Nanao Akane's old family home was much grander than her place in Tokyo.
It was a detached, two-story villa, and from the outside, it seemed to have a sizable courtyard inside.
Of course, compared to the cramped living space in Tokyo, even a grand house in this small town was nothing more than a single straw.
"Ding-dong" ---
Nanao Akane certainly had a key, but she still politely rang the doorbell first.
"Creak"... The large door let out an aged sound, then was quickly pushed open.
A woman stood behind the door.
Her sharp gaze first fell on Nanao Akane, then her thin lips curved slightly:
"You're back, Akane."
"Grandma!"
Nanao Akane was overjoyed, throwing herself into the woman's arms, rubbing against her chest like a cat purring, "I missed you so much!"
"Good girl," Grandma stroked Nanao Akane's head.
If Grandma's smile just now was subtle, then after Nanao Akane embraced her, her smile now could be described as radiant.
But then, when she saw Hayato still standing by the door, her gaze suddenly turned cold.
Hayato subconsciously straightened his back.
Ah, what?
Strange.
Hayato, despite being a battle-hardened tough guy, unconsciously felt a little awkward and nervous in front of Grandma Nanaki... What was going on? Could it be that the status of "elder" really had a special attack attribute bonus? No, Miss Tsubaki's lethality was practically zero...
Grandma Nanaki's age was visibly advanced.
White hair crept up her temples and strands, and shallow lines etched her face, becoming even more pronounced when she smiled.
But her back was still straight, and her makeup was very neat.
She had long hair, which was now coiled at the back of her head.
Her eyebrows were clearly drawn, sharp like swords, and her gaze, hidden behind thin-rimmed glasses, was also like sword light... full of aggression.
Time does not defeat beauty.
Even at a visibly old age, one could still vaguely tell that Grandma was a beauty in her youth, and Nanao Akane's appearance was likely inherited from her... But.
It was somewhat different from what Hayato had imagined.
Hayato had never seen Grandma Nanaki, so he naturally didn't know what she looked like.
But Akane said she was the kindest and most benevolent person in the world, so Hayato immediately imagined her as Nobita's Grandma. She was the closest to the image of "Grandma" in his motherless warrior heart.
And the Grandma Nanaki he saw now... could not be said to be exactly like Nobita's Grandma, they were completely unrelated.
If described by RPG game classes, Nobita's Grandma would be a "Priest"... while the Grandma Nanaki in front of him was an "Assassin."
Even though she was wearing a Miko outfit, she was a pure "Assassin."
Yes, a Miko outfit.
Grandma Nanaki was wearing a white Miko outfit with red patterns, more like the style of Kikyo from Inuyasha, if anything.
An aged version of a classic meme, so to speak.
Nanao Akane had said her Grandma would preside over some rituals and ceremonies in town... It seems today... "Oh, Grandma, why are you wearing this..." Nanao Akane also noticed.
"I went to the north of town earlier for an exorcism ritual," Grandma Nanaki said, dotingly rubbing Nanao Akane's head. Even though Nanao Akane was much taller than her, her granddaughter would still lower her head, enjoying being stroked by Grandma. "You two came back just as I was about to change," Grandma said.
"Exorcism?" Hayato prepared to interject.
"It's done every summer."
After hearing Hayato speak, a cold light flickered in Grandma Nanaki's eyes, and she smiled wryly: "...Small towns like ours are like this, superstitious, what do you think?"
No, saying you're superstitious yourself, isn't that in itself a non-superstitious act? Hayato thought to himself.
"Grandma!" Nanao Akane pouted in dissatisfaction, "What are you saying to Kobayashi-chan~~ Don't give him the wrong impression~~"
"Alright, alright," Grandma Nanaki continued to rub Nanao Akane's head, and after a smile, she looked at Hayato with full sarcasm: "We're not'superstitious'... so the truth is, if we don't exorcise, dirty things will appear in the middle of the night to harm people... Scared now?"
Hayato's mouth twitched.
"...Then I still want to see them," he said, then clenched his right hand, no one understands exorcism better than him.
"Oh? Is it a consistent tradition for city people to talk big?" Grandma raised her sharp eyebrows.
"Grandma!" Nanao Akane was about to stomp her foot, "Don't say strange things, what if you scare Kobayashi-chan?"
"This kid clearly isn't afraid of ghosts," Grandma said.
Hayato nodded sincerely, "I really want to see them."
"I told you Grandma, you'll scare Kobayashi-chan!" Nanao Akane said, who says such weird things on a first meeting?
Hayato wanted to nod, to be honest, it was true.
But Grandma was still scrutinizing him, so he suppressed that urge.
"It's alright, Grandma's words are quite, quite interesting."
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