Chapter 95: Class Trip (7)

Class Trip (7)

Yuuta’s birthday party was held in the evening of July the 17th. Welcoming Yuuta at the entrance of the venue were Aoi and Yukishiro. Manami was standing behind Aoi while Akari was positioned behind Yukishiro.

The fifteen girls of the Minato faction were all wearing dresses. Because they had been informed about Yuuta’s birthday party in advance, they had been able to bring their own dresses along.

Currently they were deeply moved and overjoyed to see Yukishiro welcome Yuuta together with Aoi. And at the same time they were deeply grateful towards Yuuta and the Yoshiwaras for cherishing Yukishiro.

It won’t be an easy task, but it should be possible to forge a good relationship between both families during the time when those girls step up in their families to grasp the power.

Seeing all those girls united around Yuuta, Nanase couldn’t help but feel glad as well.

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Yuuta’s birthday party proceeded in a harmonious and calm atmosphere. Watching the correct timing, one person after the other stepped up to extend their congratulations.

Among them were Takashi and Naoto-kun as well.

“Happy Birthday!”

“Thank you.”

“Happy Birthday, Yuuta-sama.”

“Thank you to you as well, Naoto-kun.”

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The four-year old boy Naoto-kun congratulated Yuuta on his birthday while looking somewhat embarrassed as he clung to Takashi’s leg.

“Happy Birthday, Yuuta-sama.”

“Thank you, Sakurako-san.”

Once he finished his congratulations, Naoto-kun immediately clung to the leg of his mother, Sakurako-san. He was still at an age where he wanted to be pampered by his parents.

“He’s adorable, isn’t he?”

“No kidding. I cannot believe that I must have been the same back when I was still a little boy.”

“Ahaha, I can fully understand that notion.”

Takashi happily looked at Naoto-kun. In the past Takashi and Yuuta had been pampered by their mothers in the same way.

Ouch!!!

But, when Yuuta tried to recall that past, he was assailed by searing pain. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“Yuuta-sama?”

“I’m fine.”

Aoi immediately noticed Yuuta’s strange behavior. And so did Manami, Tomoe, and Nanase.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Takashi didn’t know the details. But he instantly grasped that something was amiss from the change in the attitude of Aoi and the other women.

“Yuuta-sama, happy birthday to you.”

Mizuki arrived at just that moment. She had chestnut-colored hair like Manami, healthy skin, and a gentle, calm expression. Yuuta had met her many times by now. Mizuki was fully aware of Yuuta’s circumstances.

“Thank you kindly, Mizuki-san.”

“No, I should thank you for being so lovey-dovey with Manami, alongside Aoi-sama～♪”

“Haha. Thanks to that I’m enjoying myself every day.”

“Oh my～♪ For being told something like that…Manami is a truly fortunate girl～♪ Takashi-sama! We cannot afford to lose either!”

“You’re completely right!”

“A-Ahaha.”

“Now I feel like being all lovey-dovey with Takashi-sama～ I shall take the liberty to borrow him for a while～♪”

“Hey, wait a minute, now’s not the right time for that.”

“You don’t have to mind me. Please enjoy yourself to the fullest.”

“Sorry, Yuuta-kun. See you later.”

“Okay.”

“Hurry, hurry. Let’s go～♪”

As always, she’s a very cheerful person～

Dragging Takashi along, Mizuki left like a storm. Having realized Yuuta’s weird state just now, she had deliberately pulled Takashi away from the group, but even so, Mizuki was a bright person by nature. Each time Yuuta met her, she’d tell him some interesting stories and make him laugh.

And she also allows me to see Manami-san looking all proud and smug.

For some reason Manami would look very proud whenever her mother made Yuuta laugh, as if she had done it herself. Yuuta liked that expression on her face.

“Yuuta-sama, how about taking a short break?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“But…”

“I’m really alright. It just lasted a moment.”

Yuuta believed that it was inevitable for this instantaneous pain to occur and that he couldn’t do anything about it.

Maybe my heart is feeling something. Or maybe I’m scared of something.

Previously, he had believed that the cause of the headaches was related to Yuuta-kun’s memories. But these days he had given up on that idea, believing that his own memories, and not Yuuta-kun’s, were the cause.

