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The night after Kou’s first time of the month…

“Kou, don’t push yourself too hard. Just sit down with us and take it easy.”

“I will…I just want to do this at least…”

Subaru looked at Kou with concern, gently taking the tray with plates she was trying to carry to the table and handling it himself. Still wanting to do something, she went to the fridge and took out a bottle of chilled beer, which she uncapped and brought to the table.

“Dad, Akane, I hope you can take a break from work now.”

Saying that, she poured some beer into the glasses of those two, who were home unusually early. Sora and Akane had left work early, as they also wanted to be present for dinner when they celebrated.

“Thank you Kou… Pheww… Somehow having it poured by a cute girl makes it taste so much better!”

“I know, having my own daughter pouring me beer feels like a dream come true…”

“My daughter always says that drinking is bad and so on… I appreciate that she’s looking out for me though.”

The two drank their beer and started talking amongst themselves. Sora almost never drank alcohol, but he was in a festive mood that night.

“I heard you had a rough time too, Kou? At least you’re looking better now.”

Akane sounded concerned about Kou, who was refilling their glasses.

She was definitely not in perfect shape, but she had just changed her pad earlier, so she didn’t have to worry about that, and the medicine she took had eased her pain as well.

“Yes, mom gave me some pills earlier, and after a nap I felt a lot better.”

“Ahh, I know those. I take them too when I have an especially bad month.”

Akane instantly knew what pills those were. They had been a very effective medicine, though Kou still felt a bit of apprehension about them. They were wrapped in old-fashioned apothecary paper, which no commercial product used anymore, and there was no writing on them to identify them either.

Kou could only let out an awkward laugh as she recalled those mysterious pills.

“But my mom is right, you’re looking way better than how I found you this morning. I was really scared when you sent me that text.”

“I know… Sorry for that, and thanks again, Hijiri.”

“Well, you can always think of me as an older sister whenever you need help!”

The overenthusiasm in Hijiri’s voice was a bit too strong for Kou, who had just finished pouring tea and was sitting down at her chair. Kou was still far from fully recovered, but she had improved enough to be able to stand up and carry small things around, and her appetite was returning too.

“…Just don’t get too comfortable yet. Usually the brunt of it comes the second day, and some girls have to endure it for a few days.”

“Eugh…did you just say it gets worse?”

“Yup, so take this. These are the meds I usually take. I’ve also included a note with the right doses and when to take them. Make sure to read it all, okay?”

Saying that, Hijiri gave Kou a small case, almost like a coin purse. Kou was relieved to see that this time the pills inside looked like regular ones she would find at a pharmacy, which only added to the mounting gratitude she felt towards Hijiri.

“Well…let’s forget about the bleak stuff and talk about something happier, shall we?”

When everyone was sitting and starting to eat, Amari began speaking.

“I know you younglings have exams, but have you planned anything for your posterior summer break?”

“Hm?”

It was a rather sudden question, and Kou was still going through her first spoonful of red rice, so she blinked a few times in confusion.

“Not really…but why?”

“Ahh, you want to talk about that, Amari?”

“Yes. Kou’s physical traits limit the places she can visit during summer now, so I think it would be the perfect place for her.”

“..?”

Her parents had apparently discussed something beforehand, but Kou remained confused. Before she could ask any questions, Amari turned around to open her bag and took out an envelope, placing it in front of Kou. Inside, Kou found a pamphlet with a background of a crystalline sea and a blue sky. Urged by her parents, she unfolded it to see what it was.

It advertised one of the isolated islands of the Kanto region. A large structure was being built on it, covering over half of the island’s beach. It was shaped like an enormous dome, housing a beach with white sand within, as well as a hot springs resort, lodging, and other similar establishments. Essentially, it was a pamphlet for an enormous recreational facility where Kou would likely be able to play on the beach without worrying about the sun.

The main selling point was that the dome also turned the whole beach into a large AR theater. Usually, it could be used as a regular beach, but the facility also allowed it to mimic the appearance of any famous beach around the world, or even create more experimental and fantastical scenes for special events. There were also hiking trails to enjoy the island’s scenery, private baths for families, and various hot springs and spas.

