And so, I was dropped off at home, where Mizuno-san was already there.
Or rather, she was in the yard, playing around with Kuro and Shiro.
「Areh? Mizuno-san, did you take the day off from work again?」
「Yeah. By the way, what have you been up to, Ichino-kun? Sensei was acting kind of strange. Oh, here are your class notes. Sensei made them specially for you and asked me to bring them over.」
Uwaa, the teachers really caved to government pressure, huh?
What am I supposed to say if sensei asks me about this tomorrow?
Maybe they’ll just avoid asking me anything if they don’t want to cause me trouble.
Either way, it’s a crazy chain of events.
My request to Danpon put pressure on the government, the government pressured the teachers, and now Mizuno-san’s here at my house delivering notes because of that.
「It was sort of like a job. Anyway, thanks for the notes.」
「No problem! I wanted to see Shiro-chan and Kuro-chan anyway.」
Not just Shiro, even Kuro has really warmed up to Mizuno-san.
「I bought some hard senbei crackers. Want to eat together?」
「Yeah, I’d love that.」
「Then go wash your hands first.」
「Got it. Excuse me, aunt, may I borrow your washroom?」
Mizuno-san politely informed my mother before heading to the washroom.
「Mom, how are you already so friendly with Mizuno-san even though you just met her?」
「Well, Mai-chan and I really hit it off talking about Kuro-chan and Shiro-chan.」
So Mizuno-san’s name is Mai.
Come to think of it, that does sound familiar.
It’s hard to remember names of people you always call by their last name.
Aoki is… well, Aoki.
No need to bother remembering that.
「She’s such a sweet girl. She even complimented the handmade coasters I made.」
「The ones you make every week? Those special grade curse? Maybe her glasses aren’t the right size.」
「Taira, I’ll be removing one dish from tonight’s dinner.」
Mom says something scary with a smile.
Even though I had akashiyaki earlier and I’m past my growth spurt, dinner for a high schooler is still priceless.
I quickly apologize to avoid losing a dish.
When Mizuno-san returned after washing her hands, we started eating the hard senbei crackers.
As usual, these are ridiculously hard.
They might even be tougher than the Stone Golems.
「The hardness is part of the charm, but I really love the unique flavor of the sesame and aonori.」
「Yeah, I get it. This could honestly pass as part of dinner, not just a snack.」
Wait, Mizuno-san, you can’t be serious, right?
I love hard senbei, but if that showed up as dinner, I’d be seriously concerned about my parents abandoning their responsibilities.
If you are a kid, that would be neglect-level.
「Oh no, I forgot to bring drinks.」
「No worries, I have my water bottle with me.」
「No way! In this house, hard senbei always goes with milk. Trust me, Mai-chan, just try it.」
「Well, if you insist… Oh! This is delicious! The senbei melts into the milk like some new kind of juice. And this milk… it’s really good!」
「You can tell? It’s fantastic, right? We have so much of it, it’s practically turning into yogurt. I’ll share some with you before you go.」
「Thank you! My little brother and sister will be so happy.」
「That makes me glad to hear. Right, Taira?」
Mom looked at me and spoke with a smile.
Ah, I get it.
She wants me to take the milk to Mizuno-san’s house while I’m at it.
I can’t refuse since my dinner’s on the line here.
Fine, I’ll accept her demand.
And while I’m at it, I’ll unload all the leftover uma mushrooms too.
-0-
Pushing our bikes, Mizuno-san and I made our way to her house.
I brought the milk in an old water bottle.
「Does your family raise cows too, besides mushrooms?」
「No, we don’t keep cows.」
「That milk tasted like it was fresh from the cow! Not that I’ve ever had fresh milk, but still.」
「We’ve got our sources. Just like the mushrooms, we have way more than we need, so I’m actually relieved you’re helping us use it up.」
「Oh! Maybe I should try making yogurt out of it!」
「Wait, can you even make yogurt that easily? You didn’t actually believe my mom’s joke about the milk turning into yogurt when it goes bad, did you?」
Milk turns into yogurt through fermentation, not rotting.
