“Is the work of a Trainer manageable?”
My father asked that while casting his line far out into the water. I threaded a maggot onto the hook and held my tongue for a moment. I had no idea what I was supposed to say.
“I don’t know.”
I copied his motion, but maybe because I lacked the knack, my line didn’t go nearly as far.
“That’s what work is.”
My father laughed heartily, as if to say that I was all grown up now. It reminded me of when I’d asked him a similar question as a child and gotten a similar answer. The job had been different, though.
“You didn’t even stop by home and came straight here?”
“I figured you’d be here.”
Two hours by train, thirty minutes by bus. It wasn’t that far, but my hometown, which wasn’t exactly easy to visit, still welcomed me with its gentle face.
“It’s my birthday, and my daughter-in-law didn’t even come by to show her face?”
“Who are you calling your daughter-in-law? I’m still single.”
My father clicked his tongue, and I let out a long, exhausted sigh. The little kid who had followed me around since childhood was still hanging around our house without getting tired of it. I didn’t dislike her, but with the age gap, and having looked after her since she was just a squirming little thing, she was practically my little sister.
My older sister and younger sister were basically treated like the youngest of the family too.
“My sister’s coming up tonight.”
“Your mother told me.”
My father was as blunt as ever.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“I just finished rookie training this time around. Where would I even find a girlfriend? Just keeping up with my work is enough to make my head spin.”
“That sounds perfect to me... I haven’t lived some grand life or anything, but I do know it’s hard to find a girl that devoted.”
I gave a light shrug at my father’s words.
“Think about the age gap. I’d be lucky if I only got called a dirty old man.”
“If you like each other, what does it matter? Her family keeps saying there’s no one but you for her...”
What nonsense about family ties. I irritably swung the ladle full of bait as hard as I could. I could see the bits of chum scattering into the sea and sinking quickly.
“Tell her to come back when she’s a little older. What is she now, in high school?”
“She’s going to be a middle schooler. You don’t even know the bride’s age?”
My father frowned and snapped at me. He seemed to like her more than he liked me. The age gap was enough that calling her a granddaughter would have made more sense than a daughter-in-law. If my sister had married early, she’d probably have a child around that age.
“Dad, stop saying weird things too. Once work settles down, I’ll look for someone good. The same goes for those elders over there. If the kid is throwing a fit about getting married and becoming a bride, you should rein her in a little. You’re the ones stirring things up by talking about engagements and all that.”
My father snorted.
“Unless you bring home someone more proper and devoted than that girl, I’m against it.”
“Does Mom feel the same?”
“Of course~ of course~.”
I let out a long sigh. Feeling something snag, I yanked the reel roughly, only for the maggot to slip right off.
“Looking at the way you fish, I doubt you can even date. Just say thank you and live with your daughter-in-law.”
“No thanks.”
I hooked the biggest maggot onto the line and cast again. Everyone seemed to have lost their minds. My parents, and that kid’s parents too—when I saw them all laughing and calling each other in-laws, I felt like the only one standing apart.
“Her parents asked me to tell you that if you don’t have a Trainer, you should think about learning under him.”
“I already have a Trainer.”
“Still, I brought it up because I thought you’d learn more working under him... Do whatever you want. Since when have you ever listened to your father?”
I let out another long sigh.
“Still, isn’t it an amazing connection? That little kid got lost and the person she met dozens of kilometers away was you... What a catch. Your dad’s been feeling weak lately, so give me a hand with my waist.”
What do you mean, your dad? I hugged my father’s waist tightly as he still treated me like a child. After a few minutes of struggle, he landed a fairly large black porgy. The old man was getting on in years, but he seemed even more vigorous than before.
“This will be good as sashimi tonight. My daughter-in-law will like it...”
That damn daughter-in-law again. My father seemed done fishing for the day and started packing up, and I reeled mine in to clean up too. Again, only the maggot came off.
My father tossed the fishing gear carelessly into the white Titan, then firmly secured the live fish box before getting into the driver’s seat.
“You like that girl that much?”
“She’s better than a son who doesn’t listen to a word his father says.”
“Then just raise her yourself.”
“If I could, I would. Her family is just as devoted to their daughter... When our son became a Trainer, I asked if they’d take him as an adopted son and give us that girl as an adopted daughter, and they told me to take you as their son-in-law instead.”
My father said that with a laugh, as if it were nothing.
“What are you talking about with a kid more than ten years younger...? Don’t get all worked up, just leave it be. Once she gets into high school, then college, she’ll come to her senses.”
“Then our son will still be an old bachelor by then?”
