Konbini Ossan Volume 7 Chapter 34 — My Former Self
The following day, Suzuno departed for Waynesvale.
She wouldn’t be using a shared carriage, but instead would be riding along in one of Otsugi Transport’s delivery vehicles.
Given her current state, Suzuno’s appearance was quite shabby. If she boarded a shared carriage like that, there was a real chance she’d get caught up in some kind of trouble.
Until she was able to find work again in Waynesvale, I intended to make sure she was properly looked after.
After that, I told Arisa everything that had happened.
Since Suzuno had once been her friend, it must have been on her mind. When she learned that things had been resolved without incident, she looked relieved.
“Looks like Misa really can start over. That’s good.”
“Were you worried about your friend after all?”
“Yeah… well, that’s part of it.”
Arisa spoke with a complicated expression.
“I kept thinking… maybe I could’ve ended up like Misa too.”
“You, Arisa?”
“Yeah. If you hadn’t been there for me. If you hadn’t helped me back then… I couldn’t help but feel it wasn’t someone else’s problem.”
She was right.
Arisa, too, had been left completely on her own. If I hadn’t happened to notice her back then, she would’ve been pushed into a far harsher situation.
“So seeing the things Misa did, the parts where she messed up… they overlapped with who I used to be. That’s why it kept bothering me.”
“I see. Then I guess helping her really was the right call.”
“Yeah. I mean, if she’d just stayed poor, suffered, and died like that… it would’ve left a bad taste.”
In the end, Arisa’s lingering worries had been resolved as well. You could call it killing two birds with one stone.
“And it also made me realize again how lucky I am.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’ve been protected by you this whole time, cherished by you. I mean, sure, you’ve got way too many wives besides me now, but I know you really love me.”
“But that’s something you earned by working hard yourself.”
When I said that, Arisa shook her head.
“You’re the one who gave me the chance to work hard. Because I met you when I was little.
…
That connection, little by little, became the reason I fixed what was wrong with me. I wanted to stay with you, so I could keep trying.”
After saying that, Arisa stepped closer and kissed me on the cheek.
“Thanks, Yūichi. And… let’s keep going together from here on out.”
Smiling, I replied.
“Yeah. Likewise.”
I wrapped my arms around Arisa and returned the kiss.
As Arisa said, she really was fortunate.
By chance, she met me. She gained the opportunity to change, and she truly did change.
Even taking that chance encounter into account, I believe that who Arisa is now is the result of her own efforts.
And just as Arisa was fortunate, so was I.
Because I met Arisa, I can hold the person I love in my arms like this today. I believe that every hardship up to now was something I could overcome precisely because I met her.
If we had never met, maybe both Arisa and I would have made some irreparable mistake somewhere along the way, just like Suzuno.
That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to abandon her.
Somewhere in my heart, I felt that if just one gear in her life had turned differently, Suzuno might never have ended up that way.
And just as Suzuno took her first step toward starting over today, Arisa and I met, and through countless twists of fate, began walking together as a pair.
It feels miraculous, and utterly irreplaceable, all over again.
From here on out, together with Arisa.
We’ll keep walking toward the future, side by side.
I believe that, deeply.
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E/N:
Very heartwarming! Serendipitous!
Stay tuned!
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