novelraw Chapter 134: Relatives Visiting! Nohara Ginnosuke Has a Blast Flexing!
Chapter 134: Relatives Visiting! Nohara Ginnosuke Has a Blast Flexing!
The night was like overturned, thick ink, dyeing the sky of Omagari City into a deep hue.
In the old house of the Nohara family, the lights were bright. The warm orange halos spilled out from behind the Shoji doors, illuminating the several aged maple trees in the courtyard with a bit more hazy, poetic flavor.
The family banquet continued.
The leftovers and scattered, disorderly wine bottles on the table silently told of the liveliness and enjoyment of this family banquet.
Alcohol had always been a catalyst for the atmosphere.
"...Let me tell you guys, that place Tokyo looks prosperous, but in actually the human touch is very weak."
Nohara Hiroshi leaned against Misae. His handsome face, which always bore a somewhat strategic look, was currently dyed with a lazy flush due to slight drunkenness: "In our television station, the factional struggles are even more spectacular than what's shown in TV dramas. Today you trip me up, tomorrow I set a trap for you. Each and every one of them is as shrewd as can be. You can't tell who's good or bad from their faces, but if you don't have the strength, you will really be trampled underfoot!"
His words bluffed Nohara Semashi and Ikuna into staring blankly. Those two pairs of simple eyes were filled with awe for the "sinister nature" of the metropolis.
"However." Nohara Hiroshi changed the topic, the corners of his mouth carrying a somewhat sly arc: "No matter how much they scheme, they still can't beat me, because I don't play those underhanded tricks with them. I only speak with my works."
After all, the strength was right here! She looked at Nohara Semashi beside her, who, despite wearing a set of name-brand suits, still looked as honest as a bear, and then looked at the younger brother who played the entire Tokyo television industry in the palm of his hand while laughing and talking. That maidenly heart still simply believed that Nohara Semashi was more reassuring!
After all, Nohara Semashi and she, who came from the countryside, had very compatible personalities!
"My side is also very interesting!" Misae seemed to have found an opportunity to show off. She raised the sake cup in her hand, her flushed little face filled with pride: "Our 'Future Comic Club' is now a strategic partner of Shueisha! When Editor-in-Chief Torishima sees me, he has to politely call me 'President Koyama'! Moreover, the new manga assistants at our company are all top students graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts. They draw fast and well, and they all especially admire me!"
As she spoke, she pushed out her already quite well-endowed little chest. That adorable "praise me, hurry up and praise me" look once again elicited a round of good-natured roaring laughter from everyone.
"Yes, yes, yes, our President Misae is the most amazing." Nohara Hiroshi smiled and pinched her face that was so smooth it looked like it could be broken by a blow. That heartfelt doting was so sweet it was almost overflowing.
"What about you, big brother? Are there any conversational topics regarding our Nohara Agricultural Corporation?" Nohara Hiroshi tossed the topic to the man who had been giggling silly since earlier.
"Me?" Hearing this, Nohara Semashi's tanned face was also filled with proud light: "Great! Extremely great! Hiroshi, you don't know this, but I am now a celebrity in our Omagari City! The director of the JA has to proactively offer me cigarettes when he sees me;
the government leaders invite me onto the stage during meetings to give a few words on my advanced experience of 'returning to the hometown to start a business'. Even the guy from the Suzuki family in the neighboring village, who used to always compete with me, now has to respectfully call me 'President Nohara' when he sees me!"
He paused and glanced at Ikuna, who was looking at him with a face full of adoration. His simple, honest heart was even more filled with immense satisfaction, and his voice grew a bit louder:
"Moreover, Ikuna has also helped me a lot! Not only did she help me sort out the company's accounts clearly, but she also used the knowledge she learned while working at the cafe to design a specifically beautiful packaging bag printed with our 'Nohara Farm' logo for us! Right now, the rice produced by our family is selling extremely well in the high-end supermarkets in the city!"
This showing off full of a "marital harmony" flavor made Ikuna's face instantly go "whoosh" and flush bright red. She lowered her head shyly, using a mosquito-like tiny voice to softly retort: "I... I'm not that amazing... it's all because Semashi-san is capable himself."
That adorable, naive look of a young daughter caused the smile lines at the corners of Nohara Tsuru and Nohara Ginnosuke's eyes to deepen a bit.
