Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 30. "Orphanage"

The taxi stopped by the roadside. This place is located on the mountainside of Kobe, a town with old infrastructure on Mount Rokko.

What appeared in front of Masumi was an old building complex. The courtyard was surrounded by mottled white walls with peeling paint, and the walls were covered with children's graffiti.

The sign at the gate read "Nojiku Welfare Home" and its luster was dull.

He frowned slightly.

Is there any place like this in Kobe?

The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of that year particularly devastated the city of Kobe. Before that devastating force, the city's steel and concrete structures were like a blank sheet of paper, easily torn apart and shattered.

After the disaster, the resilient people rebuilt the city from the ruins, and because of this, Kobe's urban construction is particularly new.

This neighborhood seemed to have luckily avoided the strong earthquake that year, but because of this, it missed the opportunity for revitalization and new construction.

Under the night sky, the shadows of the buildings rise and fall as if they have life, curled up alone in a corner of Rokko Mountain.

Like an abandoned child.

Rinne Kamishiro took out the key from her pocket, stood in front of the iron gate of the orphanage, and aimed her trembling fingertips at the keyhole, only to find that the door was not locked.

Masumi pushed open the door and followed Rin'in into the yard. There was a row of potted plants by the wall that were obviously well cared for, blooming with flowers whose names he didn't know.

The space in the welfare home is not large. Plastic slides, sand courts, swings... several amusement facilities have crowded the yard, and they show signs of repeated use.

Is this where she once lived?
Walking into the room, the lights were on and it turned out to be a large Japanese-style room with six tatami mats that smelled of rush.

A dozen or so children sat quietly around the room, with their heads hung and silent. They looked just like the small Ksitigarbha statues on the roadside in the countryside. Masumi was startled by the heavy atmosphere that was like a wake, and his steps on the tatami were a little heavier.

The children sitting at the outermost edge noticed the footsteps and immediately turned around. The moment they saw Kamiyo Rin, they raised their tender little faces, opened their mouths wide, and started shouting in unison.

"Rin-nee! It's Rin-nee who's back."

"Sister Linyin, listen to us. Grandma suddenly fainted just now..."

"What should I do, Sister Linyin? My mother-in-law..."

The anxious cries of several children overlapped, and it was impossible to hear what they were saying.

"--sh-sh!"

An older girl inside frowned and shushed them, "Don't disturb Dr. Maeda from treating my mother-in-law."

After hearing her words, Masumi noticed the middle-aged male doctor in a white coat kneeling beside the mattress, and the old woman in front of him: she had short gray hair and a face full of wrinkles. Masumi looked at her sleeping face. The wrinkles gave people a very kind impression. She must be a person with a gentle personality.

At the same time, the girl from before slowly stood up, tiptoed to Rinone, and reported to her in detail what had happened.

It was around 9:20 when Grandma Sato, who was preparing breakfast for the children in the kitchen for tomorrow, suddenly fainted without any warning. When they first found out, the children were so anxious that they didn't know what to do. They subconsciously called Kamiyo Rinone, and then the more mature older children remembered Dr. Maeda from the nearby clinic.

Even though it was past the consultation hours, Dr. Maeda still rushed over in a hurry because the patient's life was at stake.

Dr. Maeda is 40 years old and runs a small clinic. He is well-known in the neighborhood and is a responsible and good doctor.

He knelt in front of the mattress and bent over, concentrating on checking Grandma Sato's condition. He first put the stethoscope against her chest to check her heartbeat, then used his palm to check if she had a fever, and occasionally opened his eyelids.

Everyone held their breath and kept silent, including Rin and Masumi. Before they knew it, the girl had quietly tightened her grip on his arm again.

The wait seemed like a century.

After completing the examination, Dr. Maeda removed his stethoscope, turned around, and told the two adults in the room his diagnosis.

"Don't worry, it's not serious."

"That is……"

Linyin's heart was still hanging in the air, but the fingertips holding her arm relaxed a little and were no longer so tense.

"Overwork."

"It's due to old age, a weak constitution, and overwork. I also have a little anemia."

"Rather than fainting, it's more accurate to say I fell asleep."

The old man lying on the mattress was indeed breathing evenly. After hearing the doctor's words, the solemn atmosphere in the room slowly dissipated.

"Although it's not a serious illness, it can't be ignored."

Having said that, upon learning that Grandma Sato was not seriously ill, Rin was visibly relieved and quietly released her fingers.

Fortunately, it's not a serious illness.

