Chapter 219 – Weird Baby

Their meeting spot was set at Otoneiro, a local instrument shop. From there, they would head to Shibuya.

Since it was a holiday, the train was unusually crowded.

Kei could see plenty of people out and about — families spending the day together, groups of friends laughing, couples holding hands. It was the kind of lively chaos he had half-expected.

He technically had enough money to just take a taxi, but Japanese taxis were infamous for being absurdly expensive, even for short distances.

And after years of living frugally, it just felt wrong to spend more when there was already a cheaper option available. Wasteful, even.

But still…

Kei shifted awkwardly in place, feeling the uncomfortable silence hanging between the two girls in front of him.

Kita who is usually so cheerful was uncharacteristically quiet, staring blankly out the small window while leaning on the train door.

Beside her, Ryou also leaned against the wall with her shoulder, eyes downcast, expression unreadable.

“…Sigh.”

Kei watched the scenery crawl by outside the train, the motion slow enough to make him regret not taking that damn taxi after all.

At least once they met up with Nijika and Bocchi, he thought, they could move on and forget whatever awkwardness had happened this morning.

Still, seeing both girls so quiet made him want to say something — anything — to lift the mood, especially for Kita’s sake. He searched for a topic in his head.

But—

“Waaah!”

A baby’s sudden wail pierced through the hum of the train, cutting through his thoughts. Kei turned his head toward the sound and saw a baby stroller parked beside him.

Inside were two infants — twins, judging by their matching blond hair.

‘Are they foreign twins?’ Kei thought to himself, blinking.

In his previous world, hair that bright usually meant dye, but in this one, it wasn’t unusual to see naturally vivid hair — pink, red, even blue.

So he couldn’t really tell if they were foreigners or not.

One of the twins was bawling her eyes out, little hands flailing in distress.

While the other — a boy, judging from his short hair simply sat there with a bored look, closing his eyes as if pretending not to hear her cries.

The other baby clearly didn’t take that well, flailing her tiny hands and smacking her brother in protest.

‘Wait… babies are supposed to be this smart?’ Kei blinked.

The expressions on their faces weren’t normal for babies at all.

Usually, when siblings fought, it was just crying and noise.

But this boy looked annoyed, like he was too mature for this nonsense, and simply pushed his sister’s hands away with weary composure.

The woman standing in front of them — who Kei assumed was their mother — finally reacted.

She looked like she had her hands full, with two large bags hanging from her shoulders and a suitcase propped at her side.

“Hey! What are you two even doing!?” she scolded, trying to pry the angry girl off her brother.

The boy, meanwhile, seemed perfectly content to let his mother handle it.

“Awawa wa wa!”

Kei didn’t understand a word, but from the baby girl’s furious expression, he could tell she was out for blood.

“Pfft—”

The sudden sound drew Kei’s attention.

He turned to find Ryou stifling a laugh, one hand over her mouth.

“It’s not nice to laugh at someone else’s suffering, Ryou-san,” he said, frowning lightly.

“W-what are you talking about?” she replied, looking away, her voice trembling as she tried to hold back another laugh.

Her shoulders quivered despite her effort to stay still.

At first, she’d only looked over because of the crying.

But what made her laugh wasn’t the noise — it was the sight itself.

The baby girl was like a tiny, furious chihuahua, and the boy beside her looked exactly like a lazy cat who’d given up on life.

The contrast was absurdly adorable.

Meanwhile, Kei turned back toward the mother, who was now glaring at the babies with the authority of someone who had reached her limit.

“If you two don’t behave,” she warned, “we’re going straight back home.”

Surprisingly, the angry baby froze.

Her lips puckered, her arms crossed, and she sat quietly in her mother’s arms, sulking in perfect silence.

Ryou blinked. “That’s… one smart baby,” she murmured, genuinely impressed. “Right, Suki-san?”

Kei was equally shocked — though for entirely different reasons.

‘There’s no way that’s normal,’ he thought. ‘Is that… a reincarnated person or something?’

Being clever was one thing, but this level of awareness was too much for a two-year-old.

“Suki-san?” Ryou tilted her head slightly, noticing he had gone quiet.

“Hmm… what were we talking about again?” he muttered absentmindedly.

Ryou, seeing him lost in thought, she just pouted.

Then, with a sly little grin, she leaned in close to his ear and whispered.

“If you really want one, you could just ask me, you know?”

“Want what?” Now it’s kei turn to be confuse.

“Baby.”

Kei froze, staring at her blankly for a moment before realizing what she meant — and promptly bonked her lightly on the head.

“Ow.” Ryou muttered flatly, rubbing the spot on her head — but that tiny smirk still lingered on her lips.

Kita, who had been leaning quietly against the wall, finally snapped out of her thoughts.

Her eyes widened as she looked at Ryou.

“What’s wrong?”

Ryou, still rubbing her forehead, gave a mischievous smile.

“Nothing much. It’s just that Suki-san—”

Before she could finish, Kei clamped a hand over her mouth in a panic.

“It’s nothing, Kita-chan, it's just that I'm worried if we will be late.” he blurted out.

Kita blinked, tilting her head. “Is that so?”

Her tone was skeptical, her expression full of quiet suspicion as she glanced between the two of them.

But before she could ask further, the train intercom chimed to life.

[Next station, Shibuya. The doors on the left side will open.]

[Please change here for the Tokyu Toyoko Line, Den-en-toshi Line, Keio Inokashira Line, and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon and Fukutoshin Lines.]

[Please be careful not to forget anything when leaving the train.]

“Alright, this is our stop. Let’s not keep the other waiting.” Kei said quickly, seizing the opportunity before Kita could ask another question.

He was already lucky enough to talk his way out of her suspicions about Ryou who is currently living with him this morning.

‘Please… at least let me rest on Christmas Day,’ he prayed internally, dragging his tired legs toward the train door.