Chapter 31: You’re Going to Become My “Childhood Friend.”
September 10th.
Since that day, Meiko and I had not contacted each other directly.
She hadn’t reached out to me either.
The final words exchanged between us had been mine:
“I’ll return it.”
And I still had not fulfilled that promise.
“…So this is the place.”
That day, I found myself standing before a certain estate.
Unlike the rundown Nekoyanagi dojo, this place radiated wealth and prestige.
The name engraved on the gate read:
Inugashi.
Normally, the grounds would probably have been filled with energetic shouts and the sounds of training.
But today, the entire place was eerily quiet.
As I stood there in front of the dojo, a man who appeared to be connected to the household approached me suspiciously.
“What do you want, kid? The dojo’s closed today.”
“I know. I’m here to participate in the discussion.”
“Huh? A young guy like you?”
“Please show me the way.”
I spoke with complete confidence, and though the man remained visibly doubtful, he eventually guided me inside.
The moment the door to what appeared to be the dojo office opened, I found over a dozen adults gathered within.
Meiko and her parents were there as well.
And beside them stood a young man around our age.
“W-Who the hell are you?”
“Gouto-kun!?”
The young man and Meiko both reacted at once.
Meiko’s parents and the relatives gathered nearby also looked surprised by my appearance—
though only slightly.
Naturally, I had already informed my parents beforehand.
Strictly speaking, I had obtained permission.
Though after hearing my plan, they had essentially responded with:
“If you can actually pull it off, then go ahead.”
In other words, they hadn’t really believed I could.
The people connected to the Inugashi family, on the other hand, stared at me in open shock.
Before the man who had guided me here could be blamed for letting me in, I calmly introduced myself.
“Apologies for intruding on short notice. My name is Kirishiro Gouto.”
“The hell do you mean ‘intruding’!? Kid, who the— …Wait. Kirishiro?”
The one who reacted was likely someone fairly high-ranking within the Inugashi family.
Ignoring him, I directed my gaze toward the man who was clearly the head of the household.
“The Nekoyanagi family’s debt is two billion yen. Is that true?”
“…Yeah. And what exactly are you planning to do with that information? You saying you’ll pay it off?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
I placed the documents I had prepared directly in front of him.
Official paperwork.
Bearing the names of the Kirishiro Group.
My father’s name.
My mother’s name.
And clearly written within:
The Kirishiro Group would assume responsibility for the Nekoyanagi family’s debt.
“…These are genuine.”
“Of course they are. I’ve already received the Nekoyanagis’ seals as well. Therefore—”
I took a breath.
Then, making sure my voice would not be swallowed by the oppressive atmosphere filling the room, I declared clearly:
“The entire Nekoyanagi family now belongs to me.”
After hearing my declaration, the head of the Inugashi family looked directly into my eyes.
His eyes were dark—
but not clouded.
The eyes of a realist.
A man capable of calculating profit and loss with absolute precision.
Just like me.
“Very well. The negotiation is concluded.”
“That saves me time.”
We shook hands firmly.
And the instant we did, the younger Inugashi man shouted in outrage.
“W-What!? Dad!! T-That’s not what we agreed on!!”
“Shut your mouth. You saying you won’t obey my decision?”
The low, intimidating growl in the older man’s voice instantly silenced him.
He had called him “Dad,” so unless this family secretly belonged to organized crime, the young man was probably his son.
“We only proceeded with this marriage because it was what you wanted. But even if the marriage happened, it wouldn’t bring us any money. This deal does. Sure, there’s the issue of absorbing a business rival, but under these terms, that’s no problem. And having ties to the Kirishiro Group isn’t a bad thing either.”
“B-But—!”
“If you’ve got complaints, then produce terms better than this gentleman’s, Kaito. This isn’t a game.”
At those words, the young man—Kaito—fell silent.
But another voice soon rose in protest.
“W-What are you doing, Gouto-kun!? How did you even… how could you possibly prepare that kind of money!?”