My name is Yuuta and nothing else. Assuming I’m a man from the Old World, why don’t I have a name? I have referred to myself as Yuuta from the very start.

“Yuuta-sama.”

A lovely girl was calling Yuuta’s name.

Moe.

She had continued to work hard to become Yuuta’s lover. Nowadays she’d turned into a splendid lady who wouldn’t lose any comparison to high family daughters. She didn’t grow taller, but the places supposed to bulge out were now bulging out and the places supposed to be tight and lean were just that. Her body had grown into a charming and wonderful figure.

“Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you.”

“Would you accept a birthday present from me?”

“Of course. Gladly.”

Moe’s birthday present was a handkerchief with a bindweed stitching, just like Yukishiro’s. But, hers used light purple for the bindweed. Many girls gave handkerchiefs with bindweed stitching to Yuuta as birthday presents.

It was good manners to only give a dagger after receiving a fan as a birthday present.

“I see you have been using my handkerchief.”

“Of course!”

Yuuta had given Moe a handkerchief with her birthday flower Montbretia as motif. It means Modest Beauty in flower language.

The other girls of the class coming after Moe would also congratulate Yuuta on his birthday and hand him their birthday present. All of them were lover candidates. As such, Yuuta didn’t want to treat any of them unfairly.

But, because of that, this whole process ended up taking quite a bit of time.

I cannot afford to take a rest just because of a bit of a headache, now can I?

The headache earlier was more painful than usual. But as might be expected, Aoi and the other women couldn’t tell that much from just Yuuta’s behavior.

The pain vanished in an instant. It’s okay.

Yuuta’s birthday party continued as he received congratulations from his class and the Minato girls.

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———- End of Part 1 ———-

On the other hand, Takashi joined up with Sakurako and Naoto-kun after Mizuki dragged him away.

“Naoto-kun, every time I see you, you’ve become cuter～♪”

Naoto-kun was embarrassed by Mizuki’s words, hiding behind Sakurako.

“He does resemble Sakurako-san～♪ After all, it is said that boys take after their mother～”

“Hey, wait a sec. He looks just like I did when I was younger.”

“Haha, you sure love making jokes～♪”

The relationship between Takashi and Mizuki hasn’t changed since junior high school when they started to interact with each other. The strong, hearty Takashi and the bottomlessly cheerful Mizuki have been often making such jokes and laughing together.

Mizuki is bold enough to calmly say things which other women would never say to a man. And Takashi carefreely laughs at that. The relationship of those two has been famous since their time at junior high.

“I am deeply thankful for Nanase-sama’s and your kindness, Mizuki-sama.”

“Jeez, Sakurako-san～♪ Stop being so formal with us, will you～?”

After Sakurako-san gave birth to Naoto-kun, Takashi tried to free up some time to watch over his son’s growth as his father. This was yet another unusual behavior, though.

Although it’s easier to conceive boys through direct sexual intercourse, the probability still only goes up to one in ten thousand. Because of that, it’s rare for a wife or lover to give birth to a boy, which would make their partner the boy’s father.

Moreover, most men don’t bother with their son’s growth, even if such a rare case occurs. It’s truly rare for Takashi to avail some time to spend with Naoto-kun. And it also means that his time with his wives Nanase and Mizuki decreases in proportion.

Ever since Naoto-kun’s birth, Takashi has spent around the same time at Sakurako’s place as he spent with Nanase and Mizuki.

“Please forgive my selfishness for a little while longer,” pleaded Sakurako.

There are less than two years left until Naoto-kun enters elementary school. This was all the time Sakurako had left to shower her son with love.

“I don’t think it’s egoistic at all. Rather, it’s kind of inexcusable of Takashi-sama to bother you, Sakurako-san, with his selfishness.”

“True that! Gahahaha!”

Takashi laughed loudly and then met eyes with Nanase who was smiling while looking their way from a bit further away.

“I’m going to head over to Nanase for a bit.”

“”Have fun.””

Takashi walked over to Nanase with a smile on his lips.

“It looks like you’re enjoying yourself.”

“The exchange between you and Mizuki-san is always a fun watch.”

