She felt she would become the happiest person in the whole world.
She believed this little family—the thing she had treasured most from birth until now—would never break apart.
Mother, herself, daughter—everyone would be just fine.
They would hold umbrellas for one another.
Her daughter would learn everything from her, would inherit all of her, and someday she too would become a mother.
What she had to do was be better than her own mother, and what Little Chiose had to do was outshine her.
That distant happiness was, at this very moment, truly beckoning to her, Nagasaki Soyo.
She absolutely had to... keep being happy.
Cradling boundless hopes for the future, Soyo's eyelashes trembled a few final times as she closed her eyes and slowly sank into sweet slumber.
That was how it was.
Would she... really keep being happy?
Outside the window a cold rain began to patter down. At noon a few days later, Nagasaki Soyo sat somewhat irritably in her office chair.
Today was Chiose's first day of school, and that morning she herself had taken her there.
Watching her darling walk through the school gate from afar—carrying a little orange-red leather backpack, wearing little white over-the-knee socks—Chiose was as adorable as a sweet, soft little cake.
Her daughter had entered the Tsuki no Mori elementary division, which could be counted as making up for the small regret in Soyo's own academic life of not having attended elementary school at Tsuki no Mori.
"Haah..."
Right now she should be setting off to attend her daughter's opening ceremony. The ceremony was around one in the afternoon, and she had promised Little Chiose that she would handle some troublesome matters in the morning and then come keep her company, but...
"Ms. Nagasaki, there's still no word from Miss Togawa's side. It's possible she really did take the money and run—"
"Haizuka, stop for now. Let me have a quiet moment alone first."
Her work partner's unreliability had taught Soyo another lesson, but it wasn't a big problem—she had long since worked out how to handle these hitches that shouldn't have existed in the first place.
It was just that today——
"If I want to deal with it completely, I probably won't be able to manage it all today, and I still have to go to Little Chiose's opening ceremony soon."
So busy. Why had there been more and more business problems lately?
"Forget it—go to the meeting first; the meeting won't take long. Mm... even if I'm a little late, Little Chiose won't blame me."
What did that count as? Wishful thinking?
Soyo didn't know, but she swore she hadn't meant to be late—she really couldn't get away.
She threw herself into all sorts of tedious work, speeding up her efficiency as much as she could to bring everything back to a normal level.
By the time Nagasaki Soyo extracted herself from it, more than an hour had passed. She hurriedly pushed the less important tasks at hand onto a few trusted employees, gave Secretary Haizuka a few instructions, and rushed downstairs.
Lately, every trip downstairs was like racing against the clock.
Getting into the car and starting it, she compressed every bit of time she could. It took less than ten minutes from the company to Tsuki no Mori—which was one thing that let Soyo catch her breath a little.
Haah... huff...
The road was clear the whole way. It was now one-thirty—she was already half an hour late.
"Damn that Togawa... If her work hadn't gone wrong, I wouldn't be this busy."
This time The System had obediently done as Chiose wished and conjured up an NPC named Kushiko Togawa to interfere with Soyo.
[I'm really wallowing in self-pity right now—with a bit of blaming heaven and everyone else mixed in...]
But what could she do about it? It really was so annoying, after all.
She had no heart to admire the scenery along the way. Tsuki no Mori finally appeared before Soyo's eyes.
This was her alma mater, which had produced countless of this nation's talented and extraordinary people, and now her daughter would follow in her footsteps and join the big family that was Tsuki no Mori...
As Soyo got out of the car, she saw countless parents leading their children out from inside the school gate, and a not-so-pleasant feeling suddenly rose in her heart.
[Oh no, don't tell me I missed it? This...]
She lowered her eyes to check the time on her watch, confirming that it had only been half an hour since it started... No, that wasn't right!
She fished her phone out of her bag, and the time displayed on it made Soyo's pupils contract.
[Two-forty? This... When did my watch start malfunctioning?!]
Cheerful laughter drifted past Soyo. The joy of countless parents and children had nothing to do with her.
She moved against the crowd, and with not a single child by her side... how out of place she was.
The further in she went, the fewer children there were, and as her steps quickened, the guilt in Soyo's heart grew ever thicker.
[I've... messed up another thing. I clearly promised, so how did I break my word again...]
The afternoon sun had already begun to take on a decadent hue, swaying unsteadily as if it might plummet at any moment.
The Tsuki no Mori campus had changed so much, but Soyo walked deeper into it, relying on her hazy memories.
[Little Chiose... where are you? You haven't gone off to hide and cry, have you...]
The laughter and warmth of others stung Soyo's nerves, and at the very last, she spotted Nagasaki Chiose in a small pavilion not far off.
The same outfit, the same adorable appearance—that little sprite, too, had noticed her negligent mother—
Her eyes were red, her hands were trembling. Alone in the cold, lonely pavilion she fit the atmosphere—yet she clashed so badly with the cheerful laughter of the entire campus.
"Little Chiose? I..."
The closer Soyo got to Chiose, the slower her steps became.
Just a few days ago she had sworn so confidently that she would absolutely give Chiose a wonderful childhood and would never break a promise again—so how, today, had she...?
"Mama!" The little girl bounced and leapt into Soyo's arms, and only now did Soyo notice something the girl was holding up in her hand.
"The teacher said I'm very well-behaved, so on the very first day she gave Little Chiose a little medal! Doesn't Little Chiose make Mama feel reassured and... proud...?"
Was there a sob in her voice? I...
Soyo was at a loss for words, her hand frozen in midair, not knowing whether to first pat the girl's back or ruffle her little head.
"Little Chiose is the best, the very best..."
Haah.
So obedient, so sensible—the guilt deep in her heart kept swelling, and in Chiose's warmth Soyo felt as if she were suffocating.
The desire to make it up to Chiose kept sprouting in her heart, but Nagasaki Soyo truly didn't know what to do.
Give Chiose more allowance, so she wouldn't feel inferior to others?
Buy Chiose more pretty clothes and dresses too—those were indispensable as well.
Oh right, didn't she also like that one toy or whatever? She could surely have plenty of the same kind custom-made online.
Lifting Chiose up, Soyo walked toward the school gate. By now there were hardly any parents with children left on the path, and she now had a strange sort of wishful thinking...
[Little Chiose won't blame me. Mm... Little Chiose will forgive me too. It's all right, Soyo—all of this can be forgiven...]
Only by thinking this way could Soyo feel even the tiniest bit more at ease.
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