“Well then, in celebration of Masano-chan’s discharge!”
“””Itadakimasu!”””
A luxurious array of dishes was lined up on the table.
Faced with all that food, Masanojo’s eyes sparkled as he immediately reached for the dishes in front of him.
“Delicious!!”
“Fufu, is it that good?”
“It’s really delicious, Mom!”
“Ufu, hearing you say that makes Mom happy too.”
This time, under the name of a celebration for the entire Kasumi family to mark Masanojo’s discharge, Emika had poured her heart into cooking a large number of dishes.
The amount of food seemed a little excessive, but for the current Masanojo it was exactly what he wanted.
Watching him enthusiastically eat the food she had made, Mother Emika could not stop smiling.
“U-Um!
Onii-sama!
If you’d like, please try this too!”
What was held out was a cute, bite-sized cabbage roll.
“Thanks.
Pak… Nnnn—!!
This is delicious too!”
“Really!?”
At Masanojo’s comment, Ririka’s expression brightened like a sunflower as she beamed.
“That’s great, Ririka-chan.”
“Yes!”
“Eh, does this mean…?”
“Yes, Ririka-chan worked hard making them for Masano-chan.”
“I see— Ririka-chan made them for me—!
Thank you, Ririka-chan!
These are really delicious!”
“!!”
Seeing Masanojo happily munching on the cabbage rolls with a smile, Ririka became so moved that tears welled up in her eyes.
While watching the harmonious family scene with a smile, Kyoka wore an expression that somehow seemed apologetic.
“Are you sure it’s really alright for me to be here…?”
Right now, Kyoka was seated at the Kasumi family’s dinner table.
She felt that an outsider like herself should not be mixing into such a close-knit family gathering.
Faced with the awkward Kyoka, Emika showed a face that bloomed like a flower.
“Come on, stop being so formal, Kukon-san.
You’ve already taken such good care of us, and Masano-chan is going to keep relying on you from now on!
You’re practically family.”
“That’s right, Kyoka-san.
Don’t hold back, let’s eat together!” Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
At the words of the Kasumi mother and son, Kyoka still looked apologetic, but also a little embarrassed that the two of them had said that.
“Um, well then… Itadakimasu.”
“Yes, please help yourself.”
Emika smiled and accepted Kyoka.
“Still, Masano-chan, you’re calling Kukon-san by her first name, Kyoka-san~.
When did the two of you get so close~?”
“Bufoh—!?”
Hit by Emika’s sharp straight punch, Masanojo involuntarily spit out his food.
“U-Um!
About that, you see!
It’s not like there’s any deep meaning behind it…!”
“Stare…”
The flustered Masanojo.
Mother Emika narrowed her eyes and stared at him.
The Ririka sitting next to him also seemed to be directing a somewhat cold gaze…
The Kyoka sitting across from them appeared calm on the surface, but her cheeks were faintly red.
“Stare…”
“Um, well—— Ah!
Th-This also looks delicious!
Pak!
Munch munch!
Yes!
Delicious——!”
“Stare… For some reason Mom feels like she’s being dodged~~”
“Th-That’s not true at all!
Ahaha—!
Haha…”
“Stare… Well, if Masano-chan says so?
Mom is on Masano-chan’s side, though.”
“Ahaha~…”
“But it’s not fair that only Masano-chan gets to do that.
I know!
Maybe I should call her Kyoka-chan too!”
“”Eh?””
“Because it’s not fair that only Masano-chan is getting close to Kyoka-chan!
I want to get along with Kyoka-chan too!
Kyoka-chan thinks so too, don’t you!”
“Eh?
Um, well…”
The usually calm and composed Kyoka was uncharacteristically flustered.
Faced with that version of Kyoka, Masanojo forgot that he himself was being pressed and thought something completely out of place like “Ah, Kyoka-san is cute like that too.”
“Is it not okay for me to call you by your first name?”
“No… um, I don’t mind, but…”
“Really!?
Yay!
Looking forward to getting along from now on, Kyoka-chan!”
“Y-Yes.
Likewise, please take care of me!”
Completely defeated by Emika’s overwhelming attack, Kyoka surrendered.
After that, with Kyoka included, they spent a fun and lively dinner together.
――――――――――――――――――――
Having overeaten a little from the long-awaited home cooking, Masanojo rested his stomach in his room for a while after dinner.
When the timing felt right, he took off his clothes and put on the sportswear he had just bought that day.
“Alright, the fit isn’t bad.
Well then, shall we go?”
He left the room, headed for the entrance, and put on the newly purchased sports shoes as well.
While he was in the hospital he had been told to rest and could only move his body during rehabilitation, but that was already in the past.
He had finally been discharged.
He had no intention of just sitting still and doing nothing.
Masanojo intended to start the morning and evening runs that had been his habit in the original world beginning today.
That said, with this body that had just recovered from illness, the original menu was probably impossible.
For a while he planned to treat it like rehabilitation and gradually get back into shape.
When he opened the front door and stepped outside, there was Kyoka already dressed in sportswear.
“I will accompany you.”
“Please take care of me.”
Since he had already informed her about the running in advance, Masanojo began running together with Kyoka, who had already finished preparing.
He thought he didn’t really need her to accompany him for something like this… but she had already dismissed the idea of leaving him alone as “completely out of the question,” so whether he liked it or not he had no choice but to accept it.
(Honestly I wanted to run quietly by myself…)
Running alone through the quiet night streets while bathing in the night breeze was, in a sense, a hobby for Masanojo.
Being able to run freely at his own pace without anyone interfering felt good.
Having that daily routine interrupted by someone else inevitably left him feeling dissatisfied.
However, in the current situation that was nothing more than his own selfishness.
He started running at a light, easy pace.
Kyoka ran alongside him, matching his speed.
And so the two of them began the running that would become their daily routine from now on.