Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [78]

“Brand-new books sure are expensive! Converted to RMB, that’s several hundred yuan, isn’t it?”

Hikigaya Ryōhei stepped out of the bookstore clutching a full set of Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation, his heart aching from the hit to his wallet.

He knew perfectly well it wasn’t that Japanese books were overpriced—the pricing here, textbooks included, was fair enough. The real issue was that books in his previous world, in his old country, had simply been too cheap.

Of course, even back there, prices had been creeping toward international levels before he left.

“The books back then really were cheap, huh… Damn this evil world… sigh.”

He was still waiting for his first paycheck from Sōbu High—just over 400,000 yen—due next week.

After rent, living expenses, and a bit set aside for emergencies, he only had seventy or eighty thousand yen left in flexible cash.

And he’d just blown nearly ten thousand yen in one go.

That immediately set off a mental chain reaction about future education costs—for three kids!

Education industrialization!

It wasn’t torture for students.
It was torture for parents!

For a moment, he even entertained the idea of sending Hachiman abroad to study in East Asia next door.

That would ease his burden instantly—and maybe the boy could even send some money home.

As for Hachiman, studying abroad surrounded by three pretty female classmates? He’d probably be fine with that.

He’d just have to learn enough Chinese to scrape by in class… actually, that sounded doable.

Originally, Ryōhei had planned to buy full humanities and sciences sets for Mrs. Yuigahama’s daughter, Yui.

He hadn’t expected them to cost so much.

Given his current finances…

In the end, though, he still paid up. He decided to give the humanities volumes—especially the history workbook—to Yuigahama Yui, and keep the science ones for Hachiman.

After all, the boy had said before that he wanted to focus on the sciences.

When Ryōhei got home with the eight hefty workbooks, he immediately pulled out five and handed them to Hachiman.

“Dad, t-this… is this for me? Actually, I was just about to tell you I planned to work on my weaker science subjects this semester.”

Hachiman had been struggling to find the right time to ask for money to buy study materials, and before he could even say a word, his dad had already provided them.

A jumble of emotions welled up in his chest.

That’s right.
Since the divorce, his father hadn’t talked as much as before, but he’d still been quietly looking out for them.

“Oh? Good, then! Work hard! I’m taking these three humanities books as greeting gifts for Mrs. Yuigahama. Once I get paid, I’ll buy you replacements.”

Ryōhei patted Hachiman’s shoulder in encouragement, then pointed at the wrapping paper and ribbons poking from the shopping bag.

“Hachiman, wrap these three nicely. Make them look good, okay? I’m about to visit Mrs. Yuigahama—gotta follow local customs!”

He went to wash his hands and fix his hair in the bathroom.

From inside, he called out casually, “Oh yeah, Hachiman, why don’t you come along? Yuigahama Yui’s your classmate, right? You’ve talked at least once or twice?”

Hachiman’s face twisted. He had zero interest in chatting with Yuigahama Yui—the bright, cheerful classmate who made him feel like a background extra in his own life.

As he wrapped the big gift meant for her, unpleasant memories surfaced uninvited.

Without saying a word, he quickly finished wrapping, grabbed his study materials, and escaped upstairs.

When Ryōhei came out, he didn’t think much of it.

It had just been a casual invite. Besides, bringing the whole family might crowd Yuigahama-san’s place anyway.

So instead, he called Komachi and Akeno over, reminding them to behave properly and use their sweetest voices when greeting “Yuigahama-obasan.”

A few minutes later, Ryōhei and the two adorable girls set off for their gentle neighbor’s house.

Mrs. Yuigahama welcomed them warmly. And since Hikigaya Ryōhei was her daughter’s teacher, even a simple neighborly visit carried the air of a parent-teacher meeting.

She’d actually cleaned the living room the night before in preparation.

“Hello, Yuigahama-obasan!”

Hikigaya Komachi and Misaki Akeno bowed hand-in-hand just as their father had taught them, their manners flawless.

“Oh my, what polite children! And so kawaii! Hikigaya-san, you’ve really raised them well!”

The sight of the two sweet girls melted Yuigahama Asuna’s heart on the spot.

Her maternal instincts overflowed; once they were seated, she eagerly had them sit beside her.

If they’d known each other better, she’d probably be patting their heads already.

Ah—right, as the host, she could at least offer snacks!

“Yui, don’t just stand there—go bring out the sweets Mama made!”

But when Mrs. Yuigahama glanced at the coffee table, she noticed the plate of milk candies she’d prepared was missing—most likely eaten by her daughter. Her expression darkened.

Dango hurried off to the kitchen under her mother’s glare.

“Ahh, my Yui really has no tact. Sorry you had to see that, Hikigaya-san,” said the pretty, tea-haired housewife apologetically.

“Not at all! Kids her age are all like that.”

Yuigahama-san had this gentle aura about her; even the smallest smile radiated warmth and cheer.

“Oh, by the way, this is for you—ah, I mean, for Yuigahama-san’s daughter.”

Ryōhei presented the three wrapped Five-Year Gaokao, Three-Year Simulation volumes. The gift looked surprisingly large at first glance.

He gestured for the girl to open it.

Yuigahama Dango’s eyes sparkled, and after her mother nodded, she untied the ribbon and peeled off the wrapping paper.

The stack felt hefty—something valuable, maybe?

But before she could get a clear look, Hikigaya-sensei was already explaining the gift to her equally curious mother.

“You see, Yuigahama-san, I wasn’t sure what kind of gift would be suitable. But I remembered your daughter’s not doing too well in humanities—especially history—so I bought these study materials for her, hoping…”

Before he could finish, the gentle Mrs. Yuigahama gasped softly, hands clasped in surprise. She’d just been thinking of asking him what study guides might help Yui improve.

“Oh my, you really shouldn’t have gone to such trouble… This is far too generous!”

“Ah, it’s nothing! Just my duty as her teacher. Honestly, her history scores make me feel embarrassed to face you, Yuigahama-san.”

At that, Yuigahama Yui nearly burst into tears.

She really didn’t want to accept this gift at all.

Hikigaya-sensei!
You don’t have to be this polite to my mom!!!

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This is a fan translation of 比企谷大叔永远年轻 by Stargazer All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!