CGBTS Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Make up Your Mind

Novel Title: あの夏から戻れない (Can’t Go Back to That Summer)

Author：宮緒葵 (Miyao Aoi)

Illustrator：笠井あゆみ (Kasai Ayumi)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 櫛原夏生 (Kushihara Natsuo -MC) & 四辻柊 (Yotsutsuji Shuu -ML)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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“Mother was seeing another man behind Father’s back, and Father had a relationship with his female assistant. Even before I wandered into Odamaki Village, those two were already over as a married couple. If I went back now, there’s no way they’d see me as anything but a nuisance.”

A sharp pain pierced Natsuo’s chest. …Even when he was eight years old, Shuu had already known that his family was on the verge of falling apart.

……As much as it pains me to admit it, Shuu is probably right.

Before climbing Mount Hinashi, Natsuo had asked his parents to get in touch with Shigehiko and Jennifer. The discovery of the body of a man who, like Shuu, had gone missing and was found floating in that lake on Mount Hinashi had been widely reported, so the two of them must have known about it. Natsuo had intended to invite them to climb Mount Hinashi with him and search for Shuu. He thought that if Shuu were found and could be reunited with his parents first thing, they would surely be happy.

But not only did the two of them immediately refuse, they also warned Natsuo not to do anything unnecessary. Apparently, the media had caught wind of Shuu’s disappearance at the same location and had descended on them to interview them. They said that they wanted to cherish their current family, so they didn’t want Natsuo to provoke the media any further.

That was why Natsuo went into Mount Hinashi alone and he was reunited with Shuu…

“You’re the only one who still remembered me and wanted to see me. You’re the only one I have.”

“…But, Shuu… I don’t want you to stay in a place like this. Couldn’t we go back to the original world and live together?”

The fact that Shuu had romantic feelings for him was something Natsuo could hardly accept all at once.

But Natsuo had already understood, in the short time he had been here, that living here could not make Shuu happy. Civilization was far more behind than in the original world, there were no hospitals, and presumably there were no educational institutions such as universities either. As long as Shuu returned to the original world, he would be able to choose any school or career he wanted. At his current age, he could even become independent without relying on his parents.

“Do you think I never tried to return to you?”

The green eyes that held Natsuo captive and refused to let him go narrowed slightly. His back, held tightly in Shuu’s embrace, creaked faintly.

“I tried many times. I wanted to see you again, even if it was only once more, so I tried every method I could think of. …But none of them worked. That lake is probably a one-way passage from the original world to Odamaki Village.”

“Shuu… …Really?”

“Why would I lie about something like this? I understand that it’s hard for you to believe even now, but since you’ve drifted here, you have no choice but to make up your mind to live here. …Together with me.”

Shuu’s lips covered Natsuo’s trembling ones.

Even though the arms wrapped around him were so tight that they made it difficult to breathe, it felt as though Shuu were looking at him as if to say, ‘Don’t go anywhere’. Natsuo couldn’t bring himself to push him away.

***

From somewhere, a pleasant smell drifted in on the wind.

Natsuo unconsciously wriggled his nose, sniffing. …It was the smell of miso soup. There was also the scent of freshly cooked rice and fish being grilled. Had his mother come to make him breakfast? Lately, she had been preoccupied with his younger sister, whose university entrance exams were approaching, and only called him occasionally.

“Natsuo, ………Natsuo.”

His shoulder was gently shaken, and Natsuo opened his heavy eyelids. Kneeling on the tatami and peering down at him was not his mother, but a large man with deeply defined features.

The moment his eyes met those green eyes, Natsuo fully awakened.

“…Shuu…”

“Good morning, Natsuo. Can you get up?”

Shuu smiled reassuringly. He was wearing an indigo-dyed yukata secured with a heko obi. When Natsuo slowly sat up, Shuu stroked his head as though praising a small child.

“Change your clothes and come next door. Breakfast is ready.”

Shuu rose smoothly to his feet and went to close the open sliding door. Natsuo rummaged through the backpack beside his pillow, took out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and changed out of the yukata he had been lent to wear as pajamas.

……So it really wasn’t a dream after all.

The wish that everything that had happened so far had been a dream, and that when he woke up he would find himself lying beside Shuu in the bed at the cottage ten years ago―――such a selfish wish apparently wasn’t going to be granted.

“…No signal…”

Natsuo checks the display of his smartphone and lets out a sigh.

―――…since you’ve drifted here, you have no choice but to make up your mind to live here. …Together with me.

After his shocking confession, Shuu took the backpack Natsuo had been carrying out of the closet. Apparently, when he had protected Natsuo in the fog, he had hidden it so that the villagers wouldn’t notice it.

Fortunately, everything inside the backpack was safe and sound. The food, spare clothes, and various tools he had packed in case of an emergency were all still there, as was his smartphone.

Natsuo wasn’t exactly doubting Shuu’s explanation that Odamaki Village was an otherworld separated from the original world.

But Shuu had lived here ever since he wandered into it at the age of eight. What if Odamaki Village wasn’t an otherworld at all, but some secluded settlement deep in the mountains of Mount Hinashi, steeped in old customs, with the villagers collectively keeping people trapped there?

His smartphone should have cleared up that suspicion. If this place were somewhere in the original world, he should have been able to pinpoint its location using the map app.

But the smartphone displayed ‘No Service’. No matter what he tried, it couldn’t even pick up a wireless LAN signal. Naturally, most of the apps that required a connection, including the map app, were unusable.

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*GLOSSARY: 

☝🏻Heko obi is the fabric used as a belt around the waist when wearing a Yukata.

Next update: 2026.10.15

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