Chapter 16 Parent's House
When I was little, I didn't think much and said my dream was to take over grandpa's shop with pure heart.
Grandpa was happy about that too.
But now that I'm out in the real world, I get how hard it really is to run a shop.
So first,
"I'm gonna go back home for a bit."
"Why!? I thought you were gonna run the shop!?"
The day after Thomas came, Yuruyana clung to my arm and stopped me when I was about to leave, after I'd been mulling it over.
His face was really worried.
"No, that's not what I meant by going back."
He thought I was leaving this place to go back to my parents' house.
By the way, the real 'I'm going back home' moment happened only once, way before I joined Arcane Art Academy, when my mom did it back when we lived in that apartment in the capital.
This makes it sound like Yuruyana is the husband here.
Even though he's a freeloader who uses the whole house with my magic power, he's pretty cocky.
"I'm just going to look at the old stuff from when grandpa ran the shop."
"Huh?"
"I know nothing about business, and I don't really get what grandpa's 'job' was."
If it were a hobby, I could just mess with Arcane Machinery for fun and make whatever I want, but if I'm gonna make it a job, it doesn't work like that.
"I gotta learn that stuff first, or I'll never know if I can actually do it or not."
Yuruyana totally misunderstands but when I say I'm thinking about it seriously, I mean I'm just considering it──I haven't actually said I'm running the shop yet.
I'm not gonna rush in without info like a dumb soldier.
Especially when I'm taking over a shop with a good rep, I gotta be careful.
Then Yuruyana looked a bit embarrassed for getting it wrong or maybe pissed I wasn't agreeing, and after a while, he glanced up and said,
"Can I come too?"
"Why?"
"I wanna know what Mr. Momota was like... And since it's just after yesterday, Tsukumo might crash again or something..."
"That's like 80% the first reason, isn't it."
"You caught me."
Well, Yuruyana's way nicer than me with people, so I figured it'd be fine to introduce him like a friend to the family──big mistake.
* * *
"It's been about 2 years, huh..."
My home is on the east side of the capital.
The shop is on the west side, so even though we're still in the same capital, we don't really have much to do with each other.
It's a relatively safe area where middle-class families live, not as rich as nobility, but comfortable enough to not worry about food.
"I'm home..."
When my mother saw her second son, who hadn't been home in a while, she stared at me with her mouth hanging open, then shifted her gaze to Yuruyana, who was quietly standing behind me.
"You!! Tsukumo brought a girl home!!"
"No!!"
Without listening to my correction, she hurriedly ran down the hallway.
I kind of wanted her to at least say "Welcome back."
For a moment, I thought about chasing her, but it seemed like too much trouble to explain everything to my excited mother, so I decided to head straight to the room my grandfather used to live in instead, without stirring her up.
"Are you just gonna leave her like that?"
"She'll calm down and come check on us later."
I'm sure my father will calm her down.
Saying hi to him can wait──I'll do it later.
The last time I went into my grandfather's room was 5 years ago.
After he passed away, content knowing I'd joined the military, we lightly sorted through his belongings as a family.
When I opened the door, there were a few boxes on the bed where the sheets had been removed.
"The documents should be around here."
While I was opening the boxes, Yuruyana went to open the curtains and windows, and as the room brightened up, the writing on the documents inside the boxes became clearer.
As I thought, there were neatly arranged ledgers with dates on the spines.
If I checked them here, it would end up being an overnight stay, so I decided to just toss the whole box into my bag for now.
"Also, I think I hid something in here..."
Next, I'm opening the closet.
There were more boxes piled up, and on the spines, it said "Business Reports" along with the year.
It seemed like one book covered a whole year.
There were more than 20 of them.
Of course, it's expected since he'd been doing this since I was born.
"He was a meticulous person, huh?"
"Yeah."
Since it was a business he ran by himself, there was no need to hand over anything, but it seemed like all the records from when he first opened the shop were still kept.
This could be useful.
"Tsukumo, you're pretty meticulous too, huh?"
While helping me pull the box out of the closet, Yuruyana said that softly.
"Yeah?"
"You know, like, you gotta put the plates away, same size, same shape, same place."
"...Maybe Yuruyana's just too messy?"
Seriously, this guy is only serious about work.
"It's not efficient, you gotta put things in the same place so you can grab them easy."
"As long as you know where it is, isn't that good enough?"
It's a religion thing, probably.
I don't say anything, 'cause we'll just argue and go nowhere.
It's okay, 'cause he follows my rules in the shared spaces.
I look around the room, dust off my hands, think that's all I need... then I feel someone outside the room.
"Tsukumo, welcome home..."
"I'm home."
My mom's finally calmed down, it seems.
I greet her back, and she's still worried about Yuruyana more than me.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Yuruyana. I've been taking care of Tsukumo lately."
"Stop using that voice."
Why is he doing a cute girl voice for my mom?
Mom's all flustered, like I thought.
Yuruyana looks at me like he's annoyed, then bows to my mom again.
"Sorry, I was just kidding. I'm a guy. Don't worry, nothing's going on with Tsukumo."
"Huh!? A, a boy...!?"
"Yes."
Hearing his voice get deep suddenly, she can't handle the info.
"He's a boy..."
Like she needs help, she talks to the door.
"Dad?"
He sticks his head out from behind the opened door when she calls.
"Welcome home, Tsukumo."
"I'm home."
Yuruyana looks at me and my parents, then...
"...We don't look alike, huh."
Muttered softly.
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