"I'll leave little Himawari to you!"
"Mm!"
Sato nodded, then lowered his head and held Himawari's small hand, waving it toward Nohara Misae. "Himawari, say goodbye to Mama."
"Yaa, yaa!"
The little one bounced in his arms, making babbling sounds toward her mother.
"Then I'll head out first. I'll bring back a gift later."
"By the way, where's Shinnosuke?"
"The kindergarten organized a trip to the zoo today."
After Nohara Misae left, Sato carried Himawari inside and set her down on the floor.
Perhaps because she was in an unfamiliar environment, the little one lay on the floor, curiously looking around.
"Yaa!"
Suddenly, as if she had discovered something, her eyes lit up. Using both hands and feet, she quickly crawled in one direction.
"Meow!"
Chocola, who had been sleeping soundly on the sofa, sensed something. After opening its eyes, it let out a startled cry and quickly dashed into the inner room.
The little one wanted to chase after it, but Sato picked her up.
"Alright, Himawari, don't go bothering the cat."
"Yaa!"
Himawari lay in his arms, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.
"How should I play with her…"
Sato glanced around and suddenly felt a headache coming on, as if he had no idea where to start.
At that moment, a slight noise came from the bedroom. Though faint, Sato still caught the sound of someone inhaling.
Sato frowned, and the room fell silent.
He narrowed his eyes and suddenly called out, "Rikka! Come out!"
There was movement in the bedroom again, and soon he heard footsteps.
Takanashi Rikka peeked out from the doorframe, showing half her head with the white eyepatch, cautiously looking at him.
Sato could not help covering his face. So she really was in there…
"A baby?!"
Takanashi Rikka widened her eyes, curiously examining Himawari in Sato's arms, her gaze flickering.
With both hands gripping the doorframe, she only stuck her head out, then met Sato's gaze and said, "An illegitimate child?"
Sato's face darkened. "I'll give you one more chance to organize your words."
"A newly moved-in neighbor?"
"Mm, it's my second brother's family. This little one is my niece."
Takanashi Rikka slowly walked over, staring blankly at Himawari. "So small."
"Not that small, she's already one year old."
Sato lowered his head and patted Himawari's head. "In a while, she might even be able to call me 'uncle.'"
"Come on, Himawari, say 'uncle!'"
He suddenly looked at the little one in his arms with anticipation.
"Yaa, yaa!"
Himawari waved her hands, trying to touch his face, but still could only make those simple sounds.
Sato looked disappointed.
"Can you let me play with her?"
Takanashi Rikka looked up at him expectantly.
Sato's mouth twitched. "Let you play with her… you've really got some imagination. She's not a toy!"
"Then… I'll play with her!"
"That's fine, but…"
Sato looked at Takanashi Rikka suspiciously. You're not exactly reliable…
But after thinking about it, Sato still nodded in agreement. With him watching from the side, there should not be any problems, right?
Hearing him agree, Takanashi Rikka felt delighted. Then, with both anticipation and a bit of nervousness, she said, "Can I hold her first?"
"Be careful. Himawari is a bit shy with strangers, she might struggle. You have to hold her firmly."
"Mm!"
Seeing that Takanashi Rikka was ready, Sato carefully handed Himawari over.
Unexpectedly, Himawari did not resist.
"Oh…"
Takanashi Rikka looked at the little one in her arms, letting out a long sound, her emerald-like eyes shining brightly.
So this is what a baby is like?
Himawari blinked while lying in Takanashi Rikka's arms, then suddenly reached out quickly toward her eyepatch.
"Ah!"
Takanashi Rikka cried out and quickly leaned back, but she was a bit too slow. The white eyepatch was pulled off by Himawari.
"Oh!!!"
The golden contact lens hidden beneath the eyepatch sparkled brilliantly under the light. Himawari stared at that eye and made a shocked sound.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph!"
Takanashi Rikka suddenly let out a cold laugh, looking at the baby in her arms as she said in a low voice, "I didn't expect that even a mere infant would see through my Tyrant's Eye…"
"Chop!"
Sato expressionlessly gave her a chop on the head and said helplessly, "Even in front of a baby, you still can't control your chuunibyou?"
"Yaa yaa!"
Himawari suddenly stretched out her hands and grabbed toward Takanashi Rikka's face.
"What is she trying to do?!"
Dodging quickly, Takanashi Rikka looked at Sato with a serious expression.
Sato looked her up and down, then quickly showed a look of realization. "Himawari likes shiny things. She probably took a liking to your contact lens."
"My contact… Tyrant's eye?!"
Just admit it, that's a contact lens. Stop insisting on something meaningless.
"Himawari, look at this!"
"Hurry and save me! She's going to take my Tyrant's eye!"
Himawari excitedly reached out, trying to grab Takanashi Rikka's lens. Rikka could only hold her under the arms and stretch her arms out to keep some distance.
Seeing this, Sato walked to the TV cabinet and took out a transparent crystal ball from the drawer below, shaking it in front of Himawari.
Inside the crystal ball were small glittering pieces that reflected colorful light under illumination.
"Yaa yaa!"
Himawari's eyes lit up brightly. She finally lost interest in Takanashi Rikka's contact lens and waved her hands, wanting to throw herself into Sato's arms.
"Put her down."
After Takanashi Rikka set Himawari down, the little one crawled quickly toward Sato, staring unblinkingly at the crystal ball in his hand, tugging at his pant leg.
"Here."
Sato bent down and handed the crystal ball to her. It was about the size of an adult's fist, so there was no need to worry about her swallowing it.
Turning around, Sato noticed that Takanashi Rikka was staring at Himawari without blinking.
He could not help but smile faintly. "Do you like kids?"
Takanashi Rikka nodded, then quickly shook her head.
"What do you mean?"
"I… I don't know."
Takanashi Rikka pressed her lips together and looked at Himawari. "Are all children this cute?"
"Well…"
Sato thought of Shinnosuke and said with a bit of a headache and helplessness, "Aside from some troublemakers, most of them are pretty cute."
"Then tell me… would they abandon their own child?"
Hm?
Sato did not answer immediately. He just felt that something about Takanashi Rikka's mood was off.
He looked up at her. The girl's emerald-like eyes were staring blankly at Himawari.
"Sorry."
Takanashi Rikka suddenly bowed to him and said that, then turned and went back to the balcony, struggling as she pulled on the rope and climbed back up.
"You…"
Something about her… was not right.
Sato fell silent, thinking.