My Happy Marriage (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 3

  CHAPTER 3  

How to Spend Time with a Friend

The word chores comprised a variety of different tasks. That being said, the chores Miyo could handle were limited.

“This really is all I can do, isn’t it?” Miyo murmured to no one in particular as she tied up the sleeves of her kimono with a cord.

Kiyoka had given her two options: Cleaning up various areas, including that disaster of a kitchenette, or organizing documents in the records room. She’d wavered slightly before finally settling on cleaning.

The records room housed reports and similar documents on incidents involving Grotesqueries. New ones arrived daily, and if they weren’t taken care of, they would eventually turn into a huge mess.

Kiyoka had suggested that she’d learn more about the Grotesqueries if she organized the records room, but even with Kaoruko’s help, Miyo wasn’t confident a layperson like her would be able to do a good job.

I’d feel so awkward doing it…

She knew that if she looked at the reports and other documents, she’d get a peek into Kiyoka’s work activities. Yet she hesitated to step into that part of his life.

She stole a glance at Kaoruko, who was taking off her outer coat and rolling up her sleeves.

I know I shouldn’t be letting it get to me, but……

It was an endless cycle—she’d accidentally bring her thoughts back to Kaoruko, then heave a sigh.

Ever since she’d learned Kaoruko had been a potential marriage partner of Kiyoka’s, her desire to learn about the past had gotten stronger and stronger.

Her fiancé’s past. Kiyoka and Kaoruko’s time together. What sort of relationship they’d had, and what sort of feelings existed between them. Whether or not they had maybe, just maybe, been in love with each other.

If they were in love, what good would that knowledge do me?

Even if they had feelings for each other, what in the world was she looking to do about it?

Criticizing someone wasn’t the answer. Whatever sort of interpersonal relationships they’d had in the past, it didn’t directly involve Miyo whatsoever. This was ground she should tread lightly; accusing them of anything would be preposterous.

She didn’t want to know. Yet, she did.

“Oh dear, what should I do—”

“What is it?”

Miyo jumped when someone responded to her murmuring.

“K-Kaoruko! Please, you startled me…!”

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to scare you or anything. You looked really serious, so I just wanted to ask what was up.”

Miyo calmed her heart, which was pounding from the shock, and turned to face Kaoruko.

Had she really been wearing so grave an expression? Actually, there was no question that she had serious thoughts weighing down on her, so Kaoruko’s observations must have been right on the mark.

Miyo needed to be careful, or else she would get Kiyoka worried over nothing.

For the time being, she would put all she had into the cleaning she’d agreed to handle. Between her old home, Kiyoka’s house, the Kudou villa, and now the station, she felt like she cleaned wherever she went, but that was simply a reflection of how well-suited she was for the task.

Though, you could also say that there simply isn’t anything else I can do.

She clenched her fist to try and think past the wave of pity and depression crashing down on her, urging Kaoruko forward.

“It’s nothing. Shall we get to it, then?”

“Sounds good.”

Kaoruko nodded once without pressing the issue before opening the door to the kitchenette.

The inside was just as much of a disaster as she remembered. Miyo had handled chores in a variety of different places, but she’d never seen a room in such a ruinous state before.

“I-it’s hard to know where to start, huh?”

Enigmatic stacks of wooden boxes with aged snack wrappers inside. Moldy bottles, buckets, bowls, and cups lying all over the floor, plus unidentifiable spills that had solidified. Dirty dishcloths and newspapers scattered everywhere, and an indescribable stench choking the air.

The place was a textbook visual of ruin and decay. The best thing to do first would be taking everything out of the kitchenette, but Miyo was honestly frightened of digging up something even more horrible in the process.

“Seriously, guys, you gotta be kidding…”

Kaoruko placed her palm on her forehead and gazed up at the ceiling.

The worst part of it was that this was far from the only room that needed deep cleaning.

Miyo understood how little attention the soldiers here normally paid to matters outside their line of duty. The thing was, Gift-users all came from notable families with storied histories, so when she considered that the men here were from these households, she realized that this wouldn’t have turned out any other way. Complaining to them would be fruitless.

