Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

"Isn't it about time for Lenai to go home?"

"Yeah," she nodded and said slowly while looking at the scenery on the street, "Today is 'Ramen Day'."

What kind of festival is this...

Without intending to complain, Ritsu Narose pushed the cart to send Kaname Rana home - although it looked more like he had just bought a cat from a pet store.

More than ten minutes later, he was standing downstairs of the apartment building he had just visited yesterday, driving at full speed, urging the cat to quickly return to her cat bed.

However, what he didn't expect was that -

"Not here."

Seeing the girl shaking her head to indicate "this is not my hometown", even though Ritsu Narose was familiar with her character, his brain froze for a few seconds.

Still confused, he saw a gray-haired figure appear from the stairs.

45. Ramen and Home (Two in One)

What is it like to carry a cat in a cart in front of its grandmother?

I can only say it feels weird, as if I'm taking home an item that's not for sale on the shelf.

"I see, no wonder she came home so late last night."

After listening to Ritsu Narose's explanation and noticing the small bucket and gardening shovel with some soil still left in the cart, Tsuzuki Shifune had basically believed Ritsu Narose's words.

Walking to the cart, she looked at her granddaughter who had remained silent the entire time and asked, "Why did Lenai suddenly come here again?"

"..."

Seeing that Kaname Runa seemed to be resisting talking about the time they made a cake together, Naruse Ritsu took the initiative to intervene: "Um... Excuse me, isn't this where Runa lives?"

"This is where I used to live. I haven't been here for a while." Shaking his head, Tsuzuki Shifune continued, "I noticed my house key was missing, and the kid came home so late the night before last, so I knew what was going on."

"Today, I realized that this kid had secretly brought a lot of food here without my knowledge... and in the end, he left without even cleaning up the kitchen garbage."

"So this is ah……"

As the supporting actor, Ritsu Narose took over the conversation and suddenly felt that there was something strange about these words.

But before he could figure out the details, Tsuzuki Shifune, who had just finished teaching the cat a lesson, turned to look at him and said, "I have some things to take care of tonight, so I probably won't have time to prepare dinner for Lenai. If you don't mind, why not come with us?"

"Then I would be disrespectful."

Nagasaki Motoyo had already returned to her Roppongi apartment building in Minato Ward to prepare for her mother's upcoming return. Toyokawa Shoko was still busy with her duties and wouldn't be leaving so early.

With no one at home to worry about and suddenly having nothing to do, Ritsu Narose readily accepted the invitation.

When he sat in the ramen shop filled with fragrant aroma, he finally understood what "Ramen Day" that Lenai had mentioned before was.

Sitting in the store, Ritsu Narose could always feel the gaze of the old woman sitting across from her.

"Don't be shy. You and the kids in that band usually take care of Lenai for me. I should be the one thanking you."

"Then I won't be polite."

After taking the menu, Ritsu Narose glanced at it and couldn't help but look a little surprised.

The decoration inside the store looks so exquisite, and it doesn't look like the kind of store where you pick up numbers in advance, but the menu still retains the tradition of Jiro ramen shops?

Not intending to keep anyone waiting, he quickly chose his ramen: "I'll have a bowl of tonkotsu ramen... firm noodles with chashu and double the minced garlic."

After stating the specific request, Ritsu Naruse noticed that Kaname Rakuna was staring at him intently.

She raised her hand and said in a voice much louder than usual, "I want the same one."

"Lena!"

Before Narose Ritsu could say anything to dissuade her, Tsuzuki Shifune frowned and his tone became a little stern when he saw his granddaughter starting to act recklessly again.

However, Kaname just turned his head away and ignored her.

Knowing Yaoi Lanna's character well, Tsuzuki Shifune saw at a glance that his granddaughter had made up her mind to marry into the Japanese army.

Even if I don't agree this time, she will probably sneak here and repeat that bold ordering request.

Not wanting to educate his granddaughter in a harsh tone in public, Tsuzuki Shisen sighed.

While asking the store manager, who was an old acquaintance of hers, to prepare an extra takeout box for delivery, she looked at Kaname and said, "You have to finish what you ordered yourself, okay?"

Seeing his granddaughter nodding busily, Tsuzuki Shisen's expression became even more subtle.

Soon, three bowls of ramen appeared in front of them.

