With the extra push from Amane, Mahiru must have made up her mind, and she sucked in a big breath—then, as if she were blowing away the many bitter experiences she had endured, Mahiru squared up with the candles. As they went out one by one, the room got darker, but Mahiru didn’t seem to mind and continued blowing out the flames. The moment she extinguished the last one, Amane turned on the living room lights. The cake’s every detail could be seen in the light. Amane had chosen to make a simple shortcake. Its main features were strawberries and fresh cream, and he had decorated it to resemble the shortcake he had given her the first time he’d celebrated her birthday. It was not, however, an exact replica. The decorations were just as beautiful, but there was a chocolate disc set in the center of the cake with the words Happy Birthday scrawled in Amane’s clumsy handwriting, and there were candles stuck in all the gaps between that piece of chocolate and the strawberries, so it was obviously a different cake. Even so, Amane had decided on this cake because he wanted to add the memories of this birthday to her previous memories. “Now that it’s bright, you can really see how clumsy the decorations are, huh…? W-well, I can at least guarantee that the flavor is right, since the café owner gave me directions. And I practiced.” “Huh, wh-when did you…and where…?” “At work. I got the owner to teach me while I was helping her with her test cakes.” He had made his earnest and spirited request on the day Fumika let him sample one of the recipes she was developing, and she had accepted more readily than he’d expected. Amane had actually been really surprised even though he was the one who had made the request in the first place. “She also arranged my schedule to make sure I wouldn’t get home too much later so that you wouldn’t catch on. Man, I’m really grateful to her.” Even though she had to be busy, Fumika had gone out of her way to make time for him and offered Amane her guidance. Fumika herself had said, “More people with baking know-how will make work easier, too.” But Amane knew she’d only said that so he wouldn’t worry about taking up her time, and he felt bad about that. Under Fumika’s generous guidance, Amane had learned a supposedly foolproof sponge cake recipe. Obviously, if he was going to make the cake, he had to be able to reliably reproduce the recipe. Moreover, to ensure he could make whatever he decided on at home with the tools he had, Fumika had really driven home everything about the process and the spots where it could go wrong. Thanks to her help, he had learned to bake a proper sponge cake. He was still terrible at frosting the cake, but that wasn’t something that could be mastered right away. However, he had at least practiced enough to be able to make a decent attempt at it when the time came. For the time being, as he gazed down at the dessert he had prepared for Mahiru, he just felt relief that he had done well enough to make her happy. “Well, there is a cost, though.” “A c-cost…? You didn’t have to pay for me—” “The cost is that I have to tell my boss whether you’re happy with the cake, so…are you?” He felt obligated to grant Fumika’s request, since she had never asked him for anything else in exchange. It was also a way for Amane to get Mahiru’s appraisal, which he was curious about. When he gently peered down at Mahiru’s face, she nodded, looking again on the verge of tears. “I’m so happy, I can’t put it into words. Thank you so, so much.” Despite looking like she was about to cry, she smiled genuinely. Feeling relief and gratitude toward Fumika, Amane started to get the cake knife and plates ready when Mahiru frowned and looked up at him. “…Is it really all right for me to be this lucky?” “Stoppp that!” When he reflexively rebuffed her, Mahiru froze up again, but Amane immediately realized his words had been lacking and frantically continued, saying, “I’m going to try to say this in a way that makes sense, but I need you to understand that this—this level of happiness—doesn’t even come close to what you deserve. So stop it. I’m going to make you much, much happier, so don’t you dare be satisfied with this.” “…Okay.” He was relieved to see Mahiru’s cheeks flush slightly, and he took it as a sign that he had properly cleared up any misunderstanding. Amane finished getting ready to serve the cake and sat back down beside Mahiru on the floor. “Anyway, let’s cut into the cake, yeah? You’ll have to give me some slack for pushing too many candles in and ruining the presentation.” He had tried to give it some thought when he was adding the candles, and place them in a way that would make the cake look pretty, but it hadn’t exactly gone to plan because the chocolate and strawberries has conspired to thwart him. He had tried, but he couldn’t do the impossible, which meant there were areas where the candles were a little crowded. As the maker of the cake, he of course thought there was still plenty of room for improvement and