Watching this joyous scene, a warm current also surged in Nohara Hiroshi's heart.
This grand layout he personally set up, which was sufficient to change the destiny of the entire family, was blossoming and bearing fruit at a speed beyond his imagination.
However, amidst this atmosphere full of warmth and joy, Ikuna seemed to suddenly remember something. She glanced at the wall clock, and a trace of restlessness, completely out of place with the joyous atmosphere, quietly appeared in those clear eyes that always carried a gentle smile.
It's already... almost ten o'clock.
Her house was still quite a distance away from here.
Although it was very convenient to have Semashi-san drive now, a girl being out so late was still...
"Oh my, look at the time."
Nohara Tsuru, a mother whose mind was more meticulous than anyone else's, noticed the girl's abnormality almost instantly.
She set down the wine glass in her hand. On her face, which always bore a gentle smile, appeared the concern and majesty of an elder.
"Semashi." She looked at her blockhead eldest son, who was still boasting to his old man about how majestic he currently was, and issued an order in an indisputable tone: "It's getting late, take Ikuna home. It's not safe for a girl to walk at night alone."
"Ah? Oh!" Nohara Semashi woke up as if from a dream. He glanced at the girl beside him, who was looking at him with gratitude, and his honest heart instantly understood.
He stood up abruptly. On his tanned face, which looked somewhat ruddy from the alcohol, appeared a man's sense of responsibility.
"Alright! I'll immediately..."
However, before he could finish speaking, that large hand that was about to reach for the car keys abruptly froze in mid-air.
He scratched the back of his head. On his resolute face emerged a distressed, awkward look.
"Um... Mom..." His voice was weakened by three degrees due to a guilty conscience, "I... I just drank alcohol, I can't... I can't drive."
"..."
The entire room instantly fell into a bizarre, pin-drop silence.
Ikuna's already flushed little face instantly turned "whoosh" and became as red as a piece of iron heated in an instant. That heat almost swallowed her whole person.
She subconsciously lowered her head, her maidenly heart thumping wildly, almost leaping out of her throat.
Of course she knew what this meant.
Nohara Hiroshi and Misae exchanged a glance, both seeing a tacit, slyly mischievous smile in each other's eyes.
They looked at their oldest brother, who seemed honest but at critical moments was more "cunning" than anyone else, and four big words simultaneously surfaced in their hearts—
Beautifully done!
However, amidst this atmosphere full of ambiguity and romance, Nohara Tsuru's majestic voice sounded again like thunder.
"If you can't drive, you can't drive."
She put on a stern face. In those eyes that were always gentle as water, the majesty of a traditional large family's mother was currently flashing.
"Tonight, neither of you will go back."
She paused, and under the astonished gazes of the two, slowly announced the final verdict: "Ikuna, you sleep with me. Semashi, you sleep with Dad."
"Ah?!"
Nohara Semashi and Ikuna almost simultaneously let out exclamations full of disbelief.
Nohara Hiroshi, on the other hand, seemed to have seized an opportunity to perform. He raised his hand high like an elementary school student answering a question, a harmless smile hanging on his face: "Then... what about me? Can I sleep with Misae?"
Hearing this, Misae's cheeks flushed bright red. She subconsciously shrank into his embrace. That shy, naive appearance of a daughter had long explained everything.
This contrast full of disparities acted like the sharpest knife, accurately piercing into the two originally fragile hearts of Nohara Semashi and Ikuna.
The two lowered their heads in unison. Their two faces, so red they were almost dripping blood, were almost buried into their chests. That distressed appearance of daring to be angry but not daring to speak out caused Nohara Hiroshi and Misae on the side to cover their mouths and tremble with laughter.
"Outrageous!"
Right at this moment, Nohara Ginnosuke's roar, full of "expecting better", finally couldn't be held back and erupted!
He pointed at his blockhead eldest son who was still staring blankly in place, his two thick eyebrows twisted into a knot: "Look at your lack of ambition! Such a good opportunity..."
"Shut your mouth!"
However, before he could finish his words, he was forcefully rebuffed back by Nohara Tsuru's sharp, murderous shout!
She fiercely glared at her old man who feared the world wasn't chaotic enough. The warning flavor in that gaze was sufficient to freeze the cold currents of Siberia.
