Strange. Didn't Kao say she was going to ask our daughter what she wants for dinner tonight?
Why hasn't she come down after this long?
Looking back at the empty staircase, Mr. Naoki put down the newspaper in his hand with a puzzled expression.
Picking up his teacup and taking a small sip of the hot tea, Naoki stood up and turned toward the stairs.
However, after walking up the stairs to the second floor, the scene that unfolded in front of his daughter's tightly closed door made him freeze completely.
The expression on his face also changed from the puzzled confusion he had before going upstairs to the current look of sheer, life-questioning shock.
"Can't hear it... can't hear it... can't hear it... tch, what is Utaha even saying!"
"Why can't I hear a single thing? It's killing me!"
In the second-floor hallway, Naoki watched his wife lying flat against his daughter's door, anxiously muttering to herself.
His face went completely blank for a few seconds before he called out in confusion, "Darling... what are you doing?"
The moment his voice rang out, Kao's dazed gaze refocused. The next second, noticing her bewildered husband at the top of the stairs.
She, just like her husband had been a moment ago, froze.
At the same time, the faint sound of Utaha's voice that could still be heard from the room just now also abruptly cut off at this moment.
The awkward silence grew heavy for a brief moment.
"Ahem." With a light cough, Kao straightened up as if nothing had happened. Her demeanor and expression were perfectly composed.
Folding her hands in front of her, those wine-red eyes, identical to her daughter's, blinked. She spoke to her husband in a tone full of gentleness and calm.
"By the way, Naoki, Utaha said she wants fried pork cutlet for dinner. Could you trouble yourself to run to the supermarket?"
"...Right now?" The corner of Naoki's mouth twitched. He glanced at his watch, then nodded helplessly. "Alright, I'll head to the supermarket now."
"Mm, thank you for your hard work, dear."
Having effortlessly sent her husband on an errand, Kao breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to press her ear back against her daughter's door to eavesdrop.
"My dear mother."
Utaha's little head poked out from the slightly ajar door.
Kao turned to look at her daughter, her smile so sweet it could drown a person. "What's wrong, my dear Utaha~chan~"
"Nothing major." Utaha looked at her grinning mother as if she were non-burnable trash. "I just wanted to tell you one thing."
"Eavesdropping is an invasion of my privacy. Depending on the severity of your actions, I can call the local precinct and have those useless tax-thieves give you a fifteen-day community service package."
Without giving her mother a single second to respond, Utaha slammed the door shut.
Bam—!
Staring at the 'Utaha's Room' nameplate that was once again wobbling from the impact, Kao's face darkened to the point of dripping water. She let out a cold snort.
Hmph, if I can't listen, I can't listen.
Anyway, your dad soundproofed this house so well, I couldn't hear a thing even if I tried.
Turning around, a gentle, serene smile returned to Kao's face as she spoke in a perfectly calm, yet terrifyingly ominous tone.
"So, should I quietly go buy a listening device?"
....
Meanwhile, on the bench at the sports park.
"Hoo..." Reluctantly pulling the phone away from his ear, Miyahito looked at the black screen with a hint of loneliness and muttered to himself. "It hasn't even been a few hours, and I'm already missing Utaha this much."
How on earth was he going to survive the rest of the summer vacation?
"Why do you look so dead inside?"
"Cheer up, you have no youthful energy at all."
Hearing the voices, Miyahito looked up and smiled at his two seniors. "Jiro-senpai, Shinji-senpai. Not playing anymore?"
"Yeah, we're done." Jiro plopped down on Miyahito's right and threw an arm around his neck. "Who were you talking to? Girlfriend?"
"You guessed it, Jiro-senpai." Miyahito shrugged, a smug smile touching his lips. "Kasumigaoka Utaha. That's my girlfriend's name."
"Oh, you sly dog!" Jiro laughed heartily and gave Miyahito's head another vigorous rub. "Got a girlfriend in your first year of high school? You're doing better than your senpai here."
"Senpai! Talk properly! Stop rubbing my head!"
"Oh? You dare order your senior around? Looks like I need to teach you some manners. Take this!"
"Uwaaa!!!"
Watching his buddy and junior wrestle around, Shinji sat down on Miyahito's left, smiling like a doting father. "Looking at you, Miyahito, she must be a really cute girl, huh?"
"That's right! Utaha is the cutest in the world!"
Hearing this, Miyahito immediately broke free from Jiro's headlock. Lifting his chin, he proudly declared without a shred of embarrassment.
Seeing that his seniors looked a bit skeptical, Miyahito pulled out his phone to prove his point. He unlocked the screen and shoved it toward them.
"Look, this is my girlfriend, Utaha. Isn't she cute?"
"Oh, she's a cute girl, alright. Right, Shinji?"
"Mm. About as pretty as Emiko."
Hearing his seniors' praise, Miyahito was happier than if he had just won a competition against these two 'land immortals'.
"What about Ayase, though?" Jiro, not intending to let him off the hook so easily, asked with a sly grin, posing the ultimate nightmare question for men. "Which is cuter? The girlfriend or the little sister?"
"...." Miyahito shot a deadpan look at Shinji, who was covering his mouth to hide his laughter, and then stared at Jiro, who looked completely righteous. He stayed silent for a long moment, just staring back at Jiro.
"Both are the cutest in the world."
"Tch. Perfunctory."
"That answer won't do, Miyahito."
"I can't help it!" Ignoring Jiro's teasing, Miyahito blushed as he defended himself. "Utaha is cute, and Ayase is cute. They're equally cute in my heart."
"Besides, who says 'number one in the world' can only be one person? Don't the Four Heavenly Kings have five members?"
For a moment, Shinji and Jiro were completely stunned by Miyahito's twisted logic.
The two muscle-bound upperclassmen and the lean, handsome junior stared at each other in silence.
"The Four Heavenly Kings have five members?"
"Yeah, isn't there a legend about the Four Heavenly Kings of ramen in Kanto? That's actually a group of five."
"I thought that was just an urban legend."
"I thought so too, Jiro."
"...Well, I estimate you two will have legends of your own once you hit twenty."
"What legends?" "What?"
"The Twin Heavenly Kings of Alcoholics?" Remembering how he first met these two, Miyahito complained helplessly. "Even now, I'm still shocked. How do you two manage to drink a whole bottle of 'Water of Life' in middle school and look completely fine afterward? It's truly one of the top ten unsolved mysteries of the campus."