Chapter 30: Leaving a Debt Unpaid Isn’t Really My Style
I first heard those words while I was at Meiko’s house.
Like always, I had been giving my thoughts on the light novels I’d borrowed from her, and the two of us had drifted into one of those conversations where we carefully picked apart the subtle differences between my way of interpreting stories and Meiko’s idea of what it meant to “enjoy something normally.”
The book we had been discussing that day just happened to feature a university student as its protagonist.
According to Meiko, back when the novel had first been published, light novels with college-aged protagonists had been extremely rare.
Thinking back on it, almost every story I had read up until now starred the same type of character:
An utterly ordinary high school boy you could supposedly find anywhere.
If light novels had originally been aimed at middle and high school students, then making the protagonist someone easy for readers to project themselves onto—a regular teenage boy—was probably the strategically correct choice.
But the novel I had read this time was different.
Its protagonist was a university student, and rather than fantasy adventures or battles, the story focused on relationships and everyday life on a college campus.
Well, there were some messy emotional entanglements here and there, but overall, I would describe it as a refreshing youth drama.
“Man… I wish I could’ve had a normal college life like this too.”
After we had both finished sharing our impressions, Meiko muttered that with a wistful smile.
It was summer vacation in August, the kind of evening where sunset was beginning to creep closer little by little.
As expected, Meiko’s room had no air conditioner installed.
A lone electric fan rattled noisily in the corner, pushing around air that felt more like the breath of a furnace than an actual breeze.
I had offered several times to pay for an air conditioner myself, but every attempt had been deflected with vague nonsense like:
“If the mind transcends suffering, then even fire becomes… fire, y’know?”
She always laughed it off before I could press further.
Honestly, I was the one suffering from the heat. I wished she would do something about it already.
Well, setting aside the matter of Meiko’s room.
I picked up on her earlier remark and replied:
“Then you should go. You know more about living a normal life than I do. Your grades aren’t bad either. If you wanted to attend university, there are scholarships. There’s no reason to give up.”
“…………Well, yeah. Guess so.”
At my words, Meiko only gave an ambiguous smile.
We had known each other for barely two months, but whenever conversations drifted toward the future, I had noticed her making that expression more than once—a shadow passing quietly over her face.
She probably thought she was hiding it well.
But I was sensitive to changes in expression.
What I still didn’t understand, however, was the reason behind it.
“Gouto-kun. You staying for dinner today too?”
“…………I suppose I will.”
“Much appreciated~! Heheh, thanks for always supporting us. This household seriously can’t function without Gouto-sama anymore~”
With an intentionally sleazy grin, Meiko abruptly cut off the earlier topic.
Ever since I had started visiting this house, I’d been treated to dinner many times.
But I couldn’t stand the idea of constantly accepting meals for free, so I had insisted on paying out of my own pocket.
At first, neither Meiko nor the rest of her family would accept any money from me out of politeness.
But when I specifically said, “Use it to buy meat,” they reluctantly began taking it.
Even what Meiko had just said was mostly a joke.
I understood perfectly well that the pocket money of one rich kid wasn’t enough to dramatically improve the living conditions of an average family of five.
“My parents aren’t home today, so I’m the chef tonight. Feast your eyes, alright?”
“It’s strange to say ‘feast your eyes’ about cooking. You should use an expression related to taste instead.”
Trading light banter like that, Meiko headed toward the kitchen.
For a while, I remained in her room, browsing her shelves for the next book I might borrow.
Then I sensed someone behind me.
When I turned around, Meiko’s two younger sisters were standing there before I even realized they had entered the room.
“What is it?”
“Gouto-kun… are you gonna marry Onee-chan?”
“? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. There are no such plans at the moment.”
“…………Uuu…”
The instant I answered, both girls looked as though they were about to cry.
Even for elementary school children, it was an oddly abrupt question to ask so innocently.
After thinking for a moment, I asked one of my own.
“Then let me ask you this instead. Does Meiko plan to marry someone?”
“…………Yeah.”
“…Without going to university?”
“Onee-chan said… if she does it, the whole family will be saved. Dad and Mom kept apologizing to her. Saying they were sorry. Over and over.”
I recalled the expression Meiko had worn earlier.
Then I thought about what these girls were telling me now.
I doubted Meiko had intentionally spoken about something like that directly in front of them.
“Where did you hear this?”
“Secret. If we get caught, we won’t be able to use it anymore.”
“Then let me change the question. Are you certain what you heard is true?”
“……Yeah.”
I understood the situation now.
Most likely, this was a secret confined to the Nekoyanagi household.
