Shino put up a closed sign outside Bougyoudou the next day and began going out a lot.
Hayakawa seemed to have crammed a lot of work into his schedule. It had to mean that efforts were needed from the organization’s side to investigate the spell cast on Masamichi.
For the past ten days or so, Shino had been quick to leave the house after breakfast.
“I’m off.”
He always said the same words on his way out, and all Masamichi could do was send him off with the words “Be careful.”
Shino usually came home late at night or, on occasion, at the crack of dawn the next day.
Shino scolded Masamichi if he waited up for him, telling him not to waste his time doing something pointless like that. “Get your sleep and restore your chi,” he would say, and Masamichi decided to go to bed at ten.
However, he kept thinking about Shino, and it wasn’t easy to fall asleep.
By the time he began dozing off, he would be startled awake by the sound of the shop door opening. Then after hearing Shino’s footsteps, he would finally relax and get his shut-eye.
Those were the tense days that continued day in and day out.
What was toughest for Masamichi was knowing that everyone was working hard for his sake, yet he could do nothing but sit back and wait in a safe place.
Even with the body of a five-year-old, he could manage to wash the dishes, sweep the floor using a minibroom and dustpan, do the laundry using the dry function instead of hanging up the wash, and scrub the bathtub. But that was about all he could accomplish, and Shino strictly forbade him from cooking since it required the use of flames.
“What if a fire broke out? You couldn’t toss everything aside and run, could you? You would probably stay at home trying to put out the fire and end up burning to death. Even I can’t bring a dead person back to life. So no cooking.”
What Shino said was so logical that Masamichi couldn’t utter back a single word. He’d actually been so impressed by his master’s grasp of his personality that it moved him.
So for lunch, he ate the rice balls that Shino had made while preparing breakfast, and for dinner—
“Good evening, Mr. Adachi. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. You must be hungry.”
To his surprise, Hayakawa was picking up dinner and bringing it to him every day.
“Hi. I really appreciate the daily meals. I’m sorry for troubling you,” he said apologetically when Hayakawa came to the door again just after six PM.
“Oh, please don’t be sorry. It’s the least I can do after all the hard work Mr. Tatsumi is doing for us.”
Hayakawa came wearing his plain suit, carrying his attaché case as always, as he smiled and encouraged Masamichi to step up to the tea room.
He folded his coat and jacket neatly, placed them in the corner, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and began warming the food he had brought.
His relaxed yet efficient movements were typical of someone who did housework on a regular basis.
As Masamichi pointed that out while taking plates to the table, Hayakawa replied nonchalantly, “I lived alone for a long time when I was single. I hope you’ll forgive me for bringing you premade food since I can’t cook well enough for people other than myself.”
With that, Hayakawa quickly set up a meal for the two of them in the tea room.
Hayakawa had brought food for one on the first day. He must have realized Masamichi was uncomfortable eating alone and having the man just watch over him as he ate. He started bringing enough food for two the next day, saying he was on his way home from work and was hungry.
Tonight’s dinner consisted of fried chicken with a sweet-and-sour sauce; a salad of broccoli, hard-boiled eggs, and almond slices; a Chinese-style corn soup; and steamed white rice in microwavable packs.
“Please, dig in.”
“Thank you,” he replied politely. Masamichi hesitated over whether to use the fork or the chopsticks and settled on the former. No matter how hard he practiced, his hands weren’t becoming any bigger, and he was still clumsy using chopsticks.
“This is delicious. Very,” he said, stabbing a huge piece of fried chicken with the fork and chewing it with his tiny mouth.
All the dishes Hayakawa had brought were very tasty. He was probably picking them up at well-known delicatessens.
It was nice that Hayakawa ate with him, and it lessened his feelings of loneliness. However, Masamichi found he couldn’t help comparing the food to the meals that Shino usually cooked.
I didn’t realize store-bought food was so flavorful. Everything is really good, but for some reason… I don’t know… Is it because I miss Shino?
Masamichi proceeded to eat the chicken, salad, and soup as he wondered.
His taste buds were telling him that they were delicious, and of course, his hunger was being sated. But for some reason, his heart felt empty.
Nevertheless, Masamichi continued to focus on his meal, knowing that eating and sleeping were the quickest ways to restore his stolen chi to its original state.
Hayakawa nibbled on the food as he watched Masamichi with kind eyes.
“You must be feeling lonely.”
Masamichi looked up in surprise.
“Oh, um, no, I—”
“I’m very sorry for having Mr. Tatsumi work for us for such long periods. I know that delivering food isn’t nearly enough to make up for it.”
“Oh, no! I’m super grateful that you bring me these delicious meals every day when I’m sure you really want to head on straight home after work,” he said, thanking Hayakawa and apologizing at the same time, and Hayakawa put down his chopsticks.
“Please don’t worry about it. This is something I’ve asked Mr. Tatsumi to allow me to do.”
“It is?”
Holding his fork in his hand, Masamichi blinked in surprise. He had assumed that Shino had requested it. Hayakawa nodded.
“As an agent, I commission work to practitioners and provide support for the smooth execution of that work. It’s my duty to ensure that you’re safe and eating properly and to assist you if you need help so Mr. Tatsumi can proceed with peace of mind. Please think of it as me doing my job.”
“Your job… Well, thank you. I can barely do anything decently now, so it really helps. I could go to the nearby convenience store to get something to eat, but if I did that and something happened, I’d end up causing even more trouble for Shino.”
“That’s right. We’re doing our best to figure out how to undo the spell cast on you as quickly as possible. Please be patient for a little while longer.”
“Um, is there anything I can do to help?” Masamichi asked with a desperate look on his face, but Hayakawa shook his head sympathetically.
“I’m sorry.”
“…I guess not. I’m sorry I can’t be of any help.”