The House with the Cream-Yellow Sea and Spring Cabbage (Chapter 1/4) / Novel #CreativeAward2023

Prologue.

Sometimes, the smallest things can completely change the color of the world you see.
For example, what happened this morning.

|Tsumugi Nagai| stepped off at a gloomy station. Two out of every three fluorescent lights were out, leaving it dim. There was no escalator to get from the platform to the ticket gate. Everyone kept their heads down, walking up the stairs at a steady pace like soldiers, and exited through the gate. Tsumugi joined the line mindlessly.
The road along the tracks was bumpy. The rough pavement was broken into pieces, making it hard to walk. The garbage truck ahead of her tilted left and right with every movement. The walls and shop shutters were covered in spray-painted graffiti that was hard to tell if it was letters or pictures.
It's a bit scary to walk alone at night, Tsumugi thought. Even though it was 9:00 AM, she walked faster, thinking it was better to pass through quickly.
Just then, a child's singing voice approached from behind.

A cheerful singing voice echoed.
What song was this again? A song about the sun coming out.
A boy riding on the back of a bicycle driven by his father passed Tsumugi. The smock the boy was wearing puffed up in the wind. Tsumugi's loosely curled ponytail swayed.
Because of the road, the bicycle also swayed left and right, but the father was driving safely, and the child was leaning against his father, looking up at the sky and singing, looking completely at ease.
The sky she looked up at in response was warmly sunny. It was a May sky. The heart covered in gloomy mist cleared up in an instant.

If that parent and child hadn't passed by here, Tsumugi would surely have forgotten whether today, the day of her destiny, was sunny or rainy, or if it was spring or winter.
Before she knew it, her steps were light and her spirits were lifted.

1.

At the end of the road along the tracks, where the map app indicated, was Maison Matsuzawa Honcho. A neat, white, tall apartment building. Room 202 on the second floor was her workplace starting today.
She found this house on an app that introduces housekeeping jobs, looking for work within a range she could reach from the nearest station without transferring. It was the |Orino| family.

Tsumugi is a rookie helper who just registered with a housekeeping agency three months ago after quitting the major trading company where she worked for five years as a new graduate.
Unlike her previous job, this one requires a lot of belongings. Still not used to it, Tsumugi checked the contents of her handbag many times.
Employee ID
Apron
Triangle bandana
Mask
Hand towel
Rubber gloves
Spare socks
Yes, nothing forgotten. It's okay.

When she was at the trading company, her only belonging was her employee ID. Some employees even came to the office with just their bodies, without even a bag. However, the work was not as light as her belongings. The work entrusted to Tsumugi in her fifth year was large in scale, reward, and responsibility, and Tsumugi poured all her time except for eating and sleeping into it. And before she knew it, she had collapsed. It was overwork. After resting for about half a year, her physical condition improved, but she didn't have the energy to work at the trading company again, so she resigned. Until her unemployment insurance ran out, she spent time refreshing herself by going on overseas trips like she did as a student or visiting friends who found jobs in the countryside, but living with her parents and having their eyes on her, she felt she had to return to society soon. However, she didn't feel like working with all her might like before. When she was looking at job sites, thinking of registering for some easy dispatch work as a start, she found a job called 'housekeeping'. She thought that even she, who was completely relaxed, could do something like housework.

Although she made housework her job, at first, Tsumugi didn't understand the feelings of people who requested housework. What does it mean to pay money to request housework that you can do yourself?
However, three months after starting housekeeping, as she took on several jobs, she gradually understood. In the houses she had been in charge of so far, cooking was requested most of the time. She cooked in the homes of dual-income couples or elderly people with weak legs and backs. People who don't have the time or physical strength to cook request it. The words 'Thank you' and 'It was delicious' were purely happy and became the joy of continuing this job she started somewhat casually.



The Orino family, whom she would be in charge of next, was a family of a slightly different color from the houses so far. According to the app's information, the client, |Sakuya Orino|, is a single father. A family of six. It was written that he wanted to consult about cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc., once a week. She had some anxiety, but it seemed like she would be visiting regularly, and she prioritized the ease of access by train.