“I explained the situation to my parents. Then I borrowed it against my future.”
“…Hah!?”
That was correct.
Even I couldn’t casually prepare two billion yen on my own.
If I had more time, there were methods.
I could have multiplied capital through investments.
Started a business.
Built something.
But one month was nowhere near enough.
However, the Kirishiro Group was different.
If there was money I couldn’t move personally, then I only needed my parents to move it for me.
And in exchange, I offered terms of my own.
“I’ll become someone worthy of your expectations within four years of university life. So I want you to invest in my future. And if I fail to meet those expectations, then do whatever you want with me.”
When I explained everything, both my father and mother had looked genuinely shocked.
Thinking about it now, perhaps it was because this was the first time I had ever asked them to lend their strength for the sake of a specific individual.
“So, Meiko. No—Nekoyanagi family. Every one of you belongs to me now. I paid two billion yen for you, so I expect you to work for my sake. Because all of you are worth that much.”
After my declaration, the Nekoyanagi family appeared somewhat confused—
but they accepted it.
I had no idea how they had managed to accumulate a debt of two billion yen in the first place, but once absorbed into the Kirishiro Group, they would be forced to work seriously whether they liked it or not.
Though according to my agreement with my parents, custody of the entire family would temporarily be entrusted to my mother until I inherited the group myself.
And if they turned out to be useless—
well, then that would simply be that.
At the very least, Meiko alone had been worth the price.
After the negotiations concluded, we left the Inugashi estate.
Members of the Nekoyanagi family repeatedly thanked me from every direction, but I merely instructed them to submit their contact information later, since arrangements for future work assignments would need to be made.
Eventually everyone dispersed.
And for some reason, even Meiko’s parents headed home first, leaving only the two of us behind.
Now, only Meiko and I remained.
“…This is weird.”
Meiko spoke without lifting her head.
I silently waited for her to continue, and after a pause, she did.
“Why would you save complete strangers like us? You don’t even know what the Nekoyanagi family business actually is.”
“Well, I can tell your rundown dojo isn’t doing very well.”
Honestly, I hadn’t expected there to be that many branches of the “run-down dojo bloodline.”
No, perhaps the people gathered today were only the representatives.
Maybe there were many more disciples elsewhere.
But then how had they managed to sink this deeply into debt despite having so many people…?
How incompetent could they possibly be?
Well, my mother would probably find some way to use them efficiently regardless.
“Then why did you save me!? What do you even want me to do!? My body isn’t worth that much, you know!?”
“…Good grief.”
I let out a sigh.
Then I opened the bag containing the contract documents and pulled out a single book.
The first book Meiko had ever lent me.
I lightly placed 『Sacred Corpse Chromaconia』 into her hands and said:
“Meiko. In my opinion, every ‘perfectly ordinary high school boy you could find anywhere’ is supposed to have a ‘childhood friend,’ right?”
“Well… yeah, I guess so.”
“So, Meiko. I want you to become my ‘childhood friend.’”
“…Huh?”
Meiko’s utterly baffled voice melted into the lingering heat of September’s late summer air.
Without even waiting for her response, I continued.
“I don’t have a real childhood friend. However, when convincing my parents, I boldly declared that I would become ‘a completely ordinary person you could find anywhere.’ And in that case, not having a childhood friend would clearly count as a negative against my claim of being ‘ordinary.’ Therefore, you will fulfill that role.”
“No, this is weird! We’ve only known each other for three months—”
“I’m not asking for your opinion. Become my childhood friend. This is an order.”
“…Ughhh, fine already! I’ll do it if that’s what you want!! I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about though!”
Good.
Now Meiko was officially my “childhood friend.”
Only after establishing that fact could I finally obtain a proper justification for saving her.
“Then listen carefully, Meiko my ‘childhood friend.’”
“What is it, Gouto-kun my ‘childhood friend’?”
Inside my head, I recalled a line spoken by the protagonist of 『Sacred Corpse Chromaconia』.
