Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 31 31. "The Heiress is Too Friendly to Me"

Looking down on Kobe from Mount Rokko, the neon lights shining above the city look like artificial stars.

After finally getting rid of the children's entanglement, Masumi lost sight of his companion, Rinone Kamishiro. Masumi asked a few children who had seen her and was told that "Sister Rinone was alone in a secret base, the place closest to the stars."

It sounded like a child's secret language. Masumi suppressed his rational desire to get to the bottom of it and decided to look for the answer with a subtle mood.

A person like this, on a murmuring spring night, is aimlessly searching for the answer to a puzzling riddle on an unfamiliar night road - this kind of behavior, which may seem a bit stupid to others, is probably rare in a lifetime.

What you are doing now may seem ordinary, but one day a boundary may be formed and it will no longer be ordinary.

The street lights captured Masumi's shadow, and the road turned into a slow uphill road. Masumi raised his head and looked at the nameless hill in front of him.

——It should be here.

The highest point in the vicinity.

If there's a place closest to the stars, this is it.

There were no lights on the way up the mountain, and the higher you went, the darker it got.

Masumi turned on the flashlight on his phone and walked along the path where ferns had just sprouted. He saw an observation deck halfway up the mountain.

Ah, found it.

A solitary street lamp casts a warm glow in front of the observation deck, and the soft light illuminates the surroundings, making this place seem otherworldly.

Shining in the light are her long hair that is as black as ink from the roots to the tips. The night breeze is light and the long hair sways slightly.

He regulated his disordered breathing, walked closer, and saw Kamiyo Rinne huddled up on a bench, her voice slowly fading in the quiet hillside.

"So you are here."

Masumi sat down next to her, the scent of citrus filling his nostrils.

"And you're sitting so childishly."

The sneakers were taken off and thrown askew on the ground.

The girl's posture was like a watermelon worm, hugging her thighs and burying her face in her knees. Her body was tightly curled into an exaggerated curve, and her black hair completely covered her side face.

Is she crying?
Thinking of this, Masumi blurted out, "Are you crying?"

"Don't make me sound so worthless."

The voice coming from that small body sounded completely different from Rin's usual voice. It was as if the throat was strangled and squeezed out from the vocal cords, which was disconcerting.

"Then let me see your face."

After hearing his words, Linyin remained silent for a long time, and then slowly raised her head.

Even at this close distance, not a single pore could be seen on her skin. The light from the street lamp dimly illuminated her delicate features, and her long, slender eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.

The area around her beautiful eyes was slightly red, making the teardrop mole look very sentimental.

Isn't this still crying?

"I'm sorry, I accidentally saw you crying."

Although he didn't look in the mirror, Masumi was sure that his smile was definitely very bad.

Fortunately, the girl didn't bother with him.

A few strands of hair stuck to her wet cheeks. Linyin bit her lower lip and said in a hoarse and low voice, "I didn't mean to cry."

"Are you feeling uneasy because of fear?"

The smooth black hair swayed slightly up and down.

"I was frightened by my own weakness."

Her throat trembled slightly in confusion, and the words that came out of Linyin's mouth slowly disappeared in the murmuring spring night.

"When I heard about my mother-in-law's accident, I was so panicked. I always thought I had become strong enough."

"But in the end, I'm still a weak person who always wants to rely on others."

She lowered her eyelashes quietly, and her eyelids trembled slightly as she looked at the ground.

"It's normal to feel uneasy."

Masumi said softly, "It doesn't matter, just cry if you want to."

“There are many situations when you want to cry but can’t cry when you grow up.”

"I don't want to." Linyin said through clenched teeth.

"Crying is not an act of weakness for adults."

"Oh? But you're not old enough to drink yet. Talking about being an adult is a bit..."

"Just because you can drink, does that mean you're mature? Maturity isn't such a cheap thing."

Rin retorted with unyielding determination, her voice gradually returning to normal, though she herself didn't even notice the change.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong. As an apology, here, this is for you."

After simply admitting defeat, Masumi revealed an expression as if he had planned this for a long time. He took out a can of drink like a magician and handed it to Rinne, "If you can't drink alcohol, try this first."

It is a can of health green tea drink.

Rinone hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take the green tea. Masumi saw the crescent-shaped scar left by fingernails on her soft palm, and his heart inexplicably tightened.

"Thank you."

Opening the can, she cupped the green tea in her hands as if to ward off the cold, placed her lips lightly on the rim of the cup, took a sip, and then looked intently at Masumi.

