Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 176

 """There's watermelon seed spitting~♪."""

 The brats sang in harmony. And then there was the sound of crunching. Followed by a loud, childish smacking sound.

 "Hey! What are you doing? That's rude!!"

 The older brat with 2 deer antlers scolded them, and the little brats hurriedly ran away. It was probably because the young lady who had eaten watermelon earlier was having a fun seed-spitting contest (with only one participant). They likely thought it was okay to imitate her since the surveillance guy wasn't around. By the way, the girls didn't join in, and they were saying things like, "brats are such kids, right?" It was a pretty silly thing to say, especially since they were planning to play afterward.

 "Seriously... I'll have to give them a good head rub later."

 "For now, we need to clean up. ...Geez, they really threw them far!"

 The older brats grumbled while picking up the seeds they had thrown. Without a lookout, this is what happens. They were being quite mischievous.

 "Make sure to separate the seeds and the rinds, okay? We'll use them later!"

 The brat with a beast-like face said cheerfully while holding a tray. The seeds can be planted or roasted as snacks, and the rinds can be used for Tsukemono (pickled vegetables).

 "Seeds and rinds, huh..."

 The Ako's maid, Yona, looked on with a bit of annoyance. She had never experienced eating watermelon seeds or rinds, neither at the Ako house nor in the rich western region. It seemed really poor to her.

 ...As expected, this is the bountiful Center region. Life isn't usually that tough here. Still, the Azuma's orphanage sometimes prepared meals that reminded one of a famine. There was a meaning behind it: to give knowledge that could fill one's stomach in times of need. The orphanage director, a Tanuki, knew that distinguishing between what is edible and what isn't is the secret to survival.

 "Crunch, crunch... By the way, where's Akane (the lizard girl)? If it's her, she's probably off participating in the seed-spitting contest, right?"

 "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her since breakfast... Wait, why are you eating that?"

 While chewing on the collected watermelon rind, a beast-faced brat noticed the absence of the mischievous girl, and a cat-eared girl added a comment to his response. By the way, this was just a case of mindless snacking.

 "If I remember correctly, she went off with Ume (the cow girl) to follow big brother, right?"

 Speaking of 'big brother', there were many who could be called that, but for the older kids who had experienced the incident with the youkai fox, simply saying "big brother" referred to just one person. It was indeed a sign of trust.

 "Is she visiting someone? It's a bit late for that... but knowing Akane, she's probably chatting away with Shiro."

 "Was it a cold? Should we go get her (Shiro)?"

 The older kids discussed how Akane was probably causing a lot of trouble. That's how much of a problem child Akane was.

 "...Speaking of which, the young lady from Miyataka also took some watermelon, didn't she?"

 And in the conversation among the older kids, Yona recalled the chat when they served the watermelon. It was for a visit, coordinated by the Household Member Coordinator, and somehow, she had borrowed extra watermelon for herself. She probably knew about some unexpected guests coming from somewhere.