CH 78.1

We continued chatting while having a sip of our drinks every now and then. Aya would occasionally go off the rails and I’d soothe Rin as she’d get angry at her for that, for some reason I’m awfully busy here. Hadzuki meanwhile is just watching from the sidelines.

「It’s like we have an actual rest stop, it’s so nice. Every party should have at least one Kotone present.」

「Please don’t jinx it.」

If that happens, wouldn’t I need to be present in every party? No way, I’m not doing that. I’m not even happy about joining this party.

「I agree with you there. I believe this is the first time I’ve had this much comfort.」

「I agree with Sister Aya. Since it certainly reduced the stress I get.」

Well yeah, since I’m basically also acting as Aya’s stopper as well. In addition to Rin’s burden being halved, there aren’t other people approaching her either. But I guess they’re not thinking about the increase of stress on my end.

「Just with my father not being around, I’m having a lot of fun.」

It seems like only Kotori has a different opinion. I guess since her father always brings her around to introduce, aka boast about her endlessly, she really couldn’t have fun.

「Where’s your father right now?」

「Since he kept whining, I saw mom knocking him out and hurling him into a room.」

Powerful mother as usual. However, Kotori’s words made the others flinch. Well, it’s hard to believe unless you see their family dynamic for yourself. Mainly her mother’s strength.

「Various people are talking to my mother, it seems. I can identify Kotori’s mother, but who might the other lady there be?」

They’re gracefully chatting with a smile, but from the reactions of the onlookers, they’re probably not having a normal conversation. To begin with, with my mother and Kotori’s mother together, I’m pretty sure they’d start complaining about their husbands. In other words, that lady is also complaining about hers.

「That lady is Nagatsuki’s mother, isn’t she? They seem to be enjoying themselves, I wonder what they’re talking about.」

「Hadzuki. It’s best that you don’t know, for your own sake. They might seem jovial, but they should be mostly grouching about.」

「Kotone, do you have a clue on what their conversation is about?」

「They’re having a Grouch about our bad husbands fest, you see. And Madam Nagatsuki has joined them.」

As expected, even Hadzuki was speechless. Their conversations were already borderline out at the cafe, is it really alright for them to grumble here? Though I think they’re probably being careful about what they’re talking about.

「All I’ve learned is that there seems to be many with pent up stress. Letting out steam is important.」

「Hadzuki, you don’t seem to have much pent up. How do you destress?」

「Up until now, I’ve been doing whatever I want at the student council, so I didn’t feel much stress, but who knows from now on? For reference, how do you handle it, Kotone?」

「I vent my stress through morning runs and at the batting center.」

「Methods I can’t copy, then. Maybe I should start searching for a hobby. What to do.」

He’s been relieving his stress by messing with people, so I guess he’s worrying about it now. It’s a pretty nasty way to destress, but it’s each for their own. As long as it’s not directed at me, feel free.

「What hobbies do you have, Aya?」

「Me? Singing.」

That’s unexpected. I don’t really hear of people from the twelve families going to the karaoke. Well, the batting centre is what it is, yeah.

「Do you go karaoke?」

「I do, actually. Though it’s either by myself or with Rin.」

Which means her friends don’t invite her out, I guess. Now that she mentioned it, Mr. Shizuo talked about having a singer in their family. It’s probably not Aya he’s referring to, so maybe it’s the mother or the father?

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「She even has me keep her company until her throat gives out from time to time, it’s tiring.」

「You also enjoy going there, so why not.」

Meaning Rin also likes singing as a hobby. It’s a pretty decent way to vent out stress. Maybe since they constantly camouflage themselves, they accumulate easier stress than others.

「Kotori, do you have your own ways of destressing as as well?」

「For me, it’s cooking and martial arts.」

「「「Eh…」」」

So she’s surprisingly the martial arts type. It’s so different from her usual image, so everyone’s frozen in shock. Maybe it’s her mother’s influence? Will her father be alright from here on?

「I started learning martial arts just to strengthen my body, but I ended up liking it.」

「I-I see.」

I really don’t know what else to say. I can move around relatively well, but I’ve never tried learning how to actually fight. To begin with, I haven’t really encountered that many dangerous situations.

「Please, let me rest here as well.」

As it was starting to feel a bit awkward, someone new came at the perfect timing. Turning my gaze to his direction, I see that it’s Minadzuki. Still, this really has become the rest stop for the twelve families.

「You must be exhausted. Do you want something to drink?」

「I brought my own, so it’s alright. Still, you had such a different vibe when we previously met, it’s hard to get used to this.」

Everyone keeps saying that, so I’ve frankly gotten used to it. A freshman and the only person that Kotone genuinely thinks she lost to, Minadzuki. He’s pretty normal for interactions like these.

「Frankly, it’s disgusting.」

「And you seem to be just as usual.」

Except for the fact that he’s brutally honest. Rare for the twelve families, his family has no hidden side but either way, he’s no good. Those who marry into their family must have an ungodly level of patience.

「Still, this is quite unusual. For the twelve families to gather like this, I mean.」

「We mostly act on our own, after all. I’ve never heard of the twelve families having close ties with each other either. Could there be a reason for that? Hadzuki?」

「Why are you asking me about that?」

「You seem the most knowledgeable about it.」

When all’s said and done, he’s probably the one with the most information among us. While Aya has her own information network as well, it’s only viable at the academy, I think. Rather, please let it be so.