I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"Well...that's not what I meant." After hearing the dissatisfaction in my tone, she immediately straightened her attitude a little. "It's just that I think your lifestyle is a little different from what I imagined."

"...Is that so?" I never thought anyone would fantasize about someone else's lifestyle. "Even though it doesn't look like it...I do feel that my current life is quite happy."

"But it's not a solution to keep going like this, is it? You can't get married without documents."

"..." This is indeed a big problem, "We haven't reached that stage yet."

"...We've been living together for almost three years, how can I possibly believe that~" she said, nudging my back with her elbow. "You two must have understood each other, right?"

"..So what?"

The necessary safety measures are still being taken.

"It's nothing, nothing. I feel a little relieved now that I've figured this out." She patted my shoulder. "By the way, don't you think about your family? From what I understand, they've spent a lot of time looking for you over the past two years. Haven't you thought about what will happen next?"

"..."

What happened next...

"Honestly, when I first arrived in this strange city, I was racking my brains trying to figure out how to settle down here as quickly as possible. After all, it was me who made the decision, and no matter how hard I tried, I had to provide her with a stable environment."

"Oh~ That's a very responsible statement." They actually started clapping.

"Stop clapping, it's annoying." I put the washed vegetables aside and picked up the kitchen knife. "Otherwise, please get out."

"Wow, so fierce~ Have you always been this serious from the beginning?"

"..."

"Or is it because of the Rinsen River that this happened?"

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Of course it matters." She paused, "Don't forget, I know your location now. If I want, I can tell my family at any time and bring Rinquanchuan back."

"Tsk..." This guy really annoys me.

"What should I do? It's not too late for you to beg me not to leak it. After all, I'm not that stingy..."

"I'm not going to beg you."

Along with the sound of the kitchen knife and the chopping board colliding, the garlic cloves were smashed and flattened by me.

"Is this really okay? This concerns the happiness of you and Rinquanchuan..."

“Happiness is what you gain in exchange for what you have lost.”

"...Huh? So what's the matter?" She seemed confused by my abrupt words.

"We chose to give up our seemingly stable lives in order to avoid compromising with people like you. If you ask me to give in now, I will certainly not do it."

"..."

"It's difficult to create happiness, but it's easy to destroy the happiness of others. In the past few years, I've seen many people destroying other people's happiness for their own gain... So to be honest, I don't care about your threats."

"..."

"No matter how many times, I will take her away. Whether it's two years, five years, or ten years... As long as there's still a day you want to take her away, I will take her away from your sight."

"Huh? Are you stupid? Have you forgotten about your family and the people who care about you?"

"...It can't be helped. If you want happiness, how can you get it without losing something?"

"But..."

"You are Rinsenkawa's older sister... Are you someone who would be happy to see your younger sister living an unhappy life? I don't think so."

"..You, what makes you so sure that I'm not that kind of person?"

"Nothing, I just feel that way."

Is this guy easy to understand or hard to understand?

"Don't think I can't tell you're trying to please me. Unfortunately, I won't fall for it~"

"..Okay, okay." I didn't want to tell her more, "But I believe you can keep it a secret for us."

"..."

"Even if it's just my request... I'm not afraid of finding a new place to stay, but I still want her to have a stable life... We've suffered so much for a long time before we can finally live a little bit of a stable life. I don't want this stability to be destroyed so soon."

"You give in so quickly..." She sighed helplessly.

"Does it count?"

"Of course I don't. You've already asked me for help, so how could it be considered a no-no?" She paused. "But I'm not a bad person. You don't have to try to be pitiful with me."

"...Playing sympathy to someone with a bad character will only have the opposite effect. So I'm definitely not trying to play sympathy on you, but to explain the actual situation to you."

"Hey, hey, what do you mean by that?"

"Yeah, nothing~" I said as I turned on the range hood. "The cooking fumes will be a bit strong. If you can't stand it, you can go to the living room and wait."

"You underestimate me too much. It's just some oil smoke... cough cough."

"Okay, okay, don't force yourself..."

“Why put chili pepper?!”

"Why? This is for seasoning."

"Wow, this is unbearable..."

"...Actually, you're worried about her, so you chose this time to come." I suddenly asked her this question when she was complaining, "And it looks like you have something bothering you too."

"Huh? Why do you ask that?"

"...I don't really have any basis for this. I just thought it wouldn't be hard to talk to you. If I had to cite any evidence, it's probably that I didn't tell your family our address."

"..."

"In fact, you also hope that Rinquanchuan can live a happy life, right?"

"Of course. As her older sister, I naturally want to see her happy every day... and I'm also quite worried about you."

"I think you came here to seek answers because you encountered the same problem."

"..."

People often assume that the overlap between their experiences and those of others can serve as a guide. This is indeed true; looking at other people's lives can help avoid detours. However, your own life won't be a 100% replica of someone else's, and your path won't be the same as theirs... Reference answers are, after all, just reference answers.

