"Should we head back down the mountain?"
"Mm."
...
"Wait for me a second."
"What is it?"
Yuto looked at Utaha in confusion as she suddenly turned around and hurried back up the stone steps.
Her pace was noticeably rushed, but instead of calling after her, he simply followed at a leisurely speed and watched as she disappeared back inside the shrine.
Once there, Utaha waved toward the elderly shrine maiden they had met earlier and called her over.
The two spoke quietly for a moment before the shrine maiden handed her a small lock.
Seeing it from a distance, Yuto immediately understood what she was planning and could not help smiling to himself.
He quietly made his way into the shrine while Utaha, completely unaware that he was approaching, lowered her head and carefully began writing two names on the lock.
Kamisaka Yuto
Kasumigaoka Utaha
She wrote each character slowly and carefully, putting far more attention into the simple task than it should reasonably have required.
Once she finished, she stared at the two names for several seconds before an unmistakably foolish little smile appeared on her face.
"How much does it cost to leave this here as an offering?"
Utaha looked toward the shrine maiden.
"Five yen."
"Eh?! That cheap?!"
She looked genuinely surprised.
The elderly shrine maiden offered no explanation and merely smiled at her with the gentle, knowing warmth of a grandmother watching a young girl stumble happily through her first love.
Utaha had just begun searching through her things for a coin when a familiar voice sounded from behind her, sending a sudden thrill of happiness through her chest.
"I've got one."
She spun around.
Yuto stood there with the same calm smile on his lips.
He placed a five-yen coin into the shrine maiden's hand before reaching over and taking the lock from Utaha.
The moment he saw the names written across it, his smile deepened slightly.
Utaha immediately became painfully aware of what he was looking at.
Her cheeks flushed bright red, and her eyes began darting around nervously as though she could somehow pretend she had not just carefully written both their names onto a love lock.
"Remember, you should lock it together," the shrine maiden reminded them with a warm smile.
Yuto glanced toward Utaha.
"Come on."
He bent down slightly and hooked the lock onto the chain in front of them, but instead of pressing it shut by himself, he simply rested one hand over it and gave Utaha a small, wordless look of invitation.
Still blushing, Utaha slowly reached out and placed her hand over his.
Yuto gently caught her hand in his, and together they pressed down on the lock.
Click.
A crisp metallic sound rang through the quiet shrine as the lock snapped securely into place.
"Don't forget to throw away the key."
The shrine maiden smiled and pointed toward a small pit nearby.
Countless identical keys already lay scattered inside, so many that once theirs joined them, there would be no possibility of ever identifying which key belonged to their particular lock.
Yuto casually pulled the key free and tossed it into the pit.
Beside him, Utaha watched it disappear among all the others, her smile becoming so bright that she could barely contain it.
...
On the way back down the mountain toward the station, Yuto and Utaha walked hand in hand.
When they had arrived earlier, they had walked beside each other with a small but distinct distance between them.
Now, on the return journey, that distance had disappeared completely.
Utaha's heart was still overflowing with happiness.
Everything had gone so smoothly that part of her could hardly believe it was real, yet when she thought about it more carefully, perhaps this kind of outcome was exactly what she had secretly been hoping for all along.
As for the more complicated questions surrounding their future, she had already spent plenty of time thinking about those on her own.
She was not blind.
After spending so much time around the restaurant, Utaha had noticed many things that Yuto himself might not have fully realized.
She knew perfectly well that she was not the only girl who had feelings for him, and compared with some of those people, she possessed very little that could truly set her apart.
When all was said and done, she was only an ordinary human girl.
Among people her own age, she might be considered talented, attractive, successful, and worthy of admiration.
Inside the restaurant, however, she was surrounded by dragons, gods, kings, heroes, monsters, and people from worlds where the impossible was simply part of everyday life.
Against that background, she was one of the most ordinary people there.
Could someone as ordinary as her really expect to keep Yuto entirely to herself?
Utaha was not some naïve little girl who only looked at what she wanted to see.
She was mature enough to recognize reality even when she did not particularly like it, which meant she already knew the answer.
She could not.
This was a love she would probably never be able to monopolize.
Part of her naturally felt frustrated and unwilling to accept that.
What girl would happily share the person she loved if she had another choice?
Yet no matter how many times Utaha had turned the matter over in her mind, she had always reached the same conclusion.
She could not escape from it anymore.
Whether choosing to continue despite knowing all of that was foolishness, selfishness, stupidity, or childishness no longer mattered to her. If she could not have Yuto entirely to herself, then so be it.
