Two weeks later.
“Only those with immediate blood ties can be called family, right?” Mrs. Tomoda said. “Friends? Companions? While these relationships are also very close, when it comes down to it, there is no reason why they must live together, is there?”
“What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly ask me that?” Mrs. Tomoda lifted her teacup with both hands and looked at the youth sitting bolt upright in front of her, dressed in tattered clothes.
In his exceptionally clear and empty pupils, there seemed to be a world that no one else could see.
As they grew familiar with each other, she had gradually come to understand that he was a simple and kind-hearted child. Although she didn’t say it, Mrs. Tomoda felt a great deal of love and pity for him in her heart.
The person who was usually silent and reticent had suddenly asked her a strange question today, and she could sense that this question had likely been bothering him for a long time.
He was asking her how to become family.
“So that is why she called me… a friend?”
Mrs. Tomoda felt a degree of understanding, but she wasn’t in a hurry to answer, merely remaining non-committal and silent.
There was an unfathomable layer in Yoriichi’s eyes. It was hard to guess his true thoughts from his expression; it wasn’t that he was deep to be accurate, he was perhaps just not good at expressing himself.
“Why is Ya allowed to be… a relative?” He looked extremely disappointed, resting his hands on the ground, bowing his head and murmuring.
Mrs. Tomoda finally realized that while he seemed intelligent, in some aspects, he was surprisingly obtuse! Such a simple truth… She spoke slowly.
“Are you asking this because you want to live with someone?”
He nodded.
“Then for how long do you hope that will be?” Mrs. Tomoda smiled. “Don’t worry, after all, when you look at the same face day after day, won’t there be a day when you get tired of it? Perhaps one day, you might suddenly get the thought that it wouldn’t be bad to change to a ‘better’ family member.”
“That will not happen. I hope it is forever.” There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his tone.
Mrs. Tomoda looked at him, her expression becoming serious once she realized he was saying this from the bottom of his heart.
She set down her teacup. “But even family members with blood ties don’t have a reason to be together forever, do they? Humans embark on their own journeys from the moment they are born; we are born lonely. At first, there is the company of family, but in the end, we will be alone once we are separated from the family.”
Mrs. Tomoda thought of something, and her demeanor and tone deepened. “Humans! We naturally start searching, spending our whole lives searching… for someone who can walk the same journey.”
Under Mrs. Tomoda’s description, Tsugikuni Yoriichi slowly raised his head. He listened earnestly. These simple and plain truths had never been told to him by anyone before, causing the muddled places in his heart to gradually become clear. In his own right, he was a bright child.
“I see. I already know the answer.” A faint smile appeared on his face, one without discouragement or failure. “Since that is the case, it is natural that I cannot be acknowledged, after all, he is such an important character.”
He paused, his tone shifting from bewildered to calm and composed. “Even if I cannot become that kind of person, I will protect Megumi until ‘he’ appears. Perhaps that is the reason for my existence.”
Mrs. Tomoda was stunned, looking at him; this was a completely unexpected answer.
His smile was very warm, so warm it almost made one want to tear up. Clearly, this was by no means a polite or hypocritical lie of an adult, but his true inner thought.
This—it had already completely transcended the realm of most mortals; it could even be called a state of mind of insight and enlightenment.
How difficult this was could be understood just by looking at Ya’s behavior after Yoriichi appeared.
Did this child not grow even a shred of the selfishness that belonged to humans?
Thinking this, her expression involuntarily became dazed and complex. “You…”
At the same time, on the other side.
Under Ya’s pestering, Yoriichi had gone to Mrs. Tomoda’s house alone again today. I was a little worried; I hadn’t forgotten that he seemed to have social anxiety, although Yoriichi didn’t look like he was struggling, he had always been someone who could endure!
To tell you the truth, I also felt a trace of restless annoyance toward Ya.
I don’t know why this was; it was fine at first, but lately, I found it increasingly unbearable.
However! I clenched my fists inside, cheering on my own patience—after the work was finished in the next two days, he would have no reason to keep coming over!
Finally, I could…
A figure appeared in my mind, and Ya happened to bring him up. “Megumi, why on earth are you keeping that sissy with the strange earrings?”
I was peeling beans, lazily shooting him a glare. “Yoriichi has never once spoken ill of you in front of me.”
He rubbed his nose sheepishly. “Fine, why are you keeping him? You should be cautious about someone with an unknown background, right? Is it because he’s good-looking?”
“Didn’t you say he was ugly before?”
Ya was choked up. “Uh, if you look closely, he’s actually fine. At first, I really didn’t like his style.”
Was that the reason?
My hand movements slowed down. Why did I keep Yoriichi… it was entirely by accident, wasn’t it? Originally, it was just out of sympathy, wanting to send this youth with an eye condition home. Later, when I found out that ghosts existed in this world and that he was the only person who could fight them, wouldn’t anyone want to keep him for protection?
As a result, because my hand was injured, he took the initiative to stay. How could one explain that it was just a coincidence of luck, and that he seemed to be the type of person who couldn’t refuse others’ requests… How was I supposed to say these reasons out loud!
If I just mentioned the ghosts, he would definitely laugh at me!
Thus, I answered with the most pragmatic reason: “I’ve been saving money to go to town to do a little business. With him here, I’ll be a lot safer, and there will be someone to help share the housework…”
Before I could finish, Ya became anxious and interrupted me. “Then aren’t I even better! Everything you said, I can do! I’m stronger than him, and I can do more work!”
Me: …
What kind of free-labor recruitment war is this! There were too many things to complain about, and I was too lazy to even start.
I dropped the beans into the bowl, appearing to say it casually. “Ya, you’ve already helped me a lot. Any more and I won’t be able to repay you.” I looked up at him. “Do you understand?”
“I don’t care.”
“I care.”
“Then, aren’t you afraid of owing him a favor?”
“Yoriichi is different,” I said without thinking.
“How is he different!”
“That’s, of course, because…” I said, and couldn’t help but freeze. That’s right, how was he different? I lowered my head and fell into thought. Come to think of it, I really seemed to have never thought about this question.
Why, unlike Ya, did I have a feeling of ease and naturalness when using him?