Dinner concluded, and Masao once again found himself walking Yukinoshita Yukino home.
—
—
The next night—Friday—marked her third consecutive visit to his house. A sense of familiarity was beginning to settle in.
As they walked, Masao broke the comfortable silence.
"Yukinoshita, I need to go to Tokyo tomorrow, so let's resume our lessons on Sunday. Consider it a well-deserved break; you've been putting in a lot of effort this week."
Yukinoshita didn't inquire about his trip, remembering he had gone to Tokyo the previous weekend as well.
After a brief pause, she offered, "Since you're going to Tokyo, you could treat yourself to a cheat day while you're there. It won't derail your progress."
Having shared both lunch and dinner with him recently, she was intimately familiar with his spartan diet.
Boiled chicken breast, boiled broccoli, boiled bell peppers... it was an endless parade of boiled austerity, punctuated only by glasses of vividly green vegetable juice.
She had to respect his iron will, but a thread of pity ran alongside that respect. More than that, she believed that completely denying one's cravings was unhealthy, both for the body and the mind. Hence, her suggestion for a sanctioned indulgence.
Surprisingly, the one most thrilled by this proposal wasn't Masao, but his mother, Kazumi.
Her joy was palpable. 'Yukino-chan is showing concern for him! The plan is working!"
Beaming, Kazumi gently vetoed the idea on her son's behalf.
"A cheat meal? Nonsense. Only those with weak resolve need such things. My Masao has tremendous willpower. He doesn't need a 'cheat meal'."
Masao was deeply moved by his mother's vote of confidence. So moved, in fact, he felt drained—of both tears and saliva.
So, when Yukinoshita herself suggested a cheat meal, the wave of gratitude that washed over him was nearly enough to make him weep. Why nearly? Because he had no tears left to give.
"Yukinoshita," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "I'll say it again. You're an angel. I adore you."
In his exhilaration, the words slipped out without a filter.
Yukinoshita cleared her throat softly, a blush on her cheeks.
"I know," she replied, gracefully ignoring the latter part of his declaration.
When Masao returned home, he found a note on the low living room table.
[*Go out for a proper meal tomorrow. Try to invite Yukino-chan.
Love, Mom.*]
Under the note was a crisp 10,000-yen (65 USD) bill.
Of course, Kazumi had no intention of depriving her son of his weekly cheat meal.
Seeing him grow steadily leaner filled her with a sense of accomplishment. Her refusal earlier was purely tactical; his diet food was already prepared, and wasting it was unthinkable.
Furthermore, her research indicated that cheat meals were most effective when kept to a consistent weekly schedule. Last week's meal was on a Saturday, and she saw no reason to change a winning formula.
"Honestly, Mom... trying to be all sneaky," Masao muttered, shaking his head as a wide grin spread across his face.
He pocketed the note and the cash. Being looked after by two such women was a fantastic feeling.
(Unseen, his father, Kenji, sighed inwardly. 'Son, your mother only wrote the note. The money was from me. A little acknowledgement would be nice.')
—
—
The next morning, Masao set off early for Tokyo. With Yukinoshita expected tomorrow, he was on a tight schedule.
He extended an invitation to Jahy, but she refused.
The great Jahy-sama had, at last, remembered her sacred duty: to gather the mana stones and restore the Demon Realm to its former glory.
A free day was a perfect opportunity to search. Though curious about her methods, Masao, pressed for time, resolved to ask her another day.
—
After the long train ride, Masao stretched his stiff limbs.
For a moment, he considered simply mailing the manuscripts in the future. But he quickly dismissed the thought. These trips to Tokyo were about more than just work.
Nurturing his connection with the Sawamura family and scouting for other... unique characters were far more compelling reasons for the journey.
"Guess I'll do a bit more exploring in Tokyo today," he decided.
Upon arriving at the Sawamura home, he was greeted, as usual, by Sayuri Sawamura, who informed him that Eriri had been up late drawing illustrations and was still asleep.
After handing the manuscript pages to Sayuri, Masao made to leave.
Sayuri tried to persuade him to stay, but Masao politely refused, citing his impending exams as the reason he needed to return home to study. Hearing this, she relented and warmly invited him to visit again once his exams were over.
Some time after Masao's departure, Eriri finally trudged downstairs, yawning.
"Is Masao not here yet?"
"Masao-kun has already come and gone," Sayuri replied.
"Gone? Already?"
"He said he has exams and needed to get back to his studies."
"Oh. I see," Eriri said, her tone neutral.
A knowing smile played on Sayuri's lips.
"My, my. Is my Eriri a little disappointed that she missed him?"
"Of course not!" Eriri retorted, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Anyway, where's the new manuscript? Let me see it!"
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