(POV Kaito)
After holding everyone, I decided to have dinner with Chinatsu. We shared a meal of Grandma’s homemade pumpkin stew and while eating, a sense of nostalgia washed over me.
“Chinatsu, how’s the taste?”
“Mmm, it’s delicious. Did Kaito’s grandma and Aki make this?”
“Seems like it.”
“…This fried chicken is tasty too. Why do we have so many side dishes today?”
“Well, Grandma has always been cooking a lot.”
Whenever I visited my parents’ house, she would always prepare a variety of dishes. This was more like an established tradition or something.
Pumpkin stew, fried chicken, hamburgers, potato salad, miso soup, bamboo shoot rice… I never expected such an extensive menu.
Chinatsu was also eating a lot.
“The potato salad is delicious.”
“Grandma’s version has extra mayonnaise and bacon in it.”
“But if I eat too much, I’ll gain weight…”
“When I was a kid, I was told that I could eat as much as I wanted without gaining weight.”
“Is that true?!”
“No…”
It’s likely not true. Even children gain weight if they overeat. Just the other day, there was a special TV program about people who ate too much from a young age, gained excessive weight, and ended up having to go on diets.
“Maybe it is somewhat true. But even kids might gain weight if they eat too much.”
“I wonder if I’ve been gaining weight?”
“No, I think you’re still slim.”
“Well then, I’ll have one more piece of fried chicken… Actually, make it two more!”
“I see.”
Concerns about weight are natural. Chinatsu indulged herself in the fried chicken while uttering an “Mmmm” from time to time.
◆◆
(POV Chiharu)
We had meals and played shogi with Onii-san’s grandma, and grandpa. I was worried about how they would accept us, but there didn’t seem to be any issues, which put my mind at ease. We also took a bath, and then it was time to sleep.
In our usual room, we settled in for the night.
“Were they nice people?”
“Oooh! They were really kind!”
Chinatsu was asking Chiaki about what Onii-san’s grandparents were like.
“I made dinner tonight! It was amazing, wasn’t it?” Chiaki proudly said.
“Well, yeah,” Chinatsu replied.
“Grandma helped me, though!”
“It really was delicious. I had to be careful not to overeat, aah.” Chinatsu said.
“Oh, Chinatsu, didn’t you know? When you’re a kid, you can eat as much as you want without gaining weight. That’s what Grandma told me,” Chiaki said.
“That’s a lie,” Chinatsu said.
“Eeeeeeeeeeh?! Wait…. I ate so much today?!”
“That’s…. I guess there’s nothing we can do about it.” Chifuyu said.
Cute, both Chinatsu and Chiaki were adorable. And even Chifuyu’s flustered reactions were cute.
“Chifuyu.”
“Yeah, Haru-nee, what is it?”
“Well, I just thought you were cute.”
“Oh, um, thanks.”
“I want to see you blush even more!”
“Huh? Why the sudden…?”
Perhaps I had been saying “cute” too much lately… They’ve become used to it and don’t get embarrassed anymore. Why is that?
“Haru-nee, you’re cute too, you know.”
“Well, thank you… but you’re cuter, Chifuyu. If I thought that an angel would guide someone to heaven, it would be you, Chifuyu.”
“Oh, um, thank you.”
“…Onii-san was saying that Chifuyu is cute.”
“What?! K-Kaito-san said that… What do I do?”
“It’s puzzling…”
It’s puzzling indeed. Despite me being the one who said it directly, she doesn’t seem to feel shy at all. She only blushed when I mentioned it indirectly on behalf of Onii-san.
But she’s cute, so it’s all good!
◆◆
(POV Chiharu)
The next day, it was time for Onii-san’s grandparents to leave. The two of them stood by the entrance, carrying their luggage.
“Take care, all four of you.”
“Kaito, if you’ve decided to raise them, make sure you see it through until the end.”
With those words, the grandparents departed. Just before leaving, I caught a glimpse of Chinatsu and Grandma having a brief conversation… I wonder what they were talking about.
I’ll ask later. For lunch that day, we enjoyed curry prepared by Onii-san’s Grandma. The four of us sat down to eat, and it was incredibly delicious. Chiaki even went for seconds twice. She’s really adorable, even when she’s eating.
Leave a Reply