Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [35]

“What a miserable man! From the résumé, this Hikigaya Ryōhei could be called an elite among commoners, yet because of emotional troubles, he's ended up in this sorry state? Tsk tsk, does Mother really know someone like this?”

Inside the office of Yukinoshita Haruno, eldest daughter and heiress of Yukinoshita Construction, the most prestigious real estate enterprise in Chiba, echoed such a sigh—with a mischievous, schadenfreude undertone.

“Born a commoner, lost both parents during middle school, survived alongside his younger sister… Attended the prestigious Sōbu High, then Tokyo Gakugei University. Received commendations during his compulsory military service, and later successfully co-founded an IT start-up. Had things not gone awry later, he would’ve been a bona fide winner in life.”

Haruno finished reviewing the documents, rubbing her slightly dry, piercing eyes. She stretched her slender arms upward, feeling an unusual sense of how unpredictable life was.

Since the Meiji Restoration, the distinctions between Imperial family, nobility, shizoku (samurai class), and commoners had been clearly drawn. Someone like Hikigaya Ryōhei had already surpassed most commoners by far; if he’d continued smoothly and had assistance from someone influential, promotion into the shizoku class wouldn’t have been impossible.

The shizoku were already impressive enough. Even a powerful local family like the Yukinoshitas—whose head had hereditary seats in the prefectural assembly, owned countless fine properties and fertile farmland—were merely rural shizoku.

In the eyes of Tokyo nobility (kazoku), they were just provincial nouveau riche on the outskirts of the capital.

Driven by curiosity, Yukinoshita Haruno had secretly gathered all the available information about Hikigaya Ryōhei behind her mother’s back.

Everything from kindergarten until now.

She hid it from her mother because Haruno’s sixth sense strongly suggested that her mother definitely knew this Hikigaya Ryōhei.

Yet, when the topic came up by chance the other day, her mother flatly denied it.

That was suspicious as hell!

When Haruno later thought about it carefully, she increasingly felt that her mother at that moment hadn’t been the familiar "Mother" she knew… rather, it was some indescribably odd feeling.

As the heir raised meticulously to inherit the Yukinoshita family, Haruno already had substantial influence both inside and outside of the family, so she’d genuinely managed to investigate Hikigaya Ryōhei thoroughly without her mother knowing.

Haruno was certain nobody would inform her mother.

After all, her boss’s boss wasn’t necessarily her own boss.

And besides, it wasn’t like this was something terribly serious.

After contemplating for a while, Haruno shifted her gaze back to the messy pile of documents on her desk. Her piercing stare locked onto an old, yellowed high school graduation photo.

She’d specifically had that kid from the Hayama family quietly retrieve it from Sōbu High’s archives.

Because in this class photo, featuring over thirty students, both her mother, Yukinoshita Saori, and Hikigaya Ryōhei appeared together. If the request had gone through family channels, something troublesome might've happened.

If her mother found out that she was researching parts of the past that Mother herself wanted concealed… that would be thrilling.

Haruno propped her smooth chin with one hand, tilting her head. Holding the photograph gently with two delicate fingers, she stared intently at her mother's youthful, beautiful face—as if trying to peer right through it.

“Something really doesn’t add up…”

Haruno whispered softly to herself, her expression gradually becoming serious—her trademark whenever things turned interesting.

Ever since she’d been old enough to remember, she’d never seen Mother make such an expression before.

An honest human expression revealing genuine emotions from the heart.

In the photo, due to her young age, Yukinoshita Saori looked about seventy percent similar to the Yukinoshita sisters. On her youthful face were nervousness, anticipation, unease, and some kind of indescribable resolve. Haruno had never seen her mother express so many emotions at once.

She’d always assumed Mother was like herself—forever hiding her true feelings beneath layers upon layers of mist.

The teenage Hikigaya Ryōhei stood seven or eight positions away.

Although it was partly hidden, Haruno’s sharp eyes could clearly see that her teenage mother was secretly glancing at that handsome boy, her face painted with all those complex emotions.

“Definitely suspicious.”

Although the information she had currently couldn’t explain exactly what had happened afterward, just discovering her mother’s hidden past was enough to make this problem-loving older girl’s usually bored soul quiver with excitement.

The thrill of uncovering her mother’s secret!

The crisis of possibly angering Mother!

Caught between the two!

Ah, no good, no good!

Haruno hurriedly stuffed all the documents into a folder, locking them away in her desk drawer.

If she kept investigating today, she definitely wouldn’t be able to resist telling little Yukino about it!

Yukinoshita Haruno swore to herself she absolutely hadn’t committed tax fraud!

Just as the Yukinoshita family, despite its hereditary prefectural assembly seats and regional power, always paid taxes legally and fairly in their business dealings!

And just as the Yukinoshita family, despite backing the biggest local yakuza, had never forcibly bought or sold anything!

Her mother and this Hikigaya Ryōhei definitely had some kind of history together… Why did it feel a bit like sour romance?

Closing her eyes, Haruno leaned back in her executive chair, recalling again her mother’s tone that day—so unlike a refined noblewoman—and finally concluded so.

“I should find a chance to meet this Hikigaya Ryōhei in person…”

...

“Achoo!”

As the family gathered around the small, low table for dinner, the thirty-something Uncle Hikigaya—currently being contemplated by a certain beautiful university-aged girl—suddenly turned aside and sneezed loudly.

The mood around the table was a bit heavy. Komachi and Hachiman silently stuffed rice into their mouths.

Speaking of which, Hikigaya Hachiman had been recuperating at home for over twenty days since the car accident.

His recovery was going very well.

Right now, he only walked with a slight limp, and would likely be fully recovered within another week.

Just earlier, their father had told them that after their aunt and uncle passed away, their cousin—the thirteen-year-old Misaki Akeno—was left completely alone. She was currently at a naval orphanage in Yokosuka.

Her father's family, just like the Hikigaya family, had few relatives left alive. Both grandparents had passed away, and no other relatives were willing to adopt her.

As a result, the government officials approached their family.

They hoped that this young Misaki Akeno could be adopted by her closest maternal relative, her uncle.

Having already endured plenty of hardships, the Hikigaya siblings certainly weren’t lacking in sympathy—but they also clearly understood their own family’s situation.

Their dad still hadn’t found a decent job. Just managing daily expenses was already stretching him thin… Could they really adopt their cousin?

Wouldn’t that completely exhaust Dad?

“All right, Papa knows what he’s doing! I was just letting you two know the situation. Don’t overthink it, just enjoy your dinner. By the way, this Kobe beef Grandma sent for Hachiman is really excellent—Komachi and I are also benefiting from your good fortune! Hurry up and eat!”

Ryōhei knew exactly what the siblings were worried about.

Honestly, he felt conflicted too.

From a rational standpoint, he definitely didn’t want to adopt the girl…

Forget it. Don’t worry about it for now—they gave him a month to decide anyway.

Tomorrow he’d visit Sōbu High for the teaching position.

If it worked out, he’d head to Yokosuka first and see how things looked from there!

But if he couldn’t land a new job, there was nothing he could do. Following him would just mean hardship for the girl, maybe even less comfortable than staying at the orphanage.

---

A/N: I saw someone say the protagonist can’t destroy the harmony of Yuigahama’s family or whatever. Am I really that kind of person? In my setting, Yuigahama Asuna’s husband was a game developer, a programmer who tragically died a few years ago from overwork (working "007," meaning working continuously without days off).

T/N: evil author

This is a fan translation of 比企谷大叔永远年轻 by Stargazer All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!