Takashi brought his mouth close to Nanase’s ear, “Is it going to be difficult to handle that matter, after all?”

Nanase became serious upon that question.

“We still haven’t given up. But, the situation is as difficult as before.”

“I see. Sorry for being unreasonable.”

“No, if it’s the request of my beloved husband, I will use all my available power and resources to try fulfilling it.”

Takashi looked at Sakurako, who was laughing with Mizuki, and Naoto-kun who was laughing with them while clinging to Sakurako’s leg.

“It’s a law, but in reality, she’s forced to make a decision.”

“My heart goes out to you and them.”

Takashi tightly clenched his fist.

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Naoto-kun will be separated from his mother in two more years. At this time, the mother will need to make a certain choice.

There are two cases.

First, in case there’s no Exclusive Male Zone in the region where the boy was born, mother and child will move to a nearby area with such a zone. The mother will then live in the Exclusive Male Zone with her son until he enters elementary school. Once the boy does, the mother will move back to her home region. Afterwards, she will be forbidden to enter the region where her son lives, let alone meet him.

Second, in case there’s an Exclusive Male Zone in the region where the boy was born (this case applies to Sakurako and Naoto-kun), mother and child will live in the Exclusive Male Zone together until the boy enters elementary school. And once the child starts to attend the school, the mother has to migrate to another region. And just like with the first case, she’ll be banned from entering the region with her son, let alone meet him.

On the other hand, if the mother remains in the region, her son will be forced to live in another Exclusive Male Zone. Just as before, the mother will be banned from entering the region to where her son migrated, let alone meet him.

In all cases, it’s a law that aims at separating mother and son at a certain point in time.

Even if Nanase were to give birth to a boy, that child would likely migrate to an Exclusive Male Zone outside of Toukyou. After all, Nanase, the matriarch of the Eternal Yoshiwara, wouldn’t have the option of leaving Toukyou.

Sakurako wants Naoto-kun to remain in Toukyou. In other words, Sakurako is going to leave Toukyou in two years. And she won’t ever be able to enter Toukyou again.

Takashi will still be able to meet her, if he goes to the region where Sakurako moved to. There exist no restrictions in that regard.

But, meeting Naoto-kun would be taboo.

This measure was adopted because the mother’s influence on the boys was too big in the past. Back then, women who gave birth to boys were referred to as sacred mothers which also granted them some special privileges. And because of their strong influence on their sons, their clout in politics was strengthened as well.

Eventually that turned into an issue for running a nation. And as a result of that, it was written into law that a son would live with his mother until the age of six and that they’d be separated for good once he enters elementary school.

As 『Compensation』 for having to separate from her son, a mother will receive various benefits. A house, a one-off payment, an annuity, and all sorts of other preferential welfare measures.

Even so, some mothers still hate to be separated from their sons.

However, exceptions are not allowed. If they don’t abide by the rules, it’ll be treated as them having committed a serious felony.

That was something which the Yoshiwaras couldn’t change with their power either.

Takashi had asked Nanase to talk with the state about the possibility of Sakurako somehow remaining in Toukyou. With the condition that she wouldn’t meet with Naoto-kun. But, the state has been insisting that they wouldn’t make any exceptions.

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If Naoto-kun moves away, Sakurako will be able to remain in Toukyou. But, Sakurako didn’t intend to choose this option.

Even in the case of commoner women, it was normal for the mother to be the one to move away. The ones giving the most birth to boys were the common women, who heavily outnumbered the high women.

If a commoner woman, who has been living in Toukyou, gives birth to a boy through artificial insemination, she’ll live together with her son in the Exclusive Male Zone. And then she’ll move to another region once her son enters elementary school. A commoner mother would never do something like forcing her son to move away after he made friends with other boys in kindergarten. All of her choices would be for the sake of her son.

The high woman, Sakurako, felt the same. Many of Naoto-kun’s male friends would likely live in Toukyou after elementary school. She didn’t want to suddenly force Naoto-kun to live in an unknown place as a first-year in elementary school.

High and commoner women shared this notion as mothers.

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The time for Sakurako and Naoto-kun to bid farewell from each other was relentlessly drawing closer.