Translator: Reflet

「This is impressive…」

　Taiyou’s eyes opened wide upon entering the guest cabin .

　He was in the ferry that connected Honshu and Juunis.h.i.+ma . As if the consumers were numerous, the periodic operating service alone sent out two rides per hour, and the vessels used were fittingly termed luxury cruise s.h.i.+ps .

　As if Mio had arranged for this in advance, as soon as they arrived at the port they got into a s.h.i.+p and were guided to the guest cabin on the highest floor of the six-floor construct . The room was of a simple making to be sure, but it possessed a wideness of up to twenty tatami mats and was furnished with two single beds as well as a sofa table, and even a television .

　Until coming here, everything that he had caught sight of were 「seats」, and Taiyou was surprised by this .

「Is it really here, Mio-san?」

「Yes; it will be a sea voyage that requires time as it is, so I arranged it so that Aobsama could at the very least spend time here in an agreeable manner . 」

「Requires time as it is…how long will it take to reach the island?」

「It will be about five hours for a one-way trip . 」

「And so we have this room…」

　Taiyou thought that was honestly overdoing it .

　Five hours for a one-way trip was not by any means a short amount of time, but at the same time, a room like this…it wasn’t the appropriate length of time for preparing a room of such agreeable lodging .

　He honestly thought that the reclining seats one floor below were enough .

　However, it seemed that this was not the case for Mio .

「I will brew tea . Aobsama, what would you like?」

「Is there white? I’d like to enjoy Okasama’s white tea after such a long time . 」

「Wait just a minute . 」

「Oh, I’d like――」

「How about coffee, Natsuno-sama?」

　Mio spoke up with a sensation of cutting him off .

Taiyou unthinkingly became overwhelmed by her timing of intercepting with a hard voice .

「Ah, yeah…coffee’s fine too . 」

「Acknowledged . 」

　He was also fine with coffee, so Taiyou had no choice but to nod .

　Mio, who had received the two orders, pulled out from her luggage tools and leaves and such, and took out things like powder, proceeding to head to a corner of the room . Using the outlet there, she heated the hot water and, with a professional manner of using her hands and complex procedures she began to brew it .

「Whoa…」

「Okasama’s tea is super good . 」

　Aoba said in a boastful manner as she came to his side .

「Is that so?」

「Yep! Her cooking is also tasty, but the tea that she brews is even more tasty . When Father and the mothers are all gathered on a typical weekend day, they end up drinking more than ten cups . 」

「Ten whole cups?」

　Taiyou was perplexed .

「Yes . One cup for a good morning greeting, one cup before noon to accelerate appet.i.te, one cup to help with digestion after eating . One cup to a.s.sist with falling asleep for afternoon napping――With that feel, they spend their weekends in that fas.h.i.+on drinking tea all the time . 」

「Wow, that’s impressive . If they drink in that manner for all kinds of purposes, does that mean they drink various types of tea? I’m not very informed about tea, but I know about things like black oolong tea for removing oil; that sort of stuff . 」

「Yeah, there are various types, but I also don’t know very much . Okasama is super knowledgeable in that area, so maybe you could try asking her afterward?」

「Right; I guess I’ll try asking when Kotone and the others are around . I think I wouldn’t mind having them learn various things and even at our place 『allot a cup to something』 in that fas.h.i.+on . 」

「Eh…」

　Aoba raised her voice . For some reason,

reason, her face was flushed with embarra.s.sment .

「Do you do the same thing, with your father and the others?」

「Yeah; is something about that unpleasant?」

「No, it’s not, but…」

　Aoba said as she intertwined her fingers, fidgeting . It was clear that something was up .

　Curious, Taiyou pursued that, wondering what was weird about the conversation .

「I won’t do it if it’s unpleasant . 」

「No, it’s not that, it’s not that…umm, you see . 」

「Hmm?」

「This is a special rule of the Miki household…along with drinking tea, there’s something that you do . 」

「Something that you do?」

「…s . 」

「Huh?」

「You…kiss . 」

「…What?」

　Taiyou gazed in wonderment . He took a long hard look at Aoba, wondering what she had suddenly brought up .

「You see, Father and the rest kiss when they drink tea . Umm…when getting seconds they kiss Father, and then they ask Okasama for seconds . 」

「What are they, newly-weds!」

　He quipped, and one of the people in question brewing the tea in a remote location looked over their shoulder . It was clear that she could hear Taiyou and Aoba’s exchange, and her cold eyes looked a bit different than usual, as if asking「Got a problem with that?」 .

