"Eula-senpai, please help me taste-test this."
Little Kuki Shinobu specially asked little Eula to sample her cooking skills and had her evaluate the Sakura Tempura Mochi she had made.
"The sugar is a bit too light. You were probably too rough when gathering the Sakura Bloom, so there's a slight burnt flavor from the sakura..."
At first, little Eula was earnestly instructing little Kuki Shinobu...
Then she turned her head and saw the old man and Kirara engaged in a feeding play session...
Mm...
It seemed the old man wasn't treating Kirara as a big girl at all...
This was something she needed to help the old man realize...
"Old man, feeding like this—Kirara is a big girl now, after all. Let me do it."
Facing little Eula's advice, the old man first glanced at the pure and obedient-looking Kirara.
Kirara was clearly in the form of an adorable human girl now, yet the old man still subconsciously treated this cat as a child.
This was the catgirl he had raised himself! (Proud)
But as everyone knew, mental age and apparent age were two different things.
So the old man could only helplessly ruffle Kirara's head and step aside...
"You're right. Then I'll leave Kirara's feeding to you."
The old man felt a slight pang of regret inside.
Kirara, on the other hand, had no idea anything was wrong. She simply watched as the person feeding her switched from the old man to big sister Eula.
After all, back in the little wooden cabin, when the old man wasn't feeding her, it had always been big sister Eula who did it. To Kirara, this felt perfectly normal.
If she hadn't learned "human virtue" and understood that one shouldn't hug others casually during meals, Kirara might have rubbed her face against big sister Eula's cheek just like she did in her "fox" days.
Little Eula looked at Kirara. She knew very well that once they left Inazuma, the one who would likely accompany the old man for a very long time would probably be this cat.
Mm...
She would have to properly teach this cat how to take care of the old man when she had the chance.
Kirara tilted her head, her ears twitching. For some reason, she suddenly had a premonition that the future would be very miserable.
After losing his feeding-play target—the cat—the old man felt a bit helpless.
His gaze began scanning for new targets...
Little Sara? No, too old.
Little Ayaka? No, her brother was feeding her right now—he wouldn't interrupt.
Miyuki? Too old.
In the end, the target that entered the old man's search range was little Kuki Shinobu, who had just been consulting big sister Eula.
Little Kuki Shinobu stared blankly at big sister Eula, who had gone off to feed the cat...
After sensing the old man's gaze, she made eye contact with him.
'You alone?'
'You got abandoned too?'
Five seconds of eye contact turned into silent communication.
In the end, the old man and little Kuki Shinobu gathered together to chat.
"It's a pity I don't know much about Inazuma's cuisine... but I do like properly prepared crab..."
The old man, eating crab roe mixed with rice, looked very satisfied.
Little Kuki Shinobu, meanwhile, was tasting His Excellency the Geo Archon's slow-simmered pork, bamboo shoots, and fresh ham stew.
"His Excellency the Shura Anyakonsen-shou's culinary skills are truly superb. This stew is much tastier than what my teacher taught me. It's just a shame that it's summer now—the bamboo shoots aren't spring ones after all..."
The two of them might not have much else in common, but both loved rice and enjoyed side dishes that paired perfectly with it.
In this moment, the story belonging to Kirara also officially began with this welcome party.
And Kirara's story...
Would probably be just like this lively welcome party—neither lonely nor cold.
It would follow the guidance of the wind and set out on an adventurous journey.