Nothing will get done if we stand here reeling in shock.

At any rate, they had to start somewhere, or things would never improve.

Miyo covered up her nose and mouth with a face towel, then valiantly strode into the kitchenette.

First, they needed to sort out everything in the room. Dinnerware, linens, and any other washable items needed a good scrubbing. They would have to collect all the long-expired foodstuffs and bury them. They could reuse any paper products that hadn’t fallen prey to the mysterious liquid, but otherwise, they were a lost cause, soaked with an awful smell.

Just looking at the room was a slog. Once they set their minds to it and got started, however, Miyo and Kaoruko both silently worked their way through the cleaning.

“There’s a clean bucket over here, so I’m going to put all the linens in it, okay?”

“Thank you… Oh, that box was open, so I put the dinnerware in there.”

The two women quickly collected the smaller items together in any container they had on hand, confirming the minimum amount of necessary information between each other as they went, before then removing them all from the room.

Whenever Miyo went out into the corridor, the soldiers passing by would glare at her.

Though none of the men went so far as to stop and gawk at them, they would slacken their pace when they got near the room to check out what Miyo and Kaoruko were doing inside.

During one of these moments, a group of soldiers rounded a corner to find Kaoruko, who had gone out to draw water.

“A woman really looks her best when she’s doing household chores.”

“Shouldn’t be butting in on the men’s work.”

“I’m just glad we’ve found ourselves a replacement janitor.”

The soldiers were all whispering conspicuously to each other, their voices loud enough so Kaoruko would hear. Their unbelievably rude comments made Miyo feel uncomfortable.

For some reason, however, the target of their snide remarks broke out into a smile.

“If my skills are proving useful, then it was worth it to come out here from the old capital. Hah-hah-hah.”

“Pfft, you can lose the bravado. It hurts to watch.”

“A woman’s no match for a man, no matter how much of a brave front she puts up.”

The soldiers laughed mockingly and deliberately bumped into Kaoruko’s shoulder as they departed.

How awful.

Miyo had been told the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit was a meritocracy, but this problem had nothing to do with her abilities. The sparring match from the previous day had been the same way. The men all seemed intent on proving they were superior to Kaoruko since she was a woman.

Kaoruko’s smile disappeared, and for a brief second, her face darkened before she grinned at Miyo as if nothing had happened.

“I’ve brought the water.”

“U-um… Kaoruko, I—I um…”

The soldiers had gone too far. Despite Miyo’s frustration, when she thought about how Kaoruko had gone out of her way to force a smile back on her face, she couldn’t come up with anything to say.

“……Thank you, for the water.”

“You’re welcome.”

Any words of encouragement would only hurt her feelings, so Miyo could only resign herself to accepting the bucket of water.

I’m fine with whatever they say to me, but…

Just as Mukadeyama had said, Miyo was both a complete outsider here and a relative of the Usubas. On top of that, she lacked the skills to silence people who would be critical of her, so she had prepared herself to face severe criticism. She was accustomed to being treated like a persona non grata since she had been the odd one out for as long as she could remember.

But Kaoruko was different.

Miyo could tell that she was proud and trying to carry out her duties to the fullest. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been accompanying Miyo so earnestly.

Her male peers were rejecting her diligent work ethic just because she was a woman. They wouldn’t acknowledge her. It was the height of irrationality.

Once they had finished carrying most of the items out of the kitchenette, Miyo took a duster and began wiping away the dust that had built up on the higher places in the room. Kaoruko, meanwhile, washed dirtied items nearby.

“Miyo.”

“Yes?”

Suddenly hearing her name, Miyo stopped what she was doing and turned to face Kaoruko.

“Are you having any trouble? Like with people saying nasty things to you, or with fitting in…?” Kaoruko inquired, her eyes fixed on her hands.

Miyo couldn’t really figure out what she was trying to get out of asking this.

If anyone was having a difficult time here, it had to be her, right? She couldn’t possibly feel anything from being insulted like that.

“……I’m fine.”

