Life In The Reverse World

In the brightly lit reception room, the two people seated behind the tea table some distance away had their eyes fixed entirely on Harutaki.

Chouko’s mother, whom he had met earlier at Tokyo Station, sat slightly farther back. Judging from her expression, she seemed rather surprised that the two of them had returned home before dinner. When she looked at him, there was even a trace of approval in her gaze.

So then...

He shifted his attention to the elderly woman seated closer to the front.

Perhaps because of her age and poor health, the silver-haired old lady wasn’t sitting upright like Harutaki and Chouko. Instead, she looked somewhat languid, propping her elbow on the tea table and resting her cheek in her hand while observing him.

Yet despite appearing indifferent, she carried an air of authority that felt like a tiger lying on its side in feigned slumber.

Even though the tiger was old and frail, it was still a tiger. The aura of a former ruler of the mountains had not faded in the slightest. It was hard to imagine that the person before him was actually a woman approaching a hundred years of age.

This must be the great-grandmother Chouko had mentioned earlier.

Harutaki tried to study her expression, but those half-closed eyes gave him no chance at all. The narrow slits were even finer than the brushstrokes in the hanging scroll behind her.

Incidentally, the scroll was most likely an original ukiyo-e painting by Katsushika Hokusai.

“…Phew.”

Harutaki let out a quiet breath and decided to break the heavy silence himself.

“Excuse the intrusion. My name is Hoshikawa Harutaki. I’ve been greatly helped by Shihou-san.”

“Oh… I thought you’d manage to sit there for another ten minutes or so. Looks like you couldn’t keep your composure after all.”

The slightly displeased tone from the old lady left him momentarily confused.

Was it because he had sneaked over the wall this morning and taken Chouko out?

That seemed like the most reasonable guess. Anyone would be upset if a “stranger” broke into their home without notice.

“You’re the student who saved Chouko before, aren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Then you should know what crime illegal trespassing is, correct?”

“…Huh?”

Seeing Harutaki freeze up, the old lady seemed to grow a little more pleased and continued speaking on her own.

“If anything, I’d say Chouko is the one who received your care. But tell me, Hoshikawa-kun, what business brings you to the Shihou household tonight?”

So she wasn’t going to pursue the “illegal entry” matter?

Harutaki wondered what she meant by asking something she clearly already knew.

“Madam should be aware of Shihou’s wishes right now, shouldn’t you?”

“You mean running away from home?”

Well… that wasn’t exactly wrong.

“She wants to pursue the life she truly desires. She wants to continue living in Tokyo.”

Compared to how she had been at Tokyo Station earlier, Chouko was far more reserved in front of her great-grandmother than she was in front of her mother. She kept her head lowered the entire time, not daring to raise it and meet her elder’s gaze.

The old lady let out an amused snort, her voice dripping with disdain.

“And what do you think the essence of that ‘pursuit’ is?”

“…Running away from responsibility.”

Chouko lowered her head even further, as though she might bury it into the swell of her F-cup chest.

“But I believe Shihou is improving,” Harutaki continued, shifting his tone. “She’ll take responsibility for what she should and grow into someone truly capable.”

The old lady, however, wasn’t convinced.

“You believe? And who are you exactly? What right or standing do you have to say something like that?”

In truth, even now he still hadn’t fully figured out his own right or standing, but—

The hot blood of a sixteen-year-old boy.

Miyabi-senpai’s cold voice echoed in his mind, and he no longer hesitated.

“I like Shihou, and she likes me. I want her to live the life she wants. I want her to have a happy future…” He paused briefly before finishing, “…that’s my standing.”

In other words—

His stance wasn’t all that different from that of Chouko’s great-grandmother and her mother.

All three of them, at least, were thinking about the girl and her happiness.

“Letting Chouko go to a filthy place like Tokyo, filled with crime… Compared to so-called ‘happiness’ and ‘freedom,’ safety alone makes it impossible to let a girl live there by herself. And a fool who’s been overly protected by her family has no idea how dangerous society really is. Just look at what happened to her at karaoke.”

“You’re right,” Harutaki admitted. “But I don’t think we should overcorrect out of fear. After what happened, Shihou must have learned her lesson. She’s not the kind of fool who falls into the same hole twice.

“Besides, you can’t protect her forever, can you? There are plenty of crimes here in Kyoto too. Maybe not as many as Tokyo, but they exist all the same. A flower raised in a greenhouse can’t withstand wind and rain. If you keep Shihou locked at home, she might live a peaceful life—but life always has unexpected twists. When that happens, will you and her mother protect her again then?”

If her great-grandmother truly intended to keep her locked up forever, Harutaki would have nothing left to say.

Fortunately, the old lady clearly understood that the drawbacks of such an approach outweighed its benefits, and she changed the subject.

“No matter how much you talk, empty words are meaningless. Let’s make a wager instead. Best two out of three.”

She raised three fingers.

“I’ll give you three chances to fight for it. If you can successfully help Chouko leave Suishōen three times, you win. And I’ll give her another opportunity to pursue what she truly wants.”

Three times…

Harutaki sighed inwardly. There was no way Suishōen would remain as loosely guarded as it had been today. Next time, it definitely wouldn’t be anything close to tacit permission.

What should he do then?

Suddenly, he thought of a good approach. After taking a deep breath, he calmly voiced his idea.

“If I remember correctly, I’m technically the person who saved Shihou, right? In that case… could I ask you to give her one chance directly?”

Of course, he had intentionally raised an unreasonable request to set up his real condition. He hadn’t expected her to agree.

And just as he expected, the old lady tapped the tea table lightly, the crisp knocking sound accompanying her refusal.

“You may choose another reward. A guaranteed admission recommendation to a top university. A letter that lets you enter any domestic company—or even a smooth path into politics. Or fifty billion yen, enough to let you live a carefree life forever.”

“I don’t believe Shihou’s happiness and future can be measured by things like that. Do you really think she’s only worth fifty billion yen?”

Seeing Harutaki refuse without hesitation—and even question her back with righteous conviction—the old lady couldn’t help but smile. Her eyes opened just a fraction wider.

From nearby, Chouko could clearly see that the toes of her navy knitted cotton socks curled inward, pressing hard as if trying to grasp something, leaving small ridges in the fabric.

“Heh. Stop haggling and just say what you want, boy. Don’t waste time bargaining with me.”

So she saw right through him.

Harutaki thought wryly that trying to play clever tricks in front of Shihou’s great-grandmother was like a kitten trying to outsmart a tiger.

“I’d like you to count today as the first time.”

He reasoned that since she had offered the chance, it meant she was willing to acknowledge his viewpoint to some degree. Given that, reducing the difficulty without making excessive demands made this the most appropriate condition.

He understood what the old lady truly wanted was proof.

Proof of his ability.