The Reencounter
We split up and took separate taxis from the airport to the harbor.
From there on, we would be taking a boat to the island.
The islands are right next to each other, so the distance of the trip wasn't that great. By boat, it was a leisurely 30 minutes to the island.
After going to the pier where the boat to the island is anchored, we saw a silhouette waving its hand.
Jessica: George nii-saaan! It's been so frickin' long!!
George: Ah, Jessica-chan, it's been a year since I saw you! You're gotten taller again, haven't you?
Jessica: Kyah-haha, don't gimme that, it's embarrassing when you say that every year!
Battler: ......H-hey, Aniki, you've gotta be kidding me. That's really Jessica?!
Jessica: Wait a sec, George nii-san... This big guy... is Battler?!
We both stared each other down.
...She definitely didn't look like that in my memories, but I do remember her crazy way of talking.
Battler: Yo, Jessica! What's this now! You're kidding me, you look like a woman now! What're these, boobs? Even you managed to get a chest! Ihihi, let me rub 'em, let me~!
Jessica: Don't screw around with me, I'm a blushing flower of 18! Just like hair grows out, so'll other stuff! You think I got boobs just so you can go and rub 'em, loser!? And what about you, Battler? You got all ridiculously big only phisically!! Did you get a little stronger?
Battler: Don't screw with me, I'll show you how much training I've pilled up since back then!!
Jessica: You're pissing me off!! I'll beat you at your own game!
This headstrong girl's name is Jessica.
......She was born under the same unlucky star as me, sharing the same kind of weird name.
Anyway, Jessica is pronounced 'Jessica'.
She's Dad's older brother's daughter.
That older brother happens to be the oldest son of the Ushiromiya family, so for now, it means Jessica is the direct heir of the Ushiromiya family.
Since Jessica and I are the same age and sometimes had little boy-girl squabbles with each other, we've always been used to fighting and joking around together whenever the relatives gather.
Jessica grew more quickly, so she always had me beat in terms of size and physical strength.
So, when we scuffled as a contest of strength, it usually went Jessica's way.
So even though I clearly understand that I'm bigger now, I still feel like I can't win against Jessica with my strength.
Jessica: .........Woh...ah...! What the... what're you getting all serious for...?! Owowow...
Battler: Hey hey hey, this is nothin'! Jessica, you've gotten weak.
Jessica: Sh-shut up. I'm a woman, so there's no way I could beat a man with physical strength forever, right?!
Battler: Weeell, that's certainly true! The meat I put on my arms all went to your che~st. It looks like it'd be a nretty even test of strength between my arms and your boobs, don't you thi~nk?!
Jessica: I tol you, my boobs aren't for you to feel up!! Besides, how 'bout you? Did your cute lil' elephant-san get a bit bigger to go with the rest of you?!
Battler: Stop it, idiot! Nooo, you perv! I'll be ruined for marriage... don't touch my cro~tch!!
Jessica: D-don't say stuff people are gonna misinterpret!!
Honestly, I was so surprised at how feminine Jessica has become that I had to seriously horse around to hide it.
......That's right, considering what a bossy brat she was six years ago, anyone would be surprised.
And I guess she's just as surprised.
She definitely wasn't expecting she'd lose to me in a test of strength.
After losing that easily, she must be shocked at how much I've grown in the past six years.
......Six years. Once again, I'm being shown just what a huge gap of time that was.
Jessica: Crap... total defeat. It's like I'm no match for you anymore.
George: That's not true. Even Battler-kun must have his weaknesses. Right, Maria-chan?
Maria: Uu-! Faaall, faaall!!
Battler: Shh, cut it out Maria~, let's keep that a secret, okay?
Jessica: Fa-ll? What the hell's that?
Battler: Heheh! Sorry, but there's no chance Jessica'll be able to see that weakness of mine now! After all, the nightmare plane trip is already over and done with! Only thing left is the nice, quiet splashing of the boat trip. I never thought I'd start loving that piece-a-junk boat this much,. Ihihi!
Jessica: Hu-h???? George nii-san, is there something wrong with his head?
George: You'll understand soon. Very soon.
At the time, I didn't understand what Aniki meant by that big smile...
Kumasawa: What have we here..., oooh! Battler-san, how big you've grown...!
Who's it this time? It's an old lady with an apron.
.........Oh, oh yeah, that takes me back... I remember now!
George: You remember her, right? Look, it's one of the servants, Kumasawa-san.
Battler: How could I forget Kumasawa baa-chan! Anyway, you haven't aged a bit in these past six years. Wait, you haven't gotten younger, have you~?
Kumasawa: Hoh-hoh-ho! Lately, my skin had been getting all smooth and silky! And look, hasn't my chest gotten even bigger as well? ...Want to try rubbing it?
Battler: V-very funny! My breast rubbing is strictly limited to bouncy girls!
Kumasawa: Even I had some bouncy ones in my younth, you know~? Now, now, please feel free to have a go!
Battler: Gyah, gimme a break! It's girls I'm looking for! Not grannies!
The jokes I'd cracked about Jessica were being used against me. Come to think of it, Kumasawa has always been the type to tease people.
Rudolph: Kumasawa-san, stop that now. People with one foot in the coffin shouldn't jump around.
Kumasawa: To sport with the young is the best rejuvenation medicine. Hoh-hoh-ho!
