For Some Reason, A Gal In My Class Became Friends With My Step-sister. - V1 Ch-4 part 6【Key】
Translator: AJ1703
Editor: Matsu
◆６【Great Harmony】
The Nagumo family dinner with Yua begins.
It’s a square table, but Tsumugi and Yua are flanking me from both sides. I almost expected them to like me that much. But it’s more likely that they simply don’t like sitting next to my father, who is sitting across from me. He’s a big guy, both in height and width.
Yua looked like a borrowed cat when she first met Dad, but she seemed to have gotten used to it and looked like her usual self even in front of him.
“So, Yua-chan, how is our Shinji doing at school?”
My father asked her an unnecessary question. Don’t try to sound like a parent in strange places.
“He’s an honor student, and he gets along with me really well.”
“Well, you’re his girlfriend after all.”
“To be honest, we’re so close that we can’t talk about it here.”
This girl… What is she trying to say in front of other people’s parents?
“You’re doing great, Shinji!”
My father clapped his hands.
“So fussy. Don’t lie to him, Yua.”
I made eye contact with Yua, telling her not to do that here. It wasn’t a lie by any means, but I don’t want to talk about it here. Dad would be depressed if I told him the truth, and I didn’t feel comfortable sharing it with Tsumugi around.
“I’m sorry~, I embellished the story a bit. It’s true that we get along well, but…”
As expected, Yua understood what I was trying to say.
“But Shinji doesn’t talk to me in class, you see.”
“Eh, why is that?”
Tsumugi reacted before Dad did.
“Shin-nii, why are you ignoring Yua-san?”
That reminds me, I didn’t tell Tsumugi how we were spending our time in the classroom.
She looked at me accusingly, but I guess she wasn’t angry because she didn’t stop eating her food.
“…No, I’m not ignoring you, okay?”
“You brat, if you have something to say, you’d better say it right. I’ll listen to you.”
He must have sensed that I was struggling, because Dad interrupted me.
Dad put down his chopsticks and beckoned with both hands, “Come here.” which means he’s ready to take your attack! That’s what he does when he’s in the middle of a fight. He’s got the face of a fighting man.
“Shinji is so shy, you see?”
Yua said so.
Part of me is embarrassed, but not really.
“Oi, Shinji, she’s your girlfriend. You need to hit her more with your body and mind, don’t worry about Yua-chan.”
Dad was now completely on Yua’s side.
“…Because.”
─We’re not really balanced.
I wanted to say so, but I couldn’t help but be concerned about Tsumugi’s reaction.
I didn’t want to look bad in front of Tsumugi.
“…Dad. If the heavyweight singles champion and a young guy who just debuted were to have a match in the main event without any context, the audience, other competitors, and everyone else would boo.”
I tried to convey my intentions in a way that only Dad could understand.
Of course, I’m on the side of the young guy who just made his debut.
“It all depends on how you fight, right?”
Dad didn’t say anything stupid, he looked at me like I was a complete idiot and was about to pick his nose. Don’t react in an angry manner.
“I don’t care if he’s a young guy with no track record, he’s not going to get booed if he’s trying his best to win with all his might. There’s a fool who thinks about losing before he starts, and that’s you.”
Dad said as he squared his jaw.
“Shinji is always worrying about strange things~.”
Suddenly, Yua put her arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to her.
“Dad, don’t you think we look good together?”
“Yeah, you look good together! I think you two look as good together as me and my championship belt.”
It’s my father’s way of boasting about everything.
“I welcome the addition of a daughter. It would make the house more colorful.”
“Don’t go into sexual harassment mode, Dad. This is not a waiting room.”
Also, don’t talk about encouraging marriage. Our relationship is just a gimmick. It will only make it harder for me to tell you the truth.
“That reminds me, Shin-nii, you said you would marry me a long time ago.”
The unexpected comment came from the right side of the room.
As expected, she was still eating her meal, so it wasn’t serious, and she just said it because she happened to remember.
That was back when Ayaka-san was still alive and well, and Tsumugi had just started elementary school. It’s not that I’m a guy who’s into only elementary school kids, it’s just that when Ayaka-san said, “Tsumugi is very attached to Shinji-kun, and I’m looking forward to working with him in the future,” I replied, “Well, maybe I’ll marry Tsumugi-chan.” I was an innocent man and good-natured person back then.
