Chapter 91: The Royal Road To Love Comedy


TL: Akabane


***


The day of my appointment with Ayashiro had arrived. I went home right after class and drove back to campus. Then I came to the front gate of the campus where Ayashiro and Igarashi were waiting for me.


"Sorry to keep you waiting. Get in, both of you."


I got out of the car, waved my hand and called them over. After consulting with each other, we decided to take my car to the venue of today's event. Ayashiro naturally approached the car to get in the passenger seat. But Igarashi interrupted her and stood in the passenger door.


"Oh, dear. What a cute reaction! Seeing you so healthy makes me want to sit next to him more and more."


"No, you don't. Today, you see. Ayashiro is the star of the show. So why don't you ride proudly in the back seat like a vip?"


Ayashiro is smirking. Igarashi, on the contrary, is smiling with a spirit as if there is a demon or dragon behind her.


"If you two would rather fight, you can both ride in the back. That's all!"


I turn away from their skirmish and sit in the driver's seat. Then I lock the passenger door. The two shrugged and sat quietly in the back seat. Then I start the car and head for their destination. I could feel the strange atmosphere in the back seat. I couldn't understand what was going on between the two of them. Ayashiro seemed to find Igarashi something to play with. Conversely, Igarashi seems to be competing with her.  Well, I guess I am one of the reasons. At any rate, I didn't want to be in a delicate atmosphere without conversation, so I decided to talk to Ayashiro, who was smiling naughtily.


"What happened to the usual mine type? You're dressed up quite well today, aren't you?"


Today Ayashiro's usual minefield makeup fashion has gone out the window, and she is wearing a conservative, neat one-piece dress coordinated in a very ladylike manner. Her makeup was also modest and mature. That's why her Latin face, which is her natural face, looks so beautiful. I think she is very beautiful.


"Yes, I guess so. Today is not the same as usual. It's this kind of style that wins the hearts of the government officials. It's the kind of innocent style that never even kissed a man that wins you the grant. You have to act like you don't know anything lewd like tongue twisters. Fufu."


I'm going to rub it in! I didn't have to look over my back to see that Igarashi was miffed at the word kiss.


"Hmm. I knew it.... But Ayashiro, you're more beautiful there than usual. Why are you wearing such scary makeup?"


Cute or not cute, in terms of beauty, I think she's much more beautiful now. The combination of her clear-cut Latin-style contours and her blonde hair and blue eyes make Ayashiro a special kind of beauty. But Ayashiro didn't look too happy when Igarashi complimented her face.


"That was cute in it's own way. Makeup like that is a wonderful thing that can make anyone look pretty. You should try it too. I can teach you."


"Eh, I don't think it would look good on me. But Ayashiro's twintails and side up-do are cute."


"That braid is........................................ I think those braids on both sides are cute."


Something seemed to clam up for a moment. I felt something unusually shady from Ayashiro. But then the two of them found themselves talking about makeup and fashion.


"By the way, you've been growing your hair long lately..."


"I saw a cute skirt in Harajuku..."


The two of them were engaged in girlish chatter. It would be tactless for me, a man, to enter the conversation. I decided to turn on the radio.


--- "The other day, I reported on the murder of 13 gang members in Ueno. It was initially thought that the killings were the result of a gang war, but after an on-site inspection by the police, it was determined that the killings were the work of a lone gunman."


This is a very disturbing news. I remember this case well. In the previous world, it had gone cold. After that, yakuza were sporadically killed, and the world treated them as dark heroes. Well, it's none of my business. In my previous world, one of Igarashi's ex-boyfriends was a yakuza bigwig, which caused a lot of trouble, so I don't like yakuza. I think they seriously lick the world when they think they can get away with anything if they drop a finger on you. But I'm a softy, so I forgave them because they put up with me in the hot sauna until my tattoo was soaked through.


--- "At the time of the incident, the sound of heavy gunfire and the men's angry shouts were heard by people passing nearby, leading to the belief that it was a struggle, but the police determined that it was a lone gunman because both the victims and the bullet holes and sword wounds left at the scene were from a single gun and sword, respectively. According to a person close to the police, "The investigation is already at a standstill, as no fingerprints or murder weapon have been found, and there have been no sightings of anyone suspicious. It definitely appears to be the work of a professional." Next news. According to a research group at the Imperial Capital University..."


I hum and drive while the news hangs in the air. I feel my pride as a man being satisfied by having two beautiful women in the backseat. At the same time, I can't help but feel like I'm being treated like an ass. But the two girls in the back are cute, so I'm safe. After a while, we arrived at our destination, a community center far from the city center.













Then, the event conducted by Ayashiro and the Education Circle began. In front of me and Igarashi were children of various races, ranging from elementary to junior high school age. Children of various skin colors and facial features. The only thing they had in common was that they weren't Japanese, and that many of them were of Latin American descent.


"Now I understand why Ayashiro said Igarashi would be a good choice."


I was sitting at my desk with my textbooks and drills open, taking care of the kids who were studying. Igarashi would also wander around among the kids, and if there was a kid who looked like he was in trouble, she would go up to him and talk to him.


"Reason? What is it?"


"The part where you don't know what to be afraid of."


"Ah. It's true. This sight might be tough for ordinary Japanese."


