The sounds of birds, beasts, and insects at night were clear and pleasant.
Yoizumi stood at the broken hole in the roof, quietly waiting for Komatsuse's arrival. He raised his eyes to examine the damaged area, pondering how best to repair it.
He reached up to remove the remaining thatch from the top of his head, patted away the dust that had settled on him, and carefully inspected his clothes. Fortunately, they weren't damaged. If Kochou Shinobu were to find out that the clothes she had just given him were ruined so quickly, she would probably be angry.
After a long while, Komatsuse finally returned after being gone for quite some time. Yoizumi was taken aback when he saw her red eyes, feeling somewhat at a loss.
He hadn't expected that she would be so upset about him damaging the roof.
Komatsuse rubbed her eyes and nonchalantly handed the clothes in her hand to Yoizumi, then walked towards the outside of the house.
"Mr. Yoizumi, please go wash up! I'll take care of the cleaning here."
She came back with a broom and, seeing that Yoizumi was still standing in the same spot, asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
But then she saw Yoizumi looking at her with a firm and serious expression.
"I will... take respon... sibility..."
Although he might not be able to fix it, Yoizumi would still try his best to repair the roof.
"Take... responsibility?"
Take responsibility for what?
Komatsuse hadn't figured out the situation yet, but Yoizumi had already left.
What on earth does he mean?
Why is Mr. Yoizumi suddenly taking responsibility?
Could it be...? Komatsuse cupped her cheeks with her hands, her face turning red.
Could it be that he's taking responsibility for her?
Hehe... hehe~
The fantasy ended before it even began.
Yoizumi, who had left, returned.
"I will... fix the roof... tomorrow. I bro...ke it, so I will... take responsibility. Don't be sa...d."
Yoizumi, who hadn't gone far, still felt he should say something, otherwise Komatsuse might continue to be sad, after all, he had damaged her home.
Sad? Who? Me?
???
Mr. Yoizumi thinks she cried because she was sad about the roof being broken?
I'm not, I didn't!
Before long, Yoizumi, who had just left, returned again.
"Where is... the bathroom?"
... "Splish splash~"
He poured hot water over his head, wiped his face, and used a cloth to dry his hair.
Wearing the clothes, he sat under the eaves to let the wind dry his hair.
The gray-white clothes were a bit loose on him, as if they might fall off at any moment. Yoizumi looked at the clothes he was wearing, recalling the beautiful knot that Kochou Shinobu had tied with great speed.
He reached out to adjust his clothes, trying to tie the belt.
Unfortunately,
it was either too tight or too loose.
In the end, he could only tie some unknown knot, which looked a bit ugly.
He sighed, that was all he could do.
Next time he met Kochou Shinobu, he would have her teach him.
Yoizumi thought to himself.
"Mr. Yoizumi."
Komatsuse came out of the house, holding a pancake left over from dinner in her hand. She shook the pancake and asked,
"Are you hungry?"
Food was dispensable to him. It was because he believed that only by being like ordinary people and eating normally could he avoid feeling like an anomaly. No matter how much he ate, he would never feel full.
However,
whenever he tasted something sweet, he would always eat a little more.
This taste had a strange attraction for him, causing ripples in his originally empty and calm heart.
Thinking of this,
Yoizumi, who was about to refuse, paused, recalling that familiar taste, and still reached out to take it.
It was an ordinary pancake, nothing special, except that it was sweet.
He tore off half and handed it to Komatsuse, who took it and sat down next to Yoizumi, looking at Yoizumi with a smile and saying,
"Because my grandmother and I both like sweets, we add some sugar to the batter when we make pancakes. Is it to Mr. Yoizumi's liking?"
"Yes."
He lowered his head and took a bite, the sweetness filling his mouth.
It was that familiar feeling again.
But Yoizumi didn't feel anything. Just as he was about to take another bite,
suddenly,
a female voice came.
"Ah! Don't eat it! I made a mistake with this one!"
Yoizumi raised his head and looked around, finally focusing on Komatsuse, but she was still eating the pancake, looking somewhat puzzled at Yoizumi's sudden gaze.
