121 Sazama's and everyone's surprises

[Sazama Mansion's Garden]

As Kumiko's confusion grew, a staff member pointed through the open sliding door of the mansion, exclaiming, "It's them, madam," while indicating the man and woman.

Kumiko turned to observe Shinro and Mira, who graced the garden party with their presence, accompanied by Shiruu.

Frowning, Kumiko struggled to recall who Shin and Mira were, though she faintly recognized Shinro.

Amid her confusion, Airi, Shiro's wife, approached Mira, Shinro, and Shiruu.

After greeting her second son, Airi, along with Ruki, warmly embraced Shinro and Mira, asking, "You two are finally here!"

Shin then turned his attention to their pets, saying, "Let me retrieve Luigi and Zelda first." Much to the surprise of Reina, who watched as his fourth brother suddenly appeared with a frown, Shin took the two troublemakers.

Shin and Mira nodded to Airi, and Shin passed the cat to Mira. Then, Shin directed his gaze particularly at his distant father, who momentarily acknowledged him before turning away.

Airi noticed this and said to Shin and Shiruu, "You two, come and greet your father."

Shin remained silent until Shiruu patted his shoulder, and Mira smiled at him as she nodded.

Shin finally agreed and approached Shiro with Shiruu, while Airi and Ruki followed. Mira walked closely behind. 

Shiro maintained his silence as his two least favorite sons approached him. He snorted lightly and said, "You two... Please have a seat," casually glancing at the clingy dog in Shin's hands but choosing to ignore it.

Shin and Shiruu nodded and took seats at Shiro's table.

Shiro poured sake into their cups and remarked, "You two have really grown... Especially considering you work for a small yet growing company like KiShin."

Shin and Shiruu exchanged glances upon hearing this. Shiruu thought with a faint smile, "It seems Father still doesn't know that Shin owns KiShin; he only knows Shin works there."

Noticing his sons' silence, Shiro continued, "I'm not against you working for that company, but... Do you prefer to be mere employees of a small company instead of owning shares in our Suzuki Group?"

Shin and Shiruu shared a look, and Shiruu chuckled, "Father, even if I remain a humble artist at KiShin, I'll stay because it fulfills my dream."

Shiro nodded and turned to Shinro, who said, "That's the same for me, Father."

Shiro sighed, "You two are as stubborn as ever..." He continued the conversation with his sons, this time less strict, realizing that they were still his sons, even if they didn't meet his expectations. He chose not to praise them, considering their choices to be less than admirable in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Shiko and Seki, along with Shuichi and Shuji, noticed Shiro conversing with two young individuals. Shuichi playfully remarked, "Aren't those your two wayward brothers?"

Shuji simply smiled and sipped his sake, while Shiko and Seki frowned but remained silent.

While Shiro was in conversation with his two sons, he was approached by his mother, Kumiko, with Reina and the others closely following.

Shiro stopped chatting with his sons and turned to his mother, saying, "Oh, Mother."

Kumiko nodded as she observed Shinro and Shiruu, who were wearing Keikogi attire, her curiosity piqued. She inquired, "Who are these two young men?" She faintly recognized Shinro, and she had a vague sense of familiarity with Shiko, but her memory failed her.

Shiro offered a wry smile as he explained, "Mother, I forgot to reintroduce them to you. These are Shinro and Shiruu, my second and fourth sons."

Upon hearing this, Kumiko looked surprised and exclaimed, "My two grandsons!" She then hugged Shinro and Shiruu affectionately. On the side, Reina regarded Shinro and Shiruu with a grim expression.

Kumiko pouted as she turned her gaze back to Shiro, her brows furrowed in reproach. "Seriously, Shiro-kun... It's your father's 88th birthday, and you only introduce me to my two grandsons now?"

Shiro remained silent, acknowledging that he had hesitated to invite his two sons due to the potential mockery from his brothers and sisters. However, his fatherly instinct had ultimately guided his decision.

Sure enough, his first sister, Shimizu, and second sister, Mai, were already discussing Shiro's two sons, though Shiro's third sister, Shira, remained silent.

Shito and Shintani wore disdainful smiles as they looked at Shiro's two sons. "Look, that one is the second son of our elder brother, a man working in the entertainment industry," Shito quietly mocked to Shintani, who stifled a faint laugh. "And the other one is the youngest, seemingly without a clear purpose in life."

The other guests from the business world also overheard Shito's words and chuckled discreetly.

Subsequently, the guests turned their attention to Shiro's two sons, engaging in quiet conversations that drew Sazama Suzuki's notice. Okuda Toyoda chuckled and remarked to Sazama Suzuki, "Hey, aren't those another two of your grandsons?" He pointed towards Shinro and Shiruu.

Sazama Suzuki furrowed his brows, appearing perplexed as he responded, "My two grandsons?"

