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Tl: Sam

…

Rutger Stainey.

He was a man who was affectionately known as ‘Grandpa’ by everyone in town. Well, me too.
I was loved by him since I was a little boy. He was also a kind of schoolteacher.

Of course, his day job is as an oracle who sees and declares ‘blessings’. Everyone knows that too.
But I never had a chance to see Grandpa working as an oracle until the very end.
I never had the chance to see him work as an oracle. I mean, did he ever do that even once?
It’s doubtful from there. However, I heard that the oracle qualification itself is an official qualification
I heard that the oracle’s qualification itself is an official one from the state. It’s not that I had any doubts.

It’s just that the job of an oracle was outdated…

Of course, you can’t make a living doing that. I’d heard that it costs a lot of money to pronounce a blessing.
I’d heard that it costs a lot of money, but if that were true, almost nobody would bother to come and listen to it.
Then he’d have to do it on the side. That’s why Grandpa became the town’s anything and everything shop.
He did all sorts of things on contract. He was good with his hands and knew things.

Even if you didn’t ask him about his blessings, everyone in the town looked up to him.
There’s almost no one who he didn’t take care of. I’ve been a bit of a loner lately.
We were a bit estranged, but I know the kids always went to play with him.

So.
I knew they’d be here today, too.
To celebrate my birthday.

Right.

Grandpa Rutger, you’re dead.

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“Tran.”
“Huh? …Uh, yeah…”

My mother’s caring call brought me back to myself. Apparently, I was a little,
I was a little stunned, apparently.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay, I understand.”

I wasn’t sure what to say back to my mother’s apologetic words.

I understood what had happened. Everything made sense. I could almost understand the attitude of the family.
It would be hard to say ‘congratulations’ when Grandpa Lutger had died.
But then again, it’s not like they were just telling me about it out of the blue when I woke up from sleep.
I felt a little ashamed of myself for thinking now that he was being considerate.

But how should I feel about today?
It’s fine that I’m no longer the star of the show, but I’m in a situation where I don’t know where to go with my feelings.
The timing is so bad that I’ve even missed the chance to grieve the news of his death.
It’s just like being in limbo. My family is in a similar situation.
I guess they can’t hold on to who I am.

…I’m sorry, but I hate you, Grandpa.

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“So what you’re cooking now is the meal you’re going to serve after the funeral?”
“Yes. I’m hurriedly preparing it because it’s going to be at our house. Well, it’s going to be a big crowd.”
“I’m sure there will be.”

That’s true.
Even if you limit it to just the main people, there will probably be more than 30 guests.
It’s no longer the time to talk about my birthday. The kitchen is probably in a state of war.
It’s like a war in the kitchen. …It can’t be helped, I’ll change my mind too.

‘Well, I’ll help you after I’ve changed and finished breakfast. That.”
“No, no, it’s fine!”

She interrupted me suddenly.

“I don’t want to be the parent who asks you to help out today.”
“‘…………… right.”

Again, I’m not sure how to react.
It pains the heart to ask me to help out on my birthday. Which in itself is nice.

But then what am I supposed to do with the rest of the day?
If I am told to stay in my room so as not to disturb them, I will feel depressed.
On the other hand, I don’t have the option of going out somewhere. Because I have a funeral to go to.
If I spend my time like this, I’ll have too much time and too much time on my hands.
What am I going to do…

“You go to Mrs Stainey’s first.”
“What?”

My mother, perhaps sensing my confusion, said these words to me. To be honest, I didn’t expect that.
She wants me to go ahead of her? Is it possible that she wants me to help with the funeral preparations over there…?
No, I don’t want to do that. It would definitely be better to help with the cooking here!

“Why?”

My mother did not get angry, although her tone unintentionally became dissatisfied.

“…Nemil-chan has lost all her strength…”
“Nemil?”
“I heard she was looking forward to coming with Mr Lutger again today.” …… I see…”

When I heard this, for the first time my heart ached. I felt like I could now have feelings other than bewilderment at Grandpa’s death.

“She said she wouldn’t leave Mr Lutger’s side, so you go ahead.”
“Give her strength. Okay?”
“Alright.”
“Good boy.”

I nodded, and my mother laughed and held up a goofy finger at me.

“That’s my 19-year-old!”
“Thanks.”

That was probably the best she could do. So I smiled and responded.

“I’m going to go eat dinner, so just put my clothes out for me.”
“I’ll leave it to you. Then hurry up.”

After answering that, my mother walked quickly towards the kitchen. I watched her back,
I slapped my face with both hands.

All right,
It’s been a crazy birthday, but I’ve decided what I’m going to do.

It’s no surprise, when you think about it.
Nemil, Grandpa’s own granddaughter, is sadder than I am, of course.
He adored her so much.

Can I cheer her up? To be honest, I’m not sure. But I want to go.
I want to help that crybaby. Without a doubt, this is my role.

Cheer up the girl I like.
This is my first big duty since I turned 19, apparently.

Let’s tighten our spirits.

…..

TL Note: I Love this novel so much. With so little, it has managed to send such emotions across to me very clearly. It’s quite the experiance.

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