Just as the sun dipped below the horizon, Kuroba Akira returned to the Kobayashi household.
He pushed open the gate and made his way to the front door. Just as he was about to pull out his key, a voice greeted him from the side.
"Welcome back, Akira-kun."
"…Oh. I'm back."
Akira blinked in surprise before replying—mostly because Shiginomiya's outfit was just too eye-catching.
She was wearing an old-fashioned gym uniform, gloves for yard work on her hands, and holding a sickle. Paired with her usual deadpan expression, she looked disturbingly like an assassin who'd just finished disposing of a body.
That's the power of an S-rank Talent—it didn't take more than a costume change for her entire aura to shift.
If she ever went into acting, she'd absolutely be the kind who could disappear into any role. There was probably no character she couldn't pull off.
"You're weeding the yard?"
"Mm. Kobayashi-obaasan said the weeds were getting a little high. She wants to plant coriander this autumn, so she asked me to clear some space."
Coriander, huh. Pretty rare in Japan. You'd be more likely to see it in someone's name than on a plate. It wasn't something Japanese cuisine really used for fragrance or removing gaminess.
Back in Akira's hometown, not everyone could even eat the stuff—its strong, distinct smell was a divisive thing, and a lot of people were allergic.
Still, planting vegetables in the yard… that gave off a real "Chinese family" vibe. Most Japanese seniors preferred to grow flowers or trees, fiddle with bonsai, or tend to a tiny garden. Veggies were considered too unsightly.
Especially in Tokyo, where land was scarce. In a ward like Chiyoda, standalone homes with actual yards were rare to begin with—there just wasn't room to grow anything. So for Kobayashi Mika to be planting herbs at home… it was kind of a luxury.
Just goes to show how much spouses really do influence each other. There was something about the way she did things that reminded Akira a lot of aunties from his old neighborhood. She felt familiar—like the neighbor back home who always had a loud voice and a kind heart.
"So you've been weeding all day?"
"Mm. I'm almost done now."
You some kind of humanoid weed-whacking machine…?
Akira had done this chore himself before—he knew how exhausting it was. Especially since the Kobayashis didn't even own a weed trimmer. It was all manual labor, just swinging a sickle until your back and knees locked up.
And that was before summer, when it wasn't even this hot. Even then, Akira had ended up soaked in sweat… and all he got out of it was a measly thousand yen.
Mika was just that stingy. Akira had told her flat out that she'd have to up the pay if she wanted him to do it again—he wouldn't bend over for peanuts.
And now with Shiginomiya around, the old lady had clearly found herself another young worker to boss around.
Still, Akira was surprised. For a sheltered rich girl, Shiginomiya was surprisingly tough.
Then again, she was from a remarried family. Her upbringing might not have been all that privileged to begin with.
And maybe that's why she refused to spend the money her father sent. Deep down, she probably didn't feel it was rightfully hers.
Even so, Akira found it hard not to roll his eyes—sending a genius like Shiginomiya to do manual labor felt like such a waste of talent.
"If the old hag dumps this kind of stuff on you again, just say no. She's obviously treating you like free labor. She won't even give you your own room."
"No, it's not like that. I offered. This morning, when we went shopping together, I made her spend a bit more than planned… so I said I'd pay it back through labor."
"Oh. Did you get everything you needed? Like… spare underwear and stuff?"
"Yes. The essentials, anyway. She even got me a new pair of sneakers."
Akira glanced down. Sure enough, Shiginomiya was wearing a fresh pair of athletic shoes, same brand and similar style as his.
Akira's own sneakers had also been bought by Mika—he'd had to pay for them with three months of shoulder massages.
"And…"
"And?"
"N-No, it's nothing. I'll tell you inside."
She clasped her hands behind her back, clearly hesitant—like a kid who'd secretly bought something she wasn't supposed to.
Maybe it was something like sanitary pads. Akira didn't press her.
"You don't need to give me a shopping report. I gave you that ten thousand yen—it's yours to spend how you like. I wouldn't know what girls need anyway."
"Mm."
Shiginomiya gave a faint smile, warmed by the trust in his words.
"Wait, that outfit—did the old lady give that to you too?"
"Yes. Since you only gave me ten thousand yen, it wasn't enough for new clothes, so Kobayashi-obaasan found me this gym uniform instead. It's just… a little short."
Wearing a gym uniform that left her long, slender legs completely exposed, Shiginomiya actually looked a bit embarrassed.
And no wonder. Old-school gym uniforms came with those ultra-short, tight bloomers that barely qualified as shorts—just a hair's breadth away from being underwear. They clung to every line in ways that made girls self-conscious.
If you weren't wearing panties underneath, they'd basically show camel toe. An archaeologist would take one look and shout, "Now this is ancient stonework!"
Exactly because they were too revealing, Hibiya High had already updated their gym uniforms to non-triangle styles. They were still short—basically hotpants—but at least they weren't skin-tight anymore. They no longer made you feel like Superman wearing his underwear outside.
Even so, some girls still weren't satisfied with the length. The plan now was to eventually switch them to the same knee-length shorts the boys wore.
Looked like in this world too, the era of the ultra-tight, super-short gym bloomers was coming to an end.
Is this progress? Hell no—it's a tragedy! Bloomers are good civilization!
Luckily, Shiginomiya would be keeping this gym outfit as her loungewear. After all, she only had her school uniform to wear otherwise.
The shirt she wore should've had a name tag, but hers didn't. Probably something Mika had removed.
Which made Akira wonder—where exactly had she gotten this gym uniform?
"…Don't tell me this was something you wore when you were young? That'd be ancient by now. It's a miracle it hasn't turned yellow."
Just as he said that, the old lady in question happened to come outside to check on the weeding—and caught the tail end of his snark.
"You little brat! Don't spout nonsense! I was born into a samurai family—I would never wear such shameless clothes!"
"…"
If you think they're shameless, why are you putting them on her?
Mika let out a small sigh and glanced over at Shiginomiya.
"I was going to buy her a few proper outfits, but little Shion-chan insisted on not using the money her father sent. And she didn't want me spending more either. So I had to find some way to get her free clothes. These were my granddaughter's gym clothes from junior high. She's in high school now, and they've switched to the new style, so I just took the old ones. They fit Shion-chan perfectly."
Junior high gym clothes… and they fit Shiginomiya perfectly?
Akira glanced at her chest. It didn't look tight. No straining fabric. No noticeable shape.
So… the old lady's granddaughter was already this developed in middle school?
Damn.