kscans

Chapter 81 - Mother Behind My Eyelids

After the gift exchange was finished, it was time for dinner. Suzuki must have directed everyone in preparing it. All my favorite dishes were laid out in abundance. Among them, what particularly caught my eye was...

"You! Suzuki! You really know what to serve on a special day!!"

"Who are you calling Suzuki..."

Chirashi sushi. And not just any chirashi sushi, flower chirashi sushi. Super flower chirashi packed with seafood, led by plump shrimp. Who wouldn't get excited about this?

"Satou-san, do you like chirashi sushi?"

"I love it so much"

"That's gross"

"I love it enough to consider it a candidate for my last meal"

It brings back memories. Those days when I was young.

"I still vividly remember the shock when my mom first made chirashi sushi for me as a kid"

Wait, what, this is food?! That was young Satou-kun's reaction. I mean, just from its appearance alone, it was already declaring full-on celebration. My eyes and heart were captivated by the colorful ingredients led by golden kinshi tamago that looked like treasure.

"Even though it looks amazing, on top of that, it tastes incredible!"

Celebration + deliciousness = infinite possibilities. Even my mom who made it must have been surprised by how thrilled I was. She had this look like "Is this kid for real?" My dad who came home from work had the same expression. He was taken aback by how excited I was. After that, my mom started making chirashi sushi for my birthday and when I got good grades on tests.

"When I became an adult, I had this burning ambition to order the most luxurious seafood chirashi at some expensive sushi restaurant"

"Did you fulfill that dream?"

"Nope"

I had this strong feeling that if I was going to order it, it had to be the absolute best! Ah, maybe this sushi restaurant would be good... no wait, there might be an even better place, and so on. I know I'm indecisive, but that's just how much I love it. I'm in love with it. It has to be you and no one else!

"...I wonder if it was okay for me to make this"

"It's a completely different category, so it's totally fine"

Ordering at sushi restaurants is the professional category. Suzuki is also a pro, but she's in the same family category as my mom. When someone close to you makes it, it's different, so it's totally OK.

"I can't hold back anymore... Is it okay? Can I eat it?"

"Are you a child?"

"Ahaha, but that's so like you, Hiro-kun"

Saying that, Chika-san served me some chirashi sushi. Wait, I've never seen this bowl before. Did Suzuki bring it? How thoughtful.

"Today's main character is Uncle, so Uncle should have the first bite"

"Thank you. Well then, let's eat!!"

Delicious! So good! Chirashi sushi is delicious! The fluffy, slightly sweet egg, the juicy plumpness of the fat shrimp, the texture of lotus root. It's not overwhelming. The ingredients alone might be, but here the vinegared rice harmonizes everything perfectly.

"...You know, I've actually saved the world quite a few times"

"O-oh"

"Right now, I truly think it was good that I protected the world"

"That's way too dramatic..."

Ahh, the miso soup is also delicious... the broth is so flavorful...

"By the way, Hiro-kun. What kind of presents did you get from your company people?"

She seems a bit restless, perhaps concerned about my earlier comment. Since there's nothing to hide, I answered honestly.

"From the president, a selection of foreign films chosen by the president. And from my subordinates..."

I pulled out a cardboard box that I had stored in another dimension.

"""""Candy?"""" "

"Yeah"

When I explained about it, Chika-san seemed impressed and nodded repeatedly. Rika-chan and Hikaru seemed interested in the presentations, so I gave them permission to read them if they wanted. They immediately started reading, but...

""From the very beginning, it's such a long text!?""

Apparently they hit a winner right from the start.

"Wow, nostalgia... there really were things like this"

Takahashi was holding candy and nodding with deep emotion. Among this group, he's probably the only adult who can share these feelings. Chika-san grew up in a different environment, and Suzuki only became interested in food after becoming a woman.

"There are food toys too?"

"These are candy with sentimental value. Of course there would be stuff like that"

Like chocolate snacks with stickers and such. One letter contained a confession about how they used to extract only the stickers and let their parents eat the candy. Sorry, but I laughed.

"Candy, huh... Satou-kun and Takahashi-kun used to eat all sorts of things"

"Why don't you try it out using this opportunity?"

"...Is it okay for a grown adult?"

"It's total prejudice to think adults can't eat candy"

Actually, we call it "dagashi" (cheap candy), but dagashi is still candy. Adults normally eat candy, so what's there to be ashamed of?

"I've even bought out entire convenience store food toy collections before"

"You should be embarrassed about that"

You're right. The quality was pretty good... I wanted to collect all types...

"Ah, I almost forgot"

"What's up?"

"A package arrived from my parents last night"

I received it just before getting in the bath. After throwing it in my bedroom, it completely slipped my mind. Now that I remembered, I suddenly became curious. It's probably a birthday present. Since they retired early and are backpacking, they don't send something every year, but they send gifts when they remember, so I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I hurried to my bedroom, grabbed the cardboard box from the corner of the room, and returned to the living room.

"There's a letter attached..."

"Let me see?"

"Uh, 'Long time no see. Both your father and I are doing well as always, but how are you, Hideo?'"

Don't read it without permission.

"'At a market during our travels, we saw something that reminded us of Hideo's face and remembered his birthday was coming up, so we decided to write. We're sending the item that reminded us of Hideo as a present. We'd be happy if you treasure it. Hideo, happy birthday again. 35 is still only halfway through life. Keep working hard. From Mother and Father...' it says"

Mom... I got a little emotional, but there's one concerning point. What? What did you see during your travels that reminded you of me? What did you send? My parents have some quirky aspects, so I was very anxious. I mean, this is from Kenya. Is there something in Kenya that would remind them of their beloved son Hideo?

"Hey hey Uncle, aren't you going to open it?"

Rika-chan seems very interested too. I have a bad feeling about this, but... I can't just leave it alone, so I steeled myself and peeled off the tape to open the box.

"""""What... is this... what...?"""" "

Inside was a human? Probably a strange object meant to represent a human. Dear Mother. Where exactly do you see your son's likeness in this thing that just looking at it makes me anxious?

"Wait, this is a genuine cursed object!?"

Mom...