Chapter 46 – Sake taste tester

Third person POV

 Then, an old man, dressed in a suit and tie, came to the living room with his elderly wife and saw that Hoshi and Mariya had come to visit them. But the elderly couple was surprised that they had brought some friends with them on that holiday visit. "Hoshi-kun," he said to Hoshi with a little bit of a shaky voice, "greetings."

That elderly couple was Hoshi's maternal grandparents, and the grandfather was currently the CEO of the family's sake business.

Upon hearing that, Hoshi and the others looked at them.

 "Father!" Hoshi's aunt said to her elderly father.

 "Grandpa!" Hoshi responded positively and excitedly before he and Mariya stood and ran toward their grandparents to hug them.

 "Great to see you two again, my grandkids," their grandfather said to them as he hugged them back for a few seconds.

His wife then pats their backs for a little bit.

Then, Hoshi and Mariya did the Filipino way of respect towards elders because of their father's culture.

Their friends are amazed to see such a good family relationship between them.

 "It seems that their family ties with them are very good," Bokuto commented.

Saki then nodded.

 "Yeah, it was." Sha folded his arms.

 "Yes, they are," Reo responded to their comments.

Paulo then nodded in agreement.

And then, Hoshi and Mariya pulled back from hugging.

 Shortly thereafter, Hoshi and Mariya's grandparents joined in the conversation in the living room. And so, Hoshi's aunt and cousins then revealed what Hoshi and his friends and PE teacher did at Nara and Yamatokoriyama cities during the attacks of the yokais. Because of this, the elderly couple were very surprised to hear such heroic stories from their grandchildren.

 "I see…"

 "That was quite dangerous, Hoshi-kun."

Hoshi then smiled. "Yup, me and Kuro-kun worked together."

This time, Kuro feels proud of himself. "That's what I am, people."

Later on, Hoshi revealed to his relatives his current academics and academic achievements. His relatives were amazed by his recent achievements at school and felt proud of their relative. In turn, Paulo and Reo revealed to their cousins their recent achievements in school, including their achievement in getting into their preferred high school. Hoshi and Mariya are amazed by their deeds and achievements and are proud of them.

 Then, at lunchtime, all of them are in the big dining room having a delicious, feast-like meal. Their food consisted of Japanese foods and Western foods, including a chocolate and cookie cake as a celebration of Hoshi and Mariya's visit this summer holidays. They ate, drank, chatted, and laughed together as the main household servants, who only numbered 10, offered drinks for them. Drinks included the family-made sake, iced tea, and regular water. At this point, Bokuto took his face mask and started eating his meal, and Paulo and Reo now sees his face without the mask. They reacted normally, however, and went back to their meals.

 Later on, at 1:32 p.m., Hoshi and Mariya's grandfather took them to his sake factory on the northwest side of the estate. Paulo, Reo, and their mother and grandmother, meanwhile, didn't want to come, so they remained in the main house doing their own thing. The purpose of this is twofold: to show them the process of making sake and for Mariya to try out some newly made sake as well so she could judge its quality and taste. But Hoshi's friends didn't know that Mariya was into this thing yet, and Hoshi was the only one who knew her secret. So, once they had arrived at the main factory, Hoshi's group was amazed to see the processes of making the traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage while Hoshi himself explained to them about it in further detail. The elderly man explains to them how they made it, from gathering the raw ingredients to the fermentation and final stages of making. He did so while Hoshi led the tour of the factory for his group. Mariya, meanwhile, was positive while hiding the fact that she was one of the factory's taste testers. Along the way, Hoshi's friends are stunned, wondering if that brand of sake was that popular in Japan.

And then, at 2:01 p.m., Hoshi and his older sister and grandfather lead them to the factory's tasting room, where several batches of newly made and fermented sake are waiting for them. Unfortunately, 3 of the factory's 4 taste testers are currently on a day off, so Mariya and another taste tester have to take the task of tasting the batches for consistency, quality, and taste. This is where Hoshi's friends were shocked to see that she was more like a backup taste tester for her grandfather's sake factory. And so, the taste testing began. Mariya and that taste tester took a sip of the first 2 batches and kept the beverage in their mouths for those qualities.

 "What is she doing?" Taro asked.

 "Is she tasting those batches of sake?" Sha added.

 "Yes, she likes to taste batches of sake," replied Hoshi positively.

Because of that, his friends and PE teacher looked at him because he is the only one who knows that.

 "You already know that?"

 "Why you didn't tell us that?"

 "That's not fair!"

But Hoshi's grandfather tells them not to be loud because they may disturb the two taste testers in their tasks.

Then, Hoshi responded to them, "I didn't tell you that so I could surprise you."

Due to Hoshi's response, his group were a bit dumbfounded by this.

 1 minute later, the two taste testers finished their analysis and reports to the elderly CEO about their judgments on the batches: very good and consistent. "Good," replied the CEO, "now do the same thing on these other 4 batches." He then pointed his finger at another 4 batches at the other side of the table. Mariya and her fellow taste tester did so, and another 2 minutes later, they reported that the third and fourth batches are a bit off in terms of taste while the fifth and sixth ones are really good and passed the tests. With the CEO's approval, they both wrote their findings on papers in their clipboards so the workers would a general idea for improvement.

 Then, Sha, who wants to prove to the CEO his love for Mariya, stepped in and grabbed one of the batches of sake. This surprises the rest.

 "What are you doing, sensei?"

 "No, don't do it!"

 "You'll get drunk after that!"

"I…I love Mariya-chan…" he uttered, before drinking that batch and gulped it.

He then put the container down.

Hoshi's grandfather was shocked hear that.

 "You loved my granddaughter?" he asked Sha.

Mariya now realizes that her love for Sha has been revealed, so she confesses it to her grandfather.

Hoshi, too, admitted that as well.

But, their grandfather, after he had processed what they had said to him, decided to let it slide and allowed Mariya and Sha to be together. This shocks the rest, and Sha, upon hearing that, was surprised that he was allowed to take Mariya as his future wife. While the others questioned about it, the elderly CEO dismisses their concerns and thinks that Mariya and Sha are perfect for one another and gave them his blessings for their future wedding. Hoshi and the others are shocked to see a lenient person doing that. Who knows when Mariya and Sha's wedding will take place in the future? Also, thankfully, Sha didn't get drunk from that one batch of sake thanks to the food he had ingested at lunch.