Chapter 11

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Prologue

He once heard that the ocean looks blue because the sun’s red wavelength light is absorbed by the water, and the remaining blue light gets scattered at the bottom of the water. That’s why, the scenery inside the ocean looks blue, same as the color of the sky.

Inside of such a blue scenery, a circle of light falls down. It was the sunlight—— however it also resembled a face. A soft, womanly face. That’s how he recognized it.

Was that his mother’s, Fuyufu’s, Miharu’s, or Haruha’s?

Or could it be…

That was when he lost his breath.

His body quivers and he pulled his head to the surface. Pugh, he released his breath.

Kasugai Yuu freed himself from the torture-like sensation and took a deep breath of thick air on the surface.

“Fuuhh……”

He regulated his breathing and opened his eyes, what entered his sight was the landscape of a munic.i.p.al pool dyed a deep yellow of the morning sunlight. This summer-limited outdoor pool is part of the new s.p.a.cious leisure facilities established under the new residential area tenants project. It’s located around 30 to 40 minutes away from Yuu’s house by car.

There is a broad variation of users, and among them family groups stand out the most, however there are quite a few students like Yuu.

While floating on the 50-meter pool’s surface, he sees her. Looking conspicuous with her dyed bangs, she is one of his friends.

“Senpai, we just arrived and you already dived in?”

Kanna Sakura. A girl wearing a sporty swimsuit akin to an athletic club’s uniform asked him from the poolside.

Yuu wiped his face with his hand.

“I was acclimatizing my body to the water.”

“Hmmmn……”

Looking uninterested, Sakura kicked the pool of water in front of her. From the tip of her foot, beautiful clear gla.s.s-like drops of water falls down.

“What a beautiful pool. I never knew such a place exist.”

Feeling ticklish over other people’s noises, Sakura’s behavior contradicts her self-proclaimed delinquent nature.

“The last time I was here, this place was a wreck.”

Back when he was still in elementary school, he and his childhood friend, Kodzuchi Fuyufu along with their friend came to this pool. At every corner of the place, you could spot mold all over the place. It was a rundown public pool. But thanks to the renovation, now it gives of the atmosphere for a little theme park.

It is now a perfect place to bring small children on a cloudless summer day.

Precisely because of that, Hajime secured them a free ticket for five and invited along everyone who happen to be in the house at that time.

“Kugimiya-san and the rest still haven’t finish changing yet?”

Yuu asked as he climbed up. Shortly after they arrived by Hajime’s car, they separated to change clothes—— Yuu was the only man after all— and promised to regroup here.

“Hajime-san just died somewhere.”

Sakura pointed with her chin. Looking at the pointed direction, he sees Hajime Hidari sitting on a deckchair, resting her body. She was wearing a pair of big cartoonish gla.s.ses so he can’t see her expression, but for a young woman, not to mention, one who wears a swimsuit, her sloppy pose was really disgraceful. It only has been a short while after their arrival, but she already fell asleep. She did look busy recently.

Let’s leave that thing alone until we go back…… he thought inside his head, and proceeded to look for the others.

——And, the moment he turned around.

A cold sensation hit his forehead.

“Ahahahaha. Daddy, headshot!”

A kid holding a water gun approached him while laughing.

It was a girl, who appeared to be around 8 years old, wearing a fitting cute one-piece. She tied her long blonde hair into a ponytail.

Yuu rapidly opened and closed his eyes to get rid of the water, then rested his hand on top of that girl’s head.

“Haruha…… didn’t I tell you not to shoot others without warning?”

The girl—— Haruha, whom Yuu would call his “Daugther”, playfully giggles… as if she’s revealing a fun secret, she shows him the water gun in her hands.

“It’s safe. Haruha’s gun is a water gun after all.”

“I can see that.”

That water gun was an item they bought from a general store in the shopping district a few days ago. It was a cheap clear green plastic toy, and Haruha loved it so much that she brings it with her every time she takes a bath and shoots it all over the place (it seems).

“Even though it’s a gun, no one dies. It’s amazing! It’s an amazing invention! Even though in game everyone dies.”