mentally challenged himself to do better on the next opportunity. But there was nothing he could do about it now, so Amane temporarily tossed the problem into the back corner of his mind and frowned, wondering how to best cut the cake. After puzzling over it a little, he concluded, “I guess I’d better remove these first,” and pulled out all the candles. But Mahiru looked sad when he did that, so he carefully set them aside on a separate plate, successfully appeasing her. “Here you go.” Since it was only a fifteen-centimeter cake, he figured cutting it into quarters would do. He settled on this allotment as being both easy to eat and cut and set about dividing the cake. When he finished, he handed the plate with the best slice—the one with the chocolate disc on it—to Mahiru, the birthday girl. She accepted it reverently, looking at it like it was some kind of treasure. Her expression softened, and her eyes glistened and wavered. As exaggerated as that seemed to Amane, it was also proof of how happy Mahiru was; so with a ticklish feeling in his chest, he handed her a fork. “Go ahead and eat.” “Th-thank you.” She seemed somewhat hesitant, maybe because there was no way to eat the cake without knocking off the chocolate precariously balanced on top. After waffling helplessly for a moment, Mahiru regretfully took the chocolate off its white platform. It took her quite a bit of time to cut the cake into bite-size pieces, but when she ate it, her reaction was instantaneous. She took a sizable bite, and as the beautiful clump of contrasting white and red was engulfed by her small lips, her big, caramel-colored eyes snapped open, then slowly, calmly, crinkled again. When Amane saw her sweet, charming, hesitant expression, he knew his past half-month of effort had been worth it. “…How is it?” “It’s good.” Mahiru chewed thoroughly and swallowed, then nodded with a bashful smile, so Amane figured he could relax at last. With a big breath, he finally drove the heavy apprehension out of his lungs, then sucked in fresh air with an easy feeling. “I’m glad. You made me a cake for my birthday, so I wanted to return the favor.” Amane, who had been happy to be on the receiving end, also wanted to let her experience that same happiness. To that end, it had taken everything he could muster. Amane, knowing he was a total amateur and that his time was limited, had decided that rather than messing about blindly on his own, the best course of action was to seek instruction from a professional. Given the success, he truly felt like he could rely on other people during difficult times. “But I know it’s totally impossible for me to make something on your level with my skills. I still needed to turn to other people.” “…The owner of the café taught you, you said?” “Yeah, I asked her. As soon as I said I wanted to make a birthday cake for my girlfriend, she was grinning from ear to ear. That’s just what I would expect from her, I guess you could say. I really owe her.” According to Fumika, when it came to a simple cake like this one, the final flavors really depended on the baker’s ability to bring out the best in the ingredients. Although Amane had learned to cook a little bit, he was still a complete amateur at making sweets, so Fumika had started by drilling him on the fundamentals. She had given him all sorts of support. She let him eat and compare different cakes to see how the way the eggs were frothed changed the formation of the sponge. She also had him try out different ingredients to understand how the fat content of the cream changed the time and technique to froth the batter. She even told him of a specialty confectionery that sold the ingredients he should use. On top of hiring him, Fumika was helping him so much. Amane definitely felt like he owed her a lot. “She also looked out for me when I was preparing for your birthday, Amane, so I’d like to go say thank you to her in person again, but…I don’t think you would like that, would you?” “I…I wouldn’t hate it. I’d just appreciate it if you’d come after I’ve gotten a little more confident handling the customers… I guess I’m still embarrassed that I’m not very good at it.” Since he had been working there for over a month, he was naturally getting more accustomed to the job itself. However, he was also certain that if someone asked him whether he felt proficient enough to let Mahiru see him at work, he would answer with a resounding ‘no.’ He was sure most people felt slightly uncomfortable letting their sweethearts and friends see where they worked, but the idea of letting Mahiru see him serving customers made him really sweat. Since it was only Amane’s vanity that kept him thinking that if he was going to show Mahiru, he wanted her to see him doing an impressive job, he did feel bad about making her wait, but…he wasn’t going to budge on that point. As much as possible, he wanted his girlfriend to think he was cool, and since Amane had already let her see all his weak points and the lame things about him, he was hung up on that point. “I do think you’re adorable when you’re flustered though, Amane.” “That’s not a good thing… I want to look good.” “Sure. That’s why I’m waiting.” Mahiru seemed like she was going to forgive him for making her wait, and she smiled at him happily despite it, so feeling grateful for her magnanimity, he also sampled some cake. Because of Fumika’s sound instruction, the cake itself had come together deliciously. The sponge, soaked in syrup, wasn’t too heavy and had a moist, delicate texture. It melted softly in his mouth, along with the strawberries sandwiched between the layers. Maybe because he had also adjusted the cream so that it was not too sweet, he could really taste both the tartness and the sweetness of the strawberries. Mahiru’s tastes were sophisticated and fashionable, but she always came back to the basics like this, and Amane thought he might have managed to recreate some of her favorite flavors. When he glanced over at her, she seemed to be really enjoying the cake with a smile on her face, and her eyebrows arched in satisfaction, much more so than when she usually ate dessert. “It’s really good.” “…That’s great.” As long as she liked it, it was a huge success. He thought, in that case, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make it for her again sometime, as he slowly savored the moderately sweet cake, made even sweeter by Mahiru’s smile. Amane waited until Mahiru finished eating before heading to his bedroom for a moment. Naturally, if he had left a wrapped present sitting out in a bright room, it would have been too obvious, so he had stashed it in the other room. But Mahiru had apparently felt lonely without Amane there and followed him with her gaze, and when he came back and she saw the thing he had in his hands, she blinked dramatically several times. It occurred to Amane that he had already seen Mahiru make that expression several times that day, and the thought made him happy. He knelt at Mahiru’s feet as she sat bewildered on the sofa, set the present on her knees, and placed her hands, which were sitting quietly in her lap, on top of it. “I got you a present. Making time to celebrate is important, but I also wanted to give you something that would last.” The bouquet was only a prelude, then there was the cake, and this, and one last thing, which was sure to be her favorite. Even though he called it a present, it wasn’t like he could give her anything too amazing. His options were understandably limited. He was working with a high schooler’s budget and still had to get something that suited Mahiru’s tastes. Even so, he figured the thought behind the gift and the reason he had chosen it were the most important, and after worrying over it in his own way, he had decided what to give Mahiru. “Honestly, you buy the things you need right away, and it seemed like you would feel bad about getting something expensive and wouldn’t really enjoy it. So I was really lost about what to get you.” He’d talked it over with Chitose ahead of time, but the fact was Mahiru didn’t want that many things, and she was the straightforward type of person who never hesitated to buy what she needed because she needed it, which put him, as the person giving her a present, in quite a bind. He had been especially perplexed because he could tell she would be happy with whatever he gave her, but in the end, he had chosen Mahiru’s present with his knowledge of her in mind. He calmly whispered to her to open it, and that seemed to release Mahiru from her paralysis. She gave him a look that asked if it was really all right, and he smiled in amusement. Mahiru got a little huffy at Amane’s attitude, but with timid motions, she carefully, cautiously untied the ribbon tied around the box. Amane thought it best not to point out that her fingers were trembling slightly. The shiny red ribbon was what most people would automatically imagine when picturing a present, and after untying it, Mahiru politely peeled away the wrapping paper, and finally, the box that contained her present made its appearance. She looked at him for confirmation again, so he nodded with a smile and said, “Go for it,” and, holding her breath, she carefully lifted the lid. Inside was some packaging and another box, just the right size for Mahiru to hold in both hands. Actually, it probably wasn’t accurate to call it a box. It wasn’t like he had put another boring cardboard package inside her present, like a matryoshka. In Mahiru’s hands was a wooden, antique-style accessories case. It was an attractive color and had a design carved into it depicting Mahiru’s favorite flowers. Rather than cute, it was beautiful, elegant, and clearly high-quality. “It’s for your accessories. I thought you would like how it looks.” It probably would have been safe to give his girlfriend accessories or makeup on her birthday, but after hearing opinions from various people, Amane had settled on this. There was Mahiru’s personality to consider, too. She was the kind