Sagiri?
An illustrator?
Sato paused slightly, then looked again at the paintings hanging in the living room. Suddenly, he felt that the art style seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
It didn't seem to be from mainstream light novels…
"Nohara-kun?"
Izumi Chiyo called out to him in confusion when she noticed he had spaced out.
"Oh, may I ask, who is Sagiri?"
"Sagiri is my daughter. However… she's a bit shy around strangers, so I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
Sato smiled casually, then suddenly recalled what Izumi Chiyo had said earlier and asked curiously, "By the way, Izumi-san, do you know my older brother and his family?"
Izumi Chiyo hesitated for a moment before replying, "We've only met a few times. A few days ago, I was looking at housing listings nearby and happened to run into Mrs. Nohara."
"After chatting for a bit, she mentioned they would be moving out in a few days, so she recommended this place to me. I found the surroundings and neighbors quite nice, so I rented it and moved here with Sagiri."
"I see."
Sato nodded in understanding, lightly rubbing his chin.
His sister-in-law really was quite warmhearted, though lately she had been starting to give off more of an auntie vibe…
Wait…
"You said you and Sagiri?"
Sato asked carefully.
"Ah… yes."
Izumi Chiyo froze for a moment, then nodded with a gentle smile. "Sagiri's father passed away in an accident a few years ago, so it's just the two of us."
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright. We're neighbors now, so I hope we can look after each other."
"I should be the one asking for your care."
Click.
At that moment, the door to the inner room suddenly opened, and a sleepy-looking girl walked out, rubbing her eyes.
She looked quite petite, probably around middle school age.
She wore pink pajamas, and her long hair, reaching down to her hips, had the same beautiful silver-to-pink gradient as Izumi Chiyo's. Her emerald eyes were identical as well, as if she had inherited all of her mother's features.
Yawning, the girl walked out. Her loose pajamas slipped slightly to one side, revealing a small portion of her fair, smooth shoulder and a hint of her collarbone.
"Mom, what's for dinner?"
"Sagiri!"
Izumi Chiyo quickly called out in reminder.
"Hm?"
Izumi Sagiri blinked sleepily, then soon noticed that besides her mother, there was also a boy sitting in the living room.
A… stranger.
Their eyes met, and the room suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Even their breathing seemed unusually clear.
Her eyes widened, staring at Sato in disbelief.
Then, a blush rapidly spread across her fair, delicate face, like a sunset glow creeping up to her ears and collarbone.
The next second, a piercing scream broke the silence.
"AHHH!!!"
Bang!
Like a gust of wind, the girl dashed back into her room and slammed the door shut.
Sato: "…"
Izumi Chiyo looked at him with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry."
Sato smiled awkwardly. Honestly, after seeing that, he felt like he should be the one apologizing.
"Then I'll be going now."
"Won't you stay a bit longer?"
"No, it's almost dinner time. I should head back and cook."
"If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate… also, the neighbors around here are all very kind. If you run into any trouble, you can always ask for help."
"Thank you."
Izumi Chiyo walked him to the door. Sato took out some of the local specialties he had brought and gave them to her. They were all homegrown farm products.
Even though Sato was now a young man worth hundreds of millions of yen, he couldn't disregard his parents' good intentions.
So he had carried these two large bags all the way from Akita to Chiba, drawing quite a bit of attention along the way.
After some back-and-forth, Izumi Chiyo accepted them.
Closing the door, she looked at the produce in front of her and sighed helplessly. "They're all good ingredients, but… I don't know how to cook."
"Mom, has he left?"
Izumi Sagiri peeked her head out from the inner room and asked softly.
"Mm."
After Izumi Chiyo nodded, Sagiri seemed to relax and stepped out.
"Mom, who was that?"
"The neighbor downstairs. He just started high school, it seems."
Holding a vegetable in each hand, Izumi Chiyo narrowed her eyes and examined them curiously.
"What kind of vegetable is this?"
"And this one?"
Let alone cooking, she didn't even recognize all the ingredients.
Izumi Chiyo felt a bit defeated.
"A neighbor?"
Izumi Sagiri frowned.
"Mm, yes, a neighbor."
Izumi Chiyo put away the produce Sato had given her and carried it into the kitchen. Then she turned to Sagiri and said, "Sagiri, we might be living here for a long time."
"I'm planning to contact the nearby schools for you. Take a look later and decide which one you'd like to attend."
"Eh? I don't want to go to school!"
Izumi Sagiri immediately grew flustered, looking at her mother anxiously.
"That won't do."
Izumi Chiyo came out of the kitchen and looked at her seriously.
"Sagiri, you've already been out of school for half a year. If this continues, you'll become disconnected from society. Children shouldn't stay at home all the time."
"You're already at the age to attend middle school. It's time to make new friends."
"But…"
Sagiri's mood visibly sank.
"It's alright. Your father's passing was just an accident. Mom won't suddenly leave like he did."
Izumi Chiyo crouched down, gently stroking Sagiri's head as she smiled. "I want to see you grow up healthy and happy."
"Promise me, okay?"
After a moment of silence, a barely audible "Mm" sounded in the room…