When her application on the app was accepted, she was supposed to call the client to greet them and discuss the work for the first day.
When she called during the day, a metallic whirring sound like something being shaved and a clanging sound like nails being driven in were ringing out from behind Sakuya. Tsumugi wondered if Sakuya's workplace was a construction site or something.

'Ah, my eldest daughter will be home that day, so! I'll tell my eldest daughter! I don't really know what I want you to do from now on, so! I won't know until that day, so!'
'Is that so... I understand. Sorry to disturb you while you're working.'

Partly because of the noise in the background, Tsumugi was overwhelmed by the annoyed tone that sounded like he was yelling, and she hung up the phone quickly. Even just from the phone response, she couldn't help but feel an atmosphere different from her previous clients.
The clients Tsumugi had been in charge of so far were much more polite. They told her in detail about their requests, such as what kind of food they liked, Japanese or Western, to make the seasoning lighter because there were children, or to refrain from greasy food because they were elderly. They also asked for Tsumugi's opinion on whether there were any ingredients or seasonings they should have prepared at home in advance.
But this time, she headed to the site without any image of the work on the day.

Still, housework is housework.
The things to do should be the same in any house.
Tsumugi, standing at the shared entrance, encouraged herself and rang the bell for Room 202.

As she was told on the phone beforehand, an awkward 'Yes' in a girl's voice was heard from the speaker. Tsumugi, partly because it was her first site, was about to be pulled into tension. In times like this, she had no choice but to force a bright voice. She lifted the corners of her mouth toward the camera next to the bell.

'Good morning.
I'm Nagai, here for housekeeping today.'
'Ah'
The voice from the speaker cut off. The automatic door opened.
When she pressed the second floor on the elevator that had stopped, she arrived at the room immediately. The room on the right immediately after getting off the elevator was Room 202. This time, she pressed the intercom next to the door. There was no response to this, and footsteps could be heard pattering behind the door, followed by the sound of the lock opening.
A white girl's face peeked out from the slowly opening door. Her black, round eyes were staring straight at Tsumugi's eyes. Her face was plump and still had a childishness, but the limbs peeking out from her short sleeves and shorts were long and thin like bones. Her black hair was cut just above her chin, and her bangs were pinned back. The few pimples on her white forehead peeking out were typical of a child of that age.

'Nice to meet you. Thank you for today.'
The girl muttered 'Thank you' like a parrot without any expression, and guided her inside, saying 'Please'.
The entrance was dark. The light from the window didn't reach it, and until her eyes got used to it after coming from outside, she couldn't even see her hands well. She thought that they weren't adults who had the presence of mind to turn on the lights. This child was still not used to welcoming people.


Perhaps because the other family members were all out, there seemed to be few shoes or things at the entrance. However, as she walked down the hallway, Tsumugi was speechless at the strangeness of the space that spread out beyond it.
Clothes.
Clothes.
Clothes.

What seemed to be the living room was covered entirely in a massive amount of clothing. It wasn't just a pile. It was a sea of clothes. Not a deep blue, but a cream-yellow sea that was slightly yellowish overall. A rough sea that didn't have the smell of life. It wasn't a small living room, but there was a tremendous sense of oppression due to the clothes covering everything.
Jackets with fur that wouldn't be worn at this time of year, crumpled pants, children's mesh underwear, bibs, and single socks were scattered in such large quantities that it was difficult to match them, and clothes with varying sleeve lengths and thicknesses spread out, creating small hills here and there like waves.
It looked like laundry for a family of six. Here and there, the handles of hangers were sticking out of the sea of clothes, and some clothes still had clothespins attached.

Toys that seemed to belong to small children, diapers, baby wipes, and plastic bags that looked like they had been thrown away after taking out the contents were floating on the sea of clothes.
That's amazing... she was about to say, but hurriedly swallowed her words.

For the children in this house, this might not be a strange sight, but everyday life. She felt it would be pitiful to point it out suddenly right here. Tsumugi put on a smile that was about to twitch and spoke the words according to the manual.

'I'll leave my luggage here.'
To put down her leather handbag, she pushed aside the clothes piled on the floor to make space. On the part of the floor that was visible, countless small brown and black fragments that looked like food scraps were scattered on the stained carpet. She almost screamed 'Eek!', but held it back again.
The bag was an expensive one that her mother had bought her as a celebration for getting a job. She didn't want to put it on a floor like this, where she wouldn't even notice if bugs were crawling.

