The three of them took a taxi to Minamoto Naoaki's old family home, which had been vacant since his grandfather and father passed away. Now someone was finally going back to check on it, giving it a bit of life by tidying up and staying for a while.

In Fushimi Roku's imagination, Minamoto Tamako's old home should have been in the city center, quiet amidst the chaos, like those of wealthy young ladies, with small houses and gardens in the expensive city center.

However, the Minamoto family home was in the suburbs, its only redeeming feature being its proximity to the sea, though it couldn't be considered a sea-view property as the scenery was average. The yard and windows faced the docks, filled with fish markets and dockworkers, and the sea breeze carried a strong fishy smell.

Fushimi Roku got out of the car with his luggage, stood at the old home's entrance, and looked around to find that the entire area was abandoned. The small courtyard was overgrown with ivy, the stone steps and wooden fences were covered in moss, and a few tiles on the roof were broken.

"Oh, Mrs. Kubo and Uncle Komura have moved away."

Minamoto Tamako looked towards the house next door, noticing the street looked somewhat desolate, and the surrounding homes seemed vacant, with 'For Rent' and 'For Sale' signs hanging at the doors.

It was clear that this seaside town wasn't bustling.

"Let's go inside first," Fushimi Roku said with a sense of foreboding, "I don't think it's habitable inside."

"How could it be!" Minamoto Tamako muttered, unbolting the wooden gate and passing through the overgrown courtyard to the front door, where she fished out a key from her pocket.

The lock was a bit rusty, and she twisted it forcibly, causing it to grind and squeak loudly.

"Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough!"

As the door opened, a cloud of thick dust hit her face. Minamoto Tamako waved her small hands to dispel it, and when the dust settled, she peeked inside to see a hole in the wall, startled mice scurrying away, and dust on the furniture as thick as a fingernail.

Indeed, it seemed uninhabitable.

"Let's go, book a hotel," Fushimi Roku turned to leave.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Minamoto Tamako hurriedly grabbed him and said, "At least tidy up a bit. I have a lot of childhood things still stored here... Once we clean up, it's still livable."

She paused, folded her hands together, and earnestly pleaded, "I want to stay here with Mr. Deer for a few days."

Fushimi Roku, meeting her innocent big eyes, was silent for a moment but softened, feeling his resistance weakening: "Alright, but it certainly won't be done in a day. Let's book a hotel first and leave the luggage there."

"Yay!" Minamoto Tamako was delighted.

The three of them left the old home and rented a guesthouse near the docks.

Taira Sakurako initially wanted to rest at the guesthouse, but Minamoto Tamako wasn't comfortable leaving her alone. Ever since the kidnapping incident, Tamako's need to monitor Sakurako had grown excessively strong, insisting on bringing her everywhere or having someone look after her, never letting Sakurako be alone.

The three of them returned, and Minamoto Tamako retrieved tools from the shed in the old home's courtyard.

Minamoto Naoaki used to repair the house himself, so there was a complete range of tools and materials. Now, the repair duty fell on Fushimi Roku, who surveyed the house and identified the areas needing repair: a few broken tiles on the roof, a hole in the wall, blocked pipes... The wooden fence and door lock would have to wait.

Fushimi Roku rolled up his sleeves, propped a ladder against the eaves, and asked Taira Sakurako for a hand, helping him steady it. He climbed up, replaced the broken tiles, and used nails and wood to mend the eaves.

After finishing, he looked down to see Taira Sakurako sitting by the ladder playing games, while Minamoto Tamako wore yellow latex gloves, focused on pulling weeds in the courtyard.

Yes, it looked like a scene of tranquil times.

But Fushimi Roku wasn't happy. He slid down the ladder and accused, "I told you to hold the ladder, and here you are playing Little Tyrant?"

"You jumped off a train and didn't die; this height is nothing, no need to hold," Taira Sakurako said without lifting her head, engrossed in playing Tetris.

She had a point.

Fushimi Roku didn't bother with it further and continued to repair the wall.

He smoked out the mice and cockroaches inside, cleaned the cavity, so there wouldn't be any strange noises echoing at night, which might make someone think there were ghosts knocking inside.

Once done, he squatted by the wall, holding nails in his mouth, and patched the hole with a wooden board. His work was rough, as he didn't have much experience, so the mending wasn't pretty, but it would suffice for now. They could hire a professional renovation team for a makeover another time.

Minamoto Tamako finished pulling the weeds in the courtyard and started tackling the ivy on the walls.

Taira Sakurako surprisingly went to help, claiming she was worried the ivy might strangle Tamako, and stood with scissors in hand, ready to rush in and cut down the killer ivy at any moment.

The three busied themselves, working until sunset, by which time the old home was mostly repaired.

Fushimi Roku patched up the wall, repaired the roof, cleared the pipes, and lubricated the door lock; Minamoto Tamako pulled weeds, removed ivy, and cleaned the dust inside the house.

The old home wasn't completely transformed, but it was borderline habitable.

There was no electricity in the house for the night; they would need to pay the electricity bill in the town district the next day. Without lighting, further cleaning wasn't feasible.

Minamoto Tamako removed her gloves, opened the window, slid open the door, and sat on the tatami at the entrance.

The autumn breeze blew in, cooling the room. The fishmongers had packed up, the air turned fresh, carrying the scent of fallen leaves.

Her hair swayed as she watched the setting sun disappear bit by bit beyond the horizon.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.