Eva: It's rare for Kumasawa-san to come pick us up. Now, I do wonder why? Whenever you're entrusted with something to do, your lumbago always kicks in. *snicker*
Kumasawa: Hoh-hoh-ho, Eva-sama, you are harsh as usual. I found myself with some urgent purchases to make, and while I was at it, I thought I would come welcome you all. Although, it does give a bad impression if the one waiting to greet you is a decrepit old woman. Hoh-hoh-ho...!
Eva oba-san spoke sarcastically, but Kumasawa baa-chan's years of experience were nothing to sneeze at.
She was more that capable of smoothly and coolly letting that comment slide.
Well, I'd rather not say it, but old Kumasawa baa-chan may be past her prime as a servant.
She might act as though she's in good health, but between the headaches and the lumbago, her body is wearing out. To tell the truth, the very fact that she's still working is impressive.
...How old is she this year again?
She must be pushing eighty at least.
It's incredible that she's still able to act so brightly.
Rosa: You just seem to get more and more lively. Oh, that's right, here you are. It's the tea I told you about before. Look, I bought you some. Please do try it later on.
Rosa oba-san took a souvenir bag out from her suitcase.
To think that she remembered the promise that she had apparently made last year and faithfully bought it. ...This sort of thoughtfulness was just like Rosa oba-san. She wasn't the kind of person who would forget or break a promise.
Whether or not Kumasawa baa-chan remembered this year-old promise, she seemed deeply touched by the fact that someone would bring a gift to a simple servant like her.
This woman is Kumasawa Chiyo-san.
She's a senior servant who's been working for the Ushiromiya head house for many years.
As you could expect from someone her age, she isn't that good at manual labor, but from kitchen work to cleaning and laundry, she's a kind of super servant who can handle just about anything.
It seems like her only flaw is a tendency to slack off.
I hear she tries to get away from heavy or troublesome work by playing up her chronic diseases.
......In Kumasawa baa-chan's case, maybe we should call that a sort of lazy craftiness.
...Though it probably doesn't impress those paying her salary.
Ah well, even if she's pretty flaky when it comes to work, I could never dislike her. I guess that's probably because of her cheerfulness and her constant smile.
Hideyoshi: Hey, glad to see you're still in fine spirits! How's your back doin' then?
Kumasawa: Even with the medicine, it's not getting one whit better. According to the doctor, nothing can be done for this one. It's what's called an incurable disease, hoh-hoh-ho!
Rudolph: At any rate, Jessica-chan's only gorren prettier. Good thing she looks like Natsuhi nee-san.
Jessica: R-really...? Personally, I don't think we look alike at all... I mean, I don't even want to look like my parents. 'Cause I got zero respect for 'em.
Kyrie: Now, you shouldn't say such things. *giggle*, even though there are quite a few people who don't want to look like their parents in our family.
Battler: Ah, that's me!
Rudolph: You idiot, don't you start looking like me. Your nose looking like mine already pisses me off.
Kyrie: What are you talking about? You're surprisingly alike, you and your father.
Rudolph: Come on, you can't be serious... Just how am I like Dad?
Eva: You're his copy in arrogance and self-importance. Father's blood is especially strong in you and Nii-san. Wouldn't you say, Rosa?
Rosa: Oh, absolutely. Krauss nii-san and Rudolf nii-san are almost unbelievably like Dad.
Rudolf: Alright, alright already, why am I the only one under fire from the girls? Hideyoshi nii-san, please help me out.
Hideyoshi: My my, Rodolf-kun, you're always so popular with the ladies. I'm jealous! Wahahahaha!
Kumasawa: Hoh-hoh-ho! As usual, you're popular enough to make me jealous. Well then, everyone, shall we head over to the boat? Come now, Maria-san, let's get on the boat together, alright?
Maria: Get on the boat together. Uu-! Everyone gets on together. Uu-!
Battler: Hell yea, this time around I'm not gonna be scared. I'm used to being shaken by the waves. With that piece-a.junk fishing boat, I'm less afraid of the shaking than the engine breaking down and the boat drifting off.
George: Oh yes, Battler-kun, I forgot to tell you. ...That fishing boat was completely decrepit so it was taken out of use a few years back. Now we get taken to the island in another boat.
Jessica: Ohhh, right. It's Battler's first time in the new boat! It's super comfy! And frickin' fast! It can go at crazy high speeds!
Battler: Ohhh... That means less trip time, right? That sounds great! Anyway, even if it's only a bit better than an airplain, as long as we get just a little less time exposed to the danger of sinking, that's really just awesomely great~.
Maria: ...Uu- Is Battler going to faaall faaall again?
Battler: That's only on airplanes. Everything's fine now!
Jessica: Anyway, it's the captain's pride and joy, and it's a kinda modded high-speed boat. Seems he tinkers with big parts of it. He was bragging about how he attached four-base high efficiency propellers to it so that he could break 40 knots or something like that. I just remember how he's always bragging.
George: Me too, I remember since we're told about it every year. The captain says that since he lost a speed contest with a foreign fishing boat a long time ago, he became obsessed with modding. He says that at the time, even though it was only in a fishing boat, his opponent could go at over 30 knots.
Jessica: To fulfill his thirst for a revenge match, he created an awesome whole new super high-speed modded boat. I'm sure you'll just love it, Battler.
...S-super high-speed modded boat...?
...My first thought was that this would be much better than some beat-up boat that might sink at any time......... but for some reason, I got this feeling of foreboding...
......Probably just over-thinking it.
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