The Correct Japanese Terms of Homestay Seems to Be Marriage - Chapter 26

Being Too Close Is Also Something to Think About

Keitaro, during this family meeting, remembered that there was something he absolutely had to ask and brought it up.

“How should we handle living expenses?”

“You have the card I gave you before, right? Just use that however you like.”

Without any hesitation, Akira said this in a light-hearted tone, so

“There’s no way we can just use it however we like. Set a limit for us.”

Keitaro said, rubbing his forehead in frustration and looking straight at his father on the screen.

“Then, how much do you think the two of you need to live without trouble?”

Hearing that question, Keitaro turned his face towards Sofia,

“What do you think?”

“I want Keitaro to eat a lot of my cooking, so we should have a generous food budget.”

“Right,”

he said, and then turned back to the screen.

“Then, how about 300.000 yen?” ( tln : aroud 2000usd)

“That’s too much. We’re not food fighters, you know. Just a pair of high school students living together don’t need that much money. Half of that would be more than enough. No, even half is too much.”

Keitaro immediately rejected the offer, which was far more generous than he had expected or needed.

“There’s no need to hold back. If it’s for my son, I don’t mind spending whatever it takes.”

He seemed to be serious. Despite the content of his words, there was not a hint of joking in his demeanor.

“…I’ve always wondered, what exactly do you do for a living, Dad? I know you draw, but that alone can’t easily bring in money. And when I search for Ayasaka Akira, nothing comes up.”

Keitaro voiced a question he had always had and looked quizzically at his father, whose details were unclear.

Granting 300.000 yen every month would require a significant financial capability.

However, his father was not a doctor or a lawyer, the so-called high-income professionals, but an artist. Normally, it would be a profession with a high possibility of living in poverty.

Moreover, searching his name brought up nothing. Keitaro wondered if he might be using a pen name, but it was a mystery to him.

“Keitaro, there are things better left unknown. Besides, your mom helps out too.”

“Hmm… I see. Then it’s nothing dangerous.”

Without further mention or digging deeper, Keitaro glanced at Sae and easily accepted it.

He was utterly convinced that his bubbly mother couldn’t possibly be involved in any illegal or dangerous antics. His father’s words carried undeniable conviction.

“Yeah. Dad is living an honorable life.”

“That’s right, Kei-kun! There’s nothing for you to worry about!”

“Then that’s fine. Enjoy your life there without the two of us.”

As long as it’s not dangerous, it’s fine.

Of course, he was curious about what they were doing, but if he was told not to ask, he had no intention of asking.

Let them enjoy their time alone to the fullest.

“Yeah. We’ll do that.”

“Yes! You two also enjoy your cohabitation life to the fullest!”

“Ye-yes! We will!”

Sofia straightened up her posture and nodded repeatedly, like a bobblehead.

“Kei-kun, what about you~? I can’t hear you~?”

Sae, filling the screen as she brought her ear close to the camera, hurried Keitaro for a reply with an incredibly irritating voice, specialized in attacking one’s patience.

“Understood. I’ll enjoy it to the fullest.”

It was extremely exasperating, but there was no point in lying, so Keitaro honestly replied.

“Oh, oh my~! Akira, did you hear that? Kei-kun is being honest!”

“That’s right. I thought for sure he would say something like, ‘This is a homestay, not cohabitation,'”

“Home is where you stay, right? Depending on how you translate it, it could amount to cohabitation.”

Keitaro bluntly threw back at the excited Sae and the meaningfully smiling Akira.

It’s a homestay. A stay at home. If translated, it might as well be cohabitation. Just that.

“Eh~? So if translated more stylishly, could it also mean marriage~??”

He flinched. It was a word that came to mind simultaneously when he heard “cohabitation.”

Keitaro turned away, and Sofia blushed,

“…I don’t know about that.”

“…Ma-marriage…?”

Both showed significant turmoil.

With his gaze averted, Keitaro rested his cheek on the sofa armrest, while Sofia seemed to be steaming like a boiling kettle.

“But I’m a bit jealous of Sofia-chan… I feel like Kei-kun has changed in just one day…!”

“It’s because they are children close in age that they can do things like this. It’s not something for Sae to be depressed about.”

“Akira…!”

Sae took Akira’s hands with both of hers, looking into each other’s eyes dramatically like something out of a musical. Their affectionate display belied their age.

Keitaro turned his gaze even further away since seeing his own parents getting lovey-dovey was not something he particularly wanted to watch.

“…I admire them.”

“Do you…?”

Sofia watched them enviously, and Keitaro glanced at her with a half-open eye.

Of course, it’s fine for a couple to get along, but as their son, it’s… Keitaro felt somewhat complicated.

“Keitaro, you too, get along well with Sofia-chan.”

“I don’t plan to quarrel even without being told.”

He was already captured by the stomach. There was no resisting, nor did he want to.

Rather, he needed to make sure not to upset Sofia. That’s the situation he found himself in.

“That’s not what I meant, but oh well. Anything else you want to ask?”

“No, nothing in particular. I thought about grilling mom until she cried, but my interest has waned.”

“Kei-kun, were you thinking of doing something so scary~?!”

“Of course. The fact that it was kept a secret is one thing, but I’m still angry about letting Sofia walk home alone after she came to Japan for the first time in years.”

Keitaro stated calmly but with evident anger, shooting a sharp look at the astonished Sae.

“Eh?! I properly gave her money, you know?! I said, ‘Use this to take a taxi home~!!'”

Watching Sae desperately claim her innocence, Keitaro turned his head to the side,

“That’s right! It’s not Sae-san’s fault! I just thought it was a waste of money to take a taxi, so I walked home! It’s not Sae-san’s fault!”

Sofia also frantically shook her head, unlike Sae, up and down.

“…Don’t worry about it. It’s better to take a taxi than walk with heavy luggage.”

“It was around noon, and the weather was nice. Japan is safe, so I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to walk…”

“Sure, the safety is relatively good, but your case is different. It wouldn’t be strange if weirdos approached you.”

“Ah, sorry…”

Sofia looked downcast. If she were a dog, her tail and ears would surely be drooping.

“Be more careful from now on. You’re a bit too defenseless. Think about how worried I am.”

Yet, Keitaro continued to caution her without easing up. Or rather, he had to. He was nothing but worried.

“Yes… I’m sorry…”

“You’re important to me, truly. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

Keitaro’s unusually serious expression showed just how much he cherished Sofia, which was palpable from his intense look.

Naturally, Sofia felt as if her heart had been pierced right through.

“…Keitaro…”

With heated gazes, Sofia looked up at Keitaro.

“Ufufu, being young is nice~…!”

“Soon, I might become a little scared of the possibility of grandchildren…”

With such a close relationship between the man and woman living under the same roof, Akira’s concern was justified.