Okuda Toyoda and the others exchanged glances and chuckled. Okuda Toyoda added, "You didn't even know you had two more grandsons. Poor you..."

Sazama Suzuki felt embarrassed, his face reddening slightly as he gazed at Shinro and Shiruu.

After a while of conversation with his old friends, Sazama Suzuki approached Shiro's table where he was with his two grandsons.

Shiro, Kumiko, and the others noticed Sazama Suzuki's approach. Kumiko instructed Shinro and Shiruu, saying, "This is your grandfather; greet him."

With all eyes on them, Shinro and Shiruu bowed simultaneously to Sazama Suzuki, who simply nodded.

Sazama Suzuki, wearing a serious expression, commented, "I never expected that my elder son was hiding two more grandsons from me." He glanced at Shiro, who chuckled helplessly, clarifying that he hadn't intentionally hidden Shinro and Shiruu, as they had attended his father's party when they were younger.

Sazama Suzuki then inquired about Shinro and Shiruu's well-being, and they responded briefly. Mira stood silently beside Shin, and after a while, Shiruu presented his gift, saying, "Happy 88th birthday, Grandfather. Here is my gift," and offered a selection of his music albums.

The guests couldn't help but chuckle at such an unusual gift.

Shuichi playfully commented to Shiko and Seki, "He presented our grandfather with his album, hehe."

Shiko and Seki remained silent in response.

Sazama Suzuki examined the album closely, and what caught his attention was the KiShin logo. He exclaimed, "Oh? This is from KiShin?"

Shiruu was pleasantly surprised that his grandfather knew about KiShin, and he nodded, saying, "That's right."

Sazama Suzuki stroked his chin and commented, "Not bad."

The other grandsons of Sazama and the guests assumed that their grandfather had made the comment to spare Shiruu's feelings. They then turned their attention to Shinro, the youngest grandson, to see his gift.

Shin smiled and decided to make a surprising introduction. He addressed his unsuspecting grandfather and the guests, saying, "Before I present my gift, Grandfather, let me introduce you to my wife, Mira." His announcement left everyone in shock.

Shiro, who had been sipping sake, set his cup down and stared at Mira in disbelief. He looked at his wife for confirmation, and she simply nodded. In shock, Shiro asked, "You already knew?" Airi, feeling somewhat embarrassed, also nodded in confirmation.

Shiko and Seki exchanged shocked glances as they observed Shinro and Mira, who held a cat.

Shuichi playfully exclaimed, "Would you look at that... He's already married before you two..."

Okuda Toyoda and the others joined in laughter, noticing Sazama Suzuki's frozen expression.

Kumiko also gasped, her hand covering her mouth, and Reina stared at Shin with wide eyes, remarking, "That brat actually got married before me!?"

Shortly after, Sazama Suzuki broke into laughter, saying, "Hahaha! So..." He paused as all the guests awaited his response. Sazama then continued, "Your gift... Was your gift to me a great-grandchild?"

His words prompted laughter from everyone.

Shin and Mira exchanged glances, and Shin chuckled, "Of course not." He retrieved something from his pocket and handed it to his grandfather, saying, "This is my gift."

What Shin handed to Sazama Suzuki was a video game - 'Dragon Quest.'

Sazama Suzuki examined the video game cartridge with curiosity, and when he noticed the KiShin logo, his eyes widened with pleasant surprise.

The most surprising thing for Sazama Suzuki was the KiShin video game; he had never seen one before, even more so than his grandson's revelation about being married. He completely disregarded the fact that he hadn't been invited to the wedding.

Kumiko, on the other hand, immediately struck up a conversation with Mira in surprise, finding it difficult to believe that one of her grandsons was married.

In the meantime, Sazama Suzuki silently examined the video game cartridge, leaving Shin to assume the old man was a bit bewildered, so he just chuckled.

Little did Shin know that the old man, who initially wanted his grandsons to participate in katana drills, was now considering canceling the drills because of this surprisingly unexpected video game gift. The katana drills had mostly served as a disciplinary measure and a way to tease his grandsons. But now, he no longer had the desire to initiate them; all he wanted was to dive into playing 'Dragon Quest.'

Perhaps he would jump straight into a Super Mario competition, which could last for hours if they aimed to complete all the game stages. Sazama Suzuki's idea was to have each of his grandsons play Super Mario Bros. and see who could achieve the highest score on stage 1-1 to determine the winner.

Some of the guests believed that Sazama Suzuki didn't like the gift, and Shuichi, along with a few others, were already snickering at Shin.

Sazama Suzuki looked at Shin and asked with a serious expression, "Where did you get this video game cartridge?"

Shin, not minding the question and thinking the old man didn't like the gift, responded, "It's from my company. What do you think?"