Kei: ……What is it?
Youko: I got a call from someone saying they were your mama’s friend, wondering if I knew where you were. Saying they called your house, but no answer…
Kei: Ah, yeah. It would be pretty scary if someone strange appeared.
Youko: Yeah, it would, but……
Youko: Well… I ki~nda let slip that you’d gone to your papa’s house…
Kei: Oh? That’s okay.
Youko: No it’s not!!
Kei: Hyan!
For a moment, I was about to drop my phone.
Uuu, my ears are ringing……
Kei: Youko-chan, don’t scream like that, all of a sudden…
Youko: For cryin’ out loud, Hato-chan, you’re a little girl without a care in the world, aren’t you? You’re at that tender age, so you need to develop a sense of danger!
Kei: “Tender age?” Youko-chan, we’re both the same age.
Youko: You be quiet!
Youko: You’re in a delicate situation. Even when times’re lookin’ good, if you aren’t too careful, you’ll be stripped bare without a penny to your name, you know!
Kei: Uuu…
Youko: If that happens, Hato-chan, you’ll be chased from house and home, and you won’t even be able to come to school, okay?
Kei: I’ll be careful from now on……
Youko: That’s a good girl. Be wary of sweet words. There’s an underside to any story that sounds too good. If you see a person, consider them a crook!
Kei: ……I think that suspicion goes a bit too far, but, in the spirit of being careful, can I ask a question?
Youko: What?
Kei: Regarding that friend of my mother’s, what was their name?
Youko: …………
Kei: ……Youko-chan?
Youko: Ahaha, well… about that—
Kei: About that?
Youko: I completely forgot to ask that. I can tell you it was a woman, though.
(TN: The sound of a crow basically means, “moron.”)
After all that preaching, is this what it amounts to?
Kei: Come on.
Youko: Ahhaha…… Shame on me.
Kei: But, well, it’s alright. Even I didn’t know anything about my father’s hometown.
Youko: Too soft. That’s just because you never tried to find out. Have you ever tried to take a look at your own official family registry?
Kei: No……
Youko: Right? Times like these, you can hire any fledgling semi-pro to research and leak at least that much personal info so, don’t you drop your guard.
Kei: ……Youko-chan, could this all just be a game to scare me?
Youko: No, nothing like that…?
It sure seems that way.
Youko: Anyway, why don’t you just go ahead, finish your business, and come home? If something happens when you’re alone, it’ll be a big problem, you know.
Kei: I suppose so. I’ll decide after I see the house tomorrow. If nothing happens, I won’t have anything left to do, after all.
The antenna display continued as always, unreliably wavering up and down. But perhaps Youko-chan’s signal was really steady. After that, we talked for a good while into the night.
Kei: *kushun*! (sneeze)
Now I’ve done it. I left my hair alone the entire time, and never managed to dry it right.
Uuu……