Chapter 78: I’m Not Gonna Tell You! Ta-da!
“With that… we’ve arrived!!”
The instant the car came to a stop, Kuwajima threw open the door and leaped outside with all the enthusiasm of someone who had just stumbled upon an oasis after wandering through a desert. Smiling wryly at her boundless excitement, Meiko and Taketsuru climbed out after her, while Niwashita-san and I exited last.
This time, the navigation system behaved itself.
No strange static.
No mysterious interference.
No detours to supernatural villages.
At long last, we had reached our intended destination—
The Kirishiro family villa.
It looked exactly as I remembered.
The property had clearly been maintained with great care.
The villa itself was a spacious home with large windows, built on generously sized grounds that made no attempt to conserve land. Behind the house stretched a tidy vegetable garden, where cucumbers, tomatoes, and several watermelons had ripened under the summer sun, looking ready to harvest.
The elderly caretaker couple entrusted with the estate always tended the garden in preparation for our family’s annual summer visits.
If we didn’t come that year…
They simply enjoyed the harvest themselves.
The villa stood on a gentle rise roughly ten minutes’ walk from the sea.
Trees partially surrounded the property, providing enough shade and privacy without isolating it.
Walk straight toward the ocean and you could comfortably reach the beach wearing nothing more than sandals.
Head in the opposite direction with proper hiking gear, and you’d find yourself climbing the low mountain behind the villa.
My younger brother, Kei, had always adored that mountain.
Every summer he’d drag Father and me out after sunset, insisting we search for rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles deep in the woods.
Though when I eventually built a rather elaborate insect trap that caught practically every beetle in the area at once…
He’d worn a strangely conflicted expression and muttered,
“…That’s… not really what I meant.”
A fond memory.
Still, nostalgic or not, our official reason for coming here wasn’t sightseeing.
We were here to manage the villa.
And if we were going to call ourselves temporary caretakers, then naturally we had to take over the responsibilities properly.
Waiting to greet us were the elderly husband and wife who usually maintained the property.
They had even come out personally to welcome us.
“We’ve been expecting you, Gouto-sama. Here is the master key… and your wages.”
“Thank you for your hard work. Here.”
I accepted both the key and the envelope before speaking in the same composed tone.
“Use this to buy something nice for your grandchild.”
Since I’d notified them well in advance that we were arriving today, the handover proceeded smoothly.
Incidentally, yesterday—when the navigation system first went haywire—I had immediately contacted them to explain that we’d be delayed by one day.
At least I hadn’t left them waiting around for nothing.
As I accepted the envelope, I casually glanced inside.
Then…
Without hesitation, I removed roughly half the money and handed it straight back to the caretaker.
“Huh?”
“Take it.”
The amount was obviously larger than what Mother had originally told me we’d be paid.
Father had clearly slipped extra spending money into the envelope.
Personally, I believed contracts should be honored properly—
Even within families.
We should only receive the amount we’d originally agreed upon.
That said, returning the excess directly to the Kirishiro family would only make Father look awkward.
Giving it to the caretaker as an unexpected bonus seemed the better option.
“N-No, sir… this is far too much…”
“Take it. Your youngest son’s child was only born this year, wasn’t that right? Newborns always require more expenses than people expect. Consider it a bonus for the excellent work you’ve done looking after this place.”
“…H-How did you…? N-No… thank you very much. On behalf of my son, his wife, and my grandchild… we’re deeply grateful.”
“No thanks are necessary. Simply continue taking good care of the Kirishiro family.”
“Yes, sir!”
To be honest…
If Father’s extra money hadn’t been there, I’d intended to pay the bonus out of my own pocket.
In that sense…
He had inadvertently saved me the trouble.
As for how I knew about the caretaker’s grandchild…
At this point, did that really require an explanation?
While we were talking, I felt several pairs of eyes fixed on me.
Turning around, I found Kuwajima staring as though she’d just witnessed something unbelievable.
Taketsuru and Niwashita-san also looked mildly surprised.
Only Meiko appeared unfazed.
“What?”
“No… it’s just… for a second there, Kirishiro looked like someone who naturally stands above everyone else.”
“You really looked like the heir to some enormous family.”
“Well… outside the university, that role isn’t something I can simply ignore.”
I shrugged.
“That’s just how things are.”
The truth was simple.
The reason I could spend my days acting like an utterly ordinary university student…
Was because the university was my playing field.
This villa, however…
Belonged to the Kirishiro family.
When I stood inside Kirishiro territory, people expected me to behave as a Kirishiro.
And responding to those expectations…
Was perfectly ordinary.
