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Reiko’s Manners

Chapter 66

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

Now then, I prepared to take a shower. Once I was down to my underwear, I had Sara-chan help me put on a waterproof cast cover.

「My, Rei-chan, you really have a gorgeous body. Curves in all the right places and slender where it counts—I am quite envious.」

「Do you really think so? Personally, I dislike my body. It resembles my mother's, which I absolutely detest.」

While my face is the spitting image of Mari-sama's, my physique is identical to my mother's. Ever since I laid eyes on that photo of my mother stark naked, I haven't been able to bring myself to like this body of mine. Sitting on the shower chair as the water washed over me, memories of that photograph resurfaced. I still couldn't accept it. Back when she was dating Comrade Yoshio, she was essentially a female version of the Naked General, so there hadn't been anything lewd about it.

「Comrade Yoshio truly loved my mother, even when she was past forty, didn't he?」

The question slipped out before I could stop myself. Just thinking about Comrade Yoshio made me blush. Once I finished showering, I slipped into a bathrobe and went over to Sara-chan. I had her remove my waterproof cast cover and blow-dry my hair. I was perfectly capable of drying it myself, but I gratefully accepted her kindness.

「Your hair is so wonderfully straight and beautiful. We must go to the hair salon together again!」

「That sounds lovely. I was able to accompany you to that salon before because of the first-time discount coupon, but their regular prices are far too expensive for me to visit normally.」

「Eh? That coupon was first-time only? Oh, Brother Kaname, how careless of you!」

「...Could it be that the coupon was handmade by Takaoka-sama?」

「Ah, that was supposed to be a secret! Brother Kaname paid the difference in advance so that you wouldn't have to worry about it, Rei-chan.」

There was no way a high-end salon like that would issue a 1,000-yen coupon. Back then, I was far more ignorant of the world than I am now, so it never occurred to me to doubt it. I had also been stubborn, mistaking acts of goodwill for condescending charity.

「I've caused him so much concern. Once my cast comes off, I shall thank Takaoka-sama properly! Oh, I know! I'll make my father pay for the salon fees! That way, I can go to the same salon with you again, Sara-chan! Since Father has been living in luxury anyway, paying for a hair salon shouldn't bother him at all.」

In truth, a cheap salon—or even a barber shop—would suit me fine. Even now, I still think a '1,000-yen plus tax' haircut is more than adequate. A poverty mindset isn't easily cured, but this is my father's money. I might as well spend it. (This, too, is a form of revenge.)

「Rei-chan, you've changed.」

「You have changed as well, Sara-chan.」

We looked at each other and laughed. After that, Sara-chan took her bath, changed into pajamas, and we commenced our pajama party. That said, we were both exhausted today, so we ended up turning in early. Yet even after I climbed into bed and Sara-chan settled into her futon, our chatter continued.

「Rei-chan, come to think of it, you didn't have Yoshida-sama accompany you today, did you? Did he have an important errand to attend to?」

「...I refused his accompaniment myself.」

「Why is that?」

「You remember how we all watched 'Sailor Suit and Machine Gun' the other day? Do you recall us talking about how wonderful Sakuma-sama from the Medaka Gang was in that movie?」

「Yes, of course I remember.」

「I was completely knocked off my feet by Sakuma-sama's mature charm. But once I realized that his mature charm was the exact same as Comrade Yoshio's, I started feeling utterly embarrassed whenever I thought about Comrade Yoshio. It was for such a silly reason that I turned down his escort.」

After a moment of silence, Sara-chan uttered words I could never have anticipated.

「...Rei-chan, that's love!」

「Love? No way! Are you suggesting that I've fallen in love with Comrade Yoshio?」

Sara-chan sat bolt upright, flicked on the light, and stared intently at my face.

「Yes, Rei-chan, you are in love with Yoshida-sama. After all, your face is bright red. And your eyes are so moist and alluring.」

I pressed my hands against my burning cheeks.

It was true that whenever I thought of Comrade Yoshio, my heart raced. I wanted to see him, yet I was too embarrassed to face him. And yet, I still wanted to see him.

(So this is love...)

I had fallen in love with Comrade Yoshio.

「But Comrade Yoshio has romantic experience with women, and he's been divorced before. He doesn't meet the criteria I usually look for, you know? Why am I so drawn to him? What am I supposed to do...?」

「No matter what anyone says, I will support you, Rei-chan! After all, Yoshida-sama is single. There's no problem whatsoever!」

「But there is a huge age gap between us. To him, I must look like nothing more than a child.」

「President Macron of France and his wife have a twenty-four-year age difference!」

With Sara-chan cheering me on, I began to feel as though an age difference didn't matter after all. Though, in our case, the gap between Comrade Yoshio and me was thirty-four years.