A broth made from pork and miso soy sauce is poured into the bowl, and thick slices of barbecued pork are surrounded by a pile of bean sprouts and cabbage. The fat shimmers seductively under the warm yellow light, and the rising aroma is even more appetizing.

Ritsu Narose's eyes began to shine, while some people saw nothing but darkness.

Seeing the huge bowl of ramen in front of her that was filled to the brim, the anticipation in Kaname Lenai's eyes began to disappear at the speed of light.

"Hand-Pulled Noodle……"

Turning to look at Ritsu Narose next to him, he saw that he had already opened his chopsticks and was ready to start. Kaname tilted his head and looked at the towering city wall in front of him.

Is this really ramen?

She picked up the chopsticks with her trembling left hand and picked up the toppings, muttering to herself, "Barbecued pork... cabbage... bean sprouts..."

Dial the dial again to peel off the layer of minced garlic and see the noodles buried deep inside.

Her throat welled up slightly, and Kaname pressed her free right hand against her stomach, feeling as if she were full.

Looking to the right at grandma, the ramen in front of her is still ordinary ramen with only onsen eggs and vegetables.

Looking to the left, Ritsu Narose had already professionally flipped the noodles at the bottom of the bowl onto the vegetables, and began to enjoy them like a ramen-slurping assembly line.

As if struck by lightning, she looked back at the oversized ramen in front of her with a determined look.

With the same energy as Don Quixote charging at the windmill giant, she picked up the vegetables on the top layer...

Five minutes later, the cat, who had never stopped working, banged its head on the table. The bowl of ramen in front of her seemed to have remained unchanged except for a few fewer vegetables.

After guzzling down the noodle soup, Naruse Ritsu wiped his mouth and smiled at the girl who looked at him for help, saying, "The challenge failed."

"..."

Pouting, she turned to look at her grandmother.

However, her grandmother just looked at her kindly and told her that this bowl of ramen would soon go home with her.

As he walked out of the ramen shop, Ritsu Narose saw that the cat, who had been listless just now, was full of energy in an instant, and climbed into his cart and sat down with nimble hands and feet.

"This child..."

Tsuzuki Shifune, carrying her ramen, had already lost count of how many times she had sighed that day. Looking at the young man in front of her, she thought for a moment before finally extending an invitation...

……

Ritsu Narose never thought that Lenai's home would be the classic Japanese garden that often appears in film and television works.

Sitting in the room facing the courtyard, he took the hot tea handed to him by Lao Liulin'er (two) and whispered his thanks.

He was a little confused about Tsuzuki's idea of ​​poetry ship.

Not long ago, she said that she had something to deal with in the evening, but now she has time to sit here and chat with him.

"This used to be where Lenai and her parents lived," the gray-haired old man said calmly, looking at the girl sitting on the terrace outside the house, concentrating on playing the guitar. "But they are all abroad now, so Lenai and I live here together."

"I see……"

"What about you? Do you live with your parents?"

Faced with this conversation that resembled an investigation into his family background, Ritsu Naruse was silent for a few seconds before he spoke carefully, "I've lived alone for a long time."

The breeding habits of ancient dragons have always been a mystery.

In other words, before they reach a certain stage and their body instincts are fully activated, they have no idea how their race will reproduce.

After all, no one or ancient dragon has ever offered them courses such as "Health and Hygiene", not to mention that the breeding methods of various ancient dragons are not unified.

The vague concept of "ancient dragon" includes ancient dragons like the Dark Lantern Dragon that were born from pure energy, as well as those that were born from eggs and those that were born from the womb.

Like humans, the vast majority of ancient dragons in the world have no memory of their birth.

Ritsu Narusha was no exception. As early as he was old enough to remember, he had lived alone for a long time.

Looking at it this way, does it mean that Tianhelong has no habit of raising offspring?

"That's it..."

Not having expected to receive this answer at all, Tsuzuki Shichuan quickly found an explanation based on common sense.

Mistaking Naruse Ritsu's thoughts on racial habits for a sense of melancholy over her broken family, she couldn't help but express the care an elder has for the young: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that question."

"I don't mind," Naruse Ritsu explained with a carefree smile, "because I don't even know what my parents look like, so I won't feel sad about it."

Nodding thoughtfully, Tsuzuki Shifune looked at the girl not far away for the second time.

