152 - What Matters Is What's Inside (Patreon)

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After Ryota ran off, an awkward atmosphere lingered in the entrance hall of the Tojo residence.

Trying to break the tension, Tomoya spoke up cheerfully to Ishikura.

"Long time no see, Kazuaki-senpai!"

"O-Oh. Yeah, it’s been a while, Tomoya."

Still recovering from the shock of Ryota’s reaction, Ishikura responded with a somewhat forced smile.

At that moment, Ayaka put on an exaggerated smile and spoke up.

"Well, um, standing around in the entrance isn't great, so let's move to the living room."

Everyone nodded at the suggestion from the host and headed to the living room.

Upon entering, they saw Ikue still chatting with Kiyoko at the dining table. She stood up with a warm smile and greeted the guests.

"Oh my, welcome. You came all this way in the rain."

Ikue’s gaze shifted kindly toward Tomoya and Shizuku. At her feet, tightly clinging to her leg, was Ryota.

"Let's see, you're Tomoya-kun and Shizuku-chan, right? And..."

Ikue lightly touched her chin as she looked at Ishikura.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Kazuaki Ishikura, and I attend the same karate dojo as Haruto. Thank you for inviting me today."

Ishikura bowed politely as he introduced himself.

Seeing his courteous demeanor, Ikue smiled warmly. But the moment Ishikura bowed, Ryota flinched and quickly hid behind his mother.

"Because of your karate training, you look very strong and reliable, Kazuaki-kun."

"Oh, thank you."

As expected of Ikue.

As a company executive, she was used to dealing with many people and showed no sign of intimidation at Ishikura’s tough appearance. Instead, she complimented his presence with a smile.

Ishikura, on the other hand, seemed caught off guard.

He was used to people being wary around him at first, so he wasn’t sure how to react to Ikue’s warm reception.

As he awkwardly scratched his cheek, Ikue introduced herself.

"I'm Ikue, the mother of Ayaka and Haruto."

"Huh? Haruto’s mother?"

Something about Ikue’s introduction made Ishikura pause. He turned to Haruto in confusion.

At the same time, Ayaka, her face flushed, hurriedly cut in.

"Mom! Don’t introduce yourself like that!"

"Hmm? What was strange about it?" Ikue tilted her head innocently.

"You said 'Haruto’s mother'! That’s not true yet!"

"Oh, you're right. Not yet."

"Ugh! Mom!"

Ikue playfully teased Ayaka, who was now red-faced with embarrassment.

This sort of mother-daughter exchange had become routine in the Tojo household.

Saki clapped softly, impressed by Ikue, while Tomoya muttered, "Man, she really likes him too much." Shizuku nodded in agreement and turned her blank expression toward Haruto. "Marriage is only a matter of time."

Having just visited the Tojo residence for the first time, Ishikura was left stunned by the conversation between Ikue and Ayaka. He turned to Haruto with wide eyes.

"Haruto, you..."

"Ahaha…"

Haruto let out a dry laugh, as if he had accepted his fate.

Marriage was still far off for a high schooler like Haruto. Yet, living in the Tojo household had made it easy to imagine his future and the person who would likely be beside him.

Ikue's seemingly serious joke made Ayaka blush, while Saki laughed in amusement.

Seeing that the tension had eased around Ishikura, Ikue smiled.

Then, she turned her gaze to Ryota, who was still clinging to her leg.

"Ryota, did you greet Kazuaki-kun properly?"

"Uh… ugh…"

Ryota flinched and slowly shook his head.

"You have to greet people properly when you meet them for the first time."

"...Ugh..."

At his mother’s words, Ryota gripped her slacks even tighter.

Ishikura’s intimidating presence was enough to unnerve most adults. For a shy, young child like Ryota, it must have felt overwhelming.

Seeing him tremble like a small animal facing a predator, Ishikura looked apologetically at Ikue.

"Um, I don’t mind. I’m used to this."

But Ikue gently rejected his words.

"No, that's not good. Greetings are the foundation of communication. We can't neglect that."

She crouched down to look Ryota in the eye.

"Ryota, you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance. You need to greet them properly, look them in the eye, talk to them, and then decide for yourself whether they're a good person or not."

"...Okay."

Ikue spoke in a firm yet gentle tone, breaking her words into short, clear phrases so Ryota could understand.

Ryota stayed silent for a moment, his head lowered, before finally lifting his gaze and nodding slightly. Then, he took a small step forward.

"Um… n-nice to… meet you… I'm Ryota Tojo…"

His voice was soft and shaky, but he followed his mother’s instructions, looking at Ishikura with teary yet determined eyes.