Tsumugi's mother was a strict person to herself and to Tsumugi. She had Tsumugi attend a well-known cooking class in the local area since she was in college, calling it 'bridal training', and thoroughly drilled into her how to clean and do laundry.
'Be proper' was her mother's catchphrase.
That didn't change even while she was resting. If she was at her parents' house, she instructed Tsumugi to do all kinds of housework. She was a person who couldn't forgive a woman for being at home and lounging around.
Maybe there was also a backlash against her mother. She thought, what's housework? It's a job anyone can do.

When she worked at a major trading company and moved hundreds of millions of yen, she felt like she had finally gotten back at her mother. She thought she had become a person of irreplaceable value, much more than her mother, who was a full-time housewife. And yet, in the end, she is now working with the housework her mother drilled into her. Having been sent to a famous university, not getting married, and doing housekeeping dispatch, she couldn't say it with pride.
She felt that her mother wouldn't recognize her unless she was a career woman or a full-time housewife who was married and had children.
That's why she told her mother that she intended to become a full-time employee if there was a good place after registering with a dispatch company. She still hasn't been able to tell her that she's doing housework. She probably thinks it's office work or something.

When she was hesitating to put down her bag, she felt like she heard her mother's voice.
'Be proper.'
Which one is 'proper' here? Like a small child, she was at a loss.
No, this is work. I must not be rude to the customer. Let's pretend not to see this here. For now. I will definitely clean it up later.

Tsumugi braced her heart, put down her bag, lifted her face with such force that her ponytail made a sound, and used her bright voice for work.
'Then, once again, thank you for today. My name is Tsumugi Nagai.'

'Thank you.'
'Um, you're Mako, right? The eldest sister.'
'Yes.'
'Will you be home after this today?'
'I plan to be.'
Mako, who spoke indifferently, still had no expression.

According to the preliminary materials, she should be in her second year of junior high school. Doesn't she have school? The question crossed her mind. However, there was no time to get that involved. Right now, she wanted to prioritize cleaning this room above all else. Otherwise, she felt like she would suffocate from the stagnant air.
'Is that so, that's helpful. Since it's my first time at your house, there will be things I want to confirm along the way, such as where to put tools. So, would you like cleaning today? The request form said 'cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc.'

'No, what I heard from my father today was not cleaning, but that I wanted you to cook.'
'C, cooking!?'
Tsumugi, who had expected to be told 'cleaning' 90% of the time from the mess in the room, let out a loud voice.

'Y, yes, cooking. That's what I heard.'

She felt a slight dizziness. She had been distracted by the laundry in the living room earlier, but the kitchen she caught in the corner of her eye didn't look like she could cook immediately, not by a long shot.

No, no. I have to stay calm. This is work.
'I understand. Then, first, please show me the ingredients and cooking utensils.'

The kitchen she was guided to was more than she had imagined. The sink's drain was clogged, and murky water was pooled. Used plates, pots, and rice cookers were placed carelessly, and soggy rice and oil were floating in the water.

The dish rack for washed items was so full that no more dishes could be placed, and the white water-receiving tray that should have been slightly visible was covered in red and black mold.
The cooking space next to the sink was only about 30 centimeters. There, cups with half-finished barley tea or juice for six people, and water bottles still containing contents were lined up, and barley tea packs and for some reason children's toys were packed tightly. A sauce she didn't know what it was was splattered on the kitchen floor, and vegetable scraps were falling.

The dizziness became full-scale.
The house where Tsumugi grew up as the only daughter of a full-time housewife mother and a civil servant father was always tidy. It was almost too clean. Things were kept in built-in storage shelves with doors, and there was nothing left outside. The bed sheets were replaced every day with clean, crisp, starched ones. At the entrance, lovely potted flowers were blooming in every season.
The houses she had visited as a housekeeper so far were similar to Tsumugi's parents' house. Even if toys that children had just played with were sometimes dropped, they had the impression of being neatly organized. This was the first time in her life that Tsumugi had seen such an unsanitary place. She couldn't stop the area just above her nose from twitching and her brow from furrowing.

