"Sit down and have some tea first!"
Although Sato still had many doubts in his heart, he obviously could not just let them go back like this. With no other choice, he let the little kids come inside the house.
"Arigato!"
The group knelt around a low table and thanked Sato in perfect unison.
Oh!
That was surprisingly neat.
The corner of Sato's mouth lifted slightly as he prepared to return the tray to the kitchen.
"Eh? There are no snacks or Norika Fujiwara's photo collections?!"
Nohara Shinnosuke glanced over the tabletop, then looked at Sato with disappointment in his eyes.
Who would use photo collections to entertain guests?!
And also, who is Norika Fujiwara? How does this brat know more about this stuff than I do? Seriously, my brother should have cleaned those things up properly.
After silently complaining about his brother Nohara Hiroshi for a while, Sato glared at Shinnosuke and stood up.
"You guys sit here for a bit."
"Hai!"
Sato first returned the tray to the kitchen, then went straight out the door and turned right, knocking loudly on the neighboring door.
"Gabriel!"
Faintly, they could hear Sato calling out.
Before long, Sato came back from outside, his face dark as he carried a large pile of potato chips and all kinds of snacks.
Sakurada Nene carefully asked the upright Kazama Toru beside her, "Did we bother Uncle Shin and make him unhappy?"
Kazama Toru hesitated, glanced at Sato, then replied, "Probably not."
Bo: "Bo."
"It's fine. It has nothing to do with you."
Sato's ears twitched slightly. Feeling a little amused, he smiled at Sakurada Nene and Kazama Toru.
The group let out a small sigh of relief.
After placing the snacks on the table, Sato could not help recalling what he had just seen when Tenma-san opened the door.
The entire room had piles of bundled trash. Black garbage bags had already filled nearly half the room, and a faint stench lingered in the air.
Who knew how that person could live in an environment like that.
For some reason, Sato began to miss the Gabriel he had first met. Back then she was so polite, clean, and hardworking.
Now...
Better not mention it.
Coming back to his senses, Sato suddenly froze.
"Where's Shin?"
Eh?
Only then did Kazama Toru and the others notice that Nohara Shinnosuke, who had been sitting there just moments ago, had disappeared at some point.
"Just now, Shin-chan went into the bedroom..."
The slow speaking child Bo pointed toward the direction of Sato's bedroom.
Everyone looked where he was pointing.
Just as they turned their heads, Nohara Shinnosuke walked out of Sato's room with a dejected expression, as if something had drained all the strength from his body.
He looked at Sato with disappointment and sighed.
"Sato, you actually didn't hide any photo collections?"
Sato's mouth twitched. He slowly stood up from his seat.
"You even went into my room and searched around?"
Kazama Toru's mouth twitched as he looked at Shin. This guy really never learns. However...
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Sato. His expression gradually became more cheerful as he watched Shin's drama.
But in front of his uncle, Shin probably...
"I'm very sorry, Uncle!"
Suddenly, after seeing the dangerous glint in Sato's eyes, Shin's heart trembled. He immediately admitted defeat and prostrated himself on the ground.
The other kids were completely stunned by this scene.
Sato was stunned as well. This... how could he possibly bring himself to hit him now?
"You brat!"
Looking at the kid prostrating on the ground, Sato revealed a helpless smile. Although this little guy was mischievous, he was truly clever.
"Alright, get up."
"Hai!"
Shin who had been bowing on the ground instantly sprang up as if there were springs in his legs. He walked straight to the low table with the snacks, grabbed a bag of potato chips, tore it open, and started eating while looking at Sato.
"Don't you have any Koala's March?"
Damn it!
This kid did not look like someone who knew he was in the wrong at all.
Sato let out a powerless sigh, though he was not particularly surprised. After all, he had not known this guy for just a day or two.
"Alright."
Sato sat down and looked at the group of little brats in front of him, his expression serious.
"Now tell me how you ended up running all the way here. And how did you get here?"
Hearing this, the others all turned their eyes toward Shin, who was eating potato chips.
"Eh? I have to explain?"
Seeing everyone looking at him, Shin helplessly slumped his shoulders and sighed.
Then he turned to Sato, shrugged, and said, "Because the manager of our base wasn't home, so I brought them here."
The manager of the base?
Sato suddenly remembered what they had mentioned earlier. Was it that teacher named Yoshinaga Midori?
"What base?"
"The Kasukabe Defense Force base, bo."
Bo looked at Sato seriously as he spoke.
"To prevent Kasukabe from being destroyed by evil forces!"
"To maintain peace in Kasukabe!"
"We created a defense force to protect the peace of Kasukabe!"
The little kids spoke one after another, and Sato gradually understood what had happened.
So that was it.
A game similar to playing house?
Sato suddenly let out a long breath. Just for a game, you actually ran all the way here. That really must have been hard on you.
"You were the one who brought them here?"
Sato looked sharply at his nephew. This kid's courage was a bit too much.
Kasukabe Town and Usagiyama Town were not close. At the very least, they were three or four kilometers apart. How did these little guys get here?
"Mhm."
Shin nodded while chewing potato chips.
"You walked here?"
"Mhm."
"How did you find the place?"
"According to the map of Chiba City!"
Kazama Toru pulled out a map from his clothes and spread it across the table. Sakurada Nene stepped forward proudly.
"Based on the information Shin gave us, we first came to Usagiyama Town, then we found Usagiyama Shopping Street!"
"After... after walking out of the shopping street... we came to the residential area."
"Because there aren't many apartment buildings in the residential area, we kept looking for apartment-type buildings, bo!"
"Finally, we arrived here!"
"The Kasukabe Defense Force!"
Shin suddenly rushed forward, waving his hand as he shouted.
"Mission accomplished!"
The group of little kids began cheering in front of Sato, looking extremely excited and proud.
These little brats really are impressive.
Sato looked deeply at the cheering group before him, an involuntary smile appearing on his face.
Suddenly, Sato's phone lit up.
He opened it and froze.
That flashing avatar was... Yukinoshita Yukino?!