This Japanese Slice-of-Life Isn’t Lame

Chapter 50: You Can Know a Person but Not Their Heart

Kitagawa Tera did not want to be misunderstood as a suspicious stalker, so after seeing Asamiya Hitomi, he immediately went up and called her, “Asamiya-san.”

Didn’t Asamiya Hitomi go to prepare offerings to pay respect to her grandma? What is she doing strolling around here? And Asamiya Hitomi is still hurrying forward, as though she can’t hear me calling her.

This anxious attitude caused Kitagawa Tera to move forward quickly and simply stop her.

“Kitagawa-san?” Asamiya Hitomi, who was still rushing forward, came back to her senses.

She apparently did not expect to run into Kitagawa Tera in a place like this, and a stunned look appeared on her pale face.

“Un.” Kitagawa Tera made a light sound.

Only then did he see what Asamiya Hitomi was carrying.

It was a cardboard box with a thick layer of cloth. A kitten with white hair and white claws was holding on to the side of the cardboard box, and a pair of blue cat eyes was looking at this uninvited guest curiously.

Above the cat was a small blue sign with the sentence ‘Please adopt me’.

This is…?

Before Kitagawa Tera could ask, Asamiya Hitomi replied with a red face, “I-I was buying incense just now when I saw this at the corner of the street…”

She was a little flustered, not expecting to meet an acquaintance from school at all.

However, compared to Asamiya Hitomi’s helplessness, Kitagawa Tera could not help sighing. This child is so kind.

Other things aside, at least Kitagawa Tera would have just ignored these kinds of things.

He was not a cat enthusiast and could not be bothered to serve a cat master.

While Kitagawa Tera was sighing in his heart, Asamiya Hitomi froze and timidly asked, “K-Kitagawa-san, can you please adopt it?”

Asamiya Hitomi knew that Kitagawa Tera was not too difficult to get along, unlike how he appeared on the surface, so she wanted to hand the white cat to Kitagawa Tera.

But unexpectedly, Kitagawa Tera shook his head and calmly stated the reason, “My sister is allergic to cats. So I’m very sorry, but I can’t help you with this.”

Kitagawa Eri was allergic to cats. Even with Asamiya Hitomi pleading, Kitagawa Tera could not ignore Kitagawa Eri’s health to adopt it.

“Oh, is that so…” Asamiya Hitomi’s eyes were full of disappointment, but she knew that she was asking something inconsiderate, so she could only sigh.

Kitagawa Tera looked at the white cat for a while before asking curiously, “Why aren’t you adopting it yourself, Asamiya-san?”

Asamiya Hitomi sighed deeply and shook her head helplessly. “I’m not adopting it because the pets that I’ve raised since I was a young would die mysteriously…”

Once she said this, Kitagawa Tera understood. The curse on Asamiya Hitomi had not been lifted, so under the curse, the pets she raised would certainly not end up well.

After considering his words, Kitagawa Tera and asked, “What was Asamiya-san rushing to do just now?”

Hearing Kitagawa Tera’s question, Asamiya Hitomi let out an ‘Ah’, recalling what she had to do.

“I just posted an adoption notice on SNS, and someone contacted me privately to express interest in adopting it. The place is a nearby park. I need to hurry there.”

Japan’s SNS network was also collectively known as a social networking service. It had many uses, but most used it to expand their social circles and make friends online.

Some would post notices to look for people on SNS, such as seeking someone to help adopt pets that they could not care for anymore.

In the twenty-first century, Japan’s SNS network was widely used. Although Asamiya Hitomi had only posted ten minutes ago, several people had already privately messaged her.

But the people online were…

Kitagawa Tera looked at Asamiya Hitomi’s anxious face and suddenly asked, “Asamiya-san, do you mind if I go with you? I should be of some help.”

“… Kitagawa-san wants to go together? Umm… Okay.”

Asamiya Hitomi did not hesitate for long, understanding that he was worried that it would not be safe for a girl to go alone.

With Kitagawa Tera’s formidable strength by her side, she could bravely reject if the other party did not seem suitable for adopting the white cat.

Considering that there were a few netizens to meet, Kitagawa Tera and Asamiya Hitomi did not stay in place for too long. They talked as they walked and very quickly reached the agreed meeting spot—Sakurai Park.

As the name suggested, apart from the basic facilities of a park such as long benches and seesaws, cherry blossom trees were planted all around Sakurai Park.

Just looking at the density of the surrounding cherry blossom trees, Kitagawa Tera could imagine the beautiful scenery here when the cherry blossoms bloomed.

The agreed spot was a long bench under the cherry blossom forest. An outgoing young man with a shoulder bag was sitting there.

Asamiya Hitomi took a deep breath and went up to ask, “Um… Excuse me, are you Saito-san?”

“Ah, yes, I am. Are you Miss ‘Want To Be More Brave’?” the young man asked politely, his tone gentle, face handsome, figure tall and straight.

Er…

Hearing him say out her SNS nickname, Asamiya Hitomi blushed. She secretly took a few glances at Kitagawa Tera and found that his face was as dull as water, without much expression. She breathed out a slight sigh of relief.

She asked in a gentle and soft voice, “I am. May I know if Saito-san wants to adopt this kitten?”

As Asamiya Hitomi spoke, she held out the cardboard box in her arms.

In the cardboard box was the white cat with no other marks, its big blue eyes looking at the world like a child.

Upon seeing the white cat, the young man’s eyes gleamed, appearing like he liked it a lot.

Seeing his look, Asamiya Hitomi let out a sigh of relief.

His character was gentle, and his demeanor was very comfortable to others. Most importantly, Asamiya Hitomi could feel the blazing emotions in his eyes.

She felt relieved that such a person could adopt the white cat.

“Can I take this child away now?” Saito looked left and right, showing his expression of love for the cat, seeming worried about even injuring the white cat by extending his arms.

“Er…” Asamiya Hitomi was pondering.

She still had a few other netizens to meet after this. But after she met such a kind person, it was a good option to hand the white cat directly to him.

However, just as Asamiya Hitomi was about to nod in agreement, the silent Kitagawa Tera suddenly lifted his leg and kicked the other party’s abdomen hard.

In a muffled sound, Saito’s painful cry also exploded!

“K-Kitagawa-san?!”

Asamiya Hitomi clearly did not expect Kitagawa Tera to make a move suddenly. Her mouth moved, wanting to apologize to the other party, but she could not understand what Kitagawa Tera was thinking, thus could only watch on dazedly as this unfolded.

“…” Kitagawa Tera did not respond to Asamiya Hitomi and ignored Saito, who was lying on the ground screaming in pain. He only took two steps forward, picked up the shoulder bag that had dropped onto the ground, and opened it.

The zip let out a crisp sound.

There were some shiny things in the bag.

Lying quietly inside…

… Were some things that did not fit the warm looks of the youth on the ground.

Tooth extraction forceps shimming with cold light, scalpel stained with fur…