Really." Kisaragi Chiyo pinched the ends of Hara Kenji's drooping hair. "No matter what others think, we will be together.
Hara was quickly coaxed into a good mood. He looked up, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at Kisaragi Chiyo, seemingly expecting something.
And the young man did exactly as he expected, leaning down to press a kiss against his face.
Seeing this, Matsuda Jinpei, standing to the side, let out a cough. He glanced at Hara, who had been coaxed into a good mood by a kiss, then nonchalantly moved his own face a little closer.
Kisaragi Chiyo had always been fair, so she naturally did not neglect the cat beside her, who was maintaining a cool and aloof image.
Fortunately, ordinary people did not easily notice them.
Looking at the bustling station with people coming and going, Kisaragi Chiyo couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion; the unique qualities of Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji allowed the three of them to successfully avoid becoming some kind of "trio of lovers" who would indiscriminately flaunt their affection everywhere, showing zero consideration for single people and ruining the city's good atmosphere.
*
The layout of the house had not changed much; only some of the furniture, curtains, decorations had been replaced. After being arranged according to the three people's preferred styles, it looked even more warm and cozy, truly feeling like a home.
The sofa was the same one as before; all three of them liked it very much, so it was kept. On it were placed five or six soft throw pillows of various shapes, the wooden coffee table beside it was piled with books that Kisaragi Chiyo had been reading recently, available to be picked up and read at any time.
Everything was placed exactly according to the three of them's living habits, a fact that left Kisaragi Chiyo very satisfied.
Many new kitchen utensils had been added to Hara Kenji's culinary battlefield; this time, he finally bought the stand mixer he had been longing for, even had a dishwasher installed.
Kisaragi Chiyo still remembered Hara Kenji complaining to her before, asking why a rich person's villa wouldn't have a dishwasher installed. Was it because they had specialized servants to do the washing by hand, so they didn't need one?
Kisaragi Chiyo didn't understand it either, but she knew that in many large families who claimed to be noble scions, many daily habits still retained traditional ways. Unlike ordinary people, driving servants instead of relying on technology seemed to have become one of the symbols they used to flaunt their status.
Matsuda Jinpei did not have high requirements for his living environment, he very much liked having a new room specifically set aside in the renovation plans for his tools and models. Everything was clear, neat, clean, which made Matsuda, who had become slightly obsessive after work, feel quite content.
The evening party time arrived quickly. The first to arrive was Morofushi Hiromitsu, who brought several crates of alcoholic beverages and soft drinks with him.
“They're all low-alcohol drinks.” Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled at the three of them, handing over the gifts he had prepared.
"A housewarming gift?" Morofushi Hiromitsu wasn't quite sure how to classify it, but he had chosen a folklore notebook for Kisaragi Chiyo, something he had specially sourced from abroad to suit her tastes; he figured it would likely appeal to the young woman.
"As long as he arrives, that's enough. Why bring a gift?" Hara Kenji smiled as he invited him in, peeking his head out to look left and right while closing the door, making sure no one from the same year was hiding in the corner to play a prank.
"Furuya Rei will probably be a little while longer." Morofushi Hiromitsu watched Hara Kenji peeking around and told him that Furuya Rei shouldn't be childish enough to do that.
Oh?" Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow with his arms crossed, his tone carrying a hint of teasing. "How is our leader going to arrive? Descending from the sky? Do we need to leave a window open for him?
"He's not Batman, after all." Morofushi Hiromitsu shrugged with a chuckle, advising his friend to watch fewer action spy movies, as those plots were designed merely to make the movie protagonists look cool and had absolutely nothing to do with their actual work.
"How about sharing your and Hara Kenji's life as night vigilantes with me instead?" Since the moment Morofushi Hiromitsu learned of Kisaragi Chiyo's existence, he had been paying close attention to her, so he naturally wouldn't miss out on his friend's little hobby.
Especially after Furuya Rei found out, he would always, intentionally or unintentionally, use various means to quietly slip jobs to the two of them. Perhaps Hara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei had also noticed, but they had never directly brought it up.
Of course, the bounties from those wanted criminals paid into their bank accounts were treated as their salaries. When Furuya Rei instructed people to transfer the money, he even thoughtfully deducted the personal income tax in advance.
"Don't you already know about those things?" Matsuda looked toward his friend with implication.
After all, it's impossible to pay attention to everything every single time." Morofushi Hiromitsu reached out to take the tea handed over by Hara, took a sip with a lowered head, called out that nickname in a nonchalant tone: "Don't you agree? Jiji?
Matsuda Jinpei: "?"
"What the hell?" Matsuda Jinpei frowned in disgust.
"I know this one." Kisaragi Chiyo approached, holding a cup of the same black tea, took the opportunity to hand Morofushi Hiromitsu a few pieces of freshly baked butter cookies.
Is it the one from 'Kiki's Delivery Service'?
"That's right, that's right." Morofushi Hiromitsu nodded, popping a bear-shaped cookie into his mouth.
The freshly baked cookies were incredibly crispy, with a rich buttery aroma and a hint of light tea, making the sweetness of the cookies just right—not overly cloying. No matter how much someone might dislike desserts, as long as they were paired with a cup of hot black tea, they wouldn't be able to resist eating a few pieces.
"It seems a bit different from the ones I've had before.." Morofushi Hiromitsu couldn't help but eat another piece, this time it was shaped like a gingerbread man.
Butter, black tea.. The sweetness doesn't taste like honey, nor does it taste like white sugar?
"I use maple syrup." Hara Kenji suddenly appeared, holding a beautiful Rococo-style teapot.
So that's how it is!" Morofushi Hiromitsu's eyes lit up as he bit into a cookie. "Could you send me a copy of the recipe?
Of course, no problem." Hara Kenji made an 'OK' gesture. "But in a bit, I'll need you, Little Morofushi, to teach me how to make beef stew. I've tried your recipe before, but no matter what I do, the flavor is never quite the same.
"Leave that to me!" Morofushi Hiromitsu looked full of fighting spirit, as he spoke, he prepared to stand up and head toward the kitchen.
Wait," Matsuda Jinpei said, quickly grabbing Morofushi Hiromitsu's hem at the sight of this, "you still haven't told me what's going on with that Jiji?
Oh, that," Morofushi Hiromitsu turned back, looking at Matsuda Jinpei with a smile. "It's just the nickname the citizens of Tokyo have for you, Lord Jiji.
Matsuda Jinpei let go in fright, leaning back with a shocked expression.
Oh my." A very hypocritical expression of surprise appeared on Morofushi Hiromitsu's face. His eyes curved, an irrepressible smile surfaced in the depths of his gaze. "Matsuda, so you didn't know?
Matsuda Jinpei: ".."
"How should I know!" Matsuda Jinmi bristled, the dark pupils in his teal eyes narrowing into vertical slits.
Isn't the name Jiji actually quite cute?" Kisaragi Chiyo quickly put down her teacup and cookies to come over and soothe him. "Besides, no one would associate the name Matsuda Jinpei with Jiji anyway.
It's just the codename for your other identity.
It was only later that Kisaragi Chiyo saw this trending on social media. Because Matsuda Jinpei had never left behind any information or nicknames that could serve as a proxy for his existence, some people who had been helped by Matsuda Jinpei took it upon themselves to start a round of voting for a title. Ultimately, with the participation of confused bystanders, the name Jiji emerged as the winner by a narrow margin.
It is worth mentioning that, besides Jiji, there were other titles that sounded quite imposing, such as Xiaohei, Carter, Moon Shadow. But before the voting results were released, no one expected that Jiji, who was added by the administrator later, would become the ultimate winner.
Matsuda Jinpei's expression became exceptionally varied; he looked somewhat angry and ashamed, with a hint of doubt regarding the nature of life mixed in.
In truth, Matsuda Jinpei didn't actually care much about how others addressed his other identity.
But the only important thing was that if Morofushi Hiromitsu knew, it meant Furuya Rei knew too.
He thought to himself, why did that blonde bastard give him such a strange look once? He must have been mocking him dozens of times behind his back already, right?
Matsuda Jinmi was very angry, his teeth chattering loudly.
This isn't fair." Matsuda Jinpei looked like a pitiful cat soaked by the rain at this moment. He looked at Kisaragi Chiyo dejectedly, his usually fluffy curly hair drooping, his voice tinged with sadness: "They call Hara Kenji 'Ghost Vigilante,' so why does it become 'Jiji' when it comes to me?
Kisaragi Chiyo couldn't stand Matsuda Jinpei's aggrieved gaze, so he immediately stated that the name Jiji was extremely cute, that he liked the Jiji from "Kiki's Delivery Service" very, very much.
Hearing the young man say this, Matsuda's gaze immediately became sharp: "Which Jiji do you actually like?"
"It's definitely you," Kisaragi Chiyo said, swearing by the manuscript currently being written in his computer files.
Matsuda Jinpei paused after hearing this, reluctantly believing Kisaragi Chiyo's sincerity.
*
The three people behind her had arrived together; although they hadn't set off at the same time, they had unexpectedly bumped into each other at the door.
After Kisaragi Chiyo opened the door and welcomed the three of them in, she expressed surprise at the three of them chatting and laughing together.
Stop looking at me like that." Nozono Shizuka handed over a gift box. "The Mechano Family has always accepted commissions from the authorities.
"I see." Kisaragi Chiyo understood instantly; Nozono Shizuka had likely crossed paths with the two of them while accepting an official commission.
