The Furukawa Family

The two of them arrived in Hikarizaka City.

Akira looked around curiously. But he soon lost interest after finding nothing of interest.

"Come up."

Maruo stopped a taxi and said to his son.

"Okay." Akira got into the taxi.

"Go to Furukawa Bakery." Maroo said.

"Understood."

The taxi driver stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped down the highway.

"Is dad's friend running a bakery business? Why not just open in Tokyo?"

"He didn't open a bakery before, but he and his wife quit their jobs and decided to open a bakery."

"Could it be… For the sake of their daughter?"

Maruo glanced at his son in surprise.

"Yes. At the age of five, their daughter developed a sickle and nearly died due to accidental neglect. As a result, their daughter has a weak body because she was not treated in time and has been getting worse until now." After explaining, he asked curiously: "How did you know?"

Akira shook his head and answered humbly: "That's not hard to guess, father. Given Japan's workaholic culture, it's not surprising that such situations are common."

From his father's explanation, he guessed that his father's friend was busy with his career, preventing him from taking good care of his daughter while she was sick.

Marou fell silent. That sentence targeted him, considering that he rarely got together with his family. Not only he, but the taxi driver who was driving also felt the same way.

The atmosphere in the taxi became silent until it arrived at its destination.

Akira and his father got out of the taxi after paying.

Akira looked at the two story building in front of him.

The smell of bread wafting in the air whetted the appetites of passersby.

Then Maruo walked into the bakery.

"Welcome to---"

The words stopped when he saw the customer coming.

"Long time no see, Akio." Maruo slightly nodded.

"Turns out it's Maruo, who I thought it was. Your flat expression still hasn't changed. Do you know how shocked I was to hear you had married the school belle."

Furukawa Akio was greeted with a big smile, but his words were harsh.

"Ara, welcome, Maruo-kun."

"Good afternoon, Sanae."

Maruo greeted his friend's wife.

"Who is the young man behind you?" Akio watched Akira.

"Akira, introduce yourself." Maruo said.

Akira is not a shy person. He took a few steps forward and introduced himself politely.

"Hello, my name is Nakano Akira. Nice to meet uncle and aunt."

"Wow, what a cute kid."

Sanae was captivated by Akira and was unable to pinch his cheeks.

"Is he really your son? Other than hair color, you two don't look alike at all." Akio said while rubbing his chin.

"He inherited his mother's genes." Maruo replied nonchalantly. He knew it was just a joke, and his friend wasn't serious.

"Is Akira-chan a 2nd year high school student?" Sanae asked.

"I'm still a 1st year junior high school student." Akira replied helplessly.

Besides Ichika and Yotsuba, Sanae was the third person to add '-chan' to his name.

"Lie! No matter how I look at it, he's just like a high school student!" Akio couldn't believe it.

"What he said was true. He just became a junior high student this year." Maruo confirmed.

"Wow, kids these days grow up fast. What did you feed to grow that tall?"

Considering Maruo was a doctor, Akio thought he had managed his son's nutrition.

"Nothing in particular." Maruo replied.

"Darling, isn't it rude to leave a guest standing?"

Satisfied with playing with Akira's cheeks, Sanae reminded her husband.

"Ah, you're right. As the host, it is impolite to let guests stand around for too long. Both of you, please sit down."

After saying that, he went to the kitchen to get his freshly baked bread.

"Sit wherever you two like." Sanae smiled, then followed her husband into the kitchen.

Akira and his father sat in the empty seats, or rather, there was nobody in the bakery besides the two of them.

Maybe because it was past lunchtime, there were no other customers.

Not long after, the Furukawa couple came and served bread and drinks.

"Taste it, the bread is freshly baked. I guarantee it tastes good!" Akio is confident in his bread.

Akira took one bread off the plate and ate it.

"How?" Sanae asked.

"It's delicious... Not worse than the bread sold at famous bakeries in Tokyo."

This was Akira's honest assessment. He wouldn't lie about the food.

"Glad you like it. Eat a lot, kids your age should eat a lot." Akio smiled broadly.

"Thank you, Uncle." Akira nodded and took another bread.

"Try my homemade bread too."

With a smile on her face, Sanae pushed away a piece of bread filled with squid tentacles.

Maruo and Akio's expressions became unsightly. They both knew how terrible Sanae's baking skills were.

Even Akira was speechless when he saw the bread on the plate.

(Is this really bread? Can it be eaten by humans? No, I shouldn't judge food by its appearance alone. In this world, there are some foods that look strange, but are actually delicious. Maybe this bread is that type of food.)

Akira was not shallow-minded, he tried one bite.

"Um? How does it feel?" Sanae asked.

"To be honest... It feels disgusting. It's a failed product." Akira frankly.

Sanae's shoulders shook, and her expression was as if she was going to cry at any moment. Then she ran out of the bakery crying.

"Sanae!!!"

"Wait a minute, I'll calm her down."

After saying that, Akio ran after his wife.

The bakery left only a father-son pair.

"How should I put it... Dad, your friend is a bit weird."

Akira glanced at his father, who always looked calm.

"Sanae is always like that when hearing comments about the bread she makes. In fact, all the bread in this bakery is made by Akio." Maruo said.

"I see." Akira nodded.

Luckily, no customers came to buy the breads, as the Furukawa couple still hadn't returned.

"Cough Cough..."

Akira heard someone coughing.

He turned to see a beautiful olive-skinned girl with short, wavy brown hair that reached just below her shoulders, large amber eyes, and had two ahoge protruding above her head.

(Two ahoge?)

Among the girls around him, Akira only knows that Itsuki has an ahoge. It can be seen how rare the girl with ahoge is. But here, that girl has two ahoges!

"Anooo... Did you see mom and dad?"

After realizing her parents weren't there, the girl noticed the presence of two strangers, and she asked shyly.

"Akio is chasing after a crying Sanae. You are their daughter, right?" Asked Marou.

"Y-Yes. W-Who is uncle?" Asked the girl.

"I'm a friend of your father's from high school. Nakano Maruo, and this is my son, Akira. We visited on business."

"Ah, it turns out to be a friend of dad. Sorry to be impolite. My name is Furukawa Nagisa. Please advise."