Chapter 19 The Great Gift and the Eight-Digit Inheritance
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The Golden Week holiday ended, and school started again today. Mana arrived at my place before eight o’clock. After exchanging our ‘Good morning’ kiss, she shyly peeled off her school-issued blouse, undid her bra, and pointed beside her nipple, requesting, “Hiro-kun¹, please put it here.”
I thought she was joking, but she was serious. Seeing Mana’s chest first thing in the morning was an absolute dream, but it was probably a health hazard. As I placed the kiss mark, Mana happily covered it with her hand.
”I’ll give one to Hiro-kun too.”
Mana planted a kiss mark on me and then hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around her back and returned the embrace.
”I’m so incredibly happy. Just don’t be late for school.”
Mana fixed her uniform and headed off. I waited for my ahem erection to subside before finally leaving the house. I couldn’t help but think that doing this every day would be exhausting.
If Mana was going to come over every morning, I needed a good excuse to avoid the neighbors’ attention. If I told them, “I came here just to give him a kiss mark,” they would definitely be repulsed.
However, the answer came the very next day.
”I ran into Nishimura-san from next door. I told her I was checking to make sure you hadn’t overslept since you live alone, so please play along.”
I thought that was a very reasonable cover story.
Then, on the first Saturday afternoon after Golden Week, I received a visit from the lawyer, Watanabe-sensei². He had contacted me two days earlier, saying he had something to hand over and asking if he could come on Saturday or Sunday. Both days were free for me, but I had initially offered to go to his office after school since he was on holiday. He insisted on visiting, though, saying he wanted to see how I was living.
The moment Watanabe-sensei stepped inside my house, he let out a sound of impressed, “Ohhhh.”
I led him to the living room, where Mana immediately served him tea and some sweets. This seemed to impress the lawyer even more.
Sitting on the living room sofa, I introduced Mana.
”The atmosphere inside the house and Hirokazu-kun’s expression have both brightened up. I wonder if that’s thanks to Manami-san? Thank you so much, truly.”
Watanabe-sensei bowed his head to Mana, which made her blush.
”When I was here before, the house felt stagnant, and Hirokazu-kun looked like he was about to die at any moment. But when we met last month, your expression was a little brighter, and I thought something good must have happened—I never expected you to have a girlfriend.”
”I believe Hirokazu-san has a high potential,” Mana asserted.
”Manami-san seems to understand that as well,” Watanabe-sensei replied, sounding pleased.
”Now, to the main topic,” he began, explaining the purpose of his visit. Since I had reached my 18th birthday and become a legal adult, Watanabe-sensei had completed the procedures to step down as my minor’s guardian. As a result, he returned all the important documents he had been keeping for me: my bank passbook, seal, cash card, and the deeds to the land and house. He also handed me a credit card, saying I would need it going forward. It seems he was able to get it created through his recommendation.
I looked at the passbook and saw an eight-digit number recorded there. Rather than being surprised, I felt my heart pound with excitement and trepidation.
Just when I thought the business was finished, he said there was one more item and took out a copy of a will, which he started to explain.
This will belonged to my mother’s mother—my grandmother. Watanabe-sensei had previously told me she had passed away. The will stated that when I became an adult, I would inherit 40% of the shares in the hot spring inn³ she managed, as well as the land and house she had lived in.
”Sensei, what am I supposed to do with this?” I asked.
”A will is the final wish of the deceased, so it is meant to be honored.”
”Ehh, but… I never even met her…”
”Hirokazu-kun, you were small, so you may not remember…”
My mother was the only daughter of the family who owned the hot spring inn in Nagano Prefecture, and it had been decided since she was a child that she would take over the business. However, she rebelled, asserting she would decide her own life, and ran away to meet my father. When they went to report their marriage, they met with fierce opposition, and my mother was told she was disowned before marrying my father. My father had always worried about this, and when I was about four or five years old, he convinced my mother, and we went to visit her parents’ home.
”Ah! Wait just a moment,” I interrupted.
I found a photo in an old album showing my parents, me, and a graceful woman standing in front of a ryokan somewhere. Based on the date in the bottom-left corner of the photo, I was four years old.
”What is the current status of the hot spring inn?” I inquired.
”Your mother’s cousin, Yoshimi Tanaka, is acting as the proprietress. Before your grandmother passed away, she incorporated the business, and the Tanaka couple each own 30% of the shares.”
”Wait, but…”
”I owe you an apology, Hirokazu-kun. I told you I couldn’t contact them, but I was actually in contact with them. When your parents passed away, you were a minor and needed a guardian. Ms. Tanaka insisted it would be too cruel to make you come to the mountains of Nagano with one year of high school left, so she entrusted me with the guardianship.”
My mother and Ms. Tanaka were close since childhood and had kept in touch the entire time. That’s why Ms. Tanaka was devastated when my mother passed away, and I heard that she quietly visited the grave after the funeral.
”I have her contact information, so why don’t you and Manami-san go visit her when summer vacation starts?”
”Understood. I definitely want to go.”
Watanabe-sensei said, “I think of myself as a father-figure to you, so contact me if you have anything you need to consult me about,” and then he left.
”A hot spring trip with Hiro-kun! I hope summer vacation comes soon,” Mana exclaimed, starting to count the days on her fingers like a child.
”Before that…” I started to say.
”When are we going to see Mom?” Mana knew exactly what I was trying to say.
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Summary:
Hirokazu’s mornings get much more intimate as Mana gives him a ‘kiss mark’ before school, forcing him to deal with neighbors and an overactive libido. The relationship deepens just as he turns 18 and gains legal adulthood. The lawyer, Watanabe-sensei, dissolves the guardianship and hands over the key to his new life: a credit card, all his assets, and an eight-digit bank account balance. The real shock is the secret inheritance from his grandmother’s will—40% ownership in a beautiful, traditional hot spring inn in Nagano and her house, currently managed by his mother’s cousin. The revelation is a major shift, proving the lawyer and the distant family have been quietly protecting him, setting the stage for a summer trip with Mana.
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Character Insight:
Hirokazu is overwhelmed by the sudden shift in his life, from being a dependent minor to a wealthy, independent adult. His emotional anchor is Mana, whose joyful, loving presence is the ‘good thing’ that saved him from his slump. Mana’s immediate enthusiasm for the hot spring trip and her quick turn to asking about visiting her mother shows her focus is not on the money or the inn, but on deepening their relationship and integrating him into her life.
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Behind the Scene:
This chapter is the climax of Hirokazu’s transition to legal adulthood and his re-entry into society after his parents’ deaths. The inheritance of the ryokan shares is a classic plot device, introducing a new location, new family (cousin Yoshimi Tanaka), and a new goal (the summer trip), which will naturally test and advance the relationship between Hirokazu and Mana.
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T/L:
¹ Hiro-kun (ヒロくん): A casual, affectionate nickname for Hirokazu. The suffix -kun is typically used for boys, subordinates, or when expressing familiarity. ↩
² Sensei (先生): A title of respect for teachers, doctors, and in this case, a lawyer. It is used to show deference to their professional status. ↩
³ Ryokan (旅館): A traditional Japanese inn, typically featuring tatami-matted rooms, communal baths, and other traditional public areas, and often includes a traditional dinner and breakfast. This one is a hot spring ryokan (onsen ryokan). ↩
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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