Table of Contents

Illustration
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 26
Chapter 25
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
Credits
 Chapter 1 – Let’s Just Get Married, Okay?

“You want to buy a lottery ticket with me?”

I guess she didn’t have the money to buy even a single lottery ticket.
My spoiled childhood friend, Mita Suzuka, suddenly asked me in a flirtatious way.
“I’m not buying it.”
“Let’s go dream about it. If I win, Yuki and I will split it in half. We’ll win 300 million and
split it in half, 150 million each. You can have fun for the rest of your life.”
“Hah. I’ll take you up on your bullshit once in a while.”
The word “half”.
Somehow, I went along with it and handed over 150 yen, half of the 300 yen per lot.
Upon receiving the money, my childhood friend Suzuka quickly ran to the lottery booth.
Lottery tickets. Actually, it’s something that even high school students can buy.
I heard that some stores refuse to sell lottery tickets to high school students.
I hope they’re not rejecting us. We waited for about a minute.
“I got it!
“Oh, good for you.
Suzuka and I happened to be on our way home together.
We didn’t know that buying a lottery ticket on the same day would change our lives
forever.
*
{ED: Twelve seconds later}

Time flies. Before I knew it, the New Year had arrived.
At the moment, I’m thinking about the lottery ticket I bought without even thinking about
it.
I just came back from my mother’s house, but I wanted to know the result, so I went to
Suzuka’s house to greet her for the New Year.
“Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year!”
I was polite, but she said “Happy New Year” in a light-hearted way.
Well, we’re childhood friends. This is normal.
I’m not sure what to make of this.
“At least give me a proper New Year’s greeting.”
“You’re the top student in your class and you got an A on your mock exams, that sounds like
sarcasm, you know?”
“Yes! I’m just being sarcastic to Yuki, who is dying to try and get into the most prestigious
university!”
“Oh, man, so… Where’s that lottery ticket you bought at the end of the year? I know I said I
wouldn’t win it anyway, but I’m still curious. Let me see it.”
After giving me an encouraging grin that made me feel like a kid, Suzuka fetched the bag of
lottery tickets and said, as if she remembered.
“By the way, it’s January 5th and I haven’t gone to Hatsumō de yet”.
{ED: Hatsumode is the first shrine visit in a new year ( a Japanese tradition)}
I’m a student preparing for an examination. It’s only natural that I should at least ask God
for help.
That’s why I decided to take Suzuka to Hatsumō de, even though it was late.
I got Suzuka to change out of her nightgown and we started walking to a nearby shrine.
As we walked, Suzuka started checking the winning numbers on her phone.
“….”
“Hmm, What’s up?”
“Yuki… I think I hit it.”
“Oh, yeah. Are you trying to fool me by deliberately exaggerating? Here, give it to me
quickly.”
I took Suzuka’s phone and the lottery ticket and checked to see if I had won.
Let’s see, the winning numbers are 56 pairs, 123456734…
“……”
“See?”
“Hey, isn’t this bad?
“Yeah. It’s really bad.”
Yes, we bought a lottery ticket together.
Who would have ever guessed that we would win the top prize?
“First, a strategy meeting.”
We decided not to go to Hatsumō de.
On January 5th, we walked into a family restaurant that was completely open for business
for the new year and started talking about the future.
.
.
.
.
“What are we going to do with this?”
“Well, since we both bought it, why don’t we split it 1.5 million each?
“I mean, who owns it, you or me?”
{ED: Kids, golden advice is to talk to the adults}
“What? We both bought it, so it’s for the both of us. Don’t ask me something silly.”
I was unable to think things through calmly.
We ordered a drink from the drink bar, but for some reason, we didn’t go to get our drinks,
and the waitress brought us water to quench our thirst.
“Suzuka. I bought that lottery ticket! Don’t tell me that I don’t have the right to own it?”
Even though they were childhood friends, we were also strangers. If it’s a lot of money,
there’s always the possibility of betrayal.
{ED: Strangers… How in the Wo-… (muffled noises)}
If you find yourself in a situation like this, you will fall into a state of suspicion.
“Of course that’s not true! Yuki’s the one who is thinking like that.”
“What?”
The mood started to turn ugly.
Then, I remembered something.
“Gift Tax…”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right. One of us has to accept the gift on behalf of the other, and if you give
it to the other, you might have to pay gift tax.
Gift tax. It’s a tax you have to pay when you give someone your money, based on the
amount they receive.
It is tax-free up to 1 million yen per year. I overheard that you are exempt from tax up to 1
million yen per year, but if you exceed that amount, a high tax rate is imposed.
“When you consider the gift tax, if we split it between us, we’d lose a lot of money.”
“What should we do?”
Suzuka and I are trying our best to get into the most challenging universities.
Unfortunately, we were still children. We still don’t know a lot about taxes and money.
We thought about talking to our parents about it, but decided not to.
Because, you know, it’s the year 2023.
The age of adulthood has been lowered to 18, and as high school seniors, Suzuka and I have
already celebrated our birthdays and were 18 years old.
Our parents have practically no right to manage our property.
Even if you talk to your parents, it is obvious that money would be confiscated or regulated
in some way for the future.
“What should we do about the gift tax?”
“I know. We have to do something about it.”
We didn’t rely on the fact that we have a civilized device called a smartphone, and we think
things through with just our minds.
And we came to a ridiculous conclusion.
“Marriage.”
{ED: Truly ridiculous but I ain’t complaining coz’ I like it}
“Marriage!? What are you spouting all of a sudden, Yuki?”
“No, I thought that if we exchanged the money together after we got married, we could use
it freely as joint assets without being subject to gift tax.”
“Indeed. But marriage, you know. It’s not like we’re lovers, we’re just childhood friends. I’m
not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
“But if we get married, one of us won’t be able to insist that this lottery is mine, and we can
avoid betrayal. Well, the worst that could happen is a quick divorce.”
It’s an outrageous idea.
It’s a great idea, but it’s not a great idea for the two of us, who were both very naive.
“Is it okay for Yuki to marry me?
“Are you okay with marrying me?”
Gift tax.
I couldn’t help but think of that word that suddenly came to my mind.
Suzuka seemed to agree with me, and we both looked at each other closely.
Seeing the look of agreement on Suzuka’s face, I declared clearly.
“Good, we’re going to get married.”
“Yes, we’re getting married. We have to persuade our parents.
{ED: The Kids are ‘Fast and Furious’}
“Hey, don’t you Remember? It’s the year 2023. The age of adulthood is 18. You don’t need
your parents’ consent.”
“Oh, right.”
After that, we didn’t do much research on what would happen if we won the lottery, but we
did a lot of research on how to get married and made preparations.
Then we went to the Municipal Government Office to get a copy of our family register and
other things.
{ED: I hope I’m right since that’s the place where japanese people register their marriages
according to google}
I became an adult at the age of 18. There was no need to check with my parents to see if
they had given me their consent.
The preparations progressed at a quick pace, but there was a problem with the witness
section of the marriage certificate.
The age of adulthood had been lowered to 18, but the signature of someone over 20 was
required.
“Who do you wanna get?”
“Wait, wait. We’re still in high school, right? Are there any school rules against getting
married in high school?”
I think we’ll be fine. When I read the school rules in the student handbook while I was
gathering the family register and such, it didn’t say anything about not being allowed to get
married.
“Oh, oh.”
When I was writing the marriage certificate, I encountered a column for witnesses.
For now, I’ll take it home and think about it.
It was when I was thinking that.
“Can I interfere for a moment, please? You’re in high school, we heard the word “marriage,”
and you can’t find an adult witness over the age of twenty. If you are fine with me and my
wife, we’ll sign it, okay?”
Two people who had just come to register their marriage approached us.
They must have heard us worrying about the lack of witnesses as high school students.
“Why are you helping us?”
“Sure, you may still be at the age where people say you are a child. Still, you believe in love
and want to get married. When you see someone like that, isn’t it natural that you want to
help them?
It’s not that being a witness is some kind of big responsibility.
I happened to run into two newlyweds who had just submitted their marriage certificate,
and they filled in the witness fields.
So, the preparations were over.
All we had to do was to submit the documents and we would be married.
“I’m starting to get nervous.”
“Oh, me too.”
I nervously submitted my marriage certificate at the counter.
The age of reaching adulthood is 18. You don’t need your parents’ written consent
anymore.
“Congratulations.”
{ED: Congratulations~ Celebrations~}
Shindo Yuki and Mita Suzuka got married.
Suzuka entered my registry, and Suzuka became Shindo Suzuka.
.
.
.
As a result of the rapid progress, there was still time.
January 5th. The day when I can redeem my lottery ticket.
After submitting the marriage certificate, we headed for the redemption with the same
vigor.
{ED: Yes, there was this lottery wasn’t there… }
Since I was the winner of the highest prize, I was taken to a small room to receive an
explanation.
“Um, are you two sure you’re buying jointly?
“What’s a joint purchase?
“It means two people bought a lottery ticket together. In the case of a joint purchase, you
can decide how much each of you will receive, and then you can receive the winnings
according to the ratio.
“What about gift tax?”
“Huh?”
I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
I can’t stop the sweat from coming out of my eyes. No, I don’t think I can.
“Of course there’s no tax, right?
{ED: Oh Holy Smokes. Enjoy your married life}
“……”
“……”
“Can I help you? Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t check the documents thorougly. I’m sure you’ll be
happy to know that as the two of you are husband and wife, you need not share the
winnings from your joint purchase. However, just in case there is a possibility of a dispute
in the future, I recommend that you both divide the money. What would you like to do?”
“Oh, yes. Please divide it neatly in half.”
“Yes, so the winning percentages are 50 percent each. We’ll split it in half and transfer the
money to your account.”
“Please, do so”
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing”.
The procedure went on in silence without me being able to say that I got married because I
thought there would be a gift tax.”
After all the procedures were completed, I was able to have my winnings transferred to my
newly created account. As expected, the money won’t be transferred immediately.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the money transferred to my new account.
After leaving the bank, we decided to take a look at the situation.
“We’re idiots, aren’t we?
“Yeah, we’re idiots. We were too paranoid about winning a lot of money. Why did you do all
that crazy research about marriage and not look into how to receive your prize money?”
“You know, what do we do?
“Well, you know. We should just get divorced.
{ED: End of series goodbye. Just Kidding… }
“Well, as expected, both Yuki and I are going to be divorced, right? Well, for the time being,
since we’re married, can we live as a normal couple?”
“A bad marriage huh. It’s not that we’re incompatible or anything. If we are really
compatible, we won’t get divorced.”
“Let’s just try living together.”
“Yeah, maybe it’s not a bad idea to become a couple.”
And so began the strange married life of Suzuka and me.
 Chapter 2 – What’s Next?

I married my childhood friend Suzuka.

We were a tentative couple and there was a very good chance that we would break up.
It would’ve been more convenient to not inform our parents.
But I couldn’t do that, and Suzuka became my spouse.
The problem of Alimony and various other issues have arisen, and I can’t just leave it at
that.
{ED: Alimony is financial support given to the divorced spouse.}
So I sat in the living room of my parents’ house, straightening my posture as I talked to
them.
“I have something important to tell you.
My father and mother were not surprised, “What is it?” They asked.
“You see, I can afford that, now, can’t I?” I spoke out to them.
“I got married!”
“Pfft!”
“Geh! Geh!”
{ED: It’s a cough}
We both coughed. I wanted to tell him everything and relax. Maybe it was because I was in
a hurry, but I continued to talk without concern for the two of them.
Me winning the lottery, My Marriage with Suzuka and many other things.
When I finished telling him everything he got really angry.
Well, it was obvious that this would happen if I got married without consent.
It was indeed strange to get married in High School.
Even though Suzuka was my childhood friend, I couldn’t face my parents.
Even if I’ve won the lottery, I still need to make sure that I know what I was allowed to do
and what not.
I was sorry.
“I’m sorry”
I was fully aware that I had made a mistake.
I kept bowing my head and apologizing to my dad, but I was still hit.
I didn’t rebel in any way because it would be strange if I wasn’t beaten.
Rather, instead of the blood rising to my head from the beating, the bleeding was gone and
my consciousness was getting duller and duller.
Oh, I really don’t know what I did to myself…
“We’re going to Suzuka-chan’s parent’s place for now.
My dad, who was relaxing at home, changed into a suit to show some decency.
I changed into my school uniform as well, which is the formal attire for high school
students.
Then I went to Suzuka’s house with my mom and dad.
When we arrived at Suzuka’s house, she was waiting for us in her formal attire.
A family meeting was held between me, Suzuka and both of our parents
A long, long sermon. The conclusion that was reached was ……
“Well, if you can manage financially, then there’s no problem with marriage. No, there’s a
very big problem, but I’ll tolerate it. But as a parent, let me ask you one last time. You two
really love each other, don’t you?”
My dad gave the closing remarks on behalf of our family.
Since we’ve been childhood friends for so long, they didn’t suspect our love for each other.
I’m flattered but it is not that I have any romantic feelings or anything like that, but I can
not say that I am thinking about divorce if we are not compatible, even though we have just
become husband and wife.
If I said we might get a divorce, I would be seriously beaten up.
That’s the thing. If I had honestly told them that I got married because I thought I would
have to pay a gift tax, I would have been in serious trouble.
If we were to come out and say that we don’t love each other…
If i say anything other than “we love each other” it would be terrific.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to understand that” was the eye-contact I made to her.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
You can say you love each other here, but there are times when you don’t get along and
break up after you become husband and wife, and is it okay?
{ED: I think this is MC’s mom}
“Haha. That’s good. I can’t believe you’re getting married because you won the lottery, you
two have a passion that’s not like kids today.”
“Okay, Mom. Let’s get some sushi. We need to celebrate today, shouldn’t we?”
‘I’ll have to serve some good sake.”
I didn’t think you two had it in you, though. Dad was surprised.”
“Well, I know it’s sudden, but it’s nice to see our daughter married. It makes us very happy,
doesn’t it?”
As soon as the sermon was over, our parents began to celebrate the new beginning for me
and Suzuka.
When will the ceremony be held?
Where are you going for your honeymoon?
When will we have grandchildren?
They asked all kinds of questions and we celebrated it in a grand way.
*
*
*
*
The next day after being scolded, acknowledged, and celebrated.
Suzuka and I were both sitting on the swings in the park, in the twilight.
“I think we’re in trouble.
“Well, yeah. I mean, you know. They told me that after high school, we would be free to do
whatever we wanted, but that means I have to move out, right?”
“I’m certain you do.”
“I have the money from winning the lottery. The room is, well, just a 1LDK”
“No, no, of course not.”
I noticed when she said that.
Suzuka and I have left my parents’ house, and it’s strange that we would be living apart
after having gone all the way.
“Cohabitation with Suzuka? Well, we’re married, so what’s the problem?”
“Cohabitation is a term used by men and women who are not married. In our case, we’re
living together, okay?”
“We’ve moved past cohabitation, we’re living together. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?
It’s not that bad. You and I have known each other for a long time, and it’s not a bad idea to
be a normal couple.
“I mean, my mom and dad, they’re like, “Where’s your wedding ring?”
“Engagement ring?”
“I’m going to buy it next time”
He said with a twinkle in his eye. I’m going to buy it next time. If I tell her now that I’m not
buying it because we may be getting a divorce, it’s going to be really bad.
“That’s right!”
We talked about the future in a relaxed mood.
As we parted, Suzuka said to me with a deliberate pout.
{ED: Awwwwww!}
“Do you want a goodbye kiss?”
“What the hell? Why all of a sudden, We’re a married couple. I’m not sure what to say.
We’ve been through a lot, but we’re still a tentative couple. I’ll leave it at that for now. You
don’t need to get swept up in the mood and deliberately do something that looks like a
couple. Let’s just take it easy and go at our own pace, okay?”
“Hahaha, I guess so. Well, bye bye… I’m afraid of meeting the teachers at school.”
It’s an after-action report, but I have to report it to the school.
I don’t know what’s going to happen, so I’m just terrified.
“Well, we have the money. They won’t expel us, and if someone says something to us and
we get in a bad situation, we can just spend the money and relax.
“Yeah, yeah. That sounds good.
“Hey, have a safe trip home, okay? You’re my wife.”
My husband should be the one to watch out for something, okay?”
They deliberately emphasized the “wife and husband” and said to each other.
The words were so tranquil that both of their mouths broke into a smile.
*
*
*
*
The next day.
We had a talk with the teacher in the student guidance office with our parents.
According to him, there was no problem because it was not forbidden by school rules.
The school would not punish me for violating the school rules.
However, it was a student marriage.
I was told that I should hide the fact that we were married at school for various reasons,
such as the attention of the people around us and the fact that it would be talked about and
rumored.
Of course, Suzuka and I knew the risk we were taking.
We promised to spend the remaining two months of our lives in high school as childhood
friends, not as husband and wife.
Suzuka and I were both relieved to hear that there were no sarcastic remarks.
However, I still had some concerns and wanted to talk about them with her. So we parted
ways with our parents, who had come to talk to us, and wandered into the downtown area
together.
Although I hadn’t been accepted to a university yet, I was going to stay around here from
spring.
My eyes were naturally drawn to a sign at a real estate agency that said something about
apartments.
“We’ll have to look for a place to live in the spring.
“Hmmm, we are a married couple… I’ve heard that the secret to a happy marriage is to have
a personal room.
“I’ve heard that the secret to a happy marriage is to have a private room. Even if you win
the lottery, if you rent a room that good from the start, you’ll run out of money quickly.
“That’s right. We split the lottery in half. As a result, I have 150 million yen in hand. Even
though no taxes are deducted, if I don’t work, I can only live a normal, ordinary life.”
He was so excited, but if he tried to live on 150 million yen, he would never be able to have
a luxurious life.
“It’s good that I can live a gentler life compared to other people. So, do you know any good
properties?”
“Well, how about this place?”
It’s a one-bedroom apartment, but the living room is separated from the rest of the house,
which seems to be a good idea for privacy.
“Which one of us should use the LDK room?
“I guess so. I don’t really care which one is the LDK room.
“I’d be fine with either an LDK or a six-tatami room with wooden flooring.
The two of us chose a room together.
It was surprisingly fun.
We think about the future and act in order to live happily.
That alone makes me feel excited.
“Maybe it’s because we don’t have to worry about money, but I’m starting to look forward
to our new life.
“Oh, that’s right. I’m really looking forward to it too”.
I was not the only one who was excited about my new life. Suzuka was also smiling happily
and filled with anticipation.
“Yeah, let’s go see them together. Furniture, appliances and everything else.
“Yes! But wa-wait a minute. We are still in our High School years.”
“Now that you mention it, we’re almost ready for the entrance exam. I mean, we have the
money, we can live without going to college and getting a job, so what are you going to do?”
“I’m going, of course. See, as Yuki said, 150 million might be enough to last you a lifetime,
but you can’t play around. I’ll go to a normal university, graduate, work at a place that
doesn’t give me much money but where the work is very easy, and use that money and the
lottery money to enjoy my life in comfort!
“I’m of the same thought. Well, I guess we’ll have to go look at the furniture another time.
We both got A’s in the mock exams, but it’s the last push. Let’s go for it!”
We’re almost ready to take the exam.
Even if I win the lottery, I still want to go to university.
That’s why Suzuka and I are going to study for the exam anyways.
 Chapter 3 – The Entrance Exam, the
Graduation Trip, and my New Wife

“Hello? Are you still studying?”

“Nah, I just finished and was thinking of calling you too, Suzuka”
As of late, I have made a habit of always calling Suzuka before going to sleep.
How this came to be is quite simple. The National Test for university admission is soon.
No matter how many times you receive an A in your prospects for entering your first choice
of university, you still need to study for it.
Like every other day, we came back home from school and immediately got to study, not
having many chances to be together.
Despite that, we ARE newlyweds.
‘There’d be something wrong with us if we only studied and did nothing more, you know!?’
It was from that objection from Suzuka that it started.
“Yuuki, did something good happen today?”
“Regrettably, no, nothing. As an entrance exam taker, all my days are study, study, study!”
“I’m the sa~me. I hate thi~s. Being an Entrance Exam taker’s such a pain, right?”
“I know… Well, have a good night”
“Yeah, goodnight”
If we had something to talk about, we’d spend our time doing so.
If not, we’d have a short and simple conversation and then end the call.
This series of events that was gradually becoming our everyday routine started without
any real reason behind it.
Still, I could feel myself lacking in human contact because of the studies for the entrance
exam.
Not being able to talk with people for a long period of time, and finding myself at an
impasse as to what to do about it, that’s how these calls before sleeping started.
Unexpectedly, it isn’t a bad thing at all.
Only a little more to go before the exam.
Today too was a day of a full-time study session.
With my level of drowsiness reaching its peak, I begin to think of going to sleep soon, so I
called Suzuka.
“She’s not answering…”
I tried calling her again.
No matter how many times I called her, the call won’t connect.
She’s probably talking with someone else.
I decided that, for the first time in a long time, I’ll go to sleep without our night call, and
yet…
“Just in case, let’s try calling her one more time”
And so, I once again call Suzuka.
This time, she answered the call like usual.
“Good evening! It’s your lovely wife Suzuka here!”
“Oh, you answered this time. I say, if you’re going to say something like ‘Let’s call each other
before sleeping? I’ll get angry if you don’t do it!’, you should at least answer the phone. Is it
that? Are you cheating on me?”
It was intended to be taken as a light joke from my side.
However, my choice of words was poor.
“What’s this, what’s this? Are you getting jealous over me speaking with someone else?
After all, you’re going on about cheating”
I could tell it from her tone of voice alone.
She was grinning smugly while teasing me.
“Heh? Who’d get jealous over that?”
“Ee~h, despite me not answering your call, weren’t you a little too fast in calling me again?”
“You! That, I simply thought, why not try one last time…?”
“There you go agai~n”
I can’t see myself winning this one.
Due to my using the word ‘cheating’, Suzuka persistently went on and on about ‘You’re
jealous, right?’.
—After a long time of trying to get her to calm down, we finally changed the topic to with
whom she was talking before me.
“Before talking with Yuuki, I was talking with Miki-chan”
“Ooh, her, huh? And, what were you talking about?”
Miki is a classmate of Suzuka and mine.
She’s one of the friends with whom Suzuka gets along very well.
“She was su~per hyped, telling me, ‘Let’s go on a graduation trip after the exam!’. It’s that,
you know? She’s escaping from the cruel reality of the National Exam.”
A graduation trip.
In the present year, 2023, because the Age for being a major had been lowered to 18 years,
we can already stay at a hotel without our parents present and without the need to present
a letter of consent from them.
As such, all different types of travel agencies are developing and offering multiple
graduation plans aimed specifically at those who just graduated from high school.
That together with the price competition makes it possible to get a trip for a very
reasonable price.
It’s for this reason that a group of boys, myself included, have been thinking of going on a
graduation trip which included staying over some days. Nonetheless, the idea itself had
been lacking charm, leading to us not being fully convinced of doing it…
“He~h, then how about you invite some girls to go? Miki-chan said it herself too, ‘It’s fine
just us girls, bu~t, it would be even better if some boys came along!’”
“Well, it is a graduation trip, so I guess that’s not a bad idea. Oh! Speaking of trips, leaving
aside the graduation trip, my mother is pestering me every single day, ‘When the exam is
over, you’ll go on your honeymoon, right? Where are you going? Eeh, where?’”
“Ahahaha, so it’s the same for you too. I was just told the same right now too! Well, I ended
up snapping and yelled at her, ‘Anyhow, the graduation trip comes first!’”
“I know, especially since we won’t be getting many chances to see our high school friends
after entering university. More the reason why the graduation trip comes first. I mean, we
ARE husband and wife at any rate.”
“True enough. Ah! Look at the hour! We should go to sleep already.”
“You’re right. Well, don’t go catching a cold, ok? Goodnight”
“Good night”
I touched the screen of my smartphone and ended the call.
“*yawn* So sleepy…”
While thinking to myself that, contrary to my initial plans, the call ended up lasting a long
time, I went to my bed and fell asleep.
Now then, contrary to one’s wishes, time sure flies by.
Before I knew it, the National Exam had already reached its end.
Having finished the application to my university of choice, all that’s left was to wait for the
results.
That’s right, at this precise moment, I am waiting for the notification of acceptance or
rejection.
Suzuka, who applied to the same university as me, was standing by my side after we
decided to take the opportunity to come together and see if we passed.
Also, we were currently in my room.
And, well…
For some reason, the moment Suzuka arrived, my mother decided to go and do some
shopping, leaving us alone.
{ED/N: Ya for “Some Reason”}
“Checking my answers afterwards, I seemed to have done well, but seeing how it happens
that you sometimes forget to mark the answer, or you mark it in the wrong number, I can’t
help but feel nervous about if I passed or not…”
“Same goes for me. I should be able to pass it if it goes according to my self-evaluation…”
In this way, the two of us were seated in front of the computer, waiting anxiously for the list
of accepted applicants to be published.
“Yuuki, what will you do if you’re accepted?”
“Since it’s my first choice of university, and the exams are all over now, I’d go and enjoy
myself like there’s no tomorrow. How about you?”
“It’s also my first choice of university, and if I pass, I believe all my exams would be finished
too~”
We continue to wait whilst being restless.
Soon after, the moment we awaited arrived.
We input our examinee number and the page is displayed.
The first one we looked up is mine.
ACCEPTED
“Yes!!”
I raise my arms in celebration.
I already had a feeling that I’d pass, based on my self-evaluation. Still, happy things make
you happy.
“Congratulations!”
“Yeah! Next is your turn, ready?”
Fearfully, Suzuka inputs her examinee number.
She mistyped her number a few times before she got it right, and now she goes on to press
the button to show the results.
ACCEPTED
The screen displayed the above.
Suzuka is now a high schooler officially accepted into university on her first try.
“I did it! I did it, Yuuki!”
“Yes, you did! Great job!”
“Ueeehh…! I’m so glad I didn’t fill the wrong number of questiooon!!”
I was worried about it.
Needless to say, Suzuka too was anxious about this. The result of being released from our
worries was this.
Suzuka was crying tears of happiness.
In the spur of the moment, Suzuka jumped to hug me, and as I was soothing her, it
happened.
There was a phone call from my mother.
I freed myself from Suzuka and, for the time being, answered the phone.
“So, how did it go?”
“Aah, mom, I passed! Of course, Suzuka did so too.”
“Is that so? I’m happy to hear that. I’ll be busy today with errands, so I’ll be back late.”
“Oh, ok?”
“There’s no problem. I’ll be back UNTIL LATE, ok?”
In short, she’s saying ‘You guys can go and get wild’.
There’s no helping the fact that I’m getting this creepy sensation from having my own
mother say those kinds of s*x-related things.
Rather, I mean, just how should I answer my mother now…? While I was thinking about
that, the only answer I managed to squeeze out was this.
“Be careful on the way back?”
“Oh my, worrying about your mother, you’re so kind! But more than me, it’s you, Yuuki,
who needs to be careful, you know? Getting carried away and going too far is no good,
understand?”
“… Uh, yeah”
I’m more than aware of the fact that my face is twitching.
Please don’t say things like ‘Getting carried away and going too far’ to your own son.
It really gives me a creepy feeling…
“Well then, be nice to Suzuka-chan, ok?”
She hung up after saying that.
“Haa…”
“It seemed as if that was Mrs… I mean, my mother-in-law, so why is it that you look so
tired?”
“She said that she’d be coming back late. And was very openly implying it would being ok
even if we did those kinds of things”
“I see, I see. Oh! It’s from my mother”
This time, it was Suzuka’s turn to receive a call from her mother.
And, well…
As she continued her conversation on the phone, Suzuka’s face gradually changed into a
twitching strained smile.
After saying she was accepted and talking about other things, the call ended and Suzuka
spoke to me.
“I was told the same, to not go too far. She even went as far as being more explicit and
saying, ‘Make sure you protect yourself, ok? You’re still young, so think carefully before
doing it’. Having your parents worry about that kind of thing makes me feel like dying from
embarrassment!”
“It can’t be helped. The two of us are husband and wife. It’s natural that they think we’ll be
doing, or are doing, those kinds of things”
“Yuuki. This is a rare opportunity, so, want to do it?”
Nonchalantly, a bomb was dropped.
Suzuka.
Her hair is neither too long nor too short.
Her chest is… On the slightly smaller size side.
Having such a line said from a girl like that, from a wife like that…
Speaking honestly, there’s nothing bad about it, but…
“… No, we should stop right there, ok? We would be pushing it too far for a trial as a
married couple. If we went so far as having s****l relations, we would be ending the ‘trial’
part of this”
“Hoho~. You don’t want to do pervy stuff?”
“And what about you? Are you trying to tempt me by saying those things?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure. Until a bit back, we were just two people connected by nothing other
than being long-time childhood friends, right? I guess it hasn’t really hit me as real that I
would be doing that kind of things with Yuuki”
“See, that’s what I mean. Ok, now, more importantly, I sure am hungry. I was so nervous I
couldn’t even eat breakfast…”
I was overly worried about the verdict of my being accepted that I skipped breakfast.
It was just when I was thinking of cooking up some make-shift breakfast for myself, seeing
as my mother isn’t here.
As if on purpose, Suzuka said,
“Would you like a meal? Would you like a bath? Or, Would. You. Like. Me?”
“A meal. Also, you, so you really are trying to seduce me?”
“What did you expect? After saying that you hadn’t eaten breakfast, there’s no way I could
resist the urge to say that, right? Oh! Since my dear husband is requesting a meal, I should
go and show him my abilities by preparing him one”
“Yeah, yeah! Please cook some delicious breakfast for me”
“I guess I have no choice the~n”
Suzuka and I.
The two of us headed for the kitchen.
Chapter 4 – The First Time I Saw that Face
of my Childhood Friend

