Ch.50Childcare (3)

The ingredients commonly used in my house were here too.

I casually took out some lard and poured the oil.

“Hey! You should feed kids good stuff!!”

Eri immediately objected.

“What’s wrong with pork fat? As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters. You enjoyed mine back then too, didn’t you?”

I pointed that out right away.

“T-that was…”

Eri’s face immediately turned red.

“Eri. Your tongue is getting long. Want to have another cooking competition?”

I said with a smile.

Making bets during trash talk time is the way of a hero. This is the mountain hero…!!!

“Really!! Shota!! So cocky!! You lost to me last time!”

Eri shouted.

“You won by biased judgment and that made you feel good?”

I said with a smirk.

My mom already considered Eri as a future daughter-in-law. She was extremely nice to Eri because a girl had appeared who wanted to take her son away.

That’s why she had become such an arrogant little kid.

“Whatever!! Honestly, I don’t want to lose to Shota in cooking?! This is a matter of dignity as Shota’s future wife!”

Eri immediately fell for the provocation.

“Bring it on.”

I replied immediately.

The children were watching television while waiting for the food to be ready.

They had planned the perfect viewing schedule: watching reruns of girls’ anime from 5 to 6 PM, then immediately switching channels during commercial breaks to watch other children’s shows.

Nostalgic… When I was young, the commercial breaks between shows were really long. Watching the same commercial over and over for an hour would drive you crazy. Why show insurance ads on kids’ channels? Toy commercials were at least watchable.

Anyway, switching channels during commercials was the unwritten rule. I did it too.

And after dinner, they said we’d watch a drama that Konoha liked. It was a famous drama called “Love is a Hurricane.”

Anyway, the children were quiet while watching TV. Eri and I could focus on cooking in the kitchen.

Well, we did have some skinship while cooking, like patting Eri’s bottom or kissing her.

And then dinner was ready.

——–

“First, my dish.”

I immediately brought out my cooking.

It was my secret weapon, Heavenly Paradise Chinese fried rice.

And the side dish was juicy grilled neobiani. If you know how to grill meat, the seasoning does all the work. It looked impressive but was actually a frontrunner among simple meat dishes.

The children looked bewildered when they saw my menu.

“Vegetables, there are no vegetables!!!”

“I-is this allowed?!!”

“D-did you hide bell peppers in the fried rice?!”

There were no vegetables. That fact threw the children into collective hysteria.

“Vegetables? Those aren’t needed for this dinner.”

I immediately declared the exclusion of vegetables.

“Our sister! Always emphasizes eating vegetables!!”

“We’ve been oppressed using vegetables as an excuse!!!”

“She said if we don’t eat vegetables, she’ll inject them with a syringe!!!”

The children’s eyes were spinning at the sight of this kid-friendly meal without a single vegetable.

“Today… the Nishikawa household has been liberated from vegetables.”

I solemnly declared.

“Hey! What are you declaring on your own!! They need to eat a balanced diet!!”

Eri immediately pointed that out.

However, the three sisters with their spinning eyes couldn’t hear those words.

“Kyeeeek!! No vegetables!! Is this allowed?!! Is this really allowed?!!!”

“This is truly an inhuman deviation!!!!!!”

“Mom!! Dad!!! Sorry!!!!! But it’s so delicious!!!!”

The children immediately dug in and started eating my food.

By the way, these kids… they seem to be talking more and more like me. They say children are quickly influenced, and that seemed to be true.

“Really… if they develop bad habits, it’s your responsibility, Shota.”

Eri grumbled.

“Yes. I’ll take responsibility for life.”

I said, holding Eri’s hand tightly.

“Oh my…”

With that, Eri’s mood immediately improved. She kept kissing me with a blushed face.

———-

Children’s appetites were truly amazing. Before long, the Heavenly Paradise fried rice and the Life-or-Death neobiani had disappeared without a trace.

“Now, children. You should also eat this salad and rolled eggs, right?”

Eri immediately offered her own dishes.

“So ordinary!! Don’t want it!!”

