"Itadakimasu"
"Itadakimasu!"
The morning at our house starts with a scene that has already become familiar.
Meals are separated between the kitchen table and the long table in the living room, but there are no assigned seats, so everyone just sits wherever they like.
Today's breakfast consists of rice with miso soup made with daikon, grilled salmon, natto, tamagoyaki, and spinach ohitashi.
Mine is the Japanese menu, but next to me, Yumina has ham and eggs, croissants, vegetable salad, and onion soup, which is the Western-style menu.
It seems that Lu and Arcia each prepared separate dishes. Lu made the Japanese dishes.
The children are also eating what they like. It seems like more of them are eating the Western-style food. Yakumo, Yoshino, and Arcia are having the Japanese meal, though. Arcia probably wants to eat what Lu made… or maybe she just wants to check it out. Actually, Lu is eating the Western-style food too.
"Gochisousama deshita!"
Once everyone finishes eating, they start clearing their plates. While sipping the tea that Lu and Arcia brewed, we take a little break while watching the morning TV.
"Alright, then let's start cleaning."
"Yay!"
Around nine o'clock, when I woke up, the kids all woke up together. Fuyuka also woke up with them, but you don’t have to, you know?
Today is the last day we spend in this world. We decided to make this house, which has taken care of us, sparkling clean before we leave.
Honestly, if we use the [Clean] magic, it would be done in an instant. But, you know, it would feel like we’re not putting any effort into saying thank you.
We want to put our feelings of "thank you" into it and clean it thoroughly. And I want the kids to think the same way.
We each take a spot and begin cleaning. I’m doing the weeding in the garden.
I work silently, pulling weeds in the rather large garden. …Maybe I shouldn’t use magic…? The resolve I had earlier is wavering.
After finishing the weeding, I start cleaning the garden shed. I throw the shed's contents into [Storage], clean the empty shed, and then return the dusted items.
Did I use magic? Well, this is fine, right...?
At least the garden is taken care of, so I dust off the dirt and head back inside the house.
I call out to Yumina, who is cleaning the living room.
"Where else is there left to clean?"
"Ah, could you please clean the bathroom or the toilet?"
"Got it!"
I head straight to the bathroom, take out the bath cleaner, sponge, and scrubber from the cabinet under the sink.
It’s not used daily, but after two weeks of use, it’s gotten a bit dirty. I’ve been cleaning the bathtub every time, but I haven’t cleaned the washing area.
The grime in the gaps of the floor panels will be scrubbed clean with this disposable toothbrush…!
I scrub off the water stains and dirt with cleaner, rinse it all off, and finish cleaning the bathroom floor. I clean the bath stool, bucket, and tub as well and finish up.
"Phew…"
After drying my slightly damp body, I step out of the bath and find Kuon cleaning the toilet. Oh, I was about to do that next.
As I pass through the kitchen, Lu, Arcia, and Mom have already started preparing lunch.
With some free time, I decide to help the other kids with their cleaning. With more than twenty people, cleaning gets done really quickly.
"Lunch is ready~"
At Lu’s call, everyone stops cleaning, goes outside to shake off the dust, and washes their hands thoroughly.
Oh, lunch is cold ramen today. Just what I was in the mood for—this is great.
"Itadakimasu!"
The toppings are cucumber, ham, scrambled egg, chicken breast, pickled ginger, and half a boiled egg. A simple, usual cold ramen. Hmm, this looks good. This is exactly what I like, simple like this.
There are extravagant cold ramen dishes with shrimp, lettuce, and wood ear mushrooms piled on top, but I prefer this simple kind.
"It's delicious."
"I'm glad. Eat a lot."
Mom says that as she pats Elna's head. Elze watches with kind eyes. Elna, who’s a bit shy, has completely warmed up to Mom and Dad. Everyone knows tomorrow is our farewell, but no one says it out loud.
"The cleaning’s almost done. What should we do in the afternoon?"
"I'm going shopping with Grandma!"
"I’m playing with Grandpa!"
When I ask, Steph and Linne call out. I don’t show it, but I feel a bit hurt that they didn’t mention their dad.
In the end, we split into two groups: Mom and the shopping & strolling group, and Dad and the playing & staying home group. Fuyuka will stay home, so I’ll stay too.
"Tadaima~"
"Oh, welcome back, dear. Working on Sunday, huh? Must be tough."
