Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

At this point, Taira Sakurako suddenly chimed in, "Agreed, shameless, you pervert."

Minamoto Tamako was startled and quickly closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, pretending she didn't say anything just now.

Fushimi Roku didn't mind, he turned over, put on a sleep mask, really planning to sleep, and casually replied, "It's okay if you say this to me, but don't say it to other adults, some perverts genuinely get excited."

This time, Taira Sakurako also fell silent.

Finally, the three fell asleep.

The night passed without a word.

The next morning, the three got up, washed up, ate breakfast prepared by the inn's hostess, and headed out to the town to buy tools and ingredients.

According to the plan from the previous day, Minamoto Tamako continued to renovate her old family home.

They spent two days cleaning and repairing the front and back of the old house, finally making it livable. Minamoto Tamako also bought some small furniture and daily necessities, making it look quite cozy.

By evening, the three took a cold shower in the old house's bathroom, since the water heater was broken and hadn't been fixed yet, they had to make do for now.

Minamoto Tamako's health had greatly improved compared to before, since following Fushimi Roku's early bed and rise routine, regular exercise, and occasional late nights, her immunity had significantly increased.

This was specifically shown by the fact that she didn't cough after the cold shower.

But Taira Sakurako, who bathed with her, wasn't so lucky, constantly sneezing with 'Ah-choo, ah-choo', and with a clear runny nose hanging from her nose tip, plus her expressionless face, she looked like a dummy.

Fushimi Roku was initially worried that this little girl might catch a cold, but luckily after a few sneezes, Sakurako showed no further abnormalities, her body temperature stayed normal, and she continued to be lively and energetic.

"Living by the sea, eat from the sea, tonight we'll have seafood again, all fully cooked."

Fushimi Roku was wearing a pink apron, no choice since all the household items were bought by Minamoto Tamako, who liked pink, so she bought pink ones, claiming she didn't at all consider how Fushimi Roku would look cooking in this mismatch.

But in fact, Minamoto Tamako had thought it over, so she was even keener to buy it to see Fushimi-kun in a pink apron.

Fushimi Roku, holding a spatula, served dish after dish onto the table, chanting as he did, "There's Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions, Spanish Mackerel Dumplings, Fish Ball Soup, Crab Meat Tofu..."

Taira Sakurako, holding a chopstick in each hand, looked down at the dishes on the table, muttering softly, "All Chinese food again."

Minamoto Tamako heard this, recalling what Fushimi-kun said last night, feeling she had just unraveled another mystery:

—Why only make Chinese food?

Included in "The Unsolved Mysteries of Fushimi-kun."

Fushimi Roku pretended not to hear Sakurako's muttering, sat down and immediately picked up a piece of Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions.

The dark brown sea cucumber with shiny sauce burst in the mouth the moment it was tasted, the rich scallion aroma mixed with the unique elasticity of seafood cracked between the teeth, the savory sauce wrapped in slightly sticky gelatin sliding down the throat.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Taira Sakurako carefully poking holes in the thin dough of the Spanish Mackerel Dumplings with chopsticks — the golden pan-fried dough made a soft "crack" as milky white broth gushed out instantly.

Taira Sakurako quickly lowered her head to suck up a mouthful, the fresh and sweet fish broth mixed with the delicate fish filling was so hot that she had to take small breaths, but she still wouldn't let go of the dumpling, her eyes showing satisfaction from enjoying the food.

"That's not how you eat it, who eats dumplings by poking holes in the skin?" Fushimi Roku's DNA was acting up, he couldn't help but correct Sakurako's eating method.

"Eating it whole is too hot." Sakurako lied, she didn't like eating dumpling skin, she just loved the filling.

"Five ant bites!" Minamoto Tamako suddenly tapped the side of the Crab Meat Tofu bowl with a spoon, her cheeks puffed up with food.

The tender tofu was soaked in an amber crab yolk broth, she pressed lightly with the back of the spoon, and the tofu trembled and split, oozing sweet juice mixed with crab meat shreds.

She scooped up a large spoonful and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling, "The crab meat is sweet! The tofu was chilled, right?"

Fushimi Roku grunted as if in agreement, she swallowed it whole, and eagerly went to scoop up the white meatballs from the Fish Ball Soup.

The fish balls were incredibly springy, just a light touch with the teeth and scalding juice would burst out, the clear, fresh taste of the kelp and dried fish soup base rushed into the nasal cavity.

Minamoto Tamako was huffing, her breath taken by the heat, yet couldn't help but take another bite, mumbling, "No MSG... how can it be so fresh..."

Taira Sakurako silently ate three more Spanish Mackerel Dumplings, seeing Minamoto Tamako eat so delightfully, feeling a bit tempted too, reaching out to push her bowl next to the soup pot.