"...How did you figure that out?"

"Well... I've already said it before," I replied somewhat helplessly. "I just simply felt that way. From the moment I first met Izumikawa, I felt she needed my help... Maybe it's my gift or some special talent. And such a trivial thing, such a tiny bit of kindness, could be mistaken for tenderness."

"..."

"But, for Izumikawa's words, I am willing to give her all my tenderness. Not only tenderness, but also what she wants..."

"Enough, enough! You should save these sweet words for her tonight. I don't want to eat the dog food you two are spreading on me—"

She interrupted me, a little angrily.

"...Who would call themselves a dog..."

"Shut up, you're such a jerk!" she rudely interrupted me again. "But I think I understand what kind of person you are. Even though I'm a little reluctant and don't quite agree with your actions... But just as you wish, I won't destroy the happiness you've worked so hard to build."

"..."

"Well, one more thing. Today is my sister's birthday. Even though I didn't see her in person... I definitely need a gift." She pulled out a beautifully wrapped cardboard box from her pocket. "When she comes back, please say happy birthday to her for me."

"...Aren't you going to wait for her to come back? Don't you need to see her?"

"No, no, it's rare for her to be happy every day. What if seeing me ruins her good mood? I'd better not meet her..." She said, and was about to turn around, but suddenly seemed to think of something and turned back. "The principles about happiness and gains and losses...you put it so simply and clearly...But thanks to this, I almost understand what I need to do."

"Is that enough?"

"Of course, a little revelation is enough," she said, stretching. "I should go now. I might run into my sister if I take the stairs, so I'm going to climb out the window."

“…This is the second floor.”

I still need to explain it to her.

"It's no big deal. I've done parkour for two years, and heights like that wouldn't hurt me." She waved at me, "I wish you happiness for now. I'll come visit you from time to time."

"..."

"If I'm having a bad time, I might come and ruin your life."

This guy is probably disliked by Rinquanchuan because of his mouth.

"...Wait." I said as I opened the cake package and cut a large piece from it.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"...After all, it's Izumikawa's birthday, and you also gave her a gift. Just eat the birthday cake before leaving." As I said this, I had already put the cake on a plate and placed it in front of her.

"We haven't even lit the candles and made a wish yet. Is it really okay for you to make the decision on your own?" Having said that, she still took it.

"Don't worry about these trivial things... If you always pay attention to trivial things, your happiness will be impure."

"...Damn, you two happy guys."

It was as if she was complaining, but also as if she was blessing us. After she finished speaking, she opened the window and jumped out with the cake plate.

"...ah."

I don't think I said I would give her the plate.

......

"Happy birthday...where have you been."

About twenty minutes after Rin Hanekawa jumped out of the window and left, and after I had brought three plates of delicious-looking dishes to the table, I heard the familiar sound of the door opening.

"...I went to the bookstore." She showed me two bags full of new books as if to show off. "You can also read with me."

"I know, I know. Come and eat."

To be honest, almost an entire room in my house is filled with books. But what bothers me a bit is the problem of the books getting damp after rain.

"Oh~" She put down what she was holding and saw the broken cake. "Huh? You can't wait to eat it?"

"No, I exchanged a piece of cake for a gift with a mysterious person. That person wished you a happy birthday." I took out the gift that Rin Yuchuan gave me and said, "I don't know what's inside, why don't we open it together and take a look."

"...It could be something bad." She looked a little worried.

"You've been reading too many novels." I untied the ribbon with a relaxed look on my face. "Don't worry, that guy should be a good person..."

"Why do you need to use a question word?" Because she really could be a person with a very bad personality.

While Linquanchuan was talking, I had already helped her open the gift box and took a look inside.

"Oh~"

"Eh?! Is this something incredible?"

"...If you want to say so, then I guess so." I reached in and took something out. "Is this your game console?"

"..Mine? Wait, it seems to be mine." After she said this, she suddenly realized something, "Who did you get this from?"

"..." After thinking for a moment, he decided not to lie to her, "She said it was your sister, Rin Yukawa."

It would have been better if she didn't say it. After telling her, she went straight to the kitchen.

"Where did you put the salt? There's an ominous creature coming to our house, we must exorcise it properly—"

"Don't waste food." I stopped him firmly.

Although salt is not considered food, it still costs money to buy.

"Yeah, it would be a waste to use it on her."

"..."

That look of disgust was as if she was staring at the mold that had not been cleaned for a long time and was stuck in the cracks of the wall.

"She sent her blessings, for now." Then I noticed there seemed to be a letter inside the gift box. "I guess if she came at this time, she didn't mean any harm."

"Then... open it and read the contents first." Extremely reluctantly, she calmed herself down.

".Hmm...it looks like there's only one sentence."

After opening it, I was also stunned for a moment.

"Just one sentence... It's not something like 'I wish you happiness forever'."

"That's not true."