The three of us kept exploring the Bikan area, and before I knew it, evening had set in. We were currently returning our rented yukata.
“Lots of walking. I’m tired.”
“We covered a lot of ground.”
“Fun.”
“All right, let’s head to where we’re staying tonight.”
“Sounds good. Lead the way, Ryouya-kun.”
We left Bikan and walked toward Kurashiki Station, chatting as we went. Tonight we were staying at my grandmother’s place. Mom had already cleared it with her.
Reona and Riona had handled the negotiation with my mom flawlessly — zero gaps in their game. From Bikan we reached Kurashiki Station and rode one stop east.
We got off and walked a while, ending up at a single-family house right next to a baseball field called Grape Stadium.
“Here we are.”
“So this is Ryouya’s grandmother’s place.”
“Right next to the baseball field — must be wild on game days.”
I let them comment on the location while I rang the doorbell beneath the Kamiki nameplate. After a beat, the intercom came back.
“Yes, Kamiki residence.”
“Grandma, it’s me. Ryouya.”
“Ryouya? I’ll unlock the door now, just a minute hun.”
Grandma, on the other end, answered in her usual thick Okayama dialect. A second later she opened the front door herself and came out.
“You came all this way, did ya? You been keepin’ well?”
“Yeah, you too — glad to see it.”
“Have ya not grown some since we last met?”
“Sadly, my height’s barely budged.”
Every time I see her she asks if I’ve grown, but I’ve added one centimeter since last year. The dream of 170cm isn’t dead yet, but given my growth spurt is winding down, if I get anything more, it’s going to be one centimeter and that’s it.
“Mio-chan not with ya?”
“No, this was an open-campus trip, day-of.”
“Ah, well, shame about that. Now then — the tall beauties behind ya — are these the friends Saya mentioned on the phone?”
Grandma had noticed Reona and Riona behind me. I jumped in to explain.
“Yeah — classmates from school. We came to the Okayama City University open campus together.”
“Pleased to meet you, I’m Ryouya-kun’s classmate, Tsurugi Reona.”
“Same. Tsurugi Riona.”
The two of them introduced themselves in turn. Grandma looked impressed.
“Mannered young ladies, ain’t ya. I’m Ryouya’s grandma.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am. We’ll be in your care tonight.”
“This is a small token of thanks.”
Riona produced an actual gift box of sweets from her backpack — when did she get that? — and handed it to Grandma, who lit up. The famous Tsurugi-twins social skills in action. But the next thing they said was unexpected.
“Ma’am, we expect to be in a long relationship with you, so we picked something good.”
“Ryouya — me and Nee-chan will make you happy.”
“Pardon, dear? You can’t mean—”
“Yes ma’am. Exactly what you’re thinking.”
“H-hey! What are you casually dropping into the conversation!?”
I yelped at the line that had near-unlimited potential to be misinterpreted. Grandma was definitely misinterpreting that.
What a way to arrive — having to defuse a misunderstanding on the doorstep. I tried desperately to walk it back over dinner, but the misunderstanding stuck and eventually I gave up. Whatever, who cares.