Before the entrance exam, the boys, myself included, invited the girls’ group, Suzuka
included, to go together for the graduation trip.
As a result, it was decided that all 8 of us, boys and girls, would go together on the trip.
And of course, it goes without saying that… We each lied to our parents saying it was a
boys-only, or girls-only, trip.
From a parent’s perspective, high schoolers are still children.
No way they’ll smile and give you a thumbs up if you tell them you’re going on a trip that
had both boys and girls.
“Those that have already finished their entrance exams, care to help us by deciding where
we’ll go, or at least by giving us some proposals?”
Our friend, Katou, spoke as such.
Katou hasn’t yet been accepted into his first choice of university and is in the midst of
taking more exams for it.
They topped it off with, ‘Those of you that were accepted into your first choices of
university based on the National Test have nothing to do anymore, right?’.
And, speaking about ‘those that have already finished their exams’…
It was only Suzuka and me.
All the others are still studying like crazy.
Decide where we’ll go, or at least some candidates, for the graduation trip, they said.
With that responsibility in mind, after school was over for Suzuka and I, we both stopped
for a moment at my house, changed from our school uniform to casual clothes, and then
headed out for the travel agencies in the shopping district.
Planning a trip from the ground up is a Herculean task.
That’s why, for the time being, we decided to go to a travel agency and see if they happened
to have a nice travel plan.
“For now, how about we bring back a lot of pamphlets?”
“Let’s do that.”
As we move, no sooner we see a pamphlet lying around, we take it.
Once we had taken almost all of them and started to think of going back,
“Should we take this one back too?”
“You’re right… We need to think about that too.”
The object to which Suzuka was referring when saying ‘this one’.
That was not a graduation trip pamphlet, but one whose contents were a plan for a
newlyweds’ honeymoon.
Our exams are now finished, we go back to the honeymoon trip mentioned before them.
Where will we go? When will we go?
Because others were being extraordinarily noisy about it, we didn’t have the choice of not
going on one.
“We have more than enough with this amount, for sure. Next is maybe searching on the
internet?”
“In that case… How about if…”
I tried to say it, yet I was unable to express it.
As for the content of what I was trying to tell Suzuka.
It’s part of the reason why I had us change into casual clothes and then go out into the city.
“What is it?”
“You! Wipe that grin off your face! You clearly already know what I’m trying to say, and
you’ll still make me say it? Are you a demon?”
“Ee~h, I don’t have the SLIGHTEST idea of what you want to tell me, Yuuki”
“And now you’re playing dumb! Come on, let’s go and look for wedding rings.”
“Yes, let’s go!”
The reason why we went through the trouble of changing our school uniforms for casual
clothes before coming to the travel agency.
That reason is that we also had the plan of coming to look for our wedding rings.
It would indeed be a very weird course of action to go looking for rings while donning our
school uniforms.
A few minutes later.
The aura of high society exuding from the jewelry shop makes us hesitate about entering.
As soon as we timidly entered the shop, an employee came over to us.
“Welcome, dear customers. May I inquire as to what kind of goods you are in search of
today?
What a polite sales clerk.
In these kinds of stores, more than looking around by ourselves, asking the employees
would be a safer choice.
More on point, I didn’t have an inkling of an idea of what to look for in a ring.
“We’re looking for w-wedding rings”
“Understood. I shall take you to them. Please follow me.”
We were led to the section where they have them.
The clerk kindly explains to us many things concerning wedding rings.
And now, Suzuka was trying on one that was to her liking.
“… Ehehe”
Sheepishly, she showed me her hand while wearing the ring.
Despite this being nothing more than a ‘trial marriage’, being able to wear a wedding ring
seemed to make her happy.
Seeing the happy look on my wife’s face, I too can’t help but smile since a while back.
“It suits you”
“Then, should we go for this one? Ah, but that one looks promising too. Yuuki, which do you
prefer?”
“Me? Let me think… Excuse me, Mister Clerk. Could we try this one too?”
A wedding ring is something that not only Suzuka, but I too will wear.
Hence, I decided not to leave the whole responsibility to Suzuka, instead taking my time to
choose with care.
“Certainly. Please give me a moment, sir.”
After visiting more than a few other jewelry shops, Suzuka and I were finally able to choose
our wedding rings.
We do not have a credit card yet.
As such, we paid in full in cash.
For the two of us, who got married on a whim, the wedding rings are mainly to fool our
parents.
We originally planned to each pay half the price of the wedding rings, but…
In the short time when the store clerk went to the back of the shop, I told Suzuka.
“I’ll pay it all.”
“Eh?”
“They’re our first wedding rings, and it’s not like I’m lacking in money. Will you let me show
off a bit?”
“…Are you sure it’s ok? Remember, we ARE a couple that got married on the spur of the
moment.”
“Of course it’s ok. Rather, I won’t feel good with myself unless I, in this place and time, pay
the full amount.”
“That so? Thank you.”
I payed with the large sum of money I withdrew from the back.
There’s just no way I could take it all back with me on the very day I withdrew it.
At a later date, when our rings engraved with our names and date we married are
completed, we will come to pick them up.
At last, we left the jewelry shop.
Having left the jewelry shop, I spoke to Suzuka, who was walking by my side.
“It’s my first time using that big of a sum of money.”
“How was it? Using so much money and buying wedding rings.”
“I’ll be honest. It wasn’t a bad feeling. How do I say this? The moment you came over to me
looking so happy to show me the ring, I simply thought, ‘If it’s for the sake of this smile,
then there’s no problem’”
The smile of my childhood friend.
Frankly, I was already tired of seeing it.
However, the smile that Suzuka showed to me today was completely different to the one
she always has.
Bashful, yet happy; her eyes shining like two precious gems.
Regardless of the fact that we knew each other for around 15 years, it was my first time
seeing that expression of hers.
“… You know, Yuuki? I, I have begun to think this isn’t so bad”
“What isn’t?”
“Married life. I mean, we were supposedly only buying the wedding rings to deceive our
parents, right? So, we both decided to each pay half the price. And yet, you didn’t let me pay
anything. It made me realize deep inside, ‘Ah, he’s taking real good care of me’”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it did.”
Suzuka came closer to me.
She then grabbed my hands, and as she pulled me towards her, she says.
“I, I may be happier than I thought about marrying you, Yuuki! Well, we still have time, so
let’s go and play for a bit somewhere!”
“Ah, yeah”
The hand that was pulled so suddenly.
The words spoken so candidly.
This was the moment I, for the first time, started to see my childhood friend Suzuka as a
woman.
That said, it’s still too soon to jump to conclusions.
After all, it was just a little while back that we got carried away and ended up making the
mistake of getting married.
 Chapter 5 – Practicing Living Together?

We may still have the matter with the destination for our graduation trip, but for now, for
those of us who finished our exams, there are many other things we need to decide.
We got permission from our parents to do as we please after we graduate high school too.
In short, they told us to leave the house, rent some apartment or house and live together.
Starting from now, many high schoolers that have passed their entrance exams will begin
to look for a place to stay in order to commute to their universities. I’ll bet real estate
agents will be at their wits’ end.
As such, before they found themselves in chaos, Suzuka and I decided to go and look for a
place.
We had them show us a few different places.
And the result of doing that?
We initially thought of renting a 1LDK, but after seeing them, it turns out it was more
expensive than we ever imagined.
(TL: 1LDK = apartment with 1 Room, Living room, Dining room, Kitchen)
We looked for apartments near train stations that are close to the university, but the range
of the rent was so high, it made us have second thoughts.
“Should we choose someplace 1 or 2 stations away from the university?”
“Considering the monthly costs, that seems like the best choice.”
“Then, let’s do that.”
We gave up on living near the train station closest to the university, and instead searched
for apartments slightly further away.
The results were, we found a promising 1LDK in the area.
So, I reported to my mother that we would be signing a contract to start living there from
spring.
“Wouldn’t it be fine if you moved over there even from March?”
“Though we won’t need to go to high school anymore then, since it will incur some costs,
wouldn’t you say it’s a bit of a waste of money? No matter how much money we got from
the lottery, we haven’t really gotten into any asset management or anything, so it would
only decrease. And that thought scares me.”
“That’s true. Then, seeing as this will be your first time living together and all, you should
get some practice at home before it. Leaving both of your houses and starting to live
together for the first time, only to get into a fight immediately would be the worst.”
“Practice at home?”
“Yes, living together with Suzuka-chan. In our house.”
“What about her parents?”
“Of course they’re here with us. And with that, I’ll go and contact Suzuka-chan’s parents,
okay?”
Starting April, when we start going to university, I will live together with Suzuka at an
apartment.
Or at least, that was what I thought. It would seem that somehow, before moving out, we
will practice living together over at my house.
{ED/N: ooooooooooohhhhhhh}
It may be needless to say, but I will still say it. I can’t stop having this cold sweat all over
me.
In this house, living together with Suzuka… I mean, are they for real?
The evening of the day when my mother told me to practice living together with Suzuka, at
our house.
Carrying a big backpack, Suzuka came over to my house.
“We may have said we’d live together starting April, but I never imagined this would
happen.”
“No helping that which can’t be helped. After all, it would indeed be bad if we suddenly
started living together and fought over everything.”
“Well, where will I be staying?”
“My mom said, I quote, ‘It may be a tad cramped, but she’ll stay together with you in your
room’. Is that all your luggage?”
“Nope. My father said he’d later bring over some other things in the car.”
For the time being, we arranged and accommodated all the things that Suzuka brought with
her.
I cede a corner of the cabinet in my room over to Suzuka, where she stored her clothes.
“Look, look! Your wife’s panties and brassieres!”
“Hey, you! We may be childhood friends, but show some hesitation…”
I still can’t get over the childhood friend sensation.
As soon as I started to say it, I noticed it myself.
“We are a married couple, so there’s no problem then?”
“That’s how it is. Getting all embarrassed for no reason would make it seem less like we’re
married, right?”
“I suppose so…”
Trial marriage.
I’m scared about crossing over the line of s****l relations because it makes it feel like the
‘trial’ part will be lost.
{ED/N: Who Cares, Butter wants it}
Only because we aren’t so incompatible with one another, forcing us to get married. Just
what kind of punishment game is this?
“Yuuki, are you a wuss?”
“Gh! There are so many things to support it that I can’t say anything against it.”
“Ahaha. Well, don’t just stand there looking and help me.”
“Got it, I got it.”
We continued to accommodate all of Suzuka’s belongings in my room.
Today is February 25th.
The day of the moving is April 1st.
A life of living together under this house for around 1 month.
… Oh well, as I think of what will happen from now on, I grabbed one of Suzuka’s
underwear and started to store it inside the cabinet.
TL/N: This is Hard >.<
“Oohh, this is quite the sight! Could this be one of the rumored, lucky underwear?”
“Eh, ah, yeah. Th-that’s right. And? I’m a high schooler. I’d be in trouble if I didn’t have one
or two lucky underwear.”
Her eyes have been moving all around the place.
Of course, the reason is plain as day.
Suzuka may not get flustered in the least when teasing me, but when she’s the one getting
teased, her face easily lights up a bright red.
This was my payback for her previous action of ‘Look, look! Your wife’s panties’.
“That said, they are somewhat on the moderate side, yet they exude a clear will of going all
the way.”
“Th-that’s about right?”
“You, when have you worn them?”
“Eh, ah, eh, erm…”
She opens and closes her mouth like a fish.
Because that part of my wife was exceedingly cute, I inadvertently pushed even further.
“You’ll wear them for me today, right?”
“Uuu~~~~”
Her face was flushed red.
Staying a single step away from showing them off on her face, I bring the panties closer to
Suzuka’s face.
Then, having spurred her over and over, she finally exploded.
“Now! It’s fine if I wear them now, right!?”
Suzuka starts to undress and wear them.
Precisely at this moment, my mother came to see how we were doing.
“It’s okay to get a little wild, but please finish everything soon. Or rather, doing it in the
house is not allowed. It’s a practice for your restraint. And also to prevent you two from
indulging too much once you start living alone, ok?”
Hurry and finish unpacking.
Also, practicing restraint, she said.
The person who is my mother, related by blood to me.
The person who, for Suzuka, is her mother-in-law.
Unable to bear anymore with our embarrassment, we slowly nodded showing our
agreement, and proceeded to arrange and clean the room.
Now then, it was when we had finished arranging all the stuff after Suzuka came to my
room.
My mother called both Suzuka and me to the dining table.
We obediently headed towards the dining room, and we see an opulent dinner laid out on
the table.
“There’s no way we wouldn’t celebrate Suzuka-chan’s arrival, right? When dad gets back
from going to buy the cake, let’s all toast together.”
“Ah, yeah.”
“Eh, yes…”
“Ara, Suzuka-chan. There’s no need to be so respectful, ok? You’re fine speaking naturally,
the same way as you’ve always done.”
“Ah, yeah. Thanks, ma-, I mean, mother-in-law.”
“Fufu, I’m really happy to finally have a daughter. After all, 18 years is still an age where I
can dote on you!”
My mother’s ecstatic.
Despite my saying that it’s a ‘trial marriage’, this feeling that all my escape routes are being
closed off one after another can’t be my imagination.
I’m fully aware of how serious a problem it’ll be if I said something like we may divorce.
While we were setting the table and finishing other preparations for dinner, my father
arrived with the cake. And one with a diameter of 24cm, at that.
“I’m back. Suzuka-chan. Though it may be for a short while, we’re glad to have you with us.”
“Eh, ah, thank you!”
“Haha, it’s fine if you speak like always. Ok now, once mom finishes changing her clothes,
what do you say we take a photo and celebrate big-style?”
“Yes, let’s do that!”
With those spirits began the celebration banquet of Suzuka’s arrival.
In the midst of the meal, Suzuka and I suffered under the unabating onslaught of mom and
dad’s barrage of questions.
 Chapter 6 – A Night for the Two

After enduring an awkward dinner, both of us said we’d go to the convenience store and
left the house. And, having walked a decent distance, we griped.
“That was SUPER awkward…”
“It was even more awkward for me, you know? Or what, you want to try coming to live at
my house, Yuuki?”
“That, please don’t even joke about it. My body won’t be able to take it.”
“Haah…”
“Huu…”
We slowly continue to walk towards the convenience store while carrying many different
thoughts in our minds.
The outside was cold, making our breaths become white clouds in the air.
All that aside, we really were in quite the incredible situation here…
“Say, where did we make a mistake?”
“Wouldn’t it be around the time we mistakenly thought taxing would be incurred in the
lottery? If at that time we had calmly analyzed it, we may have prevented more than a few
blunders, no?”
“We were so out of our minds at that time that we ended up doing weird things. Yeah, very
weird things.”
“We had truly gone crazy there…”
In order to be able to face the future problems, we start to deride our past actions.
We are falling into a spiral of negative thinking.
Having felt slightly that this is no good, I move and break out of it.
“Come on, lend me your hand.”
“Hm?”
I grabbed Suzuka’s extended hand.
Her hand, which had been until just now stuffed inside her pockets, is warm.
“We are married now, so let’s try and search for all the merits that brings us. For example,
in this wintry weather, your hands get numb from the cold and there’s not much you can
do. But, if we do this, they can warm up, no? That sort of thing.”
“It’s less cold if you simply stuff them in your pockets like normal.”
“…Uh, right.”
I tried to let go of Suzuka’s hand, however, she squeezed it and held on to it with even
greater force.
“It’d be a waste to let go now after all that, no?”
“Yeah.”
Contrary to my expectations, she wanted to continue holding hands, despite them not
feeling any heat.
However,
“Okay, it’s really cold out here. Let’s let go.”
“Yeah.”
It would seem there was no way for me to win against the cold.
What can you expect? It would have been better had we been a lovey-dovey couple that
held hands 24/7, but we’re a couple that sort of crumbled their way into marriage.
This is what you get from that.
We walked a bit longer after that and arrived at the convenience store, which we entered.
Because our whole reason for coming to the convenience store was that we couldn’t
tolerate being in the house any longer, we don’t really have anything we’re looking to buy…
Still, we grabbed some simple snacks and juice and other simple things and put them inside
the basket.
As I allowed myself to dilly dally around the interior of the convenience store, I suddenly
noticed the absence of Suzuka.
Where did she go? And when I go to look for her,
“I looked for them, but they were already sold out.”
“… Are you kidding me?”
“That’s because! It’s necessary in case the time comes!”
The certain thing that Suzuka was looking for in the convenience store.
Better safe than sorry.
Or more like, it’s something you absolutely cannot forego.
“True, it may be a necessity for you… In order to protect yourself.”
“Gross! Stop it! I really felt a chill run down my spine…”
“Hey, there’s no need to say it like that, right? Also, are you fine not buying anything?”
“No. I’ll buy something. Just wait a moment!”
She hurriedly took the item that had caught her eyes and puts it inside my basket.
Next, we proceeded to the checkout and payed.
I may not have been hungry today, but, unexpectedly, there were many new delicious-
looking new products released today.
As such, I left the store with a shopping bag slightly on the heavier side.
The convenience store is located precisely at the center of the path from mine and Suzuka’s
house.
There’s no way she could forget that we just started to live together and head over to the
direction her house is…
{ED/N: Yes she could}
“Augh! Don’t grab my hood so abruptly!”
“Then how about you? Just where were you heading right now?”
“Ah! I was about to go back to my house like normal…”
“See?”
“Still, that’s no reason to grab me by the hood. That’s domestic violence, do-mes-tic vi-o-
lence!”
Maybe I grabbed her neck stronger than I imagined.
In order to somehow calm down the slightly angered Suzuka, I took out a chocolate from
the shopping bag.
“Here, eat this and get back in a good mood.”
“Are you treating me like a child?”
“Would you rather I made you a woman?”
“…”
“I’m sorry… I was gross beyond words. Please forgive me.”
As we were having fun playing along with the tsukkomi, we happened to meet with our
neighbor.
{ED/N: I will never ever ever understand what tsukkomi is in my life}
“You two sure are close, how cu~te.”
She greeted us with an extremely gentle look in her eyes.
There’s no mistake about this. The fact that Suzuka and I got married was spreading
around like gossip.
I mean, that kind gaze of hers can’t be for any other reason.
“I’m starting to feel like all our escape routes are getting closed off one by one.”
“W-well… It’ll be fine…”
While I may have spoken like that, my heart was filled to the brim with anxiety.
We had our backs drenched in cold sweat after that.
Mom had done us the favor of taking care of preparing the bath for us while we were out at
the convenience store.
Suzuka was enthused by the idea and after saying, ‘I’ll take your kind offer’, she went on
first to the bath.
So, I decided to go back to my room and wait for Suzuka to finish bathing. Notwithstanding,
“Wait right there.”
“Mom? Did something happen?”
“We need to have an important conversation. You two will be living together. It’s only
normal for your sense of morality to become lax. You must remember that under no
conditions must you make Suzuka feel offended. If by some chance you happen to do so…
You know what’ll happen, right?”
Her eyes are not joking.
There’s not a trace of anything but seriousness in her.
To try and laugh it off out of embarrassment.
I get the sensation that, at this moment, in this situation, that is the one thing that I must
never do.
“I know. I won’t let Suzuka feel offended in any way.”
“Ok. In that case, I feel assured.”
My mother’s expression changes to one of relief.
Seeing that, I too managed to relax.
It is precisely because we are in a ‘trial marriage’ that we must proceed with caution.
There’s no doubt that, if we felt compelled to keep this relation because of having had s*x, it
would only bring us pain.
I go to my room while carrying all these complicated feelings inside of me.
My bed is so small that if the two of us slept there, there’d be no room to even turn over in
it.
Consequently, we moved a desk that was in the room to a corner and laid out a futon.
There’s no reason for me to continue to explain why we laid out a futon, right?
“How many years has it been since we last slept in the same room?”
I let myself be carried away into my memories.
That was, back when we were 4 years old, if I’m not mistaken.
Tired from having played outside, Suzuka and I entered the house, washed our hands and
rinsed our mouths, ate some snacks, and being both in the middle of dozing off, we took a
nap on a futon.
I woke up from the nap, and seeing the small face of Suzuka sleeping next to me, I took the
opportunity to play some pranks on her, like pinching her cheeks slightly, or sticking my
finger in her nose.
It’s with that partner of pranks with whom I will once again lay beside and sleep.
“I think I’m getting a little sentimental here. Well then, I should finish preparing my change
of clothes.”
I had every intention of being next in line after Suzuka leaves the bath.
I was thinking of taking out my change of clothes from the cabinet, but for some reason, I
ended up pulling open the drawers from the corner of it that I lent to Suzuka.
“Goodness! I had seen her underwear earlier but… So, this is what a girl’s clothing is like.”
Pressing my hand to my chin as I interjected to myself ‘oh ho’, I continued to appraise
Suzuka’s present day clothes.
She’s already that age, after all.
There’s a sharp drop in the amount of cute clothes, and now most of them were of the
beautiful and elegant kind.
As I continued to stare fixedly at Suzuka’s clothes out of sheer curiosity, someone covered
my eyes from behind me.
“Who is i~t?”
“Suzuka, right?”
“Correct! What’s this, huh? Couldn’t help being interested in my clothes?”
She has found herself a new toy.
Her eyes ablaze, she plunged over towards me with full intent to make fun of me.
Since I’m the one at fault, I stood still in defeat, unable to say anything.
I had no other choice but to take my own change of clothes and head towards the bath.
“Ah! I forgot my underpants.”
I realized after coming down the stairs, on the verge of entering the bathroom.
Having noticed the absence of my underpants, I went back to my room and found someone
doing the exact same thing I had been doing just a few moments ago.
“Teehee? I couldn’t help being interested too?”
“Well, I was the one who lost to my curiosity and peeked at your clothes first.
Notwithstanding, I’ll say this. For someone who so vehemently instigates others, you can’t
hide behind that kind of line.”
“Ehehe, sorry?”
She cutely brought her hands together and looked at me with puppy eyes.
Dammit, I’ll admit it, she’s cute! With such thoughts in my mind, I took the forgotten
underpants in my hand and went back to the bathroom.
 Chapter 7 – Thinking of Each Other…

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah, I’m awake.”
A single miniature light bulb illuminated the room.
Inside that space, we both lay ready to sleep, Suzuka was on top of the bed, I was on the
futon.
For a while now we haven’t really been able to fall asleep and had been repeating the same
lines over and over like parrots, ‘Are you awake?’ ‘Yeah, I’m awake’.
“It’s an interesting sensation, sleeping on another person’s bed.”
“It’s because you said that you wanted the bed that I handed it over to you, but, could it be
you actually prefer the futon?”
“No, no. The bed’s fine. After all, Yuuki, if I was sleeping in the futon and you happened to
fall off the bed onto of me, I would be squashed flat.”
“…”
“Oh? Where’s your retort?”
“I regret saying this, but I do toss and turn a lot in my sleep. What you said could well and
truly happen.”
“E~h? So you still haven’t stopped turning in bed? I still remember when we were little and
we napped together, you’d stick your fingers up my nose, or slap my cheeks. So you’ve yet
to stop doing those things?”
“Pff!”
I barely managed to keep myself from laughing.
Sticking my fingers in her nose, pulling her cheeks, or slapping them, those were all me
playing pranks on her.
Of course, Suzuka would wake up and open her eyes from that, so…
At that moment, I would pretend to be asleep to trick her.
To think that I really managed to fool her and that even now, at the present, she hasn’t
realized it.
I almost burst out laughing without thinking, you know?
“What’s wrong? You suddenly went silent.”
“N-no, it-it’s nothing…?”
“How suspicious… But oh well.”
“…”
“…”
We fell into a state of calm again.
Aahh, I feel myself being invited over to dreamland in this state,
“Zzz”
The sound of Suzuka’s deep inhalations.
It would seem she is in the midst of taking in the scent from my bed.
After a few more deep inhalations, she let out a groan and started to complain out-loud.
“Hmm~~~~, it sort of stinks, but it also doesn’t… Is this the so-called ‘scent of a man’? No,
this is nothing more than the body odor of Yuuki being smelly…”
“Is it fun purposely saying it loud enough for me to be able to hear it?”
“It is!”
Despite only a single miniature light bulb being on in the room, I feel like it got brighter
right now.
More importantly, does this girl not have any intentions of sleeping?
She’s been very noisy for a while now.
“How about we stop for now and go to sleep? Or is it that? You’re too nervous and can’t fall
asleep.”
“Yes… I’m extremely nervous and can’t sleep.”
“Haah, it can’t be helped. For today, I’ll keep you company for as long as you want. Now go
on, speak about anything you want until you lose yourself to sleep.”
“Quite generous, aren’t you? Thank you. Then then! To start with… What do you think of
this living together dynamic? Tell me.”
She asked me as she turned to look at my face and stared fixedly.
She had every intention to talk and has completely ignored sleeping already.
“Being honest, my mother was right in having us practice living together first. Living alone
the two of us all of a sudden, it really would’ve been hard, if you ask me. Even now it’s
already pretty hard.”
“Ye~ah, I think so too. How to say this? It’s kind of suffocating… I feel like it will take us
some time to get used to this. Look at now, even though it’s already sleeping hours, it feels
so stifling that we’re talking like this instead.”
“This turned out to be quite troublesome. Then, since it’s sort of unfair to have you be the
only one asking the questions here, is it ok if I ask some too?”
“Oh, my! What is it? Do you want to know my three sizes?”
The slender Suzuka.
If we were to focus on her sizes alone… Oh, how mysterious! She isn’t so attractive any
longer.
Nevertheless, when you see her in person, man, she has a style and air about her that puts
her in a league of her own…
“If you’ll answer me, I have no qualms asking, just so you know.”
“If you say it like that, I don’t feel like telling you. Ok, your turn is over, Yuuki. Next is my
turn to ask a question!”
“Hey! Don’t just end my turn like that! Oh well, no matter. Come on, ask away.”
“So, Yuuki, what do you think of me?”
“… You’re asking that… now?”
A decent amount of time has already passed since we started our married life.
We may not have met a lot because of the entrance exam, but it still doesn’t change the fact
that quite some time has indeed passed since our marriage.
It must be because of this that she chose this precise moment to ask.
I take a deep breath and express my feelings to Suzuka, not withholding anything.
“Honestly, I do think of you as one of my options. Even though I did think of our
relationship as something I was stuck with, or like that of brother and sister. Once we got
married, it was… That, you know? It wasn’t so bad. However, if you were to ask me whether
I wanted us to spend the rest of our lives together, it becomes complicated. I’m not really
sure myself.”
“It’s the same for me. I also think you’re an option for me, Yuuki. But, the fact that we’re
going to be living together as husband and wife, it hasn’t really sunk in for me yet.”
“Speaking of which, though we have gotten married, what will we do if we find someone
else we like?”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is this: Simply put, what we have is a ‘fake’ marriage, right? So, what if we
found someone we really and truly liked despite it? Wouldn’t giving up on them because of
our present relationship as a ‘married couple’ be kind of weird? That’s what I’m talking
about.”
“Hmm–, you brought up a difficult question here. Rather, the fact that you’re asking this,
does it mean you have someone you like, Yuuki…?”
She’s suspicious of me now.
At this very moment, the light from the miniature light bulb was reflected on Suzuka’s eyes,
making her give off a strong pressure unlike any I could describe with words alone.
“I don’t have someone I like. I said it for your sake.”
“Eh?”
“It’s for you, after you finally managed to find someone you like. Having you give up on
them because you’re married to me, that’s something I absolutely don’t want you to do.
Remember, we only have one life, no?”
“AAAAAAAHHHHH!!”
Suzuka suddenly shoved her face into the pillow and screamed.
After that, she lifted her face and glared at me with narrowed eyes.
“A-are you ok?”
“It’s not fair! For you to say something so cool, in this kind of situation, it’s not fair! You’re a
real cheater! If you’re so kind to me like that, even though you yourself aren’t so into the
idea of this married life yet, I’ll be the only one getting more and more into it!”
“Oh, I see? But, isn’t getting into this married life something goo-…”
“You think it’s something good? We’re talking about me alone falling for you Yuuki.
However, you don’t like me to that extent. That’s basically as if I was tying you down. I don’t
want that…”
Suzuka’s acting like a spoiled kid.
And, out of nowhere, she grabbed and threw the pillow at me.
Aah! Damn it!
I could say the same of you! You’re too kind to me.
I’m in a similar position. What’ll you do if I’m the one who unilaterally got into this married
life and then tied you down to it?
A while later, I noticed that Suzuka had gone silent after throwing the pillow at me.
Most probably she fell asleep.
Wondering, until which hour she stayed up, I looked over at my cell phone.
“3:20am, huh… Wha? This guy, how come he’s sending a message at this late hour.”
There’s a single message alert in my phone.
It was from my friend, a boy named Tanaka.
{Once the entrance exams are over, I’m thinking of approaching Mita-san. You’re her
childhood friend, right? Please lend me a hand with this. Sorry about writing this late at
night, but I couldn’t manage to summon the courage to ask for your help before…}
{TL/N: A Big F for the man}
The Mita-san Tanaka spoke of.
She no longer exists in this world.
After all, Mita Suzuka married me, and in doing so became Shindou Suzuka.
Though we were hiding our marriage from everyone at school, hence she’s still Mita-san
there.
Now then.
How should I reply to him?
I’m certain that Tanaka likes Suzuka, far more than I do.
Tanaka is different from me, who was gradually falling for Suzuka only because of our
present circumstances.
Suzuka too, more than with me, she’d be happier going out with someone like Tanaka, who
can clearly declare that they like her.
However, contrary to those emotions, my fingers moved by themselves.
{Who cares, idiot!? Suzuka’s my wife, for your information.}
… Hngh! I barely managed to stop myself before pressing the SEND button.
I was one step away from creating a ruckus at school because of letting everyone know that
Suzuka and I are married.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and modify the message.
{Who cares, idiot!? Do it yourself!}
{ED/N: I thought he sent it for a second!!}
I then proceeded to press the SEND button.
 Chapter 8 – The Awkward Guy Can’t be
Upfront