Not only the children, but also their guardians, the fathers and mothers, had come. They were mainly dealt with by Ayashiro. The only Japanese here were us, the students from the Imperial Capital University and a government official who had come to inspect the place. Most Japanese aren't accustomed to foreigners. In this space, Japanese are by far the minority. Not many people can get used to it right away. This event was to support education for the children of foreign workers in Japan.


"Good job, you two. How's it going? Everything okay?"


Ayashiro comes to my side. I sense an atmosphere of concern for me.


"It's not easy, is it? The kids only speak a few words of Japanese, and my Spanish is poor, so it's hard to communicate with them. On the other hand, Igarashi is like that..."


Igarashi was teaching English to the children at a distance from us, gesturing with his hands. She seemed to be well-liked by the children, who were studying with happy smiles on their faces.


"Oh, my. That's even better than I thought. I'm so glad she's here. I'll have to thank her properly later."


Ayashiro seems to really appreciate Igarashi. The way she looks at the children and Igarashi is full of compassion. That's why I wanted to ask. Why do I sense a sense of loneliness from Ayashiro right now?


"Hey. Why did you decide to hold this event?"


"You have some idea, don't you?"


"Even so, I want you to express it in words. I don't want to know your circumstances, I want to know how you feel."


"Fufu. You want to know my feelings, not my circumstances? Hahaha. That's nice, isn't it? Yeah, it is. It's definitely a matter of feelings..."


Ayashiro quickly narrowed her eyes. I felt a somewhat regretful shadow reflected in her blue eyes.


"I don't like half-Japanese heroines in anime, manga, and light novel."


"Haha. That's exactly how I feel."


"Yes. It's a matter of feelings. I mean, I don't like the word "half." I mean, it's weird to say half of one person, isn't it? Where is the half? The upper half and the lower half? Right and left? Front and back? Isn't that very grotesque?"


The tone of her voice was too painful to be a joke. And it still goes on.


"I hate the word double even more. Double what? Fat? Boobs would be a dream, but shoulders would be stiff. If it's tummy, it's disgusting. I think only hamburgers are happy with a double."


I don't know the etymology of the word. But if one parent is a foreigner, people call the child "half" or "double."


"Words have the power to divide the world. A special name can be a divisive force in itself. Philosophical, isn't it? It's lovely."


I didn't respond to that. I am not inclined to affirm it. Ayashiro is now expressing her true feelings. I can't bring myself to interfere.


"You just categorize things with a list of arbitrary words and think you understand them without asking.... So others are selfish to us. How can I explain the feeling of despair I get when someone tells me I speak good Japanese when all I know is Japanese?"


All I can do is stare into Ayashiro's eyes. I can only listen. I can't easily sympathize with her. This is a story that will probably touch her wounds.


"You push your illusions on people without their permission. That is called prejudice. And I don't like unconscious and horrifying racism. You know what? The good half. The half that is not good. There is such a concept. Anglo-Saxon-Americans or Scandinavians are very, very desirable. Otherwise, it's not allowed. I'm sorry, I'm Latin. I'm Latin and I'm not very flirtatious. I can't be cheerful. Because I'm Latin."


All I can do is listen. This must be a curse. A curse wrapped around Ayashiro.


"You know, I... I was supposed to be just an ordinary girl who was lucky enough to be born to kind parents. But everyone came together to make me special. They made me special. I hated it. I hated it so much..."


Ayashiro's hands were shaking from earlier. Her tremendous wounds were making her tremble. So I held Ayashiro's hand.


"That's why I'm here now. The children here are like me. The circumstances are different, but these children are trying their best between the dividing lines. Parents and their children who had to leave their home country and come to this country because of circumstances. These children. They have difficulty in getting an education due to various reasons. Public education in Japan is for Japanese speakers only. If they had money at home, they could go to schools that provide education in their native language, but these children cannot afford that. These children are separated from education. I am bothered by my birth, but I feel guilty when I see people in the same situation as me. I don't think I was always happy. But I was far from lack. Material wealth was always there, so I could keep escaping. That's why it pains me to see children who can't escape. I have to give. I have an obligation to share what I have."


I can only squeeze her hand tighter. I don't think I can say anything thoughtful. But I wanted to say one thing and one thing only.


"Ayashiro. I've made it this far without making a mistake because you were kind to me. Thank you."


"Yes. I'm glad if that's the case. Yes, I'm glad. I'm glad."


Ayashiro leaned in closer to me. I had always found comfort in her softness. But now it was the opposite. I remembered the fragility in the slenderness of her body. She was also a wounded girl. And yet she is trying to do something for others. She could have looked for someone to lick her wounds and pamper her, but she was trying to help others. That was very precious to me.


"But I'm grateful to you, too. I really do. I thought I was going to be alone in college. But then you showed up. I found myself thinking it was funny. You got involved and I wasn't alone. That's why I've come this far. Tokiwa. Thank you."


Ayashiro is smiling. It was a very beautiful smile. It was the kind of smile that makes anyone who sees it happy. And we stared at each other for a while, both of us blushing and turning our eyes away in embarrassment. We had kissed each other so intensely. It seems that both Ayashiro and I are still very pure. We turned our eyes away from each other, but our bodies never separated. I looked around nervously. That's when it happened. I noticed a boy holding a textbook and staring at me with green eyes.



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