Volume 1 - CH 35

The sound of the second clock’s hand echoed through the room.

Facing each other, only time passes.

Yuzo-san is pondering for a long time. Will, I get an answer?.

“All right. I trust Anri. But I don’t trust you all that much.”

Why should I be looked down upon? Am I looked down upon by Yuzo-san?

Indeed, I may be lower in age, experience, social status, financial savings, etc.

But I thought we were equals in this situation.

However, Yuzo-san seems to disagree. I am sure that he can only see things from a higher perspective and cannot make decisions.

It would be nice if it turned in the right direction, but if it goes in the wrong direction, incidents like this one may occur.

“It’ll all be fine. If something happens, I’m sure Himekawa-san will contact you right away.”

I finally found the end of the conversation.

It was long. Very long. I felt like lying down on my bed and relaxing right away.

But I can’t let my nerves run down here, so I’ll hang in there a little longer.

“Well… If something goes wrong, can you take full responsibility?”

Responsibility means… I’m prepared for everything, I’ll take responsibility and let Himekawa stay at the boarding house.

I will have responsibilities as a caretaker, which I did not have before, and I will support the people who live in the boarding house.

And I must gain experience now in preparation for when the rooms become full in the future.

“I understand. I’ll take responsibility too.”

“I’ll believe you when you say that. And I have a favor to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“That… could you tell Anri to come to her parents’ house as much as possible?

He said, “Come and see me once in a while.” that’s right.

You want to see your daughter’s face once in a while, even if she’s not at home.

“Please tell her that in person. I am sure she will be pleased. Besides, I think it would be good for you to come here once in a while to see how she is living.”

Hey me, nice advice. Behind the pretense of coming to see how life is going, you hide your real intention of wanting to see their faces.

That’s great advice. I’m proud of myself.

“Yes, I need to come by once in a while to see how things are going.”

“I have one favor to ask of you.”

“What’s that?”

“You said earlier, ‘Lodging in a place like this, it’s impossible.’ Would you take it back? For me, it’s a path I’m willing to take with my life. You know nothing about it, and I don’t remember it being a problem for me.”

I have a feeling things are about to heat up again.

I don’t care that much about what anyone says or does to me personally.

I look shabby, I don’t have many friends, and I’m not a cheerful guy.

I’m not a cheerful guy. That’s something I’ll have to work on from now on, but I’m angry that people make fun of my boarding house.

I usually try not to get too angry and give my reasons to deal with it, but I can’t forgive him for what he said just now.

“You want me to take it back? Now there’s no need for that, is there? It is a Showa-era building by all accounts. Does it have security equipment? Compared to condominiums”

“Wait a minute! I don’t want to be told that much! It’s true that the security facilities are nothing compared to a condominium, but look at the rest!”

Security equipment. There’s nothing. Rather, just one key and nothing else?

…It may indeed be a bit insecure.

“We’ll see. I told you now. The current state of the house has the feel of a Showa-era boarding house. I am sorry to say that I cannot judge whether it is good or bad, but I have never stayed in a boarding house before. You will eventually find out if I will take it back or not. You’ll find out sooner or later.”

“Does that mean you won’t take it back now but will take it back in the future?”

“It is up to you to decide whether I will take it back or not. If you really want me to take it back, you will have to be diligent.”

That’s not a very clear-cut way of putting it. Does this mean you’re testing me?

That you can’t trust me now, that it’s still a Showa-era boarding house, but you’re going to take it back because of my hard work?

“Fine. I believe you.”

“I understand. I’ll hear you say you’ll take it back. Please don’t ever forget this.”

“Don’t worry. As long as Anri is here, I will never forget it.”

As the manager, I will take responsibility, let Himekawa stay here, and ask Yuzo-san to take it back.

I’ll definitely hear him say he’ll take it back!

How much time has passed?

I feel as if we have talked for several hours, but in fact, we have not talked for more than thirty minutes.

I wonder if the subject I wanted to confirm is over, and a moment of silence passes.

“Sorry, but can you go get Anri for me now?”

“Okay.”

I quickly stand up from my seat and open the door.

I was about to leave the dining room to go to Himekawa’s room, where she was probably in her room, but I saw Himekawa sitting at the stairs.

Yup. I’m pretty sure she heard all of that, right?

Would it be okay if I went back to Himekawa like this?

Thinking about that, I started walking toward the Himekawa.