"Oh, it might not be brand-new, but I've bought some good stuff," my old man said in high spirits after he opened the cardboard box, pushing up his glasses with the middle finger of his right hand.
Even though he said it was a day off, his hairstyle was perfectly arranged.
Inside the box, there was stuff like tools my old man used for his job and some documents.
My old man's clumsiness is so devastating that we don't want him to touch any fragile stuff like dishes. I know I can rely on my younger brother Shouhei, so we split the chores between us instead.
"I've been wondering about it since the time we came to check it out, but isn't this house too big for three people?"
As I've already finished arranging my room, I was now helping out my old man who was dragging his feet as usual.
"It's okay. Shou will bring his wife, then make our family bigger and it'll feel just right."
"Oi, what about me?"
"Shou's quite popular, after all~"
"Hey, I'm asking what about me?!"
If a miracle occurs, I may be able to marry too, okay?!
Not to mention, my younger brother is still in primary school, so no matter how you think about it, it's way too early to consider his marriage.
"Well, Shou is indeed popular, huh…"
When we moved from our previous house, girls swarmed over as if it was some idol's concert—it was a royal pain. Furthermore, a lot of boys came to bid him goodbye too, so I somehow found myself stuck with managing the forming queues.
"On the other hand, my oldest son…"
Pops hit a picture he'd just hung on the wall with his hand, then forcefully sighed.
"…Well, sorry, okay?"
Only one person came. Actually, it was the teacher.
"You're disliked by others because all you do is getting into fights. Behave in your new school."
It's not like I get into fights because I like to. It's just that I often chance upon people bullying others into giving them money or trying to force girls to hang out with them.
There has never been a fight I picked, okay?
"Older bro."
I heard a voice come from outside the room.
My younger brother, Shouhei, stuck his face through the door. He was wearing the yellow apron I became accustomed to seeing him in.
"What's up?" I replied to Shouhei's voice as I stopped folding the empty cardboard box.
"I'm finished with the kitchen and the dining room, so I want to make soba, but…"
"Ah, okay. Soba, huh."
"Yeah. Should we make more for neighbors?"
Neighbors? It's a forest all around us, though?
[TL/N: There's a custom in Japan where you make soba (called something like moving-in soba, but I skipped that above coz it'd be too confusing) after moving into a new house and treat your neighbors to it. Sort of like greeting your new neighbors. That's what they're talking about here.]"About that, is that something we prepare at home?"
I looked at my old man. Ah, that's the face of someone clueless.
"You don't have to tell dad such things. It's that, isn't it? I think it should imply that we wish for friendly relations as long as the noodles in soba. Whether it's made at home or bought in a shop, isn't that the same thing anyway? It'll definitely taste better if Shou makes it, so go and make it. It's going to be cheaper that way, too."
Stop with the vague crap.
However, it'll indeed taste better if Shouhei makes it. He got that right at least.
"Then, I'll go make it," Shouhei said and took out a memo. Then, he put it on the chest next to the door and produced a pen from his apron's pocket.
While he was my younger brother, he was a handsome boy with a rather unfortunate fate, huh. Unlike my curly hair that tended to stick upwards, Shouhei's hair was fine and silky. He'd been a bit sickly since a long time ago, so he was rather pale and thin. With this appearance, he was bound to be popular.
[TL/N: He calls his younger bro bishounen here; I TLed it for those who don't know what that means…]"Bro, go buy these."
He gave me the memo. There's quite a lot of groceries written down here.
"Got it. You're making quite a lot, huh. Eh? Is buying more soba okay?"
"Since I was going to make it, I've been getting ready since the day before yesterday. It looks bad since dad stepped on it, but it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"As expected… soba made with dad's feet indeed looks bad, but since you've done a fine job on it otherwise, I can't complain."
[TL/N: Normally you make noodles by flattening the dough with a rolling pin, but apparently it's sometimes made by stepping on it instead after putting it in a plastic wrapper]"If you can say something other than complaining, then you can go shopping. Since we don't know how many neighbors we have, I've been planning to make more. If it's you, Bro, then you should be able to eat leftover soba if there's any, right?"
"You brats, you're making fun of your father quite naturally, huh?"
I checked the wallet.
One 10,000 yen bill, huh. It was prepared for food expenses. I'm the one in charge of shopping, after all.
"Well then, I'll be off."
"Take care. Don't get lost."
As if I would.
"Take care. Come back without any random detours."
Like I said…!
After getting my family members to finish their lame goodbyes, I put on a pair of sneakers at the front door. After passing through the massive entrance, I shot a glance backwards.
"…Like I thought, it's quite big."
It was all due to my old man's hard work. While it wasn't new, it was still a splendid single-family house. The loan will take well into my life to be paid, but that's not particularly strange, and I'm not particularly upset about it. Mother, too, would surely be delighted if she were still alive.
"Alright, I've got to find the shopping district… a supermarket will do too."
It's the first time I'm in this area. Of course, I won't get lost, but I feel like it's going to take some time. Shouhei's cooking is delicious. My stomach is starting to complain of hunger, so let's hurry.
I looked up into the sky abruptly. It was a fine weather, and there was not a single cloud in the sky.
"It's a nice day. I hope something nice happens~"
It was March so it was still rather cold, and basking in the sunlight made me a bit sleepy. Shoving my hands into my jacket's pockets, I started walking in high spirits.