“…Did you do this on purpose?”

Masumi's lips curled up mischievously, "It's bitter, right?"

The girl's face still had her usual impassive expression, but if you looked closely, you could see that her eyebrows were twisted, as if she was trying to hold back bitterness.

"boring."

Linyin turned her head away without taking it seriously.

Masumi felt like the heavy weight on his heart had finally been lifted, and he spoke in a relaxed tone, "Seno and Kuon just contacted me. I told them everything was fine, so don't worry."

"Ah."

Linyin nodded slightly and whispered softly, "I'm sorry."

"I would rather you say thank you than say sorry."

"Thanks……"

"……sorry."

"Why are you saying sorry again?" Masumi laughed.

"I said some harsh words to you when we first met. I'm sorry."

Kamiyo Rinone tilted her head and stared into Masumi's eyes, speaking with extreme seriousness.

"That incident happened two weeks ago. I don't care at all."

"No, some things, if you don't say them out loud, will become a knot in your heart."

The frank and serious dialogue was indeed very much in the style of Kamishiro. Masumi nodded, smiled frivolously and said, "Okay, then you can return the position of acting store manager to me."

I had just meant it as a joke, but I didn't expect the girl in front of me to take it so seriously.

"Yeah. That's exactly what I planned."

"Huh?" Masumi looked at her in surprise.

"I only accepted it reluctantly to protect Mr. Jingjian's hard work." Rin said, "At first, I thought you were like your father, always shirking your responsibilities. I didn't want you to destroy this hard work, so I said those words to you..."

"So what do you think of me now?"

Rin's watery purple eyes reflected Masumi's face.

"...He's a bit of a bad-hearted person."

Masumi laughed, it seemed she was still upset about the prank just now.

"But... he's also a very serious and talented person."

The girl said frankly, "I think you are more mature and calmer than me, and more suitable to be the store manager, so the position of heir should be returned to you."

Masumi didn't answer directly. Instead, he placed his palms on his knees and said casually, "You're just giving me back my 60 yen salary. Is that okay?"

"..."

"That's just..."

"That's just a white lie, right?" Masumi followed up on her words and completed the sentence: "But I think the children in the orphanage may not need these lies at all. It doesn't matter. They are all very strong."

But this strength protects a person who is twice as weak as an ordinary person.

Just like the girl next to him.

Kamishiro Rin's lips trembled slightly.

"I've always known..."

"Everyone in the orphanage is alone, so they have to be strong."

"In this country, the interests of biological parents take precedence over those of children. Abuse of parental authority is quite common, and as long as parents want to send their children to an orphanage, they can easily be sent there."

She tells a heartbreaking reality.

"So, you were…"

Masumi was a little hesitant when asking, choosing his words carefully.

"Yes, he abandoned me." The words coming out of Linyin's mouth were cold and shocking. "But it doesn't matter. I don't want to have anything to do with that kind of man anymore."

"Really... wouldn't you feel lonely?"

"will not."

The girl spoke with conviction. Masumi stared at her for a moment before looking away.

"so."

Masumi nodded, pretending to be fooled by her.

A delicate silence lay between the two of them.

Rinne suddenly raised her head, and Masumi also moved her gaze over, and the two of them looked up at the same night sky.

The moon is very bright tonight, so the starlight appears faint.

The girl stretched out her hands towards the night sky, her cherry-pink nails reflecting the light from the street lamps, as if trying to catch them.

The rounded tips of the teeth were embedded in the lower lip, seemingly entangled. The plump lips like rose petals were bitten again and again, becoming an increasingly bright red.

After a long moment, she pursed her lips and spoke softly.

"...I was born in the countryside of Gunma Prefecture. My family runs an old shrine called "Kamiyo Shrine."

Her gently swaying bangs obscured her expression. The shadows cast by her bangs cast a trace of melancholy on Rin's face.

"Because my family only had daughters, they needed a son-in-law to inherit the shrine. My parents got married under such circumstances, and my father came to Kyoto from Kobe and met my mother."

Rinyin spoke in a halting manner, her tone lacking her usual confidence, but Masumi kept her lips tightly closed, not wanting to interrupt her.

Because those are words from the heart, and it takes courage to speak such sincere words, and courage cannot be interrupted.

"But……"

"If you didn't love Mom and me, why... did you marry Mom in the first place? Why... did you give birth to me?"

"If you hate the shrine so much, why would you accept the position of chief priest and then so easily abandon this responsibility?"