Ishikura’s eyes widened in surprise.

He crouched down to match Ryota’s height and extended his hand with a beaming smile.

"Nice to meet you, Ryota-kun! I'm Kazuaki Ishikura. Today, I'll do my best to make you some delicious treats!"

"…Eep…"

Ryota flinched at Ishikura’s enthusiastic handshake and took a small step back.

Realizing his mistake, Ishikura quickly tried to retract his hand.

But before he could fully pull away, Ryota reached out and gently grasped the tip of Ishikura’s index finger.

"…Th-Thank you. I… look forward… to the treats…"

"!?"

Even though he was still trembling, Ryota was trying his best to communicate.

Ishikura was so moved that he trembled slightly.

Despite his love for children, he was often feared because of his tough looks. It wasn’t uncommon for kids to run away from him without even saying hello, or burst into tears when he spoke to them.

Though Ryota quickly released his hand and retreated back to Ikue’s side, Ishikura was more than satisfied. He looked at Ryota with admiration.

At that moment, Kiyoko, who had been watching with a gentle smile, greeted Ishikura.

"Kazuaki-kun, it’s been a while."

"Kiyoko-san, it has been a while."

"I heard from Haruto that you're all making sweets today."

"Yes! I will put my heart and soul into making the best treats for you, Ikue-san, and Ryota-kun."

Ishikura's eyes burned with determination.

Kiyoko smiled warmly. "Thank you," she said. Ikue also looked down at Ryota and smiled. "Looking forward to it."

As thanks for using the Tojo family kitchen, they planned to share some of the brownies they made.

Originally, Shizuku and the others wanted to bring a gift, but Ikue had refused, saying it wasn’t necessary. Instead, she asked to have a small share of whatever they baked.

"Alright! I’m going to make the most delicious brownies for Ryota-kun!"

Ishikura clenched his fists with enthusiasm, but Shizuku protested.

"Not just for Ryota-kun. Make the ultimate brownies for me too."

"Ah, right. Okay, let’s get started."

"What was that half-hearted response? You’re pretty cheeky for a tough-looking guy."

"My bad, my bad."

"…He ignored the 'tough-looking' part…"

In his high spirits, fueled by Ryota’s presence, Ishikura effortlessly brushed off Shizuku’s teasing. Having her usual joke dismissed so easily left her momentarily stunned, her expression blank but her eyes slightly widened in shock.

"Come on, Shizuku, stop spacing out and start prepping. Those who don’t work don’t get to eat."

"I'm going to start calling you 'Loli-Yakuza' from now on."

"Yeah, do as you like."

"Ugh!"

Ishikura cheerfully began preparing for baking, completely unfazed by Shizuku’s teasing.

Shizuku pursed her lips in dissatisfaction, while Tomoya, watching the scene unfold, turned to Ishikura and asked,

"Kazuaki-senpai, what should I do?"

"Hmm, let’s see… By the way, how much cooking can you do, Tomoya?"

"More than just frying an egg, but not quite making an omelet!"

"...I see."

Hearing Tomoya’s overly confident response, Ishikura nodded knowingly while Haruto chimed in with a retort.

"What kind of ‘more than friends, less than lovers’ nonsense is that? You should work on your cooking skills."

Haruto sighed in exasperation, and Saki joined in, playfully teasing Tomoya.

"That's right~! These days, guys who can’t cook aren’t popular, you know? Right, Ayaka?"

"Huh? Well, yeah… I’d be happier if someone could cook rather than not..."

Glancing at Haruto, Ayaka blushed slightly.

"But even if Haruto couldn’t cook, I’d still love him. If anything, I could teach him how to cook."

Perhaps imagining that scenario, Ayaka smiled warmly at Haruto.

Seeing this, Saki let out an exasperated sigh, and Shizuku gave her a deadpan stare.

"Um, Ayaka, we didn’t ask for that level of detail. Can you not suddenly start gushing over him?"

"I'm going to reduce the sugar in just Ayaka-senpai’s brownies."

"Huh? No, wait! That wasn’t—"

"Then what was it, exactly?"

"If that wasn’t gushing, we need an explanation."

"Th-That’s… um… ugh..."

Face turning bright red, Ayaka looked down in embarrassment.

Listening to the girls' exchange, Ishikura quietly leaned over to whisper to Haruto.

"Man, you're really adored by the Tōjō family, huh?"

"Haha, well… it's nice, I suppose."

Haruto smiled awkwardly, confirming Ishikura’s observation.