"Natsuha-nee, my friends are here!"
Eita Yamano quickly ran to the door and shouted inside.
Ryūto Haruno and Kasumi Haruno also sped up to follow, while Alistair continued to walk slowly behind, leisurely surveying the large house, which appeared to be constructed almost entirely of wood.
As mentioned before, this area was roughly the border between the city and the countryside. Many parts of Karakura Town were rural. Alistair's apartment was on the city side, while Natsuha Shinomiy's house was on the countryside side.
The city had its advantages, and the countryside had its own.
Alistair's apartment was conveniently located in the city, but an apartment was still an apartment. Although it was a luxurious one, it wasn't very large compared to many of the long-standing or self-built houses in the countryside.
For example, the total ground area of Alistair's apartment on two floors combined might only be about half the ground area of Natsuha Shinomiy's house. Natsuha Shinomiy's house was also two stories. In terms of sheer area, Alistair would likely need to merge two apartments to match its size.
However, since the circumstances were different, this comparison was somewhat superficial, yet it clearly showed that Natsuha Shinomiy's house was indeed very large. From the outside, her house had a traditional, purely wooden design, and the interior likely retained its original appearance, with only certain areas modernized during renovations.
The yard wasn't typically large either. Perhaps due to its location in the countryside, where land was less managed and less expensive, they were able to enclose such a vast area. Some ornamental bamboo was planted not far away, and the land here wasn't as meticulously leveled as the yards near the city. The green grass growing on the ground was natural, unlike many places in the city that looked like plastic.
"Yū, hurry up and bring your friends inside. Don't keep them waiting."
Natsuha Shinomiy's voice came from inside the house, and a beautiful figure in purple opened the door and walked out.
"Hello. I'm Natsuha Shinomiy. You must be Yū's friends..."
Natsuha Shinomiy greeted the Haruno siblings behind Yū (Eita Yamano's nickname), then suddenly stared at Kasumi Haruno's face, swallowing half of what she was about to say.
"You are... Kasumi Haruno-san?"
Natsuha Shinomiy's heart lurched. She looked at Kasumi Haruno, asking with some uncertainty.
"That's me. Hello, Shinomiy-san. Please excuse our intrusion."
Kasumi Haruno nodded, smiling to confirm Natsuha Shinomiy's guess, then politely bowed slightly.
"Uh, ah, hello. Welcome. This must be Ryūto Haruno, your brother?"
Although Natsuha Shinomiy was asking about Ryūto Haruno, she secretly suspected that not just Ryūto Haruno and Kasumi Haruno had come. Kasumi Haruno was one of the two boats that guy Alistair Vance was openly sailing on. If Kasumi Haruno was here, Alistair Vance might also show up.
"Yo. Isn't this Shinomiy? I didn't expect this to be your house."
Just as Natsuha Shinomiy's thoughts were in disarray, the person who caused her all that trouble appeared before her. Although Alistair spoke as if he were surprised, his tone showed no surprise at all. Natsuha Shinomiy could even feel Alistair's deep malice.
Seeing Natsuha Shinomiy's surprised expression, Alistair felt that the trip was already half worth it. That expression of seeing someone you don't want to see brought home by the person you like deeply pleased Alistair. However, Alistair didn't know the complexity of Natsuha Shinomiy's inner thoughts, or he would have praised her as an expert, although he was truly being quite casual and not thinking too much about it.
"Uh-hmm. Hello, Alistair-san."
Frowning slightly, Natsuha Shinomiy didn't show too much abnormality, trying to greet Alistair as naturally as possible.
"Huh? Natsuha-nee, do you know Big Brother Alistair and Big Sister Kasumi? Are you in the same class?"
Eita Yamano, seeing the three people who seemed to know each other, scratched his head and asked curiously.
"Yes. Haruno-san and Alistair-san are a famous couple in the class, and Alistair-san sits just two desks in front of me. By the way, Yū, why are you calling Alistair-san so familiarly? Did you know him before?"
Although she was confused about why Eita Yamano was so familiar with Alistair Vance, Natsuha Shinomiy briefly explained her relationship with Alistair Vance and Kasumi Haruno. Then, she couldn't help but ask. At this moment, she had even started thinking that Alistair had been plotting against her all along, planning this since long ago, even befriending her childhood sweetheart just for her. This truly excited her... Oh, no, it scared her.
"Huh? No, I just met Big Brother Alistair. It's just that Big Brother Alistair is so Yasashii (kind/gentle) and even encouraged me. I believe I can definitely get into your school, Natsuha-nee!"
Eita Yamano said with some embarrassment, then shouted the last part excitedly.
"Ah, I see. Mmm, okay... Right, please come in. Don't stand at the door. Come in and rest for a bit."
Natsuha Shinomiy was speechless and didn't know what to say. He says a few kind words, and you trust him like that? He's about to steal your woman! However, Natsuha Shinomiy couldn't say anything. Alistair Vance was still standing right there; she couldn't possibly say anything bad about him in front of him. So, she simply welcomed them into the house.
The layout of Natsuha Shinomiy's house was quite traditional. When they arrived, they changed their shoes in a small pavilion-sized area in front of the house, then passed through a short wooden-floored path, and then entered the house itself. The house was surrounded by a walkway. Unlike modern houses where entering one door leads to various rooms inside, here, the doors to different rooms were distributed around the perimeter of the house. Three of the four sides had doors leading into different rooms, although most of the internal rooms also had doors connecting them, so that aspect was not much different, as it was necessary for a house.
"Everyone, please find a seat. I'll go pour some tea and drinks."
Natsuha Shinomiy led the group to a room with a large, long table, motioned for them to sit down, then opened a door on the side, preparing to go get some tea and drinks.
"I'll help."
Alistair supported himself with one hand and stood up, offering to assist.
Most rooms in traditional wooden houses were tatami rooms, meaning one could sit directly on the floor, or even just use a mattress and a futon to sleep. As Alistair expected, the doors here were shōji doors—the type that slide open horizontally, common in many anime. However, these doors were quite fragile, as they were just thin wooden frames covered with paper. Even a little force could tear them down.