「Hey, Natsuno-kun . So do you…also do that at your house?」

「That?」

「That, seconds rule . Do you follow that very rule?」

「Oof…」

　Taiyou was at a loss for words .

　It was embarra.s.sing; extremely embarra.s.sing .

　Aoba with a red face and a slightly upward gaze, embarra.s.sed yet making a proposition, as well as this situation . It was like the sweet and sour taste of shoving a whole citrus fruit into one’s mouth .

　In order to answer that with a straight face, Taiyou still didn’t quite…have the right state .

　He avoided her gaze for a short while, thereafter evading the topic .

「D, did you do it too?」

「Eh?」

「The seconds kiss…did you do it to your dad too?」

「I, I haven’t done it, haven’t

it, haven’t done it! I definitely wouldn’t do that sort of thing!」

「R, right . 」

「Ah, but…I guess I did it to the cheeks when I was little . 」

「Cheeks?」

「Yeah, you know . It’s the sort of time that you’d hear『When you become an adult you’ll be Daddy’s brideー』 . My mothers always said that it wasn’t fair, saying “Me too, me tooー” . 」

　While saying that, as if remembering her childhood, Aoba’s embarra.s.sment gradually sunk, and a grin made its way onto her face instead .

　That was when Mio returned to where they were with a tray holding two teacups .

「I have kept you waiting . Aoba also said these sorts of things when she was young, like『Mama is my lifetime rival』 . 」

「Honestly! Okasama, don’t bring up things from that past like that . 」

　Though she said it resentfully, Aoba was definitely the embodiment of a good mood . She took the teacup from Mio, putting it to her mouth .

「Yeah, Okasama’s white is definitely delicious . Try some too, Natsuno-kun . 」

「……」

「What’s wrong, Natsuno-kun?」

　Aoba questioned Taiyou, who was s.p.a.cing out and not taking the coffee .

「……Come to think of it, Master and Aobsama bathed together until she was twelve . 」

「Seriously! Okasama, you really didn’t have to say that now . 」

「You said that your favorite Valentine chocolate was the “true sentiment chocolate” up until middle school . 」

「Well yeah, that was because there weren’t any other people to give them to . 」

「And for Christmas presents, you didn’t want anything physical, but rather, the night skyline; there was that year as well . 」

「That was definitely due to being influenced by manga . Father got carried away and lastly took out the room keys, so he got disciplined by Mama and the others . 」

「Those were good times . 」

「True . Huh, Natsuno-kun…You’re still stiff, what’s really the matter?」

「Cheek…bath…」

「Natsuno-kun?」

「Valentine…Christmas…」

　Repeating in delirium, Taiyou muttered several keywords . Aoba initially inclined

Aoba initially inclined her head wondering what was wrong, but as if she had realized, her face shone with vitality .

「Natsuno-kun…Could it be」

「Not at all! I’m not jealous at――」

　Once he was about to say it, Taiyou suddenly sealed his mouth with both hands .

「He’s attempting to quit while he’s ahead . 」

　Mio said with an exasperated face . Self-destructing by saying something without even being asked, and the actions of nonverbally heightening the attention to it by sealing one’s mouth .

　This was a blunder very unlike him, and it was quite right that Mio looked exasperated .

　Looking at Taiyou in that state, Aoba got in a good mood, though embarra.s.sed . It seemed she was quite happy that he was jealous .

「Cough」

　As if trying to gloss it over, Taiyou coughed and accepted the teacup from the tray that Mio was holding .

　Upon putting the coffee to his mouth, he was taken aback in another way .

「This…is delicious . 」

「I am obliged . 」

「This is amazing; to think that you not only brew tea but you also brew coffee this tastily . This is honestly delicious enough to where it makes me question what I’ve been drinking all this time . 」

「What brand is that, Okasama?」

　Aoba asked, and Taiyou also directed a face full of curiosity toward Mio . There was of course the way it was brewed, but he was also curious about the brand of coffee that he had just tasted; the true form of the beans used .

「It is Copi・Ruac . 」

「Ohhh, you brought something amazing with you . 」

　From Aoba’s admiration and that favorable nuance, he could tell that this was unmistakably a good thing .

　He lifted the coffee to his mouth once more . It somehow tasted even better than earlier .

　That was when Mio quietly opened her mouth .

「Made from cat feces . 」

「Puーーーー」

　As soon as he heard Mio say that, he spewed it out magnificently .