Ping-pong.

Click.

"Welcome, Tachihara-san."

"Masayoshi-niichan, welcome!"

"Mamoru-san, Fuka-chan, excuse me for intruding."

Today, I’m visiting Mamoru-san and the others at their luxurious high-rise apartment. Originally, I was just planning to drop off some souvenirs from the trip to Kanagawa with my mom yesterday, but they invited me to stay for a meal while I was here.

"Ah, here are some souvenirs from Kanagawa: fresh whitebait, Hato Sabure cookies, and Yokohama Mille-feuille."

I handed over the souvenirs to Mamoru-san and the others. Another famous souvenir from Kanagawa is the shūmai from Kiyoken, but I figured Fuka-chan would prefer sweets, so I researched online and bought some highly ranked sweets from souvenir lists.

While traveling with my mom, I made sure to note anything interesting in the Yokohama or Kamakura areas to use as souvenirs. Mamoru-san has been very helpful and will continue to be, so maintaining this relationship is important. For the record, the souvenir costs didn’t hurt my wallet since I used savings I’d set aside thanks to ingredients I obtained from the other world.

"Wow, thank you, Masayoshi-niichan!"

"Thank you, Tachihara-san. Please, come in."

Yeah, I made the right choice with sweets. Oh, before stepping inside, I should double-check something.

"Um, is it okay if I bring an animal inside?"

"An animal? As long as it doesn’t make a mess on the floor, it should be fine."

"The floor won’t get dirty, so it should be okay. There might be a few feathers, though. Fūsuke!"

"Hoo!"

The hidden Fūsuke, perched on my head, grew larger and revealed his adorable form. He then moved from my head to my shoulder. Since Mamoru-san and Fuka-chan know about my abilities, it’s safe to show them Fūsuke.

"Wow! What a cute owl!"

"That’s surprising. An owl that can freely change its body size... Oh, of course, it’s fine for him to come inside."

"Thank you. This is Fūsuke, an owl I summoned due to certain circumstances. He can communicate with me, so he won’t cause any trouble inside."

"Summoned... You really can do anything, can’t you?"

Mamoru-san gave a wry smile. I’m sure he had a lot of questions on his mind.

"Nice to meet you, Fūsuke-chan!"

"Hoo!"

When I was guided inside, I saw that the table was already laden with a variety of dishes.

"I don’t cook, so everything here is catered. My apologies for that."

It might be catered, but it’s nothing like the chain-store catering I’ve seen before. The sushi, for example, was on a completely different level compared to the prepackaged ones at supermarkets...

"N-not at all. Everything looks incredibly delicious."

This isn’t just flattery; it genuinely looks amazing. The wealthy really do things differently, even when it comes to catering.

"Well then, let’s eat. What does Fūsuke-san eat?"

"He can eat anything, so no need to worry. Unlike regular owls, he enjoys cooked meat, fish, and things like that."

I’ve fed him a variety of foods, and as long as it’s something humans can eat, he seems fine with it. So far, his favorite appears to be raw meat, though.

"I see. Then I’ll prepare something suitable."

We all enjoyed the extravagant-looking food together. Honestly, everything was so delicious it was hard to believe it was catered. It’s probably worth far more than the souvenirs I brought.

"Umm, Masayoshi-niichan, can I pet Fūsuke-chan?"

"Of course. He loves it if you stroke the area around his neck."

Fuka-chan seemed very interested in Fūsuke. It’s true that opportunities to interact with an owl are pretty rare.

"He’s so fluffy and warm! His big, round eyes are so cute!"

"Hoo♪"

Fuka-chan stroked Fūsuke and fed him treats while he sat on the table. It’s such a heartwarming sight to see a young girl interacting with Fūsuke. It’s similar to how it felt when Sara-san did the same.

"Ahhh, Fuka is so adorable!! Ugh, I’m seriously considering getting a pet myself!"

...Mamoru-san was eagerly snapping photos of Fuka-chan petting Fūsuke. At some point, he’d started holding what looked like a very expensive camera.

Even I was a bit taken aback watching him. Fūsuke, too, flinched slightly. However, Fuka-chan didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

She’s either incredibly mentally resilient or completely used to Mamoru-san’s behavior by now.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time enjoying delicious food and fun conversations with Mamoru-san, Fuka-chan, and Fūsuke. These two are the only people I can talk to about Fūsuke in this world, so I’ll definitely visit again.

Now then, since the live show I promised to attend with Abe and Watanabe is next week, I think I’ll head to the other world tomorrow after a long time. There’s still plenty of fish left, and I want Lilith-san and the others to enjoy some seafood dishes.