to invite him too?” Mom asked.

“I don’t mind. However, we’ll do it one at a time. I plan to do it alone, so for now, let’s get Dad and Mom to level 3. I want to help my two older sisters quickly reach level 10 since they probably want to, so I’ll be quite busy,” I explained.

“Rei hasn’t given a clear answer yet. She still seems scared,” Mei informed me.

“Really?”

“Rei isn’t suited for violence,” Mei said.

“Well, I think there’s still about a year, so it should be fine,” I reassured.

“I’ll try talking to her properly again,” Mei said.

“Don’t force her,” I warned.

“I know. If I do that, I won’t be able to enter the dungeon myself. Well, before that, it’s up to her,” Mei replied.

I was having such conversations at home, so I thought everything would surely be fine. I believed that if I was at peace, Yuuta would be too.