“Enough about that. Let’s unpack before anything else. Most of the food should already be stocked inside, but we’ll still have to go shopping for everything else.”
“Roger!”
Basic groceries had undoubtedly already been placed inside the refrigerator by the caretakers.
Everything else, however, was our responsibility.
The barbecue equipment belonged to Niwashita-san.
Our clothes and personal belongings had all been packed individually.
As we unloaded the mountain of luggage from Niwashita-san’s car—with the caretaker couple kindly helping us carry everything—I happened to glance toward the garden.
Hm.
“What’s wrong, Gouto-kun? Find something again? Is it another incident?”
“If I found an incident in the garden, that would be a rather alarming situation.”
Meiko immediately noticed where I was looking.
Still…
Saying I’d “found” something wasn’t quite accurate.
After all…
I hadn’t discovered anything myself.
I’d merely learned something.
──────
“Watermelon Patch”
Summer Big Chance: Find the winner and you’ll unlock one more event!
Winner: Not gonna tell you! Ta-da!
──────
It seemed my hallucinations had faithfully obeyed my request not to show me unnecessary information…
…Or perhaps “mostly obeyed” was the more accurate description.
A winning watermelon.
I couldn’t help wondering what exactly was hidden inside it.
“Ah! Kirishiro-kun! Those watermelons are okay to eat, right? Let’s pick one and chill it for later!”
Following my gaze, Kuwajima immediately spotted the ripe fruit and excitedly made her suggestion.
Right…
Don’t look. Don’t listen. Don’t get involved.
That had been today’s motto.
I could simply pretend I knew nothing.
But doing that might very well lead to another Fushijishi Village situation.
At the same time…
Leaving everything entirely to Kuwajima felt equally dangerous.
Perhaps I should say just one thing.
“There’s a winner among those watermelons, Kuwajima.”
“…A winner? You mean one of them tastes especially good?”
“Hold it, Tae-chan! Stop!!”
The instant Kuwajima tilted her head in confusion, Meiko stepped between us.
She stared directly into my eyes.
Then…
Something clicked.
“Tae-chan, don’t touch the watermelons. I’m guessing… one of them’s basically a bomb, isn’t it, Gouto-kun?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s right!?”
As expected of Meiko.
Her insight remained overwhelmingly sharp.
She’d detected danger purely from how reluctant I’d been to say anything.
Still…
Meiko’s deduction wasn’t perfect.
Getting some proper rest had made her a little careless.
She’d forgotten one important thing.
The people standing here weren’t just members of the Normalcy Appreciation Society.
The caretaker and his wife had been listening too.
Sure enough…
The caretaker hurriedly spoke up, looking thoroughly horrified.
“A-A bomb?! Absolutely not! My wife and I poured our hearts into growing these vegetables! Every single watermelon is delicious! There are no bombs—or anything else that could ever harm our guests!”
“Ah… um… sorry! That’s… not what I meant!”
“I understand that escorts tend to be cautious… but… hearing that’s rather hurtful…”
“I-I’m so sorry! Really! We weren’t questioning your work at all!”
Seeing the old man’s crestfallen expression, Meiko immediately wilted and apologized sincerely.
That’s right, Meiko.
Never forget the fundamentals.
Normally…
If someone claimed there was a “winning watermelon” that triggered an event…
Nobody would believe them.
As my official advisor on ordinary behavior…
Your leap in logic had been a bit too extreme.
People might actually start thinking we were the strange ones.
“Um! Well then… which one would you recommend?”
Sensing the awkward silence settling over everyone, Kuwajima hurriedly changed the subject.
Seeing an opportunity to restore his honor, the caretaker walked over to the watermelon patch and carefully inspected the fruit.
“Let’s see… honestly, they’re all good. But… yes, this one.”
He crouched beside a particularly beautiful watermelon and gave it a practiced tap.
“Listen to that sound. Nice and full. That’s the sound of sweet flesh packed tightly inside. This would make the perfect dessert for all of you.”
He selected the finest-looking watermelon in the entire garden.
Even for a home-grown crop, it looked exceptionally delicious.
Meiko and Kuwajima exchanged uncertain glances toward me…
But in the end, they trusted the caretaker’s recommendation and harvested that watermelon.
Not that looking at me would help.
I didn’t know which one was supposedly the winner either.
After all…
My hallucinations had chosen to read the room for once.
“Oh, Kirishiro! Later, I’d love it if you offered that watermelon to me as well! It’s positively overflowing with spiritual energy! Such a splendid watermelon! I’d love to share it with the children!”
The voices, however…
Hadn’t chosen to read the room.
Well…
At this point, even knowing that, there was no way anyone could simply throw away the freshly harvested watermelon.