Chapter 8:
Riko's home - I mean, Ami-san's home - was on the tenth floor of a magnificent high-end apartment. I thought about taking the stairs for my health, but I honestly took the elevator.
Nowadays, it's not unusual to find apartments with automatic locks, but my house was neither an automatic lock nor an apartment.
When I arrived in front of her room, the door opened before I could press the doorbell.
“Welcome. It's been a while."
The person who greeted me was not Riko, but Ami-san.
She didn't look much different from the old days. She didn't look like she was thirty-six. Instead, she looked like Riko's elder sister. Looking at her like this, Riko also resembles Ami-san. She's her aunt and niece, so it's not surprising that she looks like her.
Ami-san stared at me blankly, and then said, "You haven't changed much.”
"You haven't changed much too, Ami-san.”
“Oh, my gosh."
Ami-san smiled cheerfully.
“Come in.”
“Sorry for disturbing you.”
I took off my shoes at the entrance and walked down the hallway. It's a beautiful room. All of the furnishings are elegant. It's really harmonious.
In the living room, Riko was sitting on the sofa in her casual clothes. She was wearing a long white skirt and a pale yellow-green cardigan. It was a relaxed and calm outfit. While Ami-san was wearing a long T-shirt and pants.
“Hello.”
"Hello."
"Um, please, sit next to me."
Riko stood up and moved to the edge of the room, indicating the vacant spot with her hand.
I sat down on the leather - or maybe synthetic leather - sofa. On the right half side of my body, I felt warm, probably because Riko was sitting on it earlier. When I turned to my right, I saw Riko's well-formed face at a short distance. She turned to her left, and our eyes met. Somewhat awkwardly, I tried to look away, but before I could, Riko hurriedly looked away. I noticed that her white cheeks seemed to be slightly tinged with vermilion. Maybe she was a shy girl.
Soon, hot tea in a teacup was placed on a short glass table. Ami-san brought a chair across from the table and sat down on it.
“The last time we saw each other was when Kazuma-kun was in first grade, right?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
“It was a few days before you broke up with Yuka. ...I missed you.”
Ami-san sipped her tea and squinted into the distance. Maybe she was thinking back on the past.
It was seventeen years ago, but I remembered it as vividly as if it had just happened the other day. The fun, the pain, the sadness, all of them have faded with time, but why do I remember them so clearly?
“Did you hear about Yuka's disappearance?”
“...yes.”
“It's terrible, isn't it? After she disappeared, Yuka contacted me and said, "Take care of Riko," but that was it. ...No matter how much I tried to get in contact with her, she never replied.”
“Do you know where Yuka is now and what she's doing?”
"Ugh, I don't know."
Ami-san shook her head in disgust.
“If she was dead or k idnapped, she would have been contacted by the appropriate authorities, so I'm sure she's probably making lov e somewhere and living happily somewhere.”
The tone of her voice was dismissive. I can almost imagine what Ami-san thinks of Yuka. She is beyond disgusted with her sister, and she no longer cares about her. The only thing that matters to her - is her niece Riko.
Meanwhile, Riko was drinking tea in silence. I looked at her and saw that her face was surprisingly expressionless. She may be expressionless, but I know that doesn't mean she's emotionless.
“I used to love my mother a lot.”
I wonder how she feels now. Does Riko still love her mother? Does the high school-aged Riko still love Yuka, her own mother who vi olated her and abandoned her? Or is she just as disappointed as her aunt?
If I were in Riko's position, I'm sure I'd hate my mother. I would hate her very, very much. Naturally, that's what Yuka had done.
"Let's forget about my mother."
After saying that, Riko blatantly changed the subject.
"By the way, do you have a girlfriend, Asakura-san?"
I wondered if she had been too careless with her words. Ami-san seemed to be thinking the same thing, and she had a bitter look on her face. I guess she doesn't want to remember or talk about her parents. The wound in my heart that hadn't fully healed was throbbing in pain.
And maybe I haven't fully healed my wounds, either.
“Asakura-san?"
"Oh, yes, ...sorry. I don’t have a girlfriend.
“Really?"
Riko's expression seemed to brighten just a little. No, it was probably my imagination.
"Wow, that's surprising. You seem like a popular guy," Ami said. "Oh, maybe you just got dumped?"
Why are you assuming that I was dumped?
“No, I haven't had a girlfriend in almost two years.”
“Are you not popular ?"
“Hmm, I don't know…?”
I chuckled. Well, I'm not popular, but I'm not totally unpopular either. I don't know what the average or median is, so I don't know exactly where I stand.
“First of all, I don't meet many girls.”
“Are there any girls at your workplace?”
“Yes, but I'm a little hesitant about d ating within the company...”
“Hmmm, if you break up, it's going to be tough.”
“Yes.”
“So, would you mind going out with me?”
When Ami-san said this with a devilish smile on her face, Riko was taken aback.
"Hey, Ami-san!”
"Of course, it's a joke." She laughed happily, making fun of her niece.
Of course, I knew she was joking, but for a moment I was also nervous. Going out with my ex-girlfrien d's sister - it's rare, but I suppose there are cases like that. I tried to imagine myself going out with Ami-san, but I couldn't imagine it going well.
"You're not going out with her, are you…?”
"Hahaha..."
I thought it would be rude to strongly deny that it was impossible, so I tried to play it off with an easygoing smile. "Ah, Umm, how about you go out with Riko?"
Once again, Ami-san teased her niece. Surprisingly, Riko started to fluster and fidget next to me.
The world is an endlessly wide place, and there are probably many cases of people dating their ex-girlfrien ds' daughters. For a moment, I tried to imagine myself going out with Riko, but then I stopped. It seemed like a very bad idea.
"No, it's impossible..."
This time, I denied it out loud. I thought it would be rude not to deny it.
"...Right?"
I laughed and looked to the side to see Riko smiling a little sadly. Before I could question her about it, she turned her 100 percent pure smile towards me.
But Riko didn't say anything.
...To be continued!
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Translator Corner:
Thanks for reading my translation works.