Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 44 11. "Hanekawa Uzuki"

On a leisurely morning on a business day, Ms. Mami's hearty laughter echoed in the store.

Masumi gave her a look of disdain, "Why are you laughing so exaggeratedly?"

“Because it’s really funny.”

She cleared her throat and read to Masumi the joke she had just seen: "An advertisement from a German travel agency: Travel to Poland! Your car has been waiting for you there for three months -"

After finishing the recitation while suppressing her laughter, Mami burst into laughter again, her back shaking with laughter.

It took Masumi half a second to understand the joke, another half a second to curl the corners of his mouth, another second to calm his smile, and then he blurted out:
"This is a regional black joke."

"Who cares? It's enough to make me laugh."

"Islanders also like to play this game. Shiga is like: if you look down on Lake Biwa, you will be killed."

"That sounds a little scary."

"What is Hyogo? I searched—ah! Found it: there seem to be a lot of famous places, but I can't remember any of them, hahahahahahahaha..."

The unbridled laughter made Masumi curl his lips again, "You laugh so tastelessly at a regional joke, be careful you get a beating."

"And Himeji Castle, Koshien, the Takarazuka Revue, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Kobe beef—these are all very famous, right?"

"You're saying that because you're a citizen of Hyogo Prefecture."

"But even if you ask me to name Shiga Prefecture's famous places, I really can't think of any besides Lake Biwa."

Not a very competent Shiga person.

"Where's Rinne? What's Gunma Prefecture like?" Asami touched Rinne's shoulder with her slender fingertips.

“It’s like the Amazon rainforest.”

Rinyin answered without looking up.

Gunma Prefecture… Masumi thought for a moment, “The Akina Mountain in Initial D must be there.”

"Well, the prototype is Mount Haruna in Gunma Prefecture."

"Hey, that sounds more interesting than Shiga."

Miss Mami held her chin, not knowing what she was thinking.

Then he turned to look at the girl next to him who had remained silent the entire time and asked.

"Where's Xiao Haiyue? Where are you from?"

The mysterious girl named "Hekawa Kaizuki" who appeared at the store entrance yesterday is currently staying in a spare room on the third floor. Masumi hasn't charged her rent, but he doesn't really plan to keep her there long-term.

He made up his mind to contact her family as soon as possible and get rid of this hot potato.

Even though he could just leave it alone, Masumi, who was a pushover, couldn't bear to do so.

He was also very worried that this mysterious girl would use a series of anti-wolf props on everyone who came up to talk to her.

"...I'm not a pushover, Masumi-kun gets a lot of points for doing this."

Asami said this to him who had made the decision, and Kuon Mirai nodded in agreement, while Kamishiro Rin remained silent.

"If I were to describe him using light novel language, he'd be a gentle male protagonist." Asami smiled with narrowed eyes.

"Don't call me gentle." Masumi sighed: "It's not that being nice to people doesn't count as being gentle."

"You're so awkward."

Asami shrugged at him, recalling yesterday.

I hope I don't get into any more trouble.

Although taking in a young girl is a hassle in itself.

Sighing quietly, he listened to Hanekawa Kaizuki's indifferent response to Mami.

"People from Kyushu."

"No, no, you're obviously speaking in a Kansai accent. I've heard Kyushu dialect before, and it's incredibly unfashionable."

Mami now speaks of regional black behavior as naturally as breathing.

"...It's a disguise." Haiyue explained nonchalantly.

"That answer is equally unconvincing."

However, this possibility cannot be ruled out.

The indirect approach failed, so Masumi asked directly: "Why did you run away from home?"

"They don't want me anymore."

Haiyue said this expressionlessly, in a calm tone as if it had nothing to do with her.

"Wow, could it be that Xiao Haiyue was..."

Asami gently covered her lips with her palm, while Masumi looked thoughtful.

Kamishiro Rinone glanced at her and said nothing.

"..." After a moment of silence, Haiyue volunteered, as if to increase the value of her existence:
"I can cook and help in the kitchen."

"Hey——what can you cook?"

"curry."

Haiyue held the hair beside her cheek with her hand and blinked.

◇

The faucet made a dull "humming" sound, and clear water flowed into the hemispherical iron pot.

Kamiyo Rinone put on rubber gloves, picked up a bristle brush, and scrubbed the burnt surface of the iron pan vigorously.

"Don't use high heat when adding curry cubes, as this can easily cause them to not melt completely and burn the pan."

Although her expression was as cold as ever, one could tell from her frown that she was troubled.

"Shao told me that curry gets burnt easily."

Haiyue said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"That was just to comfort you," Masumi said subconsciously, then belatedly asked, "Who is Kozue?"

"friend."

After saying these words, Haiyue closed her lips and refused to speak anymore.

She often does this, and faced with this, Masumi can only helplessly be forced to end the topic.

He secretly memorized the name "Shao" in his heart.

The four of them had this pot of curry for lunch today.

Aside from the uneven cuts of the ingredients and a bit too much seasoning, the curry was actually quite good. Of course, that was also due to the curry's inherent excellence.

If Masumi were to evaluate it, it would be at the level of a high school student's home economics class, or the level of a forest school.

But it is clearly not qualified to be sold as a formal meal.

The plan of helping in the kitchen obviously failed. Haiyue still had no expression on her face and slowly reached out to pick up the end of her hair.

“I can also make bread.”

"No need." Masumi and the others were no longer willing to let her step into the kitchen. "Before you go home, you can just occasionally take charge of the reception work."

Hanekawa Kaizuki nodded silently.

◇

In the afternoon, drizzle began to fall again. Because the plum rain came early, the air was still chilly.

When June comes, the thick and sticky heat and humidity will mix together, and that is when it will be really torture.

With such a hint of melancholy in his mind, Masumi methodically poured the coffee liquid into the ice water, made a cup of iced American coffee, placed it on a tray, and had Kamishiro Rinone carry it to the customer.

He stared blankly at Linyin's back. The bow on her waist belt swayed gently with her steps, looking lifelike, just like a real butterfly flapping its wings to fly. The sunlight filtered by the rain flowed on the pleats of her skirt.

The coffee cup landed on the table with a steady thud.

Masumi withdrew his gaze and focused his attention back on the pages of the book spread out on the bar. Suddenly, the familiar scent of shampoo wafted into his nose.

Citrus aroma.

It should be the one commonly used by Shendai.

He raised his head and glanced at Rin, who was taking orders for customers not far away. Then he glanced at the girl beside him who was staring at him intently, and asked softly:
"What's wrong, Ms. Hanekawa?"

Hanekawa Kaizuki remained silent, her flaxen bangs swaying softly, and she pointed her eyes at the book in front of Masumi, "What book are you reading?"

"The Crab Cannery Ship." Masumi flipped the cover back over to show her. This wasn't something he'd bought specially; to add to the cafe's literary atmosphere, he'd set up a bookshelf in front of the bar, filled with books. He could read whatever he wanted.

"do you want to see?"

Hanekawa Kaizuki shook her head slightly, then turned the phone sideways, lowered her eyelashes quietly, and the glass screen slid smoothly against her fingertips. The model should be a Sharp phone.

Masumi leaned in closer and saw that she was playing a video on her phone, which was a video of colorful marine life.

"No sound?"

he asked, watching the silent video.

Hearing this, her flaxen hair shook slightly up and down.

The soft fingertips pressed the volume button, and the elongated volume bar appeared at the top of the horizontal screen. It turned out that it was already halfway through. This video was originally without sound.

"Do you... want to see it?" Haiyue asked him.

"No thanks."

Masumi gently refused, turned her head, and picked up the part of the novel she had just read.

　Thanks to Zhizhu Zaiwu and Xia Yiyouchang for their rewards. Thanks to Zhizhu Zaiwu. It is better to forget each other than to support each other. Book friend 20240411160934976, Yoliwa, Fengdu Zhenren, book friend 20220813124818502, It is hard to say in one word, July's dawn, book friend 2021020216323810, Where can I find the pure joy in the world, Muzhuying's postman, nanmengyaa's monthly ticket, thank you all for your comments and recommendation votes

　　I had a dispute with the landlord when I moved out, so I was angry and the update was a little late.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)