Chapter 41
Touya: Glancing sideways at this insatiable monster~
"Monster—"
"Aren't you coming down for breakfast?"
Just as Sakura and Kero were bickering, a rather familiar voice suddenly came from downstairs.
In this house, there's probably only one person who can call Sakura a monster.
Upon hearing her older brother's voice, Sakura quickly realized, "Oh right! We have to go to school early today!"
She was leisurely bickering with Xiao Ke, but when she realized it was her turn to be on duty, her dark green eyes widened instantly.
"I'm here!"
Sakura called out downstairs, then hurriedly took off her pajamas and took down her school uniform hanging on the rack to put it on.
After she finished dressing, she strode downstairs, making a series of loud noises.
"Tap, tap, tap"
Sakura ran downstairs and into the open kitchen, greeting Touya who was cooking: "Onii-chan, oh haiyo (Good morning, brother)~"
"Huh?" Touya, who had just tasted the bland soup, turned around in surprise to look at Sakura. "I didn't expect the monster to be able to wake up by itself today? I only had to call it once. That's progress!"
Touya's words carried a hint of flippancy and a sense of smugness, making Sakura want to pull out her magic wand and, as Xiao Wang suggested, smash it hard on his butt!
"Hmph! Of course I can get up when someone calls me!" Sakura turned her head away and instinctively retorted to Touya.
"What?" Touya, who had been smiling, froze upon hearing Sakura's words, his deep gaze fixed on his younger sister. "What did you just say? Someone called you?"
"Uh?" Sakura, realizing what she had said, was stunned.
However, she reacted quickly, waving her hands and then awkwardly scratching the back of her head with a laugh, "Well, I set a lot of alarms today because I had to get to school early for my duty. With the alarms ringing, I can definitely get up!"
"Soga—" Touya glanced to the lower left, looked at Sakura who was grinning sheepishly, and then nodded. "Is that so? No wonder you can get up so early."
Touya didn't dwell on the topic any further, and instead focused his attention back on the pot in front of him: "The flavor is still a bit bland, let's add some more seasoning."
Seeing that her older brother had shifted his attention, Sakura secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I need to be more careful with my words from now on," Sakura thought to herself as she walked to the display case in the living room, where a bunch of blooming cherry blossoms were placed.
Beside the vase was a photo frame containing a picture of an exceptionally beautiful woman with smooth, silky hair. Her smile was serene yet stunning, a true beauty. The photo, like a painting, had etched her image into the memory forever.
Upon seeing the photo frame, Sakura's expression softened considerably. She spoke softly to the woman, "Ohayo, Okasan (Good morning, Mom)."
While Sakura was saying good morning to her deceased mother, Touya, wearing a pair of heavy heat-resistant gloves, placed a pot of freshly seasoned soup in the center of the table.
Just then, a tall and gentle-looking handsome figure appeared at the doorway; it was none other than Fujitaka Kinomoto.
"Good morning." He walked into the open kitchen, came to the dining table, and greeted Sakura and Touya in a gentle tone, as if he would always treat others with such kindness.
"Good morning, Dad!" Sakura greeted her mother as usual, then sat down at the dining table to wait for breakfast. When she saw that her father had also gotten up, she responded in the same way.
"Good morning." Touya nodded, then turned around, took off his gloves and put them back in their place, and then took three pairs of chopsticks and three bowls.
"Breakfast looks delicious." Fujitaka had already washed up. He came to the dining table, looked at the delicious food on it, and nodded with a gentle smile. He pulled out a chair and sat down. "I'm really looking forward to it. It must be very tasty."
Touya placed chopsticks in front of the two of them, and then began serving soup to everyone.
Hearing his father's praise, he shrugged noncommittally and said, "It's alright, just passable. Of course, it's definitely better than what that little monster makes."
Originally, looking at the table full of delicious food, Sakura was happy and wanted to praise her awful older brother, just like her father had said. But after listening to Touya's words, Sakura suddenly realized that there are some people who just can't be treated well!
Thinking this, Sakura smiled and then stomped down hard, kicking Touya's instep.
「ヘ（．□°）ヘhiss——!!!」
Just as Touya placed the bowl of soup in front of Sakura, he was struck hard and nearly overturned the bowl of hot soup.
However, remembering that Sakura was right next to him, he endured the pain and steadily released his hand. Then, he groaned and plopped down on the bench, hugging his feet and starting to cry.
"You guys are still so energetic this morning!"
Seeing what was happening before him, Fujitaka shook his head and smiled gently. He stood up, served himself a bowl of hot soup, and then served Touya a bowl, placing it on his seat.
"Alright, eat up." Fujitaka's gentle voice rang out.
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"Mmm!" Sakura nodded repeatedly. After Touya recovered and moved away from her to sit back in his seat, she said, "Let's eat!"
The next moment, just as Fujitaka took his second spoonful of soup, Sakura had already devoured all the food in front of her.
"Huh?"
Fujitaka was taken aback when he saw Sakura putting her bowl and chopsticks into the sink.
"Sakura, won't you feel uncomfortable eating so fast? Do you have something to do later?"
"It's my turn to be on duty in the morning, so I need to get to school early," Sakura replied.
"Soga." Upon hearing this, Fujitaka nodded in understanding.
After putting her cutlery in the sink, Sakura then quietly moved closer to the counter while the other two weren't paying attention.
There's a plate of cookies on this plate. They were baked by Fujitaka yesterday after he got home. They're very fragrant, sweet, and crispy.
"Xiao Ke hasn't eaten yet, has she? Let's get her some."
Sakura saw the plate of cookies when she went downstairs. She had planned to steal some for Kero to take back with her.
Seeing that neither of them noticed her, Sakura quickly grabbed a handful from the plate, then put her hand to her side and, looking rather guilty, darted toward the two of them and ran back upstairs.
"Bang bang bang bang"
Sakura's footsteps rang out, and it has to be said that they were indeed quite "deafening." At first glance, they did sound somewhat like the sound of a monster walking, which explains why Touya could call Sakura a monster every day.
After Sakura left, Touya took a small sip of the soup and glanced at the corner where Sakura had gone: "Hmph, that insatiable monster."