A moth flying toward a flame probably did not stop halfway to carefully calculate every possible consequence either.
For now, she was happy.
That was enough.
Whatever uncertain complications waited for her in the future, she would face them when they actually arrived.
"Careful."
Utaha had become so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to notice a stone in the path.
Just as her foot was about to catch against it, Yuto reacted immediately, tugging her toward him and catching her against his chest.
After recovering from the brief surprise, Utaha remained there for a moment before suddenly smiling.
"You're laughing?" Yuto looked at her helplessly. "Why weren't you watching where you were going?"
"Because I have you~"
Her voice became sweet and soft, almost like melted candy.
Yuto stared at her for a moment, completely speechless.
Fine.
He was not even going to argue with that.
They continued all the way to the train platform with their hands still intertwined.
Neither of them spoke very much, but the silence between them no longer felt awkward in the slightest.
They simply stood close together and waited, quietly enjoying each other's presence until the distant rumble of an approaching train finally reached their ears.
The tracks began vibrating beneath them as the train emerged from the tunnel in the distance.
Once they boarded, sitting together felt so natural that neither of them even needed to think about it.
As the train started moving and the countryside slowly began sliding past the windows, Utaha's thoughts wandered again.
Now that they were genuinely together, she should be allowed to do something she had only imagined earlier, shouldn't she?
With that thought in mind, she gently tilted her head and rested it against Yuto's shoulder.
Yuto felt the soft weight settle against him and glanced down.
He did not say anything or tease her.
Instead, he simply lifted one arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, drawing her a little closer.
The train rumbled steadily back toward Tokyo while the young couple sat quietly in each other's arms.
Mountains, rivers, villages, and fields drifted past outside the window, but somehow none of that scenery seemed quite as precious as the simple warmth of the person beside them.
...
By the time they returned to the station, it was already past two in the afternoon.
The train journey alone had taken nearly five hours round trip, and once the leisurely walk up and down the mountain was included, almost another hour had disappeared as well.
After getting off the train, Utaha decided that she wanted to go home first.
Climbing up and down the mountain twice had left her covered in sweat, and as much as she wanted to remain glued to Yuto for the rest of the day, she still had enough self-awareness to realize that going home and taking a shower was probably the wiser choice.
If she actually smelled bad, she would die of embarrassment.
Especially right after successfully confessing her feelings and becoming his girlfriend.
"Yuto-kun, do you know what couples usually do before saying goodbye?"
Utaha looked at him with a sly smile.
Several hours had passed since her confession, and by now the overwhelming nervousness she had felt on the mountain had completely settled.
The bold, teasing Utaha he was familiar with had finally returned.
Yuto's eyes shifted slightly before a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Without giving her time to react, he reached out and wrapped one arm around her waist.
"You mean this?"
Utaha's eyes widened.
Then Yuto lowered his head.
She was startled for only an instant before understanding what he intended and quietly closing her eyes.
A long while later, they finally separated.
Utaha's entire face had turned bright red, and she glared at him with a mixture of embarrassment and indignation.
"So now you suddenly know what you're doing!"
"Want me to walk you home?"
Yuto completely ignored her complaint and asked the question as though nothing unusual had happened.
"No need. It's not nighttime or anything. I can get home by myself."
Yuto's smile became a little more mischievous.
"So... if it were nighttime, I'd be allowed to come home with you?"
The boldness Utaha had only just recovered vanished instantly.
Her gaze became evasive, and even her posture grew visibly less confident.
"Hmph! As if you'd actually have the courage when the time came!"
Even so, she stubbornly forced out one final retort before slipping free of Yuto's arms and hurrying away.
Yuto remained where he was and watched her retreating figure with a faint smile.
He had always thought Utaha was cute.
But now that their relationship had changed, she somehow seemed even cuter than before.
...
It still was not three o'clock, which meant there was plenty of time left in the day.
Yuto had no intention of returning to the restaurant this early, so after thinking about what else he could do, he decided to use the opportunity to visit Kaori.
She had collapsed in the restaurant the previous night.
Although everything had ultimately ended safely, it still felt right to check on her personally and make sure her recovery was going well.
Yuto took public transportation to the neighborhood around the Miyazono family home.
Before visiting, he stopped at a nearby supermarket and bought some gifts, since showing up empty-handed when visiting someone who was recovering from an illness had always felt inappropriate to him.
In his homeland, bringing something along when visiting a sick person was simply basic courtesy.
