Isn't that seat where your mom sits? Don't you want to watch TV?
Ah, um.
She stood up and moved to the seat facing the TV.
Junzi's father watched her actions.
What's wrong?
He asked briefly. Although his eyes were full of concern, he didn't say much. Whether this was just his usual manner or because he held back in discomfort, the girl didn't know.
However, this was also irrelevant to the girl. She just shook her head.
Nothing.
Somewhat unusual or awkward feelings could all be dismissed with this phrase.
As a result, her father also
Really?
Responded with that and then fell silent. He picked up the TV remote and switched through the channels one by one in order. As if to pass the time, he kept flipping back and forth between the same few channels.
The girl felt increasingly troubled, so she asked without any disguise:
Recently, have I done anything strange?!?
Though this question was indeed strange, her father's shocked reaction seemed overly exaggerated. It instead made the girl who asked the question appear surprised.
(Did I really do something suspicious?)
After making this inference, the girl planned to ask again. But her father just stared blankly at the hand holding the remote, avoiding her gaze.
Ah, um, it's news time.
Her father said this in a clearly evasive tone and switched the channel.
Just as the girl was considering whether she should continue to question him, the TV had just finished the commercials, and the seven o'clock evening news began. She glanced at her father, but he still didn't look at her, as if his neck was stiff.
The girl, feeling increasingly puzzled, decided to temporarily give up on pursuing the question. At the same time, she focused on the TV to check if there were any follow-up or related reports about that American man. Although she sensed her father seemed relieved, she didn't care about that for now.
A TV, although she had seen them on the street before and sometimes caught glimpses in shops, rarely gave her the chance to sit down calmly and watch like she was doing now.She watched the main summary at the beginning of the news with a fresh feeling. But (is there nothing?) that incident, as expected, still wasn't mentioned at the start of the news. Was it simply not considered a big event, or was it completely ignored? But in any case, judging from the man's torch consumption, such a result had been anticipated long ago, so she didn't feel particularly discouraged or surprised. She watched the TV images while once again confirming her course of action. (Since it's almost disappearing over there, I can only start from Ohgami Junko as a lead.) Behind the girl, her mother peeked her head out from the kitchen and said in a slightly suppressed voice: Junko, a girl can't just wait outside to eat, right?? The girl had no idea what she was talking about, just staring back at her mother with a blank expression. Sigh, whatever. The mother let out another sigh, inexplicably to the girl, and turned back to continue preparing the dinner. The girl tilted her head slightly, ready to turn her gaze back to the TV. At that moment, however, she felt her father watching her. His expression carried a seriousness akin to having made a firm decision. After a few seconds of silence, Your mother means no harm. Just forgive her. Huh? Even her father started saying something mysterious. The completely clueless girl pondered for a moment in confusion, suddenly realizing that maybe it wasn't her doing. (Perhaps before I got involved with Ohgami Junko, she did something.) From this, she associated further thoughts: (Come to think of it, Ohgami Junko's mother seemed a bit strange when I came back.) Although she could reach this conclusion, (if that's the case, it has nothing to do with me, and there's nothing I can do.) She immediately refused to think deeply about it. (Anyway, she's just a temporary housemate. I'll be leaving soon, so it doesn't matter what they think of me.) Feeling that acting in front of others was too troublesome, the girl, and her father, who hesitated about whether to speak to his daughter, both felt helpless, and the conversation stopped like that.The entire living room was left with nothing but the calm voice of the announcer reading the news on the television. After a brief pause, ah. Father finally spoke in a heavy tone. As far as Dad is concerned, his first impression of Hamaguchi-kun was, well, somewhat bad. I admit that. Still, it's inexplicable. But if you think Mom is deliberately making things difficult for you, that's a misunderstanding. Father seemed a little anxious and slightly quickened his pace. So, don't keep putting on that stern face and taking detours to get back at her; your mom is actually already feeling very down right now. Who are you saying is down? Mother walked into the living room holding the pot. Father, surprised, quickly diverted his gaze under the dining table to hide it. Huh, the newspaper. The girl suddenly realized the implications of the situation and then took a few newspapers from the basket next to the TV, folded them into quarters, and placed them in the center of the dining table. (This is what they call a hot pot.) She remembered when her previous caretaker took out a heated pot (which was filled with scalding tofu), she had once casually put a book with a parchment cover there and got scolded for it. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but smile. Her actions and smile instantly lightened the atmosphere. “Thank you, Junko.” Mother, with an expression of joy she could hardly hide, placed the pot on the newspaper. Father then deliberately acted cheerfully and loudly exclaimed, “Oh, wow, it looks so delicious! What kind of pot is this?” “You clearly know what kind of pot it is, and you still say it looks delicious?” “Ah, you're right, haha.” The couple laughed together. The girl, unsure whether it was the comforting look on their faces or the lingering effect of her previous smile, didn't know exactly what benefit this had for her mission, but she still felt a sense of satisfaction and added a comment about her action: “Today I…” The slight tension in these two temporary parents was something the girl could very clearly sense. Actually, she wasn't angry at either of them. Her mood was also very good. She spoke in an extremely calm tone, her eyes slightly raised, as if half talking to herself: “That's not lying.”The feelings tied to the existence of Oe Junko, whom he was involved with, truly held no trace of resentment or hatred. Instead, it was a feeling of lightheartedness. Even though that was the case, why were both parents so concerned about it? The girl did not understand at all.
Although by now, it was already a matter of no importance.
In front of the contemplative girl, the temporarily restored-temperament parents began eating from the pot. The mother, beaming with a smile, helped her serve rice into her bowl, while the father, without any hesitation, stuffed meat into her bowl.
Seeing them like that, the girl also felt at ease.
"Then, I'll ask once again."
She posed the question once more to fulfill her mission.
"Recently, have you ever seen me standing there blankly, or forgetting my own existence for a moment? Have I gone to any strange places, or somewhere far away?"
This girl was entirely an honest and upright Fire Mist Warrior.
