Episode 17 – Fiancee of the daughter of the Suminodo family

Side Ageha

I was going around the venue away from my parents, wearing a party dress in red. The original host, the old man of Shijonawate, had not shown up yet. Therefore, the venue still had a loose atmosphere, and acquaintances and crows who wanted to peck business wandered here and there, making small gatherings and breaking up repeatedly.

The garden seen from the hotel window was elegant, but the businessmen, who were either tired of looking at it or in search of dumplings, had no time to enjoy it.

No adult spoke to me as I stood away from my parents in the presence of theirs. An adult who ignores her business partner’s parents and goes to talk to a sixteen-year-old girl in the presence of her parents can only be seen as a bad influence. I was not invited to the Shijonawate family’s gathering because I was not of the same age as them, and I was not able to decorate the venue like a butterfly wandering in the hall.

In the end, the host, the old man of Shijonawate showed up 15 minutes after the start of the event. He was walking with a loud voice from the entrance, and he looked more than one year younger than his age.

Two strangely aged men and women and a beautiful girl were following behind them. However, the three of them had little presence, as if they did not belong in this place.

“Well well, I’m late.”

“Well, well, Master,” “We’ve been expecting you.”

One after another, the adults went to Shijonawate to greet the old man. I don’t know when it was, but the old lord of Shijonawate was always called “the old lord” or “the old lord of Shijonawate” when there was a party or a gathering, without being called by his name for a long time.

My parents came to get me early and took me with them to the center of the group that gathered to greet the straw.

The crowd was slowly breaking up, as if to say, “Don’t come close to the danger”, and the distance gradually widened as I watched from afar the meeting of the present head of Suminodo group and his family, who was called “the elder of Shijonawate”.

“Elder of Shijonawate, thank you for inviting us for the first time to the gathering of Shijonawate families.”

The name of Suminodo is recognized as long-established in this region for 200 years, but it is a family that has grown since the time of our grandparents, and is treated as a family that has risen to prominence. The rival’s house itself, which has gradually grown as such a business, has never been invited to the party held by Shijonawate.

Of course, this is not the first time for them to meet each other. If it is a party that Shijonawate is not the host, they have met each other many times, but since they have never been invited, my father said a little bit more strongly for the first time.

“Hahaha, what is it. If we lived in this area, it would have been natural for us to interact with them earlier, but our family has no connection with Sumindo-dono. I thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“It’s a pity that our family has not been able to get in touch with Shijonawate family for business, but as we are both rooted in this land, we will be drinking the same water more often in the future.”

“Yes, there is nothing more sad than when a young tree withers, and the morning dew is not enough to make it a big tree, and then you know how good the water of the river is.”

The old man, smiling and saying with a smile on his face, tells me in a roundabout way that our meeting until now has been a gathering with no connection at all, and he wonders what we have been up to. Although my father had no direct business relationship with the head family, his roots were strong. If he answers that, they will tell that the houses that made a name for themselves through business in this area in the past have withered away.

There is no one here who does not know that it was the Shijonawate family that withered away.

My father did not originally like to have this kind of conversation, but because of his position, he went out of his way to accommodate the elder. My grandparents didn’t like him, so they wouldn’t have been more excited if he had shown his face.

I was getting tired of listening to him, so I waited for him to be satisfied with playing conversation with a clear face, hoping that it would be over soon.

“Well then, let me introduce you my family.”

With that, the old man introduced Shijonawate Rinen’s parents and Rinen herself. Just like when they appeared at the entrance, the three of them are calm and yet they have such an atmosphere that they do not feel like being here.

We understand the reason itself, so our parents greet them only as much as necessary.

Shijonawate Rinen’s silky black hair shines beautifully, and her well-toned face smiles calmly, which I have never seen in school, and she sends her greetings with a calm and quiet bow of her head.

“Elder, this is my daughter, Ageha. Ageha, please greet him.”

“It is nice to meet you, my name is Ageha. Thank you for inviting me here today.”

“Greetings to you, Ageha. I am very happy to see that you have a daughter the same age as my granddaughter. I am sure we will get along well with each other. Hahahaha.”

The old man looked at me with a stare, and then said comfortably. I also sent my greetings to Shijonawate Rinen and her parents.

As for Rinen, I have never seen a woman who could match this flower in appearance, I returned the greeting to her with a bit of hesitation.

After the greeting without any pressure, I was about to leave the place with my parents, when the elder made a deliberate movement as if he remembered something, opened his mouth happily and shouted loudly

“Oh, by the way, has the fiancée of the Suminodo’s daughter, Ageha-dono, arrived yet?”