However, it caused such a big commotion. When Rin came to her senses, she remembered that she had tightly grasped Masumi's arm in the taxi. The capillaries were transmitting heat through her skin, and she felt that her face was so hot that it was about to burn.

It turned out to be a false alarm.

"It's also largely related to lack of sleep. As she ages, her spirit becomes weaker. You should make sure that mother-in-law gets enough rest and doesn't overwork herself, otherwise there will really be serious problems."

"Yes, I see. Thank you very much."

"Then I'll be leaving first. If you need anything, feel free to call me."

"Thank you for your hard work, Dr. Maeda. I'll take you out."

The scene of two adults and a dozen children thanking the doctor together with voices of all sizes was quite spectacular. Seeing this, Dr. Maeda touched his nose and smiled, then left with the medicine box. Rin was responsible for seeing the doctor out.

Masumi also moved from the room to the corridor to let the old man have a good rest. When he was about to look for Rin, he was surrounded by several little boys.

"Uncle, who are you?"

The little boy with a crew cut looked up at him in confusion.

"Hey, Ryosuke, he's so tall, you'll definitely get beaten if you call him uncle, you should call him big brother."

The kid with glasses next to him whispered a reminder to him, but the corridor was so quiet that he could hear everything clearly.

"Oh." The little boy with a crew cut named Ryosuke replied dully, then asked, "Big Brother, who are you?"

"Uh..." Masumi's mouth twitched slightly.

"Is Big Brother Rinone's boyfriend?"

Are children nowadays so precocious? Macheng shook his head honestly, "No."

"Is that a friend?"

Friends? Is his relationship with Kamishiro considered a friend?

Maybe we should consider them acquaintances?
Masumi thought about it carefully and said, "Well, Kamishiro and I just work in the same coffee shop—"

"—Is it the stars?"

Ryosuke's childish face suddenly lit up with joy, and he interrupted him excitedly.

"Well, yes, how did you know?"

"Sister Linyin told us that she is now the acting store manager of Fanxing and can earn 600,000 a month. Is that true?"

Six hundred thousand yen? Masumi burst out laughing. What a joke! Could Fanxing's net profit be this much?
Although Kamishiro Rinone was his father's designated heir, she, like him, received a fixed salary. His own salary was 25 yen, while Kamishiro's was even lower, at only 20 yen.

but--

Being looked up at by the child's clear and innocent eyes, Masumi couldn't help but look away and said with a sigh.

"No."

"Eh?" Ryosuke was taken aback, then his face flushed as he retorted, "You're lying! Sister Rinone told us herself, uncle, you're a big liar!"

The little boy with glasses next to him quickly tugged at his sleeve and said, "Ryosuke, be careful or you'll get beaten."

"It's certainly not six hundred thousand."

Masumi shook his head and continued, "It's one million."

"One...one million!" Ryosuke's voice trembled a little. Although he was still young, he knew how big a number it was.

"Yes, your salary will increase, right? It started out at 600,000, but because of your excellent work, it's now 1 million."

"As expected of Sister Rinne, so amazing!" Ryosuke's face showed joy again, and he easily believed what Masumi said. "So coffee shops are so profitable. I want to be a barista in the future too."

"You already have a dream at such a young age?" Masumi smiled, "What a coincidence! I'm the barista at Fanxing."

“—It’s a lie.”

Ryosuke curled his lips, "Sister Rinyin told us that the barista at Fanxing is a very nice uncle just like my mother-in-law."

"That was the original barista. I joined last week."

"Really?"

"I lied to you that you were a coffee bean."

Ryosuke squinted his eyes and thought for a while, then nodded slightly and raised his face to ask him.

"Then... can you teach me how to make coffee?" Ryosuke looked at him expectantly.

“You want to be a barista?”

"Yeah." He nodded vigorously. "Becoming a barista can make a lot of money like Sister Rin."

"You can buy any toy you want."

Masumi smiled secretly, it was a very childish wish.

But Ryosuke's next words made him stop smiling.

"Also, if I have money, I can use it to pay off Dad's debts. That way, Dad won't have to put me in an orphanage to avoid those vicious uncles."

"I can go home with my dad."

"Dad said he would come back for me as soon as he paid off his gambling debts. I believed him!"

When he said this, he seemed to be a little depressed and disappointed, but he was also full of expectations for the future.

Sadness and joy, two completely different emotions, can they actually be entangled together? Masumi felt like he was trapped in an illusion where reality was distorted.

"Do you want to go home?"

