CGBTS Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – Talk of the Village

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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“………Shuu…”

“So please stay by my side. …You’re the only one I have…”

Natsuo couldn’t bring himself to reject the arms that wrapped around him as though enveloping him. Even though he knew that Shuu wasn’t seeking him out simply as his childhood friend.

…Because Shuu ended up all alone in a world like this because of me. And besides……

As Natsuo quietly settled into his arms, Shuu buried the tip of his high nose into the nape of Natsuo’s neck. His hot palm stroked Natsuo’s back over and over, as though reassuring himself that he was really there.

……These arms feel so good somehow, and they make me feel safe……

If Natsuo was all Shuu had in this world, then Shuu was all Natsuo had, too.

Shuu was the only person in this world who had spent the same time in the same world as him.

“―――Shuu-san, Shuu-san.”

The voice calling out from beyond the sliding door came just as Natsuo was leaning against Shuu’s broad chest, beginning to grow drowsy and almost falling asleep. Without releasing Natsuo, who tried to pull away, Shuu straightened his upper body.

“I’m here. Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

The person who smoothly slid the door open and entered was a serious-looking, middle-aged man. The boy waiting in the hallway had a striking resemblance to the man, so perhaps he was his son. He stared intently at them, but the moment his eyes met Natsuo’s, he abruptly turned his face away.

“Sh-Shuu……!”

It would certainly be shocking to see the acting village chief and a newcomer wanderer embracing each other as two men. Natsuo hurriedly tried to push himself away from Shuu’s chest, but Shuu merely stroked his back as if telling him not to worry about it. With Shuu tightening his arms around him, there was no way Natsuo could escape.

“Good work, Kasuya-san. What brings you here today?”

“Sorry about this, Shuu-san. I figured it was about time the blessings arrived, so I came by a little while ago, but there wasn’t anyone here.”

The man—Kasuya, perhaps thanks to his age and experience—kept sneaking glances at Natsuo, but made no mention of it and simply bowed his head slightly.

Natsuo’s cheeks stiffened with a start. Kasuya had arrived just as Shuu was leaving because Natsuo had been dragging Shuu all around the village.

“Um, I’m sorry…! It’s because I was having him show me around the village, so……”

Somehow managing to bow his head from within Shuu’s arms, Natsuo apologized, but Kasuya waved his deeply sun-tanned hand dismissively.

“Not at all! It’s only natural for Shuu-san, the acting village chief, to take care of a new wanderer. Ain’t that right, Kiyoshi?”

“…Yeah, Dad.”

The boy nodded curtly. He really was Kasuya’s son after all. His youthful features made him look about high-school age in the original world, but in Odamaki Village, he was already old enough to have finished school and be working in agriculture. His body, clad in khaki overalls, was far more robust than Natsuo’s.

“…Honestly, you really have no social skills at all. That’s why the girl from the Sawada family won’t take a liking to you either.”

After grumbling at his son for a while, Kasuya scratched his head and turned a smile toward Natsuo.

“Well, don’t you worry about it. Thanks to this, I’ve gotten to meet the person everyone’s been talking about like this, so if anything, I’m downright grateful.”

“…People are talking about me?”

“It’s unusual enough for a young wanderer to show up, but when you’re Shuu-san’s friend, there’s no way you wouldn’t become the talk of the village. …So, what do you say, Kushihara-san? I’ve got a niece who hasn’t found anyone to marry her yet. Her looks can’t hold a candle to the girl from the Sawada family, but she’s a sweet-natured girl who works hard. Why don’t you meet her at least once…”

“…Kasuya-san.”

Shuu quietly released Natsuo and straightened himself. Kasuya’s mouth, which had been running as smoothly as if oiled, abruptly came to a halt.

“W-What is it, Shuu-san?”

“I appreciate your kindness, but Natsuo has only recently arrived here. He is already doing everything he can just to become accustomed to the village. Could you please watch over him warmly for a while?”

“…But…”

Kasuya started to turn around toward his son behind him, but his gaze was caught by Shuu’s narrowed green eyes.

“Please watch over him. ――Understood?”

“Y-Yes, sir! Of course! ……Hey, Kiyoshi, we’re leaving!”

Kasuya jumped to his feet, grabbed his dumbfounded son by the scruff of his neck, and hurried out with the urgency of someone whose backside was on fire. There wasn’t even time to stop him and ask, Weren’t you here to collect the blessings? 

Kiyoshi’s voice, shouting, “Why, Dad?!” gradually faded into the distance.

“Hey, Shuu……was it really okay to put it like that?”

Natsuo had been taken aback when he was suddenly about to be introduced to a woman, but perhaps Shuu hadn’t needed to frighten Kasuya quite that much.

Even though Shuu was the acting village chief, he was much younger than Kasuya. If Kasuya, a native villager, came to have a bad impression of him, it might affect Shuu’s work as acting village chief. Yet Shuu frowned unhappily.

“If I hadn’t put it that way, you would have had a wife and child by tomorrow.”

“……Huh? A wife and child……”

“If you showed even the slightest sign of interest, Kasuya-san would bring someone over right away. He’s the kind of person whose life’s purpose seems to be arranging marriages. In this village, being introduced to someone and meeting them is synonymous with getting married.”

“Eh……eeeeh……”

“If we’re talking about Kasuya-san’s niece, it’s probably Junko-san……but that woman recently lost her husband and has returned to her parents’ home with her child. I’m pretty sure she’s at least ten years older than you.”

In Odamaki Village, women were apparently not permitted to remain unmarried and raise their children alone without remarrying. They were expected to find a new husband as soon as possible and bear as many children as they could. This was probably because, with no proper doctors or hospitals, the mortality rate among infants and young children was far higher than in the original world.

“Just because of that, they didn’t have to choose me……”

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Next update: 2026.10.23

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