I.W.B.A.L

　　He remembered that Taizi used to be a very normal person, so how come he suddenly became like this?

　　"I think I drank too much in the store yesterday, and I passed out on the way back~ But luckily, the guy saw me passed out at his door, took me back to his house, and let me sleep on his bed~ There was a faint fragrance on the bed, which was the taste of a good man~ Tae Tae, I can be sure that he is a gentle man~"

　　"He was taken home by someone?"

　　Takasu Ryuji's expression became serious, and his already ferocious eyes looked even more hideous and terrifying under this serious gaze.

　　"Ah~ Ryuji's eyes have become like your father's~ But... unfortunately~ nothing happened."

　　Takasu Yasuko sighed, as if she was still looking forward to some plot, which made Takasu Ryuji feel relieved, but also gave him a headache.

　　"After waking up, I got up from his bed and saw the man who carried me home, ah~"

　　Yasuko screamed shyly like a little girl, which made Takasu Ryuji sigh. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, sat down at the table, crossed his legs and stared at his mother.

　　"Is that why you came back home just now?"

　　"Well, after I woke up, I went home right away because I was worried about Long Er~"

　　"Did you thank the other party properly?"

　　"Thank you for now."

　　"What's the other party's address?"

　　"He lives near Horizaka in an apartment called 'Fuji Highlands'. He has a lot of style and taste, and he's a handsome guy."

　　So, after getting some information about Kento from his mother, Takasu Ryuji came to thank her specially -

　　But he never expected that after the other party opened the door, the person who appeared in front of him would be a young man who looked about the same age as him.

　　He thought that the person who could make Taizi act shy and scream like a girl would be a college student or a middle-aged man.

　　But the fact made Takasu Ryuji begin to suspect whether his mother had some special hobby.

　　But what made him even more helpless was that the other party quickly closed the door again after seeing him, which made him further realize how "vicious" he was.

　　However, before he could press the doorbell for the second time, the other party opened the door again. His expression did not show the fear he often saw. Instead, he asked about his identity in a very mature tone.

　　"Young man, what's the matter?"

　　Although the boy looked about the same age as him, he spoke in a tone like an elder, which made Takasu Ryuji feel a little unnatural. While wondering if the other party was a weirdo, he still gave a brief self-introduction.

　　"Ms. Takasu from this morning...please come in."

　　He saw the other person clearly, and after hearing Taizi's name, he saw an expression of surprise and surprise on his face, but he quickly believed what he said, opened the door, and invited him in.

　　It was the first time that Takasu Ryuji was trusted by someone so quickly. He felt touched and agreed with Yasuko's evaluation that he was a "good man".

　　"He is indeed a good person."

　　While thinking this in his heart, he entered the apartment and handed the thank-you gift in his hand to the other party with both hands.

　　"This is a thank you gift for helping my mother."

　　Kento who let the other party into his apartment looked at the thank-you gift wrapped in a furoshiki that the boy named Takasu Ryuji handed to him, hesitated for a moment, and then stretched out his hand.

　　"What is this?"

　　"I made this lunch myself, and I don't know how to thank you, so..."

　　"This is really a great help. Because we just moved here, we don't have all the kitchen utensils at home. Even though we bought a rice cooker, we forgot to buy rice and other ingredients. At noon, we just filled our stomachs with those simple semi-finished products from the convenience store."

　　He took the lunch box from the other person's hand. Although it was not prepared by the beautiful girl, Kento was not the kind of pretentious boy. For a man who was already an uncle, it was the best thing to have someone help prepare dinner.

　　"Can you open it and take a look?"

　　"certainly."

　　Looking at the young man in front of him who seemed very satisfied with the bento as a thank-you gift, Takasu Ryuji felt a little more favorable to him and at the same time felt a strong sense of anticipation, wondering how the other party would evaluate the food he prepared.

　　In order to prepare this dish, he used up his emergency reserve fund and bought a lot of fresh vegetables and meat at original prices that he would never buy on normal days!

　　"Please take a seat."

　　Because there was no time to prepare, the only place to sit in the apartment, besides Kento's bed, was the chair that came with the desk. Facing the guest, no matter what Kento said, he would not let the other party sit on the floor, so he moved out the chair in front of the desk and invited Takasu Ryuji to sit down.

　　"No, I can just stand."

　　Takasu Ryuji also noticed this and declined Kento's kindness.

　　"Let's try it first and see if the taste is to our liking. This may not be a good thing to say, but it is something I am confident in."

