Episode 6: Someday, a Proper Adult
“Riri. You’re going to explain this to me properly, understood?”
After school, Maria dragged me off to a high-end hotel near the school. Somehow, without me noticing, a reservation had already been made — an absurdly extravagant afternoon tea set arrived at our table.
“Oh, wait, before that — I don’t have any money on me right now, so I can’t cover my share of the afternoon tea…”
“That doesn’t matter at all. I’m paying.”
I felt a little relieved, even though I knew I shouldn’t. I couldn’t exactly spend the ten thousand yen Möbius-san had charged onto my transit card on afternoon tea.
Actually, ten thousand probably wouldn’t have covered it anyway.
“…Um, I’m guessing Maria already looked into it, but…”
I told her about the company going bankrupt, about my parents abandoning me. For everything that happened after that, I dressed it up considerably, framing it as “staying at a friend’s place who lives alone.”
“Can you tell me this friend’s name? I want to look into her background.”
“Eh!? Ah, no, that’s kind of personal information, so…”
“You can’t even tell me?”
She shot me a sharp glare, and unused to that kind of look from her, I nearly teared up. Maria never glares at me, normally.
Seeing that, Maria scrambled up out of her seat and came to my side.
“Sorry, Riri. I’m not blaming you. I’m just worried. You’re cute and kind, so someone bad could take advantage of you, right?”
“…Sh-she’s not a bad person, though.”
“Y-you’re not, like, brainwashed or anything, right?”
“I’m not.”
Even though she’d only been an internet friend, and someone I didn’t know all that well, she’d taken me into her home and even given me a job. I really do think Möbius-san is an incredibly good person.
“…Why didn’t you rely on me?”
“I, I didn’t want to be a burden on you, Maria… you’re an important friend to me, so I didn’t want to lean on you for money.”
“Riri…”
If I cried and clung to Maria, she’d fix absolutely everything for me.
But that would put me on the express route to becoming a genuinely useless human being.
“I might end up relying on you at some point down the line, but… my friend introduced me to a part-time job too, and… right now, I really want to try standing on my own first.”
“…Fine. But if anything happens, you come to me first. Understood?”
“Yeah. There’s nobody more reliable than you, Maria.”
I squeezed her hand and peered up at her face — see? Maria smiled, looking relieved, and finally sat back down.
I think she’s more or less convinced, at least for now.
Maria’s such a good friend, caring this much about someone like me, an introvert.
◆
“Welcome back, Ruri. Did you stop somewhere on the way?”
When I got back to Möbius-san’s place, she greeted me wearing an apron.
“Ah, yes. My friend asked me a bunch of things.”
“You have a friend!?”
“I—I do have one! Just the one, though…”
“Huh. What’d your friend say?”
“To come to her first if anything happens.”
“…Huh.”
I put my things away and headed to the kitchen. Looking properly this time, I noticed a full set of seasonings and cookware — Möbius-san clearly cooks properly for herself.
“Um! If it’s alright, could you let me help too?”
“With cooking?”
“Yes. Ah, of course, I can’t do anything at all yet, but…”
It felt wrong to leave all the cooking to Möbius-san, and more than that, I wanted to use this chance to pick up even a little bit of ability.
Probably part of why my parents gave up on me was because I’m so hopeless at everything.
Working a part-time job, building up basic life skills — I want to get even a little closer to being a proper, functional adult.
“Sure. Knives are dangerous to jump straight into, so for now, can you just measure out the seasonings the way I tell you to?”
“Yes!”
Möbius-san smiled gently and patted my head.
Maybe this is what it would’ve felt like, if I’d had an older sister.