“But now you have Yua-san, right?”
Tsumugi had a big smile on her face.
“That’s why I’m giving you the right to marry Shin-nii.”
“Eh? Really? Can I take him?”
“Yes, yes. Instead, will you be my Onee-chan?”
“Sure, sure~. Hey, Shinji, can I stay in your room today?”
“…What are you going to do staying in my room?”
“I wonder~. Should I tell you~?”
“Stop it. Please, don’t say anything else…”
Sometimes, I can’t tell if Yua is joking or not.
Especially in this case, it’s hard to know how to react, so I wish she would refrain from saying anything.
Dad was watching the exchange between the three of us.
“You know, Shinji, even if you can’t talk to Yua-chan in the classroom, you don’t have to be in a hurry, do you?”
“What’s with the change of heart?”
You’ve been rushing me so much earlier.
“It’s because I’m convinced that if you can work with Yua-chan like that, you’ll be able to do well without having me kick your ass and give you a hard time.”
Dad said so.
“You’re not the same guy I knew a while ago, from what I can tell.”
There was already a tower of cans of highball around my father.
Apparently, from his point of view, there had been some kind of change in me since the last time we met.
It’s true that I may have changed. I can see it even in myself.
I used to be so stubborn that I had to do things on my own, and as a result, I was far from understanding Tsumugi. Perhaps I wasn’t even listening to Tsumugi’s words deep down.
That all changed when I got involved with Yua.
Unlike me, who tends to be stubborn, Yua’s aggressive pace helped me to come out of my shell in some small way. It was Yua who pulled me up in such a way.
That’s why, in the near future, I’ll be able to get involved with her in the classroom, regardless of the risks involved. I have to do that, don’t I?
“Shinji, now you know why I chose you even though I had to seal off the High Fly Press, the most beautiful move in all of entertainment sports.”
Dad’s ironclad boast about sealing his technique came back to life again.
But this time, it didn’t just sound like bragging.
I could understand why my father had sacrificed his career as a wrestler to protect what he wanted.
“Dad, are you drunk?”
As my father said, I was aware of the change, but he was my parent. I was embarrassed to react honestly.
“I’m not drunk, don’t play dumb with me. I’m going to give you a half Boston Crab with my ankle poles.”
In my father’s case, he would seriously try to do this.
“Ehh~, so I’ll have to wait to make out with Shinji in the classroom~?”
Yua complained.
“Shinji, do something about it. If you take your time, I’ll drive you into a corner and machine chop you.”
“You’re quick to retract your previous statement.”
“You idiot. There’s nothing more like a pro wrestler than retracting his words. You know the pattern of a wrestler who declares his retirement and then retracts his words before returning to the ring, don’t you?”
That’s true, but I won’t tell Dad about that. Also, you’re too soft on Yua.
“Hey, Shin-nii, it’s already easy to make friends in the classroom. Just a while ago, you even kissed Yua-san in the hallway.”
“Eh!?”
Tsumugi… don’t tell me you’ve been watching us?
I tried to give Yua a reproachful look, saying, “This is because of you,” we showed Tsumugi a scene that was inconvenient for her emotional education.
“…………”
Why is she looking down at herself like she’s a boiled octopus?
You’ve done this to yourself…
Her body temperature is rising and cold sweat is pouring down her back.
Yua, who had been so talkative just a few minutes ago, stopped speaking, and the tension was transmitted to me next to her, and we all remained motionless for a while, becoming a spectacle to please Dad and Tsumugi.
★
After dinner, I had to walk Yua to the station.
It was a quiet night in a residential area, and all I could hear was the sound of our feet scraping the ground.
“I’m sorry about all the noise.”
I said so.
My father was always a noisy man, but today he was even more so.
I guess he was very happy that my guest was here. And since he thought she was my girlfriend, his joy must have been doubled.
“You don’t have to be sorry, it was fun to be mixed in with Shinji’s family.”
Yua laughed. She seemed to be laughing from the bottom of her heart.
“…I’m glad Yua had fun.”
I remembered Yua’s family relations.
Did today’s event benefit Yua?
“This is a strange thing to say but…”
Yua said.
“I feel like I became a part of Nagumo today. If I had been a member of your family, I would have laughed like that.”