Miyo was about to ask if Kaoruko was okay, but the words caught in her throat moments before they could leave her mouth. She couldn’t do anything for the woman, even if she heard her out.

If she reported the soldier’s behavior to Kiyoka, their commander, things might improve momentarily.

But she could easily imagine that handling things this way would breed further antipathy. The men would probably think that she was sucking up to authority because of her lack of any true skills or ability.

“As long as you’re okay. But sheesh, I am so sick of that sorta stuff.”

“I…don’t like it, either.”

Finished brushing away most of the dust, Miyo swapped her duster for a broom, and started cleaning up the trash in the room.

“Same here. It’s times like those make me wish I hadn’t been born a woman.”

“But you can still fight, Kaoruko.”

“I’m just stuck in the middle. I’m not feminine, but obviously I can’t be a man, either.”

Watching Kaoruko laugh this off and go back to work, Miyo realized something.

She was the same. Just like Miyo had been when she lived with the Saimoris.

No matter how painful, how cruel, things felt, she never dared show it. She pretended not to feel anything, fooling even herself to protect her heart.

Miyo had found it impossible to always wear a smile, but the way Kaoruko was living—stifling her feelings to get by—lined up with Miyo’s own experiences.

Her cheerful disposition wasn’t entirely a brave front. Nevertheless, there was no question that this environment was partly responsible for making her turn out like that.

It depressed her to think about the state Kaoruko’s heart must have been in.

“Aaaah, nope, enough of this. I can’t stand wallowing in misery. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Sounds good.”

She was right that they would end up feeling even worse if they continued their current topic of conversation.

“Oh, that reminds me, have you even been to the old capital, Miyo?”

“No. In fact, I hadn’t left the imperial capital at all until recently…”

“Whaaat?!”

The two enthusiastically absorbed themselves in chit-chat, and before they knew it, they’d stopped paying attention to the stares of the male soldiers.

That night, Miyo was taking a breather in the living room after washing the dishes when Kiyoka returned from his bath.

“Kiyoka, have some tea.”

“Thanks.”

Miyo poured a cup of tea and placed it before Kiyoka as he sat down on the tatami floor, still wiping down his long hair with a towel. She’d also set a small bowl filled with mandarins on the tea table.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m fine… More importantly, you must be exhausted from working yourself ragged all day.”

“No, I’m okay.”

Though Miyo did feel some fatigue, of course, it wasn’t enough to grumble about to Kiyoka.

It had taken the whole day, but she and Kaoruko were able to largely clean up the kitchenette. Although they still had to sort through all the items they had temporarily removed from the room, the inside was spick-and-span. Once they put everything back in order, their job would be done.

When they finished up and Miyo looked over the kitchenette, so pristine she couldn’t believe it was the same room, she and Kaoruko had grabbed each other’s hands and rejoiced.

Miyo thought it had been a wonderful and worthwhile task, but it seemed that Kiyoka still wasn’t convinced.

“So you say, but the weather’s already gotten pretty cold. Push yourself too hard, and you’ll get sick.”

“I understand. I won’t let myself get to that point.”

“…We haven’t really had a moment to catch our breath since coming back from the villa.”

Kiyoka’s quiet murmur prompted Miyo to think back over everything that had happened after meeting Kiyoka’s parents.

The days she’d spent at the villa now felt like a lifetime ago.

They’d traveled there in late autumn, so it hadn’t even been a month since their trip. But winter weather had started earlier this year, so by the time Miyo had gotten back to the house, the seasons had completely changed. There wasn’t much time left until the new year.

“How’s Godou doing?”

Kiyoka shook his head at Miyo’s question.

“They say it’ll still take a bit longer until he can have visitors. They’re trying every possible treatment they have, though.”

Godou had suffered terrible burns in the explosion at the Gifted Communion’s base.

Gift-users were much hardier than the average person, so there was no risk of him dying, but his wounds were still in a terrible state—not something he could show to a woman. He was holding off from letting Miyo visit out of consideration for her.

“Are you also going to visit him once we get permission?”

