Chapter 88 - Volume 5 (2/2)

“How mean! I ran dozens of kilometers here, but I worried so much after getting that strange e-mail that I endured it.”

Onzada-kun laughed mischievously, and then rubbed his sweaty chest into my face. I’ll remember this later.

“Yuzu, did your phone run out of power? I couldn’t call you.”

said Onzada-kun, finally releasing me after a while.

“Ah, now that I think about it, it got taken by my kidnappers.”

“Haa? Are you serious about the kidnapping!?”

“Un, yeah. Well, it’s okay anyway, since I got away. Isn’t the conclusion alright?”

“Yuzu sure is relaxed about this…… I’ll lend you my phone later, so please contact your house. Your parents are going to be incredibly worried.”

“……uuu.”

As I ducked away thinking of my family’s faces, Onzada-kun patted my head with a *ponpon*.

“From now on, if you are in danger, call me right away, okay? I’m going to get stronger from now on…… to protect Yuzu.”

“……uun.”

Something was set alight inside of me as I heard Onzada-kun’s words……… I watched as a thin, translucent chain stretched out of my hand, and connected to the heart of Onzada-kun.

…… What’s this.

＊＊＊

When I returned home, I was scolded while crying tears of worry.

As they told me later that it seems that my situation was just one step away from them contacting the police and turning this accident into an incident.

For some reason Ouji-kun’s Niku family was contacted, and they were pressured to pressure the central government to move. …… why did the Niku family help?

Also, the Kuon family didn’t appear at all through this incident. On the contrary, they even concluded that there had been no mass murder at all inside of that abandoned school.

…… did the “country” change things behind the scenes?

After that, I was grounded at home for more than a month. Although I wasn’t grounded from school, I mostly I went to the hospital for physical examinations and the psychiatric department. It was natural because a child had been kidnapped, but of course I felt nothing.

Doing all that took about a month?

And as the month passed like that, several more months passed while I got frustrated organizing my memories until, one day,

“Yuzu, I’d like to have a word with you, so come to Father’s study, okay?”

“……hmm? Yes~.”

I replied at once, and then followed Mother to Father’s study.

What did they want to talk about? Was it about the kidnapping? But since Grandpa Kuon was admitted into the hospital and was insensate, I didn’t think they’d make any progress.

…… Was my identity revealed? Nah, I don’t think that was it.

“Father, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Ohh, you’re here. Yuzu, come sit.”

My father was in the office, and my mother sat down with me on the sofa.

“A formal apology has come from the new head of the Kuon family. Yuzu doesn’t need to know the details of it. I don’t want you to tell Kouki-kun about this, so I’d like you to not worry about the subject. Is that alright?”

“Mmm.”

I have no issues since I don’t want to cause Kouki-kun to be awkward around me.

“And…… regarding that ramen shop in the shopping district……”

“………eh?”

“Wait, wait, it’s not a bad thing. The two of them have been officially adopted by the shopkeeper, Mr. Iino, and they will take over his shop. After he hands over the shop, he intends to retire to the countryside.”

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

Will dad-chan become the new shopkeeper? It’s good that Misa and dad-chan will be happy, but will the shop be alright?

“Ah~…… We were also a little immature. It was good that you children were kind enough to be worried about them, but it ended up that you were kidnapped because the adults were hesitant. So, we are providing them the new line of noodles from the Toukaki company, and we decided to give them a leg up with their new business with the new bamboo shoots products along with Nikuno Ham.”

“Ooohh~……”

So there was such a thing. I knew that new products were being developed at Nikuno Ham, but would they normally be “sold” to new stores?

Well, that certainly was a good piece of news.

“That’s all. ……Ah~, that’s right, Yuzu. Onzada-kun, who came to try to protect you is quite the decent young man. Are the two of you getting along well?”

“Eh? Yes, we talk often at school?”

“Muu, is that so? Well…… Although this isn’t decided yet, I should respect Yuzu’s opinion for once……”

“……Father?”

Why would you say something like that? When I turned my gaze at my mother while thinking so, she breathed a sigh at my dad and told me.

“From the head of the Niku family has come to talk about wanting an ‘engagement’ of Yuzu with Ouji-kun, so what do you think……?”

Author’s Notes:

And thus concludes this volume. Thank you for reading.

I am relieved that it managed to develop like I expected.

Next time, we introduce the character for the next volume.