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TL: ALT
Chapter 22 – Mariel’s Perspective on Wataru’s Family
Mariel and Aire were led into the house and sat down on the chairs in the living room.
There was a big table, which was much bigger than Wataru’s apartment.
The air conditioning was working well, and it was cool.
This was a great help to Mariel, who had found the summer in Osaka much too hot.
Mariel had been taken to Wataru’s family home, and to be honest, she was a little reluctant to meet his grandparents.
In this world, slavery had been abolished long ago, and she couldn’t imagine how she would be accepted.
However, it seemed that her concerns were unfounded.
“Where did you find two such stunning beauties?”
“There’s no way our Wataru-chan is popular…”
“Is it human trafficking? There was a story a while back about a farmer in the countryside buying a wife from the Philippines, but did they take in a refugee from Northern Europe or somewhere?”
“You shouldn’t say things like that. There’s a business called ‘rent-a-girlfriend’ these days. Maybe he was just trying to be presumptuous because he felt bad about going home alone?”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that. I thought he was forcing the hostess to go out with him, but what do you think, Grandma?”
“That’s a strong possibility. I thought Wataru-chan wouldn’t get involved in something bad like that.”
“Hey, hey, can you stop making that kind of noise as soon as I get home?”
Wataru rushes over and tries to interrupt the conversation, but the grandparents are laughing happily.
Mariel’s eyes widen when she sees something unexpected.
(I have never seen Master like this before. I guess it just shows how close they are, but it looks like the family is getting along really well.)
Not only Wataru but also the grandparents are very natural, and you can feel a soft, warm atmosphere.
It seems that you can understand a little of the reason for Wataru’s kindness.
Surprisingly, they are also sensitive to the issue of human trafficking.
Since Mariel and Aire are slaves, it is not wrong at all that they were bought.
(I wonder if Father and Mother are okay? Ah…now that it has been revealed, I want to know as soon as possible that they are safe.)
At the same time, Mariel’s heart ached as she thought of her parents, now separated from her.
Until now, she had tried not to think about them as much as possible, but now that Wataru had shown her hope, she couldn’t help but worry about them.
She wondered how they were doing right now.
She hoped that they were fine.
But what if they had also been reduced to the status of slaves and forced to live in poor conditions?
She wanted to find out as soon as possible.
Wataru stood next to Mariel, who was almost drowning in her thoughts.
He grabbed her shoulders.
The strong embrace made her want to surrender to him, body and soul.
Wataru was a very attractive man to Mariel.
He was kind and energetic, and he took good care of her.
Although he was a merchant who worked alone, he was not afraid to deal with the nobility, and he was a brilliant negotiator who made a lot of money.
At least from Mariel’s point of view, who had lost her family to bankruptcy, Wataru, who made so much money, seemed like a wonderful man.
“They both stay with me for a reason. They’re both very important to me.”
“I am Mariel. I’m very much indebted to Wataru-sama for this short time.”
“I am Aire. It’s nice to meet you. I’m not very good at talking, so please forgive me if I say something rude.”
“Oh, I’m Toru, and this grandma is Mieko. You both are really good girls. You’re too good for Wataru. Take good care of them.”
“That’s exactly what I think. Seriously.”
And they are very loving to them.
Being taken to Wataru’s family’s house and introduced to them made Mariel feel even more accepted.
She didn’t know what it was like in that world, but for Mariel, it was a great honor to be introduced to someone’s family.
The grandparents laughed when Wataru was sulking.
They even seemed to find his unhappy attitude funny.
Both Toru and Mieko have gray hair and are about 70 years old.
They have many wrinkles on their faces and have problems like dentures and back pain, but they are relatively healthy.
“But you haven’t been back for a while. What’s wrong today?”
“It’s Obon, so I thought I’d come and see you. Here’s a souvenir.”
“Oh, it’s a GoGoGo Butaman! It’s hard to buy one on the train because the smell wafts around, and people can tell you’ve bought one.”
“This is Rikuro Ojisan’s cheesecake. It stopped being 500 yen a few years ago, didn’t it? Oh, it’s still hot.”
“I’m sorry. Shall we eat it right away?”
“I’ll cut it up. Let’s eat the rest cold. You can make some tea.”
The two of them get to work.
Despite their appearance, their bodies are still strong.
They must be in good shape because they like to do farm work.
Even in Mariel’s hometown, farmers had very strong legs and backs.
But not many people live as long as Wataru’s grandparents.
This is because many people die from infectious diseases or from monsters.
“Grandpa, do you still work in the fields?”
“Yes. This time of year, the tomatoes, eggplants, and cucumbers are delicious. We’ll have some for dinner, but you can take some home.”
“Thank you.”
“I planted too much. Grandma and I can’t eat it all, so we’re in trouble.”
“I need your advice about the garden. I’d like you to grow something for me.”
“Advice? Well, I’ll listen to what you have to say. We’ve cleaned up your room, so please use the second floor.”
“Thanks, I’ll just leave my things there.”
Wataru, who knows his way around the house, leaves Mariel and Aire and goes upstairs with his luggage.
Aire looks around curiously.
It’s amazing how thick-skinned she is and how little she cares about what’s going on around her.
Mariel, on the other hand, is very careful not to do anything rude in front of the family.
In front of Mariel, who has been left behind, is Toru, who is smiling kindly.
She is being watched, but not rudely.
“Mariel-han, was it?”
“Yes, Grandfather.” [T/n: She called him Ojii-sama.]
“Fufu, you call me grandfather? That Wataru…”
Toru laughed with a sigh of admiration.
It was based on a long past, but Mariel could not imagine the accumulation of time between them.
They must have spent many long and precious hours together.
“Are you happy with the way things are now?”
“Compared to before, things are much better.”
“I see. Please take good care of him. He’s not a bad boy, but he can be a bit absent-minded.”
“It is only natural that you feel this way about your grandson. Wataru-sama is a very reliable person.”
“I hope that’s true. But he’s always made terrible mistakes.”
Toru bowed deeply.
Even if he didn’t know it, that wasn’t a very good attitude to have towards a slave, and Mariel panicked.
When she managed to get him to raise his head, Toru began to talk about Wataru’s childhood mistakes in a funny way, taking advantage of the fact that the person himself wasn’t there.
Mariel and Aire laughed when they heard about his mischievous past, but then they suddenly realized that they hadn’t heard anything about his parents.
Come to think of it, Wataru mentioned his grandparents before, but he had never told them anything about his parents.
Mariel put a lid on her curiosity.
She didn’t want to pry into something her master didn’t want to talk about, and she was sure that he would tell her if he needed to.
She had that kind of trust in him.
“I would be happy if he would talk to me if something happened. I know there’s only so much an old man like me can do, but I’m sure there are things I can help with.”
When Wataru’s footsteps were heard, Toru said just that and began to drink the cold tea as if nothing had happened.
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Time to talk about Wataru’s youth. Thanks for the treat.
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Thanks for the treat
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I expected them to pull out some thick photo album with his old photos as a toddler or as a baby taken nude. It’s especially mortifying for a guy to hear comments from his girlfriend how much cuter he was looking when he was little.
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