'Excuse me, but may I ventilate the room?'
'Ah, yes.'
Mako obediently opened the window leading to the balcony with a clatter. She felt like clear air had entered, and she could breathe a little deeper.

'First, let me do the dishes and clean this up before I start cooking. As it is, there is no space to cook.'
'Haa... I understand.'
Mako didn't seem to understand well, and her eyes wavered anxiously for a moment, but she nodded.

Seeing that, Tsumugi, who had been shocked by the state of the room at first, felt an emotion like anger gradually welling up. How are you supposed to cook in a kitchen like this? There's no place to put a cutting board, and no place to put washed items. No, first of all, the drain is clogged, and she can't even wash the dishes. Moreover, even though it's the first time, the parent isn't present and is pushing the explanation onto a child who doesn't understand the situation, what is that about?
Tsumugi takes another deep breath.

'Then, next, please let me check the ingredients and seasonings.'

The refrigerator was a large one for a family. In a room like this, she braced herself, thinking that the inside of the refrigerator and the refrigerator itself must be in a terrible state. The image of a refrigerator in a dirty room she often sees on TV comes to mind. Wouldn't stringy or moldy ingredients come out? Tsumugi opened the refrigerator cautiously.

However, the first thing that jumped into her eyes was,
a beautiful yellow-green.
And then,a vivid red.
Compared to the dirty room and kitchen, the colors inside the refrigerator looked fresh and even shone.

The one in the very front was cabbage. And tomatoes.
They were fresh vegetables that had just been bought.
In the back were carrots, burdock, bean sprouts, and daikon radish.

It was a careless way of putting them in, and the used vegetables were thrown in as they were without even being wrapped, but she couldn't find a single one that was damaged. When she opened a different door, eggs, yogurt, ham, pork, minced meat, bread with children's favorite characters, and rice were also inside.
When she looked for seasonings, miso and soy sauce were in the refrigerator, and basic cooking necessities such as mirin, vinegar, sake, and oil were kept in the drawer next to the frying pan. Salt, sugar, and flour were in a state where the large bags were not sealed, but they were lined up next to the sink, which was the easiest to use.

It looked like they were used every day.
Tsumugi felt that intuitively.
That means Sakuya Orino, or one of the children, cooks every day.

It was unexpected.
In this house, only the place where ingredients and seasonings were placed was breathing properly. Tsumugi didn't really understand what that meant. Isn't it cooking after hygiene? Otherwise, you'll get a stomachache.
Although she wasn't convinced, she was relieved that she could cook for the time being.

'It seems like there are things necessary for cooking.
If there's anything else I don't understand, I'll call out to you.'
'I understand.'

Mako loosened her expression slightly as if relieved, and returned to her room near the entrance.

After managing to get the drain flowing, doing the dishes, wiping the washed dishes and putting them on the shelf, and securing as much cooking space, sink, and dish rack as she could to cook, an hour had already passed.

What a thing.
Today, there is only a two-hour frame.
What can I make in the remaining hour?

Usually, customers were happy when she made something a little elaborate that they couldn't easily make themselves, like beef stroganoff or sweet and sour pork. But today, there is no such time. Moreover, it's for six people.

She recalls the ingredients.
She wants to use that fresh cabbage that jumped into her eyes as soon as she opened the refrigerator. In this room where she felt like she would suffocate from the stagnant air, she was saved by that cabbage.

When she held it in her hand, the leaves were soft. It must be spring cabbage. It's better to use it raw. Since it's getting hot, she'll also add tomatoes with vinegar. For the main dish, since there was pork with daikon and burdock, pork miso soup would be good. Since she continued with simmered and dressed dishes, she'll quickly stir-fry the bean sprouts.

・Cabbage and salted kelp salad
・Tomato in sweet vinegar
・Stir-fried bean sprouts and minced meat
・Pork miso soup with plenty of ingredients

Tsumugi quickly wrote it down on a memo and started cooking. It's easier to organize the ingredients to use and the order of making them in her head if she writes it down like this.

