Takao Shigeru

Translated by Kudou Omi.

Note: I translated this chapter because I wanted to have a break from Yorozuya Toukaidou Honpo. However I’ll now go back to the Yorozuya translations, and I don’t know if I’ll continue to translate Dear Mine. Yorozuya is my priority, and there are other manga I’d like to make sections about. I’ll see later…

P5

/To protect you, forever, wherever you are/

P6

Satoko: "Mum! Muuuuuuuum! Hurry up or you’ll be late at work! Hey! Wake up!"

Mother: "Haaa~! Omelette rice~~~!"

Satoko: "It’s yesterday’s dinner, mom! You came too late! Kyaaaaaaa! It’s already that hour?"

P7

Satokko: "I’m laaaate!" *run run*

Mother: "Ha! Satoko! You forgot somethiiing!" *throws a ring hold by a necklace to Satoko* "Dad’s souvenir! It will protect youuu!"

Satoko: "Thank you Mom!" I’m leaviiiiing! *run run*

Mother: "Ha! Damn!"

P8

Mother: "I forgot to tell her I’m not going to work."

*at school*

Satoko: "Hu? Homeworks?"

Girl1: "Yes. For the physics class."

Girl2: "Wasn’t it about page 10? Today is the deadline."

Satoko: "Ha----------a! Damn!" That’s it?

Girl1: It is.

Satoko: "First let’s eat the bento!"

P9

Girls: "YOUUUU!"

Satoko: "Let’s start with satisfying our stomach! It will give us energy!"

Girl1: "What strength? To do homeworks?"

Girl2: "More like the strength to face scolding."

Satoko: "It’s true! If we’re hungry, we can’t get energy! If we fell relieved, we can’t be sad! Don’t you think?"

*sudden noise*

P10

*a kid in a suit is jumping down from the high railings*

P11

*a big dog barks from the other side of the railings, scaring the girls*

Satoko: "I know that dog! She lives in my neighborhood! She gave birth to puppies not long ago!"

P12

Girls: "It’s not the question, Satoko!"

Kid: "Sorry! Are you meeting for lunch in such a pretty place?"

Satoko: "Yes! During the midday break! Do you want to eat something?"

Girl: Weird girl…

Kid: "If it’s an invitation…"

Girl: "You’re really lucky to have come here! Satoko’s cooking is so good!"

Kid: "You cooked all this food?"

Satoko: "We all stopped eating at school. So now I cook everybody’s meals in exchange of the cost of the ingredients."

P13

Kid: "Isn’t it difficult?"

Satoko: "I’m happy when my mother tells me she likes what I cook."

Girl: "By the way, what do we do for the homeworks? There’s only 5 minutes left…"

Satoko: "We can’t do anything, the teacher will get mad."

Kid: *holding papers* "Here."

P14

Satoko: "Thank you!" *silence* "HUUUUUUUUUUU?"

Kid: "Thank you for such a good lunch! I was really lucky. See ya!"

Satoko: *gaping, then…* "Saved!" *the other girls facevault*

P15

*the kid is walking in the street, whistling, when a man with a black car talks to him*

Man: "You’re in a good mod, it seems, Fuuma-sama."

Fuuma: "Hagane. How are things going?"

Hagane: "It’s developing. Here are the papers from the investigation. Do you want to have a look at them?" *Fuuma smiles mysteriously*

P16

Fuuma: "The meal was delicious."

*at school*

girl: "Satokoooooo! Do you want to go and see a movie with us?"

satoko: "Sorry! There’s a special sale today…"

Girl1: "A special sale?"

Girl2: "A t the supermarket?"

Girl3: "Long time ago she was the daughter of a rich family."

Girl1: "Really!?"

Girl3: "Her deceased father was the headman of a company. But his company went bankrupt."

P17

girl3: "Not long after, he died. She was about 8 then."

Girl: "It must have been hard…"

Satoko: *narration* /the word "hardships" isn’t appropriate. When daddy died, mum cried all the time./

Satoko’s mother: *flashback* "Satoko, let’s have a happy life!"

Satoko: /Mum went to work in a friend’s company as a secretary. She worked all day long to raise me. Since we had no money nor mansion, we had to move in a small flat. Mum was such a person that I discovered joy everyday./

P18

Satoko: / Since we had no cooker, I started cooking./

Satoko’s mother: *tasting Satoko’s dish* "Delicious! Delicious!"

Satoko: /I admired Mum’s happy face. Because there was no spacious room, when I stretched my arm, I could reach my Mum. She always said "I want to be happy!"/

Satoko’s mother: It’s a bonus!

Satoko: /She always said smiling "Let’s be happy!". That’s why I’ll do my best to be happy with her, even if it can be painful./

Guy: "Kurata!"

P19

Guy: "You bought a lot of things!"

Satoko: "Yes. Machida-kun has club activities?"

Machida: "Ride behind me."

Satoko: "Hu?"

Machida: "It’s on my way! Kurata, you really cook all meals at home?"

Satoko: "Yes."

Machida: "Great! My sister never cooks! And you also cook your friends’ bento?"

Satoko: "Yes."

Machida: "Next time I’d like to taste your cooking too!"

Satoko: /My classmate, Machida-kun./

P20

Satoko: /I’m happyyyyyyyyyyyy! Despite he’s my unrequited love./ "Hu?" *Fuuma is siting on top of the railings* "What are you doing?"

