Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [12]

Time flew by, and Ryōhei had already spent ten days living in this altered worldline.

Counting from that day he'd bumped into Kitahara Setsuna, nearly a full week had passed.

That gloomy, unlucky woman hadn’t shown up again to bother him, which was great news.

Come to think of it, he'd adjusted to daily life here much faster than he'd expected.

Ryōhei figured part of it was simply his own adaptability—he’d always been good at facing reality. Back in his original world, he’d never been rich or special, just another ordinary guy in the crowd, so there wasn’t much he truly missed. Another factor was probably the leftover habits of this body, belonging to the original “Hikigaya Ryōhei,” unconsciously helping him get used to the new environment.

For example, he found himself really enjoying patting Hikigaya Komachi’s cute little head.
His hand simply wouldn’t obey!

And whenever he caught sight of Hikigaya Hachiman’s dead-fish eyes, he felt compelled to lecture him.

Lying on the futon at night, reflecting on his previous life, the only people he felt guilty about were probably his original parents…

Fortunately, the chaotic mess left behind by the original “Hikigaya Ryōhei” didn't give him much leisure time for melancholy.

Just yesterday, Hikigaya Ryōhei had finally received unemployment benefits from the local labor office—around 150,000 yen.

Barely enough to last a month.

So, adding up his remaining savings, he had less than 300,000 yen available. At best, he could stretch it to two months, though even that would be tight.

After all, he had two kids to support!

Raising children was expensive.

Especially since one was a teen and the other a pre-teen!

Why hadn't this “Hikigaya Ryōhei” given at least one child to his ex-wife during their divorce? Like Hikigaya Hachiman, for instance—teens at his age ate so much!

Was it because he'd worried his ex-wife would have trouble remarrying if she had a child?

Such a licking-dog couldn't even dream of having a HOUSE!

At the end of the month, both Hikigaya Hachiman and Hikigaya Komachi would be starting at their new schools.

Although both were entering public schools and most fees were waived, the admission letters that arrived indicated they still had to pay miscellaneous fees.

Combined, the cost totaled about 100,000 yen!

This kind of money would’ve meant nothing to the previous Hikigaya Ryōhei, who'd earned over seven million yen annually—not even counting bonuses. But now, Ryōhei felt genuine pain at the thought.

After deducting school fees, his remaining money would only barely get him through the next month.

Ryōhei had researched online. Although this world was somewhat strange, the Tokyo metropolitan area still had some of the highest living expenses globally, similar to his original world. Monthly expenses here averaged around 120,000 to 140,000 yen.

And he also realized that, due to being hastily evicted from his previous residence by the bank, the apartment this body had chosen was far from ideal.

Paying 60,000 yen for a place like this in Chiba Prefecture, at the outer fringes of the Tokyo metropolitan area, was a bit of a loss!

This morning, after breakfast, Hikigaya Ryōhei waved goodbye to his eldest son, Hachiman, and his daughter Komachi, then left home with Hachiman to find some day-labor work.

After exiting their somewhat shabby apartment gate, father and son quickly parted ways, heading in different directions.

After walking about a dozen meters, the black-haired teenager couldn’t resist glancing back at his father's departing figure. Somehow, his father seemed even more weathered, and his voice, when he spoke, carried a deep weariness beneath its steady tone…

As a sensitive adolescent, Hachiman had grown increasingly aware of subtle changes in his father recently.

Previously, his father would constantly sigh at the framed family photo of himself and his mother on the desk, drowning in depression. Or he would sit miserably in front of his laptop, agonizing over job postings—apparently unable to find work paying anywhere near his previous salary.

During those days, he and Komachi didn’t even dare breathe loudly at home.

Thanks to his dead-fish eyes, he'd also received frequent reprimands from the man whose face was practically labeled “failure.”

Hachiman blinked, quickly recalling his father's recent behavior. Indeed, ever since waking up from that incident ten days ago, this man had seemed different.

Changed—for the better.
He hadn’t once snapped at him about his eyes again.

He even tried making new dishes.

And he'd shaved his stubble clean.

Despite his health still recovering, he'd gone out immediately, willingly seeking menial jobs he'd previously looked down on—taking day-labor gigs despite his prestigious university degree and former senior position.

At this point, Hachiman suddenly remembered that family photo disappearing from the table yesterday. Last night, Komachi had secretly told him their father had bundled it with other useless clutter and thrown it out.

Komachi had secretly rescued it from the trash and hidden it.

It seemed like a message to Hachiman: those happy days when their parents and siblings had lived together would never return.

It's all Mom’s fault… Youthful romance should be rejected outright—keeping it at a distance is the only way to avoid getting hurt!

On the spotless, pristine streets without a speck of garbage, Hachiman suddenly felt the wind kick up some dust, irritating his eyes. Watching his father's distant back, tears streamed down his cheeks uncontrollably.

The boy quickly wiped his tears away.

He didn't want his father—or anyone else—to see.

...

“Welcome—ah! It’s Hikigaya-san! You're early today.”

In a convenience store two street intersections away from Ryōhei’s residence, an energetic, capable girl greeted him politely.

“A man my age has a family to feed. I have no choice but to be early. But you, Aoyama-san—you’re young, yet somehow seem even more motivated than me.”

“Ah, is that right?”

Two days earlier, Ryōhei had found a part-time cashier job at a convenience store not far from home.

He was currently in a probationary period, earning 750 yen per hour.

Initially, the store manager hesitated after seeing Ryōhei’s age—already in his thirties.

But then, upon seeing Ryōhei’s resumé and the name of his university prominently listed, that hesitation turned into pity.

Tokyo Gakugei University—even if not as impressive as Tōdai, someone hitting rock-bottom like this by middle age… Perhaps out of sympathy, or maybe because Ryōhei genuinely looked reliable and competent, he'd ultimately gotten the job.

Ryōhei intended to stick with it for now. He couldn't simply sit around doing nothing, consuming his savings.

One step at a time.

If not for the original “Hikigaya Ryōhei” foolishly signing away his rights to child support payments from his ex-wife, he would’ve seriously considered going to that Tōma Kazusa for money now.

What a pathetic simp… Forget it!

He didn’t want to think about that guy anymore!

Working as a convenience store cashier was extremely easy for a veteran member of society like Ryōhei.

During busy hours, two people would handle the registers together; when things were slow, one person would handle restocking.

He had been paired with a young girl who was also doing part-time work here.

The girl’s name was Aoyama Nanami.
Ryōhei found the name poetic, unexpectedly pleasant when said aloud.

---

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!