Chapter 196 – Love Consultation

Since Riku-san asked for my help personally, I headed toward the parking lot where he was waiting.

I planned to go together with him, but Umi was glued to me and refused to move away, so I asked him to go ahead and wait for me.

By the time I managed to leave the room, the sun was already peeking out from the horizon and I could hear the birds chirping.

"…Sorry for the wait."

"Don't mind it. Wanna talk while we go for a walk?"

"Sure."

The two of us then walked through the path that Umi and I took the other day. As we walked, he would occasionally talk to me while reminiscing about the training from his time in the military.

He told me about the taste of the insects he ate during that time. There was also a time when a snake bit his buttocks and incapacitated him for a while.

From the way he talked about it, it seemed that he really did quit because of an issue with co-workers rather than downright hating his job.

"So, uh, about the thing I wanted to ask you about…"

"Hm?"

"I did what you told me to. I talked with her properly about everything, what had I done from when I left this place up until now. She also did the same since she was a little drunk at the time."

"Everything went well then, that's nice to hear."

"Yeah, also, um… I already confirmed that she still likes me. Well, I knew it from the start of course." 

He said that, but I could tell he's blushing.

Despite what happened, they managed to communicate with each other properly.

But, what exactly were they doing all night long? There was no way that they spent the whole night up till dawn just updating each other about their lives. Since he went out of his way to talk to me, something else must have come up.

"She talked about her marriage and stuff… It happened a bit after she graduated from college, so back then, people were fussy about it because they thought that it was too soon for her to be married and they thought that she was messing around… Anyway, she said that he was her co-worker. At first they really were just messing around. "

While it was admirable for both of them to keep thinking and loving each other, at that point, those two had been separated since high school, so it was understandable that they moved on with their lives.

That included moving on from their feelings toward each other. No one had the right to blame Shizuku-san for that.

"We talked for a while, but in the end, we couldn't think of a satisfying solution. I was happy when I found out that we both still had feelings for each other, but, considering her circumstances… It just doesn't feel right to jump the gun, you know? I have to consider her son's feelings too…"

"So? Your point is?"

That was rude of me, I know.

It wasn't because I felt moody since he woke me up so early in the morning. We were similar in nature, so I understood his feelings completely. That was why I felt the need to pressure him a little so he would get to the point immediately. Or else, like me, he would waste more time trying to avoid getting to the main topic.

"…You see, I love Shizuku."

With a red face, he quietly revealed his feelings to me.

"I thought that it was a miracle that we could meet again. It's been more than ten years, I thought I had moved on already, but when she called me 'Rikkun', everything came rushing back to me… Maybe I'm biased, but I think she has gotten even prettier… Much prettier than she used to be… I felt… So happy to see her… Maki, do you think I'm weird? For your information, I don't have a fetish for married women." (T/N: Uncultured, unbased, L+ratio.)

"You aren't weird, that's just normal."

That was just proof that he loved her. I knew because I felt the same way toward Umi.

Day by day, that feeling got stronger and stronger. The more time I spent with her, the more my love for her grew.

"Honestly, from the moment I saw her, I felt conscious of her… I'm almost thirty, but I still act like a middle schooler… I guess I understand why my sister keeps scolding me…"

"So, the reason you tried to keep your distance from her was because you were embarrassed?"

"S-Something like that… I swear it wasn't like this in the past! Probably because it's been a while… My heart couldn't stop pounding…"

"I-I see…"

I didn't know what to say.

He's ten years older than me, but it felt like I was talking to someone my age… No, someone younger than me.

From the way he acted toward Amami-san, I knew that he wasn't used to talking with girls like I was.

…Honestly, I felt genuinely concerned for him.

In any case, this was the kind of person Asanagi Riku was.

I couldn't exactly call him a good older brother, but he tried, and in return, his sister cared for him just as much as he cared for her. He experienced a lot of setbacks, probably more than your average person did, but he still managed to retain his kindness. 

He was still unemployed, but that should change soon enough.

Knowing him, he would definitely repeat what he did back then. Pushing himself to his limit to do well on his job. That was why he needed someone to keep him from pushing too hard.

And the perfect person for that would be Shizuku-san.

"Maki… I want to hear your opinion… What do you think I should do? Should I just tell her that I love her? I'm unemployed and she has a kid to take care of. Is it okay for me to be so direct to her?"

"C-Calm down first, Riku-san. We still have time, you don't need to rush it, okay?"

"A-Ah, right… S-Sorry."

"It's fine, I understand your feelings. I used to feel the same way before I dated Umi."

This was a rather tricky case.

The answer was simple, he just needed to do it and that would solve the problem. All he needed was a push from someone.

But like he said, he was currently unemployed while Shizuku-san was a single mother. They were already adults, so they didn't have the leisure to play around like high schoolers.

That was why this case was difficult for me to answer. I was merely a high schooler who got a little lucky in my love life and nothing else.

My only option here was to let him think of the answer by himself. Well, I might not be good enough to give him a concrete solution, but I should be able to give him the push he needed to come up with one.

"Well, if there's anything that I can say to you right now, Riku-san, it's…"

And so, I told him what I was thinking.