"What... what's wrong?"
"Did... you just... say some... thing?"
"No."
Was he hallucinating?
No.
That voice was... was... Yoizumi felt a flash of white light before his eyes.
Unfamiliar yet familiar memories appeared in his mind.
"Little Yoizumi, I'm personally cooking for you today!"
Young Yoizumi opened his blue eyes, looking at the girl with a focused and trusting expression, and slowly nodded.
The girl was a few years older than Yoizumi, with long orange hair and bright golden eyes, as warm as she herself.
"What does Yoizumi want to eat?"
"Miss, you can decide."
"Alright."
The girl thought for a moment, made up her mind, and smiled mysteriously, pushing Yoizumi out of the kitchen.
"Yoizumi, wait for me to finish cooking before coming in. Go wait for me outside."
Yoizumi didn't ask any further questions and obediently stood at the door.
He idly teased the butterfly that landed on his fingertip, his sapphire eyes watching it flutter around him until he heard the girl's call, and Yoizumi's eyes lit up.
He quickly walked into the kitchen and returned to her side.
But the girl had a deflated look on her face.
"I'm sorry, Yoizumi, I couldn't make you a good meal. I failed."
She had wanted to make a savory pancake, but she had put sugar instead of salt. This pancake was ruined. The other things were too difficult for her, so she had to give up.
"It's okay, Young Master." Missing a meal wasn't a big deal to him.
"Young Master hasn't eaten yet. You go eat first."
"Then we'll go eat on the street. I heard there's a newly opened restaurant that's supposed to be very good!"
"Also..." The girl leaned down slightly, cupped Yoizumi's tender little face with her hands, and gently rubbed it.
"How many times have I told you, call me Sister!"
"... Young Master."
The girl helplessly flicked his forehead.
"You usually listen to me, why don't you listen to me on this?"
Yoizumi didn't say anything, just looked straight at her, gazing at those bright golden eyes.
"Young Master, it's time to eat."
"Okay, okay, you little rascal! Don't always keep a straight face, smile more~"
"... Eat."
... After eating, Yoizumi returned to the residence and went to the kitchen to get the girl's dessert. As he passed the table, he saw a charred pancake on it.
Did Miss make this?
After thinking for a moment, Yoizumi reached out, picked one up, and examined it for a while.
Other than being a little burnt, it didn't seem like a failure.
Remembering her disappointed look, Yoizumi couldn't bear to see her like that, so he prepared to put it in his mouth.
"Ah! Don't eat it! I made a mistake with this one!" The girl hurriedly stopped him, but Yoizumi still took a bite.
The cold pancake was a bit hard, and he bit down hard.
So sweet.
The girl looked at Yoizumi nervously. What a strange taste a sweet pancake must be.
She couldn't cook in the first place, otherwise she wouldn't have put salt instead of sugar. She should be even more grateful that she put sugar instead, otherwise the amount of salt would have been lethal.
"It's deli-cious, very sweet."
Yoizumi took small bites of the pancake, swallowing it expressionlessly.
"Isn't it strange?"
He only shook his head. He had almost no appetite. Even if the dinner was a beautifully plated dish, it was only used to fill his stomach.
But,
the pancake, with only a burnt taste and an extremely sweet taste, was better than anything he had eaten before.
To him,
everything she gave him was the best.
The girl took one with some doubt and took a bite. It was sickeningly sweet. Even she, who liked sweets, couldn't stand it.
"So Yoizumi likes sweet things?"
Likes sweet things?
What is 'like'?
Yoizumi didn't understand, but still nodded.
"We're the same~" Her bright golden eyes looked at Yoizumi with a smile, seemingly with a dazzling light that he didn't dare to look directly at.
"That's right!"
"Give me your hand."
Yoizumi obediently held out his hand, and a piece of milk candy was placed on it.
"Do you know?"
"When you're sad, eat a piece of candy, and you won't be sad anymore."
Yoizumi clenched his fist.
Sad?
What is that?
He couldn't understand...