“I am. I want to see him.”

Godou had helped her out in a variety of ways up until that point, and he was one of the few acquaintances Miyo had. She had no reason to turn down the invitation.

For some reason, a dubious look came over Kiyoka’s face when Miyo replied with excitement.

“You seem awfully enthusiastic about getting to see him.”

“What? Erm, I, um, I don’t mean anything strange by it… Godou’s helped me out a lot, and I’ve been worried about him this whole time.”

Somehow, her reply came across as a defensive excuse. Kiyoka glared with suspicion at her.

“You’ve been a bit standoffish lately, haven’t you?”

“What?!”

“Maybe it’s just my imagination, but it feels like you’re more distant than usual.”

“…………”

Miyo was at a loss for words, and she slowly averted her eyes down to the side.

She wasn’t trying to be cold and standoffish around Kiyoka, of course. Yet, although she was trying to behave just like always, she couldn’t object to his comment, either.

Of course I am—I don’t know how I’m supposed to face him.

She’d been averting her eyes more frequently lately, and her words often caught in her throat. This must have given Kiyoka the feeling like something was off.

Her behavior didn’t jump out to him when he was busy working or at the station because of the Usui situation, but there was nothing to prevent him from noticing when they were alone together.

“So when spring comes… Will you be my wife?”

“Miyo. Please don’t forget about yesterday… That was how I feel.”

“You look great. Very cute.”

The events of the villa swirled around in her head. Just remembering them made her face go crimson.

While she had no reservations about marrying Kiyoka, what exactly did that kiss mean? And what did Kiyoka mean by “that was how he feels”? Had he always been the type to call someone “cute”?

On top of these embarrassing questions hounding her, there was now Kaoruko’s presence to torment her as well.

I wonder… Did Kiyoka do the same things…say the same things to Kaoruko, too?

She would be devastated and inconsolable if he had. Just imagining this made her confused.

In the end, what did she really want to do?

Kiyoka had the freedom to feel however he wanted, too. While he treasured Miyo, she hadn’t always been his lover, either. It was perfectly reasonable that women for whom he had feelings for, whether in the past, present, or future, would suddenly cross paths with her.

But if one such women really did show up, Miyo was sure she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Slowly, she looked up once again at her fiancé’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“S-s-s-sorry…!”

She couldn’t do it. Her face was so hot her eyes were practically spinning.

His porcelain fair skin and his bluish eyes. His night-transparent light-brown hair flowing from his shoulders down his back. Kiyoka was just in his usual nightwear, so why was he stunning?

“I wasn’t looking for an apology, really…”

“I—I—I’m not trying to avoid you. I swear.”

“I didn’t really think you would actually do something like that on purpose anyway.”

“Mrrrm………”

Miyo was mortified. She wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Was it something I did?”

“……That’s not it.”

He had it wrong. It was only that Miyo was unable to understand and bear her own emotions.

If she was more worldly, if she had a large number of friends and was accustomed to interacting with other people, then maybe she would’ve been able to get through things without being at the mercy of her own emotions by now. She might have learned how to confront both her feelings and Kiyoka’s.

It seemed like it would take some more time before she’d be able to do something about this vague, unclear sensation inside her.

Kiyoka’s face suddenly clouded over.

“Something bad happened at the station, didn’t it?”

Miyo widened her eyes in shock.

She never would have imagined him picking up on this. Though, when she thought about it for a moment, it was obvious. He was the unit commander, so it made sense he’d have a grasp on what happened in his workplace.

“One of the men happened to see you and Jinnouchi and reported to me about it.”

“It’s…”

“If one of the squad leaders or I tell them off, it’ll make them resentful. But I need to do something, or—”

“It’s okay.”

Miyo impulsively interrupted Kiyoka.

“W-well, I know it’s not okay, but neither of us wants you to address it that way, Kiyoka.”

Miyo could only guess what Kaoruko’s feelings on the subject were. Nevertheless, she was confident they were on the same page.

“If you warn your men about it, there’s bound to be a few who will find you unreasonable for doing so. That would be even worse, wouldn’t it?”