"I can't understand that, so I will never be a frivolous person who shirks my responsibilities."

The girl's voice was firm, and her powerful words were resounding.

"I'm sorry, it must be very troublesome for you to tell you this."

"will not."

"I don't mean to play the victim. After all, there are many people in this world who have experienced more miserable things than me. If I hesitate to move forward just because of this, it would be too hypocritical..." Masumi disagrees with this.

"I don't think so."

Linyin raised her face to look at him.

"There are indeed many unfortunate people in the world, but even so, I don't think it's a trivial matter."

"Everyone experiences joy and sorrow in their own lives, so suffering trauma is equally severe for everyone. There's no saying that one person is more miserable than another. Everyone has the right to feel pain."

"..."

She was silent for a while, then turned and said to Masumi, "You're really good at talking."

"After all, chatting with people is also the barista's job." Masumi smiled without showing any weakness.

"Even though you said that, I'm very satisfied with my current life, so I don't feel lonely about the past."

"Even if there is, it's only a tiny amount."

Really, just a little bit.

In order to hide her misty vision, Rin once again quietly buried her cheek in her palms.

Sadness often has a lag effect. It is like the long-lasting humidity of the rainy season, cunningly hiding in every ordinary day. Once it reaches the flood line, a sudden downpour will fall in an instant.

"I'm very grateful to the welfare home and to Fanxing. I like this job in the coffee shop."

“Because it makes me feel needed.”

Working in a coffee shop is quite busy, and daily life is divided into a fragmented schedule: when the alarm rings, prepare lunch boxes and three meals a day for everyone; do daily cleaning before opening; take the tram to school; daily business, reception and kitchen work; inventory of materials and accounts; go to the shopping street to purchase materials on holidays; go back to the welfare home to visit my mother-in-law and children every week.

However, when everything becomes a habit, you don't have to think about it carefully and can do it instinctively.

If she doesn't fill her time with busy work, Rin will start to doubt her life, and once she has doubts, it will give her weakness an opportunity to exploit loopholes, and she won't be able to move forward smoothly.

Not only does it need Rin, but Rin also needs it.

"Is that why you like this store?"

The girl nodded in agreement, then continued, "It's more than that."

Masumi lowered his eyebrows and closed his eyes. Rin's voice, which was as cold as ice, turned into gentle spring water, echoing in front of his eardrums.

"When I was in middle school, I read Dazai Osamu's No Longer Human in the library. 'If you can avoid intense joy, you won't be overwhelmed by sorrow.'"

"I feel like this sentence is a true reflection of my inner self."

“Never rely on or cherish anyone or anything. Don’t want anything, whether it’s family, friendship, or even love. From the moment you get it, you’re bound to lose it one day.”

“That’s what I’ve always told myself.”

That's why she deliberately keeps a distance from others as Qian Ai said.

"Is it the same now?" Masumi asked.

"Ah."

The night breeze caressed Linyin's hair, and her voice trembled uncontrollably.

“But then I read another sentence in his book ‘The Setting Sun’.”

"It turns out that Dazai Osamu, who wrote such sad and depressing words, often stood by the Tamagawa River during his lifetime. While looking at the river that flows forever and nothing can stop forever, he thought about the happiness that humans cannot obtain and said this sentence -"

“The so-called sense of happiness is like the faintly glimmering gold sand at the bottom of a river of sorrow.”

"It was then that I realized that the more people and things I didn't care about, the more I cherished them like my life. Even the slightest trauma would immediately expose my weakness and my heart would be torn apart."

“It took me a while to realize that.”

There was another guess that Linyin didn't say - maybe she had noticed it a long time ago, but was unwilling to admit it. She felt so uncomfortable when she thought about it, so she deliberately didn't think about it.

"This is true for the welfare home, and it is true for the stars."

"It's really a happy thing if someone can say to you, 'Welcome back.' It makes you feel like you can come back here anytime."

"It's very satisfying to say, 'I'm back,' and have them accept it."

"For me, the orphanage and the stars are such places. I can always say 'Welcome back' and 'I'm back'."

“I want this kind of dedication and reward to continue for the rest of my life.”

"A lifetime?" Masumi opened his eyes wide in astonishment, then smiled and said, "That's too heavy."

But the girl's expression told Masumi that she was serious.

"..."

After a wordless silence, Masumi suddenly spoke loudly.

"Okay, I've decided!"

"I want to make Fanxing a celebrity coffee shop that can earn 60 yuan in profit."

The girl tilted her head in confusion.