"Huh? Ah, yeah…"
"I see... By the way, who was that lovely woman you were walking with today?"
"Eh!? What are you talking about…!?"
"Oh, pretending, are we? Even though I’m right here! I won’t forgive you!"
"Wait, wait! This play-acting is weird!"
Linze's stuffed rabbit mother, holding a toy knife, gets stopped in its tracks.
What kind of story is this?! Why am I being accused of cheating?!
I pull the father rabbit away from the mother rabbit. It almost looks like the father rabbit is trembling.
"I was trying to add some realism…"
"What kind of realism?!"
That kind of realism is unnecessary! It’s bad for my heart in more ways than one! Fuyuka is happily playing nearby, but still!
"I’m done!"
"Great, great!"
Linne shows the sketchbook she drew to Dad. Eh, what’s that…? Something unexplainable…?
"That’s a pretty good drawing. Right, Touya-kun?"
Dad smiles at me, but his expression looks a bit troubled. Wait a minute, Dad doesn’t understand what’s going on either!?
"I thought Touya-kun would understand the charm of this drawing."
What’s that supposed to mean? Because I’m the 'art master'?
"Uhh… Yeah, well, it’s got some character to it…"
"I drew him cool!"
"Cool…!? Yeah, it’s really cool! I totally think it’s cool! I’m totally impressed!"
As I say that, Linze next to me giggles. Don’t laugh, I had no choice but to say it!
"Yeah, very cool. Linne, did you draw this of Dad?"
"Yeah!"
Eh!? Is this me!? It doesn’t even look like a person, does it!? Does it have four arms…? And Linze, how did you figure it out?
Is this also thanks to Mom’s influence…? Does that mean I’ve been praising this drawing myself…? How embarrassing…
"Next, I’m going to draw Grandpa!"
"Haha… Take it easy on me…"
Dad forces a smile. There’s no doubt that Lynne is an 'art master' too… Sorry that she inherited my blood.
Kuon was busily working on something in a mobile game. When I last saw, she was flattening a mountain, but now she’s starting to build something on the flat land.
Alice leans over next to Kuon, peering at the mobile game with her. They’re close. I’ll take a photo. Ende will cry and be happy. Or maybe he’ll cry out of frustration?
"Tadaima~"
"Oh, Grandma’s back!"
Linne and Yoshino run out to greet her at the entrance. Mom’s pretty popular.
"Did Grandma bring souvenirs?"
"Yes, yes, I got some."
Oh, so they’re just after the souvenirs. Lynne and the others are happily munching on the snacks Mom and the others brought. It’s about snack time, so I guess it’s fine.
"Here, you should give one to Dad too."
"Thank you…?"
The candy Frei handed over was a round gum package with three pieces inside, the last one.
Wait a minute? Isn’t this the one with a really sour one inside? And Frei and Mom are eating it normally. Huh, on purpose? No, Frei isn’t that kind of person, right?
I can’t say no, so I take it, and Frei goes to Dad. Guess she didn’t know…?
Once I got it, I had no choice but to eat it. I put the gum in my mouth, and a strong sourness spreads throughout my mouth.
Mom is trying to hold back her laughter. You… the mastermind is you, isn’t it?
My mouth is filled with sourness... I need to drink some tea...
For a while, everyone watched the evening TV anime, played board games, or spent time playing in the garden.
Eventually, Lu, Arcia, and Mom started preparing dinner, so I decided to help a little.
It seems like they’re using a big platter. Wait a minute…
"Tonight we’re having a hot pot!"
Yep, that’s the clay pot we bought at Kappabashi. But…
"Isn’t this too much?"
One, two, three… Nine hot pots? I mean, there are a lot of people, so I guess it can’t be helped, but is this really necessary?
"We’ll have different types of hot pots. You go to whichever one you want and serve yourself."
"We’re doing different hot pots for each one?"
"Yes. We have yosenabe, sukiyaki, mizutaki, seafood hot pot, shabu-shabu, chanko, motsu, oden, and millefeuille hot pot."
"What a variety..."
With such a wide selection, I guess we won’t get bored of eating. That’s why there are so many large platters. We’ll put all the ingredients on these, right?
I wonder if the oden ingredients have already been prepared… I think Lu and the others were working on this a few days ago.
Oh, there’s stuffed cabbage rolls. You really know what’s needed. Our family's oden wouldn’t be complete without these.
