Hayato had thought of many answers.
These included "No," "How did you know?" or "You're slandering me," but facing Grandma Nanaki's cold eyes, like winter water, he still admitted it.
After answering, he looked at Grandma Nanaki.
Grandma Nanaki also looked at him.
Grandma Nanaki suddenly smiled gently.
Hayato's guard lowered for a moment.
Grandma Nanaki suddenly erupted without warning.
A "bang" of a heavy forehead blow landed on Hayato's nose.
"Do you think this old woman will let you off, you bastard!!"
"Ugh…"
His fragile nose bridge bore an unbearable weight, and the sudden, aching feeling of being broken made Hayato wonder if his nasal bone would snap.
Hayato's body tilted backward.
Fortunately, although Grandma Nanaki's forehead was hard, she was still a woman and elderly, so she didn't manage to make Hayato fall clumsily to the ground.
"I'm, I'm sorry…"
But even so, Hayato's eyes were about to well up with tears.
"Damn it…"
Grandma Nanaki also clutched her forehead, seemingly enduring the pain.
When Hayato's vision cleared, Grandma Nanaki was already sitting upright again, and she had taken off her glasses, holding a white cloth and meticulously wiping them.
Perhaps it was because the glare from her glasses was gone, but without them, Grandma Nanaki seemed a bit gentler… but Hayato didn't want to fall for that illusion again, so he carefully guarded against Grandma Nanaki's movements.
"Does Akane know?" Grandma Nanaki asked while wiping.
"She… she probably does."
"Honestly, I don't know what that girl is thinking. Is it just because you're good-looking?"
"…"
"Did you save Akane the same way you saved the Shinomiya family's girl?"
"…?"
"Don't be confused. Yaso Inaba isn't like your Tokyo; it's such a small place. When the wind blows, everyone knows everything," Grandma Nanaki said scornfully.
"Yes, yes. Although the process was a bit convoluted, it's pretty much the same."
"Then thank you," Grandma Nanaki's tone was cold, but her words were a very sincere thank you: "Akane has always been like this since she was little. On the surface, she seems very obedient, but she always keeps things to herself and doesn't want to talk to people, especially since her parents passed away. She didn't even want to tell this old woman when she encountered danger…"
"Hmm…" Hayato truly didn't know how to respond at this moment. Saying "You're welcome"… seemed a bit out of place.
Then he realized something.
"Akane didn't want to say… so how did you know?" Perhaps Akane told Grandma Nanaki afterward, but she shouldn't have mentioned "other women" in front of Grandma Nanaki, otherwise, she wouldn't have shown such a flustered expression just now.
Grandma Nanaki put her silver-rimmed glasses back on, the round lenses reflecting light, and she seemed to laugh mockingly:
"What do you think a Miko does?"
"… … … …?"
"It was about three months ago, I dreamed that Akane would encounter some bad things. I kept divining, and detailed branches appeared, but every single one was a dead end. In your young people's words, it would probably be called a Bad end…" Grandma Nanaki continued.
Also an elderly person.
Miyajima Kiichiro, look at her! Just watching senpai manga won't give you the internet knowledge to be amenable to reason.
"This old woman called Akane many times, but she always said she was fine, just that I was overthinking it… In my opinion, however, the end was getting worse, and this old woman was about to go to Tokyo—then a HE, a 'Good Ending,' appeared," Grandma Nanaki pushed up her glasses, her gaze piercing Hayato, "… … … … It was you."
"… Huh?" Hayato said.
"As for you knowing 'other sisters.'"
Grandma Nanaki smiled, her wrinkled face speaking of the years: "That was also the… result I got at that time. If you had lied to this old woman just now, I would have definitely kicked you out!"
Hayato instinctively choked on his saliva.
He glanced at the Miko attire Grandma Nanaki was wearing.
He thought it was cosplay, but she's serious?
"But you still saved Akane," Grandma Nanaki said again.
She sincerely bowed, pressing her forehead to the floor, and repeated: "Thank you for being willing to save Akane. I am immensely grateful."
"… … … …" Hayato didn't know what to say.
"Magical," this word appeared in his mind.
As the saying goes, 'The Master does not talk of prodigies, feats of strength, disorders, or spirits,' but the Master only doesn't talk; he doesn't disbelieve.
Moreover, he carried 'Phantom Kill,''System'…
[Hey, hey? So the host still remembers? Ai-chan thought she had been T'd out of the team… Beep, Ai-chan, for hundreds of thousands of words… Wait, wait, Yamero! Let me say one more thing! … … … …]
… … … … Upstairs lived a Demi-human named Yukino Fuyumi.
The matter of the Miko, though seemingly unreasonable, was…
He could only say that he used to be superstitious about science.
Grandma Nanaki looked up and pushed up her glasses again.
After the lenses flashed with a white light, Hayato saw her serious and sharp eyes.
"This old woman doesn't like you, in fact, I could say I hate you. It's always been that way. Tell me, how much money will it take for you to leave Akane?"
"…?"
"… This old woman did want to say that, but actually, there isn't much money in the family; I just wanted to try it out." Although she was saying lines that could be considered playful, Grandma Nanaki's expression was very rigid, making Hayato unable to laugh even if he wanted to. After a deathly silence, Grandma Nanaki continued: "… But, that has nothing to do with Akane. Akane should like you, admire you. Even if this old woman could really come up with a sum of money to move you, it probably wouldn't move Akane, and besides, this old woman doesn't want to see her granddaughter unhappy."
"…"
"So, treat Akane well," Grandma Nanaki said, then stood up.
She straightened her not-so-messy skirt and said faintly, "Akane has her own good fortune, don't you think, Hayato?"
"… … … … Yes, she does." Hayato also smiled, "Akane is a good child, she will have good fortune, Grandma Nanaki."
When she heard the first part of the sentence, Grandma Nanaki's smile brightened a bit, but when she heard the word "Grandma Nanaki," her expression fell again.
"You're not worthy of calling me Grandma Nanaki yet."
"… … … … Huh? Then what should I call you? Nanao… Madam?"
Hayato asked.
"This old woman's name is Nanao Nanako, you can just call me Miss Nanakio," Grandma Nanaki said coldly.
In today's society, you don't call people old.
Younger ones can be called 'little sister,' but older ones should never be called 'old sister.'
So even though Grandma Nanaki was already fifty or sixty years old, Hayato sincerely called out:
"Okay, Miss Nanakio."
And "Nanakio" and "Grandma Nanaki" aren't that different anyway.
The locational advantage of the Chinese people was evident.
…
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