Carrying a carton of milk and a basket of fruit, he eventually arrived at the Miyazono family's cake shop.
Normally, the shop was bustling with customers, but today the doors were firmly shut.
A sign hanging from the handle read:
Temporarily Closed Due to Personal Matters
Yuto set the gifts down briefly and stepped forward to press the doorbell.
Even when a shop was closed, the bell itself usually remained active, and after he rang it twice, Mr. Miyazono's voice came from somewhere inside.
"Sorry, we're temporarily closed today. If you're here for sales or anything else, please come back tomorrow."
Yuto could hear him clearly but could not see him.
"Mr. Miyazono, it's Kamisaka Yuto. I came to see how Kaori is doing."
Only a few seconds later, Mr. Miyazono appeared in the hallway.
Yuto raised one hand in greeting, and the older man immediately hurried toward the entrance. As he unlocked the door, he apologized repeatedly.
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't realize it was you, Kamisaka-kun. I'm sorry for making you wait."
People in this country really did love apologizing.
Fortunately, Yuto had long since become used to it.
Creak—
The door opened, and Yuto gave Mr. Miyazono a small nod.
"How is Kaori doing?"
"Mm. Kaori's resting in bed right now, but she's already awake."
Mr. Miyazono stepped aside to make room for him.
"Would it be all right if I went inside and saw her?"
"Of course. Please, Kamisaka-kun, come in."
When Yuto picked up the milk and fruit, Mr. Miyazono immediately tried several times to refuse them.
After the usual round of polite back-and-forth, however, Yuto ultimately managed to leave the gifts there before following him deeper into the house.
The front portion of the Miyazono residence served as the family cake shop, while the rooms farther inside made up their actual living space.
Kaori's bedroom was on the second floor, so Yuto followed Mr. Miyazono upstairs and entered the room with him.
The moment he stepped inside, Kaori, who was sitting upright in bed, visibly brightened in surprise. She clearly had not expected Yuto to visit.
Mrs. Miyazono, who was sitting beside the bed, immediately stood to greet him, leading to another brief round of polite conversation before Mr. Miyazono finally brought over a chair for Yuto.
Once he sat down, Yuto turned his attention toward Kaori.
The girl still looked a little weak and tired, but compared with the previous night, her complexion was considerably better.
"I didn't expect Kamisaka-kun to come visit!"
Kaori greeted him with a bright smile.
Yuto returned it. "Everyone's been worried about you."
"Eh... Really? Then I'm sorry. I made everyone worry about me."
Kaori stuck out her tongue sheepishly, looking as lively as a little rabbit.
Ever since the first day Yuto met her, she had always left him with the impression of someone bursting with energy, and now that the illness which had shadowed her life for so long was genuinely gone, that natural brightness seemed even stronger than before.
"If you feel bad about making everyone worry, then come to the restaurant yourself next time and tell them you're okay."
"Mm! Of course!" Kaori confidently patted her chest. "Don't worry! Give me another couple of days to rest, and I'll definitely come back!"
Her parents watched from beside the bed, their expressions filled with tenderness and love.
"We really owe everything to that lady from your restaurant," Mrs. Miyazono said quietly. Even now, her voice carried lingering emotion and overwhelming relief.
"If it weren't for her, Kaori's illness..."
After leaving the restaurant the previous night, the couple had not actually gone straight home.
Instead, they had rushed the unconscious Kaori directly to the hospital for another examination.
Lucoa had already told them that everything was fine, but after spending so many years living with the fear of losing their daughter, simply hearing those words was not enough to completely reassure them.
They needed doctors to examine Kaori themselves before they could finally believe that the nightmare was truly over.
When the hospital results came back, both of them had been stunned.
Their daughter's illness had genuinely disappeared.
Every test result had returned to normal.
Aside from needing additional nutrition and several days of proper rest to recover from how weakened her body had become, Kaori was now medically indistinguishable from an ordinary healthy girl.
The results had left her parents holding each other and crying for most of the night.
For years, they had prayed for a miracle they knew might never come, desperately wishing that somehow their daughter could be given the future she deserved.
And now, against every expectation and every medical certainty, that miracle had finally happened.
Even after an entire night, the Miyazono couple still felt as though they were trapped inside some impossibly beautiful dream—something too extraordinary to fully believe, yet real enough to fill their hearts with a joy they could hardly put into words.
----
I've been repeatedly checking the raw since i'm afraid i missed a page... Yuto just accept Utaha confession suddenly? Hell Erina has better bond with Yuto rather than Utaha imo.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator