Something was off—very off. Nine times out of ten, something was definitely off.
Tanaka Masao watched as Yukinoshita Yukino, buoyed by her good mood, softened visibly; even her cheeks were a little flushed.
If that were all, fine—but why did it feel like hearts were about to pop out of her eyes?
Pull yourself together, Yukinoshita Yukino. Those hearts are only supposed to appear when you're with m—cough—Tanaka Masao insisted he wasn't thinking anything.
Great River-Crab Deity, please stop staring at me.
Masao wanted to say something, but for a moment he couldn't find the words.
He couldn't exactly say, "Yukinoshita, let go of Jahy and let me do the feeding,"
or "Jahy, get lost—the one being fed should be me."
Feeding Jahy was something he'd already experienced; being fed by Yukinoshita was not. Even if he opened his mouth, all he'd get was a cold stare.
…
After Yukinoshita fed Jahy a few more dried fish, Hiratsuka Shizuka returned from shopping, lugging a big bag.
Inside were two takeout lunches from the cafeteria, plus snacks and drinks.
Seeing so much good food, Jahy decisively abandoned the dried fish and dove straight into Hiratsuka's arms.
Yukinoshita's disappointment was instantly visible; a gray, deflated aura radiated from her.
Watching Yukinoshita get dumped by the scumbag Jahy, Masao failed to hold back and laughed out loud.
A knife-like glare shot his way.
"Tanaka-kun, do you have nothing better to do?"
"Uh… n-no, I mean… I guess I do?"
Masao felt awkward. He really should've kept that laugh in.
"Heh~"
Yukinoshita gave a cold chuckle, shook her head, and spoke with a hint of resignation.
"Tanaka-kun, it's like this: all you need to do is follow instructions and work hard at losing weight. I, on the other hand, have many more things to think about…"
It had to be said—she recovered the momentum with textbook speed.
In just an instant, Yukinoshita reclaimed the upper hand. After venting her displeasure, her mood lifted, and she returned to normal. She put the remaining dried fish back into her bento and continued eating alongside her food.
Hiratsuka had brought the school's signature pork cutlet rice—excellent flavor.
Jahy ate happily.
The group chatted casually as they ate.
Hiratsuka asked Masao about Jahy.
"Why does Jahy have time to come see you during school hours? Isn't she supposed to be in class?"
Elementary education was taken very seriously here. Kids were issued personal alarms for emergencies, and attending school was mandatory; guardians could be breaking the law otherwise.
"Jahy's enrollment paperwork is being processed."
Hearing that, Hiratsuka nodded.
"Good. If there are any problems, you can come to me. I am a teacher, after all—I'm a professional at this."
Yukinoshita hesitated, choosing not to speak.
Her father was a Chiba Prefectural Assembly member; her family had influence here. Enrolling Jahy in the best elementary school in Chiba would be easy.
But Yukinoshita didn't really want to go back to that suffocating home.
[This isn't a big deal. It's easy to solve—and there's Hiratsuka-sensei's help.
If it really comes to it, I…]
If Jahy would just let her touch her ears, maybe she could work up the courage to face her mother.
Masao thanked Hiratsuka for her offer.
"Thank you, Hiratsuka-sensei. But it's not a big issue, and the current policies are pretty supportive—enrollment is simple."
"That's true."
Hiratsuka sighed, a little helplessly.
"Ah… the declining birthrate is getting worse and worse. I hear several elementary schools might close this year."
Give her a beer and a plate of peanuts right now, and Hiratsuka could go on about global affairs.
Unfortunately, that momentum was snuffed out immediately.
Yukinoshita cut in mercilessly.
"If we're talking about why the birthrate is declining, Hiratsuka-sensei, you bear some responsibility too, don't you?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka: ...
The Hiratsuka-class battleship, just gearing up to unleash its grand speech, was sunk instantly.
She slammed her fist on the table, clearly annoyed.
"How is that my fault? I've failed at matchmaking so many times—there are no good men left in this world…"
After a long rant, she concluded:
"Anyway, I'm not having kids!"
Listening to her, Masao felt utterly lost.
Wait—weren't they just talking about national issues? Guy talk?
Then why did it end with [Anyway, I'm not having kids]?
Wasn't something seriously mixed up here?
He looked at Yukinoshita, as if to say:
[You did this to Hiratsuka-sensei. You fix it.]
Yukinoshita, unusually, avoided his gaze—guilty.
She hadn't expected her casual bit of venom to cause this much damage. Maybe she was still too young to understand how words like [marriage] and [having children] hit an older single woman.
Just then, Jahy—who had finished eating—asked curiously:
"Hey~ hey~, what's 'declining birthrate'?"
She'd heard it come up several times, and it sounded kind of scary.
Hearing that, Hiratsuka—still a bit down—explained:
"It means that fewer people want to have children these days, so the number of newborns keeps dropping."
"Oh, I see."
Jahy nodded thoughtfully. It did sound serious.
But she didn't care.
She wasn't human; human society's problems didn't concern her.
"Ah, whatever—this isn't something we can solve anyway. Let's just live our lives."
Hiratsuka waved it off, ending the topic.
Masao and Yukinoshita nodded in agreement.
Best not to talk about it. Really best not to. Who knows what Hiratsuka would turn into if they kept going.
Hiratsuka looked at Jahy and was surprised to see she'd finished an entire serving of pork cutlet rice.
That portion was meant for a full-grown adult man—perfect for Hiratsuka herself, but a bit much for a child.
"Not bad, little Jahy—great appetite."
Praised, Jahy puffed up with pride.
"Of course. My appetite has always been excellent. I could easily eat another serving."
Hiratsuka was a bold, straightforward person to begin with, and she liked Jahy's unreserved, unshy personality. They got along well.
"Then how about going out together sometime? I know lots of places with great food."
"Lots of good food?"
Jahy's eyes lit up.
She had to admit it—human cuisine really did taste better than what she'd had in the Demon Realm.
She swallowed and tried to stay calm.
"I'm in. But… You're paying."
She wasn't about to get arrested again for not paying—and as for spending her own money? Why do that when someone else's would do? Especially when her allowance was tiny. What would she do once it was gone?