Sleeping Scholar of the Forest - Chapter 7

“I’ve been thinking, should we maybe find a new place to live?”

– – –

“This is a nice apartment, huh?”

That was how the clone evaluated the place the first time he saw it. Shuuji was relieved too, they’d finally found a suitable apartment, after a month of searching.

After they’d decided to leave Koutarou’s vacation house together, Shuuji had run around searching through listings in between jobs. They were just two guys, not even brothers, and their requirements were quite modest, but one of them was a man who shouldn’t be in this world, so the places they could move into were quite limited. And what was more, they had to make do with just Shuuji’s income for a while, so their rent budget was quite low.

“It’s a pretty old building, is that alright?”

“Is it a problem?”

Eventually, they ended up in a big apartment building that had been built in the Showa era,1 but the clone didn’t seem worried at all. Rather, he looked excited to imagine the new life they would start here.

“No, I’m glad you like it. Try opening the windows.” Shuuji prompted him to go further in, and the clone approached the window, just as he’d been told. Shuuji followed just behind him.

“Oh, you can see the ocean?” the clone said, a little surprised, and then opened the window and leaned outside.

“You’ve got to come up the hill, and there are a lot of stairs, so getting here is a pain, but it’s got a great view, huh?”

“It certainly does. But I didn’t know you liked the ocean that much, Shuuji.”

“I don’t know if I especially like it, but I never saw the ocean with Koutarou.”

When the real estate agent had led them here and they’d first seen it, he’d suddenly realized that fact, and it had boosted his decision to stay here.

He was making more and more new memories with the clone. He wanted to make their first new home together a totally different environment than anywhere they’d been before. Besides, up here, there was no one who knew either of them.

They’d probably have to worry about prying eyes wherever they were. There wasn’t even any guarantee that the clone was a complete person. Maybe some new flaw would make itself apparent tomorrow. But even so, Shuuji had chosen to be with him.

There was no meaning to living in a world with no Koutarou. He’d realized that when he’d almost lost Koutarou for the second time.

So they’d never be separated again. Shuuji vowed to the Koutarou who was gone that he would love the clone who’d been born for his sake, even if he wasn’t the same as the original.