“Meat!! We want meat!!!”

“Shota brother!! Live with us forever!!”

But public opinion had already shifted to my side.

“Hmph.”

I gave Eri a smile mixed with superiority.

“Arrrgh!! So annoying!! That’s cheating!!”

Eri hit me repeatedly.

——–

Anyway, the meal ended harmoniously.

“Meat brother.”

“Not brother. Let’s call him the Meat God.”

“The hero who liberated us from the tyranny of the Vegetable King…”

The children were following me around, singing my praises.

“Really… isn’t it a bit unfair to win them over with things they like?”

Eri grumbled.

“Eliminate this heretic.”

I pointed at Eri with my finger.

“The heretic must be punished!!!”

“Receive the judgment of God!!”

“As for faith…”

The children rushed over and immediately tickled Eri.

“W-wait… kyahahaha! I’m sorry!!! Uwahaha!!”

Eri immediately surrendered.

You see, Eri? This is what ‘power’ is.

By the way, don’t these kids have really good vocabulary? I thought they might be called gifted when they go to school.

And then the evening drama began. Only Konoha, the fourth child, seemed interested in the drama. Hana and Mizu were nestled in my arms, being playful.

“Boss… I’m pregnant.”

“Is it… definitely my child?!”

“Yes… we need to do tests for details… but the timing matches.”

“Does your husband… know about this?”

“Well…”

Some deep, dark content unsuitable for children was flowing out.

“Is it okay for them to watch this?”

I asked Eri.

“It’s popular at kindergarten, apparently?”

Eri said nonchalantly while folding laundry.

“Kids these days are so precocious…”

I was gripped by inhuman terror.

——–

After that, the final stage of childcare arrived. We had to make them brush their teeth, give them a proper bath, and put them to bed. Once the children were asleep, day one of childcare hell would be over.

“Okay. Come in one by one. I’ll wash you.”

Eri and I were already in the bathroom, calling the children in one by one.

Both Eri and I were naked, but there was nothing embarrassing about it. We had done even more embarrassing things.

Konoha muttered “adult relationship…” when she saw us, but I deliberately ignored it. She’s really too precocious.

After washing all the children, it was finally our turn to wash.

“Then Shota. Let’s wash each other.”

Eri smiled, holding a bath towel.

“Sure.”

No reason not to.

Eri and I began to carefully wash each other’s bodies in the bathroom.

Then our eyes met, and after a round of lovemaking, we came out.

Soon after, we herded the children into the bedroom, and I focused on putting the babies to sleep. When I sang a lullaby slowly, the children fell asleep on their own.

“Come on, Shota. Let’s go to my room.”

After confirming the children were asleep, Eri pulled me along.

“Um… don’t you have a guest room?”

I asked Eri.

“I want to sleep with Shota. Is that not okay?”

Eri looked up at me with those eyes. Really, those eyes… they’re like a cheat key.

I was eventually dragged to the bedroom by Eri.

After that, Eri and I enjoyed sweet time together without worrying about the children.

———-

The next day, Eri proactively set up an appointment with her brother, Shotaro.

We agreed to meet at noon at a large café there.

The plan was to let the children play in a nearby park in the morning, then have something to eat with them at the café before I had a one-on-one meeting with Shotaro.

After all, to keep children quiet, you need to put something in their mouths. Eri agreed to take care of the children during the meeting. She was truly amazing at supporting me.

———

After playing with the children in the park, I took them to the café.

“You need to be quiet in the café.”

I told the children.

“Okay!!!!!”

Their answer was already loud.

“Will it be okay, Shota? My siblings… they’re quite boisterous.”

Eri seemed worried about that. Well, if the children cause a scene in the café, we’d be the ones embarrassed.

“Just order some shaved ice or something for them to eat. They’re quiet when they’re eating.”

It would take about 15 to 20 minutes for the children to finish their shaved ice. I needed to have my meeting with Shotaro within that time. I believe in the tanking power of shaved ice!!

After finding suitable seats, I sat the children down.

“Here.”