Miyo wanted to avoid undermining the trust between Kiyoka and his men.

Neither she nor Kaoruko could avoid being totally unoffended by whatever was said to them, that much was true. Bullying was hard to take, and it might eventually get them down.

However, there had yet to be any violence, and it’d be much sadder if she and Kaoruko ended up sowing distrust between Kiyoka and the men in his unit.

“We’ll do what we can to handle the situation ourselves, so you should keep focused on your duties instead,” Miyo insisted with a smile.

Kiyo began to slightly open his mouth, but the words he left unsaid disappeared into a sigh.

“Oh, would you like more tea?”

“Yes, please.”

After refilling the teapot with the still-warm water from the kettle and giving it a small shake, she poured green tea into Kiyoka’s teacup.

The image of Kaoruko handing him a cup of coffee, a vaguely cheerful look on her face, came to Miyo’s mind, and a dark cloud again descended over her heart.

This isn’t good. I can’t let myself get like this…

She wanted things to go well with Kaoruko, and she wanted their friendship to strengthen. If Miyo brought these insecurities into the mix, then it would ruin any chance of things going well between them.

The quiet clunk of the teacup hitting the surface of the tea table brought Miyo back to reality.

“I don’t need any extra push to crush the Gifted Communion, but… sigh.”

“Kiyoka?”

Miyo was confused to see desolation suddenly descend over Kiyoka’s face after he took a sip of tea.

“You’re fine with leaning on Jinnouchi for help, but you won’t rely on me? Is that how it is?”

“Umm. I’m not, erm, leaning on Kaoruko. I think it’s a bit different than that.”

It was less that she was relying on her, and more that they were both supporting each other……or more accurately, she wanted them to support each other. It certainly wasn’t because she found it hard to depend on Kiyoka and was turning to Kaoruko instead, or anything like that.

“Why do you say that, Kiyoka?”

“……Forget it.”

Miyo didn’t really understand, but she was sure he wanted her to get along with Kaoruko.

Is there something that I can do?

Other than giving her words of encouragement, was there anything else she could do to help cheer Kaoruko up?

Housework was about the only skill at Miyo’s disposal. In which case…

That’s right. As long as I have that…

She immediately began coming up with a plan that would benefit both her and Kaoruko.

The following day, Miyo and Kaoruko finished cleaning the kitchenette without incident before they went on to tidy up one place after the other.

Over the course of several days, they cleaned the storehouse where the unit’s equipment was kept, organizing the interior, polishing the corridor floors, and wiping down all the windows. They washed and dried the piled-up laundry, collected and disposed of the trash, and ousted dust from every corner of the station.

One day, after Miyo had fully settled into her daily life of coming to the station every day…

Kaoruko had gone to the storehouse to grab a sponge, dustcloth, and other cleaning supplies to clean the water well behind the station. Meanwhile, Miyo was tidying up the watering cans and buckets scattered around the vicinity of the well.

B-brr, it’s cold.

The well was outside. With nothing to protect her against the wind, cold gusts blew directly on her face and the sections of her arms and legs where she’d rolled up her kimono.

She had started the cleaning project thinking it would be better to get out of the way before everything froze over, but it was now dawning on her that this would go smoother when it warmed up.

With that in mind, Miyo went to head inside. Just then, she heard a man’s deep laugh.

“Still though, women sure are convenient to have around, don’t you think?”

“You can say that again. Look how eager they are to grovel on the floor to clean for us.”

“Girls look much better holding a broom than a sword.”

Her attention piqued by the exceedingly unpleasant remarks, Miyo quietly peered around the corner of the building, and her eyes fell on three soldiers, freshly finished with their training by the looks of it, chatting away with wooden blades still in hand.

Over the past several days, no matter what she was doing, she would always encounter snide remarks like these. It appeared around half of the unit’s members were displeased with her coming and going in the station, along with Kaoruko’s presence there.

On closer inspection, she noticed that one of the three men was the younger recruit who had previously sparred with Kaoruko.

