Chapter 18 – Tonobe family
“Take good care of Saint.”
“Oh, you got it.”
Today was my first time outside of the hospital and supermarket. It was also the first time I went out with my father.
We headed for the house two doors down from ours, a somewhat dilapidated house with the name “Tonobu” written on the nameplate.
We were greeted by a man with a very stout build and dark face.
Tonobe Debe Husk Momi
He is the head of the Tonobe family, and apparently is good friends with my shitty father.
Since they are neighbors and appear to be the same age, I guess they have known each other since childhood.
We were led into the living room and subsequently introduced to his wife, Hiroko Tonobe. And sitting on her lap is their daughter, Kana.
There is a reason why the entire Tonobe family came out to greet us.
“My wife will take care of him while Reika is away. While my wife is away, Reika takes care of her. It’s a win-win situation.”
“I thank you. When the time comes, you can count on my family.”
“And you’ve put up a lot of effort, haven’t you? You must have started working on it right after Seibo was born.”(T/N – Seibo or Saint boy)
“You’re being a little rude.”
“Ha-ha, I see that too. No, but I don’t think there is a family around here that doesn’t want to have children. It’s time for my family to have another.”
“Hey, not in front of Mr. Kyobe, ……//”
Well, that’s what happened.
The due date is approaching, and the mother has finally been admitted to the hospital.
Her regular checkups show that she is growing healthy, and we know the sex is male.
I’m going to have a little brother… I’m deeply moved.
Well, I’m happy for her, but I’ll be in trouble if my mother is hospitalized.
I am an adult on the inside, but my body is a child, and my body has not caught up with the experience of living on my own.
My parents had made a decision to leave me in the care of my grandparents, who would never leave a baby like that.
Usually, in cases like this, I would rely on the paternal grandparents, but since they never came to see the baby until it was one year old, I thought they might be dead. There is a Buddhist altar in the house.
“Seibo, you can think of this place as your home. I know you miss your mother, but if you are a man, don’t cry.”
“Taisoshobu.”
“Oh, you can take it well? That’s great!”
Somehow, the asshole father is putting on an air of bravado.
That’s because he’s an adult on the outside, so he can do this.
“My wife told me that Saint is a good, unruly boy. She says she writes many things in this notebook about him. Hiroko-dono, I would appreciate it if you could read it.”
“…… hmmm….it says a lot about Saint…”
Eh, what did the mother say about me?
I would like to read some of it.
Hiroko-san is a pleasant, cheerful-looking woman who is easy to get to know, even though we have never met before.
She seems like any old lady you would find around.
“Best regards.”
“Yes, don’t worry. I will take care of Saint-chan responsibly. Please be good to him, Kana-chan.”
“Yes.”
Kana, a girl my age sitting on Hiroko-san’s lap, grumbles and groans.
I guess that was her reaction to the fact that her parents don’t like her anymore because they only care about me.
I’m sorry, I don’t mean to take away your parents, I’m just visiting for a week or so.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, oh, our princess seems to be in a bad mood. I’m sorry, Seibo. Please be good to her.”
Being neighbors, we are bound to have some kind of connection in the future.
We are also children of the celebrated Onmyoji, and we can be friends even if we are not told.
“Now then, excuse me, I have some work to do. Saint, be a good boy.
“Yeah.”
You wanted me to say good-bye? Hmm?
I’m not going to tell you. You’re going to have to redeem yourself a little more to get over the grudge that almost got me killed.
This is how I came to be taken care of by the Tonobe family.
Even in my previous life, I don’t think I was ever taken care of at someone else’s house except for school events.
I will be mature so as not to cause any trouble.
“Okay, then, Seibo, I’m going to carry your luggage to your room. You want me to carry that thing on your back with me?”
“Nah, this one goes in my hands.”
“It’s a big bag, what’s in it?”
Hiroko-san was also interested in the knapsack made by my mother.
It was a heavy bag for a one-year-old child to carry, but I, who had been strengthening my body, could carry it with ease.
I took the knapsack down and showed her the contents.
“Tamako of Reiju.”
“Oh, so this is the spirit animal egg you were talking about! I heard from the Tsuyoshi-san that you have such a precious thing. What’s more, it even has a pattern on it!”
“I’ve only heard rumors, but I’ve heard they’re extremely expensive.”
“The price is one thing, but the fact that the pattern is showing means that a very powerful spirit animal should be born. It’s a big size for this time of year, and I’m looking forward to seeing it in the future.”
Hoh, it seems that for Onmyoji, the eggs of spirit beasts are a gem that makes them excited.
If it were not for the imprinting by spiritual power, they would be likely to be stolen.
Perhaps because her parents are staring at the egg with interest, Kana is also showing interest in the egg.
She leaned forward from Hiroko-san’s lap and extended her hand to the egg.
“Yes.”
“Kana-chan?!”
Kana’s hand hit the egg hard.
However, it was only a baby’s slap. It was not very powerful.
Even so, Hiroko-san was extremely flustered.
“Oh, no cracks? ! What if it scratches?”
“Hi, ugh, oh my gosh.”
Hiroko-san doesn’t seem to know the strength of the egg – that it won’t crack if you hit it with a hammer.
They are ridiculously expensive eggs, and it’s no wonder she doesn’t know the details of a product she has no connection to. I knew that, and that’s why I didn’t let her avoid the eggs.
It was Momi-san who calmed her panicked and sobbing daughter down.
“Haha, it will not be hurt by that much. If a baby could defeat it, we Onmyoji wouldn’t have a hard time.”
“Yeah, that’s true too. I was surprised. Ah, Kana-chan, I’m sorry for yelling all of a sudden.”
Kana went straight to sleep, tired of crying, and I had to take a nap in the bedroom with her.
I heard Momi-san leaving the house, as he seemed to have some work to do as well.
I lay down on the futon, but still not sleepy at all.
“I wonder if they’re here, too.”
I immediately started looking for mysterious creatures in other people’s house.
I’m a baby, so I’m sure I won’t be scolded for exploring other people’s homes, but here I should probably do my own secret tentacle search for mysterious creatures by myself.
I must be able to become a specialized Onmyoji by using this kind of opportunity.
I put spiritual power into my loose hairs that I brought from home and set a trap in the darkness of the closet in the room.
—
They didn’t come.
When they finally came, they didn’t come again for a while.
What is it? Are there not so many mysterious creatures in this house?
I continued to capture the mysterious creatures for a while, but when I came to, I was asleep.
I refined my fully recovered spiritual power, ate lunch, and went back to sleep…and so began a routine that has never changed.