Chapter 239: Phone Call, Invitation
Eriri's weight was indeed a result of normal growth, just as she said; she hadn't gained any so-called fat or extra weight. After all, her height had increased a little, and if she hadn't gained any weight at all, it would have been a shame considering the excellent meals they had been having at home recently.
Kaede could say without hesitation that a large portion of the family's income was spent on daily food costs; they would never buy ordinary ingredients if they could afford high-quality ones.
Or rather, the fact that Eriri hadn't gained much weight until now was the truly abnormal thing.
After joking about the weight issue, everyone took the milk tea they bought and chatted while drinking it. Eriri mainly talked about their outing today and the big dinner they had that night.
"Hmm~~ An Italian restaurant, and the head chef is a girl?" Sawamura Sayuri said in surprise after hearing this. "That's quite impressive. If we have time, we should try it out."
Asakura Reiko also nodded, saying, "Yes, yes, yes. If we can't find a place to eat when we go shopping later, we should definitely give it a try. If Kaede and Eriri both say it's good, the taste absolutely won't be bad."
After hearing about Eriri's outing today, Asakura Reiko said, "Eriri, Kaede, we've already discussed it between the two families. We're going to have a dinner gathering tomorrow. You two should be free tomorrow, right?"
"We are."
The two shook their heads in unison. Eriri said, "For the two days of the weekend, we only planned to go out for one day. Tomorrow, we plan to stay home and draw peacefully."
Sawamura Sayuri said with a smile, "In that case, you two should still work tomorrow morning. Then, in the afternoon, Reiko will come and pick you up. You can come to our house, and we can all have a barbeque in the yard. How does that sound? When I went grocery shopping this morning, I bought some excellent lamb and beef."
"Barbeque!!!"
Eriri felt hungry again. Her period was almost over, and she could finally stop restricting her diet slowly.
After arranging the dinner gathering for the two families tomorrow, Asakura Reiko and Sawamura Sayuri excused themselves, deciding not to disturb the children's time alone.
After seeing the two women off, Kaede finally realized something belatedly. Looking at Eriri, he said, "I think I forgot to ask earlier. Mom and Sayuri-san went out shopping, and it seems like they ate dinner outside too. What about Dad?"
"Ah! I forgot too!"
Eriri exchanged an awkward glance with Kaede and said, "Hmm~~~ It should be fine, right? This isn't the first time this has happened."
"...That seems right."
After drinking milk tea and cuddling the cat for a while, Kaede went to take a shower first.
Taking advantage of this time, Eriri quickly picked up her phone and dialed Utaha's number.
The call connected. Just like many times before, Eriri first heard the sound of typing on a keyboard, and only then did she hear Utaha's voice.
"Is something wrong?"
"You really are diligent. Every time I call, you're always writing."
"I can't help it, the pressure is huge. Besides writing, I don't have many leisure activities usually. It's basically just reading or studying, unlike a normie like you."
After finishing the passage she was working on and saving the file, Utaha took her phone, sat down on the bed, and said, "Alright, I'm done working for now. Tell me what's going on."
"Hehe, there is something, but it's just a small matter. Are you free on Monday? Shall we go shopping? I want your opinion on buying clothes."
Utaha listened, and although she was a little confused, she agreed: "Shopping? That's fine. But wouldn't it be better if you dragged Asakura-kun along for this kind of thing? His taste isn't bad, is it?"
"Hehe, two people need to have their own space sometimes!" Eriri had already prepared an explanation and immediately said, "It's not like we want to stick together all the time. We have our own friends, too. Even though everyone knows each other, sometimes girls just want to go shopping with other girls, you know? Just like Kaede-kun, doesn't he sometimes go out with Takasu and Kitamura?"
As for where she wanted Utaha to accompany her to buy clothes, Eriri didn't dare say it now; she could only reveal the answer once they arrived at the location.
Utaha didn't think too much of it, because that logic was sound.
"But wouldn't tomorrow be better for shopping? You have the whole day on the weekend."
"Hehe, I have plans tomorrow." Eriri said with a smile, "Kaede-kun and I went out today. We spent the whole day at Ueno Zoo and had a big dinner at an Italian restaurant tonight. So, I have to work hard tonight and tomorrow morning. Then, tomorrow evening, our two families agreed to have a barbeque dinner together in my yard, so I can't go shopping tomorrow."
"..."
Although it was just a simple explanation, Eriri's words delivered a comprehensive blow to Utaha. While she was lazily getting up and writing during the weekend, this girl—just Eriri—had spent the whole day out with her boyfriend, and tomorrow, the two families were even having dinner together.
Utaha knew that Eriri really was just explaining and didn't have any malicious intent; otherwise, her tone wouldn't be like this.
But... she still felt annoyed!!!
Since she had already agreed to go shopping with Eriri on Monday, Utaha could only bear the frustration herself, saying, "I see. Then let's make it Monday. So you won't be attending club activities after school, right? I'll come to your classroom to find you then."
"Right, no club activities. It's settled then!"
Hanging up the phone, Eriri glanced toward the bathroom with slightly flushed cheeks. Seeing that Kaede hadn't finished showering, she picked up her phone and searched for something, making her cheeks even redder.
"Eek... I don't know how the designer came up with this. I'm almost scared to buy it."
But the words were already spoken, and since Eriri wanted to give Kaede a little treat, she could only grit her teeth and go through with it.
Ten minutes later, Kaede finished his shower and walked out.
"Eriri, it's your turn to go wash up."
"Okay~~~"
Eriri stood up and jogged over to Kaede, saying, "Kaede-kun, I just called Utaha and arranged to go shopping with her after school on Monday! So I won't be going to club activities with you on Monday!"
"Going shopping with your senior? I understand. But that's the day after tomorrow. Did you need to tell me so early?"
"Hehe, I just finished the call, so I told you right away. I'm going to take a shower now~~"
Watching Eriri run to the room to grab her clothes, Kaede wiped his hair while walking over to sit on the sofa.
As soon as he sat down, Camilla jumped onto his lap.
"Hey! Don't jump up just because of the smell, Camilla! I just finished showering, and now you're going to rub your fur all over me again!"