For six people, just preparing the ingredients is a job.
Wash the cabbage and cut it roughly. Cut the tomatoes, and cut the ingredients for the pork miso soup. She does most of the cutting all at once. The order is from things used raw, and things with strong lye or meat are last. When she opened under the sink, she found four bowls. It's helpful to have many bowls for preparation.
While soaking the burdock, she seasoned the tomatoes and cabbage and put them in the refrigerator. After quickly passing the pork through hot water, she put it in a pot with other ingredients. While the pork miso soup was simmering, she made the stir-fried bean sprouts. Finally, she dissolved the miso and the pork miso soup was completed.

After finishing cooking, she looked at the kitchen again. As she confirmed at the beginning, the things she wanted to use for cooking were within reach. Even though she thought it was a kitchen like a garbage dump before cleaning it up, once she started cooking, it wasn't bad to use. Tsumugi felt relieved that she had completed it within the scheduled time.

'Sorry for interrupting your study.'
After finishing the dishes, when she peeked into Mako's room, things were scattered on the floor there too, although not as much as in the living room. It was things typical of a junior high student, not just clothes, but bags, mirrors, jerseys, and transparent character pouches. On the desk that was barely secured, Mako was hanging her head, seemingly writing something in a notebook.
'Yes.'
She stopped her hand and looked back.
How clear are the eyes of young people. Even in a room like this, only that part is shining like that cabbage.
'I've finished cooking, so please check it.'

2.

'It was an amaaaazing room!'

When she told him with such force that saliva might fly, she heard Mr. |Yasutomi| on the other end of the phone laughing 'fuh-fuh-fuh-fuh' with a voiceless sound, like practicing the English f pronunciation.

'That might be so. Mr. Orino has only recently become a single-father household. His wife passed away, and when government officials visited the house, they found the life was too devastated... so it seems they introduced our housekeeping service from there.'

Mr. Yasutomi is the counselor who interviewed her when she registered for dispatch and became Tsumugi's person in charge. A man in his mid-50s, wearing silver-rimmed glasses and having a plump body. Although his way of laughing is unique, his tone is calm and he is good at listening. He has an atmosphere more like the master of a coffee shop she frequents than a colleague. Tsumugi always regretted after hanging up the phone that she had talked too much, mixing in casual speech.

'The children are 14-year-old |Mako|, 12-year-old |Kiko|, 10-year-old |Keigo|, 5-year-old |Masa|, and 2-year-old |Rin|.'
Five of them... she thought, but she shouldn't say such things. In front of Mr. Yasutomi, she tends to let her true feelings slip out.

'Mako and Kiko are children of Sakuya and his previous wife. Keigo is a child of his wife and her previous husband. Masa and Rin are children after remarriage. His wife passed away from cancer this winter.'
As if he could see through what Tsumugi was thinking, Mr. Yasutomi added.

'Is that so... Cancer, huh. It must have been hard during the battle with the illness. Raising children, nursing, and working. But, if his wife passed away, he can't raise five children alone, so he should have had his previous wife or previous husband take some of them, right?'
'You say it easily.'
'I understand, you know? That there must have been various things at the time of divorce, like custody battles. That it's difficult to ask now. But, if you saw that room. Life has already collapsed. Isn't it more important for all six of them to live?'

'If Tsumugi, who has actually seen it, says so, that might be the case. However, if it's not something that can be done so easily, we must first think about what we, housekeeping, can do.'
It's a calm voice, but it's a fair argument. She couldn't say a word. Mr. Yasutomi tells Tsumugi, who still has low professionalism, something strict in a roundabout way.

'However, if there are any signs that should be reported to the government officials, please let me know immediately. For example, although it's a remote possibility, abuse. If there is such a thing, I've been told to report it.'
'Hmm. I don't really know about that yet. I haven't even met the father himself. Well, I think it's questionable to have a junior high school student deal with housekeeping. However...'
Tsumugi was remembering the cabbage in the refrigerator.

'I feel like they are cooking properly.'
'Ho.'
'Ingredients, seasonings, anyway, it didn't feel like something bought and prepared because housekeeping was coming, but like they were using the kitchen properly every day.'
'I see.'
'But, I can't understand that either. Cooking, isn't it fine to buy side dishes? Isn't cleaning or tidying up first?'
'Tsumugi thinks so, huh.'
'Am I wrong?'
'How is it?'
Mr. Yasutomi sometimes doesn't give her an answer like this and leaves it as a question. It's an important thing, so he probably wants her to think for herself. She decides to think so.

'So, what will you do? In any site, for any helper, there is compatibility. If the site doesn't suit you, you can change to another helper, you know?'
That's also an option, Tsumugi thinks.
There is no reason to go out of her way to go to such a spectacular site. She could just concentrate on cooking and work in a clean, organized place like before.

However, that cabbage and Mako's eyes are speaking to her. She feels like she is being told to help.

Besides, that room.
Somewhere in the same world... no, not somewhere. In a place where she passes by on the train every day on the same line, just the existence of such an unclean and suffocating space makes her shudder.
Besides, didn't she decide that day that she would definitely clean it up later? What happened, is it still a dirty room? What kind of life are the children living? She hates being troubled by her own imagination. She won't be satisfied until she sees with her own eyes that it's cleaned up and they are living a normal life.

'No, I'll continue a little more. Various things, I'm curious about.'
'I understand. Please let me know the situation again. If you change your mind about whether Tsumugi was wrong, that too.'
Mr. Yasutomi laughed again with that voiceless sound.

3.

The next time I visited the Orino house was the following Wednesday. The time was from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. For Tsumugi, working during the hours when it gets dark is depressing. Even though I started working to get my body used to society, my rhythm feels all out of whack. However, I didn't think it was right to have a child who has school to deal with me during the day on a weekday like last time, so I asked to change the time.
At this time, the two elementary school students would be home from school, and I would also be able to see Sakuya, who would have finished picking up the children from nursery school.

Today, it was the second daughter, Juko, who opened the front door. She has the same eyes as Mako, but her skin is tanned a light wheat color, and she has her black hair tied up in two pigtails from the top of her head, giving her an energetic impression.
“Hello!” Her greeting was bright, too.
“Yes, hello. My name is Tsumugi Nagai, from the housekeeping service. Nice to meet you. You’re Juko, right?”
“That’s right! Nice to meet you too!”
“You’re very energetic. It’s amazing how well you can greet people.”
“Yeah, I’m in the sixth grade, you see. My teacher told me that since I’m in the highest grade this year, I have to be a role model for everyone!”
Juko said this looking truly proud.

“That’s cool! By the way, is Keigo home yet? I wanted to say hello to him.”
“Keigo is out playing at the park. He’ll be back at 5:00.”
“I see, I see. Well then, did your dad tell you anything he wanted me to do today? Like cleaning or laundry?”
I dared to leave cooking out of the options when I asked. Tsumugi chanted 'cleaning, cleaning, cleaning' in her heart. Today, I really want to clear away this mountain of laundry.

“I heard you were going to cook. For dinner tonight.”
“Cooking, I see. Understood.”
It was an answer that made leaving it out of the options pointless. Moreover, when I looked, the kitchen I had cleaned last time had perfectly returned to its original state. The cooking space was completely buried, and the drain was clogged as well. It’s cleaning from the start again today. I just have to get myself pumped up.

After finishing the general cleanup and washing the stainless steel sink as a finishing touch, Keigo came home saying, “I’m home.” When I went out saying, “Welcome back,” he was soaked from head to toe, socks included, as if he had been playing in the water at the park.
“Oh my, oh my.”
Tsumugi hurriedly looked for a towel, but among that sea of clothes, I had no idea which one was a clean towel. Keigo himself was completely calm. He stared at Tsumugi’s face for a moment, but didn't say a word. He looked over the sea of laundry spread across the floor, picked up some clothes from the top, smelled them, and changed into them. Whether it was because his father told him to, he immediately took the clothes he had taken off to the dressing room.
Juko seemed to be in the room next to the entrance, which appeared to be a shared room with Mako, and Keigo sat on top of the laundry in the living room and started watching TV.

Once everyone had settled down, Tsumugi finally opened the refrigerator. Today, there was half a cabbage, a pumpkin, and some broccoli. Besides that, there were three chicken thighs. I also found onions and canned goods like canned tomatoes in the cupboard, so I decided to make the menu Western-style today.

