Volume 3 Chapter 1

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Translated by me, Edited by Wubda

♥

A single mother’s morning starts pretty early.

I get up early, rub my sleepy eyes, and make lunch each morning for my high school daughter.

Although, on rare occasions I oversleep and can’t do so, but I pretty much do it every morning.

Every day.

Even if something happened with my daughter the previous night.

“Uaaahhh… Morning.”

My daughter came down the stairs after I finished making breakfast and lunch.

Miu rarely gets up on unless I wake her up, but it seems that she got up on her own today.

The moment that the living room’s door opened, my hands stopped…

But I made a conscious effort to move my hands and…

“Good morning, Miu.” I said, trying to sound as I always do.

I desperately suppressed the tension and anxiety that was eating me up.

She, still on her pajamas, sat down on the table and frowned.

“Huh? Ham and eggs for breakfast again?”

“What’s wrong? You like them, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but… Haven’t you only been making this lately?”

“Well… That’s because we still have a lot of eggs that Grandpa gave us. They’ll spoil if we don’t eat them soon.”

“I knew that already, but despite that… Ah, I know, why don’t you make eggs benedict tomorrow? I saw them on TV the other day and they’re easy to make.”

“I’d rather not have to cook something in the mornings that I don’t know how to make. If you don’t like what I cook, then get up early and make breakfast yourself.”

“Boo… If you put it like that, then I guess I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

And with that exchange, we started to eat breakfast.

It was the same as always.

So much that it seemed unnatural.

Miu’s expressions and behaviors weren’t different from the usual.

It was as if nothing had happened yesterday.

Everything was so normal that I thought it was a dream… but..

Soon I would realize.

That what happened yesterday was unmistakably, reality.

Ding-dong.

Right as I finished eating breakfast, the doorbell rang.

When I went to open the door, the one waiting there was the young man who lived next door.

Takkun.

Takumi Aterazawa-kun.

A 20 year old university student that lives next to us.

And also, a weird boy who is in love with a woman 10 years older than him, me.

Actually, he declared his feelings to me, but I “postponed” my answer until later.

“Good morning Ayako-sa-…” In the middle of his morning greeting, his eyes opened wide in a state of shock.

His cheeks got red and he looked away.

“W-What’s wrong, Takkun?”

“Uh… Uhm, well… I-It’s nothing.”

“There’s no way it’s nothing when you’re so flustered.”

“Uhm…”

He looked at me… More specifically, my clothes, and then, with some difficulty, he said:

“For a moment… I thought you were naked under the apron.”

“Huh? Naked under the apro…~~~~?!”

I slowly looked down and understood the meaning of his words. Since it has been hot lately, my outfit today was a lot more informal than usual, composed by a black camisole top and white shorts. (TLN: Refer to the chapter title image since I don’t know clothes.)

And on top of that I had an apron… Wow, that’s interesting.

Looking at it from the front, it certainly can look as if I’m only wearing an apron.

“W-What are you thinking?! There’s no way I’m naked under the apron! Look! I’m properly wearing clothes!”

I lifted my apron, desperately trying to show the camisole and shorts I was wearing.

“Y-You’re right… I’m sorry…”

“What’s with you… Saying such weird things in the morning. You’re so dirty minded that even when I wear normal clothes your mind is in the gutter.”

“…I-I’m sorry.”

Burning with embarrassment, I started to scold him and Takkun bowed. It looked like an honest apology, but there was some discontent on his face. His expression looked like it was saying “I’m not the only one responsible here, you’re also guilty for dressing like that.”

An awkward silence fell on the entrance.

And then, Takkun started to look for words to say.

“Uhm… Yesterday, after everything that happened, was everything alright?” He said. “I mean… Since we went through a lot, you know, you could be fatigued and such.”

“Everything’s okay, thanks for your concern.”

Two days ago, on Saturday, we had our date.

Our first date.

The amusement park date he had planned was perfect, but then, we went through all sorts of accidents.

On the way back, a tire blew out and due to the sudden heavy rain, we were forced to spend the night at a… l-love hotel…

A lot of unexpected things happened.

But… it was fun.

Even with all the accidents, they were wonderful memories.

