Iseboshi 3

Chapter 3 Father and Brother

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Edited by: Kanaa-senpai

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 ”Today was the start of school… and you’re already a third-year student. Starting tomorrow, you’ll begin sword training with Koichi.”

 After lunch, Dad said this to me.

 Yeah, ‘this dad’ is just the same. Short, black hair. Neatly trimmed mustache. His face, his serious vibe, and the way he talks all remind me of my strict dad from before.

 But…

 ”Dad’s training is tough. Do you think the crybaby Hiroya can keep up?”

 My brother, Koichi, is 4 years older. He has chestnut-colored hair. His narrow eyes look a bit cheeky, and his mouth is always smirking. He seems a bit nervous…

 He’s the only one who wasn’t in my old world. I was an only child.

 ”By the way! Hiroya is going on a date with Kazumie!”

 ”Hey, Mom!”

 I stood up from my chair to stop my chatty mom.

 ”Oh really…”

 ”Yes, Kazumie, the only daughter of Knight Müller! The two of them have been close since she started school, and now he’s going on a home date!”

 Mom laughed as she started to clear the teacups with the maid.

 ”I see… that sounds like a good match. Maybe I should ask Lord Müller to give Hiroya some training too.”

 Dad, usually so strict, smiled lightly. …Smiled???

 ”Hiroya, crying in front of his girlfriend’s dad… Haha!”

 Koichi laughed.

 ”I won’t cry! I’m good at sword fighting!”

 I retorted back to my annoying older brother, Koichi.

 Actually, I’m good at swordsmanship. In my original world, I trained from a young age and gained a lot of experience.

 I was skilled enough to teach at my relative’s dojo during my free time.

 ”Huh? When did that happen?”

 Dad looked at me with a puzzled expression. Oops, in this world, I have no experience in swordsmanship.

 ”…No… I think I’ll probably get good at it.”

 ”What do you mean by that?”

 Koichi said, sounding exasperated.

 ”Anyway, I will definitely get better at swordsmanship. I promised to go to Kazumi’s house.”

 ”Wait a minute, Hiroya. We need to talk to Lord Müller, so Dad should come with you too.”

 Uh… this doesn’t sound like a good time to talk to Kazumi.

 ”Don’t make that face. I won’t get in your way.”

 As Dad stood up to leave the room, he winked at me from beside my seat.

 Huh? Did Dad always have this playful side?

 ”Well, then I want to go too. I want to chat with Madam Müller.”

 Mom appeared from the kitchen, twirling her short black hair with her fingers, acting like a little kid, but Dad stopped her.

 ”Lord Müller is the knight guarding this village sent from the royal capital. I want to discuss the village’s security and the number of soldiers with him.”

 ”…Is it work-related? Then I’ll hold back.”

 Mom replied with a sulky face. Yeah, she really is just like I remember.

 ”I’ll get ready. Hiroya, wait for me at the entrance.”

 Dad said that and left the room.

* * *

 While waiting for Dad, I asked the gatekeeper, Mr. Raiden, various questions.

 My dad, it seems, earned his title as a Baron from the king by achieving great feats as an adventurer (you know, the typical thing in isekai stories). I was born in the same year he was assigned here.

 Kazumi’s dad comes from a long line of knights who serve in the royal capital. His sword skills are among the best in the kingdom, but it seems he was demoted out of jealousy from higher-ranking knights and was assigned here about 2 years ago.

 (I was confused in this situation, but…)

 As I listened to Mr. Raiden’s story, memories of ‘this world’ slowly came back to me. Yeah. I definitely was born in this world, and I’ve been living here just fine until my memories of my ‘original world’ returned today.

 Just then, my dad showed up. Mr. Raiden quickly straightened up.

 ”Lord, are you going out? Should I call the guards?”

 ”No, it’s just to Lord Müller’s mansion, so it’s fine. …Alright, let’s go, Hiroya.”

 Dad took my hand and started walking.

* * *

 ”How’s school? Are you enjoying the new school year?”

 Dad asked while looking straight ahead.

 ”Yeah. …Everyone teased me about Kazumi, but I think I’ll be okay.”

 ”Kazumi? Oh, the daughter of Lord Müller.”