「Of course, I knew it was a joke! My mom actually taught me how to make yogurt ages ago.」
She explained the process of making yogurt.
It’s a bit of work, but apparently it’s doable even at home.
「This is my house. Well, half of it’s a workshop, but the entrance is this way. Come on.」
「Oh, I can just leave from here.」
「What are you talking about? At least stay for tea and snacks.」
She grabbed my arm and pulled me along.
As we reached the front entrance, we saw two kids, around third or fourth grade, playing outside.
One boy and one girl, both with bobbed hair.
They must be Mizuno-san’s younger siblings.
「Welcome back, neechan!」
「Who’s that guy? Your boyfriend?」
「This is Ichino-san, the classmate I told you about.」
「Oh, it’s the donut guy!」
「It’s the donut guy!」
As soon as they heard my name, they pointed at me with big smiles.
Wait, am I seriously known as ‘the donut guy’ around here?
「Hey, it’s Ichino-san! And don’t point, I’ve told you that’s rude!」
Mizuno-san scolded them, and they quickly apologized.
「Sorry, Ichino-san. The donuts were delicious.」
「Sorry, Ichino-san. I want more donuts.」
「Hey!」
She scolded them again, but I couldn’t help but laugh.
Those donuts I’d almost thrown away ended up making them so happy, so I guess it was worth it.
「I brought some hard senbei crackers. Want some?」
「「Yay!」 」
The two kids eagerly grabbed the senbei.
「Hey! What do you say?」
Her third reprimand was even louder than the previous ones.
「「Thank you! We’ll eat them!」」
I told them to wash their hands before eating since they seemed too excited to remember.
「Ugh… I’m sorry, Ichino-kun.」
「It’s fine. Kids that age are always like that. And I have to say, Mizuno-san, you really do act like an oneechan at home.」
「Of course I do.」
As she said that, a man stepped out of the house.
He looked about forty, wearing work clothes that screamed ‘craftsman’.
In one hand, he held a sealed envelope, probably with money, and a bank card in the other.
「Mai, you’re back already?」
He spoke with a deep, gruff voice.
「Dad! That’s money, right? Where are you taking it!? You already made the factory payments this morning, didn’t you?」
「A kid like you has no business meddling in the factory’s affairs.」
「What do you mean, ‘no business’? We barely have any funds left for the factory’s operations! And that bankbook… that’s mine, isn’t it? What are you planning to do with it?」
「Shut up and let go!」
Mizuno-san grabbed his arm, but her father shook her off and made his way to the bicycle parked in front of the house, ready to ride off.
「Wait!」
I grabbed the back rack of the bike.
I knew it wasn’t my place to interfere, but seeing Mizuno-san in tears, I couldn’t just stand by.
「Mizuno-san—Mai-san is crying. Isn’t there something you should say, as her father?」
「And who are you?」
「A friend of Mai-san’s.」
「I see. A friend… Mai, you’ve got a good friend.」
What’s with this guy?
How can he look so kind while doing something so terrible?
「But this isn’t your business. Stay out of it.」
With that, Mizuno’s father stomped on the pedal.
If I kept holding on, he would fall, so I let go instinctively.
He rode off without another word.
「I’m sorry, Ichino-kun. You had to see that…」
「No, but what about…」
He took the company’s funds and even her bankbook.
Is he desperate enough to gamble it all away?
「We should tell your mom. Maybe she can stop him. She’s still at the factory, right? We might still have time.」
「No… Mom’s probably the same as him.」
What?
Are you serious?
Both of her parents?
They’re both using their own child’s money?
I had assumed they were kind people. After all, Mizuno-san was always so cheerful, and her little brother and sister seemed like such good kids. But it turns out I was wrong.
Sitting on the doorstep, her head lowered, Mizuno-san muttered:
「I used to love seeing them work so hard. They were my heroes.」
「Yeah…」
「I knew the factory was struggling. That’s why I helped out around the house whenever I could…」
「……」
「I even took on part-time jobs and secretly slipped almost all the money I earned into their wallets.」
「You’re amazing…..wait…」
So that means that’s Mizuno-san’s bankbook…
「Dad probably went to deposit more of my money into the bank just now…」
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