It was the last third of February, when the number of students who have finished their
entrance exams increased.
The atmosphere of the class had gradually changed from a tense one to a more relaxed one.
The talk of town among those that had finished their entrance exams was where they
would go and play.
“Hey guys, I racked my brains and came up with this.”
I passed to our friends the piece of paper which had our list of proposed locations to visit
for the graduation trip on it.
Though for Suzuka and me there was no problem about the costs thanks to the lottery we
won, the same can’t be said for the others, so we spent a lot of time trying to find
reasonable candidates.
“Ee~h, lemme see, lemme see!”
“A night bus, huh…”
“Aren’t you worried about accidents? There was a time when those were a problem.”
“Not much we can do about it. We don’t have a lot of money ourselves.”
That was the list of the travel options Suzuka and I came up with.
Looking at it and after discussing with all of us together on where to go, we finally arrived
at a decision.
We chose to go to a certain famous amusement park.
We sort of ended up choosing this place due to not having any means of transportation.
We wanted a place where you can enjoy yourself to the fullest without wasting time or
money, and so we arrived at the conclusion of the amusement park.
That said, it was also partly because we found a nice economical plan of discounts that
included the entrance tickets, the hotel expenses, and the traveling expenses.
A graduation trip for boys and girls together, with overnight stays.
All participants had their own varied expectations for it… And so, after the girls headed
back, us boys began to speak without reservations.
“This is a chance for us.”
“Right. If we’re lucky enough, this could be our big chance to get ourselves a girlfriend.”
“And with that, let’s decide here and now who we’re each aiming for.”
They’re full of ulterior motives.
Add to that that they are close to graduating too.
Even if they confess and are rejected, there would be no damage since they would be
attending a different school starting spring.
In more ways than one, it really is the time to strike.
This group of bastards continued to talk gleefully about getting closer to the girls that will
come with us, Suzuka included.
Meanwhile, I looked at them from a distance.
“Hey, come on, Yuuki! How come you’re so laid-back? We’re finally having a trip together
with girls! You should be more excited, you know?”
“I swear, you guys! Won’t you enjoy this trip in a pure way?”
“It’s precisely ‘cause we’re pure that we’re brimming with secret intentions. What’s more,
didn’t you yourself say just a while back that as soon as you entered college you’d get a
girlfriend and enjoy yourselves?”
… Aahh… I sort of feel like I did say that….
But you know, I’ve already gone and surpassed a riajuu. It’s just that I haven’t told you.
That said, if I told them, they’d make a great fuss about it.
Knowing I ought to keep the secret, I told a lie instead.
“You still think that? Let me ask you. Are you guys gonna be content with one of our female
classmates? All I’m saying is, once we start going to university, there will be many chances
for us to meet cuter and prettier girls.”
“I see. You’re right about that. But wouldn’t just staring at the girls that are right in front of
us be a waste? Isn’t that so, guys?”
We’re at the pinnacle of our youth.
With that, the conversation turned to the vulgar topic of who’s going after whom.
Tanaka, who had sent me that message a few days ago, spoke timidly.
“I, I think that… I really am in love with Mita-san.”
{ED: Did I already take a dig at him? I forgot but “F” for the man}
“Oh, nice…”
All our friends except for me were slightly taken aback by his serious and earnest words.
I could remain unfazed because I already knew it beforehand. Had this been the first time I
heard that, there’s not a single doubt that I too would’ve been thrown off guard.
With those idle thoughts in my mind, I continued to listen to Tanaka.
“I won’t ask for your help. But I will try my best.”
The man’s face was overflowing with determination and passion.
The previous talk of ‘which girl you want to get closer to’ was only done in a half joking
manner. However, it was as clear as crystal to everyone that what Tanaka had said was no
joke.
Consequently, the bunch of bastards softly slapped Tanaka’s shoulders.
“Man, it’s too late now. You should’ve done that while you were still high school students.”
It was Satou who spoke.
Yamamoto followed up:
“But, anyways, do your best!”
“You guys… You say all that, but you’ll stab me in the back the moment Mita-san says she
likes me, right?”
In response to Tanaka’s line, Satou and Yamamoto looked at each other’s face and spoke in
unison:
“ “Isn’t that obvious?” ”
“Isn’t this supposed to be where you consider we’re friends and give me a chance?”
“No, no way. After all, the opportunity to go out and date a girl outweighs our friendship.”
“Well, I’ll be good and keep the fact that Tanaka likes Mita-san in a corner of my mind.
That’s all I’ll do.”
All 3 of them are chattering happily.
I’m the only one being kept out of the loop.
Tanaka then spoke to me.
“Shindou. Can you believe the answer I got after I told you that I liked Mita-san was ‘Who
cares, idiot!? Do it yourself!’?
Having his attention caught by what Tanaka had just said, Satou spoke to me.
“Oh! Is it that, Shindou? Could it be that though you always say your relationship is nothing
more than childhood friends, you actually love her?”
“Hey, wait a sec! You’re telling me it’s not only Tanaka, but also Shindou who’s going after
Mita-san? Isn’t this gonna make some for some nice drama?”
Yamamoto too joined in on the instigation.
… Goodness, how should I answer them now?
“Aah, yeah. That’s how it is.”
“Eh?”
“Are you for real…?”
Satou and Yamamoto are shocked.
It’s only natural for them to be.
All the times they tried to poke fun at me with Suzuka, I always replied with a stern ‘That’s
not it’.
Next to the shocked two we had a contrasting Tanaka, who spoke as such:
“I thought so. From the moment I got that response, I started to vaguely feel that maybe it
could be like that. Yuuki, I don’t plan on losing to you.”
“… Y-yeah.”
I couldn’t help having a guilty conscience.
Because this person who was so sincere about liking Suzuka; there is something that he
doesn’t know.
Yes.
Tanaka doesn’t know that Suzuka and I are married.
And yet, he still looked at me with sparkling eyes and spoke.
“I won’t hold back my punches, ok?”
After that declaration from Tanaka, we turned the topic back to various other things
pertaining to the graduation trip.
And so, we finished our conversation and I returned home.
When I arrived home, Suzuka had already changed from her school uniform to casual
clothes and was watching television in the living room.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back.”
“Here, for you.”
“Hm? What’s this? Eh!? Isn’t this the apple pie from in front of the station that everyone’s
saying is delicious!? Did something happen? This is too sudden.”
“Hm, I simply felt like it.”
“Ee~, something’s fishy here… Oh well. I’ll go and prepare some black tea.”
She happily took the apple pie in her hands.
After that, she went to prepare the black tea.
A few days ago, I said to Suzuka that when she found someone she could fall in love with, I
wouldn’t let her give up on them because of me.
I have not yet found my answer concerning whether I want us to continue to live as a
married couple.
Nonetheless, how do I say it?
I don’t want to see Suzuka and Tanaka going out.
I said all those nice things, but it would seem I’m not that nice of a person.
“Hey, Suzuka. Please bring me some black tea too.”
“Okay, got it. But I can’t get it off my mind, why did you suddenly decide to bring back home
an apple pie? You don’t really do that sort of thing, Yuuki.”
“You’re right, I don’t. But, you see, though we’re currently living together in my house, from
spring we’ll be living alone, the two of us. I thought that it’d be best to make the most of
now and be kind to my wife. That way, it would be easier on me later in April, no?”
“That so? Ok then, just a little more before the tea’s ready.”
“Thanks.”
I don’t have the slightest intention to stop her if Suzuka finds someone else she loves.
Though, frankly speaking, I want to stop her.
There’s only one thing that I can do for now.
That is to prevent Suzuka from falling in love with Tanaka.
 Chapter 9 – Sweeter than Normal Sweets

Obstructing Tanaka…
The most effective way to deter him would be to show-off to him how good of a relation
Suzuka and I had, without disclosing we’re married.
Of course, the best method would be letting him know we are lovers…
“Suzuka, we won’t tell the class that we’re married, but shouldn’t we tell them we’re going
out?”
“Hmm~. When we spoke with the teacher, they told us to not say that we’re dating, no?
Since doing so would make it easier for them to connect the dots and discover we’re
married. Also, though we didn’t tell the teacher, remember, we won the lottery. It would be
bad for us if people got curious about why we got married and they found out about the
lottery.”
It was a special booklet that winners of large sums of money were given.
There were many examples of other winners who had been met with misfortune.
People who, after casually telling their friends of it, found them being excessively flattering
or pestering.
Others who had salesmen coming every day to their doors.
Some who were constantly asked by acquaintances to be guarantors for loans.
And so on and on.
Hence, we decided not to let our friends know of our marriage nor get suspicious and
discover we won the lottery.
“I know, but…”
Tanaka was one of those close acquaintances.
If possible, I would like to hint to him that Suzuka and I are in a relationship, or more
precisely, in a marital relationship.
After all, no matter what anyone may say, that would be the best way to prevent Tanaka
from making a move on Suzuka.
“You want to boast to everyone you’re my lover?”
“That’s not really my goal.”
“Hahh… Isn’t that where you’re supposed to say, ‘Yes, I want to!’, even if it’s a lie?”
“Right back at you. If you’re saying that, that means you want everyone to know it. Oh, that
reminds me, we decided the destination for our graduation trip. Should we start making
reservations?”
Suzuka and I had narrowed down our destination candidates.
Since we’ve officially been named the organizers, all the paperwork and other things have
been left to us.
The season being what it was, we need to move as soon as possible; otherwise, we’ll be
sure to be met with trouble down the road.
Having finished eating our apple pie, Suzuka and I went to fill out the reservation forms on
the computer.
All that was left now was to gather everyone’s part and make a transfer to the travel
agency.
“Hmm~, our money’s been decreasing more and more lately. If we don’t hurry and learn
already how to manage our money, we may lose it all.”
“Oh right! I bought this along with the apple pie.”
I took out a book about asset management from my bag.
That’s right, having won the lottery, we have monetary capital.
Just looking at it without doing anything else is the very definition of wasteful.
My dad even told me that if I had that amount of money, I ought to start investing. That’s
why I want to start studying it seriously.
“I guess if we don’t have the necessary investment knowledge, all that’s left is to go to an
investment trust, huh?”
“All other forms of investment appear to carry some sort of risk with them, after all.”
“So, what’ll you do with your funds?”
“For the time being, I was thinking we could keep a few years’ living expenses’ worth of
money at hand, some 20,000,000 yen, and have the rest invested.”
“You’re right about that. Twenty million yen should be more than enough to let you live
without worries for a few years. I wonder if I should do the same.”
What a curious feeling this is, us two discussing with each other about our futures.
This despite us not having talked about this in the least until a little while back.
As we continued to have an unexpectedly serious conversation about many things, my
mother came back home.
Seeing both Suzuka and I talking to each other in the living room, she spoke to us.
“Planning for the future is important. Be sure to be careful. Even if you don’t go into very
specific details, you should still make some plans for things like children, ok?”
Talk about awkwardness.
I want it to be April already and leave this house, you know?
Since my mother had already returned, Suzuka and I decided to stop talking in the living
room and move to hole up ourselves in my room.
I mean, if we remained in the living room back then, we’d end up my mother’s prey.
Suzuka and I are still very much newlyweds.
She must have a mountain of things she wants to ask.
We entered my room and Suzuka, who sat on my bed, complained as she opened the
package of candy sticks dipped in chocolate and munched at them.
“When she brings up the topic of kids is when I least know what kind of face I should
make!”
“The same goes for me. That joke of hers is very tolling on the mind. Also, you’ve totally
taken over my bed, haven’t you? Just so you know, that’s my favorite spot to relax too!”
She’s gotten used to relaxing on top of my bed.
Where did the woman who said she was nervous go?
“Guess it can’t be helped. Here.”
Suzuka, who had been seated in the center of the bed, moved slightly to the side.
She gestured over to the space that had opened up beside her by patting it.
Her face was saying, ‘I made you space, so how about you sit down?’. Nonetheless, from
how the space she freed was super small, barely enough for me to sit, she must have been
teasing me.
That said, since she went through the trouble to make that space for me, I tried to fit into it.
“O-kay!”
“Wha, close! You’re too close!”
“That so? Rather, you’re still taking over most of the bed, aren’t you? Since we’re husband
and wife, we should neatly divide it into halves.”
Saying that, I tried to push Suzuka over and gain a bigger corner of the bed for myself.
“No way! This is my bed!”
She yelled and didn’t move any more to the side.
Being so close to each other our shoulders were almost glued together, we both played
with our phones on top of the bed.
{ED/N: Such wholesomeness heals my heart wounded with trashy isekais}
Remembering a video I was interested in that had been sent to me, I tilted my smartphone
sideways and started to watch it.
It’d be best not to play it on speaker.
I tried to put some earphones on but was prevented from doing so.
“I wanna watch it too.”
“Hm? Ok.”
We began to watch it from the small display screen, on top of the bed, shoulder-to-
shoulder.
A few tens of minutes into the video:
“Is this what they call flirting?”
“Maybe.”
It was when I whispered that.
Suzuka reached out and grabbed my hand that wasn’t holding the phone.
“Ehehe, if I do this, would it be lovey-dovey?”
“Then, how about we go and do this?”
I intertwined my fingers in hers.
This is the so-called interlocked fingers handhold.
Two hands holding tightly to one another.
This feeling… Pressing our hands together, creating a slight warmness… It was pleasant.
“Say, Yuuki.”
“What’s up?”
“Want some candy?”
Ah, now that she mentioned it…
This girl’s been eating candy sticks covered in chocolate on someone else’s bed this whole
time, right?
“My hands are busy, so feed them to me.”
One hand is holding Suzuka’s hand.
The other is holding the smartphone where we’re watching the video.
It happened after I demanded that she feed me because I couldn’t use my hands.
“Ahnn”
She held one end of a candy stick in her mouth and turned her face towards me.
It was almost as if she was telling me to do that thing you often see people on group dates
do.
I tried reaching for the stick she held in her mouth, but before I could,
“Somehow, it feels empty to have my first in this way…”
Suzuka spoke as she ate the whole candy stick that had been in her mouth.
Then, she stuffed some candy sticks into my mouth normally, with her hand.
This candy that she stuffed into my mouth…
I’m not sure why but, I felt it was slightly sweeter than normal.
 Chapter 10 – Revelation

The destination for the graduation trip has been decided, and the deposit has been taken
care of too.
It may have been somewhat early, but having just finished our entrance exams, it’s no
surprise we all just wanted to play and have fun together.
The boys and girls who were going to go together on the graduation trip.
Normally, we wouldn’t hang out together, but under the pretense of getting ready for the
trip, we decided to do so and came to a large shopping mall.
Because we’re meeting at the venue, Suzuka and I were now being rocked by the train as
we headed for the shopping mall.
It was during that traveling period.
I began the conversation by being straightforward in voicing my worries.
“Hey, Suzuka.”
“Hey, Yuuki.”
As a result of both of us trying to start a conversation at the same time, our voices
overlapped.
Suzuka gave me a look that told me to go first, so I spoke first.
“Tanaka said that he likes you. That’s why, well, you know… Everyone tells us, ‘don’t say it’,
‘don’t do it’, but maybe you could let me at least say that we’re going out? Of course, I
wouldn’t mention that we’re married.”
“Ever since that time you bought the apple pie out of nowhere, I felt like you were hiding
something. So that’s what it was.”
“And your answer is?”
“Say, do you remember how I wasn’t really on board with the idea of spreading the news to
everyone about us being actually married?”
Now that she mentioned it, I did get the feeling that she wasn’t taking no for an answer.
How do I say it? She was… Vehement?
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Truth is, Miki-chan seems to like you, Yuuki.”
“Eh?”
“I mean, at the end of the day, I became your wife on impulse back then, right? Unlike me,
Miki-chan has probably liked Yuuki for a while now. I even thought that, more than
someone like me, maybe Miki-chan would be more suitable for you. That’s why I had
decided to take the stance of hiding our relationship and not telling anyone we’re going out.
That way Miki-chan could make her approach on you, Yuuki.”
That was a very long answer.
I-in short, Miki-chan… Me?
Rather, the point is… Kaneda Miki likes me.
And Suzuka thinks that more than her, she is a better match for me.
That was the reason why she wasn’t keen on us disclosing stuff like being married or that
we’re dating, things that could prevent her from approaching me.
Would that be a correct interpretation?
Not having fully understood, I asked her back a few more times until I finally did.
“Got it. So your stance in this is not saying that we’re going out or anything of the sort.
Then, I guess this means I can’t tell Tanaka about us, huh…”
“No, no. You got it wrong. I also thought we should tell them. The ‘Hey, Yuuki’ at the start
was to tell you that I also believed we should let them know about it.”
“What made you change your stance?”
“Because I thought it was rude to Miki-chan. I mean, no matter how we try, that we are
currently a married couple is a truth we can’t change, right? And keeping that hidden from
everyone, isn’t it weird? That’s what I started thinking. After all, when they know that we’re
married, or that we’re dating if you want, the actions that Miki-chan will take will change,
and not by a little, no?”
“Well, yeah. Same for Tanaka. I think he’ll definitely change his course of actions when he
knows we’re a couple. That’s why I think we should tell them hence I decided to ask you if it
was fine to do so.”
“Then, wanna tell them?”
“Yeah, I think we should.”
While on the train, Suzuka and I together came to the decision of revealing our relationship
to everyone.
That said, we’re only going as far as telling everyone we’re dating.
There are many different risks with disclosing that we’re married, so we decided to keep
that under wraps.
“Hahhh… I’m starting to feel nervous.”
“Same here. I was thinking that we’d eventually tell it to everyone, but I hadn’t thought of
doing it so soon already, you know? Actually, I’m still shocked from knowing that Kaneda-
san likes me. What would you do if Kaneda-san still made her move for me even after
knowing that I’m dating you?”
“Until a little while ago, I was thinking that if it’s someone who truly likes Yuuki, then they
had the right to get closer to you, and hence wouldn’t stop them.”
“Well, we are an impromptu married couple.”
“But.”
“But?”
“I seem to be getting quite serious myself. If someone came at full strength trying to get
closer to you, I am seriously thinking of putting a stop to them.”
As if trying to hide her own bashfulness, she gave me a faint smile.
“I-I see.”
“I’m still uncertain about the marriage thing. But you know? I don’t want Yuuki to be stolen
from me~.”
This embarrassed Suzuka was unbelievably cute.
So much so that I couldn’t help but feel I should tell her too.
“About the reason I bought that apple pie yesterday. Know how I said before I’d never get
in the way if you found someone you liked?”
“Yeah, you did say it.”
“Well, that, in that case, I’d be an obstacle in finding someone you like.”
“I don’t really get it. Could I get you to explain a bit more?”
I was so bad with words…
Since it seemed that my intentions weren’t properly communicated to Suzuka indeed, I
decided to speak clearly.
“I bought that apple pie because I want you to fall for me so hard that you can’t think of
anyone else. That was what you’d call ‘scoring affection points’. I’m also uncertain about
the marriage, but it would seem that I’m quite infatuated with you.”
“Aha, ahaha. Could it be that this is becoming ‘mutual love’?
“Probably.”
“Ehehe. I see, ehehe, so that’s how it is.”
Suzuka was abashed.
It was with Suzuka I headed toward our destination, the shopping mall.
Shortly after, we arrived at the shopping mall.
Apparently, we seemed to be the last to arrive.
“Heey, everyone! Suzuka and I have something quick to say.”
“Could we ask you to listen to us for a bit?”
Everyone looks at us with inquisitive expressions.
I took a deep breath, and made the big revelation.
“The truth is, Suzuka and I are dating.”
A reaction which was in a way to be expected came our way.
“Wha?! That’s too cruel of a jo~ke!”
“Come on! You’ll crack me up if you start with jokes first thing!”
“Honest. Lying isn’t good, you know?”
“Please stop it with the jokes, you two.”
Clearly seeing that they hadn’t believed us…
Suzuka followed after me with a clear voice.
“No, this is the truth.”
The look in Suzuka’s eyes was serious.
It made it known to everyone around that it was the actual truth.
Gradually, the atmosphere changed from a simple ‘joking’ one to a serious one.
“Eh? Seriously?”
“Wait, for real?”
“You guys, this legit?”
“Uwaah, really?”
Cautiously, I turned to look at Tanaka’s reaction.
When I did, our eyes met.
Immediately afterwards, with a tinge of sadness, he spoke to me.
“Honestly, you should’ve told us sooner. But, well, frankly, if you had told us that you’re
actually dating any later, I would’ve given you a beating.”
“My bad.”
“Don’t worry. You’re not at fault. I apologize too. Depending on them, there are some guys
who don’t like to disclose to everyone that they’re going out, no? It’s because I told you that
I like Mita-san that you decided to reveal this to us, right? Frankly, from my part, I’m happy.
There was no real need for you to go out of your way and tell us you’re dating.”
Tanaka…
You, you’re really a nice guy.
I’ve decided. If this guy’s ever troubled for money, I’ll lend some to him without a doubt.
On the other side, Suzuka was standing face to face with Kaneda Miki.
“Suzuka, I’m sorry. That you hadn’t told us you’re dating, it means that you had your
reasons for wanting to hide it, right?”
“It’s okay, I’m sorry, too. I should’ve told you when you told me you liked Yuuki.”
“Dummy! That’s not true at all! That you told me just now is already more than enough.”
Though there were a bit of awkward moments after we made the revelation, I was most
glad that none of them turned into a major problem.
Thus, we all happily marched into the shopping mall as we enjoyed ourselves.
Thereafter, in a certain family restaurant.
After having had their fun in the shopping mall, close to the nearest station, Kaneda and
Tanaka were sympathetic for one another due to being in the same circumstances and were
now expressing their complaints together.
“Dammit! Even though they too must’ve had their own circumstances that didn’t let them
tell us! And because of me, they ended up having to tell us… Despite it being relatively
normal to keep quiet about going out with someone…”
“I think the same. Even when Suzuka is free to choose whether to tell or not if she’s dating
someone. This sense of guilt I feel from being the one who made her say it is crushing.”
“Aah, but you know? I was genuinely shocked to hear Mita-san was going out with him.”
“It really is harsh for you when the person you like has someone they’re dating, ri~ght?”
As fellow heartbroken pals, Tanaka and Kaneda continued to talk.
That this became the pivot which led to the two of them growing closer is a story for
another time.
 Chapter 11 – The Two Who Are Far Far
Behind Lovers

Two weeks after the day we revealed Suzuka and I were going out with each other.
Having been called by Tanaka, I headed to the back of the school building.
When I arrived, I saw that not only Tanaka, but also Kaneda-san and Suzuka were there.
It was a reunion of only those of us who had had various circumstances between us.
The first to speak out were Tanaka and Kaneda-san.
“We… Started going out.”
“Hm?”
“Eh?”
Suzuka and I had expressions on our faces that betrayed what we did not understand.
That too is to be expected, for this made no sense in the least.
“Truth is, well, after that incident…”
It was Kaneda-san who spoke and told the reason why they began to go out.
That reason was that, after we made our revelation, the two of them exchanged their
complaints, and that became the spark which, to their surprise, led them to grow closer.
It was but a short period of 2 weeks, but it was all that was left of our time as high
schoolers.
The two of them would be attending different universities.
They didn’t want to become estranged with each other.
With those reasons, they apparently managed to make up their minds and began dating.
“I’ve got to give you guys our thanks. If you guys hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have been
able to date Miki.”
“Yeah. Had the two of you not been here, Tanaka-cchi and I wouldn’t have been bound
together. Honestly, I guess this is what ‘having my utmost gratitude’ is for.”
“…Uh, yeah.”
“I, I see.”
How to say this? Because of the unexpected developments, our minds couldn’t properly
think.
Why? How was it that the two before us ended up in that kind of relationship?
“Also, sorry. You guys didn’t actually want to tell us that you’d started dating, right? And yet
we made you say it. But still, we’re truly thankful. Because it was thanks to your brave
revelation that I was able to date Miki!”
“Yeah, that’s right! Our biggest thanks to you two, Suzuka and Yuuki.”
Suzuka and I were left flabbergasted at the two of them who became lovers at blinding
speed.
No, well… Not that they could beat us in speed, though.
The two who only just started to date made a proposal to us.
“And that’s how, thanks to you guys, we managed to date each other. That’s why, as thanks,
we called you to this place in order to invite you to a double date.”
Tanaka said a pretty crazy thing there.
The two of us whose thought processing couldn’t keep up any longer ended up giving an
automatic response.
“Y-yeah.”
“U-Uhuh.”
No sooner did he hear our response than Tanaka, without a moment’s pause, replied.
“Then! Let’s go downtown after this. Let me treat you to something!”
“Suzuka, I’ll also be treating you, ok?”
Simply letting ourselves go with the flow, the 4 of us headed for downtown.
Walking at the front were Tanaka and Kaneda-san.
Erm, how to say it? They were quite the passionate couple. They were walking at the front
all while holding hands.
(TL Note: Lewd~)
“S-so, th-that’s what real lovers are like.”
“Y-yeah.”
They made it crystal clear for us to understand that what we had been doing until now was
nothing more than something close to pretending to be lovers.
After all, in the midst of this cold, they are holding each other’s hand, not even trying to
keep their hands in their warm pockets. You can’t call that anything other than being
passionately in love with each other.
“Say, guys. Even though you’re dating, you’re not going to at least hold hands?”
“Sheesh, come on, Tanaka-cchi. There are also couples who don’t hold hands, you know?”
Having felt like they had rejected Suzuka’s and my relation, both Suzuka and I held hands
as if to replicate the two’s fervent hand hold.
“Inside of the pocket’s better after all.”
“Yeah, it’s cold.”
We were hopelessly bad at things like holding hands on the outside.
Even so, seeing the two in front of us, we couldn’t help feeling like we had not been acting
like real lovers until now. So we endured it and held hands.
We were supposed to be an entourage of 4 people marching through downtown.
However, what if you looked with proper attention?
Were the two at the front not in their own little world alone, almost as if we were not here
next to them?
“Th-that’s what lovers are like…”
“W-we may have gotten to like each other, but we still haven’t even reached the status of
lovers.”
As we were having that conversation in a low voice so as not to be heard by the two in
front, those two stopped before a store that sold what looked like some tasty imagawayaki.
“Hey, you guys! Is it fine if I treat you to these?”
“Are you okay with this too, Suzuka?”
It would seem that the two who started dating thanks to us would buy us imagawayaki.
If anything, this is a strange sensation for us who feel like we’re the ones who did them
wrong.
Both of us accepted our imagawayaki, a sweet bean one for me and a custard one for
Suzuka.
Regardless of there being relatively few people here downtown, eating while walking was
still poor manners.
So we decided to eat our imagawayaki in a corner a slight distance from the store.
“Tanaka-cchi. I wanna eat that!”
“Hm, guess it can’t be helped.”
He took the custard flavored imagawayaki he himself was eating and carried it over to
Kaneda-san’s mouth.
And Tanaka being how he was, he had Kaneda-san take her sweet bean stuffed
imagawayaki and feed it directly to his mouth.
In the face of those two, how did we fare?
Like any normal person, we split our imagawayaki in half and shared them with each other.
“Were we supposed to share it like that too?”
“W-were we? Isn’t that simply them being lovebirds?”
As we quietly watched the two of them, Kaneda-san scooped some sweet bean paste
smudged on Tanaka’s mouth with her fingers.
And then, she moved that finger with the sweet bean paste over to her mouth and ate it.
“It was a shame to waste it, so I ate it. Tee hee?”
“You say that, but you too have a lot of custard smeared all around your mouth. Here, I’ll
wipe it for you, so turn your face over this way.”
The always popular among the girls Tanaka took a tissue from his pocket and, ever so
gently and softly, wiped Kaneda-san’s face.
Tanaka and Kaneda-san then noticed us, staring at that spectacle silently, dumbfounded.
“Something wrong, guys?”
“Is something wrong, you two?”
They directed worried voices at us.
And, well…
There’s no way we could tell them that we discovered we weren’t even remotely close to
lovers, so the two of us glossed over it.
“Nothing at all.”
“No, nothing.”
Though we had just agreed that we had a mutual love, we were made to understand that
we were still far from full-fledged lovers.
The couple, Tanaka and Kaneda-san, walked ahead of us.
Despite us being a married couple, compared to them, we’re still far far away from anything
of the sort.
And so, the four of us continued to march around downtown for more or less 1 hour.
Determining it was a good amount of time, we decided to say our goodbyes.
The station near which we entertained ourselves this time was the one closest for Tanaka
and Kaneda-san.
Just as we thought of getting on the train after watching the two of them, who didn’t need
to ride on it, go their own separate ways back to their own homes, it happened.
“Tanaka-cchi. My kiss~.”
“Oh boy, I guess it can’t be helped.”
In front of all the people present, they exchanged a quick kiss.
After that, looking reluctant, the two of them walked their own separate paths.
“Well, that’s most definitely them being lovey-dovey lovebirds.”
“Yeah, that is most certainly them being lovey-dovey lovebirds.”
Even so, they are fellow lovers.
Kissing may be a normal thing, but.
“Thinking of it, you and I haven’t kissed yet, right? In spite of it, we’re already married. Isn’t
it weird?”
“You said it. I did think that we should grow closer slowly and calmly at our own pace, but
now I think that maybe if we kept going like this, we’d never reach the goal in our lives.
Well, if you mean reaching the goal, we kind of already reached it though.”
Having been shown just what lovers are anew, Suzuka and I were left with a singular
sensation.
 Chapter 12 – There is No Need To Skip
Steps

Two weeks had passed since Tanaka and Kaneda-san started going out.
And, if you were to ask what Suzuka and I did during those two weeks…
It wasn’t as if nothing had changed at all.
The two of us began living together and we got over the sense of nervousness we had.
Though we couldn’t go so far as to say that it was now natural for us to be all smiles
without any difficulties when we were together, we were still having fun as we spent our
days.
… But it was then that we saw the new couple of Tanaka and Kaneda-san, and it made me
think.
Despite the fact that we were gradually getting along better and getting to like each other,
still I couldn’t help but feel like we were a far cry from lovers.
Having seen the lovers that were Tanaka and Kaneda-san, Suzuka and I came back home,
entered our room together, and, contrary to our wishes, began to feel a certain impatience
at the lack of advance in our relationship.

January 5th.
We were now in the beginning of March, almost the season of graduations.
Timewise, it had easily been 2 months.
We may have had the entrance exams come over us, along with days in which we couldn’t
meet, but even so, 2 months had already passed.
I may be somewhat uncertain about a marital relationship, but she is someone I want to be
with.
It was the impatience born from knowing that if things kept as they were with that
someone, we could one day end up on different paths.
I was tormented by that thought.
I continued to be absorbed in those thoughts until I suddenly noticed that I had approached
Suzuka.
“Say, want to try kissing at least?”
“K-kissing?”
“Well, I mean. You know, right?”
I knew that Suzuka liked me.
Being that the case, I believed it’d be fine and forcefully got closer to her. However, having
been childhood friends for so long, I understood many things from Suzuka.
I could at least tell that, right now, at this place, Suzuka didn’t want to be kissed.
“My bad. Forget I said it, I got ahead of myself.”
“No, it’s fine. I also get why you’re feeling pressured.”
I’d been affected by our surroundings and lost sight of myself.
I got the sensation that that was the one thing I should never do.
… Well, even if I knew that, my emotions were a complicated mishmash.