And then, exactly as written, I recited it aloud.
“‘You don’t need some grand reason, do you? Risking your life—your everything—to save someone precious to you is just common sense. So take my hand, Meiko. Let me save you.’”
“—!!!”
Well, admittedly, the protagonist who said those words didn’t exactly feel completely ordinary either.
But still.
Most of the “perfectly ordinary protagonists” I had encountered up until now tended to think in similarly selfless ways.
So perhaps this wasn’t too far off.
Which meant that once Meiko became my “childhood friend,” saving her naturally became the “ordinary” thing to do.
The order of events may have been somewhat reversed, but that hardly mattered.
There was nothing strange about this at all.
If anything, this was an extremely positive step toward becoming ordinary myself.
“In other words, risking my future to save my ‘childhood friend’ is perfectly acceptable. So, Meiko—help me become ‘a perfectly ordinary university student you could find anywhere.’”
Meiko stared at me, her mouth opening and closing uselessly like a fish gasping for air.
Then she let out a long, heated sigh.
For several moments, that warmth dissolved into the thick, sticky September heat surrounding us.
And then—
for some reason—
Meiko suddenly knelt before me.
“Kirishiro Gouto-sama. I, Nekoyanagi Meiko, though inadequate, shall devote myself as your ‘childhood friend’ so that you may live your four university years as a ‘perfectly ordinary person.’ And if permitted… I wish to remain by your side even beyond that. Forever.”
“You’re exaggerating. If you’ve become my ‘childhood friend,’ then that much is only natural. I’ll be counting on you from now on, Meiko.”
“Yes, sir!”
And that—
was the story of how Meiko and I became “childhood friends.”
After that, there were many things.
We hastily began constructing my identity as a “perfectly ordinary university student.”
Preparations for university started.
Various rules for my new lifestyle were imposed.
Meiko met my family properly for the first time.
For some reason, my mother even praised me by saying:
“You made an exceptionally good purchase for two billion yen.”
And then Meiko somehow ended up catching the attention of my younger sister Aya as well.
But—
those are stories for another time, should the opportunity arise.
──────
“—And that is why Meiko and I are ‘childhood friends,’ as well as part of the reason why that guy Inugashi Kaito showed up.”
That explanation ended up longer than expected.
After I finished recounting the story of Meiko and myself, both Taketsuru and Kuwajima wore deeply conflicted expressions.
Did they still have complaints about our “childhood friend” relationship?
“No matter how I look at it, the childhood friend thing is completely insane. But if I deny it, I feel like I’d also be denying the tiny fragment of normal human morality that’s finally starting to grow inside you, Kirishiro, so I honestly don’t know what to say.”
“I am the absolute embodiment of a perfectly ordinary human being, though?”
“It’s exactly comments like that.”
So did Taketsuru have complaints or not?
I genuinely couldn’t tell.
Meanwhile, beside us, Kuwajima had quietly said something to Meiko.
“Um, Meiko-san… he’s completely burned into your brain now, isn’t he?”
“——!!!”
The instant Kuwajima pointed it out, Meiko snapped her mouth shut.
Seeing Meiko lose verbally to Kuwajima was a surprisingly rare sight.
“But because of this restriction, you can never step outside the ‘childhood friend’ role even once… That’s honestly kind of tragic.”
“You’ve got some nerve saying that, ‘female best friend.’ I’ll fight you if I have to.”
But Meiko quickly recovered and immediately demonstrated her physical superiority by locking Kuwajima into a full restraining hold.
Watching the scene unfold, I nodded in satisfaction.
“Mm. Another reassuringly ordinary day in my everyday life.”
“The version of ‘ordinary’ inside your head is seriously broken.”
My best friend was once again saying incomprehensible things.
──────
【Me @ Apparently Appraisal Skill★】
One-line comment:
“By the way, at this rate you’re heading straight for an underground prison cell♪”
──────
Even the hallucination was saying incomprehensible things.
A hallucination has no right to talk…!