Chicken and Cabbage Tomato Curry
Pumpkin Salad
Stir-fried Broccoli with Butter and Soy Sauce
Onion Soup

As I started simmering the tomato curry, boiled the broccoli, and sautéed the onions for the soup, I heard the sound of a door opening, and the hallway suddenly became noisy. Thinking that Sakuya and the others must have returned, I turned off the stove for a moment and headed to the entrance.
There was a large man holding a girl in one arm while taking off his bicycle helmet with the other, along with two other children.

“Ah. I see.”
The man looked at Tsumugi and said as if he had just remembered.
“Thanks for your help. I’m Sakuya Orino.
This is Rin, and this is Sho.”

Sakuya must be in his mid-forties. He is tall, and his long arms have faint muscles showing. His hair, just freed from the helmet, is mixed with gray and looks like natural curls, spreading out messily. His back view in his knickerbockers looks quite slim and cool, but when you meet his eyes from the front, he has large dark circles under his eyes and deep wrinkles carved between his brows, making him look quite sinister. He is holding Rin as if carrying her, but I wonder if he wasn't mistaken for a kidnapper.
Sho seemed shy and quickly hid behind Sakuya. Rin is a girl with a bob cut. I thought the four siblings were still children, but at two years old, she looked even smaller. However, she is powerful. She thrashed her limbs around, was put down on the floor, and stared at Tsumugi, saying,
“Who are you? Who are you?”
Her eyes sparkling and the way she tilted her head were innocent and very cute.
“She’s the person who cooked for us the other day.”
“I apologize for the late introduction. My name is Tsumugi Nagai from the housekeeping service. This is our first time meeting. Nice to meet you. Starting this week, I will be visiting every Wednesday at 4:00 PM.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“Nice to meet you!”
Rin smiled, said it energetically in a lisping voice, and ran into the back. Sho kept gripping Sakuya’s knickerbockers tightly and wouldn't let go.

When Tsumugi finished her greeting and was about to return to cooking, Sakuya said,
“Thank you. You cleaned the kitchen really well. I’ll take it from here, so it’s fine.”
“Eh?”
Tsumugi didn't immediately understand what was said.
“Daddy, I can’t take off my socks!”
Rin called out.
“Oh, then, should I leave the cooking to you and go help take care of the children?”
“No, you. I mean, Ms. Nagai. But, Ms. Nagai, you can’t bathe the children, right?”
“That’s right, bathing is not on the housekeeping menu.”
“Exactly. So, I’m home now, and I can do everything else. I’ve always done it alone. You can go home now, Ms. Nagai.”

Being told something unexpected, I was confused about how to respond. There was still more than 30 minutes left until the agreed-upon end time of 6:00 PM. The broccoli was left boiling, the onions were left sautéing, and it wasn't finished. I pushed back, saying I couldn't just say 'yes, okay' right here.
“No, I can’t do that. The cooking is still in progress, and this is my job.”

“Daddy!”
“Wait a second! Daddy is talking right now!”
Sakuya shouted.
“Daddy, I’ll look after Rin-chan. Rin-chan, come here.”
I heard Juko’s voice.
“Juko, sorry!”

Saying that, Sakuya returned his gaze to Tsumugi. The dark circles under his eyes were gloomy. Looking completely exhausted, Sakuya put his hand on the wall next to the kitchen and opened his mouth.
“Sigh. It’s really fine, you know. We didn't originally intend to hire such a luxury as a housekeeping service. I can do it by myself. I was doing it even while my wife was hospitalized! But the people at the city office told me to hire one. So, I’m hiring one once a week out of necessity.”

You aren't doing it by yourself, are you? I couldn't say to a client, 'How can you say that while living in a room like this?' I couldn't understand if this person was satisfied with this state.

“Was there any mistake or anything that displeased you during my previous visit?”
“No, there was no problem. The food was delicious. The children even said, 'We’ve never eaten anything this delicious before!' Since my wife was hospitalized, they’ve only been eating the fried rice I made. But,”
Sakuya glanced toward the kitchen.

“Was there something?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Please don’t hesitate to tell me.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, go home today. From now on, it’s the busiest time of the day with dinner, baths, and putting them to bed.”

While Tsumugi was dumbfounded, my bag was pushed into my hands, and I was driven out of the entrance.

***
◆Click here for the continuation
・Chapter 2

・Chapter 3

・Chapter 4