âââItadakimasu.âââ
âYes, enjoy your meal~â
After the bath incident, what awaited me was the dishes spread out on the table.
The dishes were arranged in small bowls and served little by little⊠It is the so-called âkaiseki ryoriâ.
Just looking at the numerous delicious-looking items laid out on the large table is enough to make one drool.
Did Lisa make all of these �
I wondered if Rinâs cooking skills might have been passed down directly from her mother.
As I was thinking this, Lisa-san, who was pouring me tea, whispered in my ear in a very sweet voice, âIâll make sure Rin gets this one, too.â
I shivered and pressed my ear.
Lisa-san then giggled with a bewitching smile.
⊠Itâs hard to believe that Lisa has a child, isnât it?
Her skin is fine and her proportions are superb.
Normally, they say that a womanâs skin deteriorates with age, but I donât see the slightest sign of that.
She is actually immortal?
Actually, she is a vampire, so her appearance doesnât change.
Iâll believe it if you tell me thatâŠ
Before that, donât read your mind so naturally!
â⊠Towa-kun? Where on earth are you looking?â
I fell in love without changing the tone of my voice.
In the past, this would have upset me, but now Iâve grown up somewhat.
I am more adept at passing it off without a care in the world.
âMmm, I still think itâs suspicious!â
Rin, with a wrinkle between her eyebrows, came up to me and stared intently at my face.
Your face is close, hey âŠ
If I were to tilt my head 15 degrees here, we would have bumped into each other.
I awkwardly dropped my gaze to the floor.
âYou turned away ⊠Iâll take that as a sign.â
âNo, I mean, who wouldnât want to look away? Donât do it in front of your parents.â
âI categorically deny it.â
I sigh at the strong refusal.
Iâve been at this pace ever since I got out of the bath.
I mean, arenât you embarrassed in front of your parents?
I heard that you donât want to be asked a lot of questions later⊠No, I donât know if Rin doesnât have that right nowâŠ
âRin, if you keep this up, I wonât be able to eat.â
âCan I hold your chopsticks?â
âNo, I want to eat by myselfâŠâ
âI want to feed you.â
ââŠThatâs a parallel.â
Rin picked the food with the chopsticks without saying a word and pressed it against my lips.
I wouldnât have pulled it off anyway, RinâŠ
I was embarrassed by the warm, raw stare, but I had no choice but to open my mouth and chew my food without being prompted.
âOh, my goodness. Itâs so nice that they are so harmonious with each other. I wonder if I should join in and give one to Shin-chan.â
âNo, thanks. It wouldnât be good for the kids.â
âOh, thatâs too bad. Then, Rin-chan? You have to behave while eating.â
âRin, donât go too far. Tokiwagi-kun looks like heâs having a hard time eating too.â
Her cheeks puffed up even more when her parents rebuked her.
I almost poked my swollen cheeks out of habit, but I retracted just in time.
I coughed to cover my mistake and then turned my attention to Rin.
âNo, I donât really find it hard to eat. But, well, ⊠oh Rin. Itâs time to get away fromâŠâ
âOh, hey. Donât get so caught up ⊠You donât have to be like that, Iâm not going anywhere. â
âEven though I trust you, Towa-kun, I wouldnât trust you with a scary brainy shark right in front of me. I wonât be fooled this time.â
Yes, itâs not that Rin is being pushy, or that she is flirting in front of her family.
I donât know what happened while I was in the bath âŠ
There must have been something that fired up Rin.
Thatâs why she has this attitude.
Not wanting to give up or pass on something that is important to her.
Itâs child-like behavior.
âLisaâŠ, I think youâve gone too far with the mangling of the stones, donât you? Rin is groaning, isnât she?â
âOh, yeah~? I didnât say anything. I was just giving Rin-chan a lecture.â
âIâd better for her not listen to that⊠lecture.â
The father cowered his shoulders in dismay.
She seemed to be giving up a little, as she always does.
âMother, you should rethink your words and actions a little more! I wonât forgive you if you touch Towa-kun! â
âEh~ Iâm sorry to hear that. Besides, what do you mean by âtouchâ, something like this âŠ?â
Lisa-san moved behind me and embraced me as if she was covering me from behind.
Then, as if treating me like a pet, she stroked my head while saying, âGood, good, goodâ.
That tickled me somewhat and ⊠embarrassed me.
In addition to that, it hit the back of my head, an indescribable feeling âŠ
âPlease get away from Towa-kun! And your nose is stretched too long. Shame on you!â
âNo, the human body doesnât stretch that easilyâŠâ
âI donât need to quibble, please get out of my way!â
âNo, I donât want to. I canât stop this fun thing.â
âWhat do you mean by fun âŠ? Iâm not old enough to say that, but what are you talking about?â
âRin-chan? When your language goes too farâŠâ
I let out an unintelligent flip and hugged her in my arms.
The intimidation of Lisaâs smile has caused her to tremble spectacularly.
I gently pat Rinâs trembling head.
Then, her face immediately became relaxed and sloppy.
Sheâs changing so fast, hey.
âDonât be alarmed. I just want to ask you. How old do I look?â
âJust by how you look?â
If you want to be flattered, late twenties âŠ.
Itâs probably somewhere around there.
If weâre really going to guess, the age of Rin and the time of her marriage would narrow down the range of what to expectâŠ
I guess they are only asking me what I âseeâ.
And since the Wakamiya family can detect lies, Iâll be honest here.
âI think you look around 29 or 31 or something like that. You donât give off the vibe of a newly graduated college student, so Iâm guessing thatâs about the same age from the way you seem to be settling in.â
Rinâs father, who seemed to be the most serious person in the house, burst out at my honest impression.
Then, he started to laugh, holding his stomach.
But the only one laughing merrily is himâŠ
Rin and I shared a common understanding: âOh, heâs dead.â
Iâm sure we were both aware of that.
âHaha. Tokiwaki-kun is so good at jokes. Lisa is stillâŠgufu âŠâ
âOh my, oh my, oh my. Maybe I got drunk even though she didnât drink any alcohol. â
âI got drunkâŠâ (Lisaâs inner voice)
âWell, well, well, I guess youâre right~âŠâ
I and Rin are frozen in a bitter smile.
Rinâs father, whose arms and legs are slouched like a puppet doll.
Iâve heard a lot of things from him with the bath and I think I should help âŠ
I swallowed hard and glanced at Rin.
Rin clenched her fists in front of her chest as if encouraging it.
âUm, sure now ⊠Lisaâs body blow is ⊠Be gentle with him âŠâ
âI see that the latest alcoholic beverages also show afterimagesâŠâ
âWell, itâs not perfectly elongatedâŠâ
âThe technology is so revolutionary. Hey, Pon-chanâŠ?â
âYes, thatâs right. No doubt about it.â
âOh no~, this is what a family meal looks like⊠Itâs nice.â
âOne person is missing, thoughâŠâ
Itâs lively and never boring.
Itâs a different kind of meal than the one with Rin, where one feels the warmth of the meal.
Iâve never seen anything like this âŠ
I thought this as I watched her father being dragged away.