Chapter 135 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (3) (1/2)

I used the wooden salad tongs to serve the salad onto the plate.

“Mikuma, is this okay?”

“Yes. Thank you, Kunpei-kun.”

“You’re welcome. Do you want some salad, Hina-chan?”

“Ah, um, um! Just a bit!”

You don’t have to be that flustered.

The girl with the black hair and hime cut, Kusaka Hina-chan’s face turned bright red as she held out a paper plate to me.

“I made the salad and fried chicken today! I’m so proud of the work that even Shouhei-san praised me!”

“Hmm. She was making a fuss over the splashing oil. It was fun to watch.”

Aoi was holding Nana in her arms and beaming, when Rouge, standing next to her, said something unnecessary.

Don’t do that, she’s really smug about it.

“Ru-anesama! You don’t have to say that!”

“But you’ve gotten really good at cooking, haven’t you, Aoi-neechan? At first, it was really just baking and boiling.”

Shouhei, who was preparing drinks at the kitchen counter, followed Aoi.

You really did your best, didn’t you, Aoi?

I was honestly surprised that someone who didn’t even know how to use a knife could learn to make fried chicken at home in just a few months.

It’s partly because Shouhei is an excellent teacher, but it’s also because of Aoi’s tireless efforts.

“Makio wants some salad, right?”

I asked Makio, who was sitting on the sofa in the dining room, playing with Jaja on his lap.

“Yes, thanks.”

“Dah!”

Jaja is not afraid of the unfamiliar Makio and laughed happily as he tickled her.

Jaja is really friendly.

Nana can still only be held by family members or Yuri-san, while her twin sister is adorable and spoiled by many people.

I put the salad on a paper plate for Makio and put it at the end of the table.

I put the salad tongs together and headed for the living room window.

“Dad, Koji. We’d better get started.”

Through the window, I called out to my father who was working in the garden and Koji who was watching him with interest.

“Oh. I’m ready to go, too. It’s been a while since I’ve touched a barbecue set, so it took me a while.”

“Nyaa.”

The barbecue set that my father had worked so hard to set up since this morning was the one I washed last night after taking it out of the closet. It hadn’t been used for a long time, so it was rusty and covered with dust.

I think the last time we used it was when my mom was here.

The charcoal that Rouge had lit for us was red hot under the grill.

“Hey, most of the people here are girls, can we really have a barbecue?”

It wasn’t my intention, but the percentage of girls in this house was over 70%.

The only guys in the house are me, Shouhei, my dad, Koji and Makio.

“Don’t be stingy at the welcome party, it’s unseemly. Don’t worry about it. Rouge-chan will eat it anyway.”

“Well, I’m sure Rouge will be fine with it.”

It’s not that I’m stingy.

That taciturn dragon. Even though she has such a slender body, she’s a big eater.

I wonder where the hell it all goes.

“Ni.”

Saeki’s younger brother, Koji tugged at the hem of my clothes and pointed at the table.

“Hmm? Ah, the cake? That’s for after the meal.”

In front of his finger was the whole shortcake that he had just bought with Koji, Shouhei and Hina.

I thought the little ones would enjoy it the most, so I let them choose.

Hina-chan, who knows a lot about sweet treats as a girl, recommended this place, and after spending a lot of time agonizing over it, we ended up settling on a strawberry-filled shortcake that was sure to be delicious.

Rouge, the star of the day, and surprisingly, Aoi, also said they’ve never had cake before.

So it would be best to introduce them to something more orthodox.

Shortcake is the king of cakes, right?

“Kou-chan, it’s too early for cake, no matter how you look at it.”

“Nyeeh!”

Koji’s tail and ears drooped and his shoulders slumped as Shouhei scolded him over the counter kitchen.

“Nihehe, you made him angry idiot Koji.”

“Don’t just lie around Ichika-chan, come and get your own plate.”

Mikuma called out from the table to Saeki, who was lying down in the twins’ playground in the dining room.

“You’re making her angry too, aren’t you?”

“Nishishi!”

Koji laughed at my tsukkomi.

“Don’t laugh, Koji!”

“Nyaa!”

Saeki stood up and lightly smacked Koji in the head.

Don’t be so quick to make a move just because you’re embarrassed.

These siblings violence is really no good.

“Kunpei-san, I’m ready over here.”

“I’m okay too.”

Shouhei, our head chef, and Aoi, our sous chef, gave us the go-ahead.

Okay, let’s get started.

“Makio, I’ll take care of Jaja.”

“Dah!”

“Wow, what a reaction. Papa is the best after all, isn’t he?”

When I extended my hand to Jaja, who was sitting on Makio’s lap, she smiled and opened her arms to me.

I put my hands under her arms and picked her up, and she flapped her wings to express her joy.

The tip of her short tail moved to wrap around my arm, but it’s not long enough to reach me.

“Aren’t you glad big brother Makio played with you?”

“Au, fuah!”

Ah, I see, you had such a good time. She’s so cute.

“I’m used to babysitting Hina, you know. It’s worthwhile to play with Jaja because she’s always happy no matter what I do. Hina was crying all the time.”

“Ah, onii-chan! How long ago are you talking about? Don’t say anything embarrassing!”

Hina shouted accusingly at Makio from the other side of the table.

That’s nice.

It’s starting to feel like a party, isn’t it?

Well, here we are, today is Saturday.

It was the day of Rouge’s welcome party, organized by my father.

The living room and dining room of our house were crowded with many guests, unlike usual.

Mikuma, the Saeki siblings, Hina-chan, and Makio.

Even Yuri-san and Officer Doggy were there, ready for a toast.

My father was in the garden preparing the barbecue.

Shouhei and I were the hosts of the party, preparing the food and drinks.

“Kazamachi-san, is it really okay for us to join in?”

“Yes. It seems like the age group is quite young. Don’t you think Mom and I look out of place?”

Yuri-san and Officer Doggy, who were sitting around a low table, were smiling bitterly with troubled faces.

“What are you talking about? Of course it’s okay. Yuri-san and Doggy-san are almost like family members. Please don’t hesitate to make yourself at home.”

My father replied with a big smile on his face.

Well, I took it for granted that Yuri-san and Doggy-san would be partying with us.

Yuri-san is like a grandmother to Jaja and Nana, and Officer Doggy is one of the few people they have known him they were born.

The little ones’ unreservedness towards Yuri-san is almost like that of a family member.

“Dah!”

“Nana, this is our cup, you can’t have it.”

“Yes, yes, Nana, it’s the usual apple juice.”

Shouhei’s tray was lined with cups containing enough cola for everyone.