“What about you, Takkun? You said that you didn’t sleep well at the hotel.”

“Completely fine. I’m still young, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t sleep for a night or two.”

“Y-You’re right… You’re still 20… A true partygoer can stay awake all night… Unlike me.”

“Oh! I-I didn’t mean that, sorry! I didn’t mean it that way!”

I got depressed from an unexpected blow and he got into a panic.

And when that exchange ended…

“…Taku-nii, good morning!” Said Miu happily, coming from behind me.

And then… She suddenly hugged him.

She tightly hugged Takkun at the entrance.

“Huh…?”

“…Wha?”

We didn’t understand what was happening and were perplexed.

While the mood got heavy, Miu just smiled widely.

“Ehehe. I wanted to see you so badly, Taku-nii. You look so handsome today as well.” She said.

With a coquettish voice that I had never heard before.

And with a seductive gaze I had never seen before.

“Wha… What are you doing, Miu?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb…”

“Ehehe. It’s nice to do this once in a while, don’t you think?” Miu answered calmly to the bewildered Takkun and finally let go of him.

Then she put on her shoes, stood next to Takkun… and this time she intertwined her arm with his.

The way that couples do.

And pressed her chest against his forearm.

“My… What a lucky girl I am. I can monopolize Taku-nii every morning and flirt like this.”

“…What are you saying no—?”

“Well, you see, I don’t want to make this hard to understand, so I’ll be straight with you… I’ve decided to compete with mom.”

“Compete…?”

And without any hint of embarrassment, Miu answered the bewildered young man.

“A competition to see which one of us can make Taku-nii fall for her.”

““…””

We were left speechless.

Takkun and I were left standing in place with our mouths open.

“Mother and daughter competing for a man… Fufufu. Looks like things are going to get pretty hectic.”

In contrast to us, who were frozen in place, Miu had a confident look in her face.

“Get ready, Taku-nii. I won’t hold back for you. I’ll make you say that you love me more than you love mom!”

“…W-Wait a minute, Miu…”

I had foreseen that this would happen to a certain degree ever since the incident from yesterday happened, so I recovered from my astonishment a little before Takkun, but right as I was about to say something:

“Oh my, would you look at the time! If we don’t hurry, I’ll be late to class!” Exclaimed Miu loudly on purpose.

And then she looked at me.

She had a provocative smile and a piercing gaze.

“See ya, mom. Bye~bye.” She said happily, took Takkun’s hands, who was still perplexed at the situation… and left out the front door, still glued to him as if to show it all off to me.

“…”

I was left dumbstruck. Even though I was bewildered by the series of shocking events that had just happened, I also felt a sensation of certainty in the deepest part of my heart.

I see…

It was real after all.

Yesterday’s war declaration wasn’t a dream… It was real.

“…I’ll go out with Taku-nii.”

Yesterday afternoon.

That’s what Miu told me while I was in a good mood after my date.

She looked straight at me with her clear eyes.

“Oh, now that I think about it, you were always going on about Taku-nii and I dating, weren’t you? Didn’t you say that it was your dream for the 2 of us to get married?”

“…”

“You should be happy, that dream will come true!” Miu smiled.

“…”

“Hey, mom.”

“…”

“You’ll support me, won’t you?”

My daughter made a request… No.

A war declaration.

And I…

“…Yes, obviously.” I said after a brief pause.

Even though there was a huge chaos happening inside my mind, I did everything possible to hide it and continued talking as calmly as possible.

“If you go out with Takkun… Nothing would make me happier as a mother. It’s as you said, I’ve always wanted for you and Takkun to be together.”

“…”

“If you start dating, I, as your mother, will support you with all my heart.”

After saying that, I took a small breather.

“…If you’re serious about it.” I added.

“If I’m serious about it…?”

“Yes, that’s right.” I said. “It’s true that I wanted for the two of you to be together… but that’s because I thought you were in love with Takkun.”

I always thought that.

I thought they were very good childhood friends and made a good couple.

That Miu had always been in love with Takkun, but simply couldn’t be honest about her feelings…

“Unfortunately… I recently realized that everything was just a misunderstanding from my part.”

