Homecoming (2)
"First off, that woman isn't your older sister—she's your mother."
"Huh? Mother? She looks so young!"
"I'd guess she's in her forties, but she looked the same ten years ago. I don't know why. Oh, and you already know, but she's not your biological mother."
"……I see."
"I don't know why you can't go into the inner room, but she's always been like that."
"Got it."
"Daughter-in-law… Hmm. That's not wrong, right?"
"……Yeah…"
"The annex has babies, so you can't go in there. You'd need something close to sterilization before entering."
"Got it."
"Oh, and there's another mother figure."
"Got it. ……Wait, what?"
"That's all you need to know for now. I'll fill you in on the details tomorrow as we go around."
"Wait, no. Why is mother… No, never mind. Let's do this."
The next morning.
"……."
"Snore… Snore…"
Since I'd woken up first, I got to see Cecil fast asleep.
A strange sense of guilt washed over me, and I poked her soft cheek.
"Hey, everyone's up… Oh my!"
Oh.
Damn.
What ambushed us that morning was Eri… well.
Calling her Eri felt weird now that I called Luke "father."
So… what ambushed us that morning was my second mother.
Ugh, was that too cold?
But calling her by name felt rude.
I didn't know. Let's just go with this.
"Sorry. Did this mother disturb you?"
"We weren't really doing anything."
"Hehe, how about you say that after you take your finger out of her cheek?"
Ugh.
"Looks lovely. Take your time, but don't be too late, okay?"
With that, my second mother shut the door with a thud and disappeared.
Sitting here felt pointless, so I poked Cecil's cheeks again.
Her soft cheek flesh squished under my finger, puffing out like she was blowing up her cheeks.
They got a little puffy.
"……."
There was a girl in my father's manga who pretended to be cute by poking her cheeks.
"……."
That only worked in manga. In real life, it would just look ridiculous.
"……."
Well, up until now. Or rather, until I tried poking her cheeks, I thought that.
This was softer than I expected, and fluffy, and… kind of cute.
When I was younger, I liked the cool beauty type.
You know, the office look? The kind where they wear that sort of thing.
"……Are you done now?"
"?!"
What!
"W-were you awake?"
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
"Before your mother came. Oh, mother, right? The vibe fits, but her looks are more like an older sister, so I got confused."
"…From the start?"
"Right?"
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because it was cute."
"…? What was?"
"You poking my cheeks and being fascinated by it. That was cute."
"……."
At my age, it was the first time I'd ever heard someone call me cute.
I objectively looked a little scary.
No, actually, pretty scary.
My sharp eyes and golden irises were like a predator's.
My tall frame and well-toned muscles gave off an intimidating presence.
My lack of facial expressions made me seem blunt and cold.
My unruly black hair only reinforced that impression.
If I smiled brightly, maybe it'd be different, but right now, even Enter, who'd cling to me calling me "oppa," used to avoid me at first.
That was probably when I was fourteen.
So of course my father and mothers never called me cute.
And yet.
I wasn't boasting, but strangers couldn't even approach me.
And now, cute?
To be honest, it was the most embarrassing thing I'd ever heard.
"What? Doesn't make sense?"
"Yeah."
"It doesn't for me either."
Cecil, still groggy, touched my cheek and spoke.
"You don't have a cute face… but why are your actions so cute? Gap moe, is that what it's called?"
"……What are you talking about."
She must not have been fully awake.
I tried to hide my burning face by throwing my blanket over Cecil.
"Mmph."
"I'll take it off once you're awake."
"I've been awake for ages."
"Nope. You're talking nonsense, so you're not awake yet."
"I am awake."
"If that's awake, go back to sleep. You're just tired."
"Mmph, I'm getting stuffy in here."
"…Should I let you out?"
"Yeah."
"What'll you do for me if I do?"
"I'll poke your cheeks."
"No."
"Then I'll let you poke mine."
"Did I need permission for that?"
"No."
"Then what'll you do for me?"
"Hmm… I won't tell your mother about what we did yesterday."
"Yesterday? What?"
"You roughly grabbed my hand and pulled me into your arms… Mmph."
"Phew… What's with you today, seriously."
You weren't always like this.
Your image has been changing a lot lately, hasn't it?
After teasing Cecil a bit, I finally let her out.
I couldn't hold her much longer, since I had no idea what conversation was happening outside.
Cecil quickly washed up and tied her hair back, looking at me.
"Ready!"
"…Huh? Already?"
"Yeah."