Nohara Ginnosuke instantly shuddered. That smug expression froze on his face. He hurriedly picked up his teacup, pretending he hadn't said anything just now and was merely a quiet, handsome man obsessed with the way of tea.
Watching this highly dramatic scene, Nohara Semashi and Ikuna actually both felt a bit of disappointment in their hearts.
Ikuna actually wanted to say she was fine with it...
But Nohara Tsuru held Ikuna's hand, looking at her like she was her own biological daughter. On her gentle face, relief was written all over it as she said:
"Ikuna, Auntie doing this is also for your own good. Although you two have a good relationship, you aren't officially engaged yet. A girl's reputation is more important than anything else. Our Nohara family is a proper family;
we can't let people gossip about you behind your back."
These heartfelt words instantly made Ikuna's eyes redden.
She knew that this was the most sincere protection from this future mother-in-law.
"Auntie... I... I understand." She nodded, her voice carrying a touching sob.
"Since that's the case..." Nohara Tsuru looked at her obedient and sensible appearance, feeling even more fond of her in her heart.
As if she had made some resolution, she clapped her hands together, a look of decisiveness appearing on her face:
"Doing it now is better than choosing a day! While Hiroshi and Misae are also here, our Nohara family is considered fully present. Ikuna, see when your parents are free, and we will go over as guests. Our two families will sit together for a meal, and we will officially finalize your marriage! What do you think?"
"Eh?!"
This sudden push for marriage was like a true atomic bomb, exploding thunderously in Ikuna's heart, which was already jumping like a deer!
She subconsciously looked up and glanced at the man beside her who was similarly dazed by this sudden happiness. She didn't speak, but merely nodded shyly.
"Alright! Wonderful!" Seeing this, Nohara Semashi couldn't bear it anymore, letting out an irrepressible cheer of near-beastly ecstasy!
Like a child who had obtained his beloved toy, he paced back and forth excitedly in that small Japanese room. That honest yet silly look once again caused everyone in the room to burst into good-natured roaring laughter.
"However..."
Amidst this festive atmosphere, Nohara Tsuru seemed to suddenly remember something. She turned her head and looked at Misae on the side. On her gentle face appeared an apologetic maternal love.
"Misae-chan, I am truly sorry. It seems it will be Hiroshi, the younger brother, who starts a family with you first. But according to our countryside rules, the older brother is always supposed to go first. For this matter, we'll have to wrong you and Hiroshi, and ask you to wait a little longer."
"Auntie, please don't say that." Misae hurriedly waved her hands, her exquisite small face full of sincerity and understanding: "I understand. I am happier than anyone else that big brother can find his own happiness, and Hiroshi-kun is too. We... we are not in a hurry."
These words both expressed respect for the elders' traditions and aptly displayed her educated and well-mannered nature.
Nohara Tsuru looked at these two future daughters-in-law before her, each more sensible and considerate than the other, and instantly felt a strong sense of happiness.
She knew that her greatest blessing in this life was perhaps not giving birth to two successful sons, but encountering these two good girls to whom her sons could entrust their entire lives.
Only Nohara Hiroshi, looking at this scene full of warmth and tradition, was inwardly mocking.
'Still talking about tradition...' He raised his wine glass, the clear liquid reflecting his slightly speechless gaze.
'In that world of my past life, I, this "Nohara Hiroshi", only married the twenty-something-year-old Misae when I was nearly thirty. Big brother had it worse;
he only managed to marry Ikuna, a second-time bride with two children, at the advanced age of forty.'
He took a sip of sake. The spicy liquid slid down his throat, bringing a trace of clarity belonging to a transmigrator.
'Now, because of my appearance, all of this has been advanced. Big brother met his destined lover at twenty-eight;
and I, at twenty-three, have already firmly locked the little woman who was supposed to appear only in the future by my side.'
'In a few more years, when the economic crisis sweeping the nation arrives, and when the tide of declining birth rates and an aging population thoroughly washes away the last traditional barriers of this country, the so-called "order of seniority" and "traditional etiquette" will all become laughable historical terms.'
'At that time, being able to grasp the happiness right in front of you will already be a massive luxury.'
Thinking of this, Nohara Hiroshi also pursed his lips.
It seemed he could still take advantage of this opportunity to lay out plans in advance, so his capital would become even more abundant.
...
The first ray of morning sunlight, like golden threads washed in water, penetrated the thin window paper and cast mottled light and shadows on the tatami mats.