“…”

“What you said before… About wanting to take him because I’m not good enough for him, if it’s for that reason that you’re going to date Takkun… I’m sorry, but I can’t support you. It’s disrespectful to date someone with such intentions.”

“Hmm… Gotcha.” Miu answered with an irreverent tone after listening to what I said. “You’re quite good at making up excuses.”

“E-Excuses…?”

“You could have been upfront about it. That you love Taku-nii so much that you won’t give him to me.”

“What?! I-It’s not that! What are you saying now?!” I hurriedly denied it and Miu started to laugh.

“And despite that… It’s true. You supported our relationship when you mistakenly thought that I liked him… and that he liked me.”

He… Takkun also loved Miu.

I certainly misinterpreted it that way.

I thought that both of them loved each other mutually.

“But now you know Taku-nii’s true feelings. It wasn’t me, bur rather you who Taku-nii always loved. So it’s not weird that you don’t support me on this.”

“…”

“Okay, I get it. Then negotiations are off.”

“They’re off…?”

“Yeah. Like I said before, I’ll go out with Taku-nii. I’ll take certain actions from now on to do that, hence why I asked for your help, but you rejected it.”

“…”

“That’s why negotiations are off… We’ve got nothing else to talk about.”

“…W-What are you saying? Actions…? Miu, what the heck were you going to do?”

“I can’t tell you. I mean, aren’t you my opponent on this?”

“…”

“I can’t be telling my rival about my secrets.” She smiled mockingly.

“R-Rival…?”

“That’s right, we’re rivals. After all… From now on, we’ll be competing for Taku-nii.” She announced while smiling boldly, then turned her back on me and left the living room.

“Hey, Miu… Wait a moment, Miu…”

I called her many times over, but it was all for naught.

Miu shook her hand as if saying “there’s no reason for us to talk anymore” and went to her room.

And that was it.

That’s where the memory ends.

That’s everything that happened last night.

Miu declared war and I answered back.

Negotiations broke down.

From there, a declaration of hostility.

The night passed and then came the morning.

And as if ignoring my wish for everything to be a dream, Miu seemed to have taken immediate actions.

And I… Didn’t understand anything anymore.

In my heart, I asked a question to my daughter.

Miu,

What the heck are you planning?

How serious are you really?

​♠

“…Hey, Miu.”

“Mm~ Something wrong?”

“That’s enough already, let go of me.” I said, a bit angry and tired.

It had already been ten minutes since we left the Katsuragi house.

We were about to get to the station, but Miu was still holding onto my arm.

No matter how much I tried to free myself, she didn’t show any sign of letting me go.

“Eh? Why? Let’s stay like this for a bit longer.”

“Yeah, right… Let go of me.”

“You’re actually happy about this, aren’t you?”

“I’m not.”

“Hmm… Then do my breasts not excite you at all? You only like mom’s monster tits?”

“Don’t say things that can be easily misunderstood!”

Also, don’t call Ayako-san’s breasts monstrous.

No, I get what she’s trying to say, but there are better ways to express that.

Like… Holy?

Holy breasts?

Or goddesses’ breasts?

…No, no. That one doesn’t work either.

“Haa… I think I got some, but they can’t be compared to mom’s. I guess I’ll have to wait and see how they grow. We’re related, so I feel like there’s still a chance!”

“…How much longer are you going to talk about your breasts?”

“But! I have the big advantage of being a ‘High Schooler’!” Yes, a sacred sanctuary that most men in the world wish and yearn for but can’t touch! With my value as a forbidden fruit, couldn’t I compete with mom’s tits?!”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not the type of man that finds charm within ‘High schoolers’.”

“Wha…? You’re not interested in ‘High Schoolers’…? It’s as I suspected… You really are an extreme mature woman lover.”

“I’m not a mature woman lover and Ayako-san is still too young to be considered mature.”

“Wait a minute, Taku-nii… Don’t talk about mature women in the middle of the street, it’s embarrassing.”

“You started it!”

We were having a pretty inappropriate conversation. People would’ve probably distanced themselves from us had they heard us. Good thing that there weren’t that many people around.

“Ahaha, yeah, you’re right.” She laughed and finally let go of me.

