Go-Toubun no Hanayome √AE

Chapter 46:Colors of a White Stone ⑦

It was now winter.

Isanari:"Fuutarou, you shouldn't say bad words."

Fuutarou:"But it's cool to."

Isanari:"Who the he-...Uh, who told you that!?"

Fuutarou:"I saw it on TV."

Isanari:"Da...Dang, I can't punch that, I watch TV too. But I can limit your intake! No more TV tonight!"

Fuutarou:"Ehhh!?"

In the other room, Kotoha was singing to Raiha but was having some trouble as she normally never did her hair apart from brushing it straight. Now that she wanted to give her a ponytail, but had major problems in getting it together.

Kotoha:"Hm, no, not like this...That doesn't work either...Haha, h-how did I get it to be at the top of her head."

Isanari:"Hey, I'm off to deliver something, make sure Fuutarou doesn't-What the hell happened here?"

Kotoha:"D-Do you like her ponytail?"

Isanari:"I'm...I'm just going to say yes...A-Anyway, I'm off."

Kotoha:"Take care, darling."

Isanari went to Mr. Arnadue's office. This was the man who approached Isanari and Kotoha while they were exploring possible homes. In the neighborhood, he was the main source of information, helping the mostly elderly residents with any business task they had. To Isanari, he was an odd man, having a seemingly foreign name despite looking Japanese. He had just assumed he had different heritage in him and he didn't want to pry. All he really cared about was his ability to stay in the place Isanari and Kotoha could call home.

Thanks to this mostly elderly location, Kotoha and Isanari were able to market their bread to a more sensitive crowd when they started their business, thus earning a lot of regulars. However, as more than half a decade passed, many of these elderly residents would begin to move out, either due to money complications, or simply other means. There were also the houses that would become vacant once the resident passed away. This led to the neighborhood slowly becoming less populated. While all this meant for the bakery was that they needed to adapt, seeing as they had modest success before this gradual change, Mr. Arnadue's business was slowly making less money. Some younger tenants would come and go, much faster than those before them. While Isanari would try to befriend them in the same way he did those elderly men, many would also believe he was not to be trusted, given his physique and hair color. But now, due to the neighborhood slowly losing tenants, Mr. Arnadue had given notice that a new landlord unit would come soon. Despite their modest success, Isanari and Kotoha had still not fully paid off their house. However, the man had promised them that the next unit would honor their current plan and that they had nothing to worry about.

...

Isanari:"Alright, that's the payment."

Arnadue:"Wonderful. I hear that boy of yours is already going to Elementary school?"

Isanari:"Heh, yeah. He's a good boy, if a little rebellious, but he's already making the effort. I'm sure he'll make it big one day."

Arnadue:"How nice."

Isanari:"Do you have a child?"

Arnadue:"...No, I don't. I'm simply in the life of business."

Isanari:"Hah, I get it. You should settle down one day."

Arnadue:"Oh, I plan to. Once I finish my job here, I'll be getting a nice bonus."

Isanari:"That's great. Anyway, I need to get going."