After bowing, she had a chance to observe the portrait closely and found that Grandpa Kobayashi was a kind-looking old man, smiling in the portrait, very benevolent.
"Oh, I found it! Indeed, there's a jinbei that the old man wore when he was young."
The jinbei here did not refer to the fish-man who practiced karate, but rather a traditional Japanese garment, a type of loungewear worn by men in the summer, somewhat like the clothes worn in a sauna.
Granny Kobayashi handed the clothes to Akira, but as he took them, she held onto the clothes and earnestly instructed him,
"Don't you dare ruin them, and wash them thoroughly. Don't wear his clothes with a dirty body…"
"I know! Are you going to give them to me or not?!"
"Alright… go on. After you wash up, remember to bring your sportswear down for Miyako to wear."
"Yosh! I'm going now!"
Akira snatched the clothes and darted out of the room, leaving Miyako and Granny Kobayashi alone inside.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward, and Miyako appeared quite reserved.
"No need to be so nervous, Miyako. Relax. Just treat this place like your own home."
"Yes…"
"I'm sorry about earlier. Although I have other houses elsewhere and could offer you temporary lodging, I won't break the promise I made with my old man. You're not the person I'm supposed to help, so I really can't take you in under the Kobayashi name."
So that's it, a promise.
Just like her promise with Akira-kun.
If it were her, she definitely wouldn't want to break that promise either.
Thinking this, Miyako naturally smiled.
"It's okay, I understand you. Granny, you must really love your husband, right?"
Upon hearing this, Granny Kobayashi did not show a happy expression. Instead, she said with a bitter smile,
"I love and hate him… but all in all, love outweighs hate, I suppose."
This answer greatly surprised Miyako. Seeing how much Granny Kobayashi cherished Grandpa Kobayashi's clothes just now, Miyako had thought Granny Kobayashi was a woman who, like her mother, dedicated everything to love. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case?
"Huh? Why would you hate him? Wasn't he your husband?"
Granny Kobayashi suddenly became agitated, clenching her fists. Her fists hardened.
"Of course I hated him! I still get a toothache thinking about it! It's only because he's dead that I can say this. Do you know how many women I argued with because of him back then?"
"Mmm…"
"Don't let his harmless appearance fool you; he had a silver tongue. If I were to talk about his romantic escapades, I probably couldn't finish in three days and three nights. Things like having an entangled relationship with a widow since his student days, staying at a geisha's house, and some even said he had many local wives…"
"Was Grandpa Kobayashi really that kind of person?"
"Unfortunately, all of that is true."
"…"
Miyako was expressionless, but greatly shocked inwardly. Indeed, one cannot judge a book by its cover.
The grand image of Grandpa Kobayashi in her imagination also crumbled.
So he was a scoundrel grandpa.
"But, in the end, I won, hmph!"
Granny Kobayashi raised her left hand, showing off the platinum ring on her ring finger.
"The reason I can be named Kobayashi now is entirely because I fought for it myself."
"Granny is amazing…"
"So, Miyako, you should also pay close attention."
"Huh? Me?"
"I see my old man's shadow in that kid. If you're really interested in him, you'd better keep a close eye on him, otherwise you'll regret it later."
This was experience from an elder.
Akira, who hadn't even become a scoundrel yet, was thus branded as a potential scoundrel.