When she freed my arm, I let out a small sigh.

“So, what was all that about?”

“Nothing at all”

“Don’t ‘nothing at all’ me. I’m sure it’s because of something. What did you mean when you said you were going to compete with Ayako-san…? Or that thing about making me fall for you?”

“Actually,” Said Miu, lowering her tone slightly. “Yesterday, I had a small argument with mom. I ended up telling her that if she kept playing dumb, then I’d go out with you.”

 “…You—”

“Ah, it’s okay. I know what you’re going to say, so you don’t need to.” She put her hand in front of me without letting me finish. “Because everything is just an act.”

“An act…?”

“Yes, that’s right. Just~a~simple~act. An act and a strategy to get you two closer. I have no interest in going out with you, so you don’t have to worry. After all, I don’t see you as a man.” Said Miu calmly and unnaturally happy.

“Why did you lie…?”

“Hmm… How to explain it… My mother’s indecisiveness simply angered me… and I felt like I had to do something about it as soon as possible.”

“…”

“Due to the fact that I declared war, I’m sure that mom will try to do something. She won’t be able to take it easy ever again. In short, I’ll be the push on the back you both need to move forward.”

“…”

I didn’t understand anything.

What the heck is this girl thinking?

“C’mon, don’t look at me like that. I know I’m doing something I shouldn’t.” Miu pouted and sighed deeply. “I’m not trying to get in your way with my mom, Taku-nii. It’s the opposite, I want to support you both as much as I can. You just keep following your plan to conquer my mom, and I’ll… act on my own for a bit.”

“On your own…?”

“No worries. I promise you that I won’t do anything that would hinder you.”

Saying that, Miu took a step forward and got closer to me.

She looked straight at me with serious eyes.

“Trust a little in me.”

“…”

“We’re childhood friends and maybe I may become your daughter in law.”

“…When you joke like this, it’s hard to believe you.”

“Ahaha… I guess so.”

Her serious eyes suddenly changed, and she started to smile frivolously again.

“Anyways… The strategy is already underway, so it’s too late to stop. And whether you like it or not, you’re gonna have to play along with me.

“…”

“And all of this has to be kept a secret to mom. In front of her, I’ll act as if I’m in love with you… But don’t misunderstand and fall for me, got it~?”

After finishing the conversation with that kind of joke, Miu went walking on her own to the station.

And all I could do was to stay looking at her back with amazement.

During the lunch break at the university.

After having lunch in the cafeteria, I headed to the campus grounds with my friend Satoya Ringou.

After warming up a bit, we took a certain distance from one another and started throwing a frisbee.

Satoya and I belong to the ‘Ultimate’ Club. (TLN: It’s a sport by that name, look it up.)

‘Ultimate.’

A sport crowned as the definitive sport, but it’s not very popular in Japan.

A simple explanation of it would be… A combination of American football and basketball with a frisbee for a ball.

You have to move and pass the frisbee to your teammates so that the adversaries don’t steal it from you, and if you catch it in the opponent’s goal zone, you score.

In Japan, a lot of people start to play this game when they go to university… And I wasn’t an exception, hence I also started to play when I got into university.

I didn’t even know it existed until I started to assist university.

They invited me to join the club during the welcome party for new students and I liked the general environment it had, so I decided to join.

The sport itself is relaxing and we only have to practice once a week.

I didn’t have serious plans of doing sports while going to university, but I wanted to move my body at least once a week, so this was a good fit for me.

“Hmm, I see. So Miu-chan did that.”

I was telling him what had happened in the morning while we were throwing the frisbee at each other and Satoya was nodding in understanding.

Even though Miu said I had to keep this strategy a secret… I was probably allowed to ask for Satoya’s advise.

“What do you think, Satoya?”

“About what?”

“What do you think Miu’s planning?”

“How am I supposed to know?” He laughed between his teeth and threw a slow forehand.

The frisbee flew with a beautiful trajectory and I caught it.

“You’re right.” I nodded and returned it with a backhand.

“I’ve only seen Miu-chan a couple of times. There’s no way for me to understand something that you, who has been with her for over 10 years, don’t understand.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Well… You know. Maybe it’s because you’re so close that there are things that you can’t see.”

