CGBTS Chapter 42

Chapter 42 – Permission to Marry

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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“Not being allowed to see her family is also part of her punishment. It’s the village chief’s decision――Odamaki-sama’s divine will, you know.”

“But that’s why, if it’s Big Brother Shu and Big Brother Natsu…!”

“She was already saved from dying, wasn’t she? What more are you planning to shamelessly ask for?”

No matter how desperately Kazuo pleaded with him, Shuu refused to listen. Eventually, Kazuo went home dejectedly, and Natsuo had not seen him since. If Natsuo was going to continue living here, then sooner or later they would inevitably meet again, but he had no idea what kind of expression he would be able to wear when that happened…

“―――Natsuo. Natsuo?”

“…! …Ah, Shuu, what is it?”

With a tug on his hand, Natsuo came back to his senses. Shuu stared intently into his face, peering at the awkward smile Natsuo had reflexively put on.

“Because you seemed to be lost in thought again. ……Was it about Kazuo and the others?”

“N-no, of course not. I was just thinking that I’m scared of being alone with the village chief.”

He had blurted out an excuse on the spur of the moment, but it was also true that he was afraid of being alone with the village chief. Just like on the first day, Natsuo would have to meet with him alone today. If Shuu were with him, there would be nothing to fear, but when he was told that, aside from special ceremonies such as the trial, it was customary to meet with the village chief one-on-one, he had no choice but to comply.

“You’ll be fine. The village chief likes you, after all.”

“Huh…? …Is that so?”

They had only met on the first day and during the trial, and Natsuo couldn’t remember doing anything that would make the village chief take a liking to him. In fact, he had thought there was every reason for the village chief to dislike him, since Natsuo had interfered with his judgment at the trial.

“If he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t have listened to your side of things during the trial. I’m sure he’s looking forward to seeing you again today, too.”

“…I hope so…”

The village chief’s strange mask and clothing inevitably made Natsuo tense up, but the village chief was the person who had acted as Shuu’s guardian. If Natsuo was going to marry Shuu, then he would probably have to get used to him little by little from now on. After all, Shuu was also the acting village chief.

When they arrived at the village chief’s residence, Natsuo parted ways with Shuu at the entrance, just as he had on the first day. While Natsuo obtained the village chief’s permission to marry, Shuu was apparently going to Megumi Lake to collect today’s offerings.

……Come to think of it, I wonder what they’re going to do about Yoshikawa-san.

The thought suddenly came back to him, darkening his mood.

Yoshikawa’s death was still being kept secret from the villagers――even from the wife and children he had made a life with here. The village chief, having heard Natsuo’s story from Shuu, had decided that it would not be made public.

……They say that no one who has been swept here has ever returned to their original world, so even if they told them, no one would believe it.

Yoshikawa’s wife and children must still be waiting for the father who never came home. …Just as Natsuo once had.

Natsuo couldn’t help thinking that rather than leaving them in a situation where they would continue not knowing whether he was alive or dead, perhaps they would find more peace if they were simply told the truth of his death. The reason he was able to think that way was surely because Natsuo had managed to reunite with Shuu. In a sense, perhaps Yoshikawa would live on forever in the hearts of his wife and children.

“……E-excuse me.”

Natsuo proceeded down the dimly lit hallway and opened the fusuma bearing a drawing of an odamaki flower. The village chief was already sitting formally before the altar, where red thread had been wound around it. As always, he was dressed in a layer upon layer of kimono and wearing his usual mask, making it impossible even to discern his expression, but he did not feel as intimidating as he had when Natsuo faced him during the trial. Perhaps it was because Shuu had told him that the village chief liked him.

“―――Sit.”

To Natsuo’s surprise, the village chief invited him to sit today. Keeping his face composed so that his surprise would not show, Natsuo sat down opposite him.

“Um, today…”

“You have come to ask for permission to marry Shuu.”

The village chief turned his back to Natsuo and brought his hands together before the altar. As today, too, the altar was lavishly adorned with fresh, beautiful sacred flowers, filling the room with their sweet fragrance.

“Wait for a while. I will inquire as to Odamaki-sama’s divine will.”

“Y-yes…”

A low, incantation-like chant began to flow from the village chief’s lips. It was unlike either a Shinto norito prayer or Buddhist sutra chanting, with a distinctive cadence that, despite its mystical quality, carried an ominous resonance that somehow made the listener’s chest feel uneasy.

Before long, Natsuo had closed his eyes and clasped his hands together like a devout believer. A thick wave of sweet floral fragrance tickled his nostrils. It was the scent of the sacred flowers. It was the same as on the day of the trial… no, back then, with the overwhelming press of so many people, the scent had been so intense that it had almost been suffocating.

Today was not like that. As he listened to the village chief’s incantation while breathing in the fragrance, somehow his head began to feel hazy, and his body seemed to grow faintly warm…

―――Clatter.

A small sound reached his ears, and the chanting stopped. Just as Natsuo opened his heavy eyelids, wondering whether Odamaki-sama’s divine will had been delivered, the fusuma bearing the drawing of an odamaki flower was violently blown open.

With a thud, a girl planted her foot on the tatami and curled up her lips, which were stained bright red.

“……I found you…… you thief……”

“Eh, ……Etsuko-chan?”

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Next update: 2026.11.12

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