Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"I wasn't as open-minded as you are now back then; I was quite reserved, so there's not much to say..."

Then, seemingly recalling a painful past, Grandma Kobayashi said with a dark face.

"If I had to say something, it's that my old man is a bit too popular with women, which gives me a lot of headaches... But in the end, he still stayed with me, so I'm the only winner in the end! Bai Zi, you only need to know this much! You don't need to know the details!"

It seems that Grandma Kobayashi also experienced a brutal and chaotic time when she was young...

"Yes... Mother-in-law is awesome!"

"However, from an elder's perspective, it's not a bad result that you, Shirako, can 'accept both of them at the same time.' Although I'm Hitomi's grandmother, I also quite like Ziyin. I hope both children can find happiness..."

"..."

Kuroba Akira originally wanted to say, "I will!", but his expression stiffened, mainly because Grandma Kobayashi had underestimated the number.

Grandma Kobayashi immediately noticed this and squinted her eyes to ask.

"Could it be... there are more than two?"

"Yes...maybe...there might be more than three, there could be more..."

"what……"

Grandma Xiaolin then held her forehead and sighed helplessly.

"Although I've long since figured out that you, Bai Zi, are just like my old man, a man with a lot of luck with women... I never expected you to be this bold..."

"Well, I'm not just playing around with them."

"I already knew that. I've been observing you, Bai Zi, for quite some time now. I can see what kind of man you really are quite clearly."

However, things unfolded in a way that was quite unexpected for her.

"Actually, I originally thought that with your level of skill, Shirako, my clever and witty Hitomi would devour you completely. It would be good enough if Shion-chan got a share, but... it seems that Shirako has gotten rid of the 'burden' you've been carrying all this time."

"Yes, I've figured some things out... and I've also realized that for them, my excessive concern can actually become a 'burden' and a 'trigger'."

"You understand this, so it seems you're at least a bit better than my old man when it comes to matters of the heart... Although it's not right for me, the woman who ended up with him, to say this, quite a few women did lose their hearts and lives because of his 'heartlessness,' and some have even remained unmarried to this day... Now when we play cards, they even team up to cheat this old woman who has lost her husband."

"Uh, the person you're playing mahjong with, Grandma, is your husband's old flame?"

"They are just my 'friends and enemies,' my old man and they have never really been 'good' to each other."

"..."

"However, now my Xiaotong has also fallen for you, and it was only because of my meddling that she noticed you. You could say I'm the one who caused Xiaotong to 'meet the wrong person'~ Sigh~ My poor granddaughter~ You brat, if you dare to let my Xiaotong down, I'll chop off your head!"

I feel like she's really capable of doing it... she'll turn into a wicked old woman.

"As for what's between you and Xiaotong, and your relationship with other women... I don't care and I'm too lazy to interfere. I'm not so old-fashioned as to meddle in the love lives of my grandchildren. Xiaotong's mother has already made this mistake once, so how could I hurt that child's heart again?"

"...Thank you, old woman."

"Alright, so what are you doing here? Just here to report to me that you're going to marry a lot of women?"

This question reminded Kuroba Akira of the important matter, and he first brought up the matter of hiring Akiko as a nanny.

"No, I came to tell you that I'm planning to hire a nanny to come to our house. In the future, if you want to buy anything, the nanny can go with you."

Grandma Lin rolled her eyes and refused unhappily.

"Ha! No need! I'm not so old that I can't walk or carry things!"

"I didn't hire someone specifically to take care of you, old lady. Actually, this is a classmate's mother..."

Akira Kuroba simply explained why Akiko Takanashi came to be a babysitter, attributing it to the future's 'willfulness'.

Actually, Akira Kuroba thinks that the reason Mirai wanted to send her mother over was because she wanted a reason to come and play with him anytime, and also because she wanted to go to school with him.

Given his current 'family' relationship with his future self, it's not surprising that he wants to spend more time with me in the future.

Akira Kuroba also mentioned that he was helping to play the role of the absent father in Takanashi's family.

After hearing the reason, Grandma Kobayashi was not surprised by it. Instead, she looked on with a look of reminiscence when she heard the surname Takanashi.

"Does it 'birds swim'...?"

"Old woman, you know about this too? Oh, right, you also watch Miss Sea Fan."

"I haven't paid attention to such trivial things as voice actor changes... Hmm, I just remembered, that girl named Takanashi Mirai, she's Hitomi's childhood friend, right?"

"Yes, old lady, you also know about the class monitor's childhood group of five?"

“I vaguely remember… Although the other kids don’t remember, I do remember this little bird swimming in the future…”

Grandma Lin recalled her husband's words, tinged with guilt: "In the end, the child was dragged into this too..."

The bird that flies into the future must be 'that child'.

"Bai Zi, you're actually playing the role of that child's father... I guess that's some kind of fate."

"Ok?"

"It's nothing. Anyway, if her mother is willing to come and be our nanny, then let her come. But I won't pay her."

"I know, old lady, just give me the permission and the key."

"Alright, I'll grant them permission to come and go freely from the Kobayashi family home. As for the keys, I don't have enough spare keys right now. I'll get a few for you later, and you can pass them on to them."

