Chapter 37: CH 37

Who was the first to stand up?

Translated by Dawn

Edited by Dawn

Who was the first to stand up?

The appearance of someone who appeared to be Mizutani’s mother caused the place to quiet down.

“Mother?”

I found myself repeating back Mizutani’s words.’

I see, they certainly had similar facial features.

And Mizutani once told me that her mother had taught her to play the piano.

If so, there shouldn’t be anything strange about her being here…

—But why is the air so cold?

The atmosphere was full of tension, not unlike a parent and child meeting face-to-face.

I looked at Mai and our eyes met as if she was just looking at me too.

Mai’s eyes were saying, “What does this mean?”, I shrugged my shoulders.

“I was wondering where you were wandering off, and here you are.”

Mizutani’s mother said as if she did not hear my voice.

Then she glanced at us, who were watching behind Mizutani, with a suspicious look in her eyes.

“Are those kids your friends?”

“…Aizawa over here is my classmate. The girl next to her is Aizawa’s sister.”

Mizutani replied cautiously.

She didn’t say I was her boyfriend now. I didn’t want her to introduce me that way in this situation either, so I was glad Mizutani read the air.

“Ah, so it’s like that. …Aizawa-san, this girl is always indebted to you.”

Mizutani’s mother turned to us and showed us a flowing bow.

But I still couldn’t decide whether I should accept it or not. I could not see her true feelings.

“You idiot of a brother, bow down.”

Mai whispered in my ear and we hurriedly bowed our heads together.

Then Mizutani’s mother’s high-pitched voice descended on the back of my head.

“Even so, I’m sorry about today. This girl’s terrible performance has stained your ears.”

“…terrible performance?”

I looked up and asked.

As if to announce a major premise, Mizutani’s mother continued.

“Yeah. It was emotionally rushed, inaccurate, and poorly paced. It was a low-level performance, to say the least. And yet, they gave a standing ovation…there were some very bad ears in the audience. You thought so too, didn’t you?”

““…….””

Mai and I looked at each other.

Part of it was because we were looking at “a person with a very bad ear,” but it wasn’t the only reason.

Mai and I didn’t know if Mizutani’s mother was right or not.

Maybe she was.

At the very least, she knew far more about the piano than we amateurs do.

But it was also true that the “low-level” performance, as Mizutani’s mother put it, struck a chord with us. Could a performance that reached the hearts of the audience be described as terrible? I couldn’t say for sure, but I felt that something was wrong.

When I looked at Mizutani, she was standing behind her mother with a downcast look on her face.

There was no sign of the happy atmosphere she was in earlier.

Come to think of it, when I casually praised her earlier, saying, “That was a good performance.” She said.

“Do you really mean that?”

Maybe that was because she was being criticized so much by her mother. And maybe he took my compliment as sarcasm or something because he lacks self-confidence.

…I still thought that was not the right thing to say.

“….Umm.”

With determination, I spoke up.

Seeing our lack of response, Mizutani’s mother, who was about to leave, turned around.

“What is it?”

“She was the first one to stand up…during the standing ovation.”

Then I indicated Mai with my hand.

‘Wait…what are you doing, brother! You’re embarrassing me!’ Mai whispered in my ear, but I ignored her. Forgive me, little sister.

“…Ah, I didn’t know that. Well, it happens. Maybe your sister is a kind girl.”

Mizutani’s mother widened her eyes for a moment.

Then, as if to cover up her embarrassment, she giggled.

I wonder what she meant by “it happens”.

I couldn’t let her get away with such a vague answer.

“No, I don’t think she was being kind or anything…I think she applauded because she was moved from the bottom of her heart. I felt the same way.”

“…isn’t that funny for you to say that? You have to ask your sister what she really feels.”

With a half smile on her face, Mizutani’s mother turned to Mai.

But her eyes were not smiling.

I tried not to look at Mai.

There was no point in me putting pressure on her here.

I had to let Mai say what she thought in her own words.

“…I-I don’t really understand how difficult it is.”

After a short pause, Mai began to speak retroactively.

I usually thought of her as a clever little girl, but she was just the right age for this kind of thing.

—But, as expected of my sister.

“I thought Karin-san’s performance was very good. So, you know, it’s not that Karin-san’s mother is wrong or anything, but when I see …Karin-san being mistreated, it makes me a little sad, I would say.”

“…I, see.”

Mizutani’s mother, who had been listening attentively to the conversation, gave a slightly exaggerated nod.

She smiled a beautiful, calculated smile and bowed her head lightly.

“It was probably a bit much to say in front of you guys. I’ll be careful from now on. …Let’s go, Karin.”

“…yes.”

Mizutani nodded, and her mother turned back in the direction from which she had come, clicking her heels on her high heels. Mizutani thought she was going to follow behind her, but after glancing behind her mother, she ran over to us at a short run.

“Thanks, both of you.”

She bowed her head and immediately turned back.

After looking at Mizutani’s back in a daze for a while, we looked at each other.

Mai opened her mouth with a reproachful look.

“Brother…you were lying to me, weren’t you?”

“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me now. Karin-san was a very beautiful person. It was a complete lie that he had a shaved head and a good physique.”

“…There is another person at the school. Another Mizutani-san.”

“That’s a lie, too.”

“How would you know?”

“Then I’ll remember what you just said until you graduate. If I check your yearbook, I can see how many Mizutani-sans are there.”

“…what do you want?”

I asked her straightforwardly.

Mai smiled.

“Haagen, buy me one on the way home.”

“…matcha flavor again?”

“Matcha is the best. Ah, and also, Chen Somen.” (+)

“….”

I silently agreed to Mai’s request.

This should keep her from telling Mom about Mizutani for a while longer.

Mai might be a troublesome fellow, but she was easy to bribe.

“Even so, I never knew my brother had such a pretty girlfriend. Hmm, hmm~”

“…She’s not my girlfriend.”

“…what? Karin-san herself said that she was your girlfriend.”

“That’s…”

I was about to explain this to Mai, who was puzzled, but I stopped myself and told her to wait a minute.

If I think about it, what is the relationship between me and Mizutani?

We were not friends.

But we were not so far apart that we were acquaintances.

But it was not like we were lovers either.

Because of that one, right? That kind of thing, you’d have to confess or something, right?

“…Well, you know what? When you’re in high school, there’s a lot going on. Things that are more complicated than your kids will ever understand.”

Mai frowned as hard as she could when I made the appropriate deception.

“Annoyinggg. I should probably tell Mom after all.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll do anything, but please don’t do that.”

“…Ahahaha! If you say you’ll do anything, I’ll be at a loss.”

Thus I ended up paying more.