“…”

I couldn’t answer anything back to Satoya, who spoke with certain conviction.

Miu Katsuragi.

The girl next door who’s 5 years younger than me.

We’ve known each other for over 10 years.

And about our relationship… You could say that we were pretty close.

“I wonder what she’s planning. The situation itself should be like a romantic comedy’s consultation about you suddenly not understanding your childhood friend’s feelings even though you’ve known her for many years… But in your case, things are always more complicated.” Said Satoya with a troubled expression. “It’s as if a tired salaryman father, whose daughter had just hit puberty, was asking me for advice because lately he has had trouble understanding his daughter’s feelings.”

“…Who are you calling a tired salaryman…?” I answered back, but not too firmly.

Hmm… It does certainly feel like that.

If I assume that Miu will be my daughter in the future, should I be talking about my teenage daughter (theoretically) with my friend right now?”

T-This is so complicated…

“Hmm… Let’s see… If you don’t mind me giving my personal opinion…” With that prelude, Satoya wildly balanced his arm and threw the frisbee with a hammer throw.

After drawing a great arc, the frisbee flew toward me.

“I think you should let Miu-chan do whatever she wants.”

“Whatever she wants.”

When I asked the question while somehow catching the frisbee, whose trajectory had drifted away from me, Satoya nodded.

“I’ve only met up with Miu-chan a couple times and I can’t say I have a close relationship with her… But even then, I understand something very well about her. How much she cares about you and Ayako-san.”

“…”

“I think that Miu-chan is a pretty smart girl. And I don’t mean that in the academic sense… but in a human sense. She can read the mood, is sociable, and even though she looks like she’s mindlessly sitting around thinking about nothing, it’s the completely opposite… She’s a lot more thoughtful than most high school girls.”

“You’re praising her too much.”

“I’m just stating what I believe your opinion is of her.”

“…Then you’re exaggerating my opinion.”

“I don’t think it’s wrong to let a girl as smart as Miu-chan do as she wants.”

“I wonder if that’s true…” Feeling a light discontent, I returned the frisbee.

Satoya easily caught my throw, who had become a bit stronger during the flight.

And then a shadow was cast over his expression.

“But it’s exactly because of that… that it worries me a bit. Because she’s so strangely smart.” He continued. “She smiles and talks a lot… but in a certain way, she’s quiet and observing, even more than necessary. Saying it flat out, she’s very perceptive… but in a bad way… As if she was trying to force herself to be an adult.”

“…”

“Although, I guess I may be overthinking it.” After deeply exhaling, Satoya held the frisbee again. “In the end, it’s all about what you let her do. Don’t worry too much and simply brace yourself. Whatever Miu-chan is scheming or happens as a result of it, just accept it with all your generosity.”

He turned the upper part of his body and threw the frisbee. He threw it firmly with a backhand, using all the muscles in his body.

“Good luck out there, ‘Takumi papa’.”

“Who the heck are you calling ‘Takumi papa’?” I replied jokingly, firmly grabbing with both hands the frisbee that flew with the most strength today.

♥

“I’m home.”

During the afternoon, Miu returned from school.

“Mom, I’m hungry, is there anything to eat? Like a light snack before dinner? Didn’t you make castella or egg pudding with the remaining eggs?” (TLN: Castella is a sponge cake.)

As if I had prepared something so convenient.

Or something like that.

Normally, I would have answered her frivolity with an angered tone.

But today…

“Miu, take a seat.”

I simply ignored her words; I didn’t welcome her and addressed the girl who had just come into the living room.

“We have to talk, so sit down.”

“…”

Without saying a word, she sat in front of me.

I took on a harsh attitude, but she wasn’t affected at all.

She seemed to have been expecting this.

“So, what you wanna talk about? Although, I’ve got a pretty good idea about what it is.” She lightly smiled and went straight to the point.

“…What was that this morning.”

“What do you mean ‘that’?”

“You know… ‘That.’ Well, uhm… In front of me, you suddenly held Takkun’s arm t-to… y-your chest… and… declared that you were going to compete with me…”

Uuh… For some reason it’s really embarrassing.

