Chapter 413: Yumiko Once Again Teased by Her Mother
Time has flown by, and it's been over half a month since Hachiman assisted in curing Mana Nakiri. During this time, Mana's condition hasn't relapsed, and she can still enjoy food as usual.
According to Hachiman's estimation, even if Mana consumes "imperfect dishes" three times a day, it would take at least a month, if not longer, for her symptoms to revert to the point where she can't eat anything.
This is undoubtedly good news.
However, Erina's mood has been somewhat complex lately, both happy and annoyed.
Naturally, she's happy because her mother can eat normally again, and the mother-daughter duo can reunite after a long time.
But she's also annoyed because every time she cooks for her mother, she gets harshly criticized.
This finally allows Erina to understand the feelings of chefs she used to judge.
Overall, it's still a good thing. After all, the mother and daughter haven't seen each other for many years. In Erina's memory, her mother used to smile after tasting her dishes, but Erina always felt it was somewhat unfamiliar.
Now, even though there's some criticism, Erina feels it's more authentic.
Thanks to this, Erina has become livelier than before, more like a teenage girl.
...
As for Hachiman, most of his time in the past half month has been dedicated to writing his new book, as he plans to release it at the end of the month.
Of course, he's not holed up at home writing every day. He's not the Hachiman from the original story who had few friends.
Although he doesn't have many male friends now, he has plenty of female friends.
Setting aside Yukino, Yui, and Yumiko for now, he has Saeko, Utaha, Kotonoha, and Shizuka, with whom he can have deep conversations.
After the incident last time, the girls have become acquainted with each other. Since they've already met candidly, they invited Alice to join them for another challenge against Hachiman.
To increase their chances of winning, they even dressed up in various costumes.
For example, flight attendant uniforms, teacher outfits, shrine maiden attire, and even Kamen Yaiba and monster costumes.
As a hero, Hachiman naturally isn't afraid of any challenges, and comforting the defeated is his duty. After all, they're just a few fallen soldiers, even if they change their outfits.
Raising the long spear that had long been poised, he charged straight into the battlefield, piercing through the enemies one by one. In no time, they were defeated, begging for mercy one after another.
Kind-hearted Hachiman naturally spared them, but he left his mark on each of them as the victor.
Ahem...
But let's get back on track.
Despite the "disturbance" from the girls, Hachiman didn't forget his main task. After putting in the effort, he finally confirmed the manuscript and illustrations for his novel a week ago. Now, all that's left is to wait for its release at the end of the month.
Speaking of illustrations, we can't overlook Mrs. Izumi, who has been responsible for the illustrations for his novels. Truly deserving of her reputation as a renowned artist in the industry, her artwork is exquisite, with vivid and lifelike characters.
With excellent illustrations complementing Hachiman's outstanding writing, it's only natural for the novel to be a big hit.
Hachiman is also quite satisfied with Mrs. Izumi's somewhat distinctive art style. He even considers recruiting her as an original illustrator for the "FGO" game in the future.
As for Kadokawa, there's no need to say much. They're pulling out all the stops to promote Hachiman's new book, the pillar of their publishing house. Half a month before its release, banners have been hung in all Kadokawa bookstores, and subway station billboards have been replaced with related messages.
With the combined efforts of all parties, it's foreseeable that Hachiman's new book will definitely be a bestseller.
...
After finishing the first volume of his new book, Hachiman finally had some leisure time.
One morning, not long after he woke up, his phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID displaying "Yumiko," Hachiman raised an eyebrow and answered the call.
The next moment, Yumiko's familiar voice came through the phone.
"Hey, you damn Hachiman, are you up?"
Hachiman was puzzled. "Yes, I'm up. But Yumiko, do you need something from me?"
"Of course I do," Yumiko instinctively asserted, then seemed to remember something and softened her tone. "Today, Hina wants to go to the summer exhibition to buy some notebooks. She asked me to go with her, but I feel a bit embarrassed, so I thought of having you accompany me instead."
Upon hearing the girl's words, Hachiman curled his lips.
Ebina is going to buy notebooks?
There's no need to guess what kind of notebooks a fujoshi would buy; it's definitely yaoi.
No wonder Yumiko wanted me to accompany her.
Most girls would feel embarrassed if mistaken for fujoshi.
With that in mind, Hachiman agreed.
"No problem, I'll come over soon."
"Hurry up."
...
After breakfast, Hachiman dropped off Komachi at her cram school and then headed towards Yumiko's house.
Because Komachi will be taking the high school entrance exams next year, and she wants to attend Sobu High School, summer cram school is essential.