　　Faced with Takasu Ryuji who declined his kindness, Kento did not insist and set his eyes on the lunch box in his hand. He put it on the desk and first untied the furoshiki wrapped around it. As soon as he opened the lid, he smelled a pleasant aroma of food.

　　Looking down at the tempting food, Kento couldn't help but close his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he took a pair of bamboo chopsticks from the kitchen counter, put his hands together, and after politely expressing his thanks, he picked up the beef roll from the lunch box and tasted it.

　　"Excellent cooking, very delicious."

　　After taking a bite, he put down his chopsticks, an expression of surprise appeared on Kento's face. He looked at Takasu Ryuji beside him and began to praise him.

　　It is not a deliberate polite expression just to take the other person's feelings into consideration.

　　The other party's cooking skills were indeed excellent, at least the taste was definitely better than if he did it himself.

　　If I don't spend a long time cooking, I probably won't be able to make such delicious dishes.

　　"It's great that it suits your taste. I was worried that the taste of my family would conflict with yours. On the way here, I was worried about what to do if the lunch box I prepared didn't suit your taste."

　　The seemingly bad boy breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Kento's evaluation. His face turned slightly red and he reached out to wipe his nose.

　　"Gifu and Tokyo are not too far apart, so the taste of the food should be similar."

　　In order to reassure the young man, Kento lied. In fact, the taste of food in Gifu is somewhat different from that in Tokyo, but because he has lived in Tokyo for a long time, he has already accepted the cooking style here.

　　After hearing Kento's answer, Takasu Ryuji finally felt relieved.

　　Looking at the young man who was about the same age as him and seemed to have a very good personality, Takasu Ryuji felt that he might be able to become his friend, so he asked questions he had never asked before.

　　"Well, what should I call you?"

　　"Now that I mention it, I think I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Miyamizu Kento, and I'm from a small town called Itomori in Gifu Prefecture. I came to Tokyo to study. I'm a first-year high school student this year. Thank you for your guidance."

　　"Takasu Ryuji, I'm also about to enter high school this year, so just call me Ryuji. I think we can be good friends, so please give me your guidance."

　　As he said this, Takasu Ryuji stretched out his hand.

　　Looking at the hand extended by the boy, I recalled my life in high school. It seemed that there were no boys who could be considered friends, and I didn't have much interaction with girls. After meeting Sayuri, almost everything in my life became about her. Except for school days, we would spend the holidays together. Now... having a friend doesn't seem to be bad, right?

　　He smiled, extended his hand, and shook it gently.

　　"Well, please give me your guidance during your time in Tokyo."

　　...

　　"Mom, I'm back."

　　The petite girl pushed the door open and entered the house. When she untied her shoelaces and was about to enter, Qingura Mai, who was preparing dinner in the house, glanced towards the living room.

　　A girl who looked 70% similar to her but was more petite walked slowly into the house, went to the sofa in the living room, and lay down on it.

　　"I'm back. Are you going shopping with Sekai again today?"

　　"No, because Shijie said she wanted to see the 'Father of Shoes' in the zoo. Today, she and I went to the zoo. There were a lot of people, and we were walking the whole time. I felt exhausted."

　　"Father of Shoes?"

　　Qingura Mai didn't quite understand the language that sounded like young people's words. She put the almost prepared food on a plate, brought it to the living room, and glanced at her daughter Qingura Setsuna.

　　The girl lay down on the sofa, tilted her head to look at her mother, with a hint of fatigue in her light red eyes, and answered her mother sullenly.

　　"The shoebill is also known as the 'father of shoes' because its beak looks like a pair of shoes."

　　"I see. By the way, a new tenant moved into the apartment across the street today. Did you know that?"

　　"opposite?"

　　"It's the apartment across from us that has been vacant for a year. When I went out to buy groceries today, I saw a boy installing a gauze curtain inside."

　　"so?"

　　Handing a specially prepared lunch box to her daughter, Qingura Mai looked at her daughter and smiled slightly.

　　"Please say hello to the new neighbor on behalf of your mother."

　　"Please~"

　　After returning home from the zoo, Qingura Setsuna was exhausted. Faced with her mother's request, she hesitated for a moment, but slowly got up from the sofa, propped up her arms, and sat up.

　　"Just this once."

