Chapter 94
Ryosaku was greeted by Kenichi's wife at the entrance.
Lisa's mother was once a classmate of Kenichi at the same school, and her name was Yuuko.
"It's you, Ryosaku-kun! It's been a long time... I wonder how many years it's been. It's been a long time."
"It's been a while. I'm sorry, I haven't been in touch with you..."
"It's okay. Everyone is busy. Everyone's circumstances change. But, Ryosaku-kun, you've gotten a lot beefier... Lisa's grown up too."
"Well, Yuuko, let's talk about what we've been up to in the living room. I feel bad for making Ryosaku-kun stand there. He's tired from the long journey."
"That's right... I'm sorry I wasn't considerate. Ryosaku-kun, please take it easy. Lisa will be back in the evening. I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you. She's been saying she really wants to see you..."
Lisa's father and Ryosaku enjoyed chatting over tea and snacks, recounting each other's situations and progress so far.
Of course, Ryosaku didn't mention a single word about the episode involving Mieko and Rika.
He had made a firm promise to himself that he must not tell Lisa, especially about his emotional reunion with Mieko.
If he said something like that, it would clearly create a bad impression not only on Lisa herself, but also on her parents, who had welcomed him so cheerfully and warmly.
···Evening.
The sound of the bell on the front door ringing could be heard as Lisa returned home from junior high school.
"I'm home."
"Hey Lisa, welcome back. We have a really special guest coming to our house right now. Guess who it is...?"
"Huh...? Who, who??"
"Pampakapaah! Ryosaku-kun has come!"
"Ryo-chan!? You say so, Dad? Really?"
"Oh... Lisa-chan, it's been a while! How have you been...?"
"I was surprised... It's really Ryo-chan. I'm so happy! How many years has it been?"
Saying that, Lisa ran over to Ryosaku, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his.
"Lisa-chan... Kenichi-san and Yuuko-san are watching too. I'm so embarrassed."
"What's wrong? I mean, when you were writing out the kanji for my homework for me, I always hugged you like this."
In fact, Lisa had Ryosaku do her tedious and boring homework, like writing kanji characters.
While he was concentrating on writing the kanji characters for Lisa's homework, Lisa would always cling to Ryosaku like this, clinging to him from behind.
"...Lisa-chan, you're still an attention seeker... It was really hard for me to write kanji like yours, because your handwriting is so bad..."
"Oh, what are you saying? Ryo-chan's handwriting is just as messy as mine, isn't it?"
"Hahaha. I'm sure of it. You're right."
Ryosaku and Lisa seemed completely back to being the couple they were back then.
And although she wasn't as tall as Mieko, she had grown a lot since the last time I saw her, and with her short hair she suited her perfectly, and she had grown into a beautiful girl who was just as beautiful as Mieko.
Like Mieko's, her voice still retained the tone of her childhood, but it had completely transformed into a beautiful soprano voice with the charm of an adult woman.
At dinner time, a lavish "dinner party" was held to welcome Ryosaku, and the table was filled with deer and wild boar shot by a "matagi" (mountain hunter) that Kenichi knew.
Ryosaku had never eaten either deer or wild boar before, so he was thrilled by how delicious it was for the first time, and was also grateful to the Lisa family for welcoming him so warmly. He spent a dreamlike moment, shedding tears at times.
Ryosaku was also treated to some local Tokachi wine...and went into the bath feeling a little tipsy...and was humming as he washed his hair...when he sensed someone standing behind him.