Today was the first time since we started living together that I felt such a strong sense of
awkwardness.

The next day welcomed us as I continued to feel the awkwardness.

It was a considerably important day.
That’s right, it was our graduation day.
It was the landmark day that marked the end of our high school life.
Despite continuing to be assailed by the strange sense of urgency and nervousness about
my relationship with Suzuka, I looked forward to the graduation ceremony.
I looked back to the many things that happened during my high school life.
This last part from this year’s January was especially filled with mind-boggling days.
At the beginning of them I had no special feelings of any sort towards Suzuka.
And in spite of that, at some point I found myself liking her.
If someone asked me what thing in my high school life left the biggest impression on me,
without a doubt, the first thing that I would say would be that I got married to Suzuka.
While there were many things to think about, the graduation ceremony advanced and was
over in the blink of an eye.
We went back to our classroom and received our graduation certificates from our teacher.
Then, it was time to say our goodbyes.
At long last, all that was left was taking the commemorative photos and other small things
before leaving school one last time.
My thoughts were running back to many things as I took the commemorative photos of the
graduation with my friends. Those happy yet saddening moments went by in a heartbeat.
I stood before the school gates.
It was the last time I’d go back home as a high school student.
I couldn’t help wanting to go back home together with Suzuka this last time, so I called her
out.
“Sorry, did I make you wait?”
“No, I just got here so there’s no problem. Well, shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
We walked side-by-side wearing our uniforms.
As I thought to myself that this was truly the last time, I felt strong emotions well up inside
me.
The ever-changing life.
More changes will continue to take place from now on too.
“Sorry, do you mind if we take a small detour?”
“Sure.”
I decided to make a small detour together with Suzuka.
The place we headed to was the park where Suzuka and I had first met when we were
small.
“Coming to a park at an age like ours kind of becomes a seldom occurrence, no?”
“Well, yes. And, why’d we come here?”
“I thought that this place was the best if I was to be clear in telling you.”
“What are you going to tell me?”
Suzuka had a worried expression on her face.
I laughed when I saw Suzuka.
“There’s no need for that face! It’s not something as ominous as you’re thinking, ok?”
“Then, what is it?”
“Aah, well, give me a bit more time to collect myself.”
The words I wanted to tell Suzuka once again.
I feel weirdly embarrassed saying them, so I practice saying them over and over in my head
so I don’t mess up.
“Not yet?”
“Sorry, please wait just a bit more.”
“Yeah, I’ll wait for you however long you need.”
I made Suzuka wait for a few minutes.
I strengthened my resolve and spoke.
“Suzuka. I like you.”
“Eh?”
Suzuka looked blankly in amazement.
Not worrying about that, I went on to lay bare my whole heart to her.
“We became a married couple on a whim. But we are now in mutual love. I hadn’t said that
‘I like you’ clearly until now, right?”
“Now that you mention, you’re right. I even feel like you evaded giving a direct answer a lot
too.”
“That’s how it was. Now comes the real thing I wanted to tell you.”
“…”
Suzuka held her breath as she waited for my words.
What I wanted to tell her now was, if you really wanted to say it, yes it was an obvious
thing.
“Please go out with me.”
“Heh, eh? Ah, erm, what?”
“Aah, it makes me embarrassed explaining this out loud. Because the two of us became a
married couple first, we had our minds fully preoccupied by that and were thinking as we
skipped all the proper steps, wouldn’t you say?”
“You may be right. We did get married first and thought only about what came next.”
“Isn’t that too unnatural? Things have their proper course. Well, there may be times when
you simply skip over all that. However, after thinking about it in many ways, I realized that
it wasn’t good for you and me to skip over all that process.”
This relationship between us that, though slowly, continued to progress.
It was so slow that whenever you compared it to other people, it was slow.
After watching a couple like Tanaka and Kaneda-san, even if I didn’t want to, I understood
that it was incredibly and undeniably slow.
Yesterday, while I was falling asleep, I thought it over well.
Despite that being the case, it was not like us to hurry it up.
People each have their own pace.
We had fallen prey to ignoring our own pace and feeling like we needed to go faster and
faster because we had gotten married and become a couple.
“And you’re okay with that, Yuuki?”
“Slowly without hurrying. Just because we got married, there’s no need for us to go and
skip every step, right? Want to try thinking about this by forgetting about our marriage
first? This is what I wanted to tell you. Sorry I’m so bad with words.”
“No, you got your point across, so it’s okay.”
“By the way, your answer…?”
“Sounds good to me. Before becoming a married couple, let’s try being lovers first!”
As if all the dark clouds hanging over her head had cleared, she gave me a most radiant
smile.

All right, this was our true beginning at last.

 Chapter 13 – We Hadn’t Even Started

The graduation ceremony ended, and a longer-than-usual spring vacation welcomed us.
Well, it was a difference like day and night compared to the university’s spring vacations.
Our time together increased on its own, and Suzuka and I were having a smooth sailing.
“Hand me over the manga~.”
“Here you go.”
I stopped playing with my phone and grabbed a manga for her.
“Thanks.”
For the time being, we passed the time together in that manner with leisure words.
But, that was no longer how it was.
We had become lovers.
Though the family registry said that we were in a marital relationship, we thought to go
back over the different steps of a relationship that we skipped and start building them
firmly from zero, so we became lovers.
Suzuka and my relationship has become clear at last.
Thanks to that, the number of times we were together and felt an uncomfortable sense of
awkwardness decreased.
“What’ll you do during spring vacation?”
“Go on the graduation trip and play with my friends like norma~l. And you, Yuuki?”
“Similar to you.”
“I see.”
I went back to fiddling with my phone.
Suzuka too went back to reading her manga.
A few minutes passed and I once again spoke and asked Suzuka.
“You have any plans for tomorrow?”
“I don’t. My plan’s idling away like today. How about you?”
“None either.”
Hence ended our banal conversation once again.
Time simply continued to pass at leisure.
As it did, I resolved myself to actually say this time the words I had intended to when I had
called Suzuka just now.
“Say, Suzuka.”
“Hmm, wha~t?”
“So, you’re free tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I’m free and?”
“Want to go on a date?”
After great pains, I finally invited her to a date.
How to say this? Truth is, all this time until now since we became a married couple, not
even once had I invited her on a proper date.
We were now lovers, so I should properly invite her on a date.
That was what I thought, and I tried to say it, but I couldn’t manage to get the words out
because of the embarrassment.
“Hmmm…”
Suzuka was mulling it over for a long time.
Eh?
I had thought that now that we were lovers, I would get an instantaneous OK from her…
I waited for Suzuka’s reply with cold sweat running down my back.
After pondering it over deeply for a long time, the answer that came back to me was:
“Tomorrow’s no good.”
“Eh, what? Why?”
“Calm down, don’t fret like that. Haahh.”
Suzuka stopped reading her manga and looked at me.
She then headed towards the dresser in my room.
It was the corner of it that I had lent her. She showed me the clothes of hers that were in it
and spoke.
“It’s the first date to which you invite, Yuuki! There’s no way I could go with these clothes!
I’ll get more stylish clothes, so please, I want you to wait!”
“Oh, got it.”
I flinched at the cute reason which I could have never imagined.
“With that, I look forward to the day after tomorrow.”
“Got it. The day after tomorrow then.”
Like this, our first date was decided.
Suzuka was in high spirits.
And how was I?
We had become lovers casually, so I wanted to go on a date.
“… Damn.”
I noticed an extremely unpleasant thing.
Suzuka was so excited about it that she would go out of her way and buy fashionable
clothes.
Try going on a date with some half-baked plan with someone like that.
It would be the shame of a lifetime.
In which case, all that I had left was to come up with the perfect date plan by the day after
tomorrow.
Well, it was already late at night.
I’ll try thinking about it after sleeping for now.

The next morning then came and greeted us.

I overslept since I was already in full spring vacation mode.
“Morning, Suzuka…”
I opened my eyes and noticed Suzuka wasn’t in the room.
Instead, there was a single note left atop the desk.
[To Yuuki:I’m going to buy some Western clothes! Be back soon!]
“… Ugh.”
I could feel an even greater pressure to not fail at designing a great date plan burden me.
R-right!
For starters, I should do the same as Suzuka and choose some nice clothes.
I opened the dresser with that in mind, and:
“Damn.”
I didn’t buy many spring clothes last year.
Because of that, all I could see were slightly worn-out clothes which I could wear in normal
circumstances without problem.
… Uh, anyhow…
It may have been me overthinking it, but after seeing that note overflowing in excitement
and expectations, there was no way I could stay unmotivated myself.
“Alright, guess I’ll be going to buy clothes too.”
I went outside in order to buy clothes for the date.
I plan the date while being softly shook by the train.
The amusement park, the aquarium, the zoo, the movies.
On second thought, we should leave out the amusement park.
Suzuka was enthused about getting new clothes. The chances of her going to the date with
clothes that were difficult to move in were high.
Which meant that…
While I was thinking about that and other things, the train arrived at a flourishing city.
I put away my phone into my pocket and went onwards to a trip in search of clothes.
… I was more than aware that I had no fashion sense.
As soon as I entered a shop aimed at young people, the employee came over to me and I
decided to rely on them fully.
“Which are the recommended clothes for a date?”
“Have you decided on where you are going for your date? There is no better clothing than
one that fits the time, place, and occasion.”
“Ermm, we are still uncertain about the place, but we were thinking about the aquarium,
the zoo, or the movies. One of those three.”
“Understood. Allow me to show you some suggestions of apparel which can be worn at any
of those three places.”
And with that, I went on to choose new clothes with the help from the employee.
Having been able to buy some stylish clothes, I was feeling pleased with myself.
Keeping the momentum, I bought some shoes too.
“Next is that.”
Our first date.
I wanted to give her some present of sorts to make it into a more remarkable memory.
I went to search for a small gift that didn’t go too overboard.

Before I knew it, it was dusk.

I returned home after having finished my preparations for our date.
I looked around the entry hall and noticed that it had traces that Suzuka had already
returned.
I took a cold drink from the refrigerator and was about to open the door to my room, which
was presently also Suzuka’s room.
“Yuuki, wait!”
“Hm?”
“I’m currently trying on the clothes I plan to wear tomorrow. And, I already went to all this,
so I’d like to keep them a surprise for tomorrow, you know?”
“Oh, yeah.”
My heart was throbbing in excitement.
When I thought about just what kind of clothes she would wear at tomorrow’s date, I found
my heart beating faster than ever for Suzuka.
2-3 minutes later.
Since Suzuka told me it was fine now to go inside, I entered the room.
“Sorry~.”
“Don’t worry. From where I’m standing, you’re so excited for tomorrow that you can’t help
it. I can only say thank you for being so excited for it.”
“Ehehe? That so? Eh, that’s…”
Suzuka had her attention stolen by the bags I was carrying.
With the full intention of drawing her in, I pushed the bags before Suzuka before speaking.
“Because you were so excited, I tried getting excited myself. Lovers, well, the registry says
married couple already though. It’s the first date I invite you on. How could I be all aloof
when you’re so excited? That sort of thing.”
“…”
“What’s wrong? You’re silent.”
“I simply was so happy I got silent. A~h, it has to be that. Ever since you said that we should
start as lovers first, Yuuki, every day has been so fun I can’t help it. I can’t believe how fun
it’s become simply by letting go of that previous sensation of always thinking ‘for now’, ‘for
the time being’. Yuuki, I love you!”
Suzuka jumped with great intensity and clung to me, and I gently hugged her back.
We’re only starting.
This is only our beginning.
That was the sort of day it was.
 Chapter 14 – The Walk to the Aquarium

A morning with birds chirping.

I woke up rubbing my eyes.
At the same time, Suzuka, who is sleeping beside me, seems to have woken up as well.
“Hmmm. I slept well. Good morning.”
“Oh, good morning.”
We yawn, stretch our backs, and relax our stiffened bodies.
After a moment, when that settled down, Suzuka turned to smile at me.
“We have a date today, don’t we?”
“Uh-oh.”
I can see visibly that she is looking forward to it.
I’m sure I’d start to enjoy myself too if I could see that kind of face.
“Now, let’s have breakfast. Breakfast.”
We get out of bed and head for the kitchen.
It’s not early in the morning, but it’s early enough.
Mom hasn’t left for work yet.
“Oh my, that’s unusual. Both of you are up early.”
“Hehe~. I’m going out with Yuki today~.”
“That’s good to hear. You guys were kind of distant in the beginning, but lately you seem to
be getting more comfortable, don’t you think? You seem to be enjoying every day, don’t
you?”
That’s my mother.
She doesn’t miss the slightest change.
While thinking about this, Suzuka and I prepare breakfast while talking with my mother
ahead of her work.
Just as we finished preparing breakfast, Mom left for work.
In my ear, she said, “Even though you’re a married couple, you should still be dating
properly, okay?” I was left speechless.
What a worrying mother she is.
“Itadakimasu.”
“Itadakimasu.”
The two of us are munching on our breakfasts.
Over breakfast, we talk about today’s events.
“Where are you taking me today?”
“I’m thinking of going to the aquarium, how’s that sound?”
“I like it. What aquarium?”
A bit ill-mannered, I pull out my phone and show her the website of the aquarium we are
going to visit today.
It is a fairly large aquarium.
Dolphin shows, penguin shows, and so on.
I already have a good grasp of the events that we can enjoy.
“So, will you come with me?”
“Of course.”
We then chewed on our breakfast while talking about how cute penguins are and how we
would definitely see the dolphin show.
I’m already feeling full at this point.
After finishing breakfast, Suzuka and I quickly started preparing for our date.
My hair is not quite done, but I lightly trimmed it, shaved my beard which is not thick yet,
and my eyebrows are fine since I just trimmed them the last time I was there.
I also checked for nose hairs.
I carefully prepare myself for the day.
And yet, I wait quietly in the living room, dressed in the clothes I bought yesterday.
While watching TV and fidgeting for Suzuka to finish getting ready, I got a message saying
that she was at the door? She came.
“I can’t help it.”
A few dozen seconds of packing luggage and waiting at the front door.
The door opened fearfully.
“Sorry to keep you waiting? Well?”
An embarrassed Suzuka appeared.
I look at the clothes she is wearing.
She is wearing a knit sweater, a knee-high flared skirt, and a belt made of thick, soft
material wrapped high.
Her bag was well matched and there were no complaints.
“You’re so cute. There it is. I feel like I’m seeing your true colors for the first time.”
“Well, I’ve never worked this hard before either. And, well, …… that.”
Something bothering her? Suzuka stares at me with a kind of “what the heck” look.
What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?
I begin to feel a little uneasy, but …… that quickly disappears.
“Yuki is definitely looking good today.”
“Right? You get serious. I got to get serious too.”
“I love that kind of attitude of yours, Yuki! Let’s go, then.”
“Oh, let’s go.”
We both move our feet toward the station.
We walk side by side to our destination together.
“It’s getting colder, so why don’t we hold hands? You see, we couldn’t do that when it was
cold.”
“Good. Here you go.”
We hold hands tightly.
A few dozen steps passed.
“Can I be honest with you?”
“Okay?”
“I’m not good at holding hands. I feel like people are looking at me weird, and it makes me
uncomfortable.”
“Me too. I thought we could hold hands now that it’s getting colder. I’m kind of
uncomfortable when I think people are looking at me.”
It reminded me of Tanaka and Kaneda-san, who were walking hand in hand in a
harmonious manner.
I guess that’s how lovers are supposed to be.
But that doesn’t mean we have to go along with that.
“Shall I let go of your hand?”
“Okay.”
Poof, hands off.
But it wasn’t because I didn’t want to.
Everyone is different.
It’s just that we’re slow, and we’re okay with that.
Because.
“I hear penguin slapping is dangerous?”
“Sure, those wings? They swim with them, don’t they?”
“Hey, Yuki, why don’t you get smacked and find out?”
“Oh, don’t say such awful things so casually.”
We are walking more happily than when we were walking hand in hand.
It’s natural, just the way it is.
Lovers are creatures that exude a lovey-dovey atmosphere.
We tend to have this preconceived notion, but of course there is such a way of being a lover.
“But I might want you to hold my hand when we are out of the public eye.”
“Hmm? Oh, well. When I was watching a movie with you in my room, we usually held
hands. I certainly didn’t mind at the time.”
“Right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
One, we become more familiar with ourselves.
It’s comforting, and yet it also whets the desire to know more.
“But still, an aquarium? I haven’t been there since that time.”
“Certainly not since that time.”
Me and Suzuka have been friends since we were spoiled little brats.
We were in the same class in elementary, junior high and high school.
In elementary school, we went to the aquarium on a field trip. I was in the same group with
Suzuka and we went around the aquarium together.
“Oh no, it was hard to contain the anger of the girls in our group that time.”
“Sorry.”
“Oh, you do remember.”
” I guess so. You see, the boys, including me, were moving forward and ahead, not caring
about the girls, including you, who wanted to take their time and see the fishes.”
“Yes. That’s it. We were so angry because we felt that boys are so selfish, you know?”
“I’m really sorry about that. I was a brat at the time, no matter how you look at it. I’m sorry,
so please forgive me.”
“Well, what should I do?”
Deliberately, she pretended to stretch out her judgment.
And then, Suzuka quickly jumped in front of me with a thump.
“I forgive you! But in return, you’ll escort me properly today, right?”
“…”
“What’s the matter?”
“Sorry. You’re so cute, I just shut up.”
“Heh, you can praise me more, can’t you?”
“I’ll give you a compliment. You are the cutest girl in the world, Suzuka.”
“Really? Well, I’ll give Yuki a compliment too!”
Smiling, she stood right in front of me again.
And then, out of her pretty mouth came words of praise for me.
“It’s childishly cute that you don’t like the green peas and leave them behind.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It’s not. I didn’t mean it as a compliment, okay? My compliments are expensive!”
We walk happily on our way to the destination, which is the aquarium.
 Chapter 15 – Aquarium Date!

We found ourselves inside the aquarium after purchasing admission tickets.

I started walking with Suzuka through the dimly lit aquarium.
“Small fish are nice…….”
Suzuka looks at small fish swimming in a relatively small aquarium.
She tends to focus on the larger fish, but these smaller fish are not bad either.
“Ah.”
“Ehhh, when we were in elementary school, you couldn’t pack small fishes. Let’s go see
sharks! You said that.”
“I’m surprised you remember. At the time, I certainly did, but now I understand the appeal
of small fish better.”
“What’s the point?”
“Easy to keep.”
“I think you’re being too rational. I was hoping for a more romantic answer, you know? Yes,
once more!”
She wants me to talk about the appeal of small fish in a romantic way.
Well, I’m no fool. I can give you a variety of answers, though it’s a fine line if you want to
call it romantic.
“Small and protective. As a result, they look cute.”
“I see. Then how about me, being smaller than the average person?”
“I’m surprised you’re urging me to protect you. I thought you didn’t like being rescued by
me much.”
Suzuka is not strong-willed, but she doesn’t appreciate being helped by me.
She had been telling me, repeatedly, that she was taking that stance because she did not
want to owe me anything as an equal, as a childhood friend.
“When it comes to boyfriends, it’s a different story, okay?”
“I see.”
“How are you feeling about that, Yuki? When I was your childhood friend, you teased me
that it was okay for me to be weird and spoiled. If it were me, your girlfriend, what would
you do?”
“You stepped in where it’s hard to say…….”
“Teh? I felt like I was the only one who said something embarrassing, so I rolled with it.”
She looks at me with a little bit of a bad look.
I was rather embarrassed that I told her that I wanted to protect her.
Hence, I guess you’ve arrived at my hardest part to say…….
“Can I be honest? Before I started going out with you, I thought it was a shame for a man to
take advantage of you or something. Now I’m afraid that there’s a part of me that wants to
be spoiled normally.”
“I knew it. I guess a lot can change just by having a different relationship with a childhood
friend and a lover.”
“That’s right. Hey, do you still want to see the little fish zone?”
“…I feel that Yuki has grown up, which is hard to believe since he went ahead of me without
asking me such a question when he visited …… last time. But you don’t have to adjust to me
all the time, so keep that in mind!”
I care about pleasing Suzuka.
That may give an impression that I am sorry for making Suzuka pay attention to me.
“Then, I personally care about that tropical fish corner. Why don’t you go see it?”
“Yes, I’m happy to be blunt, but you have to drag me along like that, okay? Otherwise, it
would look like I’m the only one enjoying myself.”
Together with Suzuka, we headed for the tropical fish section.
We spent an hour looking around at the various fish.
I remembered that it was almost time for the dolphin show.
“Suzuka. Let’s move to see the dolphin show.”
“Okay.”
We headed for the pool where the dolphin show was to take place, where there was seating
for spectators.
“Oops, maybe we should have come a little earlier.”
The seats were full.
Yes, it is spring break now.
The aquarium is large and tends to be sparsely populated, but this is the main big event.
And all the scattered visitors are coming together.
It was more crowded than I had imagined.
I thought there was no place to sit, but there was still some space in the front.
“Yuki, there is an empty space there. If you sit down there, you will get soaked. You see,
there is a sign on the seat that says, ‘Please be careful if you use this seat because of the
water splashing around’.”
“You’re going to take that place? But it must have been hard to set up your hair and all that,
right?”
“I’m going to see the show, so I’d like to have good seats. Besides, Yuki would be okay with
me messing up my hair, you know? You see, every morning you see my hair all messed up.”
“I see that too. Well, let’s go sit over there.”
“I want to enjoy the dolphin show!”
We both sit in the front seats.
The reason we were prepared to get wet was because we were former “childhood friends”.
I mean, who is that person who says that dating a childhood friend is scary when you break
up with them, or that childhood friends are less likely to spark a flame when you fall in love
with them, and all sorts of negative things?
There are many good things like this.
It was only a short time before I was inwardly preaching the wonders of being childhood
friends and lovers.
“Hey, everyone. Hello~!”
The dolphin trainer lady came out of the back of the pool in high spirits.
She’s got style. That lady.
She is wearing a tight-fitting wetsuit that clearly shows the lines of her body.
That’s when my eyes were drawn to her.
“Yuki’s nose gets all puffed up when he thinks of something a little unusual.”
“Sorry.”
“No, I’m not mad at you. I’m not mad at you for that, either.”
“I’m surprised. Don’t you ever get jealous of her or something?”
“I’m jealous, okay? But I don’t want to be the kind of girl who gets all uptight and tiresome
over the slightest thing.”
Suzuka is very understanding.
This is all well and good, but personally, I don’t mind having people be jealous of it.
Well, it’s unnecessary.
Let’s not mention it.
“Well, I guess the greetings are over. Let’s focus on the show, shall we?”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
A dolphin jumps and dives under the paddle held by the lady.
Dexterously holding the ball by the tip of its nose, the dolphin tries not to drop it.
The dolphin pushes the lady in the pool up out of the water and makes her float in the
water.
And many other tricks were performed.
The fun time flew by.
The dolphin show was over.
“Yuki, that was fun!”
“Yeah, that was fun.”
It is good that we were both so satisfied.
We were prepared to get a little wet, but what can I say, we got very wet.
“Heck. I sneezed funny.”
“Need a tissue?”
“Yeah, I’ll take it…….”
Suzuka wipes her nose with a tissue.
Her hair is quite wet and her clothes are also wet enough.
“I want a towel. Do you have any?”
“I prepared a slightly larger towel for such an eventuality. Here you go.”
I took out a large towel for wiping sweat from my bag and tossed it to Suzuka.
She took it and wiped her wet hair.
When she finished wiping herself, she turned the towel toward me and asked me.
“Do you want me to wipe your hair for you?”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that here. Look, we’re in public.”
I’m not a fan of explicit flirting in public, say holding hands in a friendly manner.
I’m not averse to being wiped, but I’ll say no on this occasion.
And the person who asked me seemed to agree.
“Maybe so.”
“Right?”
Then I wipe my hair and we walk off to go to the next place.
I took out my cell phone to check what time it was, and found that I had received a
notification.
“Date!”
It’s from Tanaka.
Incidentally, there is even a bonus photo of him with Kaneda-san.
I guess he wanted to show off his happiness to someone.
However, thanks to Tanaka, I remembered something important.
“Hey, Suzuka.”
“What?”
“How about a picture of the two of us together later?”
“Yes! It would be a shame if we didn’t take pictures!”
First date.
I want to leave something tangible.
Then, it is only natural to take a photo of the two of us.
So I asked someone nearby to take a picture.
When I checked the photo taken of us together, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Pfft. What is this?”
“Oh, crap. What the hell.”
This was the first two-shot photo taken after I became lovers with Suzuka.
It was a picture of Suzuka and me, who were slightly hunched over, perhaps still
embarrassed to get close to each other, or perhaps in a strange faltering manner.
Moreover, it is also interesting that her expression is blatantly tense.
I reached for the delete button to delete the photo, but Suzuka blocked me from doing so.
“It’s so funny, do you want to keep it?”
“I guess so. It’s a typical picture of us. No need to erase it.”
This is also a good memory.
With this in mind, I locked the image to prevent it from being erased.
 Chapter 16 – The End of the Date Was the
Beginning of a Spoiled Life

“We had a great time today!”