of person who took extremely good care of her things and was especially careful with gifts from other people. Amane had heard how she looked after the things he had given her, carefully tending to them one by one and putting them away so that they would not deteriorate, and he had great admiration for how meticulous she was. That was exactly why, on this occasion, he had wanted to give her a place to carefully store the things she treasured, the things that held her precious memories. “You always take such good care of everything I give you, so I thought it might be good for you to have a place to keep things like that. I mean, I know you probably already have one of your own, so I’m not trying to force you to use this one or anything!” He cleared his throat and made sure to emphasize the important fact that just because he gave it to her, it didn’t mean she absolutely had to use it. “I just thought it might be nice to have a place to store the things I give you, is all.” If he looked directly at her as he spoke, the words would be too embarrassing and difficult to get out, but slowly, Amane voiced the wishes he had been keeping in his heart. “I thought it might be nice if one day, that box was filled with things I’ve given you… Sorry, that’s just a little selfish wish of mine.” Amane had his own reasons for wanting to give her this gift, and a smile rose to his lips as he derided himself for being so self-centered, but Mahiru looked down and shook her head. “…It’s…not selfish.” Her voice was trembling slightly, and a large gem of a droplet trickled from her eye and splashed on the back of her hand resting on top of the box. He could already tell, without her even saying anything, that tear had not been born out of sadness. “…How many times are you trying to make me cry, Amane?” “As long as they’re happy tears, many times.” “…Geez.” Her peevish, spoiled tone was all the proof Amane needed of her trust in him. Mahiru raised her head and showed Amane an even fresher, sweeter smile than before, filled with satisfaction, and it was enough to make Amane forget about his concern over the slight redness around her eyes from the overuse of her tear ducts. “I’ll have to put my things away once I get home. I have a bracelet and the hairpin. They’re my treasures. Heh-heh, this will make me happy every time I open it.” Mahiru gently opened the lid, as if she was handling something delicate. Inside was a simple open space with no partitions that opened into three tiers. It wasn’t a very large box, but it was big enough to be able to store a fair number of accessories and other things that weren’t too bulky, and Mahiru’s voice leaped with an excitement she couldn’t hide. “I want you to collect lots and lots of treasures from now on,” he said. “It looks like there’s plenty of open space in here, aside from where the accessories are meant to go, so I’ll have to put my other precious things in here later.” “For example?” “Heh-heh, like mementos of my time with you, Amane. They’re trivial little things, but they’re my secret.” He had a perfect memory of everything he had given her as a present, but from the way Mahiru was talking, it sounded like she had been cherishing other things as well. He felt a slight swell of guilt for not really having any clue about that, but Mahiru must have realized it, and she flashed a carefree smile at him. “You’re not going to tell me?” “Yes… They’re things you probably gave me without even thinking or things I picked up while we were together. It’s only natural you don’t remember them. You can look forward to seeing them later. I’ll show you after I’ve got a nice big collection. We can reminisce over all the good times we’ve had.” “Mm.” Amane was going to make many more memories with Mahiru in the future. He was certain of it. With only the look in his eyes, he told Mahiru he would look forward to it and that he hoped the day would come when her box was packed to the brim with happy memories. Mahiru smiled gently, and the two of them beamed at each other, eagerly anticipating what was to come. Amane looked at Mahiru, sitting there quietly with her eyes closed, enjoying the lingering glow of her birthday celebration, and felt a little proud that everything so far had been such a big success. But he didn’t know what Mahiru would think about the final piece of the celebration, so Amane couldn’t lose focus yet, and he pressed his lips together. He glanced over at the wall. Probably because of all the decorations, the clock on the wall didn’t stand out, but he confirmed that the hands of the clock were approaching the appointed hour. …I guess it’s about time. The time had come for the last surprise of Mahiru’s birthday, and probably the biggest one of all. Mahiru was under the impression that all of the day’s celebrations were over, and she was relaxing and basking in the joy of it all, truly at ease as she sat on the sofa and squished the soft paws of a stuffed cat plushie. He felt truly guilty for disturbing her relaxed