Outside the window, crisp bird chirping replaced the noise of the city. The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass after the rain. Taking a deep breath felt like it could wash away all the murky air in one's lungs.
"Mhm, slept so soundly." Nohara Hiroshi slowly opened his eyes.
With warm fragrance and soft jade in his arms, Koyama Misae was curled up in the crook of his arm like a lazy cat, sleeping soundly. On her pretty face, which always bore a somewhat naive charm, a sweet smile that hadn't completely faded still lingered.
He carefully withdrew his arm and was just about to get up when an irrepressible, show-off boasting sound came from the courtyard outside.
"...Let me tell you all, our Hiroshi is no ordinary person!"
It was his old man, Nohara Ginnosuke's demonic voice, currently full of vigor, as if afraid the people in the neighboring village wouldn't hear him: "Do you know TV Tokyo? That's the biggest television station! Right now, he is a 'Department Manager' in there! He manages dozens of people under him! Even those directors and screenwriters have to respectfully call him 'Manager Nohara' when they see him!"
A few distinct black lines instantly popped up on Nohara Hiroshi's forehead.
He massaged his forehead helplessly.
"Oh my..." Misae was also woken up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, listening to the commotion outside, and couldn't help but let out a "pfft" laugh.
She leaned close to Nohara Hiroshi's ear, exhaling like orchids: "Hiroshi-kun, Uncle... seems to be even better at showing off than you."
"Ignore him." Nohara Hiroshi smiled wryly and shook his head. He knew that his improperly behaved old dad had held it in his whole life. Now that he finally caught a capital piece he could brag about, if he wasn't allowed to brag to his heart's content, he might be suffocated alive.
The two smiled at each other, got dressed, and slid open the Shoji door.
In the courtyard, they saw Nohara Ginnosuke with his hands behind his back, sticking out his small belly. Like a general reviewing his troops, he was surrounded like the moon among stars by four or five simple and honest-looking country men.
Those men were all tilting their heads up, their faces written full of awe and envy. Their gazes looked as if they were looking at a living legend.
"Oh my! Hiroshi is up!"
The sharp-eyed Nohara Ginnosuke was the first to spot them. He hurriedly waved enthusiastically. His weather-beaten old face overflowed with a pride sufficient to make all of Akita Prefecture turn their heads: "Come, come, come! Hiroshi, come over here quickly! Let me introduce you, this is our village chief, Mr. Yamada! And these are distant cousins from your second granduncle's family;
they all watched you grow up!"
Feeling helpless inwardly, Nohara Hiroshi put on a gentle smile on his face, walked forward, and bowed to each of those elders one by one.
"Village Chief Yamada, Uncles, good morning."
"Oh my, my! I wouldn't dare receive such courtesy! I wouldn't dare!"
Village Chief Yamada, a dark-skinned, slightly chubby middle-aged man, hurriedly waved his hands. However, his face was currently piled with an almost fawning smile: "Hiroshi-kun, you truly are... truly young and promising! Our entire Omagari City is proud of you!"
He rubbed his rough, large hands, his eyes filled with irrepressible shock and envy, his voice even rising an octave: "I just heard big brother Ginnosuke say that you are now in Tokyo, and in one month... you can earn over five million yen in one month?! My god! This... this is even more than the financial income of our entire village for a year! This is truly... truly too incredible!"
"Pfft—"
Nohara Hiroshi almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
He fiercely glared at his old man, who was still standing aside looking triumphant, his eyebrows almost raised to the sky, feeling extremely helpless in his heart.
Could this be spoken casually?
Who would have thought that this improper old dad would actually use it directly as his own capital to boast, and even go around advertising it!
Looking at the eyes of these relatives before him, full of awe and envy, Nohara Hiroshi knew that no matter how he explained it now, it would only seem pale and powerless.
He could only brace himself and smile modestly: "Not at all, not at all, it's all just good luck, coupled with the appreciation of the station leaders. Compared to the hard work you Uncles put into the countryside, my small achievements are nothing."
These words smoothly flattered the elders present in passing.
As expected, the smiles on the faces of those relatives grew even brighter, repeatedly waving their hands saying they didn't deserve it.
After the pleasantries, Village Chief Yamada finally rubbed his hands and stated the true purpose of this trip.
"Um... Hiroshi-kun."