…I feel like I’ve noticed something recently. Mom, who usually doesn’t cook much, has been standing in the kitchen more. Maybe she’s trying to pass down the flavor of our family’s dishes to Lu and Arcia.
Mom also learned how to make these cabbage rolls from Grandma. From parent to child, and then to grandchild. Well, I’m the grandchild, though.
For now, I help arrange the ingredients on the large platters. With more than twenty people, it’s like we’re hosting a feast every day.
I can’t help but be impressed by how big our family is, almost like it's someone else’s family.
There are also nine portable stoves. I think Grandpa had two, and my parents’ house had one, but I wonder when the rest were bought… Maybe Mom and the others got them while we were out at places like the British Museum?
Anyway, I start arranging the stoves and platters on the living room table. I pack the ingredients into the pots, put the lids on, and light the burners.
After simmering for a while, the pots start to bubble, and everything smells delicious. With nine pots, it’s quite a sight.
"Dinner’s ready! Go wash your hands."
"Okay!"
The kids reply cheerfully to Mom’s voice and head to the washroom. The wives follow suit.
Lu and Arcia are putting the freshly cooked rice I took out of [Storage] into bowls.
Once everyone finishes washing their hands, they sit down at their respective seats.
"Itadakimasu"
"Itadakimasu!"
With one voice, the lids of the pots are lifted, and the room fills with a delicious aroma.
Everyone grabs their bowls and picks out ingredients from their preferred pot.
I grab a stuffed cabbage roll from the oden pot that I was curious about and take a big bite.
Mmm, it’s delicious. The oden broth has soaked into the cabbage, and I can also taste the sweetness of the cabbage. It’s the oden roll I’m used to, the one from our family.
The radish and eggs that are simmering along with it are also delicious. Oh, and the konnyaku balls. Did they try to replicate the ones we had at the hot spring town? I add a bit of mustard… Yep, this works too.
Not wanting to fill up on just oden, I try some other pots too.
I’ve never had mille-feuille hot pot before. It’s just pork belly and Chinese cabbage, but the flavors complement each other so well, it’s delicious.
I take a bite of shabu-shabu meat while also digging into some rice. Ahh, it’s irresistible!
From there, I move on to sukiyaki, chanko, and mizutaki, working my way through the pots like a hot pot buffet.
Even Blanca, who’s been allowed inside, gets a pile of meat on her plate. Don’t hold back, eat as much as you want.
Maybe because the kids didn’t eat much, the motsu hot pot is a little unpopular. Mom and Dad are eating it quite a bit, but Frei and Yae don’t seem to be touching it much. I guess offal is a divisive taste.
I could eat it if I had to, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it.
Well, even if there are leftovers, I can store them in [Storage], so it won’t go bad.
Still, after about an hour, most of the ingredients in the pots have disappeared.
"For the finale, we have either porridge or udon. Feel free to choose."
Ah, so that’s how it’s going to be. Then I’ll go with udon for the sukiyaki…
Some of the pots have a bit of a debate—porridge or udon—but we settle it peacefully with a game of rock-paper-scissors.
Since I can’t eat much more, I decide to stop with the sukiyaki udon.
Phew. I’m full. I’m satisfied.
"Gochisousama deshita!"
Once we finish eating, we clean up and take turns going to the bath. I help wash the dishes.
After washing the dishes and drying them, I store them in [Storage]. I’ve been putting them in the cupboard, but we’re leaving tomorrow. We’re planning to come back in a year, but the kids won’t be here by then…
"What’s wrong, Touya-san?"
"Oh, it’s nothing."
I hurriedly take the plate from Yumina and dry it off with a cloth before tossing it into [Storage].
"…It was fun, wasn’t it?"
"Yeah…"
Yumina must have been thinking the same thing. A two-week trip to Earth. So many things happened. It was a great memory. It was fun.
Tomorrow, we’ll be parting with Mom and Dad. But we’ll be able to see them again in a year. As for when we’ll see the kids again…
Once we go back to the other world, the time to say goodbye will come in a week. I need to get my heart in order and make sure I send them off with a smile.
After everyone has taken their bath, I’m the last to go, change into pajamas, and relax while watching an animated movie on TV, spending the rest of the evening peacefully.
Then, I go to sleep.
"I’m going to sleep with Grandma!"
