"This way, Ikaros, come here."
Arriving at the garden on the back mountain of the Nakiri estate, Okabe waved at Ikaros, who was holding Erina Nakiri in the distance. Upon hearing his voice, her eyes lit up, and she immediately quickened her pace to come over.
"I have brought Erina Nakiri back in a gentle manner, Master."
Ikaros's voice was clear, her reply crisp and powerful, devoid of any emotion.
"Mm, thank you for your hard work. Lower your head."
"Yes, Master."
Looking at Ikaros standing before him, Okabe beckoned her closer, then raised his hand and gently stroked her smooth, cherry-pink hair.
"Well done."
"Thank you for the praise. I am happy to be of service."
Gently setting Erina Nakiri down, Ikaros's voice remained flat. Okabe didn't pay it much mind, turning his attention to Erina Nakiri beside them.
After being put down, she looked confused at first, then spotted him standing with Alice Nakiri and trotted over to his side.
"You seem to be in pretty good shape. At least you weren't crying in there. Are there any games you want to play?"
"No, I'm a little sleepy..."
The day had been full of high-energy consumption, which was indeed too much of a burden for a young child.
"Then let's go rest in my room for a bit. What about you, Alice?"
"I'm a little sleepy too."
"Then let's go together."
Meanwhile, in a place Okabe couldn't see, Ikaros reached up and touched the spot on her head he had just touched, a hint of bewilderment in her eyes.
She didn't understand why he did that, but she didn't dislike the feeling.
·
·
The tea room was so quiet that only the crisp sound of a bamboo tube striking a stone could be heard, and the boiling water sounded like the wind sighing through the pines.
Senzaemon Nakiri knelt on a green bamboo mat, the left lapel of his kimono casually open, revealing a firm chest honed by training. When he lifted the iron kettle to pour water, the muscles in his arms rippled like the gnarled roots of an old tree, his wrist so steady that not a single ripple disturbed the water's surface.
"Thirty years ago, when we parted in Chang'an, our tea was still raw."
Across from him, an old man twirled an unglazed Tenmoku tea bowl between his fingers. The cracks in the clay body still held the chill of the Kunlun Mountains' snow—a tea bowl he had specifically sought out before coming.
Senzaemon Nakiri pushed over a tea whisk, its cypress wood as marked by the chisel of time as his own knuckles.
"Back then, you blanched Longjing tea with three-inch ice from the source of the Yellow River. Today, it's time you tried the dew of my Shizuoka."
His movements as he whisked the matcha seemed casual, yet each stroke of the whisk drew a perfect 'の' character, and the emerald foam gradually took on the luster of green jade.
"Drink your tea."
He placed the prepared Shizuoka matcha in front of the old man, the tea filling the bowl to seventy percent of its height.
"Regarding your two granddaughters, I took a quick look at them in the reception hall earlier. They're not exceptional, but not bad either. That boy from the Hakuji family, however, seems to have quite a spark. He's good material for learning to cook."
Recalling the scene he had witnessed in the reception hall, the old man stated his opinion.
"The boy from the Hakuji family? I've seen him a few times. He is indeed a little fellow with a lot of spirit, but it's a pity he didn't inherit his parents' special talents."
Hearing the old man's words, Senzaemon Nakiri finally remembered the little one Hakuji had entrusted to his care. He had delegated the matter entirely to Nakiri Mana and Nakiri Leonora, so hearing the boy's name was a bit of a surprise.
"Talent can only offer some convenience on the path of cooking. To truly ascend to the summit, what you really rely on is this."
The old man raised a hand and tapped his chest, over his heart, before lifting the tea bowl and taking a delicate sip.
"After all these years, your tea-making skill is still so terrible. You've wasted this fine tea."
Setting the tea bowl down gently, the old man complained bluntly, then added, "I'll agree to your request. However, I will only stay with them until they are three years old."
"Three years is more than enough for the formative stage. In any case, on behalf of everyone in the Nakiri family, I thank you."
Upon hearing the old man's words, a look of pleasant surprise flashed across Senzaemon Nakiri's composed face. He then placed his hands on his knees and bowed to him respectfully.
"If you're going to thank someone, thank that boy from the Hakuji family. He is my main target this time. Your two granddaughters are just an incidental bonus."
·
·
"The little ones are all asleep."
"Honestly, Ikaros just suddenly took her away. If security hadn't recognized her and reported it immediately, I would have thought Erina had been kidnapped!"
"Shh, be quieter. Let's go outside to talk."
Pulling the small blanket up over the three of them, Nakiri Leonora's face broke into a fond, aunt-like smile as she looked at Okabe sleeping between the two sisters.
"I know, but why did Ikaros do that?"
Glancing at the three peacefully sleeping figures, Nakiri Mana silently lowered her voice, then tiptoed out of the room with Nakiri Leonora.
"Perhaps some kind of directive was triggered. You know that creatures from the Mystic Realm can't be judged by ordinary standards. They have their own set of behavioral logic."
Thinking of her recent experiences of being blocked at the door by Ikaros, Nakiri Leonora voiced her earlier suspicion.
"The Zhuazhou ceremony was completely ruined."
Nakiri Mana's voice was tinged with complaint.
"I, on the other hand, think they've already found the most suitable thing for themselves."
Remembering the peaceful expressions on the sisters' faces as they hugged Okabe's arms in the room earlier, the corners of Nakiri Leonora's lips curved up almost imperceptibly.
"Hm?"
"It's nothing. I'm a little hungry. Let's go get something to eat."
"Eh? But I don't really feel like eating anything."
"Let's go take a look first!"
Saying this, Nakiri Leonora grabbed Nakiri Mana's arm and started jogging with her toward the Nakiri family's dining hall.
It was mealtime, and they were still welcoming guests outside, so the kitchen must have prepared a lot of delicious food!
·
·
The afternoon sun lost its midday sharpness, becoming mellow and gentle, like melted amber flowing slowly across the floor through the window lattice.
His hazy consciousness gradually returned. The sleeping Okabe opened his eyes, unable to lift his arms, which were being pinned down.
Resigned, he had to use a bit of strength to pull his hands free from the sisters' embrace. His movement also showed signs of waking them up.
"Awake, are we? Little fellow."
Seeing Okabe sit up in the room, the old man sitting cross-legged nearby suddenly spoke, startling him so much he almost jumped.
"Who are you?"
Instinctively, Okabe questioned him in a sharp tone.
"The future cooking instructor for the three of you. Can you tell your little maid to let me in?"
As his senses returned and his vision cleared, Okabe finally noticed that the old man was sitting outside the room, while Ikaros was inside, vigilantly following his orders.
"Ikaros, let him in."
After calming down, Okabe spoke. If the man had intended them harm, he'd had plenty of time to act and wouldn't have needed to wait outside for him to wake up.
At the same time, he was very curious about what the man had said.
A future cooking instructor for the three of them? Could it be that the Nakiri family had specially sought him out...
_____
🔥 Fresh content has just dropped! 🔥
🪦 Grab a 25% discount when you join my P...!
✅ Read 40 chapters ahead on every series!
✅ Unlock supporter-only perks and news!
Let's reach these milestones together:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all readers
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 bonus chapters for all series!
👻 Walnutchan on P...