 When I glanced up at Dad, he was smiling a little. He feels different in this world. His blunt way of speaking is just like the old dad, but he seems a bit softer…

 ”It seems you’ve been friends since Lord Müller was assigned to this village. So, what do you think? Do you like that girl, Hiroya?”

 ”Huh?”

 I never expected to have this kind of conversation with my dad.

 ”Well… it’s not like I like her, but it feels like I’ve known her even before we met here…”

 I was caught off guard, but after mixing my memories from this world with my memories from my original world, I decided to speak honestly about what I was thinking. Well, my dad probably wouldn’t understand what I meant anyway.

 ”I see. So you felt something fateful, huh?”

 ”Not exactly, but…”

 ”…Take good care of it.”

 Saying that, he looked down at me and smiled again.

* * *

 When we arrived at Kazumi’s mansion and passed through the gate, Aunt Kazumi was there, apparently tending to the flower beds in the garden.

 ”Welcome, Lord!”

 She took off her gloves, wiped her hands on her apron, and bowed politely.

 ”Hiroya, you’re here too. Dear! Kazumi! We have guests!”

 The aunt bowed to us again and called out toward the entrance.

 After a while, Kazumi appeared from the mansion’s entrance and ran toward me. Following her was a tall, sturdy man with long black hair tied back.

 ”Welcome, Lord! What brings you here? If you had business, I would have come to you.”

 The man extended his hand to my dad and shook it firmly.

 ”It’s not far enough to send a messenger, and it’s quicker for me to come myself. Besides, the monsters in the ‘Goblin Forest’ have been more active lately, so I wanted to discuss some security matters.”

 ”I see. Well, come this way. Let’s talk over some fine drink.”

 The man, who seemed to be Kazumi’s father, led my dad into the mansion.

 ”…That’s my papa. He’s just like my dad from the original world.”

 Kazumi whispered in my ear as she ran up to me.

 ”Really… Well, I wanted to talk about that and a few other things.”

 I replied in a quiet voice.

 ”Mom! We’re going out for a bit!”

 ”Don’t go too far. Try not to be too late. Hiroya, please take care of Kazumi.”

 ”Got it.”

 I bow to the aunt. Kazumi pulls my hand and runs.

 ”I’m off!”

* * *

 ”Why isn’t it your room, Kazumi?”

 I asked while being pulled by Kazumi.

 ”Well… the room was more than I expected…”

 Kazumi hesitates as we walk forward.

 ”The room was?”

 ”It’s just… too girly… it was kind of embarrassing…”

 ”But you’re a girl, right?”

 ”According to my memory, I’m a woman in my thirties, so it’s definitely embarrassing!”

 Kazumi stops and glares at me.

 ”…Sorry. Asking to go into a girl’s room is pretty rude, huh…”

 ”…I’ll change the atmosphere little by little, and then I’ll invite you to my room again.”

 She says this and gives me a devilish wink. Damn, she’s cute…

 ”So, where are we going?”

 I talk to her back as she pulls my hand and starts walking again.

 ”There’s a place up ahead that honors the hero who protected this village long ago. Mom said it’s a quiet spot on a hill where you can look down at the village.”

 ”I see. That sounds like a good place to talk.”

 ”And… I’ve been remembering a lot of things from here…”

 Kazumi, walking in front of me while holding my hand, looks down a bit. I feel like her ears are slightly red.

 ”It’s the place where I always played with you, Hiroya.”

 I’m surprised by Kazumi’s words.

 (I remember. It’s a small hill where white flowers bloom everywhere…)

 ”Yeah. It was our favorite spot.”

 Kazumi stops walking and turns around. A big smile spreads across her face…

 ”You remembered…”

 ”Of course. In this world, Kazumi and I were ‘childhood friends,’ right?”

 I heard Kazumi’s words, and suddenly she looked shy. She quickened her pace and pulled me along.

* * *

 After passing through a small mountain path, we came out to an open area. A hill covered in blooming white flowers. In the middle stood a stone monument shaped like a sword.

 ”Wow! This place is really beautiful!”

 ”Yeah!”

 Without thinking, we both grabbed each other’s hands and ran.

