Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week-Chapter 457 - 455: Capable Homemaker_1

Coloring the comics wasn’t difficult for Aozawa; it was just that the process was incredibly tedious. Even the sound of the brush rubbing against the paper could be heard clearly, and the air was faintly scented with the aroma of ink.

"Aozawa-senpai, the shadows on the trees here need to be painted lighter, not too dark."

"Aozawa-senpai, this is a spotted pattern; be careful with the dots."

"Aozawa-senpai..."

Only the occasional soft and sweet voice that reached his ears could free Aozawa from the tedium and grant him a momentary respite.

He had agreed to Hojo Tetsuji’s request, partly because of their friendship; he was Hojo Tetsuji’s only friend. In terms of male friends, Hojo Tetsuji could also be considered Aozawa’s only friend. Secondly, his decision was related to Hojo Shouko. She was a very sensible and considerate younger sister. However, Aozawa didn’t believe that being sensible should mean enduring more hardships. On the contrary, a sensible girl deserved to suffer less. These two reasons combined made Aozawa abandon the idea of going out and instead choose to sit here, painstakingly performing this tedious task, which had nothing to do with Superpower Users.

DING-A-LING-LING.

The phone’s alarm rang. Hojo Shouko checked the time; it was already eleven o’clock.

Time really flies, she thought, glancing at the few remaining comic manuscripts on the table. Her calm cheeks couldn’t help but show admiration as she said, "Aozawa-senpai, you’re so amazing, like an unfeeling coloring machine. Normally, when my brother and I do the coloring, it would take us until at least four or five in the afternoon to finish these."

"For me, this is a piece of cake," Aozawa said with a slightly proud smile. "You go prepare lunch; leave the rest to me."

"Yes, thank you for your trouble."

Hojo Shouko bowed, and as she did, her already well-developed figure seemed to become even more pronounced.

Aozawa had to look away. Staring at my friend’s sister like that... when I think about it, it’s rather exciting...

But that didn’t mean he could actually keep staring. If I’m discovered, how embarrassing would that be? I’d be socially dead on the spot. I’d never be able to face the siblings again in this lifetime.

Hojo Shouko stood up and headed to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

「...」

Entering the clean kitchen, Hojo Shouko donned a light blue apron. Thinking about the ingredients she had bought the day before, she decided to make her specialty, tempura.

She began to prepare the shrimp by removing their heads and shells, leaving the tails, and deveining them. Then, she cut off two centimeters from the tail tips, squeezing out any moisture to prevent splattering during frying. Next, she made a few even cuts on one side of the shrimp’s belly. Pressing gently with her slender, pale fingers on the shrimp’s back, she cut through the tendons to prevent it from curling up when fully cooked. Then she cut the lotus root, eggplant, and sweet potato into pieces. After that, she mixed the batter. Finally, she dipped the shrimp and chopped vegetables into the batter and carefully lifted them into the hot oil to fry.

As she fried the tempura, Hojo Shouko also managed to boil some clear broth soba noodles, adding a bit of chopped green onion. When the tempura was done, the soba noodles were also ready and neatly arranged in a large bowl. She lined up the crispy tempura pieces along the edge of the soba bowl and called out, "Aozawa-senpai, lunch is ready!"

Hojo Shouko then carried the two steaming bowls of soba noodles over.

"Hmm," Aozawa casually responded while filling in the last bit of color on the hair. He put down his brush, stretched, and commented, "Smells amazing!"

"Thank you for your help today."

Hojo Shouko placed the soba noodles in front of Aozawa and then went back to bring the plate of tempura.

Aozawa picked up a piece and took a bite.

A light crunch sounded as he bit into it. The tempura was crispy and fragrant, with the shrimp inside being exceptionally tender. "It’s been a while since I tasted your cooking, Shouko. It feels like you’ve improved quite a bit."

"Really? I’m so glad you like it, Aozawa-senpai," Hojo Shouko breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "In that case, you can forgive me now, right?"

Aozawa blinked, then remembered what she was referring to, and laughed. "Ah, I forgive you. Shouko, you always have trouble telling when I’m joking and when I’m serious."

"You mean, you forgiving me was a joke?" Hojo Shouko’s face showed a hint of shock.

Aozawa chuckled, then thought seriously for a moment and said, "You could say that. I was never angry with you, so how could there be anything to forgive?"

"Is that so?" Hojo Shouko’s anxiety settled, and she lowered her head to eat her soba noodles.

She ate quietly, without making a sound, unlike Aozawa, who enjoyed slurping his noodles loudly.

After she had only taken a few bites, Hojo Shouko, not hearing Aozawa’s usual slurping, felt something was off. Looking up, she saw that he was staring at her.

Blinking, her fair cheeks showed a touch of confusion as she asked, "Aozawa-senpai, is there something on my face?"

"No, it’s just that the way you eat, you have the air of a well-bred young lady from a sheltered upbringing."

Aozawa shook his head. When he dined with Phoenix Academy Maggie, they would always chat during their meals, but Hojo Shouko seemed like a truly quiet young lady, absorbed in her food with no intention of talking.

This behavior made Aozawa, who was used to chatting at the dinner table, feel a bit awkward. He picked up a piece of tempura and asked, "What are you planning to do this afternoon?"

