Gamers SS: Worries After Returning Home
“I’m home~! Everything went smoothly with Amane today.” Upon coming home from a long day after attending the parent-teacher meetings, Shihoko was promptly greeted by Shuuto’s trademark gentle smile.
It seemed that, despite being a busy man, he’d still managed to return home earlier than Shihoko, as she had taken the bullet train back home after catching up with Mahiru. Now dressed in his loungewear, he welcomed her with the best news under the sun, “Welcome home. You must be tired, so I prepared dinner.” Shihoko thanked him and the two of them entered the living room together.
The aroma of spices wafted from the kitchen, a tell-tale sign that curry was tonight’s meal. Shuuto would make curry from scratch, selecting spices he liked based on his mood that day, and from past experience, Shihoko already knew that it would taste amazing. She found herself smiling involuntarily and had to consciously rein in her expression.
“Granted, I wasn’t too worried, but I’m glad that there weren’t any problems nonetheless,” Shuuto stated. “Our boy is doing well for himself, and that’s all that truly matters.”
“You say that, but I could tell that you really wanted to go too.”
“Of course. As a father, I wanted to hear all about what the school thought of our adorable son. I’m sorry for leaving it all to you, Shihoko-san.”
“My, I don’t think it could be helped. Had you forced yourself to come, Amane might have gotten mad and said, ‘You don’t have to go out of your way to come every time even when you’re so busy with work.’”
“Yeah, that is something he would say.”
As Amane was quite considerate of his parents, he would undoubtedly scold Shihoko and Shuuto if they unnecessarily made time just for him. As her schedule allowed for it, Shihoko had managed to free up some time from work well in advance, so Amane didn’t voice any complaints this time around. However, it was easy to imagine that if they both went together, Amane would have told them, “You’re forcing yourself to come again.”
“Oh, and speaking of our adorable son, I have some news about our adorable daughter.”
“Did something happen with Shiina-san?”
“Ah, well…” Shihoko paused for several moments. “As I suspected, Mahiru-chan isn’t on good terms with her parents. She told me that she didn’t even inform them of the meeting.”
Shihoko wasn’t as familiar with the specifics as Amane was, and given that it wasn’t nice to pry, she had no intention of touching the subject until Mahiru was ready to talk. However, even from the little she could see, Shihoko understood that it was a result of something deeply rooted in Mahiru’s family environment. Fortunately, Mahiru didn’t show any signs of gloom today, and with Amane by her side, Shihoko wasn’t too worried about her emotional well-being.
“When parents aren’t there to help their child plan their future, it makes for a large burden on the child’s shoulders. Mahiru-chan may be a very responsible girl, but seeing her take on all the responsibilities that adults should handle by herself makes me worried.”
“I agree. We’ll do anything in our power to help her, but…in the end, we’re just outsiders.”
“Goodness. How I wish they’d just hurry up and get married already. Then she’d officially be our daughter, and we would be able to support her in every way possible!”
“You need a parent’s signature to file a marriage registration before becoming an adult, so it’s easier said than done. In any case, it’s for them to decide, so we can’t force them along now, can we? You know how adults tend to pressure the younger ones, so we shouldn’t push them forward too quickly. Even if we can’t do it as her parents, I think we should focus on the support we can provide as adults.”
“…Okaaaay.” While Shihoko understood, she still felt frustrated that she wasn’t able to fully take the place of Mahiru’s real parents. With a slight pout residing on her lips, she returned to her room to get changed.
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