Fuuma: "The nee-san who cooked today’s lunch."

Satoko: "Do you like riding railings?"

Fuuma. "That’s not it. I was watching that."

Satoko: "That?"

P21

*a huge angry dog is threatening two kids*

fuuma: "First the kid with the cap teased the smaller kid. Then the puppy came and he changed his target. He was persecuting the puppy when its mother came too. It’s the law of the jungle, what’ gonna be next is easy to guess…" *notices that Satoko disappeared*

Satoko: *hurrying to protect the kids* "HEY~~~~~~!!"

P22

Satoko: "To persecute weak ones is evil!"

Fuuma: "Id…"

Satoko: *when the dog jumps towards them* "KYAaaaa"

P23

*Fuuma kicks the dog and saves Satoko (and the kids)*

p24

Satoko: "How... How’s the dog?"

Fuuma: "She just fainted."

Kids: *jumping on Satoko* "It was scaryyyyyyyy!!"

Fuuma: "You deserved it, brats!"

P25

Fuuma: "What’s wrong this time?!"

Satoko: "My ring… down there…"

Fuuma: "Hu?"

Satoko: "Dad’s souvenir…"

P26/27

*Fuuma jumps down in the muddy water and looks for the ring*

Fuuma: "How does it look like?"

P28

Satoko: "A golden ring…"

Fuuma: *giving it to Satoko: "This one?"

Satoko: *bursting out crying* "Th… thank you!"

Fuuma: "Whaaaa! Don’t cry!!!"

Satoko: "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

P29

Fuuma: "If you want to be polite, then smile."

Satoko: *gently smiling* "Thank you…"

P30

Satoko: *Fuuma smiles* "How old are you?"

Fuuma: "Ten."

Satoko: "Really?"

Fuuma: "I don’t look like it?"

Satoko: "Your appearance does. But I somehow can’t believe it. You did a perfect sore with physics. It’s impressive!"

Fuuma: "I’m sorry but I’m only 10."

Satoko: /hu?/

P31

Satoko: *back home* / Ha… I forgot to ask his name./

Woman: "What? Satoko-chan!?"

Satoko: "Ha, landlady."

Landlady: "Why are you here?!"

Satoko: "What?"

Landlady: "But your mother moved today…"

P32

*their flat is empty, Satoko is gaping*

landlady: "You didn’t know? Your mother packed everything, she said she had suddenly decided to move."

P33

satoko: /but this morning… When she smiled looking me leaving… She said nothing!!/ "Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu??????"

Someone in the car outside: "It’s here. Stop."

P34

Satoko: / You didn’t tell… You didn’t tell, Mum!!! Why…Why… Why the hell you did that?/ *a man speaks with the landlady and takes Satoko with him* / Where did you go, Mum!/

Man(Hagane): *once in the car* "Your mother went to the mansion, Satoko-sama."

P35

satoko: "Hu?" Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! "Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?"

hagane: "I understand, we didn’t tell you anything."

Satoko: "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Hagane: "I will explain everything on the way."

Satoko: *now quiet* "Just now… You said Mum was…"

Hagane: "Yes."

P36

Satoko: /What this person told me can be summed up this way: Mum’s friend (the boss) managed a little temporary employment office that bankrupted recently. Two days ago, he disappeared, deceiving everybody./ "And…?"

hagane: "Your mother became the headman’s co-endorser. In other words, the headman is absent, and the debt can’t be paid back."

Hagane: "Not me!"

P37

Hagane: "Do you know the Wakudera family?"

Satoko: "…….? ~~~~~ha! I heard about them. The Wakureda industry group is a huge firm….?"

Hagane: "Indeed. This group’s former leader’s secretary was your mother."

Satoko: "What?"

Hagane: "It was before you were born. The leader’s inheriting son learnt about your mother’s hardships. He paid back all her debts."

Satoko: "And then he wants us to work hard for him..."

Hagane: "Not at all!"

P38

Satoko: /then…/

Hagane: "We arrived."

Satoko: /Was it really by pure generosity?/

Hagane: "Anyway, your mother came back in her mansion, and because it was time to have a talk with Satoko-sama, I was told to go and lead you here."

P39

Hagane: "But first of all please come and greet the head of the family."

P40

Satoko: *in the corridors of a huge and rich palace* "E… excuse-me…Please wait!"

Hagane: "Yes?"

Satoko: "But… long time ago, Mu… mother only worked as a secretary… And he paid back the debts just for that?"

Hagane: "Do you think it’s exaggerated?"

Satoko: No! "Thank you very much!" *bow* "Then there’s no…"

Hagane: "Of course it’s not all."

P41

satoko: "I knew it!"

hagane: "It’s because you’re the leader’s fiancée."

Satoko: *stunned* HU?

Hagane: "It’s a promise between the previous leader and your mother. The previous master… That is to say today’s leader. Your mother’s daughter would marry him."

Satoko: "Hu?"

Hagane: "That’s why…"

P42

Hagane: "The master, waiting in this room, will become your husband. I’ll lead you."

P43

Man: "Fuuma-sama will receive you."

Satoko: /this… this… this means… he’s my husband….."

P44

Hagane: "Here is the master himself, Wakudera Fuuma-sama." *the kid Satoko met before.*