Under the summer sun, Haruha widened her eyes out of excitement.

Come to think of it, just what is a water gun…… he thought as he squatted down to match Haruha’s eye level.

“But there are a lot of people in this place, so you must be careful while playing. If there is a person who doesn’t know the difference, they will be surprised right?”

He said, as he pointed towards the other pool-goers, and Haruha watch them with her eyes. Men and women of all ages, a lot of people whom she had never met before.

Haruha was blinking with surprise.

“But Haruha likes to be surprised. It’s fun.”

“Yes…… but there are also people who hates that.”

As he wonders how to explain to her, a new voice barged in.

“Like asparagus.”

It was Sakura. She looked at them as she was stretching.

“You don’t like it, but there are others who do right? Same applies for the other way round.”

Haruha was not a picky eater, but she doesn’t like to eat certain vegetables like asparagus and she still has trouble eating them. He didn’t remember ever telling her that, so she should’ve heard it from the person herself.

Haruha look at Sakura and at her own water gun, then dropped her shoulders.

“Aaah…… then, Haruha shouldn’t bring it anymore?”

“It’s okay to bring it in a place with not many people, you can just shoot me or Kugimiya-san.”

Yuu gently patted Haruha’s head and formed a smile.

“And if you do that, we will properly fight back though.”

After swiftly stealing the water gun from Haruha’s hand, he shot Haruha’s forehead. “Yaa!?” Haruha let out a squeak and pressed her forehead, happily.

“Daddy s.n.a.t.c.hed me!”

As he was about to counterattack Haruha who was trying to take back her water gun, he felt a stare. It was from Sakura who was still stretching, loosening her ankle.

“You sure are surprisingly fatherly, Senpai.”

“I wish I am……”

It has been roughly 4 months since they started to raise Haruha, but he still has no confidence. Yuu lost his concentration and Haruha managed to take back her gun and start shooting at him as he stood up.

“By the way, Haruha. Where is Mommy?”

“Nnne? Haruha is not sure, but Mommy was talking to Cacao-san.”

“? Cacao, you said? Could it be……”

Yuu follows the direction Haruha was pointing with her water gun—— and his body stiffened.

“So you followed us to this place huh……”

“I really wish you would stop interfering, Kugimiya Miharu.”

“I-I told you to stop chasing after Haruha!”

A little far away from Yuu’s location, two girls were arguing.

One of them is someone who he knows well. She is his cla.s.smate who had just started living at his place. His “Daughter’s Mother” whom he had just met a few months ago. Kugimiya Miharu.

She wore a hoodie, but her front (TL note: melons, *cough*, I mean, b.r.e.a.s.t.s) were an obstruction so she couldn’t close it. Contrary to her model-like figure, she’s a shy and timid girl. However, right now, as if to cut off her timid-self, she stiffened her body straight, and tried her best to confront the “enemy” in front of her.

“That can’t do. I have the rights to meet with Haruha.”

And the girl who was facing Miharu was also wearing a hoodie, but she was able to close it to hide her upper body. But other than that, everything about them was different. Clear blonde hair, a well-rounded, stern looking face, and prideful strong facial expression—— she was like the total opposite of Miharu.

Miharu trembled a little in front of the girl’s strong refusal.

“You should’ve known already, Kugimiya Miharu. That Haruha is——…… ugh?”

The girl cut off her words, interrupted by Yuu. He didn’t barge into the conversation, and instead stood in-between the two of them.

“Hinata-san…… if you have any business with us, just talk to me.”

The girl——— Hinata Airi’s body jumped as she saw Yuu. And while hugging her own body, she glared at him.

“W-Why, Kasugai Yuu. You chose that woman’s side again? It’s weird, such a thing!”

And after she looked at the direction Yuu came from, she sees Sakura watching over Haruha and smiled.

“Even though, she’s our child!”

He holds his head inside his mind and recalled that day.

The day Hinata Airi first came to the Kasugai household.

The opening curtain of the third chapter of the story of the Seed of the New World.

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