I, Who Was Reincarnated as an Evil Character With Cheat-Level Stats in an Eroge, Will Live Freely in This Life
“Hey, Seito? How have you been lately?”
As I walked with Yuki-san, carrying my luggage, she asked me that.
What did she mean by “lately”?
Yuki-san and I had only met once, and we hadn’t really talked much…
“Lately?”
“Yeah. How have things been with Miku lately?”
So that’s what she meant by “lately”… Actually, come to think of it, it couldn’t mean anything else.
Miku said she was surprised to see me getting along with a guy friend, so it’s only natural she’d be curious… especially considering Miku’s past.
Plus, Miku herself said she hasn’t really been able to tell her parents much about me.
From what I heard, she has told them she sometimes goes out with friends, including Kana and Saki.
Still, how should I respond to this?
She said she’d tell them we’re dating if she wanted to, so I probably shouldn’t say anything. I feel bad about it being like a lie, but I should respect her wishes.
“Yeah. We’re getting along well.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. So, how is Miku? She can be a bit stubborn sometimes, so I hope everything’s okay…”
Not straightforward… Well, she might have been like that at first, but not anymore. Wait, maybe saying “not anymore” is wrong, but it’s definitely not a problem now.
Her emotional expressions have gotten richer, and even when she denies things verbally, you can tell she’s just hiding her embarrassment. Well, when she genuinely dislikes something, you know it then and there… In that sense, the current Miku is surprisingly easy to read.
And honestly, when she’s shy but still speaks her mind, she’s incredibly cute.
“There’s no problem. And honestly, no matter what she says, Miku’s feelings show on her face a lot lately. She’s easy to read.”
After I said that, Yuki paused for a moment, then smiled lightly and said.
“Is that so… Anyway, please keep getting along well with Miku from now on, okay?”
“Of course.”
“But seriously, that girl never acts selfish, does she?”
Suddenly, she brought that up.
“Well, that’s true. I don’t really… I mean, I never see her acting selfish. But when Kana-san and Saki-san are around… though it’s mainly Kana-san, she spends a lot of time with those two, so maybe that’s part of it?”
“That might be part of it, but she’s never really been one to make demands on us either… Back then, with everything that happened, I worried so much I ended up being pretty harsh sometimes… Maybe that’s why she found it hard to be vulnerable…”
There was no need to dwell on what had happened back then.
But it wasn’t Yuki san’s fault. The bad guy was the one who tried to attack Miku.
Miku herself said she became afraid to rely on people after that… It probably made it hard for her to be dependent as a natural extension of that.
Yuki and the others were probably overflowing with worry and didn’t know what to do either.
But well, the result is the Miku we have now.
The Miku we see now is an impeccable, admirable woman by anyone’s standards.
Plus, she’s said she respects her parents, and when she talks about them, she always seems genuinely happy.
Seeing that side of her makes it clear. At the very least, she wasn’t dissatisfied with them.
Of course, that’s just my impression. And since I’ve never had kids myself, I can’t really say what they should have done…
…Or rather, Miku is actually quite good at spoiling, if anything… Though that’s mainly Kana’s doing.
As I was thinking about this, Yuki-san spoke again.
“Sorry. I guess I made things a bit awkward.”
“No, not at all. I just remembered how much Miku respects you two and how she said you’re her proud parents.”
“Miku said that?”
“Yes. When Miku talked about you two, she seemed really happy.”
After I replied, there was a short pause before Yuki-san spoke.
“Is that so… Hey, Seito-kun?”
“Yes. What is it?”
Then, Yuki-san said with a slight smile.
“If it’s okay with you, when Miku wants to be affectionate with you, I’d like you to let her… I feel like you’d be fine with it.”
“Sure. If that time comes, I will.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
I did wonder a little why she said that, but it wasn’t something I felt needed asking.
Besides, I’d already intended to do that anyway.
◇
―― That night, Miku called me.
“Seito? Are you awake?”
“Yeah, I’m awake.”
“I heard from Mom. Thanks for today.”
“No, I’m the one who got saved.”
“Still. Mom said she was saved too.”
“Well, I’m glad.”
“…On the way home, I wonder what you talked about with Mom?”
“What did we talk about…”
After thinking it over, I figured it might be a good chance to bring up that whole “being dependent” thing with Miku, even if it was maybe none of my business.
Yuki seemed a little sad too. It’s normal for people to find it harder to be dependent as they grow up, or at least to do it less often, but for a high school freshman, it’s not too late.
Personally, I wanted both Miku and Yuki to talk honestly with each other as family.
“D-did she… ask anything weird about me?”
“Weird? Like, do you think something happened?”
“N-no, but… maybe something embarrassing happened that I just don’t remember…”
Miku said this, looking embarrassed.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. We didn’t talk about anything like that.”
“Well, that’s a relief… But then, what did you talk about? Mom said it was just small talk?”
“Well… this might be none of my business, but can I tell you?”
“None of your business? I don’t really get it, but okay. If you say so, Seito, it probably isn’t meaningless.”
“Well, I’ll keep it simple…”
And so, I gave her a brief explanation.
“fufufu…”
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. Thanks for telling me, Seito. It just made me happy to know Mom was thinking about that. And I feel bad for making her think that way, but seeing Mom—who’s usually so sharp—thinking like that… it’s kind of cute, so I laughed.”
“I see. So what do you think, Miku?”
“Hmm… but how do you even go about being clingy?”
…??? Come to think of it, I don’t really know either.
I’ve hardly ever acted spoiled towards adults, even counting my past life.
“…I don’t know. But maybe just do it like Kana does?”
“…Me, like Kana? That’s impossible… Having two Kanas would be chaos! Besides, if I ever became like that, who would stop me…?”
“Hahaha, you’re probably right about that. But I think a spoiled Miku like that would be nice sometimes.”
“mouu… you’re so vague…”
“I’m not being vague, that’s how I really feel. I thought a spoiled Miku was cute, too?”
“…Y-yeah… W-well, anyway, thank you. About Mom and Dad, I’ll try to make a move myself. Even if we put the whole ‘being clingy’ thing aside for now, there are probably things we can talk about.”
“That might be good. Just saying thank you could make a difference.”
“Yeah. I’ll do that… Wait, Seito!? Speaking of which, is it true you dyed your hair black!?”
“You heard about it.”
After enjoying a while of such cheerful conversation, we ended the call.
Maiban