"This afternoon? Originally, I planned to color the comic manuscripts, but now that they’re finished, I suppose I’ll go grocery shopping."

Hojo Shouko revised her plans for the afternoon. She had bought shrimp and vegetables the day before, planning not to go out today so she could stay home and color the comics.

Now, having prepared a nice meal for Aozawa, it meant there wouldn’t be enough food left for her older brother’s dinner, so she needed to go out to buy food for tonight and tomorrow morning.

"And after that?"

"Play the guzheng, study."

Hojo Shouko spoke her mind truthfully. She wasn’t too interested in short videos, preferring to play the guzheng. She had always been a quiet and reserved person.

Just hearing this schedule made Aozawa Hikaru feel bored, but upon reflection, he found nothing wrong with it. Playing the guzheng at home versus lying on the sofa scrolling through TikTok or short videos—there wasn’t much difference, really. If anything, the former had a touch more class than the latter. But he believed that trying new things occasionally was beneficial for people.

"I’m free this afternoon, so I’ll take you out. A young lady in the bloom of youth shouldn’t stay cooped up at home all summer."

Hojo Shouko instinctively wanted to refuse, her lips slightly parting before closing again.

Aozawa-senpai helped me so much; spending the afternoon out with him is no big deal.

"Alright, then."

She nodded in agreement and decided to go back to her room to change.

The spaghetti strap dress she had casually put on that morning wasn’t appropriate for going out with Aozawa-senpai; it felt like a breach of social etiquette. She needed to choose her outfit carefully.

「...」

That careful selection took half an hour.

Hojo Shouko returned to the living room downstairs, her expression slightly flushed as she said, "I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long, Aozawa-senpai. I kept saying I’d be quick, but I still took all this time."

"No worries. I understand there’s a big difference between how girls are at home versus when they’re getting ready to go out."

Aozawa smiled in response, glancing at Hojo Shouko’s current outfit: another spaghetti strap dress. If asked what was different from the one she wore before, one could only say the pattern. This white dress was adorned with small orange flowers. The neckline was also a bit lower, exposing a swathe of fair skin, like the snow-capped peaks of Kunlun Mountain.

Shouko, you really aren’t good at dressing up, Aozawa thought to himself with an internal chuckle.

"Yes," Hojo Shouko murmured, her voice almost a whisper. After all that deliberation, she still ended up picking a dress. If I had known, I might as well have just worn the dress from this morning. But then again, this one does look better than that one.

A faint sense of annoyance flashed through Hojo Shouko’s mind as she took her purse and said, "Aozawa-senpai, where shall we go?"

"Let’s go to Kita-Senju."

Aozawa had originally wanted to go to Shinjuku. However, he reconsidered; it was already afternoon, and the round trip by train to Shinjuku might take longer than the time they would actually spend there. This was because Hojo Shouko had to return home early to prepare dinner. He also needed to buy groceries in advance. He hadn’t shopped for groceries yesterday, which meant Chitose had to skimp on a meal. He knew full well that the consequences of not buying groceries again today would be severe.

"Okay."

Hojo Shouko nodded, having no objections to the destination. She left the house with him and headed to the commercial street of Kita-Senju.

Contrary to Hojo Shouko’s expectations, though the sun beat down hotly on the street, it was bustling with quite a few people, making it very lively.

"Let’s just stroll around."

"Mm-hm."

Unlike Phoenix Academy Maggie or Ayatsuki Ayaka, as Hojo Shouko strolled, she naturally gravitated towards home goods stores. Shouko, being skilled at homemaking, liked inexpensive goods and enjoyed bargaining. She wouldn’t even enter expensive places where prices were fixed and non-negotiable.

Aozawa walked beside her, unbothered. His main reason for inviting Shouko out was to get her to be active outside, rather than spending all of summer vacation at home playing the guzheng and studying; that was too dull.

Ah, as he thought about this, Aozawa suddenly understood why some parents were always keen on telling their kids to go out and walk around. Perhaps in those parents’ minds, aimlessly wandering outside is better than being cooped up at home.

As Aozawa mulled this over, he noticed Hojo Shouko browsing in a sports store and asked in surprise, "Shouko, aren’t you in the Guzheng Club?"

"Aozawa-senpai, when you won the Jade Dragon Flag championship the other day, I didn’t give you any gift. Today is a good opportunity to buy you a high-quality bamboo sword as a celebration."

"You don’t need to go to such expense; I have a bamboo sword."

"But you’ve been using that bamboo sword for a long time, Senpai. You should get a new one."

Hojo Shouko insisted. She was frugal when choosing things for herself, but when it came to gifts for others, she would never skimp, always picking the best she could afford.

Unable to refuse, Aozawa bought the bamboo sword, then followed Hojo Shouko into the Kita-Senju vegetable market.

Is this really a place for a guy and a girl to be hanging out? Aozawa wondered, then watched Hojo Shouko energetically haggling with the vendors.

Not dwelling on it, he stepped forward and said, "Shouko, I need to buy vegetables for tonight and tomorrow morning as well."

"Are you responsible for buying groceries, Aozawa-senpai?" Hojo Shouko’s eyes lit up, and she eagerly proposed, "Then let’s set a time to shop together every day! I can help with the bargaining."

"Okay."

Aozawa nodded in agreement.