「You're right. An age difference doesn't matter at all. Besides, I'll be an adult in just a few years.」

We looked at each other and laughed. By the time we finally drifted off to sleep, it was past midnight. (In the Daiei drama 'Shojo ni Nani ga Okotta ka', Detective Kawamura would always interrupt the protagonist's piano practice at midnight shouting things like, 「Hey! You filthy Cinderella!」 That was certainly a bizarre show.)

After that, I spent my days quietly in my apartment until my cast could be removed. Partly because so much had happened recently that I was worn out, I mostly spent my time relaxing—reading manga and watching movies and dramas. Sara-chan came over to visit almost every day, so I was never lonely.

However, there was one major problem: Comrade Yoshio. As usual, Comrade Yoshio visited my apartment by himself. There was nothing different about him. The one who had changed was me. Today, as always, Comrade Yoshio brought over lunch boxes for us—Shokado bento from a famous traditional restaurant.

I sat across the table from Comrade Yoshio as we ate. It was no use—I was so embarrassed that I couldn't even handle my chopsticks properly! I had never been self-conscious around him before, but now that I was aware of my feelings, I couldn't help myself.

「Hmm? What's wrong? If it's difficult for you to eat, I can feed you. Don't be shy.」

I silently shook my head. (Having the person I like feed me... that's far too embarrassing!)

「What on earth is wrong? You've been acting strange lately—always falling silent like this. Has something new been bothering you?」

If you could call it a trouble, I suppose it was one. 'Comrade Yoshio, I've fallen in love with you'—there was no way I could say such a thing, so all I could do was shake my head again. (People who can act completely normal around the person they love are incredible! It's utterly impossible for me.)

Looking at me with gentle eyes as I sat there unable to speak, Comrade Yoshio began sharing memories of my mother. He was bragging about his love life. In the past, no matter what stories I heard, I wouldn't have given them a second thought, but now I found myself feeling jealous of my own mother. (Mother is so unfair! Being loved so deeply by Comrade Yoshio.)

「Comrade Yoshio, did you love not only my mother's heart, but her appearance as well?」

I gathered my courage and asked. Upon hearing my question, Comrade Yoshio closed his eyes as if recalling the past.

「Ah, Ruriko was adorable. At first, her inner personality didn't even matter—I became close to her simply because her looks were my exact type. Then, as we dated, she healed my wounded heart and became an irreplaceable woman to me.」

(What on earth?! His preference was my mother, the female Naked General?!)

「What was my mother's height and weight?」

Though slightly surprised by my sudden question, Comrade Yoshio answered.

「5.1 feet and 170 pounds.」

A height of 156 cm and a weight of 77 kg! I was astonished that Comrade Yoshio remembered so precisely. To fit Comrade Yoshio's taste, I would have to gain at least 30 kg! Even gaining 10 kg per month would take three full months. That meant I would need to increase my daily caloric intake by more than 2,300 kcal. In other words, I'd have to consume around 4,000 kcal worth of food and drink every single day.

I couldn't help but sigh heavily.

「What's wrong, Reiko?」

「N-Nothing at all! B-By the way, how has Mossad's Tanaka-san been since then? I've only been in contact with Attorney Tamaru. Has he gone crazy with grief?」

「I haven't been in touch with him either.」

「I wonder if he's all right... Tanaka-san took such good care of me. Thanks to him, I might even be able to become a matagi hunter.」

(Living in the mountains with Comrade Yoshio as matagi hunters... Just imagining it makes me blush! But it sounds so wonderful!)

「Reiko, what are you talking about?」

「It's nothing at all!」

Tomorrow, the cast on my arm will come off. The one on my leg will apparently take a little longer. Once the arm cast is removed tomorrow, I intend to visit my father once again. I've kept in touch with the Landlady ever since then. It seems she'll be discharged from the hospital soon, but she doesn't appear to be considering moving in with her son. She felt that since her son was already battling an illness and causing trouble for her daughter-in-law, she couldn't possibly burden them with taking care of her as well.

I intend to live with the Landlady. Having had her leg amputated, her daily life will surely be difficult. If she lives with me, I can at least handle the housework for her. I want to propose this to her, but she will undoubtedly refuse, claiming that we are strangers. That is why I decided to put a certain plan into action. I have already communicated the plan to Attorney Tamaru, and all the preparations are complete.

*****

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