Just before dusk, after enjoying the aquarium to the fullest, we started walking home.
With the smell of the water lingering in the air, we reflected on our day.
“Ah!”
“Yuki. Don’t forget that you said you would protect me at the place with the tank full of
small fish?”
It was said in a deliberate way.
I lightly poked Suzuka on the head.
“I won’t forget you, don’t worry.”
“Wait, why did you poke my head?”
“You say stupid things. Do I look like the kind of guy who says he’ll protect you and then
immediately changes his mind?”
“I see. Then I’m relieved.”
She looks relieved.
As we leave the aquarium and make our way to the bus, we stop at a rather nice scenic
spot.
“Would you like to take in the view for a little bit?”
“Yeah.”
We both look at the landscape.
Of course, we didn’t stay here just to admire the view.
With determination, I took out a small package from my bag and handed it to Suzuka, who
was glued to the view.
“Suzuka. Here you go.”
“Oh, my gosh. Don’t throw things at me out of the blue.”
“I’m sorry. My bad.”
“And what’s this?”
“It’s a present for you. It’s a small one, though.”
First date.
Rather than a present with a lot of thought put into it, a lighthearted present would be
better.
With this in mind, I gave her what I had chosen.
“What is it….?”
She opens the parcel nicely.
I had given gifts to Suzuka before, but this was the first time I had given her a present since
we became lovers.
Fidgeting, I wait for her reaction.
After swallowing hard, the present finally emerges from the package.
“It’s a pass case!”
“It’s my first present. You don’t want me to give you something weird and fancy, do you?
Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea to give it to my lover…….”
I’m the one who is on the defensive.
After I give it to her, I regret whether I really did the right thing.
Fearfully, I see Suzuka’s reaction.
“Of course I’d be happy with anything Yuki gives me, right?”
“How do you really feel about being given a pass case?”
“It’s not my birthday, and it’s not Christmas, so I’m sure I’d rather get a present that’s not so
crazy.”
“That means ……”
“I mean, I’m happy. Because this present was given to me because my current pass case is
getting worn down and stained, right?”
“That’s what I meant.”
“It’s a gift that shows you’ve been looking out for me. How can I not be happy?”
She told me with a kind smile that there was no need to look so worried.
A successful present.
The pounding of my heart has not yet subsided, but I feel relieved.
“That’s good to hear.”
“I mean, isn’t that a little unfair? Suddenly, you’re handing me a present. I didn’t prepare
anything, you know?”
“Well, it’s a surprise for you.”
“I’m so frustrated that I’m going to prepare a present to make Yuki happy next time, okay?”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
After handing over the present, we talk for a bit, taking in the view.
When it comes to a lover’s date, things are going well.
That’s when we might kiss and do all sorts of things.
But then I realized that it’s not all about the s****l stuff.
It would be a shame to move on without slowly and surely getting to know each other.
It’s the first time, and I should be able to feel the happiness that I can’t feel now.
“You know what, Yuki?”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“I just called out to you.”
A brilliant smile is directed at me.
Will Suzuka protect me? I remember how worried she was.
I would do anything to protect this smile.
“Well, let’s go home.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
I quit gazing at the scenery and start walking.
Walking slowly along the path to the shuttle bus, we come upon a set of stairs.
It was while we were descending the stairs, which were a bit high.
A boy running vigorously bumped into Suzuka’s back.
If she had been able to stand on her feet, she would not have fallen down.
An unexpected blow.
She didn’t have any strength in her legs and feet, and she almost fell down.
“Damn it, come on!”
I managed to hold Suzuka as she tumbled down the stairs, and she and I fell down the
stairs.
“Ittsu……”
I was able to hit the ground with Suzuka in my good graces.
Perhaps Suzuka is safe.
But I …… looked like I was in trouble.
“Yu, Yuki!? Are you okay!?”
“Tsk, ah, ah.”
I strained my voice.
I look at my screaming arms and hands, and they are clearly not looking good.
I don’t lose consciousness, but the pain fills me up and down.
I get into an ambulance, which the parents of the boy who pushed me probably called, and
we ride to the nearest hospital.
Surprisingly, my arms were fine, but the condition of my fingers was not good, so I had to
have surgery.
It was quite a catastrophe.
Well, it’s funny to say it’s just broken bones, though.
After a few days in the hospital, I was released without incident.
“Oops!”
Suzuka, who came to escort me out of the hospital, helps me with my bags.
My left arm is fine, but I guess she was taking care of me.
“I’m sorry.”
“Nah. If you fall down and you can only use your left hand and you’re holding a bag in your
left hand, it would be hard for you to get to it, wouldn’t it?”
“I see what you mean. I’m really sorry. I’m so sorry. I even had you escort me out of the
hospital.”
The hospital to which I was taken was near the aquarium.
I had surgery there and was hospitalized.
Naturally, it would take some time to come from home.
I was so grateful to Suzuka who came to check on me for a few days, including visiting me
at the hospital.
“No, I’m fine. I’m fine.”
“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been home.”
I didn’t think it would take me this long to get home from the aquarium.
With a bitter smile on my face, we took a cab home, though I was afraid of the fare.
And when we came home, Mom and Dad were away for work.
It felt strange to be home for the first time in a while.
“Well, how’s my accident going?”
“It’s been confirmed that we will pay for all the medical treatment. The lawyer said I can
claim some money for damages.”
“That’s good to know.”
The cost of treatment, including surgery and hospitalization.
It’s a painful expense, even though I usually win the lottery.
“It’s inconvenient that I can only use …… my left hand.”
“Isn’t it about time for your medicine?”
Suzuka prepares water for me.
I pour the water down with the medicine I got home.
“I’m a little tired. I’m going to bed.”
I go to my room and sleep.
It had been a long time since I slept on my bed, which was completely occupied by Suzuka,
as I had trouble putting down the futon with one hand.
When I woke up, it was night.
When I went to the living room, my mother and father had come home.
Apparently, they were talking about my injury with Suzuka.
“Mom, Dad, I’m home. And welcome home.”
“Yuki, welcome back. How are your wounds?”
“It still hurts, but I’m fine.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Speaking of which, I know you’ve been wiping yourself off, but go
take a bath for the first time in a while. As long as you cover yourself with a bag and don’t
get wet, you’re good to go, right?”
“Well, I guess so. But it’s hard to do with one hand, so why don’t you help me with the bag?”
“Oh dear, you don’t have to ask me, Yuki has a lovely wife.”
Mom looks over at Suzuka.
Then Suzuka rolls a bag in my hand.
“I’m going to go in …….”
I went to the bathroom with a towel and clothes in my left hand, but for some reason
Suzuka came to the bathroom as well.
“What’s wrong?”
“Mother-in-law said I should go help Yuki bathe.”
“…… I see. We act like lovers, but formally we are a married couple.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’ll go in alone if you don’t want to.”
“Hmmm. If I say I don’t mind, I don’t mind, okay? But, you know, it’s kind of awkward to
say, how should I say it ……”
It is me and Suzuka, who have never even kissed before.
Washing in the bath, that’s too much of a hurdle.
We’re even just going at a slow pace.
There was no way she wouldn’t flinch at the act of skipping several flights of stairs.
But, however…
Mom came to check on us in the changing room.
“Oh, you haven’t entered yet?”
“Why did you come?”
“I’m worried about my son.”
As soon as she said that, she left.
I know because I am a family member.
Mom will definitely come back to the changing room.
What if Suzuka doesn’t help me and waits for me when she does?
Of course they would be suspicious.
If they suspect discord, that’s when mom’s meddling will hit us.
“If I don’t wash Yuki, there will be a lot of trouble, so I will wash you. I mean, Yuki was
injured protecting me in the first place. Let me take care of you normally?”
“I understand. Then, please.”
“Just keep the towel around your waist, okay?”
“I don’t have a hobby that I enjoy showing off to you, and I’m going to wrap up. Turn
around.”
I made her turn around and take off my clothes.
After wrapping the towel around my waist, Suzuka and I went to the bathroom.
I sat down on a chair and Suzuka picked up a sponge and started to wash me.
“After all, you don’t have to do this, okay?”
Now that Suzuka is also in the bathroom.
We are the only ones who can know what’s going on inside the fogged up room.
Mom must think I’m washing as usual.
I told her that Suzuka didn’t need to bother washing me.
“‘It’s my fault you have a body like this, so let me take care of it? Yes, turn your back.”
Suzuka starts to wash my back and arms with a scrubbing sponge.
When she starts, I’m a little embarrassed but surprisingly okay with it.
As I told Suzuka at the aquarium, I have a desire to be spoiled.
I can feel that desire being fulfilled.
“….. Damn, it’s too good to have Suzuka do this to me….”
“Well, at the aquarium, did Yuki want to spoil me? When I asked you, you said you wanted
to be spoiled. Do you feel like I’m echoing your desire to be spoiled?”
“It’s so bad it’s echoing all over the place.”
“Ehehe. I see. Then, I’ll do my best. Any itchy spots, customer?”
She scrubbed my body and washed my hair carefully.
Needless to say, I washed the important parts by myself.
After such an experience, we realize.
“We’re not too sexually active, are we?”
“I guess you could say that. Why did I wash Yuki normally without incident? If it had been
normal, something would have definitely happened.”
“…… Well, is this how it’s supposed to be?”
“Ummm, yes. Isn’t that possible?”
Hearing Suzuka’s somewhat cryptic response, I made up my mind.
As Suzuka also said, we should still avoid s****l matters.
It was the first morning at home after being discharged from the hospital.
I woke up rubbing my eyes.
“Good morning. Yuki.”
“Oh, yeah. Good morning.”
I returned the greeting and looked over at Suzuka, who was sleeping beside me.
Her sweatshirt pants had slipped down a bit and her underwear was visible.
…… gulp …….
I swallow with fresh saliva.
Yesterday, I concluded that we still need to avoid s****l matters.
The stimulation hits me so hard that I almost forget that.
“My pants are slipping down. …… Oh, Yuki, you saw my underwear that was showing from
my pants that were slipping down, didn’t you?”
I got my favorite teasing.
She’d say these things, but when I’d counter with something like, ‘Oh, that was ecchi’ she’d
instantly get embarrassed……
“I didn’t see it.”
“Oh, really?”
“Well, I’ll say it then. It was rather naughty.”
Come on, shy away from the initial intention, like you always do.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I see. Heh.”
Suzuka is shy as usual.
But today, she was a little different from usual.
“I can’t help it. Just a little bit, okay? …… Yes, that’s it!”
She glanced down her pants and shyly showed me her adorable, cute underwear.
I say she did that to me.
I’m already in the habit of concluding that we should still avoid s****l matters, but now it’s
getting bad.
“…”
“Hey, quiet, what’s wrong with you?”
“No, no. It’s nothing, okay?”
I want to take it slow and still take care of things like we would.
But can I do that without attacking Suzuka?
“Oh, Yuki. I’ll get you a change of clothes now.”
“You don’t have to go that far, okay?”
“Yuki is allowed to be spoiled because he got hurt as a result of having to cover for me,
okay?”
Thus began the days of being spoiled by Suzuka.
 Chapter 17 – Steadily Getting Swept Away

“Yes, lift up your arms.”

As Suzuka told me to do, I raised my arms and rolled up the top of the bedclothes I was
wearing and took it off.
No, I was asked to take it off.
And after taking it off, I put on a T-shirt.
“That’s very generous of you.”
“You’re hurt. You deserve it.”
“Is that what this is about?”
“Come on, let’s have breakfast, shall we?”
I go to the kitchen with Suzuka.
Last night.
When my mother asked me, “Will you eat breakfast tomorrow?” I answered, “Probably”
and that’s why it was usually prepared.
Scrambled eggs, sausage, and a simple salad.
“How many pieces of bread do you eat, Yuki?”
“One slice is all I need.”
Two minutes of toasting the bread in the toaster.
A dinging sound informs me that it is done.
Suzuka was brewing coffee, so I thought I’d spread some margarine on the bread I’d
toasted.
“I cannot spread it.”
Spread margarine on bread.
What even a child can do easily is difficult.
“You’re struggling, aren’t you?”
“Sort of.”
Somehow, I clumsily finish spreading the margarine on the bread.
So, we sat in the dining room chairs and started a leisurely breakfast together.
“It’s been a long time since I had breakfast with Suzuka like this. So, how were you when I
was in the hospital?”
“I? Well, on the days I didn’t go to visit you, I went to hang out with friends. I felt like it was
time to get some things ready, you know, clothes.”
“Clothes?”
“Yuki. We’re college students starting this spring, you know? Did you forget that until now
we had uniforms, but from now on we have to spend our days in plain clothes?”
“…… Well, yeah, I guess so. Ah.”
I sound dumb.
Because of my hospitalization, I suddenly remembered something important that I had
completely forgotten.
“What’s wrong?”
“Suit ……”
“Really. You have to buy a suit to wear to the entrance ceremony.”
“It will be crowded at this time of the year. Well, as long as I don’t have to fix the bottoms or
anything, I can get it done in time, but I don’t want to look sloppy.”
If I wanted to make it in time, I can afford to make it in time.
However, I intend to buy a suit that I can use for job hunting.
If that is the case, it would be better to have the suit adjusted to my size.
The interviewer’s first impression of you is your appearance.
Without it, there is no way to get a job offer. That’s what my father used to say.
“You’ll leave the house around nine o’clock.”
“I suppose. Thanks for the food. That’s it.”
I was eating scrambled eggs and sausage with a fork, but with my non-dominant left hand.
The plate is a mess.
All I could do was laugh bitterly.
“Like a child.”
“Hah ……. The way forward. My broken right hand can’t even hold a pen, so I have to
practice writing with my left hand to even keep up with my college lectures.”
“Oh, I see. Then, I will take the same lectures as Yuki and show you my notes.”
“You know what? We pay high tuition fees. Don’t worry about me, just take the lectures
that interest you. If not you, I can ask to see the notes of someone who took the same
lecture as me.”
“I’m so excited. Isn’t it cold? I just wanted to take a lecture with Yuki. Aren’t you longing for
it? To sit side by side with your lover and attend the same lecture.”
The same lecture with Suzuka.
There will surely be no conversation. Just attending a lecture together beside each other.
Even though that’s all there is to it, she seems to be somehow excited about it.
“I can’t help it. I’ll take a few of the lectures.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shall we?”
Together, both of us are moving in earnest toward our new lives starting in the spring.
It was while we were discussing this with our hearts filled with anticipation.
“Mmm-hmm~”
“You’re in a good mood.”
“It’s been a while since Yuki and I have been together.”
“Stop it. Don’t say cute things towards me by surprise.”
“Ehehe. Then, I’ll say more. I’m glad to be with you for the first time in a long time.”
Suzuka is happy without weighing herself down.
She is highly aggressive.
And perhaps because I have an injury on my right hand, which is my dominant hand, she is
being very kind to me, which makes her even more aggressive.
“… Dangerous, dangerous. I forgot to take my pills.”
We finished breakfast and relaxed together.
I totally almost forgot to take my after-meal pills.
It still hurts like normal when the painkillers wear off…….
“Sorry? Because you protected me.”
“I told you not to apologize. How many times do I have to tell you that that was not your
fault, no matter what you think?”
As a result of protecting Suzuka.
I got hurt.
How can anyone not feel sorry in a normal way?
You don’t have to apologize to me, okay? I’m sorry, but here’s what I’m going to do.
If I just tell her not to apologize, her apology will become nothing but a festering mess.
“Then, if you have any trouble, just let me know, okay?”
“Then, for the time being, bring me some water. I’ve come all this way. Let me take this
opportunity of being spoiled by Suzuka, okay?”
Let’s rely on her in moderation, shall we?
I told Suzuka with a deliberate smile.
“Yes!”
The cheerful Suzuka simply nodded her head.
So, after pouring down the pills with the water I was given, I felt an itch in my ear, so I took
out an ear bud from the shelf.
“No. Stop.”
I can’t use my dominant hand.
It is not impossible, but it would be bad if I scratched the inside of my ears.
Besides, ear cleaning itself is not a necessary act, if you ask me.
“I’ll do it for you.”
Suddenly, a voice calls out to me from behind.
“Oh, don’t stand behind me. It startles me, you know?”
“Sorry, sorry. Come on, Yuki. Come here?”
As she speaks, Suzuka sits on the floor, gently slapping her own thighs.
In short, I’m allowed to lie down there.
“……Excuse me for disturbing you.”
“What do you mean you’re sorry to bother me?”
She giggles at the strange mannerisms.
I use her thighs as a pillow.
Small, but still soft, and the left half of my face is happy.
“I’m asking you.”
“I was asked to do it. So let’s get started, shall we?”
The sensation of going in slowly.
I heard a rustling sound.
I’m not ticklish, but I’m filled with ticklishness.
I never dreamed that the day would come when Suzuka would do this to me.
“…”
I fall silent.
Suzuka talks to me softly.
“I’m a little embarrassed. I can’t believe I’m doing this with Yuki.”
“You know, it’s really not fair of you to react like that, okay?”
“Ehehe.”
The happy time that follows with a little chatting goes by very quickly.
From the feel of it, it was like the final touch, and she was already playing with my ears.
And finally…
“Whew!”
A gentle breeze blows in my ear.
It tickles, but it feels good nonetheless.
“Okay, that’s it.”
“Lap pillow. Good ……”
I let out an exclamation.
I guessed that my face had been broken up so much that Suzuka slightly loosened the
corners of her mouth.
“You’re a spoiled child, aren’t you? Yes, move over, move over.”
I was forced to quit the lap pillow a little too forcefully.
I wanted to savor it a little longer, though, didn’t I?
It can’t be helped.
I try to leave Suzuka.
“I said I had to do the opposite, I said I moved out of the way, do you feel like I shouldn’t?”
“Oh, yeah. Did you?”
“What shall we do?”
“Please ……”
I sink my face into her thighs, using honorifics that I don’t use much with Suzuka.
“It can’t be helped. Let’s get started, shall we?”
 Chapter 18 – Sleep Together?

The suit was successfully purchased.

The color is black.
No stripes.
The suit with no sense of fun will be tailored and delivered to me before the entrance
ceremony.
“Yes, now you’re all set for the entrance ceremony. Well, you have to master how to tie a
tie.”
“What do you mean?”
“Can you tie it with one hand?”
“Oh, yeah, right. Well, I’ll practice tying it with one hand, but it’s too much trouble, so I’ll ask
Suzuka to do it for me.”
While talking like this, Suzuka and I headed for an electronics store.
We were going to look at refrigerators and washing machines for our new home.
This is a large electronics store.
If you include after-sales service, the actual store type is not so bad.
Because the number of cases where people only look at the price and lose money
afterwards is increasing year by year.
“Do you want a big refrigerator?”
“Money’s no issue, but ……”
We live a normal life, but we still have our lottery winnings.
However, it is 300 million yen.
If we spend it poorly and without thinking, we will not be able to spend it for the remainder
of our lives.
“Isn’t it a little too small for more than a single person?”
“Do you cook for yourself in the first place?”
“I’m thinking of doing it.”
“Well, how about something like this?”
The size is sufficient for a single person, but small for a family.
The size is indescribable.
“It might be better if it has a function that automatically makes ice.”
As the two of us are picking out a refrigerator, a strange laugh erupts.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, I didn’t expect to pick out a fridge with you like this. No, because, until recently, we
were childhood friends.”
“I never thought I would choose a refrigerator with Yuki. That makes me laugh in a weird
way.”
“Right? Oh, and before we decide which one is perfect, let’s go look at washing machines
too.”
“I guess so~.”
We head from the refrigerator section to the washing machine section.
As we were in the middle of doing so, I asked Suzuka.
“Well, how are you going to explain our relationship to people around us in college?”
“Oh. It may be a difficult problem. I feel like we could explain that we are a normal married
couple, but I think that would make us stand out badly.”
“I guess.”
I don’t want to be a bad presence in college.
I want to enjoy campus life in a normal way.
Given that, I don’t feel it would be good to tell everyone that I am married to Suzuka.
“How about setting it up so that they are cousins and live together?”
“Not bad. Shall we do that? It’s better not to stand out in college in a weird way.”
But there are many people at the university.
It’s a fine line between standing out in a strange way and having it become known to
everyone around you.
I guess we don’t have to be so careful.
“Yuki, are you going to join a club or something?”
“Yes, I will. I’ve been invited by a senior member of the club.”
“What club activities? Senior members of the soccer club?”
“It’s a club for people who enjoy the outdoors, started by a senior member of the soccer
team.”
“Maybe I should join?”
“They are recruiting circle members immensely. They would be delighted.”
Talking a little further, we arrived at the washing machine section.
Numerous washing machines lined up in a narrow space.
My mother does the laundry for us now, but that means we will have to do it ourselves
from now on.
“Gokkuri!”
Gasp.
Then I suggested to Suzuka.
“With a drying function. How about this one?”
The price is X00,000 yen.
It’s a washing machine that exceeds 100 thousand yen.
“I wanted a good washing machine, as well.”
“Okay, then.”
“Let’s buy a good one. I mean, isn’t this your first extravagant use of money, aside from the
ring?”
My first luxury since winning the lottery was a washing machine.
It sounds indescribable, but I guess this is what it really is.
Then we finished the purchase of the washing machine and refrigerator and ordered
delivery so that they would arrive the day after we moved in.
Then we bought a toaster, a microwave, and so on.
There are other appliances I would like to buy, but they are not as expensive as the
refrigerator.
I could probably get by with online shopping, where the after-sale service is a little worse.
After-sale service at large appliance stores is important for expensive products such as
refrigerators and washing machines.
It is a common occurrence that an appliance bought online has an initial defect, but the
customer is told that the appliance may have been broken at home. For some reason, the
shipping costs are paid by the customer, and the customer is often told to make the
arrangements on their own.
“Well, we have no more use for the electronics store. Let’s continue on to the next one.”
“Next stop, the furniture store.”
“Ah.”
Me and Suzuka headed to a certain major furniture store.
Our purpose was to buy desks, beds, shelves, and so on.
Also, if we don’t arrange for delivery early, we will be put on a waiting list because they
don’t have them in stock.
They tend to be in short supply now, just in time for the new season.
“What about beds?”
“Well, that’s……”
Mom must come by every so often to see how things are going.
Right now, I’m in the futon and Suzuka is in bed.
We are sleeping separately, but it is because the bed is too small, and it would be strange to
continue after we start our new life.
“Yuki. I’m going to be honest with you, but I gave you a pillow on my lap, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Let’s just sleep together like normal.”
“No, well, it’s that ……”
Suzuka’s argument is that it’s not strange.
It’s certainly not strange, and it’s not weird.
I can clearly see that my vocabulary has collapsed to the point of being unintelligible.
“Yes, it is. If you’re worried, we can sleep in the same bed today, even though it’s a little
cramped.”
“Uh, eh, uh, yes.”
And then time passes quickly and night falls.
Suzuka was washing herself hair, and I was anxiously waiting for her to finish her bath and
come back.
[“Let’s just sleep together like normal.”]
Sleeping with Suzuka when she came back from the bath.
There was a brief moment when I was still nervous.
Suzuka comes back to the room after a longer-than-usual bath without a care in the world.
“…… Hey. Are we really going to sleep together?”
“You know what they say, try before you buy. Yes, we are going to sleep together.”
Suzuka pats the bed with a thump and invites me into the space she has made available.
I fearfully get on the bed and lie down.
I’m injured, and I’m on the far side of the bed, against the wall, to keep me from falling out
of bed.
As soon as I checked that, Suzuka also came to lie down and blocked my escape route.
“Eh heh heh. You’re so close.”
“Oh, oh…”
“Will you let me sleep in your arms?”
Eyes that look like they want something.
I extend my uninjured left arm toward Suzuka’s head.
“Special, huh?”
“I’m so glad you’re here. Thanks.”
The tension is low, as we are about to go to bed.
But still, it is very touching.
I turned off the light and went to sleep.
“I’m getting embarrassed. Can I quit?”
“Me too, so don’t worry about it.”
Me and Suzuka only proceeded slowly.
I’m so embarrassed, I can’t sleep.
Even though we were on the same page, it seems that the act of sleeping together was too
soon for us.
I, who was on the wall side of the bed, stood up fearfully and went to the futon that I had
laid out, even though I didn’t need it if we were going to sleep together.
“Ugh. Yuki, you’re heavy.”
I lost my balance and fell over on top of Suzuka.
“Sorry.”
“Oh, yes. Maybe I was just embarrassed because we’re weirdly halfway through. How about
this?”
She puts her hands on my back and hugs me tightly.
But then I was released because she was still embarrassed.
Who knows how much agony I was in and how little sleep I got?
[Extra] Serious route?
Then, time passed quickly and night fell.
Suzuka was washing herself, and I was anxiously waiting for her to come taking a bath.
[“Let’s just sleep together like normal.”]
Sleeping with Suzuka when she came back from the bath.
There was a brief moment when I was still nervous.
Suzuka comes back to the room after a longer-than-usual bath without a care in the world.
“…… Hey. Are we really going to sleep together?”
“You know what they say, try before you buy. Yes, we are going to sleep together.”
Suzuka pats the bed with a thump and invites me into the space she has made available.
I fearfully get on the bed and lie down.
I’m injured, and I’m on the far side of the bed, against the wall, to keep me from falling out
of bed.
As soon as I checked that, Suzuka also came to lie down and blocked my escape route.
“Eh heh heh. You’re so close.”
“Oh, oh”
“I wish you’d let me sleep in your arms, you know?”
Eyes that look like they want something.
I extend my uninjured left arm toward Suzuka’s head.
“Special, huh?”
“I’m so glad you’re here. Thanks.”
On the verge of sleep.
The volume and tension of her voice is low and joyful, but it still has the power to make my
face relax. Combined with the fact that she has just finished taking a bath, she smells really
good.
I am not stupid.
I’m sure she’s prepared for the fact that we’re going to sleep in the same bed.
That’s why I have to answer clearly about my current situation.
“Hey, Suzuka.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“My right hand, actually. They say there’s a better chance it won’t work the way it used to.”
“Uh, are you kidding me?”
She sat up and looked at me with a serious gaze.
Feeling her concern under my skin, I also sat up and looked into Suzuka’s eyes.
“I’m not lying. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Baka! Why didn’t you tell me something so important!”
“No, well. I didn’t want to worry you. That’s why I asked the doctors not to tell you.”
“Hey, tell me it’s a lie…… Why did you tell me now, at this time?”
“So. You’re ready for a lot of things today, and we’re going to sleep together, okay? I know I
said that. That’s why I said it. Are you okay with me like this? I just wanted to make sure.”
“Of course it’s good! Baka, Baka, Baka!”
Tears streamed down her face as she gently pounded me.
My heart beat wildly thinking that she really loves me.
I regretted that I was an idiot to hide it from her.
“Hey, Suzuka. If you’re okay with me like this, then…”
“Nngh.”
Before I had time to even say, she covered my mouth.
I accept it.
And then we crossed the line.
” ……”
There is a good chance that my right hand will not work the way it used to.
It might not be good for Suzuka to be with me like this.
I can’t help but feel that I am taking a lot of things away from Suzuka.
Thinking of that, I lost all confidence in myself.
“I’ll be fine. I understand your anxiety. I might not be able to move my right hand. If you
have that kind of anxiety, okay?”
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind. Just take your time. We’ve been going pretty slow. That’s exactly
why we were going too fast today.”
I can comfort her.
She hugs me tenderly.
I am so pathetic and frustrated that I don’t have confidence even though she is such a kind
person.
“Suzuka. You today. How do you feel, let’s sleep together? I know very well what you said.
So let me apologize. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not a fan of that. I’m not going to get mad at you for this. It can’t be helped. I’ll make
you realize that I love you more so that you’ll gain confidence.”
“Well, …”
“Eheheh. I’m going to squeeze you until you understand!”
 Chapter 19 – The Spoiled Life

“Okay, I’m off.”

“Take care.”
After seeing Suzuka off at the door, I scratch my stomach with my left hand and begin to
enjoy the time alone at home for the first time in a long time.
“I’m going to have a cup of coffee.”
Boiling water in the kitchen.
I can’t use my right hand for the most part, but I can do it just fine.
First of all, I get some water from the sink.
Then, I bring the pot close to the kettle to fill it with the water that is coming out……
I notice that I have not removed the lid from the top of the pot.
I can’t use my right hand.
I had no choice but to put the pot down and then use my left hand to remove the lid.
Then, I noticed.
“Huh? I’m too spoiled, aren’t I?”
Now that I can only use my left hand, I didn’t even know that I had to put the pot down
before I could remove the lid.
It is easy to understand why I became like this.
It is because Suzuka does a lot of things for me.
She takes care of me and does a lot of things for me.
To say I am happy would be an understatement, but this is not good. If I keep this up, I’m
going to steadily become a useless person……
“I’ve been too spoiled indeed. Let’s be serious.”
Even after entering university, I still couldn’t use my right hand to some extent.
There are definitely situations where I cannot have Suzuka walk beside me and take care of
me, and there is no way I can have her with me at all hours of the day.
While the water is boiling, I try to pour instant coffee powder into a mug.
It is a stick type that is individually wrapped.
I try to open the seal, but my right hand can only support it, but I can’t grab it.
Therefore, it is difficult for me to open it.
I was thinking seriously about getting rid of the fragrance, knowing more and more that my
adaptation had not caught up with my injury, even though it had been quite some time
since I was injured.
The sun was about to set and it was almost dark outside.
The sound of Suzuka’s voice came at the same time as the front door opened.
“I’m home~!”
The time I spend alone goes by quickly.
Watching movies on the TV in the living room, playing with my phone on the sofa, eating
cup noodles, snacks, and so on.
While I was thinking about that, Suzuka comes into the living room and says to me.
“Yuki. How are you?”
“Fine.”
“Well, you could have said you missed me there, couldn’t you?”
“Oh, yeah, well, I missed you.”
“But oh well. So, you were home alone for the first time in a while, what did you do?”
“I watched movies and stuff. Well, one of them wasn’t bad. I realized…. Hey!”
A person is trying to talk to you in a slightly important way, but you go to your room to put
your bag on the table.
I mean, isn’t it terrible to do something like this on purpose?
“Sorry to keep you waiting. What did you realize?”
Suzuka, who had put her bag down, came to sit next to the sofa where I was sitting.
Looking at her, I told her clearly what I realized in her absence.
“I can only use my left hand, right? And, well, Suzuka does a lot of things for me.”
“Mm-hm.”
“I’ve been spoiled so much that I haven’t been able to do anything with one hand since I got
out of the hospital. Even boiling water is something I didn’t know how to do with one hand
because you were doing it for me.”
“I see. I mean, you’ve been spoiled so much that you realize you’re becoming a useless
human being.”
“So, I’d appreciate it if you’d moderate the spoiling.”
If things continue as they are, it won’t be good.
If I am spoiled too much, when I start college life, I will definitely have a hard time because I
am not used to living with one hand tied behind my back.
“That’s true, too. Then, I’ll do it in moderation.”
Thus began the life of no longer being spoiled.
Dinner came soon after I started living a life without being spoiled.
My father had not come home from work yet, so it was just me, Suzuka, and my mother.
I tried to take a side dish from the platter to the plate, but I could only use one hand.
Even if I wanted to move the plate closer to the platter, I couldn’t because there were other
dishes lined up around it.
The side dish fell on the table with a plop.
“Oh, my dear. Why didn’t you just have Suzuka-chan take it for you?”
Mother scolded her.
Suzuka, who knew how I was trying to break free from being spoiled, was holding back her
laughter.
“Mother-in-law, Yuki feels that I’m spoiling him too much right now, so he is trying his best
on his own.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. It’s true. The first time you start your college life, you will not have
Suzuka with you 24/7. You have to get used to using only one hand. Well, I don’t know if
you can get a fork when we go out to eat, so let’s confiscate it.”
The fork was taken away from me by my mother.
Then she gave me chopsticks.
If you go to a restaurant and ask for a fork or spoon because you’re injured, you’ll usually
get them…….
Yes, this is abuse to me.
I never thought I’d be abused by my parents at my age.
“Heck. Nuh. Phew.”
While struggling, I tried to eat rice with chopsticks.
Seeing this, Suzuka and my mother smiled at me.
I was determined to show them that I could eat dinner with chopsticks, but I couldn’t even
eat rice with chopsticks.
“It’s so messy! It can’t be helped. Okay, turn this way.”
I turned toward Suzuka, who was sitting beside me.
I took a bite of the rice as she brought it to my mouth with chopsticks.
“You know, I’m trying to grow out of being too spoiled, right? This makes me feel even
more spoiled, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah? One more bite.”
Once again, rice was brought to my mouth.
Again, I took a bite. To be honest, it was not a bad feeling.
Mother looks at me and Suzuka as if we were a parent and a baby.
“It’s nice to be young.”
“Ah.”
“Heh.”
I realized that we were flirting in front of my mother.
I was embarrassed to be seen flirting with someone I love by my parents, as I should be.
I ate the rest of my rice with my face bright red.
 Chapter 20 – Are You Angry?

“What about the bath?”

