Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [8]

Does that man care so much about pleasing Tōma Kazusa that he ignores his own wife cheating? Is his love really that deep?!

Setsuna’s heart filled with despair, helplessness, along with jealousy and anger.

Her life had already been destroyed. Ever since a year ago, when her husband, Kitahara Haruki, had reconnected with Tōma Kazusa…she’d completely fallen into a spiral of self-denial, plagued by months of extreme anxiety and depression.

Lately, she'd hardly seen her husband.

Every meeting ended in arguments. At first, Haruki would still defend himself, saying pretty things to reassure her. But gradually, they barely even spoke.

Now, he didn’t come home all night and refused to answer her calls.

Because this turmoil severely impacted her performance, her company had even fired her last week.

Kitahara Setsuna now hated her husband, but she hated Tōma Kazusa even more.

Yet their complicated past made her feel powerless, trapped in an emotional web she couldn’t escape. Somehow, it felt like all these tragedies had begun years ago, from that one confession she'd made?!

Amid these distorted emotions, the unrelated yet somehow involved Hikigaya Ryōhei naturally became this miserable woman’s outlet.

Setsuna didn’t yet know that Hikigaya Ryōhei and Tōma Kazusa had already divorced. If she did, her mental state might worsen even more.

I’ll find him and demand an explanation! She’s clearly his wife, yet he lets her run wild—what kind of man is he?! the disheveled, weary housewife muttered alone in the empty living room, as if convincing herself that doing something—anything—might prove she was still Kitahara Haruki’s rightful partner.

The miserable woman stared at their wedding photo on the wall. The groom handsome and elegant, the bride gentle and lovely.

Yet now, the image pierced her heart. Staring at it, the smiling face of the woman wearing the dreamy wedding dress suddenly shifted into Tōma Kazusa’s cold, elegant beauty.

Setsuna staggered up from the sofa, licking her dry lips, dizzy from exhaustion.

Long-term poor health and depression had brought her to this point. Her eyes hurt and stung sharply—probably from endless crying.

But now, she no longer cared about herself.

She glared hatefully at the mocking, glamorous wedding photo, roughly drank some water, grabbed a piece of bread, took her handbag, and slammed the door shut behind her.

She had to go talk properly with Hikigaya Ryōhei—that bastard!

He’s just another loser like me, after all!

These two, who shouldn’t have much in common, were surprisingly alike: both betrayed, both hopeless simps. Perhaps there was a kind of shared suffering or solidarity between them…that was how things stood now.

I’m truly the most worthless woman alive.

When it came down to it, Setsuna felt she might be responsible, to a large degree, for how both families ended up this way.

This silent realization only deepened her psychological burden.

...

At the Hikigaya home.

"Bye-bye, Papa! Come home early, okay?"

"Mm, Komachi, stay home and take care of yourself. You can use the laptop to watch some anime, but remember—never open the door for strangers!"

As the family’s head, Ryōhei warned Komachi not to let any strangers inside, instructed her to occupy herself at home, and then embarked on his journey to find a job.

Perhaps because of her parents’ divorce, Komachi stubbornly refused to go out and play with other kids.

Having spent years as an adult and a teacher before transmigrating, Ryōhei understood instantly.

On the surface, Komachi seemed to have accepted her parents’ divorce, but from his basic knowledge of educational psychology, Ryōhei understood that children around junior high age might pretend to understand divorce, while in truth their comprehension was limited. Often, they’d irrationally resent one parent or another.

I should pay closer attention to these kids in the future. Ah…

That woman, Hikigaya—no, Tōma Kazusa—was truly incomprehensible.

She’d had a perfectly good life!

Family harmony, devoted spouse, filial children—this was a dream many could only long for.

Ryōhei suddenly recalled an old joke:

Before a woman cheats:
"Am I betraying my husband by doing this? But what can I do? I really like this guy… Oh, forget it, just this once!"

After a woman cheats:
"You're my true love, dear husband!"

He couldn’t help but wonder: what had driven Kazusa to alter so many lives, like a moth rushing towards fire?

Usually, he’d heard women cheated because their husband was inattentive, lacked ambition, earned too little money, or was weak in bed…

But this "Hikigaya Ryōhei" seemed ambitious enough. He'd once been wealthy, only collapsing financially after the divorce.

And regarding "that aspect"…he had two kids, so presumably no issues there?!

Hachiman, aside from those dead-fish eyes, resembled him greatly… Komachi clearly shared a sibling likeness with her brother, too—all three had the same distinctive ahoge sprouting from their heads.

Although his ex-wife wasn’t exactly pure and virtuous, it was clear that Hachiman and Komachi were indeed "his."

"Could it be lack of attention…? No, impossible! This guy was clearly a total simp..."

...

Ryōhei boarded the bus, got off several stops later, then continued on foot.

Relying on Google Maps on his phone, he soon arrived at the Chiba region’s employment office.

Last night, he’d done plenty of online research using the family’s old laptop.

Before leaving this morning, he’d also dug a razor out of one of the cluttered boxes, tidying himself up a bit.

At least now he didn’t look so awful.

From what he'd found online, the current economic climate was rapidly declining, stock markets were unstable, industries faced harsh winters, salaries dropped sharply, and unemployment rose dramatically. Just yesterday, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that angry protestors had rioted near the Prime Minister’s residence, leading to clashes with security forces that left one dead and three injured.

This wasn’t just happening in this little island nation—the whole world seemed to be in turmoil.

Across the sea, the East Asian Empire and even the Atlantic Federation on the other side of the Pacific Ocean had entered varying degrees of recession.

Ryōhei didn’t know more details, nor did he particularly care about international politics or economics.

Since he was destined to be a corporate slave, he wouldn’t worry about Nagatachō’s politics.

Yet upon entering the employment office, Ryōhei quickly realized ordinary people truly couldn’t ignore their nation’s historical trajectory.

Even if you avoided it, history still came knocking at your door.

---

T/N: uea i ghuess china is called east asian empire here and the atlantic federation is osmething from gundam the successor to the usa

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!