　　Image: "Kiyourura Setsuna", Location: "Images/1634976899-100277911-107865903.jpg"

　　Image: "Shoebill", Location: "Images/1634976918-100277911-107865903.jpg"

　　— — — —

　　Thanks to Magical Girl BanO for the tip! The boss is generous! I wish you good health!

　　Thanks to Magical Girl BanO, Nanshengqijiumeng, and the monthly tickets and blades from last year's travel! Thanks to everyone for the recommendation votes!

Cherry Blossom Season: 5. The neighbor who came to visit, the warm burdock

　　"Tokyo? It's pretty much the same as what you see on TV. If you walk a little further you'll find cafes that are open until late at night. There are all kinds of Japanese confectionery shops everywhere, and there are also some high-end restaurants. Just standing at the door and taking a look at them makes your eyes feel like they're being stabbed."

　　"Want to come to Tokyo? School is about to start, right? Why don't you come during summer vacation? Bring Yotsuba and mom along to experience Tokyo for yourself."

　　"Well, I'll send you some Tokyo specialties when the time comes. Remember to share them with Yotsuba."

　　"That's it."

　　After hanging up the call from Itomori and making an agreement with his sister to send some specialties from Tokyo back to her, Kento sat at his desk with a somewhat emotional look on his face.

　　After such a long time, I heard my sister's childish voice again. I missed her a little and couldn't help but want to go to Itomori to see her.

　　"But school is about to start. If I go back, I won't be in a rush to get back."

　　It only takes two hours to reach Gifu Prefecture by taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo, but to get from Gifu Prefecture to Itomori, you have to take a train that runs every two hours. There are only two buses a day, so you can't count on it at all.

　　"I still have things to deal with in Tokyo. I won't have time if I go back."

　　Looking at his living room, Kento took out paper and pen and began to gradually write down what he was going to do next.

　　"First of all, we need to prepare a low table and cushions for dining and entertaining guests. Also, I don't think I've brought an umbrella with me yet. I need to prepare an umbrella, otherwise I can forget about going out on a rainy day."

　　"Some cutlery, and...."

　　Ding Dong——

　　The doorbell rang again, and Kento looked in the direction of the door with a confused expression.

　　It has been less than half an hour since Takasu Ryuji left his apartment. Even if he has returned home, he would not be able to do so so quickly. So, he should just take good care of Takasu Yasuko and come to him again, right?

　　He tried to recall that when he first came here, there weren't so many guests visiting. It was only after he had known each other for a long time that he occasionally talked to the neighbors nearby...

　　Kento stood up, walked to the door, unfastened the security chain, and opened the door slightly.

　　Even though Tokyo has been ranked as the capital city with the lowest crime rate in the world several times, that is only relative. In Tokyo, which has a total population of more than 13 million, no matter how low the crime rate is, it is still a considerable number.

　　in addition....

　　Apart from the possibility of crime, there may also be a very annoying and hateful guy at the door - the NHK toll collector.

　　They are ghosts that linger around like ghosts. As long as you have a TV at home or an antenna outside the house, you will be harassed by them endlessly. It is not until you bow your head and choose to compromise, and as a loser you sign a contract to pay the usage fee that these greedy guys will disappear in front of you - until the usage fee is collected every month.

　　This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the guys who serve as NHK fee collectors are indeed quite troublesome. As long as you have a TV or a mobile phone at home, they will force you to pay the usage fee regardless of whether you use or watch NHK TV programs.

　　Even if you bought a TV just for gaming convenience or to watch your rented BDs, they don't care!

　　The methods they used were no different from those of the gangsters.

　　For a long time, it left a very deep memory in Kento...a memory of gnashing of teeth.

　　But when Kento gently pushed his door open a little, the person standing at the door surprised him. He had some impression of the girl. She seemed to be someone who lived nearby. He had met her by chance when he was in school and they had greeted each other, but that was all.

　　"I'm Kiyoura Setsuna, who lives in the apartment across the street. I saw that there seemed to be a new neighbor moving in here, so I came to say hello. This is the Konpei burdock that my mother made. If you don't mind..."

　　"Wait! Please wait a moment."

　　Facing the petite girl with a clear voice in front of him, holding a thermos lunch box in her hand, Kento asked her to wait for a moment, closed the door, untied the security chain on the side, and opened the door again.

　　"Come in."

　　"No…I…"

　　Qingura Setsuna had originally been thinking of handing the Jinping burdock to this new neighbor, getting to know each other briefly and then going home, but when he saw the handsome young man in front of him, a trace of hesitation flashed through his heart.