“…”
The spoiled life is over.
A bath is quite a spoiling experience……
Night. Basically, there will never be a time when Suzuka isn’t around, and I can’t have her
spoiling me in the bath, can I?
“I’m sure Yuki wants to do his best on his own, so I guess I don’t have to help you out?”
“Oh, oh.”
An answer that doesn’t add up.
She can help me with the bath, right? Because I wanted to say that.
“Oh, but I’ll cover it with a plastic bag.”
She covered my right hand with a bag so that the bandage would not get wet.
A little while later, I took a bath without assistance for the first time in a long time.
The bathroom was filled with the sound of small drops of water dripping from everywhere.
I struggled to wash my body with one hand and soaked myself in the bathtub.
“I’m spoiled. I’ll have to …… do something about it before my departure for college.”
The reason why I am in such a hurry to be able to do it, to some extent, with one hand.
That is partly because the graduation trip is coming up.
It is not a good idea to act like you are with your girlfriend on your graduation trip.
For the people around us, the two of us should do whatever we want to do.
If Suzuka spoils me now that I can’t use my right hand, it will only look like we are flirting
to those around us.
The graduation trip should be enjoyed by “everyone”.
The two of us should not be so busy with our own world that we forget about “everyone
else”.
“Oh, well, I’ll have to buy something so I can clean the bathtub properly in our new home.”
I come up with another idea of what we need for our new home.
It will be the first time for me to live away from my parents and in a different place.
Unknown experiences must be waiting for us.
“I guess I’m at a turning point …… right now.”
Dazed by the changing routine, I warm myself slowly in the bath.
I get out of the bath.
With one hand, I managed to finish wiping myself off and finished getting dressed. I went to
my room with the towel around my neck.
“I’m done!”
I couldn’t wipe my hair well with one hand.
With a towel around my neck, I scrubbed and told Suzuka that I was back from the bath.
“…”
“What’s up with the silence?”
“I see Yuki clumsily wiping his hair, and I have an itch to dry it off myself.”
“I have to get used to using one hand, and I’ll dry it myself, okay?”
“Even if you say so, come on. It’s the clumsiness that’s making me itch!”
After saying all that.
After she finished saying that, she took away the towel I was using and began to wipe my
hair.
“Hey, I said it’s okay. I told you I’m fine.”
“Well, well, well, don’t say that, all right?”
Then, Suzuka finished wiping my hair and was satisfied, and she left to take a bath.
While I was relaxing alone in my room, I noticed a fashion magazine on my bed, which is
Suzuka’s territory.
When I’m relaxing alone in the room, I see a fashion magazine in Suzuka’s territory called
my bed.
“Sometimes it’s not so bad to read something like this.”
I picked up the fashion magazine and started reading.
I opened the page with a fold on it.
“Suzuka……”
Special feature: ” Date outfit collection”.
Perfect for an important outing with the guy you’re interested in.
She went to the trouble of reading this kind of thing to decide what to wear.
Well, it must make her happy.
She is making an effort not to show it, behind my back. All I can say is that she looks even
prettier now.
Okay, next up is ……
“Special Feature: ‘Ranking the Things You Want Your Boyfriend to Do to’……”
Various articles appear in fashion magazines.
I started to read it to find out what kind of things women in the world want their
boyfriends to do to them, but I found it to be rather silly.
The only thing that was written was that it was absolutely false.
‘I want to be savagely loved!’
I seriously don’t get it.
If I did that to Suzuka, she would probably snap at me, right?
“Oh, you’re looking at my magazine!”
“I was just curious. I’m sorry.”
“Well, that’s fine, but …”
She glances at me.
Is she wondering if I’ve noticed the fold in the page with date outfits?
Surely, I’d be embarrassed if Suzuka found out about my behind-the-scenes efforts, too.
I should just keep my mouth shut and get on with it.
“Well, a women’s fashion magazine. It’s not really my cup of tea.”
Which one was the one you were looking at with interest just now? I tossed the fashion
magazine on the bed.
“Oh, I see.”
She looked relieved.
Probably because she didn’t think I’d notice the folded corner.
This kind of thing is really cute.
If it had been me before we started dating, I would have said, “You know, there was a fold
on the page with an example of how to dress for a date.” I would have said something like
that.
I’ve become a lot kinder.
Well, there’s a part of me that wants to be a little mean…….
“Well, some people often put folds on their favorite pages in magazines, what about you?”
“I guess I’m one of those people who don’t!”
Liar.
It was slight, but it was folded, all right?
Don’t laugh at ……. Don’t laugh at Suzuka’s lie.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, I kinda hate putting a fold on it.”
“Pfft, can you even look at this?”
I pick up the magazine I let loose on the bed and show her the folded pages.
Then Suzuka comes up to me and takes the magazine from me.
“Yuki is so mean! You knew it, but you were so mean to ask me if I folded it or not! You are
so mean! I won’t help you even if you’re suffering!”
“Oh, yeah, yeah. Look, my hair is dry enough now, so let’s go to bed, shall we?”
Suzuka puffed up her cheeks and got angry, and I started to prepare for sleep.
Suzuka still sleeps on the bed and I sleep on the futon on the floor.
Suzuka has been helping me since I got injured when I put down the futon that is being
moved to the edge, but she won’t help me because I made her angry earlier.
“Even if Yuki asked me to help her, I wouldn’t help you~”
Suzuka blurts out as she looks at me with her eyes fixed on me.
She was mischievous, saying it out loud, showing that she was concerned about me.
She’s such a sweet girl, I was thinking.
“I found out that I did a lot of things with one hand. Thanks to Suzuka, I’ve been able to live
without any inconvenience, huh? Really, I’m grateful.”
“Ehehe ……. I’m not going to help you even if you try to get me to help you with such sweet
words!”
After making a happy face for a moment, she immediately switches to an angry face.
I can’t get enough of that childishness.
“I know. I know. Good night, Suzuka.”
“Hmm. I’m not going to reply to the mean Yuki…….”
The silly girl doesn’t realize that what she just said is a reply.
Now, I wonder what her mood will be like when she wakes up tomorrow.
I turned off the light and fell asleep on the futon I had laid out.
 Chapter 21 – Graduation trips are for
everyone!

“Oh, long time no see. Is your hand okay?”

When I get to the meeting place, I meet Tanaka.
I haven’t seen him in a while because I couldn’t keep my promise to hang out with him
because of my injury.
“I’m getting used to it. Is there anyone else here besides Tanaka?”
“Miki went to the bathroom. You see her bag?”
A bag that was apparently a woman’s bag was placed at his feet.
Probably, Tanaka must have come to this meeting place with his girlfriend, Kaneda-san.
Well, I am similar to him.
I just went to the meeting place first, and Suzuka just stopped at a convenience store in the
station to buy candy and stuff.
“Spring Break. How’s it going?”
“I went on a date with Miki and hung out with friends, so money is tight. You’re not in need
of money, are you?”
Thanks to the lottery, the state of not being in need of money is becoming the norm.
If I were normal, I would be struggling with money like Tanaka.
When I think about it, it would be bad if I don’t take care of my financial well-being…….
Thanks to being with Suzuka? I’m not loose like that.
“Phew. Here you go. I’ve been waiting for you. Ah, long time no see, Tanaka-kun.”
“Long time no see, Mita-san.”
Ever since school stopped, Suzuka has been going out with her girlfriends.
Usually all of them called her Suzuka.
The only people who called her Mita-san were the boys in her class, so she was a little
bitter because it had been a long time since she had been called that.
“Sorry to keep you waiting~. Well, it was crowded even at night.”
Kaneda-san came back, probably from the bathroom.
She is the one Tanaka calls Miki.
I can clearly see that the two of them, who had quickly developed into a relationship, are
not only still going on as usual, but are getting more and more heated.
Tanaka is sending me pictures of their dates.
“It’s been a long time, Kaneda-san.”
“Oh, Shindou-kun, how is your hand?”
“I’d say I’m doing okay, but I’m still getting used to being one-handed.”
“I see. Oh, Suzuka. Give me a piece of candy, too, please!”
When Kaneda-san saw Suzuka eating the candy she had bought at a convenience store,
Kaneda-san asked her to have some.
Why is it that high school girls are creatures who exchange food so casually with each
other?
A little while later, the rest of us gathered safely.
We chose an amusement park as our graduation trip destination.
We will take an overnight bus, arrive in the morning, have fun at the amusement park, and
stay overnight at the accommodation. The next day, we will have fun again and take the
night bus back home again.
That’s the kind of trip.
Incidentally, we are not stingy when it comes to night buses, and we choose spacious three-
row seats.
We got on the bus.
The bus headed for our destination after a bumpy ride with many people our age.
After a few rest stops along the way, we arrived at the hotel in the morning.
We could not check in, but we were told that we could leave our luggage at the hotel.
We left our luggage at the hotel and headed for the amusement park before the opening
performance.
We finally arrived at the amusement park.
For starters, we went to a section with a townscape that imitated the world of a certain
magical fantasy movie.
“Wow, it’s amazing. Oh, let’s all take a picture together!”
Kaneda’s words were met with no opposition.
Taking a commemorative photo in a place with scenery that would normally be
unthinkable is a heartening experience.
Everyone lined up for the photo.
When taking the picture, I secretly see Tanaka and Kaneda-san holding hands.
I also see Yamaguchi, who, like me, is a nerd and whose good looks are ruined by being a
nerd.
Yamaguchi watches me closely as if to say, “I saw something interesting.” and then we face
each other and creep closer to Tanaka.
“Hey, you’ve got some nerve sneaking up on someone and holding hands with them, don’t
you?”
“Shindou is right. Tanaka. You’re here to have fun with everyone, but that’s not right!”
“I’m sorry. I just did it on a whim.”
He was pressed and made Tanaka flinch, and he played with him in a good way.
The same goes for Kaneda, “I know you want to flirt with Tanaka.” So, what do you usually
do? I’ll let you off the hook if you tell me! The girls played with him in a similar manner.
“Shindou is also dating Mita-san, so don’t just blame me, attack Shindo too!”
Sato, the representative of the “good guys,” clearly stated.
“Shindou-san and Mita-san don’t show off, so of course they’re good, right? They draw the
line properly and don’t bother others.”
“That’s right. As Sato says, I don’t show off, so unlike you, I don’t care! Next time you start
flirting here, I’m going to ask you to buy me something, okay? This is a trip for everyone to
have fun together. Don’t flirt with each other in a weird way!”
Sato and Yamaguchi were absolutely right.
This is a graduation trip for everyone.
Forget about it and flirt with girlfriends? Of course that’s impossible, right?
Well, Tanaka must have understood that, and I don’t think it will happen again after this
one time.
“I’ll let you off the hook this time. Here, let’s go to the next one. Next.”
I took charge and let them resume walking.
We walked along the town, enjoying the magical fantasy world that decorated the streets.
On the way, although it was still too early to buy souvenirs, we came across a souvenir
shop, which we couldn’t resist entering.
” Oh, look, look, wands for sale! You boys love this kind of thing. Don’t you have to buy
one?”
Miyamoto-san, one of the girls, came to toy with us boys.
Rather than being made fun of, we looked at each other and foolishly took our wands and
pretended to use magic.
The girls were laughing and giggling at the sight of such a strange scene.
“Ha-ha-ha, what’s that?”
“It’s creepy! But it’s so funny, it’s bad!”
“Ha-ha-ha, really, no. That’s not fair.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t stand to laugh, either. Ppp, ppp. Sorry.”
We were very happy that we were able to get a good laugh out of them.
Oh, damn. Coming to a place like this with both guys and girls is so much fun, isn’t it?
It’s not often that I get to hang out with girls, except at the launch of the school festival, so
it’s a fresh feeling and a lot of fun.
We went to the souvenir shop and had a good time looking at and picking up the items on
sale.
As we left the gift shop, I noticed that Suzuka had popcorn in a bag hanging around her
neck.
“Hehehe, it looks so good, I bought it! Let’s eat it together, shall we?”
She opens the bag of popcorn and everyone grabs a handful.
One isn’t enough, so we buy more, and we all chow down.
I can only use one hand.
I was holding something with my left hand, so I couldn’t pick up the popcorn.
“Here, you eat too. I’m not going to let you take advantage of the fact that you can’t use your
hands and have Mita-san feed you!”
Yamaguchi, a handsome guy who was too much of a nerd to be a popular guy, threw a piece
of popcorn into my mouth.
I felt humiliated to be fed by such a guy.
“It’s just plain weird that I had to eat it out of your hand. How do you take responsibility for
that?”
“Oh? I just made sure you didn’t naturally flirt with Mita-san.”
I was joking and pretended to be in a fight.
Naturally, I had no intention of getting into a real fight, so in the middle of the fight,
Yamaguchi brought the popcorn to my mouth again, deliberately embarrassed.
“I’m sorry. I just think you’re so cute, don’t you?”
“Ooooh. It was so creepy, it sent chills down my spine.”
“I don’t get it. I mean, is it my imagination that Miyamoto-san looks awfully satisfied?”
Miyamoto-san is famous for being an open corrupt girl.
She was kind of pleased to see the exchange between me and Yamaguchi.
She was talking to Suzuka in an excited manner, “Which one of them do you think is the
aggressive one?” I feel like it’s really bad when she is talking to Suzuka.
When she can couple in real life, she seems like too serious a person to be in serious
trouble.
And Suzuka.
To Miyamoto-san, “Yuki is a sloppy guy, isn’t he a receiver?” and I want you to quit
responding to normal conversations.
Really, Miyamoto-san’s eyes are stubborn and scary ……
 Chapter 22 – There’s Weirdos in Every
Generation

We’ve been around a lot.

Popcorn is not enough to fill our bellies.
We bought a variety of robust meals and shared them with everyone.
And because I can only use one hand, everyone spoiled me and fed me.
Well, the guys.
What makes me so happy that I have to take food from men’s hands?
“By the way, Shindou, Tanaka often sends us pictures of his dates as if he’s harassing us, but
we’re curious about you and Mita-san, aren’t we? Right, guys?”
Yamaguchi, the good-looking nerd, suddenly spoke up.
It was not only the boys but also the girls who were caught up in the conversation.
It seems that Suzuka, like me, doesn’t talk much about her daily life to the people around
her.
That’s why they were curious about us.
“Well, it’s normal, isn’t it? Suzuka.”
“Yes, it’s normal, isn’t it? Sometimes, we go on dates, talk, that kind of thing.”
I talk about our daily life in response to the expectations of those around us.
Perhaps it was because I answered in a nonchalant manner that the stares from everyone
were piercing me.
“Since we’re here, why don’t you try flirting here?”
Miyamoto-san suggested.
Even though they are corrupted, it is said that they are surprisingly capable.
“The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the two of you are not the only ones who
have a lot in common. I can’t imagine you and Mita-san flirting with each other……”
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. A graduation trip for all of us. But for now, I’ll close my eyes and you
guys can flirt with each other.”
Suzuka and I were laughing as we were pushed by everyone who wanted us to show them
our passionate relationship.
However, if they are suspecting us, we will show them what we have done.
“Yuki. Yes, ah~n.”
“Mmmm. Popcorn is better when it’s fresh.”
Showing the routine of getting me to eat the popcorn.
Suzuka and I felt a little bit of embarrassment and reduced our presence.
It was just plain embarrassing, you know? I regret doing it.
Because, you know, usually in these situations, it’s like….
“Oh, man. He’s hiding it, just like Tanaka, but it’s still steaming hot.”
“Oh, man. I’m soaked.”
You know, they play with me like this, right?
Suzuka, too, is not jealous like me, but she is involved with me in a bad way.
“I never thought Suzuka could make a woman’s face like that. Mmm-hmm, hi-hi-hi-hi-ho-
ho. It’s so hot!”
“I’ve really never seen Suzuka’s face like that before. Suzuka is a girl too, huh~?”
She was teased about being a girlfriend for the first time, she just turned bright red and let
the conversation slide.
Suzuka and I look at each other and laugh.
“What a pain”, huh?
While being teased about being a boyfriend, I headed to an area that was opened a few
years ago, where characters from a popular video game franchise are located.
Just looking at the three-dimensional representation of the game world, I was transported
back to my childhood.
I’m still a child, but I don’t know what to say.
“Look, look, they sell fake mustaches, see?”
Suzuka pointed to a place where fake mustaches were lined up, just like the fake ears often
seen at amusement parks.
They were fake mustaches in the shape of motifs of famous characters that every Japanese
citizen must have seen before.
Walking around the amusement park, I saw many people wearing fake mustaches.
The source of the fake mustaches was here.
“A fake mustache costs 1,500 yen. That’s a terrible deal.”
“You say that? Well, even if you think so, you promise not to say it out loud, okay?”
“By the way, Suzuka wanted that thing, so you pointed it out to me, didn’t you? Wait here,
I’ll get it for you.”
“Oh, what is it? You want to buy that fake mustache?”
Kaneda-san was hooked with the idea.
Apparently, we were not the only ones who were curious.
So, after much discussion, it was decided that the two who lost in a game of rock-paper-
scissors would wear the fake mustaches for the rest of the day.
“Rock, paper, scissors. Pon!”
Rock, paper, scissors.
The result was that Suzuka and I lost.
To tell the truth, I was embarrassed to wear a fake mustache, but I had no choice because I
lost.
I went out of my own pocket to buy an expensive fake mustache and put it on.
I showed it off to the audience, deliberately imitating a character with a mustache.
“Haha, Yuki. You don’t look alike!”
“Suzuka. You’re the one who can’t laugh. You’re also pretty ridiculous with a fake mustache,
aren’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah. Shindou-kun is right, Suzuka is pretty bad too, right?”
Kaneda-san took out a hand mirror and handed it to Suzuka.
Suzuka smiled bitterly when she saw the hand mirror.
She seemed to be unable to accept herself with an ill-fitting fake mustache.
“Damn, spending all day with this is just a regular punishment ….”
“Totally.”
It goes without saying that everyone makes fun of me and Suzuka for wearing fake
mustaches.
It cost me 1500 yen. At best, please entertain everyone.
“I’m going to go use the restroom.”
One of them goes to the bathroom.
Then I, too, start moving.
Of course, me too.
I finished my business first and went back to where the girls were waiting.
Then, guess what?
I heard a few trendy guys ask, “Would you like to have fun with me? I’ll buy you a drink. If
you don’t like it, you can leave right away.”
I can’t quite hear them, though.
Suzuka and the others refuse with a wry smile to the overzealous pick-up artist, but even
so, the other party is not ready to give up and is still eager to get involved.
Kaneda-san, in particular, seemed to be very uncomfortable as he blatantly brought his face
close to hers.
I knew this was a bad situation, so I rushed toward them.
“Hey, sorry for making you wait. We should all go back soon.”
As soon as I say that, the look on the pickup-artists’s faces change bluntly.
“Damn, you really came here with a guy! Oh, man.”
“No way. Then, you should have said more properly that you were here with a man.”
The anachronistic pick-ups quickly disappeared.
What a pity, there are always weirdos in every generation.
“That was a disaster. They didn’t do anything to you, did they?”
I know they didn’t do anything to them, but I had to ask just in case.
Then all the boys came back.
And when Tanaka came back, Kaneda-san intentionally said, “I was scared. Tanaka-chan.
Tanaka-chan.” They started flirting with each other.
Well, I know that Kaneda-san was really scared when the weird guy forcefully brought his
face close to hers.
We tolerated it because of that.
“Yuki, would you have preferred to have me cry like that?”
“Do as you please.”
“No. I wasn’t scared. But, well, if I get a little more scared, I’ll cry like that, okay?”
“Oh, well, I’ll comfort you then.”
“Ehehe~. Okay. Thanks.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Hopefully, the time when Suzuka wants to cry will never happen.
I’m sure there will be times when she will want to cry, and that’s when I’ll let her cry
without reservation.
“Tanaka. I was scared~!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s because I took my eyes off you…….”
“That’s right. That’s because Tanaka wasn’t there……. Next time we go out, we mustn’t leave
each other, okay?”
“Oh, I’ll hold your hand, don’t worry.”
Now, let’s stop those guys who are just flirting, who say they were scared, but half-jokingly
start crying halfway through, and just flirt…….
 Chapter 23 – The Two of Us Slowly but
Advancing

The time for fun was short-lived.

We enjoyed ourselves until just before closing time, and then headed back to the hotel.
We had a two-person room, and my roommate was Tanaka……
“Well, you can’t use one hand. Wouldn’t you be happier if she could do it for you rather
than me taking care of you?”
Tanaka said so and said he would switch rooms with Suzuka and stay in the same room
with Kaneda-san.
I thought to myself, “You just want to flirt with Mr. Kaneda, don’t you?” and asked another
guy “Are you going to allow Tanaka to flirt with him?”.
It pissed me off to let the sweet space unfold, but still, it was a trip nonetheless.
I was kind enough to let them get to know each other a little better, as lovers.
Well, well.
It seemed to apply to me and Suzuka as well, “There’s money at stake. Can’t we make love a
little, lover to lover?” That’s why.
So we went to the hotel reception, got the keys, and went to our rooms.
In truth, I was to sleep with Suzuka in the room where I was supposed to sleep with Tanaka
before.
In such a room, there are two beds.
One small desk.
It really is a normal hotel.
“I’m tired of walking!”
Suzuka collapsed on the bed with a thump.
She turned her face to me and whispered to me with a smile.
“Isn’t it exciting to stay overnight in a hotel?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Especially staying in the same hotel room with Yuki. I am very nervous.”
“Even though we’ve been spending time together in my room, this is the first time we’ve
been outside in a room together like this.”
“Right? That’s why, Yuki. Can you tell me something so that things don’t get awkward?”
To meet her selfish request, I thought of a topic.
I started to tell Suzuka what came to my mind as soon as I thought of it.
“You were involved with a strange pick-up group today, right? That was it. What would you
do if I was being hit on by a girl?”
“If you seem happy, I’ll charge you for cheating on me. If you are not properly seduced with
a troubled and annoyed look on your face, I”ll be a good girl and take better care of Yuki.
Tehee……, did I say something embarrassing?”
“Hey, you’re really honest and cute and cunning these days, aren’t you?”
“”I’m much more obedient to Yuki, yeap, so I’m going to say anything, aren’t I?”
After taking a breath, Suzuka looked me in the eyes.
“I like you, Yuki. I told you because I’m honest. Hehe?”
Until a little while ago, we were childhood friends.
Direct words from the person with whom I had been doing stupid things.
Please quit it already……. I’m dying of excitement…….
“Let me be honest with you. Suzuka, you’re really cute.”
“Really~. Can you say more?”
“Cute. Super cute.”
“Right? But right now, I’d rather be told that you like me than that you think I’m cute. Hey,
hey, tell me you like me.”
She urges me to be affectionate.
Unlike Suzuka, however, I am a stubborn person.
I often say how cute she is, but I’m still not good at telling her that I like her or love her…….
“I…. I love you.”
I often say it awkwardly.
Knowing this, Suzuka still looks happy and smiles.
“I love you too. I also love the fact that you are not used to saying you love me yet!”
Suzuka picked herself up from the bed and hugged me tightly.
Although we had not crossed the line, we were getting closer and closer.
If we were normal, we would have crossed the line, but we didn’t, and that’s just the way it
is.
“You’ve been hugging me a lot lately, haven’t you?”
“I used to naturally hug you when I was happy or something, right?”
Suzuka and I have a history of being friends.
The act of hugging and pleasing each other has been a thing we’ve been doing for a long
time.
When we went to see the announcement of passing the high school entrance exam, when
we won the sports festival, when we were relieved that we passed the entrance exam and
were allowed at the school festival, we hugged each other more times than I can count.
“If you ask me, yes. We were rather happy to embrace each other.”
“Right? But it’s always me first, isn’t it~?”
She looks bored and deliberately slurps.
When I was happy, I never hugged Suzuka.
Basically, it was mostly or all of the time that Suzuka hugged me.
“What is it? Come on, get off me.”
“Yes.”
Suzuka moves away from me.
She turns away to take out the cord to charge her phone.
“Now you’re happy, aren’t you?”
I hugged her for the first time.
To be honest, I am super embarrassed.
I was almost burning up, thinking that she had done this to me without a care in the world.
“No way. I was beaten. I was sure you wouldn’t do it, but it’s not fair of you to do it out of
the blue…….”
“I’m sorry.”
“I mean, you know. When we went on a double date with Miki and the others, they said we
were a foolish couple, but now we’re a silly couple, aren’t we?”
“I guess so.”
The fact that we can’t laugh at Tanaka and the others is what makes us laugh.
After hugging Suzuka for a little while, Suzuka said to me in a sad tone.
“Today, I thought that everyone’s sense of money is beginning to be out of sync with ours.”
“I knew you thought so too…….”
Misalignment.
It was obvious that our sense of money had begun to shift.
“But, you know, the money we won is not enough to last us a lifetime if we don’t invest it, if
we don’t live really modestly, right?”
“Well…”
“So, Yuki. Do you want to use the money carefully from now on? If we make a mistake, we
might end up in a disastrous situation.”
“Why did you come to me for agreement?”
“If we continue like this, we will be together forever. It’s not right that I alone should decide
how the money should be spent.”
“I agree with you. After this trip is over, we need to think about how we are going to deal
with the money we won in the lottery.”
We are beginning to be able to think about the future together.
I can see that we are communicating more with each other.
In short, me and Suzuka are …….
We are making slow but steady progress.
“We’re making good progress.”
“We’re making decent progress. We are.”
I was feeling ambiguity, not knowing whether we were making progress or not.
But it seemed to be my imagination.
“Now, Yuki. I’ll roll up the plastic bag on your hand. You want to take a shower soon, don’t
you?”
“Yes, please.”
“Yes, you asked me to!”
 Chapter 24 – Moving in is full of
problems!?

Graduation trip.
Nothing much happens, we enjoy the second day as usual and a few days passed.
With the trip still fresh in our memories, Suzuka and I turn our attention to our room.
“Well, I don’t bring a lot of stuff with me, so it’s not as bad as I thought.”
My familiar room.
I needed clean up my room in preparation for moving out.
The scenery won’t change much, perhaps because it was my parents’ house and I did not
have to clean it up so much.
“I don’t really feel it ~”
Suzuka, who is standing next to me, said so.
It’s really no more than cleaning up, sweeping the desk, organizing the clothes, and that’s it.
“Well, shall we get started?”
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
We headed for our apartment, which was not far from my parents’ house.
After an hour-long train ride, we arrived at our new home.
After receiving various documents and keys from the real estate agent, we were ready to go
in.
“Oh, excuse me!”
Suzuka entered the apartment.
And I also entered fearfully.
Even though I had seen this apartment before signing the contract, I was still nervous.
“I’m going to live here…….
“Oh, we’re going to live here…….”
We both looked at each other.
Within a few seconds, our faces broke into a smile and we both laughed.
“What is going to happen?”
“I don’t know.”
We had no idea this was going to happen a few months ago.
No wonder we were laughing, right?
An empty room. I lay down on the floor and wondered.
“I knew it would be strange to live away from my parents.
“Good boy.”
Suzuka lies down on the floor as well.
This act was probably completely meaningless.
While doing something meaningless, Suzuka and I talked with cheerful thoughts.
“I guess it’s just the beginning. We’ll see. I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
“Yeah, I totally get it. At first I didn’t know if I should live with you, but now I can tell you
that it’s normal, right? I hear that’s normal.”
“I see. I see. Hey, Yuki.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m looking forward to living with you, okay?”
“My pleasure. You see, my hand is still like this, right?”
I said, holding up my right hand, which was still not healed.
Now, there was no way I could just lie around in my new home for no reason, and packages
kept arriving in my room one after another.
First of all, the luggage sent from home.
Most of the furniture was left in my room. Therefore, it was too much to use a moving
company, so we used a courier service.
After receiving them, the furniture delivery came next.
Several colored boxes that could be easily moved, a desk, a TV rack, and various other
things.
And a bed.
“Wait a minute. I don’t think I asked for a bed…….”
I didn’t buy a bed.
Because sleeping with Suzuka or something like that is normally sort of a nice way to get to
know each other a little better, and ……
So for the time being, we planned to sleep on a futon, but for some reason, a bed also came
along.
I wondered if it was a wrong delivery. I asked the delivery company about it, and they
replied ……
“Isn’t the client’s name your father?”
I knew in an instant.
When I told my father and mother that we would use a futon instead of a waiting bed for
the time being, I showed them a semi-double bed that happened to be on the waiting list on
a shopping site so that they would not think I was being dishonest.
And.
Perhaps the waiting list had disappeared, or they went to the actual store to see what they
had in stock, bought it because it was available at the time, and sent it to us.
We couldn’t turn down the favor, so we ended up having the bed brought to our room.
After saying thank you to the delivery guy and returning to the room, I took out my cell
phone and made a call.
“Mom? What was that about?”
“Oh, you mean the bed? You guys wanted this one, but you couldn’t buy it because it’s out of
stock. Surprisingly, when you go to the actual store, they often have these things in stock.
So I went with your father to see if they had it, so I just asked for it.”
My guess was right.
Well, the bed came, but if there is a futon, there is no need to sleep with Suzuka……
Hmm? Wait a minute.
“What happened to the futon set that you and dad said you were going to buy for us as a
commemoration of moving in together?”
“That’s a lie. It was a lie I told in order to surprise you with the bed you couldn’t get. That’s
why I didn’t buy you a futon set in the first place. I did send you a comforter, though, didn’t
I?”
“Oh, oh, I see…….”
“Now, now, I’ll tell you the long story another time. Go ahead and do your room. Or you can
let me come and help you, okay?”
Mom doesn’t have work today.
She offered to help us, but I politely declined.
Because it’s like, we’re both in this apartment together. It’s nice.
“I understand. I’ll call you later in the evening.”
“Yeah, sure. Talk to you later.”
“Yeah, talk to you later.”
I hung up the call.
I was talking in the living room and looked for Suzuka, but I couldn’t find her.
I thought she was in the bedroom, so I peeked in and saw her …… bouncing happily on the
soft mattress of the bed.
“Are you a kid?”
“Hehehe, I’m having fun. Yuki can jump on the mattress, too, okay?”
“Well, I have something important to tell you.”
“Hmm?”
“The futon set that Mom and Dad said they would give us is not coming. Therefore, the only
sleeping arrangements are the semi-double bed and the comforter that is here.”
“…”
It would have been better if we had a normal double bed.
Even so, we have been avoiding sleeping together because we are embarrassed to do so.
I wondered if we would be able to spend the night in a semi-double bed, which is a size
smaller than a double bed…….
We both froze at the problem that had just arisen.
 Chapter 26 – Morning in a Semi-Double
Bed!

“Hmm~, I’m full!”

