Today Aunt Serina went to her workplace to see if she could work on the new project with Edomae's company.
Right now, I'm awake, heading toward the vending machine to buy some coffee.
By the way, my sisters are still sleeping since it's 6 A.M.
Usually, I would be sleeping right now, but for some reason, I had a strong desire to drink coffee. Maybe because I usually don't drink it, so I kind want to taste it.
And when I arrived there, a granny was using the vending machine.
"Uhmm... my back, I can't reach to get it..."
"Oh! Let me get it for you... here!" — she was struggling to squat.
"Thank you, young boy. You seem to be the same age as my granddaughter."
"Nice to hear that, grandma. Then, if you excuse me." — So I proceeded to buy the coffee.
"Not a talkative person... well, men are usually like this."
Well, let's just head back to my room.
"Uhmm... this open bottle is too hard..."
I can't just ignore it.
"Do you need some help? I can try to open it."
"A man offering help? I guess I need to write my will today."
"What kind of men have you interacted with until now? And here... I opened it."
"Thank you again, young boy... slurp... this is good~"
Maybe I should get going?
"Then if you excuse—"
"Oh right! Usually, a man would just ignore or be too cowardly to offer help."
"Then what about your husband?"
"Him? Well... he is special... I still remember like yesterday when we met for the first time. If not for him, I wouldn't be here drinking this tea."
"It's great to hear that, then—"
"And then we were able to have a daughter..."
This is gonna take a while.
"... She was so tiny and cute, now she's grown up and assumed all the work. At first, she wasn't all that interested in taking over our business, but when she met the man of her life, she suddenly took interest and grew our business further."
"...Slurp... that's interesting." — Better drink my coffee before it becomes cold.
"However... yeah, I can't say I was a good mother to her. If I was beside her from the beginning then things wouldn't have escalated like that day... Well, it's already in the past, I can't do anything anymore."
"Slurp... I hope everything is okay now."
"I can't say that it's all good, but somehow they're together so I guess it's okay... I just hope my granddaughter will be able to live a happy life."
"If her grandma cares for her that much, then she definitely will have a happy life."
"Fu... fu~ you really have a way with words. Hey, young boy, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Why so sudden?"
"Just tell me already."
"Fine, fine, I don't have."
"Then how about meeting my granddaughter? She's beautiful and kind, sometimes she can be a little possessive, but that adds to her charm... so how about it?"
"Please grandma, your granddaughter could get angry if she suddenly met a strange boy."
"Come on, there's no way— actually it's true. I totally forgot... I'm really growing old."
"See?"
"Not this! I forgot she already has someone she likes."
"Well, I guess this is how it is. I hope she becomes closer to the person she likes."
"...Stare..."
"What happened? Something on my face?"
"No, it's just you somehow match with the person she described."
"Must be a coincidence. Anyways, it was my pleasure to know you." — I tried to head back to my room.
"Wait, why are you already going? You're single, so it wouldn't hurt to know some girl, right?" — The grandma held my arm.
"And potentially mess up your granddaughter's relationship? Sorry, but count me out." — Then I tried to escape.
"What are you talking about? It's just a meeting, what's the problem?"
"You're the problem, grandma! Why are you trying so hard to make me meet her? Is this actually a sham?"
"Just so you know, young boy, she has a promising future too. After all, we're kind of wealthy."
"You're just making it worse!"
While we were somewhat fighting to see who could convince the other first, her granddaughter called her.
"Grandma? What are you doing?"
"Oh! Let me introduce you. This young man was helping me so I couldn't waste the opportunity to make both of you potential... friends."
"Let me apologize for my grandmother's behavior. Sorry. I hope she didn't tell you unnecessary things."
"You really want to make me look like a villain... anyways! Young boy, didn't I tell you she's cute? What do you say?" — The grandma is really energetic.
So she has someone she likes... sigh~
"You're right grandma, she's really cute... Good morning, Ayame-san, what a day."
