Chapter 5.1. Reunion With Childhood Friend

“Sigh… I’m exhausted.”
After managed to calm down Hayami-san somehow, I noticed the determined look in her eyes as she left, but I chose to ignore the darkness lurking within them.
Even after my transfer, dealing with troublesome female subordinates with unique quirks was honestly too much hassle to bear.
“But finally, I’m back…”
As I carried my luggage into the living room of my parents’ house upon returning home, I pondered deeply on my feelings.
After receiving orders to return home, I came back to Japan after several years. 
Arriving by plane, I was immediately transported to the Joint Staff Headquarters and started sleeping within the military building, so me coming back home was after several years.
Fortunately, the house key worked just fine.
“I thought it would be in ruins, but it looks clean.”
I thought that if the doors and windows had been closed for years without ventilation, it would surely smell bad and be full of dust, but the inside of the house was clean.
First, I opened all the shutters and windows throughout the house for ventilation.
The room, illuminated by the afternoon sunlight, was neatly arranged.
“It’s been about a year since no one lived here since I was conscripted… um…”
As I counted on my fingers,
(Rustle, rustle!)
When I turned to the entrance of the living room where the sound came from, a tall girl was standing there.
At her feet, a plastic shopping bag she dropped was rolling around.
Wearing what seemed to be a high school uniform, her silver long hair swayed, and she seemed greatly agitated.
“Eh… No way…”
The girl muttered to herself as if in disbelief, and she took a step, then another step closer to me, as if she had seen something unbelievable.
“Could it be… Yuu-kun…?”
Though unsure, the desire for it to be true was evident in her voice as the girl trembled, inching closer to me.
“Yes. I’m back, Mina.”
I immediately knew who this beautiful girl was.
The last time we met, we were still elementary school kids carrying backpacks, so it’s been many years since then.
We’ve both entered adolescence, and our bodies have grown significantly and changed in appearance, but from her silver hair and blue eyes, I quickly recognized her as my childhood friend, Mina.
“Ah… Ah… Yuu-kun… Yuu-kun!!”
With a rush of footsteps, Mina ran over and jumped into my arms, which I firmly caught.
“You’re warm… You’re alive… It’s not a hallucination! Not a dream!! I… I get to see you again, Yuu-kun…”
While crying, Mina conveyed her joy of reuniting with me passionately, as I lent her my chest for a while, I almost started crying.
Finally, on this day, I truly felt I had returned to my hometown.