Tanin wo Yosetsukenai Buaisouna Joshi ni Sekkyou shitara, Mechakucha Natsukareta SS6

SS

SS6 A Sudden Visitor

TLed by: TanoshiKara

My son caught a cold.

I do feel bad for relying on him all the time. As both Sayaka and I cannot do the household chores, he does them all in our place. He also seems to be studying all the time so I knew that this would happen sooner or later.

"This is troubling......" I mutter to myself while opening the door to the refrigerator.

The only thing I am able to do is boil something in water. Even though that is the case, there are very few things remaining in the refrigerator that can be prepared with ease. It seems like he always buys groceries in bulk during the weekends so most of them get used up during the weekdays.

"I want to eat Naoya's cooking"

I cannot do something as cruel as ordering my son, who has a thirty-eight-degree-celsius fever, to cook up a meal.

"There is no choice but to buy something for lunch"

It seems like Sayaka will be eating out for dinner. If so, I have no choice but to prepare lunch and dinner today.

--That said, I must also include Naoya's share though.

The standard for the sick is, of course, porridge.

Porridge, porridge huh......

"--Impossible!"

No matter how I think about it, it will be troublesome no? Preparing such food takes too much of a toll on me, whose limit is the instant ramen.

"What should I do about this......"

Let's order takeout. Would porridge be something I can find if I search it up?

As I was having such thoughts, the interphone rang all of a sudden.

I closed the door of the refrigerator and took a peek at the screen of the interphone.

"......Who is it?"

Shown on the screen was a single girl.

That brown hair. If I were to judge solely based on appearance, she would feel like someone two or three years older than Naoya. She has that aura of a model which I can tell even though the quality of the feed is bad.

"......Who in the world is this person?"

Does such a girl even have something she needs from our household?

The thought that she might be Naoya's girlfriend did flash across my mind but he has a cute interest known as Fujisaki so it just is impossible that he is acquainted with a beauty like her.

--Let's answer for now I guess.

"Yes"

When I pushed the button and answered, that girl slowly faced the camera once again.

"I apologize for the suddenness. I am Ookusu......Ookusu Naoya-kun's classmate, Enami"

"Eh? Classmate? Naoya's?"

"Yes. Would you perhaps be his father?"

--Father.

I recall that pleasant feeling I felt when Fujisaki-san called me that. Could it be that Naoya is actually extremely popular?

"That would be the case. Erm, E-na-mi-san was it? What are you here for?"

Just then, the girl over the feed, E-na-mi-san replies, not before rolling her eyes.

"I heard that he caught a cold. I came to check on him as I got worried. If it is not a bother......"

It seems like she is a good girl. I am extremely curious about her relationship with Naoya but I see no reason to refuse.

* * *

"Pardon my intrusion"

I am shocked.

I am really shocked.

It was through the screen so I did not realize that she is not on the level of a beauty. Her beauty is on the level where she could be mistaken for a celebrity.

That girl, who stepped in from the entrance looks at me, who is dumbfounded, and tilts her head.

"Is something wrong?"

"No......you, are amazing"

My honest opinion leaked out of my mouth.

E-na-mi-san, who seems to have understood what I meant just from those words alone, makes a face expressing her slight annoyance.

"Nice to meet you. I said so earlier but I am Enami, his classmate"

"Ahh, yes. I am Naoya's dad. You came to visit him, was it? Naoya is on the second floor"

"Thank you"

I lead the way by climbing up the stairs.

I slowly regain my composure with each step I take. I wonder if I am acting in a way that is befitting of Naoya's dad. In the first place, I never thought that a visitor would come so I have yet to fix much of my appearance.

I did fix my bed hair but I am wearing a sweater with pajama bottoms. My beard has not been shaved either.

--I guess I can only give up on that thought.

I took a peek at E-na-mi-san who is at the back.

Being his classmate would mean that she is a High Schooler. However, she is so mature that it is hard to think of her as a High Schooler. It is to the point where it makes even I, who am way older, nervous.