"So, until you achieve your goal, you will do the work of my successor for me."

Masumi narrowed his eyes and smiled. "After all, working two jobs is too hard. I also have my job as a barista. When I can make enough money, I can hire a senior barista to replace me. It won't be too late to return the heir to me."

"How about it?"

"..."

Amethyst eyes stared at Masumi for a moment, and Rin nodded gently, "I understand, thank you..."

Before she could even utter the word "thank you", Masumi spoke first.

"It's a word."

He clenched his fist slightly in mid-air and gestured to the girl.

Linyin was stunned for a moment, then slowly clenched her fist and lightly touched his. Their skins shrank back as they touched briefly, then she withdrew her hand and quietly lowered her eyelashes.

"It's a word."

The way she lowered her eyes made Masumi feel a little lonely. To get rid of that loneliness, he turned his head away and smiled a sinister smile that showed his conspiracy had succeeded.

Masumi played a little trick.

He never said whether the term of the 60 yen profit was one year, one month, or one day.

"It's getting late, let's go back."

Masumi said to Rinone.

He seemed to have said this to the girl more than once, but this time, his heart was entangled with an inexplicable emotion, which made him use a tone of concern.

Let's go back.

It turns out that a simple and common phrase can also have such magic.

"Ah."

She nodded, then continued to hug her thighs and put on her shoes in a nerve-wracking manner.

Masumi turned his head slightly.

"You can watch it if you want."

"what?"

“…My feet.”

"Don't slander me, I'm a gentleman."

"But the day you came back, you kept staring at my feet in the room."

"That's because if you look up, you'll see even more disrespectful things."

"rogue."

Rinyin ended the conversation with a short, clear word.

Masumi blinked, and seemed to notice that the corners of the girl's lips in front of him opened a little, and then immediately recovered.

Is it an illusion?

"let's go."

After putting on their shoes, Rin and Masumi walked side by side on the mountain path.

"You're a girl, you're incredible. How can you climb so high up in the dark at night? Can you see the road clearly?"

"see it clearly."

"Really? That's just like a cat."

"Are you laughing at me?"

"I'm praising you."

"boring."

Rinyin turned her head away nonchalantly, and snorted with her delicate nose, really like a proud wild cat. Masumi smiled, then caught a glimpse of a worrying scene in her sight and asked curiously.

"what is that?"

"where."

Masumi pointed to a small grave in the mountains. In the light of the flashlight, there was a small wooden sign with what seemed to be a kana written crookedly in paint, which was already mottled and faded.

Linyin thought for a moment and replied, "It should be the place where the children from the orphanage buried a stray cat many years ago."

"stray cat?"

"Well, it's probably been at least ten years. I hadn't come to the welfare home at that time. I heard it from others."

"Some children found a cat nearby whose hind legs had been hit by a car. They took good care of the kitten for a while, but it died, so they buried it here with the other children."

"It is said that this will allow the cat to become a guardian spirit and protect everyone in the orphanage."

ten years ago?
Masumi suddenly became concerned, "What color is that cat? Is it black?"

His fingertips unconsciously pinched the corner of his clothes.

"What color..."

Linyin was silent, frowning slightly, feeling strange. Her memory was always good, but why couldn't she remember everyone's description of the cat?

She shook her head.

"I can't remember, maybe it was the black cat."

"..."

"How far is this place from the stars?" Masumi asked.

"It's about 10 kilometers, maybe a little further because it's an uphill mountain road and not very easy to walk on."

A distance of 10 kilometers——

In a busy city, every cat has a fixed territory, which should be quite far away for a stray cat, and there is no reason for it to travel far.

Is it the same cat? I’ll probably never get the answer to this question in my lifetime.

"What's wrong? Are you asking this suddenly?"

Rin gave him a strange look.

"……nothing."

Masumi shook his head.

He took several deep breaths in the spring night, staring blankly at the graves, and then raised his lips in relief.

The fingers pinching the corner of the clothes loosened quietly and inadvertently, like a bird flapping its wings and flying away.
-
[Volume 1: Return from Tokyo: End]

　When I was in my second year of university, I borrowed "No Longer Human" from a classmate. I felt very depressed and hated this person very much. After reading it again two years later, I suddenly admired Dazai Osamu's courage to speak for people with delicate and sensitive psychology. I used to think he was gloomy and weak, but now I think he is very brave.

　　As a reader, this is just my humble opinion. I am an engineering student and my literary appreciation ability is very poor. Please don't take it too seriously (surrender)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)