"Yes." Ryosuke nodded without hesitation, but then added: "But I'm also very happy in the welfare home."

"Rin-nee brings lots of gifts to visit us every week and buys me the comics I want. Last week, she even gave me my favorite Sakamoto daily comics."

"If I could make money, I would buy lots of gifts for everyone like Rin-nee-san."

He looked at the child in front of him with an expression full of expectation and no complaints.

"I also want to help the orphanage. I know my mother-in-law is always worried about money. I overheard her telling Sister Xun that if Sister Rinyin hadn't been donating to the orphanage, the orphanage would have collapsed long ago."

"If I could also make money, the welfare home would be better off and my mother-in-law wouldn't have to work so hard."

Masumi was silent. It turned out that Rin had been donating money to the welfare home. Come to think of it, Nojikiku Welfare Home was rated as Level 2, and the welfare funding from the local government was very small. It would be difficult to maintain it without relying on assistance.

"So... can you teach me how to make coffee?" This time, Ryosuke's tone was a little cautious and tentative.

After a moment's silence, Masumi spoke softly to Ryosuke.

"I'm sorry, I can't teach you."

"why?"

"Who told you to call me uncle just now?"

"Ah? But...but you are an adult, how can an adult argue with a child?" Ryosuke said angrily, and this time he even ignored the little boy with glasses next to him who tried to persuade him to "be careful of getting beaten."

But he didn't lose his temper. Instead, he puffed up his cheeks like a pufferfish and stared at Masumi for more than ten seconds. Then, like a deflated ball, he sighed and whispered, "Stingy."

"If it were Sister Rin, she wouldn't be so stingy."

"Okay, okay." Masumi let out a fake sigh. "Since you're so persistent, I'll give you a chance."

"When you go to middle school, I can allow you to work in our shop. Then I will teach you how to make coffee."

"Really?"

"Really." Masumi nodded, then bent down and gave him a pinky finger. "Let's make a pinky promise."

"it is good!"

One big and one small, one thick and one thin, two fingers hooked together.

Hook your finger to swear.

"A liar has to swallow a thousand needles..." After thinking for a moment, Ryosuke immediately changed his words and said, "A thousand French fries."

"fries?"

"Well, because I love French fries the most."

Ryosuke smiled sincerely.

"Although Big Brother is a little awkward, he doesn't seem to be a bad person, so I will show mercy and not punish you so cruelly."

"But you can't lie to a child just because of this! And break your promise!"

"Okay, okay, I understand."

After agreeing to this, and looking at Ryosuke who was so happy just because of this, Masumi sighed deeply in his heart and suddenly thought of a poem.

"Not Afraid of the Wind and Rain" by Kenji Miyazawa.

I am not a literary youth who likes poetry, but I still remember this poem very clearly many years after graduating from high school. Perhaps it is because this literary giant has the same surname as me, which naturally exudes a sense of intimacy, so I remember it so clearly.

Masumi lowered his eyelashes quietly and looked around at the children in the orphanage. Somehow, his throat felt hot. He said quietly in his heart with a slightly hoarse voice.

"Hurry up, hurry up, grow up quickly."

You must grow up well, don't lose to the wind, don't lose to the rain.

Not inferior to winter snow, nor to hot summer.
-
Unafraid of Wind and Rain

Author: Kenji Miyazawa
Not afraid of wind
Not afraid of rain
Not afraid of cold winter or hot summer
Always have a strong physique

No desire
not angry

Always smiling quietly
Just eat some brown rice, miso and a little vegetables every day

Indifferent to everything, including oneself
Seeing and hearing is enough
Then I won't forget
In a small thatched house in the shade of the pine trees in the mountains
It's enough to make a living
If there is a sick child in the east
I will go to visit

The mother of the western family was tired from working

I would go up and help her carry the bales of straw

If there is a dying person in the south

I'll tell him not to be afraid.

If people living in the north have a dispute
I will patiently persuade them
When the sun is shining and a drought strikes, I will cry.

When a cold snap hits in the scorching summer, I get really anxious.

Everyone calls me a fool

But I don't ask for praise

I won't keep the worries in my heart
I want to be this person
　Thanks to Just Want to Be a Dog in God's House and Yueyun for their rewards. Thanks to Yueyun, Yushang_Qianmo, and Jiuyou Gravedigger for their monthly tickets. Thank you all for your comments and recommendations.

　　The two chapters of narrative will be disconnected, so I just merged them into one chapter. This is a poem I like very much. It does not have the common mono no aware in Japanese literature, but is full of hope.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)