Chapter 17: The Unforgettable Love

It had been one setback after another, but at least he had obtained the reward.

A new line had appeared on Kitahara’s status screen: **Mastery of Japanese Language Arts**.

Unlike mathematics, Japanese language arts was not a subject one could become hopelessly bad at simply by neglecting it. It allowed for an extremely high margin of error.

But conversely, even if one studied it... it might not be of much use.

It was a subject in which scoring highly depended heavily on innate talent.

Mastery of Japanese Language Arts would probably let Kitahara climb a few dozen places in the monthly exams... It might not look like much progress, but the effort required to achieve it would normally take several years.

On the street.

Kitahara supported the drunken Sayuri Sato as they walked home.

“You should drink less.”

“Don’t lecture me. What would a little brat like you know about an adult’s troubles...?”

“There’s a puddle over there.”

Splash.

With bleary eyes, Sayuri Sato touched her soaked tights. It was spring—not cold, but not warm either... They should get home as soon as possible, before she caught a cold.

Her thoughts drifted.

After drinking, she would cling to a man on the way home, act spoiled, and receive a half-angry, half-exasperated scolding... Once upon a time, that had been Sayuri Sato’s wish.

Except...

She no longer had the right to do such a thing.

A woman who had come from the countryside, nearing thirty, still unable to save enough for a down payment on a house... Even when she earned money, she had to send it home immediately.

She had three younger brothers.

She was the eldest daughter, and the only promising one in the family. She had to look after her brothers.

“No one would ever want me...”

Sayuri Sato lamented her fate, then remembered the boy she had fallen for in middle school. He was married now... Sayuri Sato had originally planned to go back and see him after graduating from university.

But...

The pressure of her family had forced her to remain in Tokyo, this glittering, pleasure-soaked city.

And then she had become nothing more than a tool for making money.

“You’re so fierce. Who would want you?”

A light, teasing voice came from beside her. Sayuri Sato turned back indignantly, intending to retort, but after opening her mouth, she quickly closed it again.

She was dazed.

It was as though the moonlight of her youth had appeared before her once more.

It was truly a beautiful night. The moon had emerged after the rain. It was the fifteenth day of the month; the moonlight was lovely, and the breeze was gentle...

The evening wind brushed against the boy’s profile, while the moonlight served as his veil. The fair, immaculate youth seemed like something out of a dream.

And now she was nestled in the arms of someone like that... It felt unreal, like a dream.

He was smiling at her, his face bathed in sacred moonlight.

“Shut up...” Sayuri Sato muttered.

“You’re fierce, you like drinking, and when your temper flares up, you even hit people. If you don’t change, teacher, I’m afraid you’ll never get married in this lifetime.”

“So what if I never get married? I can live perfectly well on my own.” Sayuri Sato’s temper flared, and she could not resist snapping back. “Do you really think getting married automatically makes life more satisfying?”

It did not.

If she met the wrong person, someone who was only interested in her body, such a marriage would merely make her sick...

What Sayuri Sato longed for was a partner whose soul could merge with hers.

“I don’t know about that. Anyway, I’m definitely going to get married. Hee-hee.” Kitahara laughed.

“You’re such an unlovable brat, and you’re still going ‘hee-hee’...”

Sayuri Sato angrily reached out to rub his face.

Kitahara sidestepped her. “Stop fooling around. You’ll fall.”

“Then let’s fall together. Besides, your clothes aren’t dirty yet...”

A drunk woman seemed to act purely on emotion. If Kitahara made her unhappy, then she wanted to make him suffer too.

In one careless moment—

Kitahara stepped backward and missed a stair. Sayuri Sato’s eyes sharpened. She grabbed him, then pulled him into her arms.

For a moment, fragrance filled her embrace.

Sayuri Sato froze. Kitahara’s scent filled her nose, and she greedily inhaled it, like a fish immersed in water.

But the next second, the boy whispered something teasingly into her ear. She hurriedly pushed him away, rubbing her hands together in silence like a child who had done something wrong.

She was terribly drunk.

An indescribable emotion tore at her heart, and once again she regretted drinking so much.

“Ugh...”

“Come on, let’s go.”

Sayuri Sato forced her face into a stern expression. Without caring what Kitahara thought, she strode ahead.

Kitahara still had no idea why she had suddenly changed her attitude. By the time he realized it, she was already some distance away, and he hurried after her.

Sayuri Sato’s apartment was very close to Kitamine Academy. It took only a few minutes to walk there. Her emotions were running high, and she seemed to have forgotten that she was drunk. Strangely enough, however, she did not stumble even once.

As they went upstairs, Sayuri Sato suddenly stopped. Almost as if possessed, she turned around and found that Kitahara was no longer behind her. Her feelings grew complicated.

“Never mind...”

She turned back to continue upstairs, only to find an unexpected visitor waiting around the corner.

No...

There had indeed been prior notice, but Sayuri Sato had assumed it would take some time—at least until tomorrow—not that he would come now.

“I’ve been waiting outside for ages. Where have you been?” The visitor was extremely rude, stepping forward and immediately scolding her.

Hikaru Sato.

Her younger brother was currently attending an ordinary school in Tokyo, studying a major with little prospect beyond unemployment after graduation.

Sayuri Sato opened and closed her mouth before saying quietly, “I was feeling down, so I went out for a walk.”

“Why do you smell like alcohol? You spent money drinking?” Hikaru Sato frowned and could not help adding, “Couldn’t you just buy the stuff at a supermarket and drink it in the apartment?”

“The neighbors are teachers too... When I get drunk, I make a scene. It wouldn’t be good if they heard me,” Sayuri Sato explained.

“Then stop drinking. It’s a waste of money anyway...”

Hikaru Sato muttered as he held out his hand. “Give me some money. I’ve used up my living expenses for this month.”

“It’s only the fifteenth today.” Sayuri Sato frowned. “I gave you a hundred thousand yen at the end of last month. You’ve already spent it all? Hikaru, Tokyo isn’t like home. You need to be more frugal...”

“Quit nagging. University life costs money. I want to date girls, go traveling, and so on. Isn’t it perfectly normal to spend money on those things?”

Sayuri Sato said nothing.

She remembered what her own university days had been like. While everyone else was dating and enjoying life, she had been cooped up in a convenience store working part-time, occasionally harassed by drunken men who came in.

“Try to make it last. I still have to send money home...”

Sayuri Sato sighed, took out her wallet, and pulled out several bills...

A hand reached out, snatched away her wallet, and emptied all the money inside.

“You’ve got so much money. Why won’t you give me any?” Hikaru Sato’s eyes lit up the moment he spotted the bulging wallet.

“I need to eat this month too.” Sayuri Sato’s face flushed with embarrassment.

“Borrow some from someone! With your looks, wouldn’t it be easy to find some man willing to give you money?”

“How could I do that...?”

“Enough. Your salary is so high, so stop acting poor in front of me.” Hikaru Sato curled his lip. “When you were in school, the family spent every last penny on you. What’s wrong with me taking a little now?”

“...”

Sayuri Sato fell silent.

She would just have to borrow some money from someone.

But if she borrowed money, she would certainly have to repay the favor...

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded from behind her.