Chapter 41: The Angel and her First Encounter (2/2)

Shuuto’s young appearance belied the fact that he was in his late thirties. Even if she was to ignore the favorable comparison against his son, he had the face of a man around thirty.

He had a young face, baby-like even, and for the umpteenth time, Amane wished he could have inherited more of those genes.

Unlike Amane, the man had a kind expression, a friendly looking youth (even though he was middle aged). So many had often wondered if they were actually blood related. When they walked together however, they resembled brothers with a large age gap.

“Mahiru-chan, it’s been a while~.”

“Been a while? It hasn’t been a month.”

“That’s long enough for me.”

Mahiru saw Shihoko scurry towards her with a beaming face, “It has been a while.” Mahiru answered with a smile shown to outsiders, correcting her sitting posture.

However, she looked a little perturbed towards Shuuto, the latter noticing the stare and stood next to Shihoko with a calm smile.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Amane’s father, Shuuto Fujimiya. I have heard about you from Shihoko-san, Shiina-san. That you’ve been taking care of our son.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Shiina Mahiru. I have been in the care of Amane-kun.”

Shuuto made a beautiful formal bow, and Mahiru followed suit with a formal greeting.

It appeared Mahiru was worried if Shuuto would have a similar personality to Shihoko, but Shuuto was a kind person with common sense, so Amane hoped Mahiru would calm down as quickly as possible.

Shuuto was the only one who could apply the brakes on Shihoko, and the latter was weak against Shuuto. One reason was that she was overwhelmingly fond of him though.

“Why, you don’t have to be so humble, you know? Amane’s sloppy after all.”

“Sorry for being sloppy.”

“Alright Shihoko-san, don’t say that now…Amane, have you thanked her properly for taking care of you all this while?”

“I did my best.”

“That’s good.”

Females are to be treated respectfully, that was what Shuuto taught, and he might be worried if Amane had thanked Mahiru properly.

Amane was uncomfortable with leaving everything to Mahiru while he got to enjoy, and of course, Amane assumed he did all he could for her.

Shuuto was relieved to hear Amane’s reply, and again turned to meet Mahiru in the eyes.

“…Really, how do I thank you here? It seems you were doing all the daily dishes, and even the Osechi…”

“I’ve always been thanking her, and I’ve been helping her out.”

“Yes…surprisingly, Amane-kun is rather concerned about me.”

“How surprising is this surprising you speak of?”

“Well…”

He might appear crude, but he does pay attention to detail, so Mahiru said, and Amane was left speechless, unable to refute the fact that he was crude; Shuuto showed a kind smile.

“Looks like the two of you are really on good terms. Don’t cause Shiina-san too much trouble here.”

“…Got it.”

“Same to you, Shiina-san, do correct Amane if there is anything he does not do well. He might not look like it, but he’s a really honest boy. Do correct him if there’s anything you don’t like.”

“Amane-kun is very kind; as for anything I dislike…erm, just a little.”

“So there is.”

“…Rather than dislike…I will say it is a flaw.”

She seemed to be stammering for words, and if he were to ask what was bad about him…she would be unable to reply.

For some reason, “Hahan” Shihoko seemed to have an idea as she burst out laughing, looking towards Amane. What now, who could only muster such a response.