After dropping off Komachi, Hachiman quickly arrived at Yumiko's doorstep.
But before he could ring the doorbell, the door opened by itself, revealing a mature version of Yumiko stepping out.
It was Mrs. Miura, whom he had met once before.
"Ah, isn't this Hachiman-kun? It's been a while."
Seeing Hachiman standing at their door, Mrs. Miura greeted him with a smile.
Since today is the weekend, Mrs. Miura isn't working today, and judging by the garbage bag she's carrying, she's probably going out to dispose of it, unexpectedly running into him.
Mrs. Miura is wearing ordinary home clothes. Despite being the mother of a 16-year-old girl, her figure hasn't changed at all.
Her white T-shirt bulges slightly at the top, while her tight navy jeans outline her enticing curves. With her delicate skin, if she and Yumiko were walking together on the street, they would probably be mistaken for sisters rather than mother and daughter.
But Hachiman quickly averted his gaze and greeted her politely.
"Good morning, Mrs. Miura."
"Mm, good morning." Seeing Hachiman's politeness, Mrs. Miura's smile widened even more. Then she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
"Are you here to see Yumiko today? But Hachiman-kun, it's been a while since you last visited. Yumiko will be lonely without you."
Ignoring Mrs. Miura's teasing words, Hachiman asked, "Is Yumiko home, Mrs. Miura?"
"Of course she is. I was wondering why Yumiko took so much effort to dress up this morning. Turns out she has a date with you, Hachiman-kun." Mrs. Miura made a realization, then shouted towards the still-open door.
"Yumiko, come out quickly, your boyfriend is here to see you."
As soon as the words were spoken, footsteps could be heard from inside the house.
Soon enough, Yumiko appeared at the doorway.
"Mom, why are you shouting like that?"
Unconcerned about her daughter's complaint, Mrs. Miura pointed her finger at Hachiman standing in front of her, "I wasn't shouting randomly. Hachiman-kun is already here, isn't he?"
Seeing Hachiman and remembering what her mother had just shouted, Yumiko's face flushed slightly.
What boyfriend? I haven't even agreed yet.
"Even if he's here, Mom, you shouldn't shout so loudly. What if you disturb the neighbors?"
"What's the big deal? At this hour, the neighbors must be awake already. Besides, I'm just thinking about you, Yumiko. As long as the neighbors know you're already taken, they won't randomly set you up with boyfriends anymore." Mrs. Miura waved her hand dismissively, then winked at Hachiman.
"Hachiman-kun wouldn't want Yumiko to be taken by someone else, right?"
Hachiman played along, saying, "Of course not. No one can take my Yumiko away."
Upon hearing this, a sweet feeling welled up in Yumiko's heart, but being thin-skinned, she still felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed.
"Come on, Mom, stop saying nonsense. Go take out the trash already, or else the garbage truck will leave."
Seeing her daughter's embarrassed expression, Mrs. Miura successfully collected her share of amusement for the day, a smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"Alright, Mom will go take out the trash now. Won't disturb you two anymore."
With that, she nodded to Hachiman and left, carrying the trash bag.
Watching her mother finally leave, Yumiko breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Hachiman, reverting to her usual haughty demeanor.
"You're quite fast, aren't you?"
"Of course, my Yumiko asked, so naturally, I had to come quickly."
"Pft, who said you're mine? Shameless."
Hearing this, Hachiman chuckled. "Well, since my Yumiko spoke, I had to come quickly."
"Ugh, stop being so shameless."
Despite her words, Yumiko couldn't hide the slight playfulness in her tone or the way her fingers toyed with her hair, betraying her true feelings.
Seeing this, Hachiman couldn't help but find it amusing. He knew her well—typical tsundere.
But indeed, Yumiko had put effort into her appearance today. She wore light makeup, enhancing her already delicate features.
It was a hot summer day, and her outfit was refreshingly cool: a light blue short-sleeved shirt accentuating her fair arms and shoulders, paired with a white lotus short skirt that showcased her slender legs, and silver sandals.
With just a simple outfit, she exuded youth and vitality.
Impressed by her appearance, Hachiman couldn't help but compliment her, "Yumiko, you look really beautiful today."
"Hmph, you're just saying that."
Hearing his praise, a slight smile curved Yumiko's lips.
"Let's go, we should go find Hina. Don't keep her waiting too long."
"Alright, no problem."
With that, Hachiman reached out and held Yumiko's delicate hand.
This time, Yumiko didn't resist as Hachiman led the way.
And so, hand in hand, they walked together toward the agreed meeting place with Ebina.
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