Fushimi Roku glanced at her and scooped two fish balls with soup into her bowl.

Taira Sakurako stared at the meatballs swaying in the soup, held the bowl, drank a sip of the broth, and then eagerly slurped down the meat filling from the meatballs, not even caring that her bangs were getting wet from the steam.

For a while, the only sound on the table was the light clinking of bowls and spoons.

Fushimi Roku slowly picked apart the sauce-covered cola chicken wings, Minamoto Tamako was scraping the last piece of crab yolk-soaked tofu into her mouth, and Taira Sakurako had already stacked three empty dumpling skins on the rim of her bowl.

After a while, the three of them patted their bellies, feeling content, sitting down to digest.

Minamoto Tamako patted her little belly and lamented, "If only there was a TV."

Watching TV after a meal, life would be perfect.

She seemed to be showing a tendency towards becoming a homebody, and Taira Sakurako, who was an authentic homebody, also sighed beside her, "If only there was a game console."

Fushimi Roku was busy dealing with the scallion stuck in his teeth and couldn't bother with the two of them.

Feeling that it's easier to use a toothpick than his hands, he was scraping around behind his teeth, almost about to dislodge the onion when suddenly there was a shout at the door:

"Is Naoaki back yet?"

Minamoto Naoaki was Minamoto Tamako's grandfather's name, the person calling must be an acquaintance. Fushimi Roku was too lazy to get up, giving Minamoto Tamako a look.

Minamoto Tamako smacked her lips, patted her belly, and got up to answer the door, "Who is it?"

Fushimi Roku sat by the dining table, picking his teeth while looking outside, seeing Minamoto Tamako standing behind the yard's wooden fence, chatting with an elderly woman holding a vegetable basket.

He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but judging by their expressions, they seemed quite happy, especially the old lady, her face was brimming with kindness, and she even reached out to pat Minamoto Tamako's head, pressing down her wispy hair.

Fushimi Roku squinted, slightly leaning towards Taira Sakurako, whispering, "Could this old lady be her grandfather's lover?"

Taira Sakurako watched his hand picking teeth and said, "Why do you think that?"

"Her first question was 'Is Naoaki back?' rather than 'Has the house been rented out?' or 'Is Tamako back?'..." Fushimi Roku pointed out sharply, "Don't you sense something fishy? Who would keep an eye on such a rundown old house all the time?"

"It could just be an old friendship." Taira Sakurako, still upset about the memory card thing, couldn't help but refute.

"There's no such thing as pure friendship between men and women." Fushimi Roku snorted.

"So, do you have thoughts about me too?" Taira Sakurako continued to refute.

"To be precise, there's no pure friendship between unrelated men and women of the same age." Fushimi Roku finally dislodged the small scallion.

"At such an old age, is there still the ability for sexual activity?" Taira Sakurako was genuinely curious this time, wanting to understand the human physiological limits.

"Platonic love, silver-haired romance, understand? Stop with the obsession over sexuality, it's vulgar." Fushimi Roku criticized.

As the two were discussing, the old lady outside suddenly shouted:

"Everybody come! Tamako is back!"

Minamoto Naoaki was Minamoto Tamako's grandfather's name, so the one shouting must be an acquaintance. Fushimi Roku didn't feel like getting up, so he gave Minamoto Tamako a look.

Minamoto Tamako smacked her lips, patted her belly, and got up to answer the door, "Who is it?"

Fushimi Roku sat at the dining table, picking his teeth and looking outside, seeing Minamoto Tamako standing behind the garden fence, chatting with an old lady holding a vegetable basket.

He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but judging by their expressions, they seemed quite happy, especially the old lady, whose face was almost overflowing with kindness as she reached out and patted Minamoto Tamako's head, pressing down her wispy hair.

Fushimi Roku squinted his eyes, leaned slightly towards Taira Sakurako, and whispered, "Could this old lady be her grandfather's lover?"

Taira Sakurako, still miffed about the memory card incident, couldn't help but retort, "It could just be an old friendship."

They continued their discussion, and suddenly the old lady outside shouted out:

"Everyone come quickly! Tamako is back!"

Her voice was powerful and resonant, like a Buddhist Lion's Roar; Fushimi Roku felt as if the dust from the eaves of the house was about to be shaken down.

The voice carried with the sea breeze towards the coastal pier, attracting a group of elderly neighbors to gather around the fence, chattering with Minamoto Tamako.

"Little Tamako is back!" one of the old folks greeted.

Minamoto Tamako greeted the uncle and aunties from her memories, feeling a wave of emotion... Back then, they were the familiar middle-aged people, how had they suddenly grown old so quickly?

Time flies so fast!