state, but he was already at the point of no return, so there was nothing to do but steel himself. “…Ah, Mahiru, so, um…” “Yes?” Not suspecting a thing, Mahiru glanced up at Amane, looking euphoric and 50 percent softer and gentler than usual. The look in her eyes, drowsy and packed full of love for Amane, was unbearably sweet—enough to give Amane five ulcers in his mouth. He bit the inside of his cheek and, using the pain to suppress the feeling of wanting to immediately drown her with affection, continued, feigning composure. “Mahiru, I have one more surprise for you.” “Not when you’ve already done so much? Don’t you think you prepared too much for me?” “Even with everything I’ve done so far, it’s still not even close to enough for your birthday. You ought to be a little greedier, you know.” “N-no way… I feel like I’m going to burst. Any more and I’ll die.” “Well, if that happens, then I’m sorry.” “Huh?” As a matter of fact, he had been imagining it would go exactly like that when he was preparing the day’s final surprise. Mahiru was staring at Amane suspiciously. She obviously had absolutely no clue what he was talking about. Rather than explain himself, Amane stood up calmly. He needed to go put the finishing touches on the last surprise, which was the greatest gift he could manage to give her at the time. “I’ve gotten things mostly ready, but I have to do some finishing touches, so just sit there, please.” Leaving the bewildered Mahiru behind, Amane went back into his bedroom. When he returned to the living room, he was carrying the laptop he had standing by. Mahiru’s look of confusion only intensified when the computer suddenly appeared for no apparent reason. But Amane still didn’t offer Mahiru any answers. Looking forward to Mahiru’s reaction, he set the laptop on the low table. It was the standby screen of a video call. “So it’s possible that this…might be some major meddling on my part.” The day’s biggest surprise was something Amane had arranged because he thought it was a good idea and something only he could make happen. On the one hand, his chest was inflated with the expectation that it would surely make Mahiru happy, while on the other hand, he was tormented with the worry that she might despise him for acting on his own. It was a serious gamble. Of course, he thought he had already brought her plenty of happiness, even without this surprise. In fact, she had already cried with joy. In the end, maybe he shouldn’t have gone for it. However, he had already wound up the springs and set things in motion, so there was no going back. He had, supposedly, braced himself for whatever may come. “You’ll probably think this was none of my business or you didn’t need me to do it, but still…I’m not the only one who wanted to celebrate you, and there’s someone else who was thinking about you, Mahiru.” Lots of people had celebrated her and made Mahiru’s birthday a happy one. By now, she had been celebrated by all the people close to her, whom she considered dear friends. Surely, she had been given enough joy that she had nothing to complain about. But Amane had thought one thing was missing. She shouldn’t only be celebrated by her current friends and substitute parental figures. Wouldn’t he be remiss, he wondered, to leave out the important person whom Mahiru had once so adored? Wasn’t there one other person who would want to wish Mahiru a happy birthday from the bottom of her heart? In the chat box, he told her they were ready, then Amane took several deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heartbeat, and clicked the button with the icon of the telephone receiver on it. The screen changed completely, from a black screen showing nothing to a display of vivid colors. “Young miss.” A voice floated airily out of the speakers. The voice wasn’t particularly high or low; it was gentle, mellow, and calm and was not a voice Amane had heard before, but to Mahiru, that was not the case. A little shriek spilled from Mahiru’s mouth. She jumped from the sofa with so much energy, it was like she had been catapulted. She plopped down on the floor, bringing her face close to the screen on the low table, and stared at it with intense concentration. A far cry from her usual composure, her expression was full of astonishment. Her eyes were unbelievably wide, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. With her mouth agape in a look of hazy befuddlement, and so little sign of her usual collectedness, it was safe to say Mahiru was stunned. The person on the other end of the call must have also noticed that Mahiru’s reaction was extraordinary. The middle-aged woman on the screen, maybe one generation older than Amane’s parents, looked at Mahiru with a well-mannered smile that showed just a dash of surprise and delight. “Though perhaps that’s not the correct way to address you, since I resigned from my duties. Let’s see…” Mahiru was frozen in place, staring fixedly at the screen as Miss Koyuki looked back at her. “…Miss Mahiru, it’s