Hokuou Kizoku to Moukinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi

A Sudden Visitor — Middle Part
Final Volume — [Story of the People who Live with Nature]

The next day, when I went to the living room after dressing up, the whole family was gathered there.
Everyone’s such an early bird.

“Good morning.”
“Morning.”

While having Arno on his lap, grandfather returned his greeting to me.
It appears that he’s been fully prepared with his sleeves rolled up, looking forward to feeing Arno breakfast.
Sieg brought baby food from the kitchen.
The menu is a mixture of soft porridge cooked with vegetables and grains, boiled potatoes with cheese, and bean soup.
In addition, the soup isn’t spiced and the ingredients are crushed. The dish will have plenty of the ingredients’ flavour.
Arno’s food is always handmade by Sieg. I can feel that the baby food making skills are getting better and better day by day.

It appears that grandfather studied how to feed baby food. When that was brought up, father made a dissatisfied expression. When I asked what happened, an unbelievable event was recounted.

“Father is cruel. He told me to help him with practicing feeding baby food. It’s not as though it would help.”
“It’s because you are more troublesome than newborn babies.”

In the end, it seems father ran away at full speed and even stayed outside the home for about a week because he was scared going back home.

“He really is useless.”
“It’s impossible, father……”

The baby food should be cooled soon. Arno was trying to reach out for the spoon.

“Oh, are you hungry? Don’t worry, this gramps will feed you.”

“Dau!” replied Arno, energetically lifting up his hand. Grandfather put a bib on Arno with a smile.
First, he sat Arno down on a chair with a table.
Then the breakfast was set down on the table.
First, an adult tried it to see that it’s not hot.

“……Looks alright.”

He placed a bit of the food on the spoon. Then, Arno opened his mouth. He gently moved the spoon.
Having been fed, Arno chewed and gulped.

“Sty!”
“Nn?”
“Grandfather, he says it’s tasty.”
“I-I see. Then that’s great.”

Grandfather patiently fed Arno. While cleaning the utensils, Sieg thanked him.

“Grandfather-in-law, thank you very much.”
“Don’t mention it.”

While having beads of sweat forming on his brows, grandfather looked satisfied. Seeing that, father made a request.

“Haru-kun, can I feed him at lunch——“
“You can’t!”
“Eh~”
“You need to take care of the cat you picked up!”
“The cat eh……”

Last night, it seems like he spend the night with the lynx (ilves), but it didn’t go off to sleep well, mewing in search of its mother.
To those cries, approximately one person was influenced.

“Nyan-nya!”

After hearing about the lynx, Arno gained a pa.s.sion about nyannyan.
However, unfortunately, he’s not allowed to touch large cats.
Even as he had breakfast, Arno kept imitating cat sounds.

Because it felt like his pa.s.sion for cats was left unanswered, I decided to go out a bit.
I was heading for Emmerich and Aina’s house.
Emmerich was chopping wood in the front yard, so I talked to him.

“Emmerich, morning.”
“Morning, Ritzhard-kun. Arno-kun, you too.”

At Emmerich’s feet, there was a pile of split wood.
Even with that amount, he still looked refreshed and did not tired at all.
That’s a former soldier for you.

“What’s wrong?”
“That is——“

Since Aina just came out of the house, I decided to request something.

“My, what do you need?”
“Well, I’d like you to show him Rossa.”

I told the couple that Arno was interested in cats.
I told them that it’s fine if he’s not allowed to not touch, so I asked him he could just observe.

“If it’s Rossa, she’s sunbathing by the window. How about watching there?”
“Then, I’ll let him see her from outside the window.”

Aina’s cat, Rossa is usually a quiet cat, but it’s quite capricious, that when Emmerich tries to hug her she sometimes gives him sharp kitty punches.
So Emmerich told us that it might be dangerous to come into direct contact.

“Nyanya.”
“Yes, let’s go see nyannyan.”

We went around to the back of the house and looked into the windows. There, we saw Rossa sunbathing.
Arno, it’s cat-san, when I introduced her, he smiled sweetly.
However, Rossa had her back to the window. I tried calling her name, but she did not react.
What a cold cat-sama. However, I read about cat’s habits in a book.
I picked some shepherd’s purse growing on the ground and gently tapped the window.
Then, Rossa turned over.
The moment she looked over here, I quickly shook the gra.s.s. Rossa looked left and right, and started chasing after the gra.s.s with her eyes. It seems like that it’s the cat’s hunting instinct.
Arno looked happy to see Rossa.

“Nyan nyan!”
“It’s cat-san~ isn’t she cute~”

Arno had his hand on the window and traced his fingers on it.
Tired of chasing after the gra.s.s, Rossa yawned.

“Cat-san, I wonder what she’s going to next~”
“Ka nya~”

Having the service spirit (?) Rossa placed her paw on the window.
Seeing the paw service, Arno chortled and clapped happily.

I thought he would be satisfied from that, but he had his hands outstretched towards Rossa  and diligently squirmed his fingers. ……Could it be that he wants to touch her?

“Arno, don’t touch Rossa. You’ll get a kitty punch.”
“Au~”

I slowly backed away with him, but his sight was set on Rossa.
Indeed, cats are lovely, but they are fickle so touching’s not allowed.
I told my son about the sad state of affairs regarding the cat industry.

“Arno, sorry!”
“Nyan nya~~!”

I left Mansion Emmerich • Aina and started walking back home.
Because the cat disappeared, Arno started sulking.

……Troubling. To think that Arno would be this interested in cats.

In the end, he started sobbing.

“Sorry, I’m really sorry!”

It will soon be time to open the sotre.
While thinking that I should leave Arno to Sieg, I hurriedly returned to my home.

When I opened the door and looked into the entrance, there was a figure of a white creature.
Seeing that, Arno stopped crying and gleamed his eye.

“Nyan nyan!!”
“……Nyan nyan?”

The ent.i.ty that turned around after realising our presence was not a white cat, but Teoporon who was wearing white bear fur.

“Nyan nya~n!”
“?”

After seeing Arno, Teoporon tilted his head.

“A-Arno, that’s not nyan nyan, but gau gau? ……Maybe not.”

It’s a kind bear-san, I told him. ……Well, it’s Teoporon.

Arno was fixated on the bear — Teoporon. Now, he looked as though he would die if he can’t touch.

“Erm, Teoporon, can you let him touch the fur a bit?”

With the hand not holding Arno, I conveyed my intention through gestures.
Teoporon nodded and turned around, showing his back to us.

“Teoporon, thank you! Arno, you can touch.”

When we got close to his back, Arno started fondling the soft bear fur.

“Nyan~~”
“This is, bear-san.”
“Air-san.”
“So close!”

Maybe because he felt the bear fur plenty enough, he started nodding off.
When I rocked him a bit after thanking Teoporon, he soon went off to sleep.

What a relief.

To think that the lynx that father brought would develop into this incident.
After returning home, when I talked about bear fur and Teoporon to grandfather, he was very disappointed, saying that he should have brought the bear fur. It seems like he didn’t bring the bear fur coat that we gave him some time ago.

Afterwards, whenever Arno saw Teoporon, he said, “Bear!”

Noticing grandfather’s intense gaze, he lent his white bear fur.
Grandfather, wearing white bear fur, looked very happy.

Having become half-naked because he lent the fur, Teoporon watched grandfather and Arno warmly.