The man had a gruff appearance with short black hair, a mustache, and noticeable stubble. He also wore sunglasses, which gave him a "stern" and "tough guy" vibe.
Yet, when Nifuji knew about the identity of this suspicious man, he was startled and felt a bit nervous inwardly.
Yes, he, who had faced many situations, was nervous!
Why did he feel like this?
It was because he had met Fuji's father!
If Nifuji were a proper man who would take responsibility for Fuji, then he would be confident, as he knew that he would give her what all women wished for, but as he couldn't, he knew that it was impossible for him to be calm!
Yet, while Nifuji was nervous, Fuji's father, Tatsuo, was also nervous!
Hiding behind the tree, Tatsuo peeked at the two with mixed feelings, nervous, curious, yet also a fluff~!
Who was he?
Was it her boyfriend?
What should he do?
Should he come out?
Tatsuo kept thinking, while his feelings conflicted as his daughter was taken away, but when he saw her smile, he felt relief, and at the same time, when he thought of his daughter's age, he also knew that it was time for her to marry.
Unlike in the past, where everyone felt an obligation to marry since if one didn't, they would feel like being left behind, at the current time, marriage has become a choice, and even if one married older, and even if one didn't, then it was fine, too.
Still, as an older generation, Tatsuo was worried, since if he passed away, who could take care of his daughter?
Unlike when he was young, he also grew older, so when he knew that his daughter had found someone that she could trust, he knew that instead of being a coward, he should accept and, if possible, support her, as a father, so he came out from his hiding place and walked toward them.
"...." Nifuji.
"D-Dad..." Fuji was also flustered, as she had never thought that her father would discover that she was close to Nifuji.
Still, unlike the usual, her mind was blank as she wasn't sure what to say, and she didn't know what to do, but fortunately, Nifuji stood up and introduced himself. "Hello, Sir, my name is Hirotaka Nifuji, and I am—"
Before he finished his words, Tatsuo grabbed his hands tightly. "Nifuji-kun, can I call you that?"
"Yes."
Nifuji was startled, but he forced himself to calm down since he could also tell that Tatsuo was nervous.
Still, despite his trembling hands, Tatsuo met Nifuji's gaze and said, "Please take care of my daughter!"
"....." Fuji.
"Yes."
"...." Fuji.
Regardless, while Fuji wasn't sure what she should say about this situation, Tatsuo and Nifuji started to talk to each other.
Unlike the others, Tatsuo didn't ask about Nifuji's background, works, or anything, but he just asked how they knew each other, and about the trivia, telling him a lot about Fuji's childhood, which embarrassed her.
"DADDD!"
"Geez, you are so grumpy." Tatsuo sighed as he looked at Nifuji with a helpless sigh. "Are you really sure that you are okay with her, Nifuji-kun?"
"Yes, I am fine."
"Great! Great!"
Tatsuo didn't care about what kind of work Nifuji was doing, nor did he care whether Nifuji was even working.
After all, whether one could continue to become wealthy or one would continue to become poor, who could tell?
Life is unpredictable, but as long as someone has others who support them, they will be okay. They will continue to work hard as they were before.
This was what Tatsuo believed, as before, he also wasn't wealthy, and he was quite poor, too, but even so, his wife supported him, and he could also support his two children till they became adults.
So, if Tatsuo could, someone like him, who was just a normal man with an intimidating face, able, then it shouldn't be a problem for Nifuji, right?
Yet, even if Nifuji couldn't do it, Tatsuo would support the two, too, as he was a parent.
Regardless, as he looked at how handsome Nifuji was, Tatsuo couldn't wait to see his grandchildren!
"I think you should get pregnant as soon as possible!"
His daughter wasn't young anymore, and Fuji was 30 years old, so if she waited longer, she might have trouble having a child!
"DAADDDDDD!!!"
"..."
Nifuji was silent and didn't know what to say, but it was kind of new when he saw how Fuji had lost her calm. Usually, when he saw her in that state, it was when she was on the bed, so this type of reaction, when she grew shy, was kind of nice, he thought.
Still, he couldn't have an improper thought when he was in front of Fuji's father, and because of that, he tried to save Fuji. "If you don't mind, do you want to join us for lunch?"
"Oh, a lunch?!" Tatsuo quickly nodded. "Okay, okay! Where do you want to go? I will follow you!"
"Dad...'
Fuji knew that she couldn't stop Tatsuo, but at the same time, she was also glad that Nifuji didn't feel troubled by Tatsuo. Instead, she felt relieved that Nifuji could accept Tatsuo.
"Is it okay?"
Still, even so, she needed to ask him since she was afraid that Tatsuo had troubled Nifuji.
"It's fine. You don't have to worry."
"So, what are we going to eat?"
"What about a Mongolian dish?"
"M-Mongolian food?!" Fuji was startled, then asked, "Why?"
"Didn't you ask me to surprise you?"
"...."
Yes, Fuji was surprised that Nifuji chose a Mongolian dish, and frankly, as Nifuji had said so, she was also curious, so she looked at her father, who suddenly asked, "H-Hey, wh-what is this? Why is it getting close to you?"
The tanuki, who had been playing around, came to Fuji's side as it looked at Tatsuo curiously.
"It's my pet."
"P-Pet?!" Tatsuo was surprised. "R-Really?"
"Yes."
"C-Can I pet it?"
"...."
Fuji stared at her father, who looked at her with a hopeful gaze, before she sighed and nodded. "Yes."
"SO CUTE~~~!"
Without hesitation, Tatsuo grabbed the tanuki and rubbed his face against it.
"..."
Nifuji didn't say anything and just glanced at Fuji, who looked away, as her face turned redder.
Yup, cute, he thought.