Comics, daily stories

"Oh." Eriri Sawamura replied reluctantly, following his steps forward.

After walking a short distance, she carefully approached and whispered, "Actually, you have a way to deal with Yukino's anger, right? What are you afraid of?"

Nomiyama glanced at her beside him, then carefully looked at Yukino, and leaned in to whisper, "When you're in a relationship, you have to give the other person the illusion that you listen to them."

Eriri Sawamura's eyes widened, then she got angry and reached out to pinch him: "Scumbag!"

Nomiyama slapped her hand away, disdainfully saying, "I don't talk to people who've never been in a relationship about this. It's like casting pearls before swine."

"Oh." Eriri Sawamura responded, taking two steps to the left to distance herself from him. "I had a little secret to tell you, Yukino's little secret."

The next second, Nomiyama stood beside her, glancing at the people in front of her, and nudged her with his elbow, whispering, "Speak."

Eriri Sawamura sneered: "Heh."

Nomiyama patted his pocket and handed her a candy: "Eri, we've been childhood friends since we were little."

Eriri Sawamura took the candy, unwrapped it, and whispered, "Didn't you say you didn't want to talk to me?"

Nomiyama declared righteously, "I was dead a second ago, and I am reborn now."

Eriri Sawamura walked forward with her hands behind her back and her head held high, looking like she didn't want to pay him any attention.

She bit into the candy, too lazy to wait for the chocolate coating to melt, and instead bit down hard.

A moment later, feeling the even stronger sweet and bitter taste in her mouth, she squinted her eyes.

Yukino walked quite a distance, but there was still no one around her.

She turned around, looked at the two people huddled together whispering to each other, and remained silent.

Nomiyama-kun said that Eriri has changed a bit since returning from Tokyo, but so far it's not clear what those changes are specifically.

I just feel like something's not right.

......

Kato Megumi walked beside him, listening quietly as he bickered with Eriri, who was walking ahead.

Kazehaya came to pick me up from home alone, and he even went to have a cigarette with my dad.

That's understandable. After all, if he brought two girls to his house, his father wouldn't give him cigarettes; he'd give him a fish-killing knife.

Thinking of this, she still said, "It's early, you're not allowed to smoke."

Upon hearing this, Nomiyama scratched his head, ignoring Eriri, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Uncle always drags me out for a smoke. Don't worry, I'm in good health, cigarettes can't do anything to me, and I won't get addicted. I just think it's nice to have a smoke with Uncle sometimes."

Kato Megumi reached out, squeezed his hand, and whispered, "Thank you for your hard work."

Nomiyama, taking advantage of the situation, leaned closer and said, "Hehe, I feel like I've hit the jackpot just because Megumi said that."

Kato Megumi glanced at him helplessly, took his hand, and quietly pondered some questions.

I'll get Dad to quit smoking later, so he can take care of his health, and I'll also remind him not to set a bad example for Kazehaya.

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced back at them, then turned away with a cold expression.

"Tsk, what a scumbag's tactics." Eriri Sawamura shook her head.

"Huh?" Nomiyama's emotions were stirred up again. "Eri, what do you know?"

"A doujinshi artist who has never been in a relationship."

"Huh?" Eriri Sawamura stopped and stared at him. "You got paid to sell the doujinshi, you stinking pauper."

"You've done all that work and only got ten percent? How can you even say that?"

"Isn't ten percent money?"

"I won't go there again, you heartless capitalists."

This time, Eriri Sawamura rushed over and kicked him.

Nomiyama dodged the kick, took two steps back, and sneered: "You treat me like a slave, and you won't even let me speak, huh?"

Eriri Sawamura kicks again.

Nomiyama dodged and ran.

"Don't run!" Eriri Sawamura chased after her.

Kato Megumi felt the emptiness after he released her hand, and frowned slightly as she watched the two chasing and fleeing.

Something feels off.

......

In Chiba, fireworks festivals often signify summer festivals.

Summer festivals are mostly similar, and night markets enter one of the busiest times of the year, with all sorts of stalls appearing.

Fishing for goldfish, throwing a ball, candied apples, stir-fried squid, takoyaki, oden, and cotton candy.

Various events and snacks will appear on that night market street.

Nomiyama wasn't interested in any of that; what he really wanted was to find a quiet spot with few people where he could enjoy the fireworks.

But his girlfriends were interested.

So he had no choice but to accompany them, sweeping through all sorts of food stalls along the way—yes, food stalls.

My two girlfriends, plus Eriri, all seem to be very interested in snacks.

But they would never finish a whole serving. They would usually take a bite, exclaim how delicious it was, and then hand it to him, indicating that they would finish it.

Nomiyama always felt that he was being used as a tool to eliminate food.

Girls take a bite out of curiosity, or they want to try more kinds of snacks out of curiosity, and he is the food shredder that helps girls retain their appetite for snacks in the process.

He couldn't remember how many sweets he had eaten; he just felt a sweet sensation surging through his stomach, and even licking his teeth made him feel like he had too much sugar.

Fortunately, the girls finally realized that the most important thing today was to watch the fireworks, and they started walking towards the viewing area with lingering excitement.

Nomiyama looked at Megumi's white yukata with pink flowers and carefully approached her: "Megumi looks amazing today."

Kato Megumi glanced at the two people in front of her, then turned her head and whispered, "How good-looking are they?"

Nomiyama took her hand and whispered, "The kind of pretty that makes me want to take her home right away."

Kato Megumi and Yukinoshita exchanged a glance and whispered, "How much do you want to?"

