Chapter 4
The fluffy blanket slipped quietly from her body. Clarisse gently stroked it, feeling the lingering warmth, and a soft tenderness flashed in her eyes.
"You're awake. Breakfast is on the table."
"…Got it~"
Even though this wasn't the first time it had happened, Clarisse still felt she liked Mr. Kanzaki even more.
Strictly speaking, they were only in a doctor-and-patient's-family relationship.
Yet Mr. Kanzaki's gentleness far exceeded the boundaries of that relationship.
He didn't have to go this far… so why did he?
The girl's thoughts swirled.
After washing up, Clarisse sat obediently at the table and ate her breakfast in small, careful bites.
She could have skipped it and heard Mr. Kanzaki say, "Skipping breakfast is bad for your health."
But she didn't want that kind of deliberately guided concern.
Mr. Kanzaki's home was full of amazing things.
Like this dining table, for example.
The hot food placed on it wouldn't go cold even after a full day and night, and things like apples wouldn't oxidize.
After finishing breakfast, Clarisse checked the time.
There were still a few hours left until her mother's treatment session ended.
She glanced again at the tableware being cleaned and disinfected inside the table's "stomach," then looked around the spotless bamboo house.
The part of her heart that wanted to help Mr. Kanzaki with anything she could only beat helplessly.
There was one thing… that Mr. Kanzaki had always done himself.
She had been curious about it for a long time.
Two little figures argued in her mind for a moment. Clarisse finally decided to ask the question that had puzzled her for so long.
She walked over and stood politely beside Mr. Kanzaki, maintaining a ladylike posture.
"Mr. Kanzaki, there's something… I've wanted to ask you for a long time."
"Feel free to ask."
"Is that house not far from here… your home?"
Over the past five years, whenever she came to visit Mr. Kanzaki, she had often seen him heading over to clean it, or on his way back after finishing.
Sometimes she would even catch him trimming the dense plants along the path.
That path led straight to the bamboo house.
Kanzaki Tomomu fell silent for a moment, then gently shook his head. "…It's not my home."
Clarisse wasn't too surprised.
She had already guessed as much. If it were his home, why would Mr. Kanzaki live in this bamboo house instead?
"Then… why do you clean that house so often?"
"It belongs to my teacher. A long time ago, she used special means to move her house here, but for some reason she forgot to take it with her." Kanzaki Tomomu explained softly.
Only then did Clarisse notice that Mr. Kanzaki's gaze seemed to be fixed in that direction.
Still, the part about "forgot to take it with her" sounded a bit confusing.
Like moving furniture—except the entire house was moved?
"And trimming the plants along the path… why do that?"
It couldn't be just to make it easier for other people to find the bamboo house. She didn't fully understand the reason, but she knew Mr. Kanzaki was a complete homebody who rarely left.
"I'm afraid Teacher will forget the way home." Kanzaki Tomomu said.
"…"
Clarisse was completely stunned.
From those words, she heard a faint trace of sorrow—clear and unmistakable.
Why was Mr. Kanzaki sad?
Could his teacher have already passed away…? No, no!
She was about to shake her head to clear away the messy thoughts when she felt Mr. Kanzaki's warm palm gently land on top of her head.
"Teacher is chasing after a certain endpoint. Along the way, she has lost and forgotten many things and people… perhaps including her home."
"I firmly believe that one day, when she reaches that endpoint and gets what she wishes for, she will remember many of the things she forgot… and she will definitely come home."
"I can't help her with anything else. The only thing I can do is take good care of her home for her."
Feeling the warm temperature of the hand on her head, Clarisse felt an inexplicable surge of envy and jealousy in her heart.
Jealousy toward Mr. Kanzaki's teacher.
But a Mr. Kanzaki who felt this deeply… she liked him even more!
"Your teacher must be very important to you, right?"
"Of course. If it weren't for Teacher, I would have died in a pile of corpses long ago."
No wonder.
Clarisse suddenly understood, and the strange jealousy in her heart vanished completely.
A teacher capable of raising such an outstanding student as Mr. Kanzaki must be an extraordinary person.
"Then where is your hometown, Mr. Kanzaki?"
"It became cosmic dust long ago. Where my heart belongs—that is my home."
"So that's why you were happy yesterday when you said my mother and I could go home?"
"Pretty much."
The answer made Clarisse sigh softly in her heart.
Mr. Kanzaki… my heart has already chosen this place as its home, not that so-called hometown that has no warmth.
It's just… you don't know it yet.
"Let's leave it at that for now. I need to head to the back mountain."
Kanzaki Tomomu checked the time and left her with instructions.
"If anything happens with Mrs. Durand before her treatment ends, notify me immediately. I'll come back right away."
Clarisse was momentarily stunned, then quickly came back to her senses.
Right. Every year around this time, Mr. Kanzaki would go to the back mountain to tend to the plum grove—fertilizing the soil and pruning the branches.
A few days before a certain date that Mr. Kanzaki called "Great Cold," he would go pick the blooming plum blossoms to use in making plum blossom brew.
She had tasted it many times. Each time she was completely captivated; the flavor was so wonderful it could make a person temporarily forget all their worries.
If she had to name the most memorable drink she had ever had in her life, it would undoubtedly be Mr. Kanzaki's plum blossom brew.
Oh, and Great Cold happened to fall on Mr. Kanzaki's birthday.
"I'll help you, Mr. Kanzaki."
"No need. That long dress of yours isn't suitable for moving around the back mountain. It's better if you stay here and look after your mother." Kanzaki Tomomu smiled gently and politely declined the girl's offer.
Hearing that, Clarisse could only nod helplessly.
Yesterday her mother's condition had suddenly flared up, so they had left in a hurry without time to change into more practical clothes.
Kanzaki Tomomu took off his large white coat and hung it on the rack.
He glanced at the temperature shown on the weather forecast, then habitually tilted his head and reminded her warmly.
"The temperature is dropping. In a few days it won't be suitable to wear thin long dresses anymore, or you'll easily catch a cold."
"I know. But Mr. Kanzaki, you… never mind. Stay safe—I'll wait for you to come back." The girl swallowed the words she had wanted to say.
Kanzaki Tomomu nodded and walked straight out the door toward the back mountain.
Watching his tall figure disappear from view, Clarisse's thoughts churned.
She didn't understand why, every winter, Mr. Kanzaki would only ever wear that large white coat or an outer jacket and never add more layers.
At first she thought he had a strong constitution and wasn't afraid of the cold.
Later she learned that when it snowed, Mr. Kanzaki's hands were ice-cold.
So he wasn't unaffected by the freezing weather after all.
Thinking of this, Clarisse made up her mind.
She would sign up for a knitting class and personally knit warm winter clothes for Mr. Kanzaki as a birthday present.
A cozy sweater and a scarf, for example.
---
Bonus chapters
200 Stones - 1 chapter
400 Stones - 2 chapter
600 Stones - 3 chapters
And so on