"Okay, thank you, Simas!"

"Also, if you're playing the role of Takanashi's future father, does that mean you and Takanashi Akiko are husband and wife... is that true?"

"... "

"I see... No wonder you insisted on hiring someone to be your housekeeper, so it would be easier for her to 'serve you in bed,' right..."

"No, no, no, I really didn't mean to do anything inappropriate in my own home. It wouldn't be good if I disturbed your rest, Mother-in-law..."

"Stop disgusting me. Just don't make the furniture dirty. I guess the lower bunk I'm using this time won't be enough for three or even four people to share, right? Make your own bedding, but don't keep messing around and make it smell like a pigsty."

"They actually allow it?"

"I told you this is your freedom, but I didn't expect you to become 'so free' after you've figured it out... If you go too far with your freedom, be careful you don't have a stroke and die suddenly, or at least you'll suffer from kidney deficiency and die young."

Just as Kuroo said, everyone can see it.

Or rather, anyone who understands Kuroba Akira's relationships with multiple women would give him this advice.

“I’ve already been paying attention… Speaking of which, the main thing I came here to tell you is…”

Kuroba Akira paused for a moment, then pointed to the black tail of the hen squatting down and said.

"Kuro-o can talk now."

Grandma Xiaolin didn't show much surprise; she just asked with some disbelief.

"Oh? So fast? I thought it would take at least three to five years. It seems you're doing a pretty good job, Bai Zi. But haven't you been busy with your career and dating all this time? How did you find the time to properly fulfill your duties as an agent? Are you a master of time management?"

"Actually, it's all interconnected... Let her tell you herself."

Kuroo thought it was finally his turn to talk to Mika, so he stood up and put a paw next to Granny Kobayashi's ear, much gentler than when he was talking to Kuroba Akira.

Then Kuroba Akira heard Granny Kobayashi sigh several times, her expression becoming even more surprised, and she would occasionally look at Kuroba Akira with a strange gaze.

What did Kuroo say to Granny Kobayashi? Could it be slander or bad things?

The main problem is that Granny Kobayashi communicates with Kuroo using her inner voice, so there's no way of knowing what they're saying.

Kuroba Akira felt excluded and complained to Kuroo.

"Hey, Kuroo, can't I hear what you guys are saying too? Can we have a three-way connection? Like each of us wearing one earphone."

Then Kuroo gave him a 'I can't do anything with you' look and stretched out one of his hind legs toward Kuroba Akira, gesturing for him to put it to his ear.

So the cat ended up doing a cat-like stretching pose on Akira Kuroba and Granny Kobayashi's shoulders.

Finally, the shared audio channel was connected, and Kuroba Akira heard Kuroo say.

"Mika, next New Year, come to the shrine with me, meow."

It seems the explanation has been finished, and we're now moving on to other topics.

"Oh, Hatsumode? It's true that I haven't been since my husband passed away. It's not very interesting to go by myself... Besides, I'm used to spending Lunar New Year with my husband. We didn't really value Hatsumode in the past."

"It's been a long time since I've been there, meow."

"Yes, it seems like I haven't been there since your shrine moved to the new location, right? Your gods really value this day because it's when they receive the biggest wave of faith at the start of the year... Are you going there this time to speed up the recovery of faith?"

"It has nothing to do with that, meow... It's just... I just want to go, meow! Mika, you'll come with me, meow!"

"Okay, okay, I got it... Let's go together then."

Grandma Kobayashi finally acted like a doting grandmother, her face full of kindness, which disgusted Kuroba Akira.

"However, I think if it's just for worship, visiting your old shrine would be fine, right? We can contact Hosen now and have him allocate personnel so that the old shrine can be reopened immediately..."

"No way! Going to the old shrine would be pointless!"

"Hmm? But Kuroo, you prefer the old shrine, don't you? You agreed to relocate the shrine, but after the new shrine was built, you said the old one was better, and you refused to leave the old shrine, which has now fallen into disrepair..."

"Hmm... Don't worry about this beautiful flower, meow. Anyway, let's keep the cat at the old shrine for now. I still have a use for it, meow!"

"Alright, alright, I'll keep it for you. It's your shrine anyway, and no one would dare touch it..."

"I'm definitely going to the new shrine this time, meow!"

Kuroba Akira chimed in with a suggestion.

"Then let's all go to the New Year's shrine together."

"Then we have to go earlier. Even if it's not a famous place like Senso-ji Temple, small shrines still get a lot of people on Hōshō days... and changing into a kimono takes a lot of time."

"Old lady, are you going to change into a kimono? There's no need to dress so formally, is there?"

Upon hearing Kuroba Akira's question, Granny Kobayashi rolled her eyes and said...

"Of course it's not me wearing it, and it doesn't matter if you dress like a man, but Shirako, don't you want to see my Hitomi and Shion-chan in kimonos?"

"I want to see it!"

"And your other women... If you're not afraid of trouble, you can call them over, and I can prepare kimonos for them."

"Old woman... no! My dear mother-in-law!"

"Don't give me that. If you want to watch it, just make time for me."

"Yes! Um, I have another question..."