I wanted to talk as much as possible, but due to the topic, I couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

“Don’t tell me that… You two went walking like that all the way… That didn’t happen, right? The neighbors would have seen you after all, so make sure to not do anything too—”

“Mom. By any chance… Are you jealous?”

“What?”

“You know, like ‘I still haven’t held Takkun’s arms like that’ jealous”

“I-It’s not like that! What are you saying?!”

Certainly, we had barely held hands and we still haven’t held arms like lovers do… But that wasn’t the point!

“I’m not jealous… I’m just worried as a mother. You saw Takkun’s confused face, right? I don’t know what you’re planning, but please stop bothering him.”

“…As a mother, huh…” Repeated Miu deliberately. “Well, I think that what you say is right, but I also don’t want you meddling in my love life with such a mediocre argument.”

“L-Love life…?”

“Yes, my love life. I told you yesterday, didn’t I? I’m going to date Taku-nii.” Said Miu. “Since confessing out of nowhere would be useless, I thought I’d start by making he see me as a woman. Taku-nii only sees me as a little sister, so I have to be on the offensive, otherwise it won’t work at all.”

“…That’s enough.” My voice turned low and cold. The only way to suffocate the unrest and uncertainty within me was by forcing myself to take a cold attitude. “I understand what you’re thinking.”

“Huh…?”

“The truth is… that you’re doing all of this to provoke me, right?”

“…”

“You’re only faking your interest for Takkun because I never properly gave an answer to his confession and left everything in a limbo state, so you’re trying to hurry me and give him an answer… Am I wrong?”

I’m not that stupid.

I’m not such a naïve woman to believe everything my daughter tells me.

I thought it through today… and I finally understood.

Miu decided to take on the rival and villainess role to get Takkun and me closer to each other…

“…”

Miu lowered her gaze without saying anything.

“Listen, Miu… Your intentions make me happy, but you don’t need to push yourself so much for our sake. It’s… our problem. I-I’m not postponing my answer without a good reason… How to say it… T-These kinds of things take time and I don’t want to take a hasty decision and—”

“…And wrong!”

Even though I was embarrassed, I managed to pick my words with care, but Miu made a cross in front of her chest with both hands as if trying to ridicule my words.

“What a shame. That’s the wrong answer, and by a long shot too.”

“…”

“There’s no way I would push myself so much for your sake. Geez, aren’t you being selfish thinking that the world revolves around you? Do you think I love you that much?”

“…”

“Like I said yesterday, I feel bad for Taku-nii, since he has to put up with your indecisiveness, so I’ll date him in your place. That’s it, no more, no less.”

With her usual cheerful smile, she completely denied all my assumptions.

Her smug and mocking attitude made me feel awkward… So I also started to get angry.

Argh!

What’s wrong with this girl?!

Why…?! Why is she mocking me so much?!

“By the way, mom… Are you afraid?”

“A-Afraid?”

“Afraid of losing against me if we compete for Taku-nii?”

“Wha…?”

I involuntarily stepped back from the obvious provocation.

“C-Compete for him? What are you saying? Takkun is not an item.”

“Well, I get why you’re afraid.” Miu continued, ignoring my words.

And had an irritating smile, as if trying to get me mad no matter what.

“No matter how young you look, you’re still in your 30s. Right now, you’re pretty much an old geezer.

“An old geezer…?”

“And I’m a teenager brimming with life! A high school student! The winner of such a competition couldn’t be any more obvious…”

“…Fu… Fufufu.” I laughed.

I was so angry that I couldn’t help but starting to laugh.

I wanted to solve things as peacefully as possible… But after everything she said, I couldn’t stay put any longer.

For the honor of all women in their 30s, I must retaliate!

“…Y-You don’t understand anything, Miu. A woman isn’t always better when she’s young. There’s a sort of calm and tolerance that only older women can display. And that’s what a lot of married men look for in women these days.”

“Calm…? Tolerance…?”

“Don’t give me such a surprised look!”

She looked at me as if saying “Huh? Where can you see any of that within you? You know what objectivity is, right?” and I wanted to cry.