been a long time.” Miss Koyuki put her hand to her mouth as she smiled elegantly and spoke Mahiru’s name and continued, unperturbed by Mahiru’s frozen state. “I’m sorry for suddenly calling you by your first name, but I am no longer employed at your house, so will you allow me that?” “Wha—…how? I… No way…” “I suppose the surprise was a success, heh-heh.” It was no exaggeration to say it had been a great success; in fact, it had been too successful, and Amane was worried it might have stopped Mahiru’s heart. Even the impish tone of Miss Koyuki’s remark was refined, and she had the elegance and composure of an adult. Amane, watching from a short distance, could easily tell that hearing it was throwing Mahiru into chaotic confusion. “H-huh? Wh-why? How?” “I suppose you’re asking why I am calling you like this? I think you had better ask the gentleman beside you about that.” Even though he was so afraid it might make her break up with him, Amane had to explain everything to Mahiru, so when she turned vigorously toward him, he first made her sit back on the sofa with a small smile, hoping it would calm her down. Then he looked up at Mahiru, who was ready to hear the truth. “Well…first, let me apologize. I’m sorry.” “Huh?” “I did a bad thing.” “B-bad…?” “Aren’t you curious about how I got her contact information?” Miss Koyuki was the housekeeper and tutor who had looked after Mahiru before she had ever met Amane. Amane had no direct relationship with her, and he had never even spoken to her or heard her voice. Obviously, he had no idea how to get in touch with her, a fact Mahiru soon realized. At that moment, she seemed to understand and made a little Ah! sound. So although Amane felt extremely guilty about it, he knew he had to explain everything in detail. He slowly opened his mouth to speak, mentally sorting out all he had thought about ahead of time to vindicate himself. “So earlier, um, remember how I talked about wanting to pay my respects to Miss Ko…Miss Kujigawa?” “Y-yes.” “Well, when you were showing me pictures of her, I happened to get a look at your note, and I kind of memorized the address and phone number that was written down.” At the time, Amane just happened to see Miss Koyuki’s personal information. The two seemed to usually communicate by letter, but it looked like she’d sent her contact information in case, so they could get in touch by other means. Amane had seen the note, stored together with the letters, that had her email address, home address, and phone number. When he’d glanced at that note, he’d seen that she had a distinctive and easy-to-remember email, so even though he hadn’t made any effort to get a good look, Amane had memorized it in a second. Honestly, when he went to send the email, he remembered questioning and condemning himself over and over. He had spent several days debating whether it was really okay. It might be more than rude; it might even be immoral. That hadn’t changed, even now, and he could still remember how badly his stomach ached after he’d sent the email. No matter how badly he had wanted to go and say hello to her, he knew that was not the right way to go about it. Trying to involve Miss Koyuki like that would be too presumptuous. Even so—Amane wanted to get her help no matter what. “Now, I know it’s unforgivable that I not only learned Miss Kujigawa’s personal information without asking but also went ahead and used it. I offer my deepest apologies.” Amane knew his image was being displayed on the other end of the call, so he moved in front of the camera and bowed his head deeply. Miss Koyuki put on a strained smile, indicating she was paying it no mind. Amane had given her an earnest apology when he’d first contacted her, too, but even so, he didn’t think it was enough, and he kept his head bowed until he heard a slightly exasperated voice say to the back of his head, “Good grief, raise your head, young man.” She continued, “At first, I thought it was a scam email, and I talked to my son and his wife about it, you know.” “I really am so sorry.” “Well, I decided to trust the email, given how desperate you sounded. I could sense your guilt and your desire to reach me at any cost for your girlfriend’s sake. Just be more careful next time, okay?” “Yes, ma’am, I won’t do it again.” He never planned to do something so extremely rude and presumptuous like this again. It was no surprise that from Miss Koyuki’s perspective, Amane, a complete stranger, had seemed suspicious. He was amazed she had even listened to what he had to say, let alone cooperated with him. He was brimming with gratitude and remorse. “I hope Miss Mahiru will also forgive you, now that she’s seen my face. He tried with all his might to explain everything to me, for your sake, and was apologetic about it the whole time, you know. He asked if he could make a request of me, fully aware that it was a rude and impertinent thing to do.” “I-I’m not angry! Amane is always trying his best for my sake, and I know he did this for