In about ten minutes, Cecil was back to her usual self.
Her shining white hair tied into a single ponytail.
Otherwise plain, but her face wasn't plain at all, so it didn't show.
"Don't girls take longer?"
"I don't know. Never tried it."
"What about your roommate?"
"She's from the North."
"Ah."
The North, huh.
People there just splash water on themselves and go.
"Then wait a little."
"Hmph."
I left Cecil and went into the bathroom.
I wanted to shower, but with Cecil here, I couldn't.
So I used water and some basic toiletries to fix my hair, applied something to my head, and my face.
After going through my usual routine,
"Did you make me wait long?"
"Yeah."
"They say it's usually not like this."
"It's not usual."
Hmm. That was blunt.
"Anyway, let's go."
"Ugh. Should I try applying all sorts of stuff too?"
"If you do, research it well. Using the wrong stuff can damage your skin."
"You look totally out of place."
"I know."
I know too.
A tiger-like guy like me doesn't fit with this stuff.
But I have to do it anyway.
I think I saw something about sons raised by mothers vs. sons raised by fathers before.
I'm probably closer to the former.
Sion seemed pretty surprised too.
"Like the trendy 'eigenman' thing, right?"
"What's that? Don't go learning weird stuff from the internet."
"You should use the internet more…"
Anyway.
After starting our preparations, the guest room door opened dozens of minutes later.
"The main house is this way."
"Hmph."
The main house could be divided into three large areas.
The inner room where father and mother lived.
The kitchen with cooking facilities and a refrigerator.
The open veranda with no walls.
They'd probably be gathered in the veranda, which took up most of the space and served as the living room.
That's how it usually was.
And sure enough.
"Well, well. The main character's here. So, how far have you and your girlfriend gotten?"
"Do you happen to have a wheelbarrow?"
"I threw it out a few days ago. Figured it was about time you came."
"Tsk."
Father grinned lecherously and waved his hand.
Looking like the same old man I'd seen when I first met him.
Is this what he leads with to strangers?
I subtly hid Cecil behind me.
He was harmful to show her.
"Jeden. I'll introduce you."
"Hmph."
But I had to step aside right away.
Even though she said that, introductions were necessary.
Cecil spoke with a serious expression unlike her usual self.
"Hello. I'm Cecil. I'm in the same Magic Engineering department as Jeden at the Academy, and we're… dating with marriage in mind."
"Huh? Wait. What did you say?"
"Give me your son! Father, Mother!!!"
"What?!"
"Ehahahaha!!!!"
After Cecil's bombshell statement.
No, not after—immediately after.
"Hehe, right. Cecil, huh?"
"Yes!"
"So the son brought home a nice girl, but ended up being the one caught instead?"
"Yes! I'll never let him go!"
"Hehe. Just so you know, refunds for simple whims aren't possible."
Father seemed pleased with Cecil's lively demeanor, or maybe he was happy that I'd be caught, and moved on after asking just enough.
"Then I'll ask this time."
"Yes! Um… Ah, no, Mother!"
"Hmph."
"Ode."
"Hmph. That's not right. Right. So… how far have you and Jeden gotten?"
"Huh?"
"Mom!"
Why is everyone like this!
"I'm not joking. I need to know from this side too."
"Yes…"
But she said it seriously, her faint smile fading as her expression hardened.
Cecil was… half-broken. That lively look earlier was probably all she could muster.
Then… I had to handle this.
"How far have we gotten?"
"Yeah."
"Just… holding hands."
"Eh. Just hands?"
"Not 'just hands,' but 'hands and all.'"
I held Cecil's hand tightly with my left hand and answered.
I had to handle this before she came to her senses.
…Or so I thought.
"Mother."
"Yeah?"
"We also… hugged."
"Oh my."
"Really? How long?"
"……Tightly. We hugged tightly."
"Kyaa! Jeden! You should've said that!"
"No…"
"Hehe. You're spilling beans like crazy. Didn't even need to ask."
"That's why! Cecil?"
"Ah! Yes!"
"We don't have much, but want to go out and play a bit?"
"Yes, let's go!"
"Here, use this to buy something delicious. Jeden's bad with money, so Cecil should handle finances from now on, okay?"
"Yes! Let's go, Jeden!"
"Huh? Wait…"
Somehow, I'd satisfied both mothers' curiosity and escaped the situation.
…Did they plan this?
"Cecil."
"Huh?! Huh!"
"…No."
No way.
If that face redder than an apple was planned, she should've gone to the theater instead of the Academy.