Nomiyama thought for a moment and nodded: "I want to be together every day."

Quiet.

Kato Megumi was still holding his hand, but she lowered her eyes slightly to look at the road.

Nomiyama felt the chill, turned his head, and met Yukinoshita's gaze, speechless.

Eriri Sawamura only looked at her two friends without saying a word.

......

"I didn't expect you to take charge of the Yukinoshita family so quickly." Sawamura Sayuri was still wearing her red and white yukata, and she gently waved a small palm-leaf fan.

"How could that be? Sayuri-neechan is overthinking it. I'm just managing it on behalf of Mother." Yukinoshita Haruno's yukata was blue and white, but the top was light blue and gradually turned white at the bottom.

"I see." Sayuri Sawamura smiled as she fanned herself with a palm leaf fan. "What's Miyabi doing? I feel like I haven't seen her in a long time."

"Sigh, she told me and Yukino that she went on a trip, but I know she went to see her lover." Yukino sighed, her face bitter.

"Sigh, it's still a problem from when she was young. She had never been in a relationship before, which led to her encountering a jerk and not knowing how to react." Sayuri Sawamura sighed as well, then reached out as if to comfort her, "Don't worry, Haruno, Miyabi is very smart. It's only a matter of time before she gets that guy under her thumb."

Yukino Yukino smiled at her. "My man has grown up. Do you still want to pretend you can't see it?"

Sawamura Sayuri smiled as well. "The Yukinoshita family's freaks are all in the same boat, fighting with the younger generation for men. How could you do such a thing?"

Each of them harbored their own thoughts, pretending with every word, until at a certain moment, they both stared blankly in a certain direction.

There, the boy casually put his hand inside his yukata, then was scolded by several girls. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand out and straightened his clothes.

"Sister Sayuri, I'm going to take a look." Yukinoshita Haruno got up, fanning herself with a palm leaf fan as she walked towards him.

“Okay.” Sayuri Sawamura nodded.

She glanced around; her current vantage point was higher than the others, so there weren't many people there.

The annual fireworks festival in Chiba is organized by the Yukinoshita family and the Sawamura family, so finding the quietest and best viewing spot is very easy.

However, just how many girls has this bastard messed with?

......

"Brother-in-law!!!"

Upon hearing the sound, Nomiyama immediately moved and stood behind Yukinoshita.

He peeked out from under Yukino's shoulder, looked at Hinano who was standing there with her arms outstretched, and said, "Sister, men and women should not touch each other."

Yukino Yukinoshita blushed slightly, took a step back and stepped on him, then said somewhat shyly, "Sister."

Yukinoshita Haruno withdrew her hand, glanced at him who was hiding, and smiled at her sister: "Yukino, is this considered running away from home?"

Yukino Yukinoshita remained silent for a moment.

"No, I tied her up and broke into her room," Nomiyama complained. "Your locks are so troublesome; I always feel like they break after being pried open once."

Yukinoshita Haruno smiled enigmatically: "You pried open the door to my Yukinoshita house?"

Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath and looked up at her older sister: "I asked Nomiyama-kun to steal it. I'm sixteen, and I want to date like my classmates."

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Eriri Sawamura glanced at Yukino, somewhat surprised.

Many years ago, Yukino wouldn't have so openly voiced her objections to her family.

Kato Megumi simply took out her phone quietly and started tapping away.

You'd better start fighting, it just so happens that he has too many people around him.

"Of course, no problem. After all, Yukino has grown up."

Yukinoshita laughed heartily, reaching out to take her sister's hand with considerable confidence: "Come on, come on, we have a special viewing spot at home."

Nomiyama and Yukinoshita, who was being pulled away, exchanged a glance, then took a step and followed: "Sister, is there enough space? There are four of us, after all."

"That's enough, don't worry, that whole area belongs to us." Yukinoshita Haruno said nonchalantly.

......

How big is "a large area"? It's roughly like being surrounded by empty space, with only yourself and a few other people around you.

Nomiyama leaned back, looking up at the fireworks exploding in the distant sky, then quietly turned his head to glance at Sayuri.

After their eyes met, they both silently looked away.

Nomiyama had actually invited Mai-senpai as well, but Mai-senpai was quite busy and couldn't make it over. She just told him to have fun.

Cheer up!

Nomiyama observed the people around him; they were happy, but sometimes they were genuinely overwhelmed.

Are fireworks round or flat?

Eriri raised a question that is quite worthy of exploration.

Nomiyama, propping himself up with his hands, asked, "Is it probably round?"

Yukino Yukinoshita is more in line with what the naked eye sees: "At least the image that is seen must be flat."

Kato Megumi reached out and handed her a takoyaki: "Round or flat, it doesn't really matter, as long as it looks nice."

Yukinoshita Haruno didn't care about the question; she simply stretched out her hand, choosing to support him: "Round."

Sayuri Sawamura looked at Eriri gently: "If Eriri thinks it's round, then it's round; if she thinks it's flat, then it's flat."

Nomiyama took a bite of the takoyaki, turned his head, and raised a slight objection: "You spoil her too much, that's why Eriri is so stupid."

"You're the stupid one!" Eriri Sawamura shifted her body on the carpet and kicked him.

"Look, she's not ladylike at all. You've completely corrupted her." Nomiyama grabbed Eriri's ankle and glanced at Sayuri.

"Oh? Kazehaya's expression means he's good at teaching kids?" Sawamura Sayuri suppressed the urge to kick him and forced a smile.

"I'm super good at it," Nomiyama readily admitted.