me, so really, I’m full of guilt, and happiness, and gratitude!” “As long as I make you happy, I feel blessed to be your boyfriend.” “He was incredibly keen to tell me about it, you know. He said he was trying to make this the best birthday you’ve ever had, and to do that, he needed me. When someone asks something like that, it just makes you want to help, doesn’t it? Besides, it was quite an honor to think I could be a part of that happiness.” As she strung those words together in a gentle tone, more droplets began leaking from Mahiru’s eyes. They trickled down, following the curves of her faintly red cheeks, and right away, Amane could tell what sort of complicated feelings were welling up inside her. Amane, keenly aware Mahiru had been crying all day, handed her a handkerchief he had prepared ahead of time, and Mahiru broke into a big smile as she obediently accepted it. “Once more, let me say that it has been too long, Miss Mahiru.” Miss Koyuki waited until Mahiru had wiped away her tears with the handkerchief, then spoke to her gently. Amane started to leave, figuring it would be better for them to have privacy for this long-overdue, unexpected meeting, but Mahiru stopped him. Even though grabbing his sleeve tightly gave only the slightest resistance, Amane was stuck. He was sure that even if Mahiru wanted him there, to Miss Koyuki, he would probably get in the way of their reunion. But when he looked at Miss Koyuki…for some reason, her eyes and smile indicated that he should stay. Apparently, they didn’t consider his presence to be an intrusion. Mahiru patted the sofa beside her, urging him to come sit next to her. When he looked at the computer, Miss Koyuki was still wearing a cheerful grin that made it hard to read her inner thoughts. Though he hesitated, Amane believed he could not refuse and softly took a seat beside Mahiru. “Although we’ve corresponded many times, I haven’t been blessed with the chance to see you like this—I suppose this counts as face-to-face—and see how you’ve grown… I’m truly delighted to get this opportunity.” “It’s…it’s been a long time, Miss Koyuki…” “Come now, show me a smile, instead of those tears. This is a rare chance for me to see your face, after all.” “Of course.” Mahiru used the handkerchief to catch the big pearly droplets that formed one after another, falling from the pale corners of her eyes. Then she finally smiled brightly, and Miss Koyuki smiled back in relief. “But now that I think about it, the fact that you’re able to be honest and let yourself cry is just one more thing to be happy about. It just goes to show how strong you’ve become, to be able to be vulnerable in front of others.” Ever since she was a child, Mahiru had tried not to show any weakness and had hardly ever let anyone, not even Miss Koyuki, see her cry. Certainly, she was strong, but at the same time, she was weak. Since she couldn’t rely on anyone else, she’d had no choice but to hold on to all her emotions herself and hadn’t been able to turn to anyone, no matter how painful things got. Now Mahiru had certainly discarded that rigidity of hers and become weaker and softer, but also stronger and more resilient. “You’ve grown into a fine young woman, Miss Mahiru.” “…Thank you very much.” “Even your expression has become much more cheerful since the last time I saw you. There’s more light in your eyes, too. You’ve been blessed to find a good environment, haven’t you? That’s really wonderful.” “Yes…” Her voice, incredibly relieved, showed she really did care very deeply for Mahiru. He could even see concern and relief in her soft smile and could tell she had fretted considerably over Mahiru in the past. Though it was good Mahiru had stopped crying, for some reason, even as she drew her body in to make it smaller, her back was perfectly straight, in extremely proper posture. Seeing Mahiru like that, Miss Koyuki put her hand to her mouth and laughed gracefully. “Ho-ho, I’m not your nanny anymore. You don’t need to sit so attentively. Now I’m just some lady you happen to know.” “I-I’m sitting up straight because, um, I guess I’m nervous, seeing you after so long.” “Ho-ho, I’m glad you care, but I’ve already gotten comfortable with being casual, why don’t you do the same?” Miss Koyuki saw Mahiru’s obvious embarrassment at her words and smiled slightly more vigorously than before. “Pardon the cliché question, but have you been well? I’ve gotten your letters from time to time, but I’d like to hear directly from you.” “Yes, I’m well. Very much so…” “You’re still stiff. You don’t need to be so nervous. I’m not going to get upset, and I’m not going anywhere.” “Yes, ma’am.” “See, you’re being so formal again.” “Oh…” “This is something you’re just going to have to get used to, Miss Mahiru.” Even after Miss Koyuki pointed it out to her again, Mahiru’s nervousness at this long-overdue meeting didn’t seem to dissipate, and she was still sitting up straight with even more energy than usual. Even so, the look in her eyes as she peered