Eri brought three cups of coffee from the counter and the café’s specialty, tower shaved ice. It was literally shaved ice piled high like a tower. The children’s eyes immediately sparkled at the visual that inspired a challenge. Yes, they can’t resist this.

The children immediately focused on eating the shaved ice. As expected, they were quiet while concentrating on something.

At that moment, Shotaro arrived.

“Ah. Sorry, traffic was bad.”

A muscular man with the same tanned skin as Eri appeared. But his T-shirt had an anime pretty girl character printed on it. Due to his overwhelming muscles, the character’s face was strangely distorted, like Marik summoning the three gods.

‘P…please kill me…’

The anime character seemed to be saying that.

“So you’re Shota. I’ve heard about you from Eri. And… I’ve read your work. ‘Isekai Parrying Master.’ Is this your first work?”

Shotaro immediately took out a tablet and opened my work page.

Are we getting straight to business? Fine by me. I like straightforward people who get to the point.

Vaguely flattering people to butter them up isn’t helpful anyway.

“Yes. It’s my first work.”

“But it’s surprisingly solid. Ah, not in a bad way… I mean there are no rough edges. Really solid. It’s not easy to write like this.”

Shotaro stared at me.

Well… he might have noticed something a bit off. The content was from a 25-year-old web novel writer with 3 years of experience, so naturally it lacked freshness.

Could this be a problem?

“The metrics are good too. High ranking and decent retention rate. You’re good at dividing the work into episodes rather than volumes. And you’ve nicely sprinkled in otaku elements that nerds would like. Until completion… about 400 episodes?”

“Yes. If these metrics are maintained, that length would be appropriate.”

I was surprised by Shotaro’s unexpected insight. Did he immediately see the 400-episode completion angle?

“Honestly, I don’t see any problems. You’re experienced. You might not hit home runs, but you consistently hit singles like a good batter.”

After saying that, Shotaro looked straight at me.

“Based on the metrics, this work qualifies for an exclusive contract upgrade… but I’d like to make one more proposal. Since you’ll probably write a next work anyway.”

“A proposal…”

“How about making an exclusive contract with our platform for your next work too? Becoming an exclusive writer for our platform.”

Shotaro said with a smile.

“What benefit would I get from that?”

If it’s just a slave contract, I’m running away. I was determined about that.

“Your work’s banner will be displayed more frequently. And I’ll try to put it at the top of the platform as often as possible. I can also give you preferential treatment on the recommended list. I’ll use my authority as a PD. It’s a bit of a workaround, but you seem like you’ll earn money steadily. Our platform is a subscription-based platform, so the entry barrier is low. That’s why there are many seasonal works. We needed a stable leadoff hitter. This is an investment for that.”

Shotaro immediately tried to make a deal.

It was a proposal to look after me in exchange for dedicating myself to this platform.

“If it gets adapted into a manga, I can prioritize promoting that too. Of course, the metrics would need to improve further.”

Shotaro stared at me.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for a rookie writer. We’re trying to snatch you up first because we see potential in you. What do you think?”

Shotaro made an incredibly attractive offer to me.

“Thank you. I’ll work hard.”

There was no downside for me. I had no intention of moving to another platform anyway.

“Hmph. Good. Here’s my contact information. Call me if you have any concerns.”

Then, Shotaro took out a business card from his pants.

“Ooh… an adult.”

Just having a business card made him seem like an adult. It had Shotaro’s phone number on it.

And so, I ended up committing to this platform. It wasn’t official since we didn’t sign a contract, but the important thing was that I had made a connection with a PD.

Thus, the opportunity Eri created for me was effectively utilized.

———

Right after the meeting ended, the children immediately started making a commotion.

“Brother!! Is the talk over?!!”

“Let’s play!!”

“The café is boring!!”

The children who had finished their shaved ice started going wild again.

‘The shaved ice…!’

The tower-like shaved ice had completely disappeared, unable to withstand the children’s onslaught.

Shaved ice… I won’t forget your sacrifice. I wiped away a tear as I looked at the empty dish.