After an ambiguously intimate dinner, Moriyama Aoi blushed, then washed the dishes and left the male protagonist's house.
Time skipped to the next day, which was still a happy and warm everyday life.
During her time with the Miyazaki father and daughter, the mischievous Miyazaki Narai gave each of the girls a nickname.
Aoba Inori, the swimming teacher, was called “General” by Narai.
Moriyama Aoi, the art teacher, was called “Fairy” by Narai.
And the student, Kawashima Sakura, was called “Da Vinci” by Narai.
Her own kindergarten teacher, Suzuki Emi, was simply called “Teacher.”
The girls all expressed great curiosity as to what basis Narai used to give them these nicknames.
“If I’m ‘General,’ is it because my behavior is rough and energetic?” Aoba Inori hugged her arms and rested her chin, suddenly feeling a sense of pride, as if Narai had seen the great potential within her.
Moriyama Aoi, however, did not speak, but quietly watched the others.
Student Kawashima Sakura, on the other hand, asked, “Who is Da Vinci?”
The others looked at her as if she were an idiot.
Moriyama Aoi’s veins popped on her forehead. “So, Kawashima, can you please pay attention in class? Your ignorance has reached an appalling level.”
“Da Vinci, huh…” The male protagonist leaned into Kawashima Sakura’s ear and whispered.
After he explained, Kawashima’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Wow, so Da Vinci was such an amazing person! Little Narai calling me Da Vinci, is she praising me for being smart? I’m a genius!”
The others looked at her suspiciously, “Do you even believe that yourself?”
The male protagonist smiled but said nothing.
Perhaps he was afraid these guys would be sad if they knew the truth.
Sometimes, overthinking things can lead you astray.
…
Life was originally peaceful and pleasant, but then time skipped to December 13th.
On this day, Miyazaki Natsuki, who was still at work, was suddenly called into the office by Moriyama Aoi.
It turned out to be a call from the kindergarten teacher.
She said that little Narai had fainted at the kindergarten and had a high fever of 38.5 degrees Celsius.
Hearing this news, Moriyama Aoi advised from the side, “Then I’ll cover Miyazaki’s class today. It’s good for them to learn painting occasionally.”
“Okay, then I’ll leave it to you.”
Miyazaki Natsuki gave a brief instruction, expressed his gratitude, and then rushed to the kindergarten.
At this moment, Furukawa Hirozawa, outside the screen, felt a jolt in his heart.
Fever?
No way?
Miyazaki Natsuki first took Narai to see a doctor and got some medicine.
After bringing Miyazaki Narai home, Miyazaki Natsuki fed her some medicine, then wet a towel and placed it on Narai’s forehead, quietly sitting by her side, watching over her.
From Narai’s expression, it was clear that the little one was in great pain.
Fighting off illness must be very difficult, right?
But…
Furukawa Hirozawa’s heart sank.
Damn it, why is there a fever plotline at a time like this?
Is Old Thief Furuhara going to deliver a blow?
Ever since CL, Furukawa Hirozawa had developed “cold phobia.” female protagonists, including daughters, would basically suffer from a fever for several months and then burn to death.
How is this the real world? Such a plot is too fantastical, isn’t it?
Is it going to be replayed on Narai now?
No!
Furukawa Hirozawa gripped the controller, his eyes staring resentfully at the TV.
If the adorable Narai is harmed again because of a cold or fever, I will definitely go to Pokeni and teach Old Thief Furuhara a good lesson.
Moreover, you’ve already used that trick once. You can’t use it again in LL, can you?
Based on Furukawa Hirozawa’s understanding of Old Thief Furuhara, he doesn’t seem like a Producer who likes to repeat himself or use the same template.
Mm-hmm, it should be fine.
Furukawa Hirozawa comforted himself in his heart.
But his heart couldn’t calm down no matter what.
By evening, Miyazaki Narai’s high fever still hadn’t subsided.
At this point, Furukawa Hirozawa’s heart was already half-chilled.
Old Thief Furuhara, be a human!
After finishing her day’s work, Moriyama Aoi didn’t go home but came directly to the Miyazaki family to visit.
Kneeling beside Narai, she reached out and touched her forehead. Moriyama Aoi couldn’t help but exclaim, “So hot.”
“Yes.” Miyazaki Natsuki stood by, looking exhausted, shaking his head with a bitter smile, “It’s been a day, and it still hasn’t gone down.”
