Chapter 279 – Father Came at Year-End

I went tо рiсk uр mу father at Наchioji Stаtion aftеr gеtting wоrd hе wаs сoming to visit.

Sinсe he rаrеly vеnturеs оutsidе his usuаl haunts, I wаs cеrtain he’d gеt lоst.

Surе еnough, he wаs loitеring awkwardly in frоnt оf the ticket gatеs.

“Нey, over herе!”

“О-oh.”

Even though he’s bееn here bеforе, hе’s соmpletely fоrgotten. Не’s just nоt good with trаvеling fаr, so I guess it сan’t be hеlped.

But why соme during the сrоwded уear-еnd season?

Wеll, prоbаbly because his fаrm-relаtеd wоrk has wrаppеd uр fоr now.

Mу fathеr wаs wеаring а graу соat, lооking restless as he glanced around.

“It’s, it’s awfully crowded here.”

“Isn’t Kofu crowded around New Year’s too? It’s just a bit more crowded here.”

“I-is that so?”

He’s a man of few words, so he fell silent after that.

I led my father through the transfers as we headed home.

Then, surprisingly, my usually quiet father spoke up.

“So, how are things? Are the kids doing well?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. Growing up healthy.”

“I see.”

Oh, he’s smiling.

What’s with that happy face?

I’ve only seen that look when I got married.

He’s really mellowed out.

Or maybe he’s just always been bad at expressing his emotions.

But above all…

When I think that this old-fashioned, taciturn man could have become a Magical Girl… it feels truly strange.

By the way, my father had me when he was relatively young, so he’s actually still just shy of sixty.

When my cousin Shioi visited, I heard he bragged to his agricultural cooperative buddies about having twin grandchildren.

He has that kind of communication skill?!

I brought my father to our nearest station.

Since our place doesn’t have room for guests and our apartment building is like a supernatural realm, I’d booked him a separate inn.

But before heading there, I wanted him to relax at our place for a bit.

“Hoh, so that’s Shogo’s father.”

“Ah, President! Good work today.”

“Mhm. I see, so this is the source of Shogo’s qualities. I’m convinced. But I wouldn’t recommend a long stay. There’s a chance he might awaken.”

With just that, the President returned to her apartment.

What a disturbing thing to say!

Awaken to what?!

We took the elevator to the top Floor.

Since the only Floor humans can live on is the top one.

It’s a Floor with six rooms, so three more households could move in.

When I opened the door, Mashiro was waiting.

“Father-in-law! You’ve come all this way—welcome!”

My wife bowed politely.

Hmm!

She seems like a completely different person from her usual casual self!

“Ah, yes. Thank you for looking after Shogo.”

My father also bowed formally in return.

He handed over some gifts.

Houtou noodles, huh.

Now that you mention it, I haven’t had a chance to eat those since moving here.

And finally, my father came face-to-face with our little ones.

“Oh… ohhh…!”

He seems moved?!

“Can I touch them?”

“Sure.”

Gently touching the babies’ hands, my father made an indescribable face.

That’s definitely the face of someone so happy they don’t know how to express it.

Our little ones aren’t at the age where they’re shy around strangers yet, so they just stared intently at this new human.

Oh, Homura reached out and grabbed my father’s finger.

The older twin sister is always proactively making contact.

Meanwhile, Minato just stares.

Their personalities are already diverging, even as babies.

“Is child-rearing going okay? Isn’t it tough? If there’s anything I can do, just say the word.”

“Yeah. It’s fine for now. Thanks.”

“Thank you, Father-in-law.”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

This is the first time I’ve seen my father like this!!

He seems kinda giddy, doesn’t he?

I let him hold Homura and Minato in turn and took pictures.

Then, when I sent them to my father’s phone,

“Can’t you line them up side by side for a wallpaper?”

“Ah, I see, that’s an idea… Hold on a sec.”

I combined the images on my PC into a single picture.

My father holding Homura on top.

My father holding Minato on the bottom.

Looking at that wallpaper, my father’s expression went completely soft.

I never knew you could make a face like that.

“Father-in-law looks really happy. It makes me happy too.”

“He must be really thrilled to have grandchildren. Even though he lives with Shioi.”

“Maybe it’s extra special because they’re Mr. Shogo’s kids? Let’s go visit them next time.”

“Hmm, maybe we should…”

“Mou! Why are you so reluctant?!”

Mashiro started patting my butt!

And so, my father stayed at our place until after dinner before heading to his hotel.

Of course, I saw him off.

“Can I come again?”

“Yeah, of course. In fact, Mashiro says she wants to see my hometown, so once the little ones are a bit bigger, we’ll all go together.”

“Oh! R-really? Then let me know!”

“Got it. Let’s exchange phone numbers, then…”

Amazingly, this was the first time my father and I had ever exchanged contact info!!

Until now, we’d always used Shioi as a go-between.

After my mother died, some unresolved feelings created distance between my father and me, but now I’m a parent and he’s a grandfather. It’s probably time we started bridging that gap.

“Well, see you tomorrow, Dad. Tomorrow, you’ll be pushing the little ones’ stroller.”

“Yeah! Leave it to me!”

My father replied with unusual vigor.