His tone carried a bit of cautious probing: "We heard that your older brother Semashi has recently been representing your 'Nohara Agricultural Corporation' to purchase a large amount of idle land in our city. You see... our families are all somewhat related. The children have all gone to the city, and the few acres of poor land at home have been abandoned for several years. We were thinking, rather than letting weeds grow on it, it would be better... better to sell it to your company. It could also be considered as adding bricks and tiles to the Nohara family's enterprise."
As he spoke, his shrewd eyes swept across Nohara Hiroshi's face without leaving a trace, a hint of calculation hidden deep within his gaze.
"Of course, regarding the price... we won't ask for too much. It's just... it's just, you see, we are all a family after all, so as for this price... could it be slightly... slightly higher than the market price?"
Once he said this, the atmosphere in the courtyard instantly became somewhat subtle.
On Nohara Ginnosuke's old face, which was still full of pride just a moment ago, emerged an imperceptible awkwardness.
Although he liked to brag and show off, in the face of genuine monetary interests, his meticulous, calculating heart belonging to an old farmer subconsciously tightened.
He looked eagerly at his youngest son, his gaze holding both anticipation and a trace of worry.
He knew that the one truly calling the shots in this family now was this youngest son who had already exceeded his scope of understanding.
Nohara Hiroshi looked at these relatives before him, their faces full of anticipation and calculation, yet his heart was perfectly clear.
This was human nature.
And it was also the "sweet price" he had to pay for returning home in glory.
Without a shred of hesitation, a smile warmer than the autumn sun bloomed on his face.
But thinking of the future value of these fields.
What did it matter even if he raised the price?
"Village Chief Yamada, Uncles, what kind of words are you saying?"
His voice was gentle as he said: "We are all a family. A family doesn't speak generic words. That everyone is willing to hand their land over to our Nohara family to manage is the greatest trust you can place in us. I, Hiroshi, absolutely cannot let down this trust."
He paused, and amidst the increasingly burning gazes of those people, slowly extended one finger.
"How about this? I am not too clear on what the market purchase price is. However, I can make a promise to everyone here. On top of the market price, for every acre of land, I, Nohara Hiroshi, will personally subsidize another one million yen. Treat it as... a small token of my filial piety as a junior to you elders."
"Boom——!"
One million!
This number, like a true atomic bomb, exploded thunderously in everyone's minds!
Village Chief Yamada and those relatives almost simultaneously drew in a breath of cold air. On their weather-beaten faces, unbelievable shock was written all over!
They originally thought that being able to ask for ten or twenty thousand more would already be considered burning high incense.
Who would have known that this young man would immediately offer... one million right off the bat!
That was a huge sum of money that they might not even be able to save up after working hard in the fields for ten years!
"Hi... Hiroshi-kun... you... what are you..." Village Chief Yamada was so excited he was speaking incoherently, his tanned face flushing bright red.
"Village Chief, please don't decline." Nohara Hiroshi smiled and waved his hand, his posture as if what he just said wasn't one million, but one hundred yen: "Matters regarding money are trivial. The most important thing is that our family can be harmonious and support each other. In the future, as our 'Nohara Agricultural Corporation' grows, we will still need lots of help from you Uncles. When that time comes, everyone getting rich together is what's truly good."
These words were spoken openly, magnanimously, and even warmed the hearts of everyone present!
"Good! Good! Good!" Village Chief Yamada slapped his thigh hard. On his chubby face, all the calculation vanished, leaving only heartfelt gratitude and admiration: "Hiroshi-kun, rest assured! Starting today, you are the benefactor of our entire Nishi-Omagari Village! In the future, the affairs of your Nohara family are the affairs of our entire village! If anyone dares to gossip or talk nonsense behind your back, I, Yamada, will be the first to object!"
"Yes! Yes!"
"Hiroshi truly is the child prodigy of our Nohara family!"
"If there's anything in the future, Hiroshi, just say the word!"
For a moment, praises came pouring in like a tide.
Those relatives looked at Nohara Hiroshi as if they were looking at a Living Buddha, their eyes practically overflowing with gratitude.
Expressing their profound gratitude, they left fully satisfied, carrying that promise that was sufficient to change the fate of the latter halves of their lives.
The courtyard finally regained its tranquility.
