At three or four o'clock in the afternoon, Kirino Akane, who had disappeared for a long time, appeared in the living room again.
Zong Gu was drowsy at that time, but he became a little more energetic after seeing her.
"Did Kirino go back just now?"
"No...I was in the car the whole time."
Akane Kirino turned her head and showed him her side face, "I fell asleep at some point, lying on the back, with her face turning red."
Sogu was busy carrying the ingredients as soon as he got out of the car, and then rested in the living room without noticing that she was still in the car.
"...That was really hard work."
She sat down next to him, glanced at the TV, and then her eyes froze.
"Hey, a children's program?"
"Um……"
This is also the main reason why Soya can't cheer up.
He pointed at Tsukuyomi beside him and said, "It's for him to see."
"really? Why?"
"educate."
Akane Kirino didn't know why. Looking at the two of them, she suddenly remembered something.
"Can we fish out the seeds?"
Zonggu looked at the time and said, "More than six hours, almost."
The two of them came to the backyard. The water basin soaked in tomato seeds was still on the edge. Next to it was a small storage box that had been prepared in advance. It was made of translucent plastic and had a few paper towels lined inside.
Kirino Akane soaked paper towels in water and carefully laid them on the bottom of the storage box;
Sogu picked up all the tomato seeds floating in the basin, scattered or flicked them, and threw them on the soaked paper towel.
"Is this okay?"
"I guess so."
He fiddled with his fingertips to distribute the swollen seeds as evenly as possible, "I think Kirino should be more experienced than me."
"ah……"
Kirino Akane was startled, and soon realized that this was indeed the case: this was not a matter of spiritual bodies, but an area that she was relatively familiar with.
"That's no problem!"
"Yeah."
Soya was about to close the lid of the storage box when he saw a pair of feet.
Looking up again, Tsukuyomi came over with his finger extended.
"..."
He placed the seed on his fingertip alone in the corner of the wet tissue and stared at it for a while.
"Will it germinate like this?"
Zonggu looked at the ordinary seed, "If it's not a bad seed, then there's probably nothing wrong with it."
"Bad seed?"
"Seeds that cannot germinate."
Tsukuyomi was stunned, "Then how do I know if it is a bad seed?"
"I can't tell the difference now."
Kirino Akane also looked down at the many seeds on the paper towel, "If after the seeds of Soya and I have sprouted, there is still no movement in this one, then it is a bad seed."
"..."
Tsukuyomi suddenly felt that it was too risky to place hope on a single seed, so he picked a few more seeds with his fingertips.
"These are mine too."
Zong Gu glanced at him, said nothing, and closed the lid of the storage box.
Kirino Akane picked up the storage box and prepared to find a place to put it.
Tsukuyomi followed, "How long will it take for it to germinate?"
"If it's just budding, it will take two or three days."
"It's been so long..."
"It's not too long, right?"
There are not many special requirements. The seeds can germinate smoothly if they are placed in a warm and dark place away from direct sunlight. Therefore, Tsukuyomi took the storage box with him and temporarily placed it in the living room.
"Watch it, remember to turn the seeds over occasionally," Zongya said, "but be careful not to damage the buds."
Tsukuyomi's face showed an unprecedented serious look.
"I see."
...
At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Kirino Hiroyuki drove to pick up his relatives, Mr. and Mrs. Tanijima, who were in their sixties and came to visit.
The couple had already heard about outsiders living in Kirino's old house, so they were not too surprised to see Soya and Asagiri Suzu. When the male-voiced and female-voiced Tsukuyomi appeared, they only became slightly silent.
Tsukuyomi seemed to be a little concerned about the husband of the couple, Tanishima Chaohi, but in the end he didn't say anything and quickly returned to the room upstairs with the storage box in his arms.
After Akane Kirino came back after returning home and changing her clothes, Soya finally understood a little bit about what Tsukuyomi was concerned about.
"Uncle...eh?"
After Kirino Akane came closer, Tanishima Chaoyang, who was sitting, seemed to notice something, and immediately showed an incredible expression.
The two looked at each other.
"Qian...how did you..."
"Is uncle also a spiritual awakener?"
Soya was suddenly stunned and looked at Asagiri Suzu next to him.
She and Tanishima Chaoyang looked at each other just now, but said nothing.
"……because this!"
Soya turned around, and Kirino Akane was already in front of him, very close, and then took out the amulet on his chest.
