31 31 No way thank you





 After dropping Minami-san off at the elementary school that Amana-chan goes to, my work has turned into a wave of rage.
 That's just as well, because no matter how much I couldn't watch and help, it doesn't mean that my workload is going to decrease.
 By the time I finished the delivery I'd been putting off, the last train was long past.

 Well, I don't commute by train, so I don't have to worry about the last train...

 Anyway, with the help of Miya and Sakai, I've managed to live without dying of exhaustion.

''Huh~........''

 I'm so sleepy that I open my mouth wide and yawn.
 Today is Tuesday which means it's the day I get to see Amana.
 I have an appointment with Minami-san, though, so I won't be able to receive any healing from that girl.

 But it's just after 8am now.
 It's also in the parking lot of the condo "Avery Smile".

 I'm not here to break any promises.
 There's a good reason why I'm here.
 After all.....

"Good morning, Hayakawa-san.
Good morning.







 Mr. South.

 Because she called me last night to ask me to come here at this time.

 Minami, the woman who called me here, is about to go to work or in a suit, and it doesn't seem like a very long conversation in terms of time.

 And I can pretty much guess what we're going to talk about.
 Probably she was thanking me for dropping Minami off at elementary school on the Saturday when Amana-chan had her class visit.

 I didn't want to help her out just for the sake of payback, and it would be better for Amana to have a good memory.
 I'm the only one who thinks so, and she doesn't seem to be.

''Thank you for responding to my sudden call for you. If I may be so blunt as to see that you've already figured it out, I'm here to thank you for the other day.

 I was right.
 I listened to Ms. Minami's words without interrupting her, while thinking of such impressions as if they were someone else's.

''First of all. I'm sorry that I walked away without saying thank you for the help I received from my junior colleague in regards to the matter he talked back to me.
'What? No, that was simply my way of saying what I wanted to say, and as a result, I ended up helping Minami-san, so it's not something to be said with such awe.

 She bows her head and apologizes, and I tell her it's no big deal, even though she's upset.

 In fact, it's so much that I forgot about it until she told me. 
 It's true that she hadn't thanked me but.......Minami-san seemed to care about it.

'And secondly........thanks to Hayakawa-san, we were able to successfully complete our class visit without breaking our promise to Tenna. That girl was very happy too.
"... ........I see. I'm glad to hear it then.

 I was relieved to know how Amana-chan felt, which was briefly conveyed to me by Minami-san, and I patted my chest.
 I didn't know exactly what happened since I went back to work right after I dropped her off.

 I'm relieved that it worked out so well and I'm feeling warm and fuzzy with relief.
 But Ms. Minami still seemed to have something to say.

I've realized through these two cases that Hayakawa-san is not the kind of person who plans to do bad things. Therefore, I'm going to partially nullify the example promise.
What? Partially invalidated...
''Yes. You can continue to treat Tenna as you did before.

 I couldn't hide my agitation at the unexpected permission to ask back.
 The speaker, Ms. Minami, remained remarkably calm and added, "I'd like you to continue to avoid over-interference, but....

 I don't have any complaints if I can get Amana to heal me without having to report the incident.
 In fact, I'd say it's the best way to thank her.

 Huh?
 But isn't this, in essence, a parent-approved interaction with a little girl?

 As soon as I thought that, I wasn't sure if I should be honestly happy.
 No, no, that's not what I'm talking about, so let's not think about it now.
 Yeah, I'll do that.

 I put it off for now.

"And then...

 What's left?
 Gratitude doesn't come with some weight!

 Without paying any attention to me who couldn't stop being shaken up, Minami-san took out something from her bag on her shoulder.

 It was wrapped in some kind of cloth, so I couldn't quite figure out what it was.
 I'm not sure what it is, but Minami-san, blushing a little, holds it out to me.

Managing the nutrition of your diet is the best way to manage your condition. So, you see........I thought if you ate this for lunch, it would improve things a bit......
'Well, uh... I mean, what's this?

 I know I have a problem with my eating habits.
 I mean, I'm aware of it, and even when I tried to improve it, it didn't last long.

 So why did Ms. Minami tell me that again?

Well this is the lunch I made, though?
What...?

 I didn't understand what she was trying to say, and as if she was annoyed with me for questioning her, she turned her head away and revealed the contents of the package to me.

 I was simply taken aback by the contents of the package.
 As I slowly chewed the words and understood them, I felt the heat focus on my face at once.

''Eh, ha, eh!

 What does this mean?
 One, I mean what? 
 Does that mean I can eat Mr. Minami's homemade bento?

 Homemade by a beautiful woman like her.........
 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, calm down, I'm a widow with a child!

 And, but maybe.....

Oh, uh, ka-ka-ka, don't get me wrong! If anything happens to Hayakawa-san, Tenna will be sad! I just want you to make sure you are getting good nutrition so that this doesn't happen, because I never made it out of love!
'What? Ahhhhh........well, that's true....... 

 Minami-san huffed at my reaction to my skepticism like that and denied it by talking up fast and winding up with a more blush on her face.

 Well, well, I understood, didn't I?
 Because they're married, right?
 

 For some reason, I put the sadness I feel in my heart in a corner and try not to show it.

 Since it's a good time, I'll accept the lunchbox.
 I'm only going to receive them on Tuesday and Friday when I go to deliver them to the Minami family, and I'm going to give the containers I used to Amana-chan when she comes to deliver them.

''Kohon ... well, there's one last thing.
Huh....

 Mr. Minami also cleared his throat to calm down for a moment before continuing.

''You may call me by my name from now on. There's no need for honorifics either. Or rather, I'm younger than you, so it would be uncomfortable if you were strangely awed.
If they're going to keep on banning people from interfering with each other, then I'm going to have to go through with it.
''We're going to continue to interact with each other, and since both Tenna and I have southern surnames, I thought it would be a hassle to react at the same time and reverse the situation as it is now. That won't happen as long as we call each other by our first names.
'That's the way it is ... oh my God!

 I broke down early on with her refusal to acknowledge my response or anything else but approval.
 Like the first time we met, I couldn't seem to win her over with my mouth.

'All right. You want me to call her, right? I'm sorry, Amani...
Yes. Good.

 Feeling strangely embarrassed, I called her──Tenashi's name, and she made a sober face, saying it was fine.

 Suppressing a restless heartbeat, I parted from Amari and headed for work.