"Well, thanks for helping my grandmother. It seems she really likes you."
"So both of you already know each other? Great! Hey young boy, how about having breakfast with us?"
"Grandma, he's here with his family. He needs to go back."
"Oh... right, sorry, I guess I was too excited for my age. It seems you already know my granddaughter so... yeah, I don't have any use anymore."
After hearing this, the first thing I did was send a message to my family.
♦♦♦
"So what do you think? Delicious, right? My granddaughter is the one who made it."
"Seriously? This is really good! Is there something you can't do?"
"Fufu~ if you want, you can take seconds."
"Then, one more please!" — I asked.
"Fu... fu~ looking at both of you, it's like a married couple."
"Grandma!" — Ayame-san yelled.
Right now I need to know who exactly Ayame-san likes. If I trace back what the grandma told me, there's a chance that Ayame-san actually likes me.
BUT
It's not like I can simply ask. The best course of action is to wait and see if the grandma will spill some information about the person Ayame-san likes.
"..." — Both of them were staring at me.
"Is something wrong?"
"Nothing, Tomoki-kun, it seems you really liked the food."
"It's delicious after all."
I thought the grandma would be more talkative but surprisingly she didn't say too much.
Even though I couldn't find out who Ayame-san likes, at least I was able to eat her handmade breakfast, which made me really happy. But at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a little sad that she already has someone she likes.
Well... this is how life is, right?
"Thank you for the breakfast." — I thanked them while bowing.
"You can come here anytime you want, boy..." — She said that, but with less energy than usual.
"Don't need to be this formal, Tomoki-kun. If you ask me, I will always make it for you."
"Thanks, Ayame-san. Then, I'll head back to my room."
Now I wonder how everyone is doing. Did my sisters already wake up?
And when I opened the door—
"T O M O K I! Who allowed you to go?" — Mom was fierce as always.
"Haruka, he already went to their house, right? It's unthinkable that they would do something to Tomoki." — Dad explained.
"This is not the problem, the thing is Tomoki just messaged that he would go without even asking for permission."
After this, Mom lectured me for hours while my sisters and aunts were eating their own breakfast... except Miyuna-chan, who was kind of enjoying the scene.
This is all the grandma's fault.
♦♦♦ Meanwhile ♦♦♦
"Dear... you don't need to worry, men are slower to realize things."
"..."
"I'm home!... Aya-chan, did something happen?"
"... No, it's nothing... Anyways, I need to get ready to attend our customers."
Then Ayame headed to the main entrance of the Ryokan.
"What happened while I was out?"
"It's my fault... again. I thought that if I was able to help Ayame find a partner... somehow I could make up for the things I hadn't done for Akane."
Then the grandpa held the grandma's hand and looked into her eyes.
"It's not your fault, but our fault. Instead of worrying about our business, we should have looked after our daughter when she needed us the most. We made a mistake and that's why... don't take all the blame on yourself."
"Fu... fu~ you really haven't changed despite all these years."
"I'm the man who lives up to his promise after all, haha! So, what happened?"
"I met with the young boy who Ayame likes. At first, I didn't know him, so I thought it was a good chance for Ayame to know another boy in case the one she likes doesn't work out."
"I see your point. But it seems today was not your lucky day."
"So I changed my plan. I tried to gauge how conscious he is of our sweet granddaughter... but it was a failure."
"What exactly did you do?"
"I teased them that both looked like a married couple. Ayame, who usually behaves properly in any situation, was clearly startled and red as a cherry... but that young boy didn't react at all."
"Tomoki, right? Uhmm... I overheard when Aya-chan served their food on the first day they stayed here. That boy claimed that any man would be happy if married to her... but in the end, he never said if it was him."
"Oh dear... do you think they can become a couple?"
"To tell the truth, I don't think so. It will just stay as friends."
"I guess I need to find another potential partner for her. This is gonna be tough."
"I'll help you."
Then the old married couple, for the sake of their granddaughter, searched for another boy who would take interest in her.