Konbini Ossan Volume 12 Chapter 14 — “I’m Home”
We rode in an Otogi Trading Company transport vehicle, traveling the long road home.
There was not much conversation. But the journey back with Shirley was enjoyable.
When we arrived home, the first to greet us was Maria. The other wives all seemed to be out working or handling errands.
“Welcome home, Yūichi-sama.”
I nodded and thanked Maria.
“I’m home, Maria. Thanks for always greeting me when I return.”
Perhaps surprised by the change in how I acted, Maria widened her eyes for a brief moment.
But she quickly smiled and nodded back.
“Now then. Rather than reporting the results of your journey to everyone right away, you should first soak in the bath and ease your fatigue. The bathhouse is already prepared.”
“You’re always so thoughtful, Maria.”
“I’m only doing what’s natural.”
After lightly embracing the smiling Maria, I entered the house.
As I slowly soaked in the bath, hurried footsteps approached.
“Papa, I’ll wash your back!”
“Papa, I want to wash your back too!”
Tio and Tiana noisily burst into the bathhouse.
“Welcome back, Tio. Tiana. Finished with work already?”
When I asked, the two looked at each other before tilting their heads.
“We hurried and finished our work because Papa was coming home.”
“More importantly, Papa... you seem a little different than usual?”
Asked that, I let out a bitter smile.
Apparently, I had been worse at gauging the distance between myself and my family than I realized.
“Yeah, that’s right. I started wanting to become even closer with my family... and with the other people important to me.”
“I already love youthough, Papa?”
“Me too. Even then, we can still get closer?”
I climbed out of the bath and patted both of their heads.
“That’s right. There’s no limit to how close you can become, or how much you can care about someone.”
At those words, both of them smiled brightly.
“Then I want to get even closer too!”
“If I wash your back, will we get even closer?”
“Yeah, we will. And I’ll wash both of your backs too.”
And so, the three of us enjoyed our bath together.
That night, Arisa and I sat together on the veranda outside our room, casually drinking while using the night sky as company.
It was a traditional liquor made by one of the tribes living within the Great Forest Autonomous Region. Apparently it was brewed using bamboo, giving it a unique aroma and an excellent taste.
“Yūichi. You stopped using polite speech, huh?”
Arisa asked, and I nodded.
“I guess I realized that understanding each other is difficult.”
I thought of Shirley and her parents, who had suffered because of such small misunderstandings.
“So using formal speech just to keep distance between people started feeling stupid.”
That was not the entire reason, but it was certainly one of the biggest.
I didn’t want misunderstandings between myself and the people precious to me, my family and my friends. That was why I felt I should stop using ways of speaking that created distance.
“Yeah. That makes sense.”
Whether she understood what I was thinking or not, Arisa only said that much before gazing up at the night sky.
Sometimes words are necessary, and sometimes they only get in the way.
Understanding one another is probably something very difficult for people.
Even so, I don’t think it’s impossible.
When I look at Arisa beside me, gazing at the same night sky, I somehow feel that way.
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E/N:
So sweet! Wish my Dad was this close to us!… Ahem!
And that brings us to end Volume 12! What's next?! I'm definitely looking forward to it, are you?
Stay tuned!
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