“Women should know their place and stay out of our business.”

“You got a real good thrashing yourself. I mean, the whole conversation about whether women can fight or not is ridiculous. They’re gonna get married eventually anyway, and then it’s no more work for them.”

A loud guffaw echoed.

Miyo learned what it felt like for her temper to finally reach its breaking point.

Why are they saying such horrible things?

They didn’t accept Kaoruko, her strength and her hard work, simply because she was a woman. Completely tainted by their own prejudices right from the beginning, they disregarded reality and derided someone giving everything she had.

There could be nothing more unreasonable, more outrageous.

The Saimori family had treated Miyo the way they had because she possessed no supernatural ability. While it was a painful memory for her, a frustrating and miserable memory, part of it was unavoidable.

Kaoruko, though, was different.

She was strong, and that strength came from her own hard work.

“Obviously, a woman’s never going to measure up to a man anyway. They can swing their swords all they want, but it won’t make difference.”

It happened without Miyo really being aware of it herself. She slowly walked out in front of the three men.

“Ah……”

“Did you hear all of that?”

Once the men became aware of her presence, they all grimaced at the awkwardness of the situation.

“Um…”

Just telling the men off here wouldn’t make prejudice suddenly disappear from the world. But Kaoruko had done nothing wrong. Miyo wanted to make sure these three understood that.

She locked eyes with each of the men before she finally spoke.

“I don’t think you should say stuff like that.”

“Excuse me?”

“I heard that the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit was a meritocracy. A place where anyone with enough skill could join, even women. Was I mistaken?”

The men kept their mouths shut at her softly spoken question, their inability to offer any rebuttal written on their faces.

Essentially, they had realized that their claims diverged from the unit’s policies. When it came down to it, they were upset about losing to Kaoruko, to a woman. That and nothing more.

“You won’t be able to recruit the competent fighters you need if you mock people like that. And if losing to a woman’s so upsetting, wouldn’t it be more logical to first try making more of an effort yourself instead of driving her away with gossip?”

“What would you know? You’ve got nothing to worry about since the commander protects you from everything,” one of them murmured bitterly.

“Kn-knock it off.” One of the three tried to warn him against it, but the man didn’t stop. He stabbed his wooden sword into the ground and shook with rage.

“I guess patronizingly pointing things out from safety is the one thing even a woman can handle, huh? Meanwhile, we’re constantly fighting with our lives on the line. I’m not going to stay here and listen to complaints from someone who doesn’t have any damn clue what our jobs are like.”

“…………”

“Women lack stamina and strength. So how are they supposed to be able to fight just like we do? They can’t, obviously. Women have other things they’re suited for, so they can go do those. All they do is drag us down, so how come they’re paid to shoddily imitate a man’s work? Like hell I’m standing for that.”

There was a kernel of truth in his objection. Women were undoubtedly physically weaker than men on average.

However.

“…You’re not the one who gets to decide that. Kaoruko was rightfully evaluated and made into a soldier. What sort of authority do you have to reject her like that?”

The rational part of her mind was shocked at the depth of her anger. She could have never imagined so many words pouring out of her like this.

“If you’re going to insist on denying Kaoruko her proper due, then I would suggest doing so once you’ve actually sparred against her and won.”

At this, the men all became incensed. Miyo closed her eyes, anticipating they would strike her with their thick, well-honed arms.

A few moments passed, yet the impact never came.

“Well, well, what’s got you all so riled up?”

The mocking voice belonged to a woman.

Miyo timidly opened her eyes and saw that Kaoruko had gotten between her and the soldiers.

“Tch……”

“Lay one finger on Miyo, and it’ll be the end of you.”

The men knitted their brows and glowered at Kaoruko before going off.

“Sheesh, immediately resorting to violence like that, I swear.”

“Kaoruko.”

Perhaps she had caught their conversation?

“Ah, don’t worry. I just got here. I don’t have any clue what you all were talking about. I’ll keep quiet about this to the commander.”

The eyebrows on her smiling face drooped for a moment, and Miyo understood she was lying.