--Is she really just a classmate?

Even if one is in the same class, it is not normal to pay a visit to a classmate who has caught a cold during the weekends.

We reach the second floor and, arriving in front of Naoya's room, I proceed to knock on the door twice.

However, there is no answer.

"Is he sleeping?"

I opened the door hesitantly.

I hear silent breathing. Naoya is lying down on the bed. Inferring from there being no reply, he must already be dreaming.

I would feel bad for my son if she was talking to him while he was sleeping. I should let him rest up for now.

"I am sorry. But right now is......"

Just as I was saying these words to her, E-na-mi-san barges into his room.

"Eh?"

In the first place, Naoya might get angry as someone has entered his private zone without permission. I tried to stop her from going further but the hand that I reached out to her stopped at an awkward position.

Warm sunlight shines in from the window. The papers that are pasted on various locations on the walls ruffles.

From the side, I notice that E-na-mi-san, who is standing in the middle of the room, has a complex expression on her face.

"......"

The words do not come out.

I wonder, what expressions do people show toward the sick. Do they think that is is a shame to be resting just because it is a cold? Or do they feel relieved after seeing that the person is sleeping peacefully?

However, the expression on E-na-mi-san's face is not any of those.

"......s"

I did see that Naoya moved for a moment but he showed no signs of waking up.

Seeing as he did not notice his classmate, he must really be fast asleep.

At that moment, E-na-mi-san opened her mouth to speak.

"So it was true......" Those words leaked from her mouth with her expression still unchanged.

"I did not expect it to be like this. Sorry"

I do not know the meaning behind those words. As if she had forgotten about my very existence, she seemed to be facing her own vortex of emotions and zealousness head-on.

"Why are you always--"

She continued.

E-na-mi-san lifted her face. What lay beyond her gaze was the rustling papers pasted across the walls.

"Able to be this strong?" She says, as if to push aside the emotions that piled up inside her.

That expression again. Even I, who was looking while standing at the corner could tell what emotion was expressed through that expression of hers. How should I describe it I wonder.

If I were to describe it, I feel that seemingly lonely would be the closest fit.

"Ermmmm" I said.

Hearing this, E-na-mi-san snapped back to reality and her expression returned to the one I saw through the interphone.

"......Sorry for barging in unannounced"

"I keep it a secret from Naoya. Rather than that, what will you do now? If you stay here for too long, the cold might spread"

"True"

Seemingly satisfied, she leaves the room. Since she made the effort to come all the way here, I invited her into the living room and brought out some green tea and snacks.

"It's fine, I will leave immediately anyway"

"I insist. You went out of your way to visit my son so I cannot let you leave like this"

Those words came from my heart. However, I had another agenda.

Sitting across from E-na-mi-san, I tried to ask her some questions.

"Are you really merely classmates with Naoya?"

"......"

She did not reply immediately.

I have not heard anything about Naoya getting a girlfriend and I think that it probably is not Fujimiya-san. Then, what is that with the way she looked at and the way she spoke to Naoya I wonder.

"We are just classmates. And--" E-na-mi-san eventually said in a concise manner.

Putting a single snack into her mouth, she stood up.

"It is probably just because he resembles me slightly"

* * *

Around evening, Naoya seems to have woke up. He came down from the second floor. While fiddling with his smartphone, he showed signs of uneasiness.

"Dad......Don't tell me someone came over today?"

"No, I don't think so" I lied.

"......I see"

Naoya tilted his head as if to say that he is not convinced.

--Similar huh.

I do not know why E-na-mi-san said it in such a way. I think that Naoya is not similar to E-na-mi-san in any way.

However, the expression she showed at that time, I was convinced that it was the real thing.

"Something wrong Dad?" Naoya asked me.

It is nothing, I merely replied.

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Wishing all US readers a happy belated Labour Day! Feel free to comment/pm me if you find any mistakes. Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed yourself!