Yua’s face looked downcast.
It was an expression she didn’t show at the dinner table. Maybe she had been holding it in until now. It was probably because Yua was not so careless as to make a sad face in front of other people’s families, comparing them to her own.
“I’m glad you’re here, Yua.”
I said so.
“I’ve never seen such a lively atmosphere in my life.”
“Even with Shinji’s dad around?”
“He was even more excited than usual.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. To tell you the truth, Dad had been depressed since Ayaka-san… Tsumugi’s mother died. He didn’t show it, but I felt like he was different from the father I knew well.”
It was only my father’s standard of depression, so I’m sure it would have looked the same to others, but I could see the subtle changes. Ayaka-san had a bad relationship with her parents, and my Dad was the only family member she could connect to. So, after Ayaka-san’s death, my father took care of all the procedures. Sure, he was a superhuman in the ring, but when he got out of it, he was just an ordinary person, and he was never good at paperwork. I think the reason why he went all the way to Mexico for a long expedition was to have a change of scenery.
“There’s only so much I can do for my father on my own… If it weren’t for Yua, I wouldn’t have been able to get along with Tsumugi, and my father would have been depressed because he was left alone.”
Yua walked in silence, looking down.
“Even so I had a reason to be there, didn’t I?”
Yua said so with a small smile.
“Of course. You’re not like me. You should be more proud of yourself, you know?
“Sorry, it’s just too quiet around here.”
I guess that’s part of it, and we were in a busy place just a few minutes ago, so it’s strange that the heat has suddenly gone down.
I wonder if any of my classmates know about this quiet, dark Yua that she never shows in the classroom.
I wondered if even Ousaki knew about her.
If that’s the case, the current Yua may be a special figure that only I know.
But that didn’t make me happy.
I’ve always wanted Yua to be annoying, aggressive, and cheerful.
I decided to put into action a plan I’d been thinking about for a while.
It was quiet, there was no one around, and it was now or never. It’s now or never.
“Yua, here.”
I put it in Yua’s hand.
“What?”
Yua’s eyes widen as she stares at the palm of my hand.
“…A duplicate key?”
“I’ve been thinking about when to give it to you.”
Yua comes to the Nagumo house almost every day to play with us and take care of us.
She’s almost a resident of our house.
So it’s not surprising that she has a key, I thought, and asked for it to be duplicated a while ago.
“I know you might have some problems living alone, and you can always come to my house if you need anything.”
Even though we had been getting along well recently, I was still worried about the weight of a duplicate key.
“Thanks, Shinji.”
She squeezed the key in her palm with both hands.
“I’ll take good care of it.”
This time, she gave me a smile of high purity, without any hint of nervousness.
“I’m going to pretend that this is a ring from Shinji.”
“No, it doesn’t mean that much…”
I was going to say no, but then I thought I would say something that would cheer up the depressed Yua.
“You can assume it is… but…”
“Seriously? I’m so thrilled!”
Finally the familiar smirk returned to Yua’s face, and without a sound she pulled herself closer to me and put her arms around my waist.
“You want to come over to my place? It’s just the two of us and we can course until morning.”
“Stop it, I’m still getting used to that kind of joke…”
I don’t know what to do. I think I’ll be like this for the rest of my life when I’m in front of Yua. I don’t know why I’m assuming “forever”. It’s as if I’m really going to get married.
“It’s not really a joke. But you should come to my house sometime, and take Tsumugi-chan with you.”
I nodded, thinking that would be good.
I was curious to see what Yua’s room was like.
I don’t like the fact that I still don’t know Yua’s room because it makes me feel like we are not on good terms.
After all, it’s better for Yua to be a cheerful person.
I’m the only one with a serious face.
Otherwise, there’s no balance.
I don’t think I can erase all of Yua’s sorrow just by giving her a key, though.
I hope Yua understands that the Nagumo family is always ready to take care of her.
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Translator’s Afterword: With that, we’re done with chapter 4. These last two parts had something tingling within me. It’s a family-focused part, and I somehow felt a connection between it. I even teared up a bit when MC’s Dad said something like “You’re not the same guy I used to know.” In other words, it meant someone growing up as a person. I really like small character developments like these that at first, may seem unnoticeable but then would be pointed out and you’ll be agreeing. Anyways, next up would be the epilogue~.
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