Watching Akira's busy figure in the kitchen, Heko still felt it was quite unbelievable.
Just a moment ago, when she heard him offer to cook, she thought something was wrong with her ears.
But it turned out she hadn't misheard, and more importantly, his movements looked quite proficient.
In less than a year, what on earth had Akira experienced?
Regardless, Heko couldn't help but speak up, "Akira, why don't you let me do it?"
"You are an adult now, how can I let you do this kind of thing?"
"What do you mean by 'this kind of thing'?"
Akira smiled as he tidied the cutting board after chopping the vegetables, "Does becoming an adult mean I can sit back and comfortably watch my mother come home after a long day of labor and still have to cook for me?"
Her son's words made Heko feel sweet inside. While feeling very gratified, she was also somewhat surprised.
Although Akira had always been a good boy in her heart, in the past, he wouldn't have expressed his feelings so directly and candidly.
Sure enough, this child has really grown up.
However, after realizing this, she felt a pang of heartache for Akira.
Although she had communicated with him over the phone before and knew that her son had become a Manga Artist and achieved impressive success.
He had never told her about the hardships involved.
Yet, from his current changes and demeanor, it could be inferred that the process was by no means smooth sailing.
In places she didn't know about, Akira must have suffered a lot, right?
Thus, she still wanted to take over the work from him, "But—"
"—Alright Heko, just let him do it."
Just then, Koji, who was sitting in front of the living room heater watching TV, suddenly spoke up and made the decision.
Hearing this, Heko glanced at him with dissatisfaction, but ultimately stopped insisting. She only said to Akira with concern, "Be careful, don't hurt your hands."
"Yeah, I know."
Akira smiled and nodded in response, then began to focus on cooking.
Every year at this time, since his parents were busy with farm work, their meals were quite simple. Basically, it was just throwing various vegetables, meat, and apples into a pot to stew together.
However, the taste wasn't actually bad, it just felt a bit cloying if eaten too often.
The current Akira actually felt a strange sense of nostalgia, even though he wasn't the one eating it before.
In short, he quickly recreated this classic dish based on his memories, and thus dinner was finished.
"Dinner is ready."
A pot of stew and a pot of rice—combined, they made the stew-over-rice that was a staple in their home during the winter.
At the dinner table, he and his mother Heko chatted while eating, but so far, his father Koji hadn't spoken to him.
"Akira, how long do you plan to stay this time?"
"Hmm—at the latest, I can stay until around the 10th."
"? Really?!"
Heko was pleasantly surprised, but then worried, "But, is it okay to stay for so long? What about your work—"
"It's fine."
Akira smiled, "Shonen Jump gives a pretty long New Year's break; after all, there aren't many holidays throughout the year."
Originally, he had planned to stay for three or four days if possible.
But after considering it, he decided to stay a little longer.
After all, even setting aside his personal wishes, he probably wouldn't be coming back often in the future.
Although he only needed to spend two days a week drawing manga, judging by the schedule of the passing year, next year would likely be similar, or perhaps even busier.
Heko didn't know his thoughts; she was just happy that he could stay a little longer.
Then, she asked about things related to his manga.
Akira answered while observing the situation in the living room. In fact, he had noticed long ago the row of "Weekly Shonen Jump" magazines that had appeared on the living room cabinet.
Those weren't magazines purchased before the Original left; the reason was the numbering on the spines.
Among this row of magazines, the earliest issue number was 31, which was the issue where "Fate/staynight" was first published.
If nothing else, it was likely that after he first called home and explained the situation to his mother Heko, they started closely following and purchasing "Weekly Shonen Jump."
Heko had definitely been following it, but he wasn't sure about his father, Koji—
"I've read the manga you drew."
Koji suddenly spoke up, drawing Akira's attention.
"Although I don't really understand the content of the manga, it's drawn very well. It's quite good."
When saying this, Koji had a faint smile on his face, as if he held no grudges at all regarding their initial argument.
Or rather, he had chosen to let go.
However, seeing that the other party had finally opened the conversation, Akira took the initiative to bring up the past, bowed his head slightly to him, and sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have argued with you back then. Please forgive my willfulness."
He had to shoulder this blame, and he had no choice but to shoulder it.
Looking back at the content of their argument, he could fully understand the other party's feelings of not wanting the Original to take risks.
In fact, the Original had only shown a talent for drawing when he was young, and the Mochizuki couple had been willing to let him try to develop in that direction and even agreed not to let him do farm work.
From this alone, it could be seen that the Mochizuki couple were actually quite open-minded and people who deeply loved their child.
Considering the era they were in, he felt that the Original was already quite lucky to have met such a pair of parents.
The Original actually understood this too, and therefore, he often felt regret for the argument back then.
And the final facts proved that Koji was right.
Moreover, the price the Original paid was far more severe than he had imagined.
If not for his arrival, the Mochizuki couple might have received news of their son's death one day, and he could hardly imagine what would have happened after that.
But without a doubt, it would have been a tragedy for the entire family.
Therefore, his father, Koji, deserved an apology.
At the same time, the sudden apology stunned Koji, and even his mother, Heko, who was on the side, widened her eyes in surprise.
In fact, upon learning that Akira had truly achieved success and proven that his choice was indeed correct, they had chosen to let go and accept the status quo, feeling happy for him.
Therefore, they had never expected that Akira would now take the initiative to bring up the matter and apologize for what happened back then.
Thus, Koji was silent for a moment, his lips trembling slightly as he wanted to say something.
But in the end, he just revealed a relieved smile and sighed, "—It's alright, the matter is in the past."
"You really have grown up."