♢♢♢
Although Nanami and I found out that we’d have to be separated for a little while, we couldn’t stay low-spirited forever.
I was going to my grandparents’ house for three or four days, but it seemed Nanami was going to be gone for about a week—around five or six days, she’d said. She’d be away longer than me and I could already sense the loneliness that difference would make me feel.
“When you and your partner were apart from each other...what did you do?” I asked.
“Huh? What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Baron-san returned.
“Are the two of you planning to be away from each other for a while?” Peach-san inquired.
“So, actually,” I began.
I was home playing my game, talking through questions with Baron-san and Peach-san for the first time in what felt like a long while. When you don’t know something, ask. This practice, I felt, was very important. But the question I had just said wasn’t the one I actually wanted to ask.
“And exactly how long are we talking here?” Baron-san asked.
“About a week,” I said.
“That’s super short!” Peach-san exclaimed.
Oh, no, Peach-san... To us, a week is the very opposite of super short. Even during summer break, we didn’t go a full week without seeing each other.
But when I said as much I swore I could almost hear them shaking their heads. In fact, they both asked, “Don’t you two ever get sick of each other?”
My first thought was that we were okay so far...but I also realized that, in fact, we really were together all the time.
I’m okay, but...is Nanami okay?
“Canyon-kun, maybe you’re trying to make up for all the times you spent by yourself,” Baron-san remarked.
“Oh, I get that,” Peach-san chimed in. “Ever since I met my new friend, I’ve been spending a lot of time with her, like I’m trying to get back all the moments I was by myself.”
“So this is a pretty common feeling, huh?” I muttered.
“Yeah, well...for now, I don’t think there’s a problem with it. But just keep in mind that your partner needs privacy and her alone time too, so be sure you talk through stuff like that together,” Baron-san expressed.
He then added, in a rather worn-out voice—as if being reminded of some unpleasant memory—that he once had a terrible experience because of this very issue. I didn’t know the details, but apparently, something happened.
“Plus, with today’s phones, you can see each other so easily,” he continued. “In my day, the best you could do was call each other. And you couldn’t even see each other’s faces.”
Ah, he totally has a point. Unless we go somewhere with no signal, we can at least stay in touch. It’ll be just like when we go places where we can’t talk on the phone until we fall asleep.
“Just be careful, okay? When you talk after being apart, there’s a chance of getting a little carried away, if you know what I mean,” Baron-san warned.
“That’s true. You really do end up doing strange things when you’re on your phone, because it somehow doesn’t feel like it has any real-life consequences,” Peach-san added. “Sometimes I pick up calls when I’m only in my underwear—”
“Peach-san?!”
The chat box on the screen suddenly became filled with messages from the other party members. They were mostly scolding Peach-san about what she thought she was doing, or telling her that they were worried about her.
I couldn’t help but join in expressing my shock.
Apparently what she meant, though, was that sometimes when she chatted with her female friend on the phone, she would pick up the call in her underwear because it was too much of a bother to get fully dressed. In other words, nothing truly concerning was happening. Thank goodness; I felt relieved.
This, though, wasn’t really what I wanted to get their advice on.
“So, I’ve been thinking of moving out and living on my own, but my parents are against it,” I shared. “I was hoping to hear what other adults might think about this.”
“Ah...moving out, huh?” Baron-san said with a sigh. “Yeah, at your age, the idea seems really appealing, doesn’t it?” He then fell silent, inhaled...and slowly exhaled. I heard him groan, as though suddenly agonizing over something. When he finished...
“Honestly, if you can, it’s so much easier to live at home,” he declared.
“Well, when you put it that way,” I muttered.
I mean, of course. Obviously living at home is more convenient. I do know that, but...you know. Stuff.
“What makes you say that?” I asked. “Just curious.”
“Gosh, just...everything, I guess,” came his response.
Then, as though speaking from the very depths of his soul, Baron-san listed all the things that he believed were easier when still living at home. From cooking and doing the laundry, to cleaning and general household management...
He finished by saying he only realized all this after he started living alone, after coming home one day and realizing just how nice it would be to have someone else take care of those tasks, instead of having to do it all himself.
“So, yeah. As an adult, I can totally understand why your parents are against the idea. If living by yourself is only going to cost you more time and money, you should spend as much time as possible saving up at home instead,” he concluded.
“You think so?” I asked, still unsure. “I mean, I’m turning eighteen next year. I’ll be an adult and everything...”
“Is that what’s worrying you? That stuff is arbitrary and depends on where you live, and even then it changes depending on how the adults around you feel,” Baron-san replied.
“Really...?” I let out.
I supposed other countries had different ages for when they considered someone an adult. Same for the legal drinking age. Thinking about it that way, my sudden obsession over age seemed to miss the point entirely.
Baron-san then told me that I didn’t need to force myself to become an adult, but instead start thinking like one. But what did that mean, exactly?
He just told me to keep the thought in the back of my mind. I guess it really wasn’t easy being an adult.
“To be honest, I was much like you. I wanted to move out as soon as I possibly could. Plus it was for a totally inappropriate reason,” Baron-san confessed. “But I’m glad I didn’t.”
“Really? Why is that?” I asked.
“Oh, simple: because if you move out while you’re still a high schooler, your place gets turned into the hangout for all the bad apples around you. High school is the worst time for stuff like that. Honestly, if you really want to live by yourself, you should absolutely wait until you’re in college,” he explained.
I didn’t even think about that. But then, wouldn’t the same thing happen in college too? Then again, by college age there were way more people who had moved out, making it less likely for any one person’s place to be a designated hangout spot.
Living by yourself in high school, on the other hand, was rare—which meant that people would always want to be at your house. They might even complain if you refused.
In other words, there weren’t many upsides to the situation. Baron-san’s insight made it all the more unfeasible.
I guess if I’m gonna live on my own, it’ll have to be in college.
“But it’s not a bad thing to want to live on your own. How about you try practicing for it while you’re still living at home?” Baron-san suggested.
“Practice?” I repeated, uncertainly.
“Yup. You start by helping your mom with the housework, doing the laundry, and vacuuming and stuff. You know, things you don’t usually do.”
He has a good point.
I had to learn how to maintain a household first. It was like any other game: Start where you can. I should start by doing chores and things, a little bit at a time. Then, my parents might give me permission to live on my own sooner rather than later.
I finally felt like I could see what my next steps would be.
“You mentioned earlier that you wanted to live by yourself as soon as possible too,” I said, suddenly remembering. “Why was that?”
Hmm? Why isn’t he saying anything?
Baron-san’s lack of reply seemed to be confusing everyone, in fact. Is he still on the line? Uh, yeah, looks like it.
For several moments, we didn’t even hear him breathe. Eventually he spoke, though with such little inflection he sounded like a robot. It sounds almost like some computer software. Is this really Baron-san?
“Because...I wanted to make out with my girlfriend at my own place.”
Wait, that’s the exact same reason I have.
If that were the case, I could probably come to Baron-san again the next time I ran into problems about moving out.
On the other end of the line, amid the relentless teasing of everyone in the party, Baron-san continued to make excuses for his younger self.