As I Know Anything About You, I'll Be The One To Your Girlfriend, Aren't I? - Volume 1 Chapter 2.4

I Hope You Understand 4

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After resting in my room’s bed until the evening, my physical condition has recovered. This quick recovery is all thanks to Kujo-san.

Feeling grateful, I get up a bit early to start preparing dinner.

Since I had no appetite and skipped lunch, I’m quite hungry now.

What should I eat? I check up what’s left in the fridge as I walk to the kitchen when my phone rings.

──Could it be Kujo-san again? Ah, no.

The caller is the person who contacts me the most in this world and today’s hero of the match.

“Hello, Suika?”

“Kuuya! I’m glad you picked up. I just finished the tournament and can finally contact you! How are you feeling? I was worried you might be bedridden…”

“Sorry, I should’ve known you’d notice. I worried you… Now, I’m totally fine, all okay.”

“That’s good to hear! As long as you’re okay…that’s a relief.”

I can almost picture her smiling through the phone with the way she speaks.

“Really, I’m sorry. But I’m seriously fine now. I even have an appetite and am about to make dinner.”

“Is that so, great timing then! Kuuya, why don’t you come over and eat with us?”

“Eh? No, I feel bad bother you too often…”

“It’s not bothering at all! My dad, mom, and grandma say you’re welcome to come over every day.”

“No, that’s…”

I’ve always been indebted to Suika’s family, but there’s a reason I can’t just take advantage of their kindness.

“…So, what are you planning to make for dinner?”

“Something chopped and grilled, and something…put in water and heated? That kind of thing?”

“I’m only feeling anxious now…”

I do live on my own, but cooking isn’t my strong suit.

“If you cook it, it’ll just end up burnt again, which is worse than unhealthy!”

“Uh…it’s just, I end up looking at it, you know, watching the colors change.”

When cooking, ingredients usually change color. Somehow, I always end up staring intently or absentmindedly at that process, inevitably burning the food in the end.

“Self-catering is commendable, but please, for your health, come eat at the Ado residence. Ideally every day, but at least for today.”

“Uhm…”

“Alright, I’ll come to pick you up, so wait for me!”

“The conversation is progressing without my answer…”

It seems difficult to refuse.

“Alright, alright, I’ll come over for today. But you don’t need to pick me up.”

“Yay! Then… come over around seven o’clock, in about an hour! That’s when the food will be ready.”

“Okay.”

Ado family’s cooking is incredibly delicious. Being invited to dine with them is a stroke of luck. If I were to think with my stomach and taste buds, I’d want to go every day.

That’s exactly why I need to exercise restraint.

With that thought, I spend the time until then doing homework from school, then head to the Ado residence, which is just a short ten-minute walk away.

“…It’s huge, isn’t it?”

No matter how many times I see it, that’s always my impression.

The massive estate is surrounded by a long fence. Passing through the gate reveals a large, purely Japanese-style mansion. It’s said that truly wealthy and land-rich families opt for a single-story house instead of building up, and the Ado residence embodies that philosophy perfectly.

“Kuuya! We’ve been waiting for you!”

“Hey, Suika.”

Before I could ring the bell, the door opens, and Suika appears. Her hair is slightly damp, and her cheeks are flushed. She probably took a shower after the tournament, which makes sense.

“Sorry for intruding.”

“Oh, Kuuya-kun, there’s no need for such formal greetings.”

As I take off my shoes and step into the house, a refined voice comes from down the hall.

“Ran-san, good evening.”

“Good evening. And you know, when you enter our house, you can just say ‘I’m home.’  also Dinner’s ready.”

Leaving those words, Suika’s mother, Ran-san, retreats back to the kitchen. Her smile has a somewhat enchanting quality, and her youthful beauty makes it hard to believe she’s a mother.

“See, even Mom says so.”

“I appreciate it. …Oh, the painting has changed.”

Speaking of appreciation, this comes to mind as well. The Ado family always decorates their grand entrance with season-appropriate paintings, all of which are my works, going back many years.

In this area, there’s hardly anyone who doesn’t know about the Ado family, and they even have visitors from afar coming to see them.

I occasionally wonder if it’s really okay for my paintings to be on display in the entrance of such a renowned family.

“Everyone who comes here praises Kuuya’s paintings. They’re our pride!”

As if reading my thoughts, Suika says this to me.

Entering the living room, I see the dishes already laid out on the table.

“Welcome, Kuuya-kun.”

“Daisuke-san, thank you for having me. I’m sorry for always imposing.”

As I sit next to Suika, her father, Daisuke-san, seated across from me, waves his hand with a gentle smile.

“Not at all, you’re welcome anytime. I’m the only man in this house, so it gets lonely.”

“Oh dear, it’s true that Kuuya-kun is always welcome, but to say you’re lonely, Daisuke-san, that’s too much.”

Ran-san comes over and places chopsticks in front of everyone as she speaks.

“Well, it’s not that I have any complaints about Ran-san. By the way, if there’s anything else to bring out, I can help too.”

“Daisuke-san.”

Ran-san firmly stops Daisuke-san from standing up. Her movement is precise and elegant, yet unmistakably firm.

“It’s okay, there’s nothing left to bring out. And I’ve told you many times, Daisuke-san, I’ll take care of all the household chores related to you.”

“But you know, Ran-san also has duties with the Ado family business.”

“Managing both the family business and household chores is what Ado women do. Daisuke-san, I appreciate your sentiment, but this is something I cannot compromise on.”

Behind Ran-san’s gentle gaze, a strong light indicates her unyielding stance.

“Once, I mistakenly tried to prepare Dad’s meal, and she told me, ‘Over my dead body.'”

Suika whispers to me. It’s not a line you commonly hear in a family kitchen.

“But, Ran-san…”

“No buts, Daisuke-san. Besides, if it’s about the family business, Grandma is still active. She even went to a dinner party with the governor today.”

The Ado family consists of daughter Suika, her parents, and her grandmother, making it a four-person household. Currently, one person is missing.

“Kinuesan isn’t here, so she’s dining with the governor?”

“Seems so. The current governor was apparently quite indebted to my grandparents in the past and occasionally invites them.”

As always, being in this house feels surreal.

Incidentally, the Ado family is run by women, generation after generation.

This is because the Ado family consistently produces daughters, making them a quintessential matrilineal clan.

Daisuke-san is a son-in-law adopted into the family.

Back when they were a warrior family, they would marry skilled men while the women, true to the spirit of Tomoe Gozen, would also take to the battlefield and earn military honors.

It’s less a family of strong women and more a family of strong women. That’s the Ado family for you.