Steph says this, and the other kids all rush to hug Mom. Mom’s very popular.
She looks troubled, but I think she’s secretly enjoying it.
Ah, Dad looks a little down.
"…Then I’ll sleep with Grandpa."
As expected of Kuon! She’s good at reading the room! The moment he said that, Dad’s expression changed from gloomy to bright. Is that really okay, Dad…?
In the end, the kids decide to spend their last night with Mom and Dad, and they’ll stay at our parents’ house.
After sending the kids off through the [Gate], I feel like everything suddenly became still.
What’s going on? It’s like we’re back to how things were before, but… it’s still different.
"Let’s go to bed too."
"This is the last night on Earth, isn’t it?"
"We’ve had quite a lot of experiences, but it was fun."
"I’ve learned a lot of things."
"I got to listen to so much music."
"Kappabashi Tool Street was the best."
"The animals at the petting farm were so cute."
"The aquarium was fun, too."
"I want to visit an onsen inn again."
"I'm looking forward to next year."
As we lay down in the futons spread out across the room, we chat excitedly about the memories of our trip. Eventually, we all drift off to sleep.
◇◇◇
The next morning.
"Uwaa~ I want to play with Grandma more!"
As I sigh while watching Steph cry and complain in front of me, I knew this would happen.
When we go to pick them up at the parents’ house through the [Gate], not just Steph, but all the other kids cling to Mom, not wanting to let go. Kuon and Alice seem to be holding up, though.
"See? It’s not like you won’t be able to see her again. You’ll be able to meet up again soon, right? Right, Touya?"
"Yeah. I think future me probably wanted to bring the kids for a long time, so I’m sure I’ll be able to visit soon."
I answer Mom’s words.
Once the kids return to the future, I think future me will come here right away.
For future me, it’s been over ten years since I’ve been able to visit home with the kids.
I think I’ve been going back every year, but I probably did it secretly, without the kids knowing.
If I ask Grandma Tokie, she can probably help me come to this timeline too. Finally, the whole family can visit home together, so I think Mom and the others will be able to see the kids soon.
Hearing those words, the kids finally calmed down.
"Well then, I’ll come back next year."
"Take care. Remember to cherish your family."
"Next year, we’ll make sure to take a break properly."
"…Goodbye, big brother."
"Woof!"
I say goodbye to Mom, Dad, Fuyuka, and Blanca, waving as I activate [Spatial Transfer].
In the blink of an eye, I arrive back in the familiar living room. My castle, after two weeks.
The relief of coming home and the sense of loneliness that the trip is over mix in my chest. It’s hard to switch gears when I return so quickly…
The return journey from a trip might be more important than I thought. It’s like a gentle slope back from the extraordinary to the ordinary.
"Ah, Master! You’re back! I’ll go tell everyone!"
Ripple, who was in the painting on the wall, quickly disappears. I’m sure she’s letting everyone else in the castle know about our return.
Soon, the hallway is filled with noise as Kohaku, Gold, Albus, Paola, Lapis, Cecil, Reine, Karen, and Moroha, who had free time, all come into the living room to greet me with "Welcome back."
"I’m going home too. Kuon, see you tomorrow!"
With that, Alice jumps off the balcony of the living room and flies away. I told her not to go in and out of there!
I’ve already put Alice’s souvenirs into her [Storage] yesterday. I’m sure Melle and the others will be happy. Oh, I need to send Alice’s photos from here to Ende.
"Touya-san, can you bring out the souvenirs here?"
"Got it."
I start bringing out the souvenirs I bought from Japan and all over the world, placing them on the living room table and the carpet. It’s so much that even I want to say, "How much did I buy?"
I haven’t brought out the food, clothes, and personal items yet, though.
"Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol, alcohol."
"Wait, Yuka. That one’s mine."
"Didn’t you steal it from me last time, Buuryu-chan? This one’s mine!"
The battle over alcohol between Yuka and Uncle Buuryu begins. Unlike last time, I bought quite a bit of alcohol from around the world, so they should share it…
A week from now, we’ll be saying goodbye to the kids… It feels like it’s been both long and short since Kuon first came.
The kids have become such a part of our lives that it almost feels like the same day keeps repeating.
But, that’s true for future us as well. We’ll have to send them back properly to the future.
Let’s cherish the remaining days. We need to be able to send them off with a smile.
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