Jitsu -A different story-

For a moment, Kurono was surprised by the man named Ryo, not only because he seemed to know him somehow, but also because, although he had his suspicions, Kurono didn't expect to meet Shizune's father like this.

His sharp gaze was still on Kurono while some of the light reflected their slightly green color, he was wearing an outfit quite similar to Kyoko's a bit dull blue. He kept drinking his cup of tea after making that ask, so anyone could guess that he expected Kurono to be the first to speak… Although he was busy with his own thoughts.

'Should I try to break the ice, maybe a joke would be nice…' Kurono was actually seriously thinking about doing it, but in the end, he shook his head as he realized it was a terrible idea.

"I've also heard some things about you Yotsuba-san, and I was quite interested in meeting you." Kurono didn't specify too much, mainly because he wasn't sure if Ryo was already aware of his relationship with Shizune.

"I could say that the feeling is mutual. First of all, I wanted to thank you for giving this fool a chance, I know firsthand the trouble he can cause, hahaha!" That… That was quite a sudden change in mood.

Kurono had little trouble guessing who Shizune's father was referring to with those words, and Akio's somewhat nervous laugh further reinforced the fact that it was him.

"Don't worry, Yotsuba-san. Akio-kun has shown that he can do an excellent job, I suppose you are already aware of the project that is in his hands at the moment." Kurono began to unfold little by little since it seemed that Akio was a good topic of conversation that they both had in common.

"Yes, I had my doubts at first, but I personally took it upon myself to experiment a little with his ideas and the results were better than I expected, although there are still many points to polish." Ryo's attitude changed once again, but unlike before, he now conveyed a calm feeling as he heard Kurono mention Akio's project.

"But the chemical test gave the results I expected, that was the part that worried me the most." Akio joined the conversation since he had a lot to contribute, after all it was his project.

"I don't think you should trust that too much, I already told you that the flavor needs something that really differentiates it from ordinary sake or I don't think it will do you much good." Ryo couldn't help mentioning the ideas that were in his head, he wasn't going to be nice to Akio, he needed to speak honestly to him so that he would realize that the product would not be finished soon.

That itself had made Akio lower his head a bit, it's not like he felt embarrassed or anything like that, rather it was a way of acting in front of Ryo.

Ever since Akio had started high school, he had gone with Ryo looking for a job because in this way he could help his mother and his sister a little. In the end, the years had run their course and Akio continued to help Ryo in the art of artisanal sake, he already had enough experience in it and it was one of the reasons why he had finally decided to take a job that was very close to that aspect.

That was the main reason why he acted like this, since, apart from Kurono, he could never see Ryo in any other way than him being his boss. But besides that, Akio also felt incredibly lucky since it was thanks to that that he was able to meet Rena...

Akio was a bit busy with all those precious memories for him, but he had to come back to reality since Kurono's voice hadn't been long in coming.

"You must not get impatient, Akio-kun. I know this is your first time presenting a project, but I'm sure it's already been explained to you, the product must go through innumerable tests before even thinking of taking it out of the market." Yes, the strange atmosphere from before was completely gone and now a heated conversation could be noticed in the living room. "In addition, we will still need to get the machinery that will be used to create a new production line, the good news is that there is already an area adapted for that purpose, while another important point is that you should show some pretty optimized supply chain."

Akio was paying incredible attention to Kurono's words as he was expressing himself the best he could. Although it may not seem like it, Kurono had an enormous amount of knowledge regarding everything that was carried out in his company, he was the boss that many depended on, so he could not afford to be ignorant about everything.

Ryo was also paying a lot of attention to that, maybe he wasn't the owner of a company or a worker who could understand all those concepts that Kurono used, but even so he wasn't ignorant since he could relate many things to what he normally did in your business.

"It seems that bringing your boss was a good decision, Akio." It was a while before Kurono finished with all the information he had to say, and that had made Ryo respect Kurono a little since he realized that he was quite competent at his job.

"You don't need to say it, Ryo-san. Although I would like Kurosawa-san to first see the experiment we have at the moment and evaluate it a bit." Akio had many things on his mind, and he was still grateful to Kurono for agreeing to his request.

"That can be fixed later... You said Rena and Shizune came with you, where did they go?" Ryo had returned to enjoy his cup of tea, although he was aware that they had been talking for a long time since it was a bit cold, but before he thought of preparing another cup, something else made the calm atmosphere from before disappear completely.

"Grandpa!" And as if repeating a situation that Kurono had seen before, he could now see how Ryo was being overwhelmed by Rena's sudden hug once she appeared in the room and ran towards him.

"Ooh! How strange, I don't remember that I had such a cute granddaughter, is my eyesight failing again? Hahaha!" Ryo didn't have much trouble identifying who had attacked him at that moment, but the smile on his face betrayed the feeling of happiness at seeing Rena, and, like Kyoko, his attention was caught by her belly.

A new cluster of feelings had taken over him, it was true that he intended to joke around with her a little and pamper her as always, but he took some time to appreciate that small happiness that was incredibly special to him...