The piece she was playing had changed. It was the piece that Tsuzuki Shifune had played in his youth.

"I used to be a guitarist," Tsuzuki said, changing the subject. "Back then, I was filled with passion. I wanted to express my feelings through music and become a renowned guitarist."

"Have you done it?" Remembering what he had heard, Ritsu Narose asked.

"Perhaps," the old man shook his head and looked at the girl beside him and said, "but I find that my experience cannot be fully applied to others."

"You need to meet all kinds of people and visit all kinds of places. I once told Lenai that 'home is created by people,' and I told her to find those people herself."

"But after I said that, Lenai didn't play guitar for two whole years. It wasn't until RING opened that she picked up the guitar again. Now she has finally found a home that can accommodate her..."

After glancing at her phone, she stood up from her chair and said, "I think I've said too much and wasted a lot of your time."

"Nothing."

"That probably sounds boring, doesn't it? People are just so nagging when they get old," the old man said, leaning on his cane and laughing self-deprecatingly. "I didn't have your patience before, willing to sit here and listen to an old man's rambling..."

After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "I won't actively interfere with Lenai's choice. I'll ask you to continue taking care of her."

Tsuzuki Shifune said that she would not interfere with Kaname Rakuna's decision, but in her heart, Kaname Rakuna's future partner must be a decent person without bad habits, who can be a cat restraint like Elizabeth Circle when necessary and will not let her do whatever she wants.

Other than that, it's just the same old requirements.

Appearance, family background, ability, property... Tsuzuki Shifune does not value these "worldly" things because she knows that her granddaughter has her own set of standards.

When Ritsu Narose changed out of her head-to-toe black outfit, this sharp, fiery young man reminded her of the group of energetic friends she played in a band with when she was young.

While chatting with him, Tsuzuki Shifune became convinced that Ritsu Narose was a young man with normal values ​​and who treated others gently and politely.

His life experience in Europe did not turn him into an LGBT pioneer, nor did he come into contact with certain addictive drugs. He was not even like some rebellious young people who took up smoking and drinking early and tattooed their bodies as a sign of rebellion.

He has the patience to deal with a child with a very different personality like Kaname Lenai - even if he sometimes cannot understand what she does.

To be fair, a young man like him is quite outstanding.

The only thing that worries Tsuzuki Shifune is that Ritsu Naruse seems to have a close relationship with several other girls in the band that Rakuna Kaname is in that is more than just friends.

Her employee, Shinji Rinrinko, often brings up this topic in a joking tone, accompanied by a "huhuhehe" laugh.

If it is a playboy who is free to linger among flowers, there are plenty of ways to ask him to stay away from his granddaughter, and there are also plenty of ways to build fortifications for his granddaughter.

But the problem was that it was her own cat who was trying every possible means to sneak out of the fortress and drag the lovable boy back to the cat bed. She had to worry about whether her free-spirited granddaughter would take the initiative to attack in the heat of the moment.

He vaguely sensed the deeper meaning in Tsuzuki Shifune's words, but Naruse Ritsu's position did not allow him to show that he understood it.

After saying goodbye and leaving, Ritsu Narose had just walked from the room to the corridor when he heard another pair of hurried footsteps coming from the house.

Without the guitar, Le Nai quickly appeared in his sight, walked to the entrance with him, changed shoes together and went out of the house.

As Tsuzuki Shisen said, Ritsu Narose did stay here for some time.

The original orange-red sunset has been replaced by a black curtain, and the summer temperature has begun to gradually drop as the sunlight disappears.

Glancing to the side, Ritsu Naruse saw the cat walking next to her with her hands behind her back, a smile on her face that showed she was in a good mood.

Only then did he realize that his entire conversation with Tsuzuki Shifune had been heard by Kaname Rakuna, who was supposed to stay out of it.

The sound of the guitar that she kept playing was her natural disguise. No one would have thought that this cat who had always been concentrating on playing would one day be able to do two things at the same time.

So, did Ms. Tsuzuki know this? Did she deliberately let Rakuna sit there, tacitly allowing her to eavesdrop on their conversation?

Combined with some previous doubts, Ritsu Narose found that he had more and more questions the more he thought about it.

Noticing that Ritsu Naruse was looking at her, Kaname Rakuna raised her head and looked at him under the street light.

In the night, Ritsu Narose noticed her joyful look.