Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/2912051597934651646/episodes/2912051601463132617
After making up with Misao, Houtarou returned to the Arukuma Café.
His father, Souta, was standing at the entrance, waiting for the two of them to come home.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
Misao tilted her head in confusion, and Souta smiled.
“Of course I was waiting for you two, wasn’t I?”
“Ugh, you’re so overprotective~”
“Say whatever you want.”
Sota gave a wry smile and hugged Misao tightly.
“Eek! Stop it! Hotaro’s watching! That’s gross!”
“Hahaha, it’s fine, isn’t it?”
Even though she was being hugged tightly, Misao didn’t seem to mind at all.
It was probably just lip service.
Seeing this close interaction between father and daughter for the first time in a while, Houtarou felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
……And he felt a little bit of loneliness.
At that moment, Souta let go of Misao and hugged Houtarou instead.
“Houtarou, you’re family to me, too!”
“Sota san…”
It was a powerful embrace.
But it didn’t hurt at all.
He felt a sense of security, as if he were leaning against a huge tree.
“…I’m sorry.”
He apologized to Sota for having kept his distance from the Shiojiri family and his past.
Sota didn’t ask what I was talking about.
“I forgive you! Okay, that’s enough now.”
Sota suddenly set Houtaro down.
“Whoops, Dad, it’s time for your livestream.”
“Livestream… you’re still doing that?”
Actually, Sota runs a livestreaming channel as a side job.
“Come on, you’re a grown man—you should quit streaming. There’s no demand for it, you know.”
Sota doesn’t hide his side job from his family at all.
(Though he hasn’t told anyone outside the family because Misao didn’t want him to.)
“Sorry, Misao. To me, my listeners are like a second family. I can’t just abandon them!”
“Ugh… Well, I guess it’s fine since you’re making money.”
Houtarou doesn’t know the details, but apparently Sota’s side hustle is incredibly successful.
He took over the coffee shop from his father, and that’s supposed to be his main job…
But financially, it seems the streaming business brings in more.
“Stay over tonight, Houtarou-kun.”
“Out of the blue—”
Misao gave a wry smile.
Houtarou, however, had no reason to refuse.
“I’ll stay over.”
“Go ahead. Don’t let a fragile girl walk home alone at night, okay?”
“Fragile? Who?”
“Me, of course!”
And just like that, Houtarou and Misao were laughing together again.
Something quite miraculous was happening.
The person who made it all possible wasn’t here.
But Houtarou felt sincere gratitude toward Seika.
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