Chapter 49 A Proposal?

A Proposal?

Takumi’s PoV

——The next morning.

As she said yesterday morning, Hana-san came to my house…and as soon as she finished greeting me, she sat up straight on the living room floor.

Yesterday, I wondered if everything had been okay since…

Did Takeshi come home after that…?

I wanted to ask her about those circumstances, but I was too surprised by Hana-san’s sudden behavior to ask her anything.

“H-Hana-san!? What——”

“Takumi-kun. I need to ask you a favor.”

She straightened her posture and looked at me with a powerful light in her eyes that——I could not see yesterday.

It was an expression as if she had decided to do something.

“Please let me and Ichika——stay in this house…”

Saying that Hana-san bowed deeply.

It was a “dogeza” I had seen many times before. It must be a heartfelt request…If she’s asking me to let her stay, does that mean she’ll be living in my house?

“Yes. Of course, it’s okay.”

“I know it’s an unreasonable request. But please…until I can save up the money to move——eh, it’s okay!?”

I nodded my head because I didn’t have to worry about it, and now Hana-san was even more surprised.

Well, as long as it’s Hana-san and Ichika, I don’t mind if they use this house freely. I can’t take care of this house by myself anyway.

“In fact, please don’t do dogeza, because it’ll surprise me more…”

“No, it’s after the request that even if I do dogeza, it’s not enough. Takumi-kum, I mean, do you really understand the meaning of my words? I don’t mean to stay overnight…Do you understand that I mean we could live for a while?”

“Really? Well, either temporary or long-term is fine. I trust Hana-san and Chika-chan…I’ll give you the duplicate key later.”

“——Wait, can you wait a minute? What should I do? Takumi-kun is so kind that I’m in a bit of trouble.”

Hana-san was surprised. She moved both hands carelessly…and she was usually a calm person, so this side of her was new to me.

“Doesn’t Takumi-kun like it? Ichika may be fine, but is it okay for a boy like you to live with an aunt like me? Do you understand that you will be living with a stranger?”

“I don’t think Hana-san is an aunt, but…Well, I’d be rather happy if we lived together, right?”

And one more thing.

“Hana-san and Chika-chan are no strangers to me. If you’re in trouble, I want to help you, and vice versa, if I’m in trouble, I’ll ask for help.”

As I said yesterday, if we are in trouble, we are there for each other.

Also…I’m not the only one who wants to help Hana-san.

“Because if my grandparents were still alive, I’m sure they would’ve accepted Hana-san.”

My grandparents’ will is still with me.

They were worried about Hana-san. There was no way I would ignore that will.

“Of course, I want you to tell me what’s going on…Since we’ll be living together from now on, please don’t hide anything from me.”

When I told her that, Hana-san…slowly stood up.

“Really, are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s not a very new house, but please feel free to use it.”

When she looked up at me, her face still looked confused…but it was slightly red.

“…I’m in trouble, I want to marry a man like Takumi-kun…”

“Eh?”

What does that mean?

The words sounded like a proposal.

I’ve only been dating a woman for two weeks, and I’ve never even held her hand, and if anything, I’ve been cheated on…I think I’m wasting Hana-san’s time.

“Um…I’m inexperienced, but is that okay?”

“Um, what does that mean?”

“Huh? Wasn’t that a proposal?”

“No, it’s not! Takumi-kun, even if I was proposing to you, you should’ve turned me down. It’s a waste of time to marry an aunt like me.”

“No, I’ve told you many times that I don’t think of you as an aunt——”

“Ugh…oh, that’s over! I didn’t propose. Um…I just thought Takumi-kun was wonderful. So don’t say anything else about it.”

…What? Was it a misunderstanding?

Well, if you think about it calmly, I guess that’s the case. It’s impossible for her to propose to a brat like me out of the blue, right?

But it’s enough that she thought I was wonderful.

I was very happy that someone as attractive as Hana-san thought so——