"I want to take it off for a while, can that be okay?" she asked.
"Of course. This is yours."
The girl smiled slightly, took off her amulet, and explained to Tanishima Chaoyang who was sitting on the other side.
"Well, is Mr. Sotani also a spiritual awakener?"
"Akane, you and Soya-kun..."
For different reasons, both Tanishima and his wife became very interested in Soya.
In the subsequent exchange between Akane Kirino and Asahi Tanishima, Sotani learned that as a spiritual awakener, he had also worked for a local spiritual awakener organization in Saitama for a period of time when he was young;
Later, during a certain extermination operation, Tanishima Chaoyang encountered danger and suffered some injuries, so he chose to retreat bravely. Then he met his current wife, got married, and lived an ordinary life.
"It was because of Keiko that I decided to retire," he said.
Keiko Tanijima looked at her husband, "Even if he retires and someone comes to his door, Chaoyang will still help without hesitation."
"There is nothing we can do about this..."
She looked at Kirino Akane again, indicating something.
"If both husband and wife are 'visible' people, they won't have such worries. This is 'advancing and retreating together'."
Kirino Akane didn't hear anything. She just thought it was her aunt's vision of another life and nodded repeatedly.
"Uh-huh."
The Tanijima couple came to Kinki this time and stayed at Kirino's house temporarily for two days. After traveling around Kyoto, they will go north to visit the Hida area in Gifu.
"Chaoyang is very interested in mountain climbing... Although after the accident last year, I stopped letting him participate in mountaineering club activities, but if it's just for a look, it'll be fine."
"Accident?" Kirino Akane was a little concerned.
"Last summer, Chaoyang and people from the club went mountain climbing and encountered quite bad weather. Although Chaoyang finally came back safely, several people in the club unfortunately died..."
Tanishima Chaoyang's face darkened, "Keiko!"
This was obviously his pain, and Keiko Tanishima stopped mentioning it any more, but the atmosphere in the living room became stagnant as a result.
As an outsider, Soya had no responsibility to entertain relatives of the Kirino family, not to mention that the Kirinos had told him to be more casual. He moved towards Asagiri Suzu, preparing to find an excuse to leave.
"..."
Kirino Akane, who was sitting opposite, hooked his feet under the table.
Zong Gu raised her eyes, glanced at her uncle and aunt beside her, and moved her lips.
【Don't leave me behind.】
Zonggu was helpless.
He nodded slightly, and Kirino Akane let go of her feet and gave him a sly smile.
Fortunately, Kirino Keiko arrived quickly, and with just a few words, the depressing atmosphere in the living room was swept away.
"...Izakaya? It's closed for the next two days, so I'm going to take a little rest."
"Is it because Chaoyang and I..."
"No, no, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
As Kirino Keiko spoke, she looked at Soya and her daughter who were sitting silently next to them, "Soya, you and Akane should go back to the room first."
"..."
Zonggu was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"OK."
He and Kirino Akane stood up and left the living room, and Asagiri Suzu followed them out without saying a word.
Although there was no need to go back to the room as Kirino Keiko said, it was neither early nor late, and the three of them had nowhere else to go, and finally gathered in Tsukuyomi's room.
"What?"
He looked at Soya, Kirino Akane and Asagiri Suzu who were filing in, and the thing he was most concerned about when he spoke was, "Are you ready to eat?"
"It's still early. Sit down for a while."
"Why are you sitting in my room?"
Zonggu looked around the room, and finally his eyes fell on the open storage box.
"Look at the seeds."
...
Dragging the suitcase, Yoshikawa Aoko returned to the door, and her sister happened to come out, holding the dog in her hand.
"Hongzi, I'm back."
"Hey, sister..."
Yoshikawa Anko's face was full of surprise, "Didn't you say you won't be back during the Golden Week?"
"Didn't dad twist his waist? I'll come back to see him."
"Oh. Where is my brother-in-law?"
Yoshikawa Aoko twisted her head and said, "Dead!"
"..."
It seems that the quarrel between husband and wife is the main reason why my sister comes home.
Hongzi wanted to say something more, but Alpine, who was holding her hand, could no longer hold back.
"Go ahead."
Qingzi picked up the suitcase and walked in. "Be careful, don't sprain your waist like dad."
"I know."
"Just take a walk, don't run too far."
Hongzi pulled the dog leash, but there was no response.