Chapter 46: Date

Date

The day before the trip to my hometown—under the guise of a date with Tachibana-san—I stared at my family budgeting app in an attempt to calm my nerves.

Finally, after months of worrying, I was about to find out the truth about my original body. Thanks to Tachibana-san, I had the funding and the support I needed.

All that was left was to go there tomorrow and uncover everything.

No matter what outcome awaited me, now that I had come this far, I was desperate to know the truth—whatever it may be.

Like an excited grade schooler on the night before a field trip, I was too restless to settle down. I had tried distracting myself by pacing around my room or reading a book, but nothing worked. In the end, I gave up and started fiddling with my budgeting app.

I updated my budget records on a weekly basis. The results were always the same—a steadily growing savings balance. Previously, I had thought reviewing these records might offer some insight into what had happened to Iori in the past, but I had yet to find anything substantial.

Once again, I scrolled back to the entries from March, April, and May of last year, furrowing my brows. I stared so intently at my phone screen that I might as well have been trying to burn a hole through it—but, as expected, nothing useful stood out.

“The records from this period are especially sloppy…”

Broadly speaking, Kaori had divided her past budgeting records into categories like food expenses, electricity, and water bills. However, whether she noted down anything beyond that depended entirely on her mood at the time. Most of the time, she lumped miscellaneous expenses together under a generic “Other” category.

“Honestly, the only thing she consistently recorded in detail was flower prices. Everything else just got tossed under ‘Other.’”

Specifically, the records looked like this:

March 28: Other – 20,000 yen

April 1: Other – 5,000 yen

April 15: Other – 300 yen

That was how they were listed in the budgeting app.

What was I supposed to glean from records like these?

No matter how hard I looked, I wasn’t going to find a single clue.

…Then, suddenly, something occurred to me.

I left my room and headed for the study, where Kaori was likely to be. Knocking on the door, I called out to her.

“Come in.”

“Mom, I’m updating the budgeting app right now.”

“Ah, thanks. That really helps.”

“No problem. I enjoy doing it. …By the way, do we still have any old receipts or invoices? There was a period where everything was just lumped under ‘Other,’ and at that point, it’s like keeping a budget record is pointless.”

For a brief moment, Kaori twitched ever so slightly.

What I had just realized was that, given how careless Kaori was with her budgeting records, there was a chance she might have kept some of the old receipts rather than throwing them away.

“Sorry. I already summarized the amounts and threw the originals away ages ago.”

“…Oh, I see.”

It seemed I had hit a dead end.

I slumped my shoulders in disappointment.

“Iori, you’ve been awfully particular about money lately, haven’t you?”

“Is that a bad thing? I’d say it’s a good habit.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all. …I just find it curious, that’s all.”

Kaori smirked at me, clearly entertaining some unnecessary thoughts.

“Maybe it’s because of my part-time job.”

“Is that all? Really?”

“…Well, actually, tomorrow I’m, uh… going on a date with Tachibana-san. And probably in the future, too. So I figured I should start saving up properly.”

Completely backed into a corner, I ended up admitting to Kaori that I had a date with Tachibana-san tomorrow. As for the “probably in the future” part—I had no idea if we’d go out again, but I threw that in to keep her from digging into where exactly I’d be going.

At the very least, this explanation should justify why I had suddenly become so diligent with my finances.

“Wait, you’re going on a date with Mirei-chan tomorrow!?”

Oblivious to my internal dilemma, Kaori latched onto the bait like a fish on a hook.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Whoa, tomorrow? What time?”

“Early in the morning. We’re thinking of checking out the ocean.”

While thinking that I’d need to coordinate with Tachibana-san later, I continued to spin my web of fabricated excuses.

“The ocean? At this time of year? Hmm… Well, as long as you’re happy, I suppose.”

“Ugh. Mind your own business.”

I had chosen the ocean because it wouldn’t narrow down our actual destination too much, but in hindsight, a winter beach was definitely an odd choice for a date.

“Hey, you do have some spending money, don’t you?”

Kaori’s tone was sharper than usual.

“Uh, well… yeah, I have enough.”

“Hold on a second. I’ll give you some extra.”

“Wait, that’s not necessary—”

“What are you saying? You need to be a proper escort. You don’t want to come off as an unreliable guy, do you?”

If being a “cool guy” meant flashing money around, then I had no problem being uncool.

“…Alright. Have fun, okay?”

“…Yeah.”

I accepted the 10,000-yen bill Kaori handed me. I hadn’t expected to gain a surprise windfall at this moment.

However, a small pang of guilt stirred in my chest.

If Kaori knew that Iori’s body was now possessed by the soul of her former lover—and that tomorrow’s “date” was actually an investigation into his original body’s circumstances, dragging Tachibana-san into it—what kind of face would she make?

I almost let myself think about it, but I stopped before I could spiral too deep.

“Thanks… Mom.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy yourself, okay?”

Kaori smiled warmly at me—not as the woman she once was, but as a mother.

Unlike me, who remained stagnant, Kaori had spent the last twenty years finding happiness with her husband and raising a son. Life hadn’t always been kind to her—there must have been hardships, too.

But despite everything, she could still smile like this. And that was probably because she had her beloved son by her side.

Not long ago, I had resolved to live as Iori.

Yet here I was, preparing to investigate my original life. I was setting out to uncover the circumstances of a man who, in this life, had become a complete stranger.

Was that really okay?

I didn’t know.

The only thing I did know was that, no matter how much I agonized over it here, I wouldn’t find an answer.

But at the very least—

Now that I had received money for this date, I was obligated to see it through.

The next morning, I left the house while Kaori was still asleep.

I boarded an early-morning train and got off at the next station. Just as I stepped onto the platform, I spotted Tachibana-san ascending the stairs.

“Good morning.”

“Mm.”

“Shall we go?”

As the departure chime rang, we stepped onto the train together.

Just like on our usual commute, we sat side by side in the empty carriage.

“What time will we arrive at your hometown?”

“About two hours by bullet train.”

“…Are we heading straight to the apartment once we arrive?”

“That was the plan, but let’s explore the area around the station in the morning.”

Because Kaori had told me to “enjoy the date.”

That was the only reason. Or at least, that’s what I told myself. In truth, I also wanted to show my gratitude to Tachibana-san for coming along.

“You’re tight on money, right? Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’ll make sure we don’t spend too much.”

“…But still…”

“This is a date, right?”

I mimicked the exact words she had once said to me. …Though back then, she had been much more flustered.

“Tachibana-san, do you not want to go on a date with me?”

“…That’s not what I said.”

“Thanks.”

I thanked her, and for a while, we simply rode the train in silence.

Then, we transferred to the bullet train and headed for our destination.