First meeting with an angel

"Can I visit Zhou's house tomorrow?"

　It was after midday on the third day that such a message was sent from my father.

``It's good that Shuu isn't going back to his parents' house, but I still want to see his face. Also, as I heard from Shihoko-san, I think it's necessary to greet the neighbors as well.''

　Mahiru's presence was clearly communicated to her by her mother, and she seemed to know how much she cared for Amane, so she wanted to greet him as a parent.

　If Shihoko wasn't aware of this, I would have refused with all my might, but since it's already known and Mahiru himself is interacting with Shihoko, I feel like it would be useless to refuse.

　Now that there's nothing left to hide, I don't feel any refusal to visit my son, whose parents never return home.

　If her father, Shooto, were to come with Shihoko, he would surely scold her for her tendency to act out of control.

　Even if I refused anyway, I felt that Shihoko would push and come to see me at noon, so Zhou told his father, who had made an appointment earlier, that he agreed, and then sent a message at noon.

"Um, can I be at the family gathering too? Don't you mind bothering me?"

　The next day, Mahiru came to Zhou's house in the morning and was a little nervous.

　In a sense, that's natural. All of a sudden, the parents of the man I was taking care of wanted to meet me in the middle of the day.

　It seems that Shihoko and I have been secretly communicating with each other...or rather, Shihoko seems to be getting in touch with her a lot, so she seems to be quite used to it. Not only will she be accompanied by Shihoko, but her father will also be there, so it's natural for her to be nervous.

"No, my father came to say hello to you, and my mother likes midday, so I'd appreciate it if you were here. Rather, it's useless without you."

"Well, even if you say that..."

"Well, I don't think you'll be too keen on it, but I'd appreciate it if you could just hold back for a little while."

　It's a surreal situation where I have to greet my parents, but I can't help it since they already want to meet me.

　It was bad to let him take time in the middle of the day, but due to his father's personality, he would not be satisfied unless he finished greeting him in the middle of the day, so I wanted him to endure it for a little while.

"...Shihoko-san, how do you explain me?"

"Don't worry. I've been telling my father that I'm a benefactor. Even if I'm mistaken, I'm telling you that it's not a position for your mother's fun delusion time."

　It seems that Shihoko has already certified her as a bride, or rather, a cute daughter, so I denied it with all my might.

　After Shooto laughed wryly, he said, "That's the usual bad habit of Shihoko-san."

　In the middle of the day, when he seemed to have stroked his chest in relief, he smiled wryly and said, "I'm sorry," and the intercom rang at just the right moment.

　The entrance itself was broken through with a duplicate key, so I expected them to come through directly.

　Midday suddenly shook my body, so I smiled and soothed myself as I headed for the front door, unhooked the chain, and unlocked it.

　When Shu opens the door, he sees the familiar sight of his parents.

"It's been half a year, isn't it?"

"Long time no see, dad."

Seeing his father with a gentle smile... Shooto, Zhou also smiled a little like he was relieved.

　Shooto, who has a soft air about him, is the type that makes him feel at ease, so even Zhou can't help but relax when he's face to face with him.

"I didn't treat my mother like that..."

"I guess it's because my mother suddenly rushed in. If I had given advance notice, I would have responded normally."

　At that time, it was only because Mahiru was there that he reacted like that, but Shuu alone could have reacted a little more kindly.

"For now, please come in. ...What's that baggage?"

"I brought a lot of things. Well, let's leave that for later, how about Mahiru-chan?"

"Back"

　I responded simply, and when I returned to the living room with my parents who had taken off their shoes, I saw Mahiru, who had been looking a little restless, turning towards me and widening her eyes.

　No wonder midday is surprised.

　Shooto looks so young that it's hard to believe he's in his late thirties. Despite his son's favoritism, he maintains the appearance of around 30 years old.

　He has a young, handsome appearance that could be called a baby face, and I can't tell you how many times I wish I could inherit that blood a little more strongly.

　Unlike Zhou, he has a gentle face and is a very friendly young man (although he is middle-aged in terms of his actual age), so he was often suspected of being related by blood. Even so, when they walk together, they look like brothers who are far apart in age.

"Mahiru-chan, it's been a while."

"It's been a while, less than a month has passed."

"It's been a long time in my life."

　Mahiru runs up to Shihoko with a big smile on her face, and Mahiru also leaves her residence and says, ``It's been a long time,'' with a slight smile on her face.

　However, her eyes were directed at Shooto with a confused look on her face, and Shooto noticed her gaze and stood next to Shihoko with a gentle smile on his face.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Shuto Fujimiya, Shuu's father. I heard about Shiina-san from Shihoko-san. My son always takes care of me."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Mahiru Shiina. I am indebted to Shu-kun."

　As Shooto bowed neatly, Mahiru also greeted him properly.

　Mahiru may have been worried about whether Shooto was like Shihoko, but Shooto is a gentle and common-sense person, so Mahiru should feel at ease.

　Only Shooto can handle Shihoko's stopper, and Shihoko is also weak against Shooto. There's also a reason she's clingy.

"Oh, you don't have to be so humble, do you? You're such a slob anyway."

"I'm sorry I was sloppy."

"Hey, Shihoko-san, don't say things like that. ... Zhou, you're taking care of her every day, so you're taking good care of her, aren't you?"

"As much as possible"

"Good"

　Shooto, whose educational policy is to value women, seems to have been worried about whether his son, Shuu, was working hard for Mahiru.

　As expected, it would be impossible for Shuu to just let Mahiru do his best and enjoy himself, so of course he's going to be as careful as possible with Mahiru.

　Seemingly relieved by Zhou's reply, Shooto once again turned his gaze toward midday.

"...Really, I don't know how to express my gratitude. You've been cooking for me on a daily basis, and it seems like you've even made osechi for me..."

"I'm always grateful, and I try to take care of Mahiru as much as possible."

"Yes.

"What is unexpected? Unexpected."

"Because..."

　He told me that it seemed to be a rough outline, but he was looking at it in detail, and I was at a loss for words because I couldn't argue that it was a rough one, but Shooto gave me a soft smile.

"It's great that we seem to get along so well. Shuu, please try not to cause too much trouble for Shiina-san."

"...I know"

"Shiina-san, if there is something wrong with Shuu, I want you to tell me clearly. This child doesn't seem to be honest, but he is surprisingly honest, so I think he will correct the things he doesn't like right away."

"... Zhou-kun is kind, so there are only a few things I don't like..."

"I guess there is."

"... I don't like it... it's a useless place."

　I wanted to ask Mahiru, who was slightly embarrassed and reluctant to say anything, what was so wrong about saying something so embarrassingly.

　I don't know why, but Shihoko seemed to have some idea and said "Haha!" and looked at me with a grin on her face, so all I could do was glare at him and ask what was going on.