 Behind the monument, there was a small bench where we could see part of the village below.

 ”It’s not as high as I thought… Oh, there’s the school.”

 I could see a 2-story school building with a red roof.

 ”Well, let’s sit down. I want to sort out the situation.”

 ”I still can’t match my memories from this world with my memories from the original world.”

 I pulled Kazumi’s hand and sat down on the bench.

 ”Right. My memories of this world are fuzzy, but my memories of the original world are clear.”

 ”Me too. So… the moment I thought I got caught in that accident in the original world… I lost consciousness, and when I realized it…”

 ”Yeah. It felt like ‘I woke up in this world, in this form’.”

 I continued Kazumi’s words, and she nodded vigorously.

 ”By the way… what was Hiroya’s house like? Family and all. It seems like we both have similar families in the original world.”

 Kazumi also sat on the bench.

 ”It was pretty big, like a lord’s mansion. I haven’t seen it all yet, but there seem to be servants and guards.”

 ”Oh, as expected of a lord! I had one helper at my place. Also, my mom and dad are just like my original world parents. Their personalities seem the same too.”

 ”My family is… my mom is just like before. But my dad talks a bit gruffly, unlike my original dad… he’s a little easier to approach.”

 ”Hmm.”

 Kazumi nodded in agreement.

 ”Well, doesn’t that mean your relationship with your dad in the original world was different? Maybe he was really that kind of person, you know? Your dad.”

 ”Is that so?”

 Now that I think about it, even though he fell from grace, my dad really cared about our family’s reputation. He always raised me to be the ‘firstborn of a noble family.’

 ”Oh, there’s one thing that’s completely different from the original world.”

 ”?”

 Kazumi tilted her head slightly.

 ”I have an older brother who’s 4 years older. In the original world, I was an only child.”

 Kazumi looked a bit surprised but then said,

 ”I see. Not everything is the same, huh? Well, the fact that we’re the same age is also different from the original world.”

 She seems to understand.

* * *

 After that, we exchanged information about our parents. Kazumi’s family moved to this village 2 years ago, just like Mr. Raiden said.

 ”Hiroya’s dad was an adventurer, huh? That means… hey, hey! There must be monsters and stuff like in a fantasy world, right?!”

 Her eyes sparkled suddenly.

 ”Yeah, probably. This village looks peaceful, though.”

 ”An adventurer… that sounds amazing! ‘Adventure’ is so cool!”

 ”If I grow up here, I want to be an adventurer! I’m confident in swordsmanship. I was a master in the original world.”

 ”Definitely! I want to be a magician! …Well, if I can…”

 Just then, Kazumi’s expression suddenly darkened.

 ”…I guess… the original us… died, didn’t we?”

 ”Yeah…”

 I suddenly remembered that moment.

 ”I’m sorry… if I had dodged faster…”

 ”It couldn’t be helped since you were carrying me. But…”

 ”Huh?”

 ”I’m really glad we came to this world together! And we’re the same age. We’ve been friends even before our memories came back! Childhood friends!”

 Kazumi’s face brightened up instantly.

 ”Yeah. Kazumi, let’s keep getting along.”

 ”Same here.”

 Kazumi turned to face me, placing her hands on her knees and bowing.

 ”And… I want you to promise me something…”

 Kazumi said, her face slightly flushed.

 ”I want you to stay by my side no matter what. I’m really anxious in this unknown world…”

 She mumbled, looking down.

 ”I’m anxious too. Let’s stay together.”

 ”And…”

 Kazumi fidgeted a bit, then looked at me with determination.

 ”About that night… what I said wasn’t a joke, I meant it… so…”

 ”Huh?”

 ”You know! The thing I said about getting together if I divorced!”

 ”Oh…”

 ”I mean it, okay? We’re not married here yet…”

 Saying that, Kazumi quietly closed her eyes.

 [Illustration]

 (Is this… okay…?)

 I gently leaned closer to Kazumi’s face. She didn’t move. She stayed still with her eyes closed.

 Just as I was about to get closer to her lips…

 ”Ah! You’re already being all lovey-dovey!”

 A voice came from behind us.

 Right. We had another close friend with us.

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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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