“What’s…this?”

“This is a recreational facility we helped create as NTEC, mostly working on the management systems and augmented reality equipment. It’ll be open to the public this August, but they’re giving out limited early access tickets to some people, and we got some.”

Saying that, Amari produced another, smaller envelope, which contained tickets for a stay of four days and three nights.

That early opening was mostly meant to be a test run of sorts before they received the public at large, so the tickets were mostly given to people with ties to the company, and a small number were sold to the public. Regardless of the price, there was incredible demand for them, and the tickets sold out almost instantly. But Amari had four tickets, each of which could be used by three people, making a total of twelve.

“Almost everyone we know received tickets as well. All five of you here, excluding me, will be using these tickets, and you can choose who to invite to fill the remaining spots.”

“…Are you okay with that?”

“Yes. I won’t be going as a guest but as a host, that will come with having to attend some rather annoying meetings, but never mind that. Just invite all the friends you’d like to take there.”

“Th-thank you, mom!”

Kou thanked Amari with a wide smile and quickly began thinking of who to invite. First, Amari would be there due to her job, so Kou did not have to think about her. The rest of the Mitsuki and Furuya families would likely go, as they were all looking at the pamphlet with excitement.

The father of the Furuya family was also a host like Amari, being in charge of managing the systems running the place, so he also did not need a ticket. That meant five spots were taken up by Kou, Sora, Hijiri, Subaru, and Akane.

The next people Kou thought of were the other members of her guild Lua Cheia, Ryunosuke’s family of three, and Hinagiku—who was still in elementary school and would need to be accompanied by a legal guardian—bringing the number up to ten.

Then there was the class president, who was also part of the guild, and Hisui. If all of them agreed, then they would be twelve in total, if Kou’s count on her fingers was correct.

The excitement over a prospective offline meeting with her guild filled her with excitement, blowing away all the suffering and discomfort her body was going through.

“You’ll just call them annoying meetings then? Amari…are you sure you don’t want to tell her about that? You’re bringing in that tailor in secret too…”

“It’ll be fine, have some faith. If we keep it a surprise then it’ll just be more fun when it happens, wouldn’t you say?”

“…I think that side of yours is what Kou hates the most.”

Her parents seemed to be having a rather alarming conversation, but sadly Kou was so entranced in planning the trip that she did not hear anything.

Soon after, Kou sent messages to everyone through the guild chat, inviting them to the trip, and then the celebratory dinner continued.

Some served red rice with sweet flavors, but in the Mitsuki household, they made their glutinous rice with red beans without any sweetness, and everyone could add as much sesame and salt as they fancied.

The rice had also been cooked in a delicious broth of carrots, burdock, shiitake mushrooms, kombu, and wheat gluten, which had penetrated each grain of rice, making them explode with flavor when bitten.

I always forget just how good mom’s food is.

Amari’s cooking skill when making traditional Japanese dishes was really impressive, almost like she had been practicing it for decades, and was leaps and bounds ahead of Kou’s ability. That frustrated Kou a little. So, taking a deep breath, she looked at Amari who was sitting in front of her.

“Mom… Could you teach me to cook better sometime?”

This was the first time Kou asked her mother something like that, as before she had always relied on online recipes to learn. She also realized that she did not know anything about how her mother cooked, and it took her a bit of courage to ask the question, as it was something she felt she should have done much earlier.

“Hm? Oh…ohh?! Yes, of course, I’ll teach you everything I know when I have time. Is there anything specific you’d like to start with?!”

“Umm…well, I guess I’d like to get better at stews. Also, I’m not really sure how to make soup stock without using concentrated or dried bases.”

Kou’s hesitation to ask was entirely unfounded, as the instant Amari processed the question she was instantly on board, so happy about it she would be wagging her tail if she had one. Seeing that reaction, Kou was glad that she decided to rekindle her relationship with her mother.