Seeing his appearance, Moriyama said softly with tender eyes, “Miyazaki, you must be very tired. Go rest for a bit. I’ll take care of Narai.”
“Huh?”
Miyazaki Natsuki slightly raised his eyes, looking at the strong female teacher in front of him, with a hint of surprise, but it only lasted for two seconds before he slowly shook his head.
“Moriyama, you’ve been teaching all day. You must be more tired than I am. Go back and rest.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Miyazaki Natsuki’s vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
“Miyazaki!”
Moriyama’s startled cry came from inside the house.
Furukawa Hirozawa’s finger also trembled.
Goodness, is he going to kill the male protagonist?
Or both the male protagonist and his daughter?
In any case, Furukawa Hirozawa, who had already developed Furuhara phobia, now felt that any ominous plot seemed like a prelude to a tragedy.
Fortunately, the male protagonist seemed to have only fallen ill due to accumulated fatigue during this period, collapsing from overwork.
When he woke up again, the male protagonist was lying in bed, side by side with little Narai, with a wet towel also on his forehead.
At the same time, in his line of sight, Moriyama was efficiently working with her sleeves rolled up.
After cleaning the house, Moriyama cooked porridge and fed it to both of them.
“Do you know you have a fever?”
Moriyama said directly.
“Eh?”
Miyazaki gave a bitter smile. For some reason, when he ate the porridge made by Moriyama, he was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes.
However, as a man, he ultimately managed to hold them back.
“No wonder, I was wondering why I made a few math mistakes during class today.” Miyazaki smiled, “So I was sick too.”
“By the way, did I pass the cold on to Narai?”
“Don’t blame yourself. It has nothing to do with that.” Moriyama interrupted him, “You, you should take care of yourself first before taking care of a child, shouldn’t you?”
“If you also collapse, what will happen to Narai?”
“Hmm.” The male protagonist nodded.
The food in his mouth had no taste at all.
“It’s really too difficult to balance taking care of a child and work,” Moriyama said.
It was at this moment that this sentence directly broke the male protagonist’s composure.
He sat there, holding the bowl in his hands, speechless, tears streaming down his cheeks.
After some conversation, Moriyama Aoi finally learned that Miyazaki Narai was an adopted child of Miyazaki Natsuki, and before this, Miyazaki Natsuki had never even been in a relationship.
“Oh~ So that’s how it is.”
Moriyama blinked, a mix of emotions in her heart.
The male protagonist smiled and said nothing.
Just then, Moriyama Aoi said softly:
“It must be very hard, taking care of a daughter by yourself.”
“Hmm.”
The male protagonist nodded, “It’s hard, but as long as I can see Narai’s adorable face, I don’t feel any bitterness at all.”
Both of them focused their gaze on Narai.
On the TV, the little girl’s cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were tightly closed.
Although she was suffering from the cold, a faint smile appeared on her lips at this moment.
…
After Moriyama Aoi’s overnight care, Miyazaki and his daughter’s high fevers subsided the next morning.
Miyazaki Narai bounced back a bit and started jumping around, but Miyazaki Natsuki, who was just recovering from a serious illness, could only sit there and watch the little one, utterly lacking in strength.
However, a faint smile appeared on the lips of all three of them.
This scene was so warm. Although the three of them were not related by blood, they looked very much like a family.
Outside, the sky had cleared after the rain, seemingly indicating that everything would be alright.
That’s great.
No tragedy.
Seeing this, Furukawa Hirozawa finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Old Thief Furuhara still had a conscience.
But a few days later, not long after little Narai recovered from her cold, Miyazaki Natsuki received another call from the kindergarten.
This time, it wasn’t about being sick and fainting, but that Narai had been bitten by a centipede.
“Eh? How could she suddenly be bitten by a centipede?”
Miyazaki Natsuki immediately rushed to the kindergarten and indeed saw Narai’s swollen finger after being bitten by a centipede.
He rushed his daughter to the hospital. The doctor said that the centipede had left a barb in her wound. After surgery to remove it and applying some medicine, Miyazaki Natsuki was able to take her home.
On the way, no matter how Miyazaki Natsuki asked, his daughter remained silent.
Upon returning home, Suzuki Emi, the kindergarten teacher, had already been waiting outside for a long time.
Upon seeing Miyazaki Natsuki, she immediately bowed, “I am truly very sorry that something like this happened.”
Although Natsuki was very angry, he probably knew the reason. He just shook his head indifferently, without saying anything about forgiveness, and opened the door to enter.
