"Have you packed everything?"
A gentle voice drifted in from outside the room.
Having just turned six, Mochizuki glanced over the items she needed to take before finally answering, "Mm!"
Being a small child, Mochizuki naturally enjoyed many privileges in such matters.
At the very least, she didn't need to pack her own clothes.
So, there wasn't really much she had to bring along herself.
Heading downstairs, she saw her mother already prepared, and her great-grandmother holding their suitcase.
"Great-grandma, aren't you coming back with us?"
This was the fifth time Mochizuki had asked this question in recent days.
"Mm, I'm not going back to Japan yet. There are still some matters here I need to settle." Like the previous four times, Symboli Speed gently gave the same reply.
"Hmm…"
"Great-grandma will just return a bit later~"
After lightly patting Mochizuki's head, Symboli Speed straightened up again. "Besides, I'll come back with the Symboli Family~"
"Really?"
A child's mood was easy to soothe—even a sensible child like Mochizuki was no exception.
Seeing Mochizuki's expression brighten again, Speed withdrew her hand and glanced up.
Due to Natural's petite build, she was now only slightly taller than Mochizuki…
Looking at the two, Speed posed a different question to Natural, "Do you want me to notify Sirius?"
"Ah, probably not necessary~"
Though her suggestion was rejected, Symboli Speed didn't mind. She simply turned to Tokai Natural again. "Be careful once you get there."
"I will."
After that brief exchange, the three of them stepped outside.
Then, off to the airport.
This was Mochizuki's first visit to an airport. After passing through security, Symboli Speed turned around and left.
She had nothing more to do here.
Sitting in the waiting lounge, Mochizuki gazed at the world beyond the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, then turned toward her mother. "Mom, why are we going back to Japan?"
"Hmm, how should I put it…"
Natural found herself struggling to explain to her daughter.
She couldn't exactly tell Mochizuki the reason was because she had another older or younger sister back in Japan…
If she said that, it'd be far too…
Thinking about this, Natural paused silently for about ten seconds. "To meet your dad?"
"Didn't you say my dad was already dead?"
"Then, maybe someone who could become your dad?"
This reply earned Natural an openly skeptical look from her daughter. Clearly, Mochizuki wasn't satisfied with her mother's obvious deflection.
Under her daughter's intense stare, Natural hesitated slightly before admitting, "Well, I promised an Uma Musume I'd cook for her."
"Is it someone who'll become my dad?"
Clearly, Mochizuki hadn't forgotten her mother's half-hearted excuse.
"No, of course not~"
As Natural said this, she reached out and gently patted her daughter's head again. "It's just a promise I made…that's all."
Mochizuki stared closely at her mother for a solid ten minutes before reluctantly deciding to trust her.
Noticing her daughter had finally stopped questioning, Natural breathed a sigh of relief.
Honestly, if Mochizuki had kept grilling her like that, Natural wouldn't have known what else to say.
However, after a few more minutes, Mochizuki came up with another question: "Mom, once we get back to Japan, where will we live?"
"Ah, about that…"
Mochizuki's question stumped Natural again—quite obviously this time.
Natural didn't have much savings, certainly not enough to buy a house outright.
But if they continued to live above the restaurant, wouldn't that be…?
"Maybe we'll rent a house. If you don't want to live with me, you could stay with Maruzen-san or C.B.-san~"
"What about Sirius-san?"
"She…" Natural's expression instantly shifted, and she fell silent.
Noticing her mother's reaction, Mochizuki quickly understood—this probably involved her father.
Every time she asked about that topic, her mother wore exactly this expression.
So, silently marking that topic as off-limits, Mochizuki changed the subject: "Then where will you live, Mom?"
"Huh?" Having her thoughts interrupted, Natural stopped pondering and simply answered, "I'll probably stay above the restaurant. It's easier for work."
Seeing her mother momentarily lost, Mochizuki didn't press further, quickly adding instead, "I want to live with you, Mom!"
"But the second floor of the restaurant is pretty dirty, you know?"
"I still want to live with you."
"Hmm…" Mochizuki's insistence caused Natural to pause and think again. Finally, after a few seconds of hesitation, she gave in. "Okay, fine. But you'll have to go to school by yourself. The restaurant is near the academy, so I won't be able to pick you up."
"You didn't pick me up often anyway, Mom."
"I suppose that's true…but the restaurant is still quite far from your school. If you want to get home early and have dinner sooner, you can always visit Maruzen-san. She lives closer to the residential area and school."
"Is it really that far?!"
"Hmm, let me think…" After briefly considering the distance between Tracen Academy and the school district, Natural nodded to her daughter.
Seeing her mother's confirmation, Mochizuki grew hesitant.
After all, no matter how mature she was for her age, Mochizuki was still fundamentally a child. She understood clearly how far such a distance was.
But…
"Mom, your health isn't good, is it?"
Thinking back to the medicine her mother secretly took each day, Mochizuki suddenly posed this question.
"Nonsense, your mom's health is perfectly—"
"Then why do you take so much medicine?"
Her voice still sounded childishly young, yet it now carried an unmistakably mature seriousness.
Mochizuki's question caused Natural to fall completely silent.
She knew her daughter had discovered her health issues, but what she didn't realize was that Mochizuki wouldn't have known about it if Symboli Speed hadn't specifically told her.
Seeing her mother's silence, Mochizuki recalled her great-grandmother's request.
Then, she voiced exactly what her great-grandmother had asked her to say:
"Mom, I want to stay with you."
---
T/N: sooo cute and fillial
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl