Chapter 111What I've Seen
"—No, it's not just a cover for her, hence. There's nothing wrong with that, absolutely nothing."
"...Eh?"
"Eh...?"
All eyes were on the boy who again stated it firmly. The boy stated it as if it was a natural thing. The three of them were curious as to what he meant and asked him to continue his statement.
"She was jealous that Yuri-senpai snatched her beloved big bro, so she started workin g part-time to escape the awkward atmosphere — I'm just saying, is there anything wrong with this motive? Isn't it a natural thing? The fact that you two started dating and ignored your little sis, and the fact that the little sis is trying to get away from her big bro because of that, both of those things are normal in this world."
"But..., it has nothing to do with our feelings."
"Th-That's right. We care about you, Mina-san."
"Senpai, how old do you think Ichinose-san is now?"
"Eh...?"
His voice was somewhat displeased. Mina already knew about this. Although they could not understand her true intentions, that voice was something that had changed the direction she had taken in the past. Had it not been for that voice, she might still be off course wherever she was. However, it still scared her.
"She's already a high school student. Doesn't Ichinose-san have the right to be an adult?"
"A-Adult...?"
"How could she work so hard just to run away? No matter if her beloved big bro was taken away from her, no matter if it was driven by jealousy, Ichinose-san tried to restrain herself and motivate herself, no matter how difficult it was for her who was not good at it, she took this path to approve the relationship between you two in the proper sense. Do you guys intend to deprive Ichinose-san of that opportunity?"
"I-I didn't mean that way..."
"Senpai..., I really can't ask you, her big bro to stay away from her. However, I think it's wrong to assume that it's "natural for a big bro to always be by his little sis' side." Even if you, the big bro leave his little sis..., can't we all laugh together again...? Of course, I don't think so."
"..."
Those words pierced Mina's heart. She was also aware of that. It was selfish to think that her beloved big bro should always be by her side.
But she still could not accept that. Thus, even though she knew she was wrong, she turned away from reality and started working part-time. How could Wataru, who stood beside her as her ally, not realize that at this moment? If she was wrong, she should be corrected, why is Wataru doing this? What on Earth...?
"From my perspective, as her senpai at her part-time job..., ...I think it is indeed too early to decide Ichinose-san's future here and now. For the sake of her bright future, I think Ichinose-san should wait until she can explain in her own words what she wants to do."
"..."
A compromise. Wataru, who was only a third party, proposed a compromise. At the very least, his last words were like a shoulder to lean on and a shoulder not to lean on. In short, he threw those words down the drain. Because that's the way it should be. In the first place, if she just quit, the second-hand bookstore would also have a hard time finding a new part-time worker.
The two senpai-s were able to digest the meaning of those words. They finally thought that this situation might not be just a childish quarrel.
"Mina is trying to be an adult". At the very least, these words were powerful and meaningful. Both to her big bro and to his girlfriend who wanted to be a big sis figure to her boyfriend's little sis.
♦
"Mina, let's go home today. Yuri-chan, forgive me for making you come all the way here, okay?"
"No, it's okay."
The two of them slowly leaned on each other, and walked side by side. Mina did not want to follow the two of them. Besides, there were still things on her mind.
"...J-Just go home first."
"Eh...?"
As she told them to go home first, her big bro looked back sadly. Seeing this, Mina felt a stabbing pain in her chest. But not as much as before. Because she knew that her big bro had someone who would support him even when he felt sad.
Her big bro was already standing at the end of the line of sight. The girl pulled her big bro's arm and headed for the stairs as if she had guessed what Mina meant. She also had something on her mind. Mina felt grateful to her for asking her big bro to leave without hesitation.
"...Well, I don't think you can follow them."
"Ugh... ...Yeah."
She did not catch up with them for two reasons. First, she did not want to disturb both of them and second, she wanted to ask the questions that had been piling up in her heart to the boy sitting beside her with a tired look on his face.
He didn't ask why Mina was staying here. Come to think of it, he seemed to be sensitive to small things and understood her true intentions when Mina was confused. She doesn't know if it was because of their relationship in their part-time job or not. However, why didn't he blame her when he could see the guilt raging in her heart?
"U-Um..."
"Yeah?"
"Why...?"
She was curious why the boy was on her side.
She was wrong in this case, she was sure of it. Even though she had guilt, she didn't dare to speak up and she could only threaten them like a small animal. Usually, she would follow her big bro's words and accept his scolding.
Not all of Sajou Wataru's words represented what Mina wanted to say. She had never thought about how she congratulated the two of them in the true sense. Instead, she was curious about where she should go after working part-time and running away from her big bro and his girlfriend. It seemed that he had picked up a new card that wasn't in her hand, and it seemed to be a guiding light for her.
"I-I... ...I must have made a mistake, right?"
"No, because we're not working part-time right now. I don't care if you're right or wrong. It's fine as long as you know what you've done, right?"
"Eh...?"
It was none of his business if she made a mistake. She was surprised because she didn't expect him to listen to what she wanted to say. She couldn't believe that those were the words of a boy who had given her constant warnings while she was working part-time. She was curious as to what was going on, and his eyes implied just that.
"As I said just now, I've been thinking about this since we came here. In my opinion, it's only natural that a big bro who already has a girlfriend and his little sis breaks away from him. So I think I'll make my decision based on what I've seen as your senpai at your part-time job."
What did he see? What exactly? Was it the fact that the day she joined the part-time job, she had already caused a lot of trouble due to her incompetence, made herself look like a fool, and dragged him into all this mess, until finally he got to his current point?
"The words that came out of this fool's mouth earlier were just nonsense. I managed to persuade him and make time for you. Of course, I only said what I thought was right, but that's not what I wanted to say."
If that was the case, what was it? Deep down in Ichinose Mina's heart, the "hope" that she had already dismissed, surfaced again. At the same time, she felt scared to know what would happen next, yet she desperately wanted to know that. The true feelings of her senpai at her part-time job, who thought she was not good at some things, but whom she relied on in the end.
"Ichinose-san came to this second-hand bookstore to "continue your part-time job well", right? Even I was surprised when I didn't know that... ...but now that I know that, Ichinose-san's every move, makes me realize Ichinose-san's every action. And I feel that it has a certain weight."
Impossible.
She never thought that he would think so. She still felt like there was a disturbance. She thought that she was being fooled in her heart. She didn't expect him to think about her comfort like that.
"Senpai came to the bookstore to take Ichinose-san back. I did tell you that you should quit your part-time job. Perhaps it was the right thing to do. In that case, why did Ichinose-san work so hard at this second-hand bookstore all this time? You know what I mean, don't you?"
"Oh..."
That's right, if she accepted her big bro's sweet words from that conversation, everything she had done would be in vain. If she felt like being spoiled, she would go back to the way she was before. She would still be troubled, and the relationship between her big bro and his girlfriend would also continue.
"You feel like getting angry. You should apologize. You've been scolded. Although things weren't always pleasant, Ichinose-san was able to make eye contact with customers and give me some advice from time to time. I've been watching you from beside me. Ichinose-san must have worked hard all this time."
"Oh."
The boy continued his story. He said that he only interrupted their conversation because he disagreed. He said that he gave in to her emotions and stood by her side to claim her identity as "Ichinose Mina". The past month had not been wasted.
He didn't want to lose the kouhai he had been watching over in this way so easily.
"There's no way I can accept that if it's all going to be for nothing, right?"
After all, the boy had made her cry once again.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
Support Us: https://ko-fi.com/ninjacross
Donations are very much appreciated.
Read in other languages: