Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

The hotel's incandescent lights were very bright.

Hanabi Hanabi just looked at him, her little hands clasped together, then lowered her head, "Today... Kai-kun, will you help Hanabi with her washing..."

"Oh~ Aren't you afraid that Kai-kun will make Hanabi do something naughty?" Uesugi Kai took off the red magatama from his neck, then turned around and smiled.

Hanabi Hanabi just stared at her little hands, her face growing increasingly red for some reason. "Today...it's okay...although Hanabi doesn't...no, she can't...but Hanabi doesn't want to see Kai-kun in pain..."

"...I already told you that the internet is a lie, it won't hurt."

"Then...then...then...maybe I should just forget about it..."

"Forget it? This isn't something you can just back out of so easily."

Kai Uesugi walked over and stood behind the girl.

The yukata is draped over the body, and the only way to keep it tightly wrapped is by a cloth sash about 30 centimeters wide tied around the waist.

Simply pull on that huge bow at the back, and the whole garment will loosen up.

"Kai... Kai-kun..." Hanabi Hanamaru quickly used her small fists to pull the yukata tighter around her chest so that it wouldn't slip off completely.

"Are you shy again?" Uesugi Kai stood behind her, wrapping his arms around the girl's soft, slender waist.

When you touch her, even through a silk bathrobe, you can feel her soft, supple waist.

Smoothly moving upwards, Uesugi Kai grasped her two clenched little fists and slowly pulled them apart downwards.

The bellflower yukata, now free of its tether, slipped off her fair, delicate shoulders and hung half-on the girl's slender arms.

Kai Uesugi's gaze lingered on her back for a while before he draped the yukata back over her shoulders.

"Kai...Kai-kun...?" Hanamaru Hanabi's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as she turned to look at him.

"Hmm...it has a very girlish feel to it."

Kai Uesugi took her hand from behind again, leaned close to her ear, and looked together at the bathroom with its orange-red lights.

"Can you help me today?"

......

......

......

--------

Tuesday, August 8th, an afternoon with nothing particularly special happening.

After spending a few more pleasant days in Matsuyama, Uesugi Kai and his group returned to the town.

He also gained a general understanding of his grandfather's condition.

Because of the agricultural cooperative, we can no longer sell oranges through regular retailers, so my grandfather started a direct-purchase and delivery service.

Due to its established reputation, many upscale restaurants and pastry shops are willing to purchase oranges in large quantities.

Although the order volume is not enough to fill the entire orchard this year, it can still basically maintain a break-even level.

The Black Cat Courier Service in the small town.

The deliveryman, dressed in a green hat and green clothes, packed up the game console that Kai Uesugi was going to send to Tokyo and wrote out the invoice.

"Precision instrument box: 356 yen, express delivery fee: 756 yen, total discount: 1112 yen."

"Can I use a bank card?" Uesugi Kai noticed that his work gloves were all covered in cat designs.

"can."

After sending the PS5, Uesugi Kai walked out of the glass door and looked up at the words "Kuro Neko Otaku Express" above the courier department.

Next to the words is a logo featuring a black cat carrying a kitten.

I heard that this courier service has excellent privacy protection; even if you mail a live person labeled "doll," no one will notice.

As she walked along the street, Uesugi Kai greeted some of the locals.

Many people watched him grow up, and because his grandfather loved to boast, he was burdened with the title of "child prodigy" from a young age.

—Because he never cried or made a fuss, and he always held a book and read it.

However, no matter how much she boasted, it was all in vain; Uesugi Kai would still go to school with her peers.

Compared to when I was a child, this town is much quieter now.

Just like Grandma said, all the young people have gone to Tokyo, and only middle-aged and elderly people who like farming and rural life stay here.

On her way back, Uesugi Kai ran into Aunt Eguchi again.

As usual, he talked about what his children had been doing these past few days, and said that he had told them to take Uesugi Kai as a role model and work hard to get into the University of Tokyo.

Shaking his head, Uesugi Kai never expected that he, who had been so lazy, would become "someone else's child".

the phone is ringing.

He pulled his phone out of his loose shorts.

"Moshi moshi".

"Kai-kun... Kai-kun, come back soon..." Hanabi Hanamaru's voice was very soft.

Uesugi Kai: "What happened?"

Hanabi Hanabi: "My house... so many people have come to my house..."

So many people?

Uesugi Kai frowned, having already grasped the gist of it. "I understand. I'll be back as soon as possible. Did they make a move or anything?"

Hanabi Hanamaru: "N-no...they're just sitting at home, and Grandma is already talking to them."

Kai Uesugi: "Just be careful. Those people aren't good people."

Hanabi Hanamaru: "Kai... Kai-kun, do you know what they do?"

Kai Uesugi: "I know a little, it's about my uncle."

"Beep—beep—beep"

After hanging up the phone, Uesugi Kai hurried home.

---------

Inside the Uesugi family's living room.

Grandma Uesugi slowly put down her teacup, knelt on the futon, and gathered the sleeves of her simple, elegant kimono together.

"Please state the purpose of your visit."

"I want money," replied the burly man in a suit with a fierce look in his eyes. He was sitting cross-legged with his hands on his knees.

He was followed by more than a dozen people, all dressed in black.

The elderly woman, Uesugi, with her white hair, closed her eyes and said in a low, slow voice:

"Looks like it's Jiro again."

The middle-aged man with a fierce look pressed his fist against his forehead. "It seems that the old lady of the Uesugi family still knows. In that case, I don't need to explain too much—5000 million, hand it over, and we'll leave."

“We are all honest people, and we do what we say and do. I believe you, madam, are aware of that.”

When he said the last sentence, the middle-aged man lowered his deep voice.

Grandma Uesugi's expression remained unchanged; she simply said calmly:

"The Uesugi family doesn't have that much money."

"No?"

The middle-aged man chuckled softly, "In this area, everyone knows that the Uesugi family's oranges sell well. One orange costs 625 yen, and I can't even bring myself to buy one."

Grandma Uesugi raised her eyes and looked at the dark mass of people in front of her:

"That's the price set by the agricultural association, which is completely different from the price they pay when they buy from us."

"Nothing is different."

The middle-aged man sat up, his fierce eyes pressing down. "I won't waste any more time arguing with you, old lady. I'll ask you one more question: can you come up with 5000 million?"

"We don't have that much money."

The middle-aged man waved behind him, and a row of men in suits stepped forward. "Since there's nothing, we'll take whatever the Uesugi family has, is that alright, ma'am?"

"Let me ask you one more question: where did this 5000 million come from?"

"Well, hehe, ma'am, don't worry about it. You can ask your good son. Now give me all the food!"

------------

Uesugi Kai started running, the cobblestone path crunching under his feet, and he was already not far from the Uesugi family home.

The "many people" that Hanamaru Hanabi mentioned were probably the guys who came to ask her uncle for money.

But my uncle, that guy who gambles all day, definitely doesn't have that much money.

5000 million is no small sum.

They must have known that their uncle couldn't produce that much, so they turned to ask their grandmother for it.

Although Kai Uesugi didn't know how much money his grandfather had saved over the years, if he had to give it to him, it should be at least 5000 million yen.

—If all the oranges are sold out this year.

Just as I was getting close to home, a big guy swaggered down the hillside, followed by a Shiba Inu wagging its tail.

His eyes lit up, and he spotted Uesugi Kai in an instant, waving and calling out excitedly:

"My beloved student!!!"

Uesugi Kai glanced at him and noticed that he was carrying two wooden swords on his back, so she immediately stopped.

"like--"

"master."

"?"

That cold and indifferent "Master" completely stunned Sakakibara Isshin.