Suzuka patted her belly contentedly with her hands.
It was showing a little even through her clothes, so I touched it gently.
“That’s a nice pat on the middle.”
“Yuki~, touching my body casually like that is s****l harassment, you know?”
She gives me a cold stare as she moves my hand away from her stomach, which I had been
touching without thinking about it.
“Oh, that’s the childhood friend version. You don’t actually think it’s s****l harassment, do
you?”
“Damn, I couldn’t fool you, could I? …”
“I mean, why were you trying to fool me?”
“There’s no reason, okay? Just wondering what will happen to Yuki. Uppu……”
Suzuka gulped, as if she was suffering from just talking with a full stomach.
It’s true that because we’ve known each other for so long, we kept eating and eating
without reservation.
I was so deeply moved that I let out a small chuckle to myself.
“It’s the lack of restraint that makes it fun to be with you…”
“Hmm? What did you say?”
“I just said that Suzuka is going to get fat and plump if she keeps this up.”
I was asked about a leaked monologue.
I’m a little embarrassed to tell it like it is, so I blured it out.
“Kk. Don’t say that! I’ve been feeling a little overweight lately….”
“Really? You look the same to my eyes.”
“No, I’m absolutely sure I’ve gained weight. I definitely gained weight. I gained a lot of fat
because I was lazy and didn’t want to go to school. By the way, are you okay with me
gaining weight?”
“I don’t know.”
I’m probably fine with it.
Because I didn’t fall in love with her because of her body or anything like that. I like what’s
inside, and that’s why I’m spending time with her.
However, I’m worried about her health if she gets fat and bloated, so I’ll give her a vague
answer.
“I’ll love you no matter what! Shouldn’t you say something like that.”
“In my opinion, Suzuka’s current structure is a doozy. I won’t say such a cliche thing!”
“That’s terrible. Then I’m going to say it too! If Yuki gets fat, I’ll be a little uncomfortable!”
She becomes a bit self-conscious.
It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s that I think she likes me a little too much.
It’s a foul play, isn’t it? ……
“Ouch! Why did you peck me on the forehead!?”
“It was just a random thing.”
“Well, you didn’t do it by accident, did you? Tell me.”
“Whoa. Calm down, you ate too much. Right?”
“I’m totally ……. But I don’t think it was the first time we had grilled meat together.”
We often went out to eat together occasionally with our families.
I think we ate together quite a bit when we were in elementary school.
However, we have never had yakiniku together. We often went to family restaurants
together when we were studying for exams.
“There are so many firsts in this world. I can’t survive if I worry about such things. Is
Suzuka going to write something like “anniversary” on her calendar every time something
happens?”
“Ha-ha, I won’t go that far.”
“By the way, when was the next anniversary?”
“Isn’t it college entrance day?”
“Yes.”
It was spring, but the night wind was a little chilly as Suzuka and I made our way back to
our new home.
We heard an unfamiliar clattering sound.
It was the sound of a lock being opened, reminding us that we had just moved in.
“I’m home. Yuki, you’re going to take a bath, right? I’ll go heat it up~”
“I’ll get the shampoo and stuff ready.”
“Okkay.”
As I watch Suzuka leave, I find a plastic bag with shampoo and other things in it, and take
out the things I might use from inside.
I took out face wash, shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and so on.
I took them out and brought them to the bathroom, arranging them in an easy-to-use
position.
After a few moments, the bath was heated.
I asked her to put a plastic bag on my injured hand and went to the bathroom.
I sat down on the new bath chair and waited for Suzuka to wash my head.
Normally, after putting on the plastic bag, she would come with me.
“Sorry to keep you waiting! I didn’t want to get wet, so I changed into shorts.”
“I see. Well, it’s not my parents’ house, so it won’t look strange if you change into shorts.”
“Right? No~, to be honest, it was a hassle to keep my clothes dry when I was washing Yuki’s
body.”
“I would have been happy if you wore a swimsuit instead of shorts, wouldn’t you?”
“You lewd man. Well, okay, maybe next time?”
“Not today? You brought your swimsuit from home, didn’t you?”
“I don’t have a stomach to show you today. Yes, turn your back!”
I was forced to turn my back to her, and she scrubbed my back with a sponge a little more
forcefully.
My body was cleaned and I soaked comfortably in the bath.
And then, I realize that a serious problem is about to await me.
“One bed…”
A bed, still a semi-double bed.
Probably, it must be difficult to sleep close to each other …
“Well, whatever will be, will be.”
I thought that at times.
Suzuka and I were on one bed.
Semi-double bed.
Not snug, but there is a gap of about 30 cm between me and Suzuka.
Still better than when we tried to sleep together on the bed in my room before.
“…”
“…”
Awkward.
We are so well aware that we are fidgeting on the bed with each other.
But for some reason, Suzuka comes a little bit closer to me.
“Suzu, Suzuka?”
“Hey, Yuki. Isn’t it about time?”
I can feel the heat rising.
I let myself go with it, and I try to get closer.
“It’s not nice to be unprepared.”
I’m not stupid.
I know it’s risky to do things without preparation.
“No. I’m prepared.”
When did this happen?
Well, she went to the convenience store to get my spoon during the day.
Maybe that’s when…
“Suzuka …”
I fidgeted and turned my back on her, but then I turned to Suzuka.
“No, not today!”
Suzuka turns her back shyly.
Why in the world was she in an accepting mood just now?
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Because after eating grilled meat, Yuki and I probably both smell of garlic in our mouths.
…… Also, I have a large belly…”
“Oh.”
“So I’m sorry?”
The smell of her mouth. The belly.
And how cute is it when she turns her back on me?
I wanted to attack her. I want to attack her without hesitation.
“So …… it is.”
Now that I can only use my left hand. So I don’t know if I can do it well, and I don’t want to
look …… pathetic.
I don’t want to be a guy who can’t lead.
But, however.
Still, the fire that had flared up was not extinguished, and I could not sleep in agony.
The alarm rings amidst the chirping of sparrows.
I stop it and we both look at each other.
“Did you sleep well, Yuki?”
“I did for a little while. How about you?”
“I could only sleep a little.”
“Pfft. What are we doing?”
“Ha-ha-ha, I really don’t know what I’m doing.”
I let my cheeks relax at the silly scene.
Then, we sit on the bed for a while, talking and enjoying ourselves.
Morning like this is not so bad.
Well, let’s go for another day…….
 Chapter 25 – Leaving the Bed Aside

I forgot about the bed for the time being and resumed tidying up the room.
Just assembling the desk and before I knew it, it was lunchtime.
Suzuka and I left the room and went to the convenience store to do some shopping.
“It’s not a convenience store, it’s a supermarket. They don’t have any food.”
“Right.”
Instead of a convenience store where you can shop easily, we go to a supermarket.
It costs too much money to buy everything at a convenience store for all the various items
we should buy.
After the graduation trip.
Suzuka and I thought carefully about how to spend the money.
As a result, we decided not to be extravagant. We decided to live as normally as possible.
As long as there is no way to get money other than by winning the lottery, we will lead a
normal life, not necessarily a budget life, but a normal life.
The monthly living expenses were also decided.
Specifically, we have decided to spend 30,000 yen per person per month on food.
That’s about 1,000 yen a day.
It is not strictly affordable, but it is a reasonable amount of money. Therefore, I used the
figures that came up when I looked up the cost of food for a college student living alone.
Since I have never lived alone, I don’t have a good idea of the appropriate cost of living, so
I’m going to work out the details a little bit from now on.
“For now, we’re going to stock up on cup noodles and …beverages. What else do we need?”
While I was pondering, Suzuka, walking beside me, spoke to me, and I thought of a
response.
The first thing we should buy is food…
“Retort curry.”
“Oh, that sounds good!”
Ease of use is a good advantage.
That being said, I do intend to cook for myself, but it’s tough to cook every day.
The fact is, cooking all three meals is definitely a hassle, and I don’t think we’ll be able to do
it.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t been to the supermarket with Yuki since we were little.”
“No, we went to a commercial supermarket for shopping during the school festival, right?”
“I guess that’s true when you put it that way. It was at the school festival, wasn’t it?”
I was suddenly nostalgic about the past.
At the festival, Suzuka and I served fruit punch in our class.
Since we could only use ready-made fruit punch white balls, we used frozen ones that were
sold at a commercial supermarket.
Suzuka and I were forced to go to the supermarket to buy them.
“I heard that the senior members of the soccer team were going to have a bake sale at the
outdoor club. Oh, we’re at the supermarket, but don’t buy any raw food, okay?”
“Oh, the fridge isn’t coming until tomorrow, right?”
“That’s what I said.”
We went through the automatic doors of the supermarket and started shopping.
Suzuka and I returned to the front door of our new home with shopping bags in our hands.
I’m still not used to taking out the key from my pocket and going inside.
“Phew~. Now, after we eat the lunch we got, we have to clean up!”
“Sorry, if I could use both hands, I could do it a little quicker.”
“Don’t worry about it. Ah!”
“What’s wrong?”
“No spoons!”
I can’t use a fork or a spoon because my right hand is injured and I have to eat with my left
hand.
We just started moving.
The tableware I bought by mail order in advance will arrive tomorrow …
“Well, why don’t you just buy a plastic spoon from a convenience store, or something that
comes with one?”
“Oh, that’s so boring. Yuki has been so indifferent lately, so I thought I’d feed you.”
“You’re such a person, aren’t you?”
I still can’t get used to Suzuka, who no longer has any hesitation in spoiling me.
Well, it’s not that I don’t like it, I just can’t get used to it, but I almost doubt that the girl in
front of me is really Suzuka, my childhood friend.
“Hoho. Does that mean you prefer the childhood version of me?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Well, let’s give it a try, shall we?”
Suzuka opens the lid of the lunch box, splits it open, picks up the rice, and brings it to my
mouth.
” … I see.”
Childhood friend version.
Why do I have to do this for you? She seems to have the cold attitude.
If we hadn’t become a couple, she would have been like this when she was feeding me.
“Hurry up and eat.”
She put the chopsticks that had picked up the rice to my mouth.
I had no choice but to take a bite and put it in my mouth.
I wanted to say I was satisfied now that I had finished chewing, but she didn’t pause before
bringing the food to my mouth.
“Ahhhh. Why do I have to do this to Yuki?”
She complains.
If she had been a childhood friend, she would have definitely said this too.
“… You’re a good actor.”
“Right? Alright, I don’t want to waste time on food, let’s go to the convenience store and get
some spoons.”
Before I could say I was going, Suzuka was running to a nearby convenience store.
In the meantime, I decided to play a little prank on Suzuka.
“She didn’t take the key. Okay, let’s close the door.”
I locked the front door.
A few minutes later, I heard the front door moving and then the intercom rang, so I opened
the front door.
“Locking the door behind me, isn’t that terrible?”
“Bad. I’m sorry. It was just a passing impulse.”
” I’m not giving you, Mr. Mean, the big spoon I got while buying dessert, okay?”
She stood in the doorway and said in a disgruntled manner.
I knows she wasn’t actually that angry, but I deliberately apologized to her.
” I said I was sorry. See?”
“Oh, you think you can get me to forgive you?”
“Well, I’ll buy you food next time.”
I decided to pay for the food.
Although it is not an extravagant amount of money, I said I would buy Suzuka a meal.
“Yes, yes. I like your spirit. I’ll forgive you this time!”
Suzuka went back to the room from the entrance with a big smile on her face.
Then, after watching that Suzuka entered our apartment, I closed the front door.
“It’s a housewarming party. Let’s go Yakiniku today.”
“Housewarming party. Let’s eat big! Oh, I’m not usually mad at you, and you don’t have to
buy me a drink, okay?”
This move was a good one, not a bad one.
It’s definitely something to celebrate.
After eating lunch, we steadily proceeded to clean up the room, looking forward to the
grilled meat.
 Chapter 26 – Until My Right Hand Heals…

“Good morning……”
Suzuka came to the living room, straightening her slightly messy hair.
So the moving process is almost over and she was napping on the bed.
I was also sleeping until just a few minutes ago.
“Oh, good morning.”
“Familiarity is scary, isn’t it? I could sleep even though Yuki was next to me.”
“That’s right.”
I was so sleepy that I had no choice but to get into bed with her.
Familiarity is a scary thing, and what can I say, I was able to sleep normally.
Personally, I’m afraid I’ve gotten used to it in situations where I haven’t crossed the line.
“Well, the fridge we got is starting to get cold, so why don’t we go buy a few things?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
In no time at all, we both went to the supermarket to finish shopping, just as we did
yesterday.
I’m a miserable cook and Suzuka has told me not to cook, so I’ve been quiet except when
buying ready-made meals.
Now, what’s going to be for dinner today?
“It’s curry today! If you don’t like it, I can make something else, but curry is fine, right?”
“Curry is fine. I’ll have you make it for me. I don’t ask for luxuries.”
“What about the meat? We can buy beef, pork, and chicken, we could freeze them all.”
“Considering our budget, we’ll go with pork or chicken.”
One thing I learned when I shopped at the supermarket.
Beef is expensive, and if we ate only beef, we would quickly exceed our food budget.
So, I think it is a good idea to save the beef.
“If we use beef all the time, we will soon exceed our food budget. Then, we’ll have chicken,
which is healthier for us.”
Maybe it’s because we talked about her fat belly yesterday, but she is very health-
conscious.
I think it’s good that she is a little bit concerned about it.
“Then, I’m going to put my skills to good use for my beloved Yuki!”
Then Suzuka finished shopping as usual and went to work on making curry.
I liked the way she was cooking, and I found myself looking at her.
“Hey, Yuki. Taste it?”
She handed me a little bit of curry on a plate and asked me to taste it.
Without any way to refuse, I checked the taste of the curry.
I felt that the sauce was a little thin, so I said without hesitation.
“You could use a little more roux, couldn’t you?”
“I knew it.”
She placed the remaining curry roux on the top and melted it so it wouldn’t ball up on the
top.
While waiting for it to be ready in the living room, I picked up a rag to wipe the table top
and happily spin the ladle around while I managed to wet the rag with one hand.
“Hey, hey, Yuki. If it wasn’t me and you had started living with someone else, what would
you have said about the taste of the curry you just tasted?”
“We have different tastes, and I think I would have refrained from saying. I think I would
have said, “This is fine.”
“You are surprisingly reserved, aren’t you, Yuki?”
“I suppose you can say that about yourself. But, however, I don’t hold back with you, who I
have known for a long time. So I had to say it honestly.”
“Well, me, too… I won’t hold back. You’ve been staring at me since a while ago, are you
having fun?”
“I’m having fun, I mean, it’s nice to see you in an apron…”
“Ehehe, yeah?”
“Well, yeah.”
I feel nothing but an unreserved relationship.
Maybe it’s because it’s me and Suzuka that we start living together like this.
About 45 minutes after starting to cook the curry.
We started to eat the curry without forgetting to cook the rice.
“Itadakimasu. …It’s delicious. It’s better than the curry my mother makes.”
“Hehehe, I’m flattered. Well, I’ll have some too.”
“By the way, what about laundry and cleaning? Now that we’re getting a sense of life, we
have to make a decision, don’t we? Well, if Suzuka is in charge of the cooking, then I’ll do it.”
“Then I’ll do the cooking. Yuki is in charge of other household chores. Well, that is, after
your hand is healed.”
“That’s right. When my hand heals, I’ll get to work, and until then, I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah, yeah. I really like that Yuki is so disciplined like that. By the way, Yuki. Did you do
something bad to me when you woke up before me after sleeping?”
Suzuka asked fidgetily.
When I woke up first, I honestly wanted to touch her chest and various other parts of her
body…
Therefore, I will say it clearly.
“I touched you a little bit. I won’t say which part.”
“Yuki ecchi…”
Her voice is a little sulky and quiet.
I was overcome by the cuteness of Suzuka, who was still new to me, and I asked her, too.
“Kuh, it can’t be helped. I’m a man. You know, Suzuka, you didn’t do anything to me while I
was sleeping, did you?”
“…No, I didn’t.”
Suzuka is a terrible liar.
She makes a face that says I must have slept with her first and she must have touched me in
some way, so I attack her a little.
“I’m not afraid of naughty girls, so tell me the truth. What did you touch while I was
sleeping?”
“Eh, uh, you know…”
She was a little shy, and her eyes looked down.
“Really?”
“Huh. Gently over your clothes, okay?”
What a cute bride.
Her initial and fearless behavior really sticks out to me.
“By the way, what did you think?”
“Don’t make me say it! If you’re so mean to me, I won’t help you in the bathtub!”
It seems I teased her a little too much.
In the end, I ate the curry with a big gulp and a big mouthful.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Ngugu. Well, I forgive you. But you were mean to me, and even if I wanted to do that thing,
I wouldn’t let you do it.”
“Oh-ho. So you mean you’re going to make a move on me?”
“Damn it! Baka! I really won’t let you do it anymore! I’m not going to let you have it until
you get down on your knees and say please mercifully to me!”
I wasn’t the one who first asked on the bed yesterday…
I mean, the fact that she would let me do it if I got down on my knees and asked her, she
really is a little bit too fond of me, don’t you think?
On the night of the day we exchanged that she wouldn’t let us do it until I got down on my
knees, I wanted Suzuka to wash my body as usual.
As usual, I was going to ask Suzuka to wash my body, but…
“S-Su, Suzuka-san?”
I was so surprised that I called Suzuka as “san”.
Because, as she said yesterday, she came to wash my body wearing a bathing suit.
She is wearing a one-piece but a little bit hot black swimsuit that suits her.
“Aren’t I cute? If you get down on your knees and ask me, I’ll let you touch me as much as
you want.”
“K-ku, I don’t want to get down on my knees because that would be a weird memory for
me.”
“Ahahaha, Yuki unexpectedly has a fairy tale-like personality. You should get down on your
knees, right? Right?”
I looked at my right hand.
A cast that will come off in a month.
To be honest, my hands probably made it so that Suzuka would definitely take the lead.
I didn’t want to show her how pathetic I was at our first time together, so I declared to
Suzuka.
“Only after my right hand is healed. Until then, you must be patient.”
“I see. I see. So you don’t want me to see your pathetic appearance. But you were mean to
me when we were eating curry earlier, so I can be mean to you too, right?”
She hugged me on my left arm.
Then she said deliberately said.
“You know, it would be a lot easier if I got down on your knees, right? It’s funny that I
should say this after doing it myself, but this is embarrassing.”
I’m embarrassed. Please quit. I really can’t control myself.
It’s too cunning to say you’re embarrassed and blush so much, even though it’s a habit you
made yourself.
Oh, I want to get down on my knees. I really want to get down on my knees.
But I’m a man.
Until I can use my right hand, I’ll hold back and show her!!!
“Don’t lick me, okay?”
“Kuuuh~~~~. Yuki is trying to hold back so much, it’s so cute, I might die. The sight of Yuki
trying to hold back … is really nice …”
She looked so pleased with her eyes shining brightly.
As expected, she said I was cute for holding back, and she will not do something a little
lewd like this in the future, will she?
 Chapter 28 – College Life Begins

A few days after Suzuka and I started living together.

The entrance ceremony of the university was held.
And it was over.
We went to the ceremony as usual, got our student ID cards, had an explanation about the
guidance from tomorrow, watched a little recruitment for clubs, and took a
commemorative photo.
We just went out for dinner, me and Suzuka’s whole family.
Then at night.
As I got into bed, I talked to Suzuka who was beside me.
“What time should we get up tomorrow?”
“Guidance is at 9:00 a.m. If you get up before 8:00 a.m., you will have enough time… I have
to do my makeup and I will get up at 7:20 a.m. What about you, Yuki?”
“Then wake me up at 40 minutes, since it won’t take me much time to get ready.”
“I understand. Okay, good night~.”
“Ah, good night…”
I left the miniature light bulb on and went to sleep.
A few days ago, I thought I would be too embarrassed to sleep.
I’m so used to it now, I’m not embarrassed, I feel nothing but happiness.
I’m not ashamed to say that I’m happy… I guess I’m going to start my real college life
tomorrow.
I’m looking forward to it.
I wake up to the feeling of something stinging my cheek.
“Good morning. Yuki.”
“Oh. Good morning. Is it too cute to wake me up with a peck on the cheek?”
“Ehehe. Yeah? Look, I’m serving breakfast, so let’s eat, shall we?”
“As expected of you, Suzuka. I’m going to the bathroom first.”
“Bye~!”
Suzuka saw me off, and I went to the bathroom.
And as I do my business, I was amused by Suzuka’s cute behavior in the morning.
“The way she wakes me up is just too cute.”
After washing my hands, I went to the living room, which is connected to the kitchen.
There is breakfast on the table, grouped in one plate.
Scrambled eggs, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and toast.
The main dish is corn soup.
“I’m usually happy that you cook so neatly in the morning. I’m sorry, but if it’s too much
trouble, you can cut corners and just make more pastries, right?”
“Sooner or later. You know what I mean? It’s a shame to be so cold after just moving in
together.”
“You know, it’s not fair of you to say that.”
“Right? Shall we eat then?”
“Yeah, let’s eat.”
The toast made a nice crunchy sound as I bit into it.
After a happy morning, Suzuka and I got on the train and headed for the university station.
Although it was only a few stops, we were fed up with the crowded train and headed to the
auditorium where we were to meet to receive instructions on how to prepare for our future
university life.
Since Suzuka and I have the same last name, our student ID numbers were assigned
consecutively.
As a result, we were seated next to each other.
Having someone you know next to you is a good thing, but at the same time it is a waste
because it reduces the number of people you meet.
That is why I talked to the neighbor who was not Suzuka.
“Nice to meet you, my name is … Shindou. Pleased to meet you.”
“My name is Shima Kenta. It’s nice to meet you too.”
As a university student, he was very firm at first.
However, as we talked, we became more and more comfortable with each other, and he lost
his politeness.
“Where do you live, Shindou?”
“A few stations away from here. What about Shima?”
“Me? Saitama Prefecture, about an hour and fifty minutes by train. I wouldn’t know the
name of the station anyway.”
“That’s quite a distance.”
“If I had money, I could live alone. I could manage the rent if I worked for the time it takes
to get to school, but in the end, I have to work a lot to pay for food and utilities.”
Hearing this statement, I understood how blessed I was now.
I realized that living away from my parents’ house, which I had begun to do without even
thinking about it, was a luxury.
“Well, it looks like it’s time for the guidance to start.”
The buzz in the auditorium lessened as the time came.
Looking to the side, Suzuka also quit talking to someone and became quiet.
Then the guidance got underway.
In the auditorium, general precautions were to be taken.
After that, the students were divided into small classrooms, each with a seating capacity of
about 30 to 40 students, and the more in-depth guidance was about to begin.
The students are not grouped in order of their student ID numbers, but are usually
separated into different rooms.
So I thought I would not be in the same small classroom as Suzuka, but I guess it was to
divide the ratio of women in the classroom evenly. I and Suzuka were assigned to the same
classroom.
She’s in the same classroom as me, but we don’t head there together. We usually go our
separate ways, since it would be too much of a bad idea to do too much together.
When I walked into the classroom, I was tapped on the shoulder from behind.
“Yo, Yuki. Long time no see.”
Yashiro, a senior member of the soccer club, was in the small classroom where I was
headed.
“What’s going on with you, Yashiro-senpai?”
“Me? SA, Student Assistant. In short, it is a part-time job to give advice and guidance to
students on how to register for classes at this school. You should be grateful. What’s up
with your injured hand?”
It seems that a senior member from the soccer team from my former high school is taking
care of a lot of things today.
I can only say that is reassuring.
“I did it by a little unfortunate accident. I’m looking forward to working with you today.
Yashiro-senpai.”
“Ohhhh. I’ll take care of it, okay? And. Look, look. There’s a student in this classroom with
the same name as your childhood friend and the same last name as you.”
…….
………….
The relationship between Suzuka and me.
After all, we talked about it together. We decided that if they asked us, we would tell them.
It would not be good to hide it.
But still, cold sweat was pouring down my face.
And in the midst of all this, students gathered in the small classroom one after another,
after me.
“Ahaha, nice to meet you, Shindou-san.”
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
On the way to the classroom, Suzuka came over, talking to someone who must have been a
friend of hers.
“Huh? That’s your childhood friend, Mita-san, isn’t it? Funny … I don’t think I saw Mita on
the list…”
“Um, well, let’s see…”
“Did you marry Mita-san, by any chance? Well, that’s not too far-fetched.”
“…”
The first time is the crucial time.
Large nameplate stickers were prepared so that those gathered in the same classroom
could call each other by name.
On the white board, there was an instruction to write your name on the nameplate sticker
and stick it, so Suzuka wrote her name with a marker.
“Shindou Suzuka”.
And Yashiro-senpai, who was watching her, put his hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll buy you a drink, so let’s go out today.”
“…I have something to do today.”
“Hmm? What did you say? We’re going out to eat, right?”
“Uh, yes. We’re going…”
Chapter 29 – Somewhere Along the Way, it
Became the Norm.

“Well, why are you married?”

“I guess you became more passionate than I thought you would.”
After the university guidance was over, Yashiro-senpai took me to a family restaurant,
although it was a little late because of the club recruitment and so on.
…Well, I knew I was going to be asked a lot of questions, but they were tough ones.
“You know, you… I’m nothing to you and your childhood friend Mita-san! I felt like you had
nothing to do with my childhood friend, Mita-san. I don’t know how long you’ve been
friends with her…”
“Huh? You don’t want me to answer in depth why we got married or anything?”
“You want me to ask? I didn’t dare ask you that, did I?”
“I don’t want to go into details, so if you could do that for me…”
“I don’t like it when people ask me things I don’t want to know. I’m going to ask you as
much as you don’t want to hear. So, what’s it really like?”
We became friends three months ago.
No, we have always been good friends, and it would be more accurate to say that we have
changed the direction of our friendship.
I was reassured by my senior’s words, “I’ll ask you as much as you don’t mind.” and opened
my mouth.
“We are good friends. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be married.”
“I’m jealous. Mita-san, not Mita-san, Suzuka-san, she’s so cute.”
I am happy to be praised for my petite and charming Suzuka.
Before I got married, I wasn’t at all happy when people said they were jealous of me and
Suzuka being childhood friends.
Now, when people say they envy me for being childhood friends with Suzuka or that she’s
cute, I turn up my nose and say, “You are, aren’t you?”
“Isn’t it?”
“You really have changed. Before, if someone had called her cute, you would have said she
was just so-so or something like that.”
“At that time, I just didn’t realize how attractive Suzuka was yet.”
“Hah … Well, I’m still going to ask about Suzuka-san, but what happened to your hand? You
said something about unhappiness.”
“On the way home from a date with Suzuka. I was protecting her by holding her when a boy
of elementary school age pushed her and this is what happened.”
I said while looking at my right hand, which is soon to be freed.
“…Well, that’s that. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
“I already feel like I’m injured, so don’t worry so much about it, okay?”
There is a reason why they were worried.
When I was on the soccer team, I hurt my left leg.
There was no noticeable trauma, but the injured leg had developed a limp and I was unable
to run, which is the lifeblood of an athlete.
I could never regain my running ability, and scouts were not keeping a close eye on me.
Pouring everything I had into soccer would only ruin my life plan.
That is why I abandoned soccer.
Yashiro-senpai knew this and was worried about my injury.
“Well, I see that too. Well, you said you’d join the outdoor club I created… What are you
going to do?”
“No, I’m in.”
“I’ve already got all the outdoor gear I need, so I’m going to be doing a lot of overnight
events for very little money. Wouldn’t your wife be mad at you for leaving her behind and
staying overnight?”
“Since Suzuka said she wanted to come in too, I don’t think that will be a problem.”
“Oh, really? No~ because I want to leave the club to the world properly. I’m just happy to
have more than one first-year student join.”
Senpai who won’t refuse to join the club separately just because me and Suzuka are a
married couple.
I thought he might turn me down because he didn’t want me to be seen flirting with her.
Thus, Suzuka and I became a member of the outdoor club created by Yashiro-senpai.
“I’m planning a barbecue outside the day after tomorrow, if you’d like to come. Besides
your wife, I’d appreciate it if you could bring some friends.”
“I’ll talk to some people I know. Of course, you won’t take any money, right?”
“Of course not. Well, I’ve rented a place a few train stops away where we can have an
outdoor barbecue, so you’ll have to pay for the train fare to get there.”
The cost is less than 1,000 yen round trip for a few stops, and the hurdle is low.
I should invite the guy I got along with at guidance just today.
In addition, senpai also paid for the drink bar and snacks I ordered at the family restaurant.
He is really a very caring senior.
Well, now that I’m free from my senpai, I say, I’m going back to the apartment where
Suzuka is waiting for me.
I called her a while ago to tell her that I’m leaving soon.
This is the first time I’m going back to a place where only Suzuka is sober.
I was looking forward to seeing how she would greet me, but I didn’t know what would
happen in this day and age, so I unlocked the front door, which was closed even though
there was someone in the house.
“I’m home!”
I shouted in the hallway and took off my shoes.
Then, Suzuka appeared from the door leading to the living room.
“Welcome home! Do you want a bath? Do you want to eat? Or do you want me …? Heh heh,
I’m still embarrassed.”
I have heard this before.
That time, it was kind of messy and appropriate…
The muscles of my face relax when it is said with a sense of great cuteness in it.
When I took off my shoes and turned toward where I heard Suzuka’s voice coming from, I
could see exactly why she was so embarrassed.
“Well, that’s embarrassing, isn’t it?”
“I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. But, you know, I did it for the sake of it. What?”
“Were you really my childhood friend?”
Absolutely, Suzuka acts in a way that I can’t imagine from when we were childhood friends.
That’s already sticking out in my mind again.
Because, because, she’s wearing a bathing suit and just an apron to greet me, you know?
“Heck no! Because I like Yuki! But I’m so embarrassed. I’ll go change. It’s cold wearing only
an apron over a bathing suit.”
“In my opinion, it would have been bad if you said one more word to me.”
“Then, wouldn’t that be too obvious and make me feel uncomfortable?”
“If you ask me, it would be better to wear a swimsuit and an apron.”
“I’ll tell you what, you haven’t told me if you want to have dinner, take a bath, or have me.
So, what are you going to do?”
Suzuka asked me with a sly grin.
If I had crossed the line, I would have definitely chosen her.
But I decided to hold off until my right hand was healed.
“I’ve had my dinner. So, let’s take a bath. Just in time to see Suzuka in her bathing suit.”
“Okay. I’ll start by rolling up the bag on your right hand.”
Then, I took a bath and got cleaned up.
The first part was good.
“I’m wearing a bathing suit too. Can I get in the bathtub with Yuki? We’ve been in the tub
together when we were little, so it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Oh, wait.”
Before I could say no, Suzuka came into the bathtub and poured hot water over herself.
Then she looked at me and said.
“It’s embarrassing, but it’s not so bad. Maybe next time we can go to a hot spring together?”
She looked very satisfied.
Suzuka was so cute that I was embarrassed to tease her.
“I just went out to eat with a male senior, and you’re too jealous. I mean, don’t be jealous of
a guy.”
“Goof. I guess you found out… Because I missed having dinner with Yuki for the first time in
a while?”
“Well, it’s been about…2 months since I haven’t had dinner with you… I’m not going to be
able to do that. I’m laughing now.”
We had to have dinner together.
And I can’t help but laugh at it.
Because I didn’t expect to be in a relationship where I share so much time with Suzuka.
No good. For some reason, I can’t stop laughing.
“I can’t stop laughing. Because I didn’t expect to be so lovey-dovey with Yuki. That’s why I
want to make out with you more. Eat me!”
She launched a hand full of hot water at me.
It hit me squarely in the face.
I remember taking a hit from my lovely and mischievous wife.
“I miss it. When we got muddy and our parents got mad at us and bathed us, did we splash
hot water on each other like this?”
“Haha, yes! Maybe we are, in a way, the same as we used to be when we got married. Now
that Yuki can only use one hand, it is impossible for him to launch the hot water out with
his hand. Let’s just do whatever you want me to do to you!”
I was having a good time with Suzuka, who was attacking me by launching hot water out
with her hand.
 Chapter 30 – At the Outdoors Club

College life has officially begun.

