The Correct Japanese Terms of Homestay Seems to Be Marriage - Chapter 31

I just can’t do it alone, this is beyond me.

“Hey Keitaro, are you sure you can afford to be so laid-back? We’ll be at the next station in just four minutes.”

Amidst the starting and stopping of the rattling train, Tsubaki suddenly posed a question to Keitaro.

Keitaro, who had been leaning against the train door with his eyes closed and arms crossed, snapped his eyes open upon hearing the question.

With a gloomy expression, he turned to look at Tsubaki and said,

“As you guessed, nothing is okay.”

He stated it firmly, clearly, and strongly.

He was at his wit’s end. He couldn’t think of anything. He had no moves left. It was as if he was being pointed at from all directions with guns. What was he supposed to do?

“Keitaro, is there something bothering you?”

Hearing this, Sofia tilted her head curiously and gazed at Keitaro.

Before Keitaro could respond, Tsubaki was the one to open his mouth.

“Well, you see, Keitaro and Sofia sa…”

Tsubaki’s words suddenly cut off, like a radio turned off in the middle of a broadcast.

In a literal flash, Keitaro had made Tsubaki shut his mouth. It was very much like a laid-back frog suddenly shooting its tongue out at incredible speed at prey that came too close.

“Keitaro is… what?”

“No, it’s nothing much. Don’t worry about it.”

“…?”

Sofia looked puzzled, tilting her head again, so Keitaro shook his head and gave a vague answer to muddy the waters.

In the midst of this exchange, he suddenly felt a tap on his arm. “What’s up?” Keitaro directed his gaze downward, only to see,

“Uh, uh.”

Tsubaki, looking somewhat in pain, was looking up at him.

He was tapping on the arm that was constricting his throat. It was a signal for surrender.

“Ah, sorry.”

Keitaro loosened his grip, ensuring Tsubaki’s airway was clear so he could breathe properly.

They then started whispering among themselves.

“(Keitaro, it hurts.)”

Tsubaki said, looking resentful.

However, Keitaro was unfazed. If anything, he began to press with a more aggressive tone, jumping straight to the main issue.

“(Tsubaki, what were you about to say?)”

Keitaro asked, glaring at him.

“(Well, it was words of help coming from the kind me. You probably want to keep the fact that you’re living with Sofia and are close to her a secret from everyone at school, right?)”

Tsubaki answered calmly.

“(That’s right. As expected of my friend. That’s correct and absolutely right.)”

Keitaro nodded, but his sharp gaze did not soften.

“(Keitaro… not just a friend, but a best friend, okay?)”

“(Yeah, got it. So, what were you about to say?)”

Keitaro asked again.

The answer could lead to Tsubaki experiencing some discomfort.

“(You don’t want anyone at school to see you with Sofia, wanting to be separated from her as soon as possible, right? The words I was about to say were…)”

Tsubaki’s answer wasn’t fundamentally wrong, but it was completely off in terms of word choice and understanding people’s hearts.

Keitaro immediately tensed his arm. A grinding noise. The sound of his arm digging into a neck.

“(Hey, don’t you dare say anything like that. What if Sofia gets hurt? If you understand the situation, wrap it up in something sweeter. I’ll get mad if you make her cry.)”

He continued, with a serious tone, lecturing him.

“T-t-t”

Tsubaki, turning pale, nodded desperately and tapped on Keitaro’s arm again.

With a swift release, the punishment was over. Watching Tsubaki gasp for air, Keitaro exhaled sharply.

“(Really, what a hassle. If you care about her that much, you shouldn’t worry about what others think and just be with her proudly.)”

When Tsubaki’s breathing steadied, he shrugged and sighed.

“(She’s family, of course I care. But that’s exactly why. She’s come all the way to Japan, so I want her to have a rosy high school life here. I can’t drag her into my gray world. Sofia should be the center of attention in class, shining brightly, always.)”

Keitaro replied casually, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. His demeanor spoke volumes about how much he cared for Sofia.

However, whether Keitaro’s consideration is actually a pleasure for Sofia is another matter altogether.

“(Ah, really, what a hassle. I’m thoroughly bothered. And if you’re saying that, Keitaro, I think you’re the one who should be living like that, honestly.)”

Tsubaki sighed deeply, pressing his temples.

He was utterly exasperated with Keitaro, a man who was a bundle of contradictions. He almost wanted to ask, “Why did you become so twisted?”

“(Me, worth that? Tsubaki, you’re overestimating me.)”

Keitaro was equally exasperated.

He saw himself as a complete failure, certainly not someone who should be highly regarded. He deserved more demerits than merits, without a doubt.

“(Ah, well. So, what are we going to do? We’ll reach the next station in about three minutes. There are many students who get off there, so we better sort this out quickly, right?)”

The landscape outside the window whizzed by. Even as they spoke, the train was moving steadily, and Keitaro’s time was running out.

Keitaro’s teeth made a grinding sound, his jaw tensing unconsciously. He was clenching his teeth.

“(So, what do you think we should do?)”

Keitaro was feeling down. He was humble enough to seek help from others, rather than keeping it all to himself.

“(Oh, that’s rare. Keitaro relying on me. If you were always this straightforward, that would be great.)”

“(Don’t tease me. Right now, you’re all I’ve got. I couldn’t think of anything this past week. Really, nothing at all, absolutely, completely, not even a tiny bit.)”

Keitaro felt incredibly sad, saying it himself.

And also, pathetic. The barrier to asking for help seemed to have lowered. Perhaps this was a side effect of relying too much on Sofia…

“(Alright, alright. If you put it that way, I have to do my best.)”

Tsubaki said, looking unusually pleased.

“(Thanks. For the sake of my peaceful high school life, lend me your brainpower to the fullest.)”

With an ally by his side, Keitaro felt a weight lift from his shoulders. “Two heads are better than one,” as they say, and even though it was just the two of them, it felt significantly reassuring. Considering the other option wasn’t likely to help, two might indeed be the best option.

With a newfound sense of relief, Keitaro’s expression began to soften, just as he was quite strongly tugged. Turning his gaze in that direction,

“………………”

There was Sofia, with a deeply dissatisfied look, seemingly trying to convey something intensely with her eyes.

“What’s up?”

Keitaro asked.

“Somehow, I feel… irritated.”

Sofia replied.

It was an incredibly vague statement. Keitaro had no clue what Sofia was dissatisfied with.

But it seemed Tsubaki understood.

“Ahaha.”

Tsubaki laughed merrily.

Seeing that, Keitaro felt a bit frustrated. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out. The more he thought, the deeper he seemed to sink.

“Sofia, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But don’t worry. Tsubaki and I are just best friends, nothing more, nothing less. And we’re both guys, ah, but maybe that’s not so relevant here.”

Tsubaki laughed as he said something incomprehensible.

Keitaro had held a faint hope that Tsubaki’s words might make things clear, but that hope was cruelly dashed. Now he was even more confused.

If there was one thing he did understand, it was that Sofia’s stomach wasn’t actually upset… well, maybe that wasn’t quite right either.

“Hmm…”

Keitaro alternated his gaze between Sofia and Tsubaki.

A dissatisfied Sofia and a smiling Tsubaki, he looked back and forth between them.

Still, he couldn’t understand anything.

“Hmmmm…??”

Keitaro twisted his neck, almost to the point of hurting himself.

Even with other passengers around, Keitaro was the only one in this place who didn’t understand anything.