Charm (おまじない, Omajinai?) is the first chapter of Volume 7 of the My Happy Marriage novel.
Summary[]
On an early spring morning, Miyo gives Kiyoka his lunch box before he goes to work. As she watches him, she thinks about how much he is smiling more and how much he has changed from a year ago. She still cannot bring herself to call him by his name again and gets embarrassed every time she remembers her words to him after she accepted his renewed marriage proposal. Despite this, she is extremely happy about her upcoming wedding, but also feels a vague uneasiness.
After Kiyoka leaves for work, Hazuki arrives as Miyo had requested her to teach her how to behave in front of everyone at the ceremony. Hazuki brings along a notebook full of newspaper and magazine clippings regarding Miyo and Kiyoka's wedding. Miyo is relieved to see that the majority of the articles were mostly criticizing the government and military for letting the Gifted Communion incident happen, and that Kiyoka is being praised instead for fighting against Usui despite being arrested on false charges. Miyo has mixed feelings about the headlines about the resentment of Kiyoka's previous marriage candidates and the laments of the young women who pined for him, though Hazuki finds it amusing and notes that this wouldn't have happened in the first place if Kiyoka had rejected them in a gentler manner. She teases Miyo about her look of relief, as Miyo wouldn't have been able to marry Kiyoka in the first place if he had been kinder to the women. Miyo, moved by the many blessings for their union, asks to keep the notebook.
Hazuki switches the topic and asks if the couple is sleeping with their mattresses together yet. Miyo is extremely embarrassed at the thought of it, but Hazuki advises to get used to it soon. She also notes that Miyo is still not calling Kiyoka by his name, due to the fact that Miyo had grown too used to addressing him respectfully.[Note 1] Hazuki advises Miyo to practice so that she can do it soon and mentions that even Fuyu calls Tadakiyo by his name in private. Miyo, overwhelmed by Hazuki's forcefulness, agrees.
At the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station, Godou is complaining about his workload now that he was set to take over from Kiyoka as commander, which he still hasn't accepted yet. Kiyoka recalls Itsuto Godou's last words to him before he died, apologizing to him for placing a burden on him. Godou is so surprised to hear Kiyoka talk about his father that he inadvertently calls him by his childhood nickname for him. Kiyoka tells him to get back to work and thinks about how he had once believed that he would live out the rest of his days in the military. He decided to resign because his desire to protect Miyo was stronger than his desire to stay in the military. Even though Miyo refuses to use her Gift, Kiyoka can't dismiss the possibility that more people like Usui will come after her. Godou continues to complain about how he will be too busy to get married and how Kiyoka wouldn't understand, as he now has Miyo to be affectionate with. He is shocked when Kiyoka admits that he still hadn't slept with Miyo yet and asks if he is a coward, incurring Kiyoka's anger.
After dinner that night, Miyo tells Kiyoka that she will be attending a cooking class at the Shioze house with Hazuki tomorrow. Both are somewhat worried about how Hazuki will do, as her poor cooking skills are infamous. When Miyo comes out of the kitchen with tea, she finds Kiyoka flipping through the notebook of clippings. He asks her if she's comfortable with the media attention and is relieved when she says she's fine with it as long as there was nothing offensive about him. Kiyoka states that he had grown use to it all and that he didn't care what people say about him as long as the people in his life and his fiancée knew the truth. Miyo is so flustered by his words and expression that she accidentally spills his tea. Kiyoka, worried about her, offers to wipe up the spill, but she refuses. As the two fight over the cloth, they get into an intimate position where their bodies are practically pressed up against each other. Kiyoka asks her when is she going to call him by his name again. Miyo is so overwhelmed by the mix of emotions within her that she starts to cry, causing Kiyoka to separate himself from her in a panic and apologize for moving too quickly. Miyo, unable to explain herself, blurts out that she likes Kiyo very much and runs from the living room.
The next day, on the way to the Shioze estate, Hazuki notices Miyo's downcast mood and correctly guesses that it has to do with Kiyoka. After Miyo tells her what happened last night and blames herself for it, Hazuki apologizes for meddling when Miyo already had to deal with so many emotions before the wedding. She consoles Miyo by telling her to go at her own pace and not to beat herself up over it since Kiyoka would understand how nervous she is. At the Shioze house, Hazuki introduces Miyo to Mrs. Shioze. The old woman takes them to the kitchen where they meet the other attendees, who are also young wives and ladies like Miyo. When Mrs. Shioze leaves to get the instructor, the other women surround Miyo to congratulate her on her marriage and express excitement over meeting Kiyoka's fiancée. After a while, the final participant arrives. Mrs. Shioze introduces her as Kimio Nagaba. Miyo finds her name familiar but can't remember where she heard it.
The class begins, led by Jérôme, the foreign chef invited by Mrs. Shioze. Miyo and the others are amazed at seeing and tasting the unfamiliar foreign dishes. During a tea break, Miyo, sitting by herself to take a break from chatting, is joined by Kimio, who seems to know Miyo. After she mentions that her maiden name was Hongou, Miyo finally remembers her as her elementary school classmate who was also quiet and friendless. Kimio had read an article about Kiyoka and Miyo's marriage in the newspapers. She suddenly asks Miyo if Kiyoka has been treating her well, since there are many rumors about his coldness to women, and seems jealous when Miyo tells her that he is very kind to her. Kimio then brings up a popular charm for newlyweds that's supposed to grant a happy marriage by simply listening to the story. Miyo is doubtful, but decides to listen to her story. Kimio recounts the tale of a lord who wanted to marry a young lady. When she rejected him, he planned to kill her parents and burn down her manor so that she would have nowhere to return to. Hearing his plan, the lady threatened to end her own life if she killed him, forcing the lord to cancel his plan. He then had a change of heart after the lady entreated him to consider the pain of others, and the lady stayed by his side to support him.
Miyo is baffled by the upsetting story, and Kimio agrees, stating that it's unrealistic to think that the lord would change so easily. She apologizes for bringing it up. Miyo, in an effort to cheer her up, tells her that she's glad she has the chance to chat with her, unlike in elementary school. Kimio feels the same way. After Kimio is called away by Mrs. Shioze, Miyo thinks about how dreamlike and novel the encounter felt and tells Hazuki about it. Afterwards, Miyo works hard at cooking practice, while Hazuki wreaks havoc in the kitchen.
That night, as Miyo sits on the veranda after her bath, Kiyoka approaches her. He tells her that her words yesterday have gotten through to him and asks if he can hold her hand. But suddenly, Miyo finds herself forced to say that she was lying and that she actually hates him. She is unable to stop herself from talking as she goes on to call him shameless and lecherous. Miyo covers her mouth to stop talking and runs out of the room in tears.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Miyo Saimori
- Kiyoka Kudou
- Hazuki Kudou
- Yoshito Godou
- Mrs. Shioze
- Kimio Nagaba
- Jérôme
Mentioned characters[]
- Naoshi Usui
- Kiyo
- Fuyu Kudou
- Tadakiyo Kudou
- Earth Spider
- Itsuto Godou
- Arata Usuba
Chapter Notes[]
- ↑ In Yen Press' English translation, Miyo has called Kiyoka by his name since Volume 2, so this was changed to Hazuki chiding Miyo about being too stiff around Kiyoka.
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