“Haa?”

My parents managed to swallow down their attempts to speak, but I couldn’t and uttered a dumb voice in the midst of the people around me. As I was trying to figure out what this old man had just said to me, my father opened his mouth.

“Hahaha, what kind of misunderstanding, there is no one connected to Ageha in such a way.”

“Hohoho, Ageha-dono, is that so?”

“Y-yes, I do not know what the misunderstanding was, but I do not have any.”

“I see. I see. That’s not what I heard.”

“Wha-?”

I was about to attack the old man when my father put his hand on my shoulder to stop me. There is no such a person, so it’s better not to poke at him.

“No, no, my granddaughter is going to the same high school as Ageha-dono, isn’t she? I am also worried about my granddaughter. Yesterday, I asked a friend of mine about my granddaughter’s recent situation, and to my surprise! They said they had seen the daughter of the Suminodo family making friends with a male student.

The Suminodo family is known for never misunderstanding anyone of the opposite sex who stands near them, and when I heard this story, I was impressed by how innocent it was.

If you think of him as a man sitting next to a young lady of whom there had been no rumors until then, he must be a very fine man whose parents would recognize him! That’s what I thought, so I called over to see the fiancé of the daughter

But it seems he has not come yet.”

“W-What?!”

I was so astonished that I couldn’t say anything. The old man in front of me looks at me with a red face as if he is enjoying himself.

“There is no such thing as a fiancée, and my daughter has never told me that there is anyone doing so. What an accusation!”

“Oh, dear! If your daughter has been keeping secret the fact that she is in love with someone who is not her fiancée. I am sorry about that.”

“L-Love!? I-I have no such relationship with him!”

School, boys, Suminodo family, fiancée, the words went round and round, so loud that you would think I was frantically opening my mouth to shout that. My father tries to stop me, but the elder, smiling happily, asks me without pause.

“Hohoho, I see. Then, what kind of relationship do you have with him?”

“He is my friend!”

“A friend, I see, a friend. Well, has the daughter of Suminodo ever had any male friends? I haven’t seen them at any gatherings.”

“Is there something wrong with having a friend from high school?”

“No, no, Agheha-dono, there is no problem! It is important to make many friendships in a new place and while you are young, isn’t it? But until now, there is no man who has been particularly friendly with any of Ageha-dono.”

“H-he and I, therefore, do not have the kind of relationship that could be described as affectionate.”

“Oh, I see. But I heard that you call each other by your first names, so I don’t know what else to call it if it’s between a man and a woman. It is difficult for an old man.”

“WWWWW-What?!”

“Grandpa, you’re being too loud.”

My father asked me if I had someone like that? He looked at me with a confused look on his face, and just as I was at the height of confusion, my face turning slightly red as I couldn’t answer, a cold, beautiful voice swung. The elder looked panicked and looked at the girl who spoke with a slightly pitiful expression.

”Rinen~ Such a cold thing to say.”

“Grandpa, shut up. Can I go home now that I’ve finished greeting?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Rinen. It was my fault. Look, I have to say hello to the others.”

“Can I leave after I’m done?”

“No, no, don’t be so cold. You said you’d stay the day.”

“I hope it wasn’t too loud. Grandpa’s a noisy man.”

“I’m sorry. My bad. My bad.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Suminodo dono, I have other greetings to make. Enjoy yourself. It seems I was mistaken about the other day. Hahaha!”

“I am very sorry, people of Suminodo. My grandfather is deaf and has a hearing loss.”

“Rinen~ Isn’t it terrible?”

She was not in a position to say such a thing to this old man, but she said so and went on her way. After teasing him, the old man moved away from us as if chasing after Shijonawate Rinen.

The participants who had been keeping a distance from us started to act as if what had just happened had never happened because of his comment. The attitude and one voice of the old man forced us to pretend that the behavior we had just experienced had never taken place. However, if we leave this place, we will not be able to build a doorway to human rumors.

Because of what the elder said, the people around us who are involved in the Shijonawate family don’t talk about it any more, but we can’t talk about it and nail them to the ground.

“We will listen carefully when we get back home,”

My mother, not my father, said this pleasantly, and I had no choice but to say yes.

After the party was ostensibly over without incident, I got in the car with my parents and headed home. I watched the sunset as it tilted in the direction of the house, wondering how I could explain this to my mother.

For some reason, my mother seemed excited and happy.

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