I Was Sleep-Deprived at a Matchmaking Meeting and Ended Up Engaged - Chapter 26

“Ah, Ayato-chan’s been caught by old man Hieda.” Kai said while watching from a distance.

“That guy really goes on and on, doesn’t he…” Yoshinori looked worriedly at Ayato on the bench.

“Well, he’s an important figure, so it’s hard to interrupt him. Ah, but I guess Ayato-chan doesn’t know he’s important. Apparently Ayato-chan hasn’t really shown her face much in these kinds of places. Her father seems to be the type who wants to live an ordinary life,” he said, mentioning he’d heard this from Hanami.

“Now that you mention it, her house was only slightly bigger than a normal house. Though the design was modern.”

“But still, it’s the Fujimiya family after all. Even if it looks like an ordinary house at first glance, there might be some amazing facility underground or something.”

What kind of amazing facility… Yoshinori, who had been to the Fujimiya house, tried to imagine realistically. What kind of amazing facility would that house have?

A giant karaoke room underground. An air raid shelter underground. A giant mahjong room underground.

My imagination is so poor.

…Then she imagined a spaceship secret base, which Kai would probably say “That has nothing to do with being rich!” about.

Ayato didn’t seem to know who old man Hieda was, but she appeared to be listening to his story with earnest attention. Ayato’s voice was faintly audible, but the old man’s voice was too quiet to hear clearly. However, perhaps because Ayato was listening seriously, the old man also seemed to be speaking enthusiastically.

“Probably because the same wartime story has been going around for about three cycles now, should we stop him?” Kai said, and as they went over, it became Ayato’s turn to speak.

“Oh, that sounds interesting. So, what do you want to be in the future?”

――!?

She and Kai both stopped in their tracks.

“Old man Hieda is 104 years old, right?” Ayato said with a laugh.

“Well then. You have to enjoy your second life, don’t you?”

Kai murmured beside her, “Shouldn’t it be about his third life by now?”

“A swimmer! Athletes are great, aren’t they?”

That guy would probably die if he went in the water! Well, these days there are people over 100 who swim, but still!

Whatever the old man said, Ayato laughed, “Ahaha.”

“Well then. It requires physical strength. The next life would be fine too.”

Are you trying to kill him――!?

When they greeted the old man, he spoke normally and then left after being called by his secretary. Ayato accompanied him to where the secretary was.

Watching her retreating back with appreciation, Kai said, “Ayato-chan is interesting.”

“…I won’t give her up.”

“You don’t have to. If I want her, I’ll take her,” he said in typical Kai fashion, then laughed and added, “Ah, but I like you too, so I probably won’t take her.”

But immediately after, he ran off toward Ayato calling “Ayato-chaan!” so she became a little anxious. Was he telling the truth…?

“Yoshinori. See me home on your way back.”

As Ayato was chatting with Yoshinori while drinking tropical non-alcoholic cocktails, Ai in a bright red dress came over and said that.

“Sure,” Yoshinori said, and Ai turned toward her and said, “You seem to dislike gatherings like this. But it’s not bad once in a while, is it?”

“That’s true. There are many unique people here, so it’s interesting.”

Then Yoshinori frowned at that. When she looked up questioningly, he said, “While it’s true there are many strong personalities here. But for me, the most intense one today was you.”

“Today I just drank and ate quietly. Shared memories with Mutsuki-san, talked with a mysterious old man. I just drank and ate.”

“You’re saying ‘drank and ate’ a lot.” he murmured, then said, “Somehow in my mind, because of you, old man Hieda is swimming in the Olympics. And there’s a spaceship base in your basement.”

…But that’s all your imagination.

Just as Ayato thought that his personality might be the strongest one here, Ai said, “Well, you might think arranged marriages are old-fashioned these days. But I get the feeling you two will work out well. Speaking of which, my husband and I had a political marriage.”

“…Um, I think I heard that you got pregnant with Shirakami-san during your pre-wedding trip.”

“Right after I was introduced to my husband, someone appeared who said they’d always loved him. They told me to break up with him. Well, you know I’m competitive. So, I stole him away.”

Where is this going…?

“But of course. That’s not the only reason! Even now, decades later, I still feel genuine love between my husband and me!”

I see. Perhaps love is what keeps this person young and beautiful forever.

I’ll follow you anywhere! Ayato thought, but Yoshinori was looking at his mother with a doubtful expression for some reason.

“It’s true! I still think he’s a wonderful person! When we occasionally meet!”

“…Occasionally.”

“Well, we don’t have many opportunities to see each other,” Ai said as if it couldn’t be helped.

“Um, do married couples not meet unless there’s an opportunity?”

“Well, he’s in Antarctica.”

Ah… So that kind of occasionally…

“Your father is in Antarctica, then. As long as he’s not running away from Ai Megumi-san, that’s love.”

While Ai was making her farewell rounds, Ayato said such a thing.

Why would she think of running away? Well, Yoshinori thought, that’s just the kind of person she is. It’s not that his father is weak, but that his mother is too strong.

Standing by the wall waiting for Ai, Yoshinori asked Ayato, “If it were you, what do you think is in your basement?”

“In my basement? There’s nothing there.”

…That’s right. If you ask the person who lives there, you’ll get the truth rather than imagination.

But just as he thought that, Ayato said with a startled expression, “Ah, there was something!”

“Eh?”

“Under-floor storage!”

“That’s not buried underground though.” Yoshinori said since it’s just under the floor.

Beside him, Kai had appeared without them noticing. He was looking at them and smiling.

“Ahh, I’m starting to want to get married too!” Kai said, making Yoshinori flinch.

Why now!? Who do you plan to marry?!

This was because she was still concerned about his earlier comment about taking what he wants when he wants it.

Kai had simply seen the happy couple and thought he wanted to get married too.