Looking at it this way, the seven of them weren't strangers to one another; they all shared some degree of connection.
Nozono Shizuka took Kisaragi Chiyo on a tour of the villa, taking the opportunity to chat about some topics that required honesty.
“I heard you accepted Hozuki's invitation.” Just as Kisaragi Chiyo was struggling with how to bring up the topic naturally and without being abrupt, the friend beside her spoke up first.
"Hmm?" Kisaragi Chiyo stopped in her tracks. They were currently in the study, where the bookshelves still held many books left behind by the previous two owners of this house.
Don't tell me you too, Shizuka?
"I met him once before." Nozono Shizuka casually pulled out a book, glanced at it, then tucked it back.
"He invited me before, but I didn't accept." Nozono Shizuka always gave people the impression that he was smiling. Perhaps because of his personal schedule, he wasn't wearing that formal dark kimono, but was instead wearing a silver-gray long coat, making him look much younger.
No, actually Nozono Shizuka was already quite young. If you think about it, he was only twenty-two years old this year; he only had to wear traditional dark kimonos to appear more mature and steady.
"The affairs of the Mechano Family are already enough to trouble me." Nozono Shizuka said with a soft sigh. He had known Kisaragi Chiyo for over ten years, so he naturally understood her personality.
Therefore, he easily saw through his friend's intention in bringing him to tour the villa, fearing that he wanted to take the opportunity of being alone to say something to him.
Could it be that Kisaragi Chiyo finally realized that relying too heavily on the path of the non-human is a dead end? Or was it that she encountered difficulties after starting her job? Or was it related to the Oboshima shrine maiden?
Nozono Shizuka frowned, waiting for Kisaragi Chiyo's answer.
“It's actually not a big deal." Kisaragi Chiyo's expression was relaxed. He looked up at Nozono Shizuka, then reached up to touch his ear, which was hidden beneath his hair.
"I just have one thing to tell you." A smile appeared on the young man's face, his tone was unnaturally lighthearted.
After all, we are friends, so I thought I should tell you this in person, more formally.
"What is it?" Nozono Shizuka felt that after not seeing Kisaragi Chiyo for over six months, her way of speaking had become even more mysterious.
It's just that, I think the weather is wonderful today. The renovation of the new house and my discharge from the hospital make it a perfect day for a gathering. By the way, Matsuda, Hara, I are currently in a passionate romance with the goal of marriage, we would like to invite you to Hell to attend the wedding when the time comes. The second batch of butter cookies should be out of the oven by now; they taste great with black tea. How about we go and have some together?
Nozono Shizuka, who had suddenly been hit with a massive influx of information: ".."
Nozono Shizuka, finally reacting: "?!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you for the support, my little angels. Mwah 030
Chapter 156
Hara Chihaya knew clearly that she was dreaming, because just a second ago she had been lying down on a bed in the police dormitory, the next second, as soon as she closed her eyes, she was at her own front door.
Is it because I've been working overtime for too long lately, my intense longing for a vacation has manifested as this dreamscape?
Hara Chihaya stood at her own front door for a long time, not pushing open that familiar door; it was the first time she had experienced a dreamscape that she could fully control and that was completely free.
Perhaps due to her habit as a police officer, she subconsciously scanned her surroundings first; everything, down to the smallest detail, matched her memory. At this moment, the sky was in the midst of twilight, the golden and orange-red hues blending together to create a breathtaking natural palette. Hara Chihaya hesitated no longer; she reached out, grasped the doorknob, turned it gently. With a click, the door opened.
"I'm home." The words left her lips naturally the moment she opened the door, even as she still stood in the entryway, her nose already catching the aroma of food wafting through the air.
This is just terrible. Hara Chihaya thought to herself; she had only just finished her night patrol not long ago, thinking about getting to sleep early, she hadn't eaten any late-night snacks at all.
Is it true that what you think of during the day comes to you in your dreams at night?
Hara Chihaya changed her shoes and walked toward the kitchen with light, practiced steps. The rich aroma of food continuously teased her stomach; just by smelling the scent, she could already distinguish that tonight's dinner consisted of croquettes, salt-grilled salmon, stewed pumpkin, Chikuzen-ni..
Hara Chihaya's footsteps came to a halt, because the figure busily working in the kitchen was neither her father nor her mother, but a man who existed in the past, deeper within her memories.
Welcome back." As if noticing the movement, he turned around and looked at her with a slight apologetic expression. "Just a moment, dinner will be ready very soon!
The familiar, cheerful tone, even the curve of the eyes when they squinted, were exactly as she remembered.
Hara Chihaya stared at that figure almost without blinking, not even daring to breathe too heavily. She was afraid that she might accidentally wake up from the Dreamscape; she had gone far, far too long without dreaming of her brother, Hara Kenji.