Chapter 114 - Kazamachi Household’s Struggle (3) (1/2)

“So, what was that thing the neighborhood association’s president’s wife talked about?”

I asked my dad.

We’re taking a break after lunch.

Shouhei headed off to wash the pots and pans, while Yuri-san and Rouge were taken away by the other kids.

Jaja and Nana, who had their bellies full of milk, were napping comfortably under a thin blanket with Aoi.

Aoi, Nana, and Jaja were sleeping side by side, and I was sitting next to Jaja, smiling and being comforted by the sleeping faces of the twins.

Aoi, who should have been awake a while ago, seemed to have fallen asleep while she was putting her hand on Nana’s stomach.

That felt good, didn’t it? I could understand how Aoi felt when she fell asleep.

Why is a baby’s stomach so exquisitely soft and pleasantly warm?

“You didn’t forget about it even though you’re an idiot.”

My dad responded with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“Will you stop calling your own son an idiot without hesitation? Do you know that your eldest son is hurting more than you think?”

“Haha, no way.”

I am, idiot!

Why are you trying to make light of this?

My dad, who had been lying next to the wall, got up and scratched his cheek.

“Hm, is Aoi-chan asleep?”

“Oh, should I wake her up?”

If I’m going to be shocked, then it must be a big deal, right?

Aoi and I are the ones involved, so we should know.

“No, let her sleep. That’s what I said earlier. It’s probably more hurtful to Aoi than you. Well, there’s nothing she can do about it.”

“What? I don’t see what you’re getting to at all.”

Is this a complaint or a grievance?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I don’t know about me, but I’m sure Aoi is doing her best.

That’s what Aoi, who is concerned with her position as the wife of the Kazmachi family, is going through in this shelter life as well.

When she helped other mothers, she was praised for being a great wife, which made her very happy, and she takes the initiative to go here and there to help whenever she can.

If I do my best, the neighbors will trust the Kazamachi family!

She said with much fervor.

I’m sure that of all the young girls in this shelter, Aoi is the one who works harder than anyone else.

“… ah. Is it something to do with Aoi?”

“No, no. Aoi’s popularity here is increasing day by day. From the very young to the very old, men and women of all ages love Aoi-chan.”

Huh?

“Then what?”

“It’s you. The person who’s probably the most worried about that is Aoi-chan.”

What’s that?

“I’m not bragging, but I’m so used to people talking behind my back that I’m fine with it after a night’s sleep. I’m sure Aoi knows that, so she wouldn’t be heartbroken by my bad reputation.”

I’ve experienced criticism due to untrue rumors and unwelcoming treatment from my bad reputation countless number of times.

I’ll feel down the day I hear it, but I’ll bounce back the next day.

I don’t want to hear it as much as possible, though, because I’ll still be depressed!

“I’m not really proud of it, it’s embarrassing.”

Hey, don’t let out that deep sigh.

It’s real, I know.

“Ah… this is our fault too.”

My dad scratched his head and looked at Aoi and the twins.

“Aoi’s setting, huh? It wasn’t really that detailed, was it?”

Setting?

”Yeah, I’ve told people around us that she’s a child of the demon race and related to Rouge-chan, and we just glossed over the rest of it. Well, it was because if I went into too much detail, it would get exposed when confronted.”

That’s because they’re hiding the fact that they’re dragons.

I’m glad they haven’t been prying too deeply into it.

Aoi herself is careless in some ways, so there’s a chance she’ll do something careless if she’s grilled too much.

I heard that she used to go out a few times a year when she lived at Tusk Crag, and it would be tricky if her face was remembered at that time.

Then let’s just decide on the general framework, and the rest is the result of consulting with Shouhei and Mikuma.

“What about it? Did I do something wrong?”

That would be unpleasant.

I thought about it in an idiotic way, and I was proud of myself for having gotten away with it so well.

“Nope. The problem is the part you glossed over.”

“Huh?”

My dad picked up a paper cup next to the wall and drank the tea inside in a single breath.

While I’m waiting for it, I was trying my best to digest the talk and understand it.

‘You know what? No matter how idyllic the atmosphere is around here, it’s still a rural area with little entertainment. Think about it. A family moved in a hurry in the spring to a small country town, a young mother with babies, and twins, too. Furthermore, the eldest son is a Yankee-looking high school student. And they are a motherless family. At first, Aoi-chan didn’t go out much, either. They’ve all had a lot of suspicions about it until now.”