The door was left open, and Teacher Suzuki followed him in.
After confirming that Narai was fine, Teacher Suzuki felt a little relieved.
She called Miyazaki aside and recounted how Miyazaki Narai had been bitten by the centipede.
“I wasn’t present at the time, and what I’m about to say is only what I heard from the children who were there.
Narai seemed to have been instigated by other children to catch the centipede.
That child said that because Narai didn’t think it was a centipede, and even said the centipede was a pretty little cookie.
So they wanted to play a trick on Narai, to make her pick it up with her hand and eat it.
They originally thought it was just a prank, but they didn’t expect Narai to actually think it was a cookie, so she reached out to grab it.
As a result, this tragedy occurred.”
Hearing this, Miyazaki Natsuki’s hands trembled, unable to calm down, and he couldn’t help but shout:
“So! Is this what you, as a teacher, should do? Shifting the blame to other children, without any remorse?!
They tormented Narai so much, and you didn’t even notice? Are you still a teacher?!”
“Ah~”
Being scolded by Miyazaki Natsuki, Teacher Suzuki was completely shocked.
Tears kept welling up in her eyes.
Although part of it was from being scared by Miyazaki Natsuki’s outburst, more of it was—
Agreement with Miyazaki’s words.
“For something like this to happen, as a teacher, I am truly very negligent.”
Suzuki Emi placed her hands on the ground, then put her forehead on them, sobbing as she apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Seeing the woman in front of him, Miyazaki Natsuki’s legs gave out, and he also sat down on the ground.
…
The rain outside was heavy.
The light inside the house was dim.
The two remained in that posture for a long time.
“Narai…”
The male protagonist spoke, sighing, “She has had a disease since she was little.”
Teacher Suzuki raised her tear-filled eyes, looking at the man in front of her.
“Narai, her eyes are different from those of normal humans.” Miyazaki Natsuki said with a bitter smile, “It should be said that the world in her eyes is completely different from what we see.”
“Hmm? What’s going on?”
Teacher Suzuki wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and sat up straight, listening to his narration.
“At first, I thought this kid was nearsighted, because she often bumped into things when walking. Even very large objects, things right in front of her, she could run into.
But after going to the hospital, it was found that even a vision test couldn’t be performed.
Because in Narai’s eyes, she couldn’t see the eye chart at all.
Or rather, the eye chart and that wall became other things in her eyes, patterns fused together.
After some research, the doctor’s conclusion was that Narai’s eyes, no, to be precise, there must be a problem between her visual sensory organs and her brain.
So what Narai sees is completely different from what we see.
But what exactly Narai sees, I don’t know.
Even the same object, when placed in a different environment, because the background changes, could make Narai think it’s a different thing.
So this kid has very poor cognitive ability, and even now, she still confuses many things.”
“No wonder…”
Suzuki Emi nodded, “No wonder she thought a centipede was a cookie with a cute pattern at school.”
Miyazaki Natsuki smiled bitterly, “She probably doesn’t even know what a real cookie looks like. Compared to her eyes, what she needs more are her hands and nose. I’m also training those abilities of hers.
But…
No matter what, she shouldn’t confuse the smell of a centipede and a cookie.”
“Ah!”
At this point, Teacher Suzuki covered her mouth and let out a low cry.
Her eyes also showed shock.
Although not explicitly stated, Miyazaki Natsuki probably guessed what happened.
“Someone must have secretly fed the centipede cookies, right?” Miyazaki Natsuki let out two cold laughs, “Or someone got cookie crumbs on the centipede, which led to Narai’s misjudgment.”
“In other words—
This was a man-made incident.
It was bullying by those mischievous children in the kindergarten against Narai!”
“Such young children…” Teacher Suzuki shook her head, tears streaming down, “They must have just been playing a prank. They don’t understand any of this.”
“So…”
“Isn’t that precisely your responsibility, Teacher Suzuki?”
Miyazaki Natsuki’s tone became firm again, “As a teacher, isn’t the most important thing to teach children who ‘don’t understand’ how to be a good person, a kind person?”
Yes.
Furukawa Hirozawa nodded.
He felt inexplicably angry.
Narai is clearly an innocent and kind child, and just because she sees things differently from others, she has to be tormented. That’s too infuriating!
He originally had a good impression of Teacher Suzuki.
But after playing this far,
Furukawa couldn’t like this Teacher Suzuki at all.
Please withdraw from the female protagonist lineup.