Travel through the daily life of the dragon clan

Chapter 551: It doesn't matter whether it's real or fake
Patapapapapap——

Raindrops fell from the eaves, walls, and branches, just like beads that had broken off a string, and finally connected together to form water drops, hitting the ground and also landing on the scarlet kimono.

Sakurai Kogure stood in the pouring rain, her long black hair tied behind her head with a mountain peach blossom inserted diagonally.

"Father, please let me get it for you."

"Hmm? Thank you then."

Shuichi smiled again. Being good at observing other people's moods, he saw that Zero had given way and realized that this was probably a misunderstanding. However, the parties involved had not yet come to a conclusion, so he would not be stupid enough to act on his own.

Sachinko blinked, her gaze repeatedly shifting between the roof and Zero, finally stopping on the other food boxes in Shuichi's arms.

"Hey, hey! Ling-chan, you can entertain your friends first, and leave these things to me and Shuichi~"

If Ling-chan didn't tell her, she wouldn't understand the situation, but Sa Chiko wasn't a willful child at all times. On the contrary, she was very good at interacting with people and reading the atmosphere. Furthermore, it was all thanks to her mother that Zhuo, who had been autistic for many years and lacked external communication, could be so popular in the town.

Shuichi observed Zero's reaction, and when he saw that she had no objection, he planned to go into the house with Sachiko.

"Zero-chan, please go back to the house early. It's raining outside and you're tired after a long day. It's better to go back and rest early."

"Well, thank you for your concern."

"Ah~ I'm so sad~ I have to be separated from Ling-chan for a while~"

Sachiko walked slowly back to the living room and said this, and her husband Shuichi could only smile bitterly.

Sa Chiko has completely loved Zero as her own daughter, and will be very caring and close to Zero whenever she has the chance.

He could see that Zero was not the kind of girl who liked to hang out with people like ordinary people, but Zero herself didn't seem to object to Sachiko's closeness, so Shuichi didn't intend to say anything just like that.

Besides, in his eyes, Zero is also someone who needs care, so he does not object to Sa Chiko's positive behavior.

"You really like Zero so much~"

"Of course. She is my beloved daughter~"

Seeing Sachinko saying this with an intoxicated look on her face, Shuichi smiled gently.

"Ah, let me first state that I have no complaints about Zhuo. I am very happy that I gave birth to him. I am really happy that he was born and grew up safely. I don't regret it at all. After all, he is my lovely son."

Sa Chiko added with a bright smile, "Otherwise I wouldn't love him so much."

Hearing this, Shuichi smiled and ruffled Sachiko's hair. Sachiko continued in this state:

"That being said, Ling-chan still looks listless..."

"You seem to be in a better mood though," Shuichi consoled.

"That's all I can do... Even though I took her to the party today, Ling-chan really doesn't have much interest in this kind of thing. In the end, is the problem still with Zhuo?"

"After all, the person you like is no longer here. Would you feel the same if I were away for a while?"

"That's right... Oh, I still want a daughter. Ling-chan is so cute, I've always wanted to try to wear parent-child outfits with her, and also want to hold girls' parties, go shopping together, etc.... That child is really cute, and today I am amazed the children of Nikaidou and Isuzu's family!"

"...Zhuo that kid is surprisingly possessive. He will definitely get mad if he finds out, right?"

"Who knows? With a cute daughter like that, of course you have to show her off~ Besides, it's all Shu's fault, leaving his lovely wife behind to go out with another girl... Ah, I'm not dissatisfied with Eri-chan~ She's also a good child, and I knew that on the day of Shu's wedding."

"Zhuo is not a child anymore, he must know what he cannot do."

"Of course I know. Zhuo is also my child. Well, Ling-chan is also my child, so I feel at ease taking her out to play~"

"Yes, yes. But you have to go and talk to Zhuo yourself."

Xiuyi guessed that as long as Ling didn't dislike it, Zhuo would most likely let them do what they wanted.

He looked back at the two people still standing inside and outside the door, not knowing what was going on. Since they didn't intend to say it, he and Sa Chiko would not ask further.

As expected, it was better to make a decision first. Although it seemed that Zero's condition had not improved much, seeing that Sachiko was full of energy and still enthusiastically looking forward to the next opportunity, Shuichi felt relieved. He was secretly glad that Sachiko was such a wife and mother who was full of energy and hope, otherwise, as a man, he would not be able to do anything in this situation.

In short, let's prepare a surprise meal for being 'discovered'.

……

Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga

The rain was pouring down, and a giant crow, which fed on the garbage left by nearby residents, flew from a nearby electric pole to the roof of a house on the left.

It stood there with its head tilted, looking down at Sakurai Kogure who was soaked like a drowned rat in the rain, and Zero who was standing in the entrance looking at each other, and barked twice, "Ga-ga-ga", as if reminding them that they should not stay here for long.

"I'm so sorry, please go inside first."

Although she said words of apology, Zero did not bend down or look at Sakurai Kogure. Her eyes fell on the crow.

"Thank you...for bothering me."

At this moment, the huge crow and Zero's blue eyes met directly. She just stood at the door without looking at Sakurai Kogure who was approaching, nor did she turn aside to make way or turn her back to go back into the house.

Sakurai Kogure didn't seem to want to talk either. She just silently turned her bright face towards the direction behind Zero, not paying any attention to the girl at the door frame.

In this way, the distance gradually approaches and then returns to 0, and then slightly deviates.

Sakurai Kogure entered the house, and Zero gradually relaxed his tense nerves and withdrew his gaze from outside the house.

Turning around, I saw that Sakurai Kogure had kicked off the clogs on his feet and was raising his knees to reach out to pull off the tabi. The white tabi had become darker in color due to the rain, and finally, I seemed to hear a faint click, and the tabi bounced in Sakurai Kogure's hand, and then was pinched between his fingers.

"Sorry, I'm sorry."

"..."

After noticing Zero's gaze, Sakurai Kogure turned around and bowed to her again to apologize.

Zero didn't respond to this. She didn't trust this woman very much, and it was even more impossible for her to let down her guard just because of a letter from Ruri Kazama. In other words, even if everything in the letter was true, so what? Even if it was really Zhuo who asked Ruri Kazama to send Sakurai Kogure, it didn't mean anything to Zero. She still had to distrust him and be on guard.

She never trusted anyone except Zhuo. "If I'm not mistaken, you are Mrs. Utsunomiya Rei, the wife of Mr. Utsunomiya? I'm sorry for coming to your house without permission. I was planning to buy some small gifts, but I didn't expect to meet Utsunomiya on the way...ah, I'll just call you Mr. Shuichi."

Sakurai Kogure didn't seem angry at Zero's indifference. Instead, she smiled warmly.

Her smile is so beautiful that if someone else meets her somewhere else, it will definitely make that person feel good for the whole day.

But Ling felt that although the smile was sweet, it was too commercial.

However, after a brief thought, Zero nodded slightly. Although he still did not respond, he squatted beside the shoe cabinet and prepared to find a pair of indoor slippers for Sakurai Kogure.

Even if he didn't like this person. During the time when Zhuo was not at home, Ling felt that he had an obligation to entertain the guests who came to visit, so as not to make people think that the Utsunomiya family was a family without etiquette.

There are two shoe cabinets in the Utsunomiya family. There is a separate shoe cabinet for going-out shoes, and Zero is squatting in front of another shoe cabinet.

She hesitated after picking up a pair of disposable slippers, thinking about what was said in the letter. If it was true, Sakurai Kogure might stay here for a while.

So the pair of gray and white disposable slippers were put back in place, and a pair of new blue unopened slippers were taken out.

The transparent packaging bag was torn open by hand, but Ling did not throw it directly in front of her. Instead, he gently placed it at his feet and then pushed it over.

There are quite a lot of etiquette in Japan, and most of them restrict women. For example, if the husband comes home, the wife needs to kneel down in front of the entrance steps and place slippers at his feet. If the situation is more strict, the wife may even need to help the husband put on his shoes.

Of course you don't have to do this if you are a guest, but it is impolite to throw it away like garbage.

By the way, the Japanese worship crows, just like they worship death and cherry blossoms. The samurai spirit in their bones is something that Zero cannot understand.

But she also knew that if she attacked Crow in Neon, she would be reported, and that would lead to very troublesome consequences.

It is also true that, under the protection of the law, the kind of gregarious robbers covered in black feathers mentioned above are often lawless. The large ones can even be fifty to sixty centimeters long from head to tail, with a large wingspan. When flying, they are almost as big as an eagle, which is quite exaggerated.

Sakurai Kogure was naturally not a person who did not know etiquette. He immediately bent down to take the slippers, and then continued to hook his legs to take off the other wet tabi.

Zero just stood there and watched her take off the tabi on her other foot in the same way. Then, when Sakurai Kogure bent down to take off her slippers, he asked calmly:
"Ryoma?"

Sakurai Kogure stopped, raised her head, and revealed Sakurai Kogure's heavily made-up face.

She only put on half of her shoes, and she didn't even straighten her back before looking up to meet Zero's eyes.

Zero didn't know what she saw on her face. Logically, there should be no expression on her face. Sakurai Kogure thought for a moment and replied:

"Yes, I'm Sakurai Kogure."

"..."

Zero was silent again.

She had seen Ruri Kazama, but had never seen Kogure Sakurai.

In the "future" story that Zhuo told him, it only involved the story surrounding Uesugi Eriya and the three people around her. Even Caesar and Chu Zihang were just incidental.

Ling knew that it wasn't that Zhuo wanted to hide something, but he probably felt there was no need to say it, or simply forgot to say it.

According to the information she had learned, the fierce ghost generals were destroyed in the turmoil, and the Eight Snake Clans were only a step away from being shattered, and were once again pushed back to the same situation after their defeat decades ago.

As for other things...they weren't important things in the first place. What did the fierce ghosts have to do with them?

She has seen too many lives and deaths, and has experienced death many times. In fact, it is just a simple thing. Everyone has their own joys and sorrows and endings. If Zhuoru says something like "the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility", Ling will hold his forehead and ignore him for a few days to make him change his naive idea.

The reason why she called Sakurai Kogure was that while she wanted to confirm whether the identity of 'Ryoma' in the letter was accurate, she also had some doubts about the relationship between this person and Kazama Ruri.

As she saw it, Sakurai Kogure was too young.

And he was able to be trusted by Ruri Kazama and sent to her side to "protect her".

Zero is not a fool. He knows that this means that this woman is probably the person that Kazama Ruri trusts the most. It is easy for him to think that she has an unusual relationship with Kazama Ruri.

"Mrs. Utsunomiya was thinking, with my bloodline and age, how could I be the most trusted person of that lord? I must be a mistress, right?"

Sakurai Kogure smiled, lowered her head, put on her slippers and stood up. When she stood up, she was taller than Zero:
"Is my guess right?"

"I do think so. You look very beautiful and young, but your bloodline seems ordinary to me. I don't think you have the ability to protect me... and I don't need to."

"Maybe that's what you think. But I'm a ghost, a ghost that could go berserk at any time. You can ask anything of a person like me, such as taking a bullet for you."

Zero answered Sakurai Kogure's question truthfully, without any beating around the bush or being euphemistic.

She is not good at lying and doesn't like it, but she just thinks so and says so.

However, after hearing Sakurai Kogure's answer, Zero fell silent.

It's not that she was moved by the other person's words. There will never be another person in this world who can move her with words. It's not that there are no such people, but she just doesn't want to be moved, that's all.

The reason why she was silent was that she felt that the bright woman in front of her was too familiar. She was so resolute and free-spirited, like a moth to a flame. Looking at her was like looking at her long-time companion...

After thinking about this, Zero looked at her silently for a few seconds again, then walked towards the entrance without saying a word, stepped onto the deck, and walked past her towards the stairwell.

Sakurai Kogure was still at the entrance. Even though she had changed into indoor shoes, she did not follow. She just turned around quietly, and her vision followed Zero's movements.

Until Zero stepped onto the first step of the stairwell.

Zero didn't stop walking, and looked like he really wanted to leave her there.

"I'll take you to change your clothes."

The same indifferent voice as always.

Sakurai Kogure always maintained that sweet smile and bowed once again.

"Thank you for your generosity."

Then she lifted her skirt and walked to the entrance.

(End of this chapter)