at the screen was not one of nervousness, but trust and familiarity, so getting used to it was probably just a matter of time. “But if you’re really doing well, then I’m glad to hear it. Even if you don’t say a thing, I can tell by the look on your face…You met a good person, didn’t you?” “Yes.” Amane also straightened up as the words good person caught him by surprise, but hearing Mahiru confirm it immediately was embarrassing, and his gaze went wandering. “If you say so yourself, Miss Mahiru, then I suppose I don’t really need to worry about him. Well, I’ve heard how he’s been running around for the sake of his girlfriend, so I never had any suspicion that he might be a bad person to begin with.” Miss Koyuki flashed them an elegant yet amused smile and added that after living a long time, one learned to tell whether a person was good or bad. Amane felt a painful prickle in his gut, but since he was the one who had selfishly contacted her, he didn’t show any sign of it and simply smiled back. Whether or not she was aware of Amane’s complicated feelings, Miss Koyuki did not let her refined facial expression fall. “…I truly cannot thank you enough, Amane,” Mahiru said. “You prepared so many wonderful things for me and even reconnected me with Miss Koyuki.” “You don’t need to worry about that, Mahiru. I did it all of my own volition.” If anything, he was earnestly apologizing for it, but the fact that Mahiru was happy was still a delight, and it filled him with pride. His methods may have been kind of questionable, however, so Amane didn’t openly show how happy he was. “This is a special day, the day you were born, so you ought to have more happiness than you know what to do with. Though honestly, I really wasn’t sure whether I would be successful or not.” Amane knew he was risking her annoyance, or even her anger, and that she might pull away from him, or even hate him, so he was overjoyed to get such ready forgiveness from both Miss Koyuki and Mahiru. “If I can make you happy just by running around a little bit, then I can’t complain about the effort. I mean…after all, you work hard at all sorts of things for my sake, so I wanted to do right and give you the same consideration. I’d like it if you smiled more, Mahiru. Even though I did just make you cry.” A beautiful teardrop spilled from the rim of her eye with every word as Amane continued, so he hastily took up the handkerchief and gently wiped them away. It was so damp, he wondered if the handkerchief itself might start weeping before long. Mahiru’s eyes reflected a level of passionate emotion that Amane had never imagined he could evoke before now. Amane felt like that showed just how much he had been able to shake Mahiru’s heart, in a good way. “So all of it made you happy?” “Yes, of course.” Both Amane and Miss Koyuki were probably similarly relieved to hear her burst out laughing in a childish, carefree way that seemed to say she wasn’t going to just sit there and cry. “I want to hear more about the gentleman beside you as well, Miss Mahiru. You’re dating, aren’t you?” “…Yes. He’s the first person I’ve ever loved, and when we spend time together, I feel calm, and my chest grows hot. From the beginning, he accepted me for who I am and not just the persona I wear in public, and I know he loves every part of me. He treasures me even knowing how I am. He’s the person I’m going to spend my future with.” The person who Mahiru had looked up to as a parental figure was right there in front of them, or rather, right there on the screen. Having Mahiru sit beside him and earnestly, gladly, lovingly acknowledge and praise Amane’s personality was unbearably awkward. Yet he was still glad Mahiru thought so highly of him, and that feeling was stronger. Keeping his eyes on the screen, he spontaneously started slowly searching for Mahiru’s hand beside him. Quickly, he found her fingers, because she had apparently been seeking him in the same way. They simultaneously slid their hands together until their palms were touching and intertwined their fingers, and Mahiru’s body heat, much warmer than usual, melted into his own. “I see. Well, I’m glad you’ve found such a person, Miss Mahiru. Very glad indeed.” Her confidence in him and her happiness were both conveyed through their linked hands, and his cheeks grinned all on their own. Miss Koyuki seemed to have spotted it, and she put on a truly warm expression, even warmer than their interlocked hands. Being introduced to her as Mahiru’s boyfriend made Amane feel a little—no, a massive flood of embarrassment. Miss Koyuki didn’t seem to intend to tease them like his own mother would have. Without letting her gentle demeanor break, she simply watched them and smiled in amusement, which was a relief. “Miss Mahiru, you’ve always been brighter than other people, in many ways, ever since you were young, and I was worried you might be disappointed with your peers. But from the way things look, I can see that was a baseless concern.”
Chapter 204
37 min read