“I’ll probably meet someone good. Right now I want to focus on work. There’s a lot to learn and a lot to worry about.”
My father clicked his tongue.
“If you’ve got a wife, you can focus more on the outside world.”
“I’ve got a lot I want to say, but for now just tell her to come back once she’s an adult.”
That much was true. My father laughed boisterously. He kept jabbing my side with his elbow and asking if I liked her, and I couldn’t even get angry, so I just ignored him as best I could. He said he had to stop by the factory for a bit, then left in the Titan after only handing me the live fish box with the black porgy inside.
When I opened the door to my family home after such a long time, I heard the brisk sound of footsteps running from far away.
“Master. You’re here.”
“Yeah, yeah, my little dog is here too...?”
A strange woman was standing in front of me.
Brown hair with a reddish tint. Blue eyes. An expressionless face. A faintly visible smile.
“You’re Bourbon, right...?”
“I missed you.”
At Mihono Bourbon’s sudden embrace, I couldn’t hug her back or push her away, and could only stand there awkwardly while she held me.
*
“If you’ve gone through your full transformation, you should have told me. You startled me.”
“I wanted to surprise Master.”
I left my mother and younger sister busily setting up the birthday table in the kitchen and went up to my room.
“This is my room, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
At Bourbon’s confident answer, I looked around the room, which had changed so much from two years ago. Most of the things that should have been there were gone. Quite a few things that should not have been there were visible. I looked at Bourbon. She was watching me without saying a word.
When I opened the closet, it was packed with clothes a girl could wear. Clothes that fit the figure of the Uma Musume standing beside me.
“...For the record, this is my room too.”
I glared at Bourbon. She gave me a faint smile no one else could see.
“Where are my clothes?”
“Mother said she’d put them in storage, so they’re being kept in my room.”
I realized my father had been serious when he said he wanted to swap his son for the neighbor’s daughter.
“Master’s room is my room, and my room is also Master’s room.”
A headache started to build.
“Who is it?”
“My little sister said that since Master wasn’t here, we should stay together.”
That damn foal of a girl. I felt like going downstairs and kicking her in the ass.
“Did the old man and the old lady agree to this?”
“Affirmative. They said it was fine.”
I went straight back downstairs and grabbed the brat’s tail hard. I barely dodged the back kick that came flying at me. The little foal glared at me.
“You want to fight?!”
“You gave Bourbon my room?”
“Ah, that? Put the tail down first and let’s talk, okay? A human like you and an Uma Musume...” “Ow...!”
I gave the insolent youngest one a light flick on the forehead.
“Ugh...! If I get brain damage, are you going to take responsibility?!”
“What brain is there to get worse in that empty head of yours?”
The youngest covered her forehead with both hands and looked on the verge of tears.
“It’s bad enough already, and if my brain cells die too, are you going to take responsibility?!”
“Son, daughter. Mom is handling oil right now.”
At my mother’s words, while she held a pan of sizzling oil in one hand, we fled into the living room. Once I sat down, Bourbon came over and perched on my lap before I even noticed. She was tall and broad, but still a child.
As I absently patted her head, I listened to the youngest explain.
Bourbon’s father was a Trainer who was often away on business, and every time little Bourbon disappeared without saying a word, she would come here—our house—so they had been forced to move, and the distance from his workplace was quite far.
He was also rather old, so there were health concerns, and with Bourbon insisting she would never move even if it killed her, they were in a bind. Then, because their interests happened to align in all sorts of ways, Bourbon ended up in my room, and the lady ended up in the city where the old man was.
“She’s still only in middle school, and you’re...”
“I’m taking good care of her, so it’s fine!”
I looked at Bourbon at the confident voice of our family’s disgraceful foal. She nodded expressionlessly.
“Affirmative. My sister always takes good care of me.”
“See? I’m such a reliable sister-in-law!”
Whether Bourbon was the one taking care of her or not, there was no way that brat could take care of anyone.
“My little sister is the best.”
“Come here, my darling, and let your sister hug you!”
The youngest spread her arms wide. Bourbon didn’t move an inch.
“You said I was the best...”
The youngest looked at Bourbon with a betrayed expression.
“Correction: the best, excluding Master.”
“Huh? Didn’t our baby say Mom was the best?”
My mother came out, apparently done in the kitchen, and joined our boring chatter.
“...Mother is the best.”
“This auntie likes Bourbon-chan more than our son too.”
At how easily Bourbon changed her answer, I let out a small laugh. I roughly ruffled the hair of the little one leaning against me. No, not little one anymore—my childhood friend of many years, and my younger sister, who somehow now felt rather grown-up.
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