W-Well… It’s true that I may not have that.

When Takkun confessed to me, I had neither calm nor tolerance, and I was just having a mental breakdown at all times!

“If we’re talking about love… You definitely don’t have a 30 year old woman’s calmness, mom.” Said Miu indifferently.

Not in a tone as if to annoy me… but a pity one.

“You can’t do anything on your own, you’ve been delaying the answer to his confession, and if he were to date another woman, you’d get angry. It really pisses me off. You’re not even at a high school student level, you’re a middle schooler. No, it would be an insult to middle schoolers to compare them to you. Geez, how to say this… Your actions are simply pathetic compared to any normal woman.”

“…U-Ugh…”

I-I couldn’t retort. Her words stabbed my guts, but they were completely right, so there was nothing to object to…

Uwaa, I’m such a problematic woman!

It’s really tough when you’re told all the objective facts directly to your face.

“Now you get which one of us is more fit to date Taku-nii, right?”

“…It’s true that I… am a problematic woman… that is neither calm nor tolerant despite being over 30… I can’t deny that… But” I said. “Takkun said that he loves me the way I am!” I yelled strongly, getting emotional. “Takkun loves me! So no matter what you do, he won’t fall in love with you! Because… Takkun really loves and worries about me and… Well, because of that… Yes.”

While I was talking, a ferocious feeling of embarrassment polluted my thoughts.

No, wait a moment.

What am I saying?

Aren’t I… saying extremely embarrassing things?!

“Hmmm… Yeah, you may have a point.”

Unlike me, who was dying from embarrassment, Miu kept a complete calm stance.

“Taku-nii is in love with you, so you have a considerable advantage in this competition. I’m overwhelmingly disadvantaged. I knew this from the start. But… as you are right now, even I have a chance to win. That’s why…” Said Miu.

And she looked at me with a defiant gaze in her eyes.

“All that’s left is to compete, mom. And to fight seriously for Taku-nii’s feelings.”

“…”

“And just so you know, you have no permission to say no. Well… you can say no if you want, but that’s not going to change what I’ll do. I’ll do everything possible so that Taku-nii falls in love with me. And if you hate the idea, then you’ll have to seduce him with your charm. Simple, right?”

“…”

“Or… Are you actually that afraid to lose?”

In response to my silence, Miu kept provoking me.

“Despite having the advantage, you have no confidence in winning? If you were to lose to your daughter in the woman’s charm area, wouldn’t you lose all your dignity as a mother?”

“Guh… Y-You really have a sharp tongue.” I stared back at her aggravating gaze. “…Alright, whatever.” I said. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll accept your provocation.”

I’m conscious of how stupid it was.

Giving into my daughter’s provocation and participating in a ridiculous competition.

But… I didn’t know what else to do.

Whether I accepted or not, Miu would continue doing what she started, so it was useless to keep arguing at this point.

And above all.

My daughter was challenging me directly, so as a mother, I couldn’t back down.

“I’ll never give Takkun to you, Miu.”

“Good, that’s how it should be.” Miu smiled with satisfaction. “Fufu, I can’t wait any longer. How will the mother-daughter battle for Taku-nii develop… how everything will turn out.” She said, as if it was someone else’s problem and then stood up.

She walked around the living room, heading to the calendar on the wall.

“We’re lucky, we’ll have a summer event soon.”

And then she pointed… at a date toward the end of July.

A date in which many schools start their summer vacation.

And the date pointed by Miu had this written on it:

“Aterazawa and Katsuragi families trip toward Hawaiian Z!!”

“Fufu. What kind of swimsuit should I use to bewitch Taku-nii?”

“…”

Contrasting Miu’s cheerfulness, I was in shock.

Yes, that’s right.

I had completely forgotten about it.

When summer vacations started… We had our annual family trip!

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I’ll try to post the illustrations along with the next chapter (Not stealing them from Bry19an this time). Beware that due to Bookwalker’s way of publishing, you can’t readily take images, so I’ll have to settle with waifu2x to enhance screenshots as I’m unaware of any other methods to take them. Also, since I’ll be posting all the images from the volume, I’d recommend not watching them unless you’re fine with spoilers.