I Planned My Escape Because I Knew Her Secret - Episode 37

On the way back, Madoka said, “It’s not good to go empty-handed when greeting the shop owner,” so we stopped by a Western-style confectionery shop, picked out a few types of cakes, and had about ten of them wrapped up.

When I returned to the apartment, I went straight to my room without stopping by the store. It was to fix my makeup because Madoka had cried earlier.

When Madoka sat down at the table and started doing her makeup, she began to scold me.

“Masakun, your beard is getting long, so shave it. Also, don’t you have any cleaner clothes?”

“Eh, this is how I always am on my days off, you know?”

“No. Even if you’re usually good, today you need to behave properly.”

In the past, I used to pay attention to my appearance even without being told, but since I started training to become a udon chef, I haven’t cared much about how I look. I shaved my head because it was a hassle to wash and style it, and I only shave my beard every two or three days while I’m in the shower.

“The people at the store are benefactors to you, right, Masa-kun? They might not care, but I do.”

Somehow, the way you talk is completely like a wife.

“Got it. But do I have any clothes?”

“First, shave your beard. I’ll take care of the clothes.”

“Understood. The clothes are in the closet.”

I went to the bathroom, shaved my beard, washed my face, and when I returned to the room, Madoka was rummaging through the closet.

“I’ve only bought underwear and undershirts since coming here, so the sizes might not fit, you know?”

“Hmm”

In the end, I ended up wearing jeans and a hoodie that matched Madoka’s choice, but after not wearing jeans for several years, they were tight and uncomfortable, so I left one of the waist buttons undone.

Since both of us were ready, we visited the store again and went to the masters’ home on the second floor.

“This is my fiancée, Madoka Kojima. Over here are the master, Tetsuji Narita, his wife, Meiko, and their daughter, Yuko. They’ve been taking care of us since we came to Okayama.”

“Nice to meet you, my name is Madoka. Thank you very much for taking care of Masaki.”

“You’ve come from far away, haven’t you? I’ve heard about it from Masaki. It must have been tough.”

“A really beautiful girl came to the shop yesterday, and I was so surprised. If I keep neglecting such a beautiful lady for years, Masaki-kun, that’s not good.”

“Wow, I totally thought you were going to say that, and you actually did.”

The introduction and greetings to the generals were conducted in a consistently harmonious atmosphere.

Madoka also seemed nervous, but she responded with a smile.

When I mentioned that Madoka would be moving to Okayama and eventually we would be registering our marriage, the landlady suggested, “Then why doesn’t Madoka-chan work here too? You should do it.” Madoka immediately replied, “Yes, please!” But when I expressed my concern, saying, “Are you sure? It will be hard since you’ll be standing all the time,” she said, “Since I’ll be spending more time with Masa-kun, and considering Masa-kun’s future,

The captain, seeing that scene, smiled and said, “It reminds me of when Masaki came to our place. Back then, when we called out to Masaki, he replied in the same way, ‘Thank you very much!'”

After that, since Yuko prepared lunch for us, the five of us had a meal together, and while eating the cake she brought as a souvenir for dessert, we discussed various things about the future.

Madoka will start working at the store from tomorrow.

However, even though Madoka has a decent amount of work experience, since she has no experience in customer service or hospitality, she will start by working only the morning to afternoon shifts and learn the job from scratch.

Also, regarding where to live, my room is small, and at first, I was planning to look for an apartment nearby, but Madoka showed reluctance, so we ended up living together in my room for a while.

Yuko’s remark, “Anyway, Masaki’s room probably doesn’t have any stuff in it, right? You only use it for sleeping, don’t you?” was the decisive blow.

Regarding the room, I decided to explain to the landlord later just to be safe, and I also decided to go shopping later for futons and other daily necessities needed for cohabitation.

Also, there was a discussion about what to do regarding the wedding, and when I mentioned that we were only planning to register our marriage and not have a wedding ceremony, Yuko-san suggested again, “How about just having the ceremony? If it’s just the ceremony without a reception, it won’t cost much and it should be easier to book.” Since Madoka also showed interest, we decided to consider that direction.

Since we had finished discussing everything, I returned to the apartment with Madoka for a moment, left her in the room, and went alone to explain the situation and discuss the cohabitation with the landlord who lives nearby.

From the landlord, I got a quick “Sure, sure” in response.

When I returned to the apartment, I asked Madoka to handwrite the nameplate for the sign next to the entrance with “Yamashiro Masaki, Kojima Madoka.”

As soon as I displayed the nameplate that had been written for me on the previously blank signboard, I was once again struck by the realization that my life on the run had come to an end.

On this day, since I was going to start preparing for the next day in the evening, I set out to do the necessary shopping in my car and bought various daily necessities like Madoka’s futon, toiletries, and towels.

I paid for everything with the money that Madoka returned.

At first, Madoka tried to pay for herself, but she asked, “Please let me take care of the things you need for living here,” and she was allowed to do so.