CH 17

I'm the only one who knows that this beautiful girl, who is feared to be the worst delinquent in the school, is actually just a clumsy and lonely person ①

Translated by Hikaru

Edited by VampireKnight

Let’s talk a little about the past. I was once in the care of the Miyakojima family―.

◆

The Nishinari family’s finances were on fire all year round, but in fact, my parents had only ever tried to divorce once before. It seems that useless people feel comfortable in the company of useless people, and although they lived a sloppy life together, they seemed to be on the same page with each other.

But when I was ten years old. There was a divorce turmoil once. Something happened, and my father and mother tried to blame each other for their poverty. The argument intensified to a degree that was unusual in the Nishinari family, and my mother finally decided to run away from home. At that time, I was forcibly taken away by her.

Even though she ran away from home, she had nowhere to go because she had already been disowned by her parents. So, instead of going to her parent’s house, she went to a relative’s house.

That was ― the Miyakojima family.

I later found out that my maternal grandmother was a daughter of the Miyakojima family. However, like my mother, my grandmother lived a self-degrading life and never took over the Miyakojima family, and was eventually disowned.

But my mother insisted saying, “It was my mother who was disowned, not me!!” and forcefully became a guest of the Miyakojima family. Surprisingly, this strategy was successful.

Thus, at the age of ten, I was suddenly taken into a luxurious, Japanese-style mansion that I had never seen before, and was welcomed as a guest of the Miyakojima family.

However, it was an uninvited guest. It was obvious that the Miyakojima family saw my mother as a nuisance, and so was I, her son. I can still remember the cold stares I received at that time.

I was on my second day of living in the Miyakojima household when I met Naruka Miyakojima.

“Who are you!?”

The girl was swinging a bamboo sword in the dojo, and I was so curious that I approached her and got yelled at by her.

“I’m Itsuki Nishinari. I’ve been here since yesterday, and I’m very grateful for your help.”

I didn’t know the slightest thing about etiquette, but I thought I greeted the girl in my own polite way. But the girl lifted her eyes.

“Listen, Itsuki! I don’t like anything that hurts!”

“Yes.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you from my family! You guys don’t do any work, you just eat.”

“……yes.”

I was shocked to hear such a thing from a person of the opposite sex of my age. But it’s true.

“So I’m giving you a job! You’re going to take care of me from now on!!”

“……yes?”

I tilted my head at the girl who said it so proudly. I’m not sure what she’s looking after but… in any case, I’m a guest. If I’m given a job, I have no choice but to accept it.

Since then, I’ve been by the girl’s side most of the time during my stay with the Miyakojima family. The girl called me more than ten times a day.

“Whoa!? Itsuki! There’s a bug in my room!?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll take care of it.”

Insects in the room were an everyday occurrence in our house, so I easily chased the shiny black thing out of the room.

“Whoaaaah? Itsuki! My father’s upset!?”

“Yes, yes, it has been tough on you.”

I stroked the crying girl’s head to calm her down. The girl’s father was staring at me furiously, I wanted to cry more than she did.

“Itsuki is… stronger than me.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh. Because, unlike me, you don’t cry when you see bugs, and you don’t mind when adults get mad at you.”

There were days when things were crazy, and there were days when the girl would occasionally let out a whine. Now that I think about it, I’m sure she wanted someone like that as a partner. As the only daughter of the Miyakojima family, she had no one to whom she could confide her weaknesses.

The girl was strong, but her strength was physical, not mental. For example, her kendo skills were said to be as good as an adult’s at the age of ten. However, her mind was not appropriate for her age……, but less than that.

“Hey, Itsuki. As a woman of Miyakojima… I want to be strong.”

The girl spoke to me with a sorrowful expression on her face.

“But I have no courage.”

“No courage?”

“Oh. I can’t even go outside by myself…… even though I  already grow up.”

From what I heard, she has been forced to live a sheltered life as the daughter of the Miyakojima family. She has been taught from a young age that anything outside the house is a dangerous place, and she has come to fear anything outside the house. However, when she was driving to school the other day, she saw her classmates going to school alone without a care in the world, and she felt envious of them.

“Well, do you want to come out with me to try it out?”

“……e?”

“I think it’s okay if it’s only for a short while.”

Living in an ordinary household, I was used to the outside world. With that in mind, I took the girl’s hand and ran out of the house.

“It’s amazing!”

The girl was excited. It was the first time she had been outside alone, without an adult.

“Oh, my God! Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God! I’m―I’m free!!”

On a mere street, a girl was walking with her arms outstretched as if she were in a field of flowers.

“Hey, Itsuki! What is that!?”

“It’s a sweets store. Do you want to come in?”

“Ah!”

Fortunately, I had a few coins, so I bought the girl some sweets. To be honest, I didn’t feel comfortable in the mansion with all the cold stares of the servants, so I was more than happy to be outside.

“Itsuki, what is this!?”

“It’s a candy stick.”

The girl ate the stick-shaped sweets with a curious look on her face.

“Good!”

“It’s a good stick.”

The game of taking the girl out continued for a few more days. We were told that her father would be furious if he found out, so we kept sneaking out of the mansion without being seen by the servants and spending only a short time outside so as not to look suspicious.

Eventually, however, our game was discovered. I was severely scolded by the girl’s father.

“How will you take responsibility if something happens to Naruka!! I won’t tolerate you seducing my daughter, even if you’re a child!! Get out of here now!!”

I didn’t understand it at the time, but I knew that I shouldn’t have taken the daughter of the Miyakojima family out of the house so easily.

My mother and I were expelled from the Miyakojima household as we were responsible for endangering the girl. I guess they had already planned to expel us soon. The servants quickly packed up our belongings, and my mother and I were easily driven out of the house.

“Itsuki!!”

As I was leaving, a girl shouted my name with tears streaming down her face.

“I’m going to be strong for sureー!!”

Those were the last words I heard from the girl.

◆

That girl is Naruka Miyakojima, the schoolgirl in front of you. In other words, me and Naruka Miyakojima were ― cousins.

“Itsuki! Itsuki, Itsuki, Itsuki!! I’ve missed you so much!!”

“… yes yes.”

I casually look around while patting Naruka’s head as she hugs me. Fortunately, there was no one else in the hallway but us. If anyone saw us in this scene, it would be the end. I would be accused of sexual harassment on the second day of my transfer.

“Naruka, calm down for now. What if someone sees us like this?”

“Uh, uh… this, I’m so weak…”

“What?”

Naruka squats down while clinging to my body.

“I was so happy, I lost my nerve…!”

Naruka says with tears streaming down her face.

This isn’t…… getting stronger at all.