Chapter 57 Learning About Airi’s Past

Learning About Airi’s Past

“Hey, Airi? Wake up…!”

“Mm…nn….”

I knew that Airi was weak to a🬀cohol, but I never thought that she’d pass out after just one drink. I shook her shoulder as she was slumped over the counter.

But she just made a strange seductive sound and didn’t open her eyes.

This was a problem. We came here to drink together, but there was no point if one of us was already down.

“Araraa, if that’s the case, Airi will be hard to wake up, won’t she?”

“I know that.”

“Well, that’s okay. Since we’re here, why don’t you enjoy the drink I made?”

“Well, I guess so… Alright.”

She was right.

The drink was really delicious, and since we were already here, it felt wasteful to leave right away.

It was a bit awkward though.

The other person was from a business client company, and more importantly, she was Airi’s aunt.

While I was drinking without knowing what to say, Yukitsuki-san spoke to me with a grin.

“Uchida-san… No, since this is private, may I call you Makoto-kun?”

“Eh? Ah, yes….”

“What do you think of Airi?”

“Eh? Wh-what do you mean?”

“Do you like her?”

“Uh…?! Cough, cough…!”

The drink I drank must have gone down the wrong pipe and I started coughing. It was quite painful, but that wasn’t the main problem.

“Araraa, are you okay?”

“I, I’m not… okay….”

I thought to myself, “Whose fault do you think this is?” and desperately tried to suppress my cough to calm down.

It took a long time, but I finally seemed to recover.

Waiting for me, Yukitsuki-san asked me again with a grin.

“So? What do you think of Airi?”

“What do you mean… I think she’s cute, and it’s fun to be with her.”

“Ufufu, do you like her?”

“Well, I like her as a person.”

“How about romantically?”

“That….”

I started to think about it when she asked.

Airi had a cute, unpredictable side, but contrary to her appearance, she was also kind and understood people’s feelings.

And since we had similar hobbies, it was really fun to be with her.

But when I was asked if I liked her romantically, I was really troubled.

“…I’m sorry, I don’t know. But she listened to my story and was very nice to me. That made me feel a lot better. So I want to help her if she’s in trouble.”

“Unn, I see….”

When I told her my honest feelings, Yukitsuki-san seemed to be thinking about something and nodded in agreement.

Wondering what she was thinking, she looked at me seriously.

“Hey, Makoto-kun? It might be strange for me to say this, but can I tell you something about Airi?”

“About her…?”

“Yeah, I think you might be able to help her.”

“What do you mean?”

“Actually….”

And Yukitsuki-san told me.

It turned out that Airi’s parents had divorced, and the reason was Airi’s mother’s affair.

The things Airi’s mother had said back then were incredibly cruel.

Things like “a stingy, struggling businessman,” “I've lost all affection for you,” and so on.

These words deeply hurt Airi’s father and made him distrust women.

Well, he seemed to adore his daughter.

“That’s… pretty cruel.”

“Isn’t it? Besides, she also seemed to neglect the housework.”

“…!”

When I heard these words, I felt a strong sense of familiarity.

Although the words were different, they might have overlapped with what Rina had done to me.

So it really hit me hard.

“At that time she also said things like, ‘I should never have given birth to you.’”

“That’s so selfish.”

“Yes, it is selfish. I was angry too. Airi was terribly shocked when she heard it directly.”

It’s only natural.

After committing infidelity, to be subjected to such verbal abuse is more than anyone can take.

It’s impossible for someone not to be hurt by such repeated betrayal.

“Since then, she hasn’t been able to open her heart to anyone. Not even her father or us, who are family.”

“…”

“But then one day she suddenly changed. She started showing us the same smile as before—no, an even brighter one. When I asked her what had happened, she said she had met an amazing person she could trust. She even said, ‘I want to cherish this person forever, so I can’t be sad anymore.’”

“Could that be….”

“Yes, Makoto-kun… It is you.”

Yukitsuki-san smiled gently.

Hearing those words, I remembered the time I first met her as if it were a vivid dream.