After registering for classes, the first round of lectures began.
As it was the first lecture, the textbooks, attendance, tests, reports, etc. were explained.
After listening to these explanations, it seemed that the lecture time was surprisingly short,
and not many lecturers used the full 90 minutes for the first lecture.
Of course, there were some who went into great depth from the beginning.
But still, I wondered if I would be able to get used to 90-minute lectures…
I waited for Suzuka on the terrace as I was lost in thoughts of my college life.
Oh, she’s here…
“Did you wait long?”
“I didn’t wait long.”
“Well, let’s go home.”
“Right.”
Neither of us have any more lectures we need to take today.
There is still a lot of time left until the party “Compa” at the outdoor club that Yashiro-
senpai created in the evening.
People who have a long way to go to their homes, or who live only a few stations away,
don’t need to stay at the university to kill time.
Well, if I had a friend who could pass the time with me, that would be a different story.
Unfortunately, the people I met had lectures coming up, so Suzuka and I had a lot of free
time to kill.
“Oh, Yuki. Have you finished your lectures today?”
Just when I was about to leave the university, I met Yashiro-senpai.
“Yes, I have some time before the barbecue, so I’m going back home.”
“Oh, I see. I remember you moved out of your parents’ house to live with your wife. Well, if
you’re free now, you two can help me out a little bit. Preparing for the night’s barbecue.”
“Uh, yes. What about you, Suzuka?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Okay, it’s decided. Well, head to the place where the barbecue is going to be held today, I’ll
take the car.”
We went to the place where the barbecue was going to be held.
The location is quite accessible, not far from the station.
We waited for 10 minutes for Yashiro-senpai to come with his car.
“Hey, I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I have some luggage in the car, so please help me carry
it.”
“Is the luggage related to the barbecue?”
“There’s that, too. But there are other things, too. Look, it’s a lot more work than you think,
so hurry up or we won’t make it in time.”
Unloading the luggage from the car that the senpai came in.
Barbecue stove, charcoal, chairs, etc.
In addition to that…
“We want people to feel what the outdoors has to offer.”
Tents, lanterns, hammocks, tarps, sleeping bags.
All these tools had nothing to do with barbecue.
I see, it takes time to set up these things, so they need our help.
“Here’s how to pitch a tent I made for beginner campers. You two take a look at it and give
it a try. If you have any questions, just ask.”
Yashiro-senpai waved his hand and started to do something else.
Suzuka and I started to set up the tent beside him.
“Yashiro-senpai is an amazing person. I didn’t expect him to prepare and organize so many
things like this.”
“He is a reliable senior.”
He was kind to me when I injured my leg.
He is a man who gives his all in everything he does.
That is who Senpai is. The reason I wanted to enter this university was because I admired
Yashiro.
“Now, hold it down over there.”
“Okay.”
It was the season when the weather was a little humid.
The two of us finished putting up the tent in about …20 minutes.
“Phew. Is this okay?”
“We followed the instructions. Let’s go over there and have a senpai take a look at it.”
I asked Yashiro-senpai to check if the tent was set up properly.
Yashiro-senpai lightly said there was no problem, then turned to us and asked.
“So, how did it go? How did you feel when you saw the tent up?”
“I felt a sense of accomplishment, or rather, I wondered what it would be like to spend the
night in a tent set up like this.”
“I’m the same as Yuki! I kind of want to stay here~.”
“I thought I’d like to stay there for a while. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not, but it’s
worth it. Well, I’ve got a few things ready to go. Look over there.”
Yashiro-senpai pointed to a thick growth of trees.
And there were hammocks hanging from the trees.
“Looks like fun!”
“Suzuka-san is right, those things are good. Here, take a break and go experience it!”
Yashiro-senpai patted me on the back and I went to the hammocks with Suzuka.
Suzuka, who was lying in the swinging hammock, was satisfied and told me what she
thought.
“This is good ……. It’s kind of relaxing. You should lie down too, Yuki!”
“Well, I’ll take your word for it…”
The hammock swayed and swayed.
Yashiro-senpai, who knows that I can only use one hand and that I would not be able to use
it if it were set up high.
That’s probably why he set up the hammock so low.
“Oh, this is quite comfortable.”
“Right! I’d love to sit in the hammock and read a book.”
“That might be nice.”
As I was savoring the goodness of the hammock, senpai came over and happily told us.
“It’s a good thing, isn’t it? People tend to think of the outdoors as a series of inconveniences
and endurance. But it also has this charm, you know? Well, I think it’s time for you to finish
your break, right? Help me out, will you?”
“Okay.”
“Yes, we’ll help you!”
Together with Suzuka, I started to help Yashiro-senpai again.
Time went by quickly, and one of the people Yashiro-senpai must have invited arrived at
this place.
“Yo. Yashiro-chan. You are doing well with your juniors, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m doing my best. If you came early, you can help me, too.”
“Under~stood. Well, Yashiro-chan seems to be fine on his own, and I, um, … what should
them? Those two?”
“Double Shindou, so call them Shindou Husband, Shindou Wife, Yuki, Suzuka, and so on.”
“You have no taste~! Well then, let’s continue to the two of them.”
After talking with Yashiro-senpai, the senior came over to us and greeted us.
“Nice to meet you. I am Yuko Yamanaka. Nice to meet you!”
“Oh, hello, I’m Yuki Shindou.”
“I’m his wife, Suzuka.”
There is no use in concealing it. Or rather, hiding it would make us look suspicious.
So we decided to be open about our relationship.
Well, I’m not going to go out of my way to tell people that we are married if they don’t ask.
“Basically, I’m supposed to call people by their surnames, but you two seem to be so… Oh,
how about this? Husband you are Shindou-kun. You, the wife, are Shindou-chan. How about
it? Can I call you like that now?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Yes, that’s fine with me too.”
“I see. Well then, nice to meet you. Feel free to call me Yamanaka-senpai! Shindou-kun and
Shindou-chan. Well, you two are so enthusiastic that you got married while you were still
students. I wonder if we’ll get to hear some interesting stories?”
As she said this, the voice of Yashiro-senpai, who was standing a little distance away from
us, echoed through the air.
“Don’t ask anything too weird! If you ask anything, I’ll beat you with a hammer, so get ready
for it~!”
“Yes yes. I understand~”
After Yamanaka-senpai said this out loud, she turned to us and asked with a grin.
“Where did you two meet? Oh, you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”
Yamanaka-senpai’s questioning begins.
Well, let’s talk about where we met … It’s not like I need to answer…
“Yes. Suzuka and I met…”
 Chapter 31 – Telling Old Stories While
Preparing for a Barbecue

A few days after the day we moved into the family home which I had just recently moved
out of.
I was 4 years old at the time, and my mother took me to a neighborhood park to play.
There I met Suzuka, who was playing in the sandbox, and we became friends.
Our families also live near each other.
We became good friends playing at the park.
When we became elementary school students, we stopped playing together.
But although we stopped playing, we talked at school, talked when we walked home
together, and talked a little when we met at summer festivals.
An unbreakable bond. A connection that has continued.
However, there was no reason for that not to change along the way, and needless to say, the
shape of our relationship changed little by little.
I was in my early elementary school years.
We laughed innocently and got along well in school.
But outside of school, I stopped playing with Suzuka.
Middle elementary school.
The number of boys and girls talking without any separation at school started to decrease.
Suzuka and I talked less and less as well.
Well, I guess we still talked more than others.
Senior elementary school.
The line between boys and girls became clearer at school.
Suzuka and I quit talking at school because we didn’t want to be teased.
However, we still talked a little when we met outside.
Middle school students.
Sensitive age.
We never talked in front of people because we didn’t want to be judged by those around us.
However, we still talked as long as no one was watching us.
High school students.
It’s an impressionable age, but we’ve grown up. While maintaining clear boundaries
between the genders, no one is saying “I don’t like you because you are a boy” or “This is
why girls are …” or not talking to each other because of their gender anymore.
Suzuka and I were the same way, and we came to think that we didn’t have to worry about
what people around us said about us.
As a result, we are back to talking normally at school.
This is how the relationship between me and Suzuka was spun.
It is a very rotten relationship, isn’t it?
I was so lost in my thoughts when Yamanaka-senpai asked me about “How Suzuka and I
met”.
It took me a minute or so.
I was making a pause with “ah”, “mmm”, and “ehh”, and then I let out what I was thinking
about.
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to get my story straight.”
“Well, I’ve been waiting for you. So, how did you and your wife meet?”
“First time in the park…”
I told Yamanaka what I was thinking about.
And? And? She asked me, and I told him everything about my relationship with Suzuka,
which I had been lost in my thoughts until a while ago.
“Hoho. I see~”
“So we were good friends with a trivial rotten relationship.”
“I see~. That’s good, that’s good. I see. That’s good. So, how did two people who had such a
rotten relationship end up getting married?””
“I asked, “Oh, you want to try dating?” And she agreed.”
I blur it up a bit, not mentioning the lottery.
However, it feels more or less the same. Very roughly.
“Oh, yeah. Yuki asked me if I wanted to go out with him as a trial.”
Actually, it was a few levels higher, like, ‘Do you want to try being married?’
“And Suzuka was surprisingly enthusiastic about it, or rather, she didn’t seem to mind, so
we started dating. We became passionate and started a relationship, and we ended up
getting married.”
“After dating Yuki, it wasn’t so bad, so we ended up getting married.”
“Wow~, it’s some kind of awesome romantic comedy. You know what, guys? Do you guys
simply decided to go out with one another? I don’t usually go out with someone just
because they ask me to, you know?”
Yamanaka-senpai, who was smiling at our words and actions, pointed a finger at us and
said,
No, no, no, Suzuka and I had nothing to worry about until we won the lottery, right?
“No, no, there is no such thing.”
“Really~? You were doing a lot of things without realizing it, weren’t you?”
“No, we didn’t. Before we started dating, Yuki and I were known to everyone around us as
the typical pattern of “childhood friends”. Yashiro-senpai, right?”
Suzuka asked Yashiro-senpai, who was still working hard by himself, to come over and join
the conversation.
Then he quit his work and came over to talk.
“Yeah, from what I saw at school, they were just childhood friends by all accounts. I was
surprised when I heard they got married, too.”
“If Yashiro-chan says so, I guess it must be so. But I’ll bite, right? Yes, for example, at school,
they may have looked at you that way, but outside of school, they actually ended up doing
things that made them seem like a good match, didn’t they?
“Hmmm. Really?”
Suzuka came to me, tilting her head and staring at me.
I put my hand on my chin and thought about what we had been doing outside of school for
a bit before I spoke.
“No, I don’t remember doing anything that would make us look good together…”
“Again~. For example, buying a bun and a bean-jam bun at a convenience store and sharing
them half-and-half. or when they caught a cold, you would go to visit them or… and then, on
Valentine’s Day, you would give them a piece of chocolate or something since you have a
rotten relationship with them… Yashiro-chan. Do you have anything else?”
“Oh, a day off. How about if you guys just happened to go out for fun with the same
purpose? And if you guys did what I just said, you can’t get away with it, can you?”
“Well, if you were doing any of the things I just mentioned, you’d better come clean!”
…….
………….
Valentine’s Day.
This year I was told ‘I won’t give you a gift’ because she had to take an exam, so there was
no Valentine’s Day… reminds me of last year’s Valentine’s Day.
On the way home from school.
Valentine’s Day. I didn’t get any chocolates from girls.
If I got one or two and showed them, I would make myself look good to Suzuka.
As I was walking home, I was thinking about it.
“Oh, it’s Yuki. Hey, hey, did you get one?”
I met a smiling Suzuka.
Oh, that was the worst. I was definitely going to get messed with for looking smug, though,
right?
But if I tried to play dumb, I’d probably get messed around with even more.
“I’ll be honest. I didn’t get one. So you can give me yours as a gesture of mercy, right?”
“Eh~, then, I’ll give you the rest of my friend’s chocolates if it’s okay with you. Here you go.”
“Damn, you’re such a jerk!”
“If you are thankful to your childhood friend, Suzuka-sama, you should return the favor
properly. Yuki-kun.”
“I know. Look forward to it, okay?”
But I didn’t know what to give her in return.
So I went out with her to buy her whatever she wanted within my budget.
Another day.
It was bitterly cold and I went inside the convenience store, caught by the banner that said
“Chinese steamed buns are now available.”
Then I ran into Suzuka.
“What are you here to buy?”
“A steamed bun. No, I think buns would be good at this place. What did you come to the
convenience store to buy?”
“I wanted to eat a steamed bun, too. But I also want to eat a jam bun. Oh, that’s right. Yuki,
why don’t you eat half of it? You want half a bun?”
“I don’t have a choice. I’ll do that.”
One day, another day.
One day, Suzuka came to my room when I caught a cold.
“Well?”
“I’m not well, that’s why I’m resting. What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to mock the sight of my childhood friend lying in bed? I’m kidding. You’re unlucky
enough to have no one at home today, aren’t you? You know, I came by to see how you
were doing?”
Another day.
A school trip, overnight stay.
It’s four days and three nights in plain clothes, not uniform, so I went out to buy some clean
clothes, bath towels, and other things I might need since the inn didn’t seem to have them
available.
As soon as I stepped out the front door, I run into Suzuka.
“Ah, it’s Yuki.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m preparing for a school trip. What about you?”
“Same thing. I’m not in uniform, I’m in plain clothes, and I have to buy clothes for Okinawa,
so I’m going around today.”
“Hohoho. Yuki has no taste. I can’t help it. I was going to go shopping for clothes too. Do you
want me to go with you?”
So we went shopping together.
Pang!
Yamanaka-senpai made a loud sound with her hands together.
“Ho, ho. What’s wrong with both of you shutting up? Don’t tell me you have any idea what
we said~?”
She stared at me with a grin.
Suzuka and I looked at each other and then said in unison.
“All of them. I had an idea, but…”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha, I knew it! You just started dating for a trial period, but there’s no way you’re
going to get married right away!”
Yamanaka-senpai laughed.
And Yashiro-senpai also laughed, thinking it was for real.
“Hey, Suzuka. Are we possibly …?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe…”
Yamanaka-senpai anticipated what we were going to say.
“Maybe you just didn’t realize it, but you guys liked each other before you started going
out.”
I see.
So that’s what it was.
“Hehehe. I’m embarrassed now that I realize that we were a good match from the
beginning. I see, I liked you before we started going out.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Me and two seniors looking at Suzuka without saying a word.
My inner thoughts were like this.
“Isn’t this girl embarrassed to say something so embarrassing in a normal way?”
And, well, Suzuka noticed it and made up for it by turning her face red.
“Ugh~, I said something really embarrassing. … Yuki baka!”
Suzuka gently hit me with a smack.
The preparations for the barbecue proceeded happily like that.
 Chapter 32 – A Present Full of Love

It is pitch-dark outside.
The sound of joyful voices echoing in the darkness.
It is a party for the Outdoor Club, which has successfully completed its preparations and
sold itself as a recruiting party.
However, the people gathered here are all adults who cannot drink alcohol.
Although the age of adulthood has been lowered, it is still a rule in this country that
drinking and smoking must be done after the age of 20.
Well, there are some who break the rule, but at least it is not broken here.
According to Yashiro, the senior members want to keep the activities clean with the motto,
“If you talk and talk without alcohol, you can get along with each other.”
“Yo, Yuki. Come with me for a bit. I’ll show you how great it is to drink coffee outdoors.”
“The others didn’t show any interest?”
He invited me.
I was sure that was probably because everyone else was so reluctant to join him.
“As expected of my junior. I’m a pitiful senior. Come hang out with me for a while.”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
The two of us spread out a small table and chair at a little distance from each other and sat
down.
Coffee bean grinder? Yashiro-senpai set the coffee grinder to grind the coffee beans into a
fine powder.
“Yashiro-senpai. Can’t you just use instant coffee?”
“Oh, you say such a terrible thing casually, don’t you? Oh, no. You know, this is what makes
it so much fun, right? Go ahead, grind the coffee beans.”
He gave me a coffee grinder to grind the coffee beans.
I grab the handle of the grinder and turned it. It’s was quite awkward, since I could only use
one hand now.
“Even so, isn’t it a little uncomfortable to grind?”
“Hmm? I use it every time I go camping. When I bought it, it grounded the beans much
smoother.”
“Why don’t you buy a new one?”
“It still works, doesn’t it? I bought it with my first salary as a part-time worker. I’m very
attached to it.”
He bought it with his first paycheck from his part-time job.
Even if it is a little rickety, there is a certain elegance in continuing to use it until it breaks.
“That spirit. Let me learn from you.”
“That’s disgusting. You’re not the type to talk like that.”
“Well, well, well. People change, don’t they?”
Then Yashiro-senpai put the beans I had grinded on the filter and brewed coffee using the
hot water that was boiling on the tabletop.
“Here you go. It’s hot, so be careful.”
With that said, I sipped the freshly brewed coffee offered to me.
I felt the bitterness in my mouth.
“It’s not as bitter as instant…”
“Oh, you noticed? That’s right. Unlike instant powder, coffee made with ground beans is not
overly bitter unless it is made by someone who is not very good at making it.”
And the aroma is good.
Unlike instant coffee, the aroma that penetrated my nose was lighter.
There is no sugar, milk, or anything else in this coffee.
I used to avoid black coffee because it is bitter and not sweet, but with this I can drink it.
In addition, even though it is spring, the nights are still cool.
Combined with the coolness, the warm coffee made my heart warm and fuzzy.
“It’s nice, isn’t it? Drinking coffee outside.”
“Right? Do you want to drink it black all the way through? There’s sugar and milk, just in
case.”
“I’m going to drink it black all the way through.”
The sky is as black as the coffee.
Small lights shining in dots.
Coffee tastes even better than usual when you drink it while looking at it and talking with
your senpai.
“Oh, man~. You’re a stiff, you’re married.”
“Well, yes.”
“Married early. The heat may cool off fast. Take care of your wife, will you?”
“I’ve heard that if you get married too early, you’re more likely to get divorced. Even if they
don’t tell me, I’ll be careful not to be attached to her.”
“Oh, yeah. Don’t let her fall out of love with you too soon. I can see that you’re really in love
with her when you say things like that so that she won’t get attached to you too soon. Well,
your family doesn’t have a lot of money, does it? What about rings and stuff?”
I bought wedding rings.
We put it away for safekeeping, but neither of us wear it on our fingers.
Basically, we decided that if we had to talk about it, and if we were asked, we would tell
them that we were married.
However, if we are not asked, we are not going to tell them.
We don’t want to be questioned if we wear wedding rings and are married.
Now, if I tell my senpai that I bought wedding rings, he will wonder where I got the money
for them. I should say, “I didn’t buy any wedding rings.”
“I didn’t buy any wedding rings.”
“Well, what about the engagement ring?”
“Not yet, either.”
“Well, it’s a student marriage. But you should still buy her a proper one someday, right?”
We do have wedding rings, but I don’t have an engagement ring.
But I don’t have an engagement ring.
I can buy it for her if I use lottery money, but …
“I’ll definitely buy it for her someday. Firmly with my own hands.”
“That’s a lovey-dovey couple indeed. Well, your wife’s birthday is coming up. I know you
can’t buy her an engagement ring or a wedding ring, but are you thinking of getting her
anything?”
Suzuka’s birthday is coming up.
Since we won the lottery, I can buy anything I want to buy.
But … I came upon an idea when I was talking to my senpai.
“Senpai…, you said the other day that you were short on staff, right?”
Thus I started working toward Suzuka’s birthday.
Suzuka Side
“Haa……”
I was slouched in the living room, letting my body rest on the table.
If I had to describe me in one word right now, I’d say I’m in a depressed mood.
Because, because … Yuki hasn’t been very open with me lately.
Clatter.
The front door opened, probably because Yuki had come home.
He clearly looked tired as he said.
“I’m home.”
“Welcome home. You want to take a bath, don’t you?”
“Yes, please.”
I help him with the bath, which has become a routine for me.
While doing so, I ask him why he is home late.
This is probably the fourth time I’ve done this, but I can’t help but ask…
“Why did you suddenly start working part-time? Couldn’t you have waited until your hand
was healed too?”
I don’t understand well.
I really don’t understand why Yuki suddenly started working part-time.
Because we don’t need the money.
Besides, it would have been better to wait until his hand healed, but for some reason he
was in a hurry to start working part-time.
“Hmm? Well, it’s just a whim.”
“Eh~, really~?”
I said so, but I was in a strange mood.
No way, he doesn’t want to be with me, so he’s working part-time to kill time!?
I washed Yuki’s head with a pessimistic look on my face.
“You scrub a little too hard. What if I go bald when I’m young?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. By the way, were you busy today?”
“I’m just tired from doing something I’m not used to doing.”
“I see. Then, after taking the bath, you’ll go to bed?”
“I guess so. I have a first period lecture tomorrow.”
Then after Yuki got out of the bath, I got cleaned up too.
We both got ready for bed and went to bed.
Hehe, even though I’m used to it, I’m happy to sleep with Yuki~.
But, but, but…
“… Sooo, sooo…”
“Why are you suddenly working part-time and working hard until you’re exhausted …?”
I just got into bed and poked Yuki’s cheek, who fell asleep right away.
I’m not sure if Yuki is interested in me anymore… No, I somehow know that’s not true, but
come on.
I know that’s not true. I’m not sure what he’s trying to do.
“Haa… I’m going to sleep too.”
I meditated and let sleepiness take over my body.
Morning.
I don’t have a first period lecture, but I get up early to make breakfast for Yuki.
Today it’s French toast.
I bought honey and good bread.
As I was making the French toast, Yuki came into the kitchen.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning~ Today’s French toast, okay?”
“Ohhh. You’re as enthusiastic as ever today, aren’t you?”
“Right? Let’s eat.”
Breakfast for two.
Yuki finished eating and got ready to go to the university.
“I’ll see you later.”
“I’m off.”
Clang.
Seeing Yuki leave, I closed the front door.
“… Boo. It’s my birthday today and you didn’t say anything to me.”
I was anxiously waiting for it now, but he didn’t even say ‘Happy Birthday’ to me.
I am not sure if it might be me.
I’m not sure if Yuki has really given up on me…
No, no, that can’t be true.
There’s nothing to be dissatisfied with…
“Ah.”
Married life.
Isn’t it still unsatisfactory for Yuki that they don’t have any night activities?
But Yuki said he won’t touch her until his right hand heals, so maybe not.
“I don’t get it! Yuki baka!!”
I was thrashing around on the bed.
Then I went to the university because I had a lecture from the second period.
I didn’t have any lectures with Yuki today, so we didn’t talk at the university and came
home as usual.
Yuki had until 3rd period and I had until 5th period.
He should have come home before me, so he should have said “Happy Birthday” to me,
right?
But maybe…
With my chest buzzing, I fearfully open the door leading to the living room.
Pow!
A loud sound descended on me.
“Suzuka. Happy birthday!”
“Eh, ah, eh?”
Surprised by the cracker that was suddenly sounded, I looked at the table in the living
room.
Then, what’s going on, there was a feast lined up that had been bought from somewhere.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in the morning when you were expecting me to come all the way
and wish you a happy birthday. I just wanted to surprise you.”
“BAKA! Yuki Baka!!”
I smacked Yuki.
Because, because, because I’m so happy.
I didn’t expect to be celebrated like this, so I can’t help it.
“So…”
Fidgeting, he handed me a present that had come out of his pocket.
I wondered what was inside.
I watched Yuki’s reaction as he handed it to me shyly and opened the parcel.
Inside was a necklace.
It was a cute, reasonably priced, youth-oriented necklace that would look good on me.
“Thank you so much! I’m so happy!”
“It makes me happy to hear you say that. It makes all my hard work worth it.”
“Hmm?”
“That’s why I’ve been working part-time lately. I also wanted to buy you something nice
with the lottery money. But I wanted to give you a present with the money I earned
myself.”
“…What’s that? I’m sobbing. Ugh, oh, no, I’m starting to cry.”
“Oh, come on. Is it that much?”
“That much? You can’t use your right hand, but you started a part-time job. I thought it
might be because you don’t want to be with me. I’m such an idiot for thinking that…”
I hugged Yuki while crying.
I also expressed my feelings to Yuki, who went out of his way to give me a gift on my
birthday, not with the money we won in the lottery, but with the money he earned himself.
“Hehehe~, I love you!”
 Epilogue

I talk to Suzuka, who woke up to the sound of birds chirping.

“Good morning.”
“Yeah, good morning. Ehehe~. I had a great birthday last night, didn’t I? Thanks, right?”
“But I’m sorry. I think I made you feel uneasy at the part-time job. I’ll be careful next time.”
Last night.
Suzuka, who didn’t quite understand the meaning of working part-time while my right
hand was not healed, told me that she was anxious about it.
Come to think of it, I would be anxious too if she did something similar.
I thought I would be careful next time and apologized.
“That’s right. I was anxious, so it’s okay if you hug me.”
Although she was in a good mood and wanted to be hugged, I told her not to be silly and
gave her a light chop on the top of her head
“What are you going to do today? In my opinion, I think we could make out like this…”
Saturday.
I asked Suzuka what she was going to do since there were no lectures today.
“Hmmm, oh, that’s right. As expected, it’s about time to show up at least once to our
mothers, right? Yesterday, my mom sent me a message saying that if you’re not busy, it’s
about time for us to come home to at least show our faces~”
“That’s true.”
Me and Suzuka.
It has been a little more than two weeks since we started living together.
I thought it was time for us to visit our parents and give them an update on what’s going on,
so they suggested that we do.
It’s a short train ride to my parents’ house from where we live.
“Well, let’s go to your place first.”
My home would come later.
We decided to go to her parents’ house, the Mita family.
By the way, I had already informed them that we were coming over.
“I’m home!”
Suzuka opened the front door with a bang to let everyone in the house know that we had
arrived.
Then, we hear the sound of running.
Then one of them walked past Suzuka and came to hug me.
“Otoo-san! Hehehe, long time no see~!”
It was a girl of about 4 years old who hugged me tightly.
And her face resembled Suzuka’s.
Apparently, me and Suzuka.
We got married early, but it seems that our children grow up fast too.
How can a girl who looks like she has Suzuka’s blood in her veins not be our child?
Well, actually, it’s not.
“It’s been a while, Yuka-chan. But I’m not Yuka-chan’s father, okay?”
“Ehh~, if you married Onee-chan, Onee-chan would be my mother and Yuki-onii-chan
would be my father, right?”
“That’s true, too. It can’t be helped. I’ll become Yuka-chan’s father.”
“I did it~ Father! I love you!”
Yuka happily hugged me and pushed me up against her face with a gleeful smile.
Yes, this girl who looks a lot like Suzuka.
She is actually her younger sister.
I greet my father-in-law while being hugged by Yuka, who adores me as her goofy father.
“It’s been a while.”
“Oh, I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
Then we made small talk with her parents.
And when that settled down, my father-in-law asked.
“By the way, are you free this Saturday and Sunday?”
“Oh, yes. Me and Suzuka, we both have no plans… Is something wrong?”
“That’s right. Mother.”
“Yes, then there is no problem.”
Her parents, pleased to see us face to face, speak happily to me and Suzuka.
“We’re going on a little trip. I’ll leave it to you to take care of Yuka.”
They went on a trip like that.
Me and Suzuka were left behind.
And Yuka, Suzuka’s younger sister.
“Ehehe. Father! Play~. Play with me~! Not my sister, but my mother!”
Apparently, although we got married early, we also experienced parenthood early.
Thus began the family game of me, Suzuka, and Yuka-chan.

After seeing off my father-in-law and mother-in-law, we were relaxing in the living room of
the Mita house when Yuka-chan approached Suzuka and happily played a prank on her.
“Mother! B***s!”
Suzuka is burrowed into her clothes and suctioned by the innocent Yuka-chan, who doesn’t
even answer.
I managed to pull her off and began to gently scold Yuka.
“Even if you suck on my b*****s, they won’t produce, so I’m quitting sucking!”
“Ehehe. I know~. I made something at kindergarten the other day – I want to show it to
you, so wait for me, I’ll bring it!”
Yuka-chan innocently laughed and went to get the things she made in kindergarten.
Laughing in a dazed manner, Suzuka, seeing the exchange earlier, spoke to me.
“Do you want to suck too Yuki?”
“Well, I’ll take your word for it…”
I approached her deliberately and her face turned bright red and she gently pushed me
away.
“I’m just kidding, okay?”
As usual, she was teasing me, but she was weak when I countered back.
This kind of thing is cute and makes me want to be mean to her.
“I know. But is it no good?”
“Yeah, when I say no, I mean no, but … I know, I know. Just a little bit, okay?”
She lifted up her clothes.
I wait for her now and then, but she’s turning red, and I laugh to my great satisfaction.
“I’m just kidding. Don’t be serious, okay?”
“Kuu~. Yuki’s kidding! Is it okay? If you do that, I’m going to seduce Yuki, who is also saying
that I’ll endure until your right hand is healed~!”
“Kku, I think it’s possible, but as a man, I want to stick to my decision until the end…”
“Otoo-san and Okaa-san are sweet!”
Yuka-chan, who had returned before I knew it, pointed a finger at me.
In response, we both chuckled and said to Yuka in a deliberate manner.
“Yes, that’s right. Me and her are in love with each other, you know?”
“That’s right? Because me and Yuki are super lovey-dovey!”
 Credits

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