Nohara Ginnosuke looked at the retreating backs of those relatives, and on his old face that had just been full of pride, a pang of deeply irrepressible heartache quietly emerged.
He leaned close to his youngest son, lowered his voice, and muttered softly in a tone cursing a "spendthrift": "I say, Hiroshi... you... were you a bit too impulsive just now? One million... that's no small sum. Our family... does our family still have that much money in the accounts?"
Although he liked to show off, in the face of genuine monetary interests, his meticulous, calculating heart belonging to an old farmer subconsciously tightened.
"Dad, you need to look at the long term."
Nohara Hiroshi merely smiled, however: "The little bit of extra money we are spending now is buying not just land, but human hearts. With the support of these relatives, and the support of the entire village, only then can our 'Nohara Agricultural Corporation' truly gain a firm foothold on this land."
He paused. Looking at his old man's face that was still written full of worry, he slowly tossed out the ultimate trump card sufficient to completely reassure him.
"Besides, if we don't have enough money, we can take out a loan."
"A loan?!" Nohara Ginnosuke's eyebrows instantly shot up right away. His small eyes shot out an instinctual fear of debt belonging to traditional small-scale farmers: "No! Absolutely not! Our Nohara family has lived clean and honestly for generations;
we have never owed anyone a single cent! That loan stuff has terrifyingly high interest rates. If... if by any chance we can't pay it back, we'll lose everything we have!"
"Dad, times have changed." Nohara Hiroshi shook his head helplessly. He knew that talking about "capital operations" and "financial leverage" with the older generation was tantamount to casting pearls before swine.
He could only use the simplest and most direct method to dispel his concerns.
"Rest assured. Over at the JA, they have low-interest loan policies specifically aimed at agricultural corporations like ours;
the interest is very low. Moreover, with my current income and reputation, let alone just tens of millions, even getting a loan of a few hundred million from the bank would not be a problem."
A few hundred million?!
Nohara Ginnosuke was completely stunned.
He stared blankly at his youngest son who could treat units of "hundreds of millions" like casual conversation while laughing and talking. That heart of his, already somewhat weathered by reality, was in this moment thoroughly ripped apart by an unprecedented, massive chasm named "generation gap".
He felt as if he had truly grown old.
'Vroom-vroom!'
Right at this moment, the steady sound of a car engine came from the courtyard.
Nohara Semashi's domineering Land Cruiser slowly parked at the door.
He stepped down from the car. On his tanned face that always bore a bit of simple honesty, hung an irrepressibly silly, blissful smile.
His entire person seemed to be floating in the clouds, his steps somewhat light.
"Yo, isn't this our Nohara family's great Casanova returning?" Nohara Ginnosuke instantly recovered from the blow of that generation gap. Looking at his eldest son's distracted look, his two thick eyebrows proudly danced up and down like two caterpillars preparing to dance.
"What? Running off so early in the morning to drop your future wife at work, how does it feel? Did... did something good happen?"
He seemed to have guessed something.
"Dad!" Nohara Semashi's old face flushed red. He glanced at his younger brother who was still nearby, and his tanned face turned the color of pig liver again.
He hemmed and hawed for a long time, and finally failed to resist that immense joy from the bottom of his heart. He leaned close to his old dad's ear and whispered in a mosquito-like voice: "Um... Dad... I... when I was dropping Ikuna off at the shop just now, she... she kissed me."
"That's it?" Hearing this, Nohara Ginnosuke curled his lip, his eyes full of disdain conveying "expecting better".
He sighed a long breath, a deep helplessness belonging to an experienced person contained within.
"Next time you encounter such a good thing, you can just directly say 'something good happened'. As for details like kissing or holding hands, there's no need to report those to me. I... I don't want to hear it."
As he spoke, as if he remembered something, he heavily patted his eldest son's shoulder. A trace of genuine solemnity entered his voice.
"However, Semashi, remember this. Since the girl has committed to you, you must take responsibility for her. The men of our Nohara family can be poor, can be foolish, but absolutely cannot do anything that wrongs our own women. Understand?"
"Mhm!" Nohara Semashi nodded heavily. On his tanned face was written the absolute sense of responsibility belonging to a man.
"..." However, Nohara Hiroshi still helplessly turned his head to look aside.
What was there to celebrate about a kiss?
He had to say, his burly older brother... truly was a good man who was easily satisfied.
(End of Chapter)