A conversation shared only between Meiko and her parents.
Something never intended for me to learn.
And if that was the case, then this was not my business.
The simplest option would be to say, “That’s unfortunate, but I don’t know anything,” and pretend I had never heard any of it.
But—
“…Understood. Thank you for telling me. I’ll do something about it.”
“…………! Gouto-kun, really!?”
“Yes. Meiko has done a lot for me.”
The relationship between Meiko and me was supposed to be nothing more than exchanging books.
But despite calling it borrowing and lending, I had only been the one receiving.
At first, perhaps the relationship began because she owed me something.
But that was no longer true.
I borrowed from her.
I learned from her.
I was the one being helped.
And after all that, pretending I knew nothing would leave a bitter taste in my mouth.
My eyes drifted once more toward the bookshelf in Meiko’s room.
There, among the rows of worn spines, I spotted the title of the very first book I had borrowed from her:
『Sacred Corpse Chromaconia』.
“I’ll say it again. I’ll do something about this.”
Leaving debts unpaid wasn’t my style.
Dinner that evening was oyakodon.
It was only after coming to this house that I learned ordinary families apparently used mentsuyu for practically everything.
After the meal, I would normally borrow a new book and head home.
But this time, I told Meiko, “There’s something I need to discuss,” and asked her to spare me some time.
Back in her room, I brought up what I had heard.
“Meiko. Are you planning to marry someone instead of going to university?”
“—!?”
At my direct question, Meiko visibly flinched.
Normally, this was where she would bury the conversation beneath layers of jokes and evasive remarks.
But today, she seemed to realize that I was looking at her seriously.
At last, she gave a small, resigned smile.
“Guess I couldn’t hide it forever anyway… maybe this is a good chance to talk about it.”
Then, with a seriousness unlike any expression I had ever seen from her before, she looked straight into my eyes and said:
“…The truth is, once I turn eighteen, I’m getting married. So… we won’t be able to keep doing this borrowing-and-lending thing anymore.”
“Why would we not even be able to exchange books anymore?”
“That’s just what happens when a girl gets married, y’know? You don’t really call it borrowing and lending after that. If you want, Gouto-kun, you can just have all the books in this room.”
We won’t be able to borrow and lend anymore. So I’ll give them all to you.
Listening to her words, I couldn’t sense much personal will in the marriage she spoke of.
“Is this a political marriage? For the sake of this rundown dojo?”
“I won’t deny the rundown part… but, well, our family’s got circumstances.”
“You have no right to refuse?”
“Apparently the debt isn’t small enough for us to say things like that.”
About what I had expected.
I was surprised such a near-human-trafficking arrangement still existed in modern times, but not enough to outright deny the possibility.
More than anything—
Meiko’s expression was too transparent.
Too clear.
“If it’s only a matter of money, I’ll figure something out.”
“What are you talking about? We’re just ‘complete strangers’ who happen to lend books to each other, aren’t we? What can a rich heir like you even do for people like us?”
“…………”
That struck exactly where it hurt.
She was right.
It would be difficult to claim our relationship was close enough for me to interfere in something this serious.
And I really was just an heir.
Even if my parents and the corporate group possessed enormous wealth, it wasn’t my money.
There were limits to what I personally could move.
And even if I could move it, there was no guarantee it would be enough.
“Two billion yen. That’s what I’m apparently worth right now. Heheh… kinda ridiculous when you hear it out loud, right?”
“…Two billion.”
Certainly not the kind of amount one prepared with a single phone call.
And not the kind of sum an individual like me could easily handle.
Especially not for a stranger I had known for only two months.
“So just knowing you care is enough for me. Even if it was only for a little while… getting to hang out with you like this, Gouto-kun… like normal friends…”
She paused, then quietly corrected herself.
“…No. More than normal friends. That alone made me really happy.”
As though declaring the conversation finished, Meiko smiled.
A lonely smile.
A kind of smile I had never seen from her before.
It wasn’t an ordinary smile.
Not the kind a normal beautiful girl attending an ordinary public high school should wear.
“Meiko. When is your birthday?”
“September tenth.”
“I see.”
Less than a month away.
At that point, there wasn’t much room left even for desperate struggling.
I quietly rose to my feet and reached toward the nearest bookshelf, pulling out a single volume.
“Meiko. I’m borrowing this.”
“You can just keep it, y’know?”
“No. I’m borrowing it. Which means—”
As I stared at the title printed along the spine—
『Sacred Corpse Chromaconia』—
I spoke clearly.
“I’ll return it properly.”