She took Kaoruko’s hand.

“Let’s save cleaning the well for later.”

“What?”

“Come with me.”

Pulling the perplexed Kaoruko along, Miyo went to the kitchenette they had cleaned just a few days prior.

“What is it, Miyo?”

“I’ve got something good today. Please, take a seat.”

Miyo lined up one of the small stools that were stacked up in the kitchenette, and once she made Kaoruko sit, she took out the bundle in question from the cupboard. Then she undid the square cloth wrapper to reveal a small lunchbox.

“Is that a boxed lunch?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t have lunch inside.”

Miyo held out the box in front of Kaoruko and removed the lid. When she did, Kaoruko’s eyes grew wide.

“Oh, it’s manju…”

“Um, well, I thought that maybe having something sweet would help keep your spirits up through unpleasant times.”

It was then that a very important thought crossed Miyo’s mind.

“…You don’t dislike sweets, do you?”

Now that she thought about it, she had never asked Kaoruko about her taste in food. The sweet buns wouldn’t cheer her up at all if she preferred, say, alcohol instead.

She had gotten the impression from her interactions with Kaoruko that she liked sweets and never even questioned it.

G-great, now I’ve done it…

However, the other woman just burst into laughter seeing Miyo get flustered.

“Ah-hah-hah. It’s fine. I love sweets,” she said before picking up one of the pale brown manju and taking a bite.

“How are they……?” Miyo asked bashfully.

Kaoruko’s eyes sparkled with wonder.

“They’re delicious! Wait, did you make these yourself, Miyo?”

“I—I did, actually.”

Miyo could’ve simply bought some, but she wanted to make something from the heart.

She’d gone with manju because right around the time she decided to make something sweet for Kaoruko, she remembered that a magazine had just come out with a recipe detailing how to make them.

“Wasn’t it tough to make these by hand?”

“No, it wasn’t too difficult.”

It had taken her a little longer than expected to gather the ingredients, but actually making them hadn’t been hard.

Kaoruko clearly hadn’t been lying about her fondness for sweets. She devoured the manju in her hand right before Miyo’s eyes, wearing a blissful smile on her face.

“That was tasty. Thank you, Miyo.”

“Of course… Would you like another?”

“Well then,” Kaoruko happily replied to her offer, reaching out to grab her second.

“Thank you.”

Hearing a small murmur escape from Kaoruko’s mouth as she stared at the manju in her hands, Miyo raised her head.

“…Sorry I made you worry over me.”

“Not at all.”

Miyo gently placed the freshly closed lunchbox to the side and shook her head. Kaoruko hadn’t forced her to do anything. However…

“In the house I grew up in, each and every day was a struggle. Sometimes just breathing made me miserable.”

She had lived with her father being uninterested in her, her stepmother hating her, and her stepsister deriding her.

Over and over she had asked herself the questions—why was she alive when there wasn’t anywhere she belonged, when she felt so unwanted?

“But…in my darkest moments, there were people who raised my spirits, even though we couldn’t exchange words.”

Unlike her childhood friend Kouji Tatsuishi, who would often cheer her up, the Saimori family servants never openly took Miyo’s side. Still, they would show their concern in subtle ways, giving away unused daily necessities, or splitting their food with her.

Those moments had made Miyo unbelievably happy. Simply just from knowing there was someone who was thinking of Miyo and acting on her behalf.

“Kaoruko. If you want to talk, and you’re okay with telling me, I’ll listen. Whether it’s venting or anything else. I probably won’t be able to help you beyond lending an ear, but… If you keep smiling like that, you’ll end up forgetting what it means to truly smile.”

“……Yeah.”

There was a slight tremor to Kaoruko’s reply.

“You’re really kind, you know that, Miyo?”

“I don’t think so.”

“No, you’re nice. I may have asked about us becoming friends, but most people could never be this caring to someone they had only known for a few days.”

Kaoruko tearfully smiled and bit into her manju.

“Delicious… Eating something this tasty has cheered me up a whole lot.”

Then she let an apology quietly escape her lips.

“Forgive me.”