Chapter 5

Miyazaki's home is located in the southeast of Musashino.

Musashino is a suburban area that serves as a supply base for agricultural products and a residential area near the Tokyo metropolitan area, situated to the west of Tokyo. Heading further west from Musashino, one could say they are entering the countryside.

Due to its suburban location, this area does not have the feel of a large city.

However, Miyazaki's home is in a good location. To the southeast is Setagaya Ward, to the east is Suginami Ward, and to the northwest is Nerima Ward. To the east of Suginami Ward are the famous Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Unlike Setagaya, which is a wealthy residential area, Musashino does not have many high-rise buildings. It is mostly ordinary residential houses, and Miyazaki's home is a typical Japanese single-story house.

"Today we had a PE class, and I broke a sweat. I'll go take a shower first, so please handle the groceries, Onii-chan." As she got off the subway and approached the house, Yuzune gave these instructions.

"Okay, got it." Miyazaki handed his school bag to Yuzune and headed to the nearby supermarket. Although convenience stores can also be used to buy groceries, they are generally more expensive than supermarkets.

Not far from Miyazaki's home is a shopping street, which makes it convenient to buy groceries.

Since their parents went missing, the younger sister has been in charge of cooking at home, and Miyazaki sometimes helps by buying groceries, as he is doing now.

Unlike Setagaya, which is full of wide roads, the streets in Musashino are not very wide. Some small roads can only accommodate one car, but it must be said that the streets here are very clean, and the narrow streets give a warm and cozy feeling.

Miyazaki's home is not far from Kichijoji in Musashino, where there are several shopping streets. The shopping street featured in the anime "Fate/UBW" is located there.

However, Miyazaki is not going to such a prestigious place. There is a small commercial street nearby called "Deyama Shopping Street."

Miyazaki walked through a tree-lined corridor. This corridor is quite long, and although there are houses on both sides, being in the corridor gives a sense of being in a forest. It must be said that the Japanese are very good at paying attention to such details. Although it is an urban area, there are such magical places.

To the north of the tree-lined corridor is the Tokyo Metropolitan Waterworks Agency's Kita Water Purification Plant, which is not far from the shopping street.

In the "forest," Miyazaki occasionally saw a few stray cats.

Japan is a strange country. Here, dogs must wear collars and be led by someone to go out, but there are few restrictions on cats. Therefore, there are not many stray dogs, but stray cats are often seen.

The tree-lined corridor is very quiet, giving a comfortable feeling. However, it is not the time to enjoy it. After passing through the tree-lined corridor, Miyazaki arrived at Deyama Shopping Street.

This is a relatively remote shopping street.

Although it is called a street, it has a canopy overhead, and the ground is tiled. The street is not wide and looks somewhat crowded at first glance.

Entering the shopping street, on Miyazaki's right is a KFC fried chicken store. There are no seats, just a window selling fried chicken and burgers. Just like KFC in China has a China-specific menu, KFC in Japan also has its own strategy.

There are not many people in the shopping street now, and Miyazaki went straight to Asahi Fresh Meat Store.

Although it is called a "fresh meat store," this shop sells not only meat but also vegetables and fruits, and even ready-to-eat meals.

After selecting the ingredients, Miyazaki also picked up a bunch of bananas.

Don't misunderstand; buying bananas is not because of some strange reason. It's because the price of fruit in Japan is exorbitant, and bananas are the cheapest. Therefore, if you want to eat fruit in Japan, bananas are the best choice.

To ensure nutrition, Miyazaki occasionally buys two bunches of bananas when he goes grocery shopping.

As for other fruits, Miyazaki can only say one word about their prices: "Haha."

After getting everything, Miyazaki went to the counter.

"Oh, Yuzune, you're here!"

Standing at the counter is an old lady with completely white hair, wearing a Japanese kimono. When she saw Miyazaki, she smiled and greeted him.

"It's not Yuzune, it's Miyazaki. Grandma Asahi, you forgot your glasses again."

The Japanese have a characteristic when shopping: they do not say much. Although the Japanese are known as the most polite people, they are very strange when shopping. Young people leave immediately after buying something and rarely say "thank you" to the staff. However, elderly people often say "domo" (thank you) and "arigato" (thank you) when shopping.

However, Miyazaki and Yuzune are regular customers in this shopping street, and many people here are also their neighbors. Therefore, they often encounter people who greet them, and sometimes they chat while buying things.

"Oh, it's Miyazaki." Grandma Asahi put on her glasses and smiled as she took the bag from Miyazaki's hand.

After checking out for Miyazaki, Grandma Asahi took out two korokke (croquettes): "Miyazaki, take these. They are for you and Yuzune."

Korokke is a snack made by frying a mixture of mashed potatoes and minced meat. It originated in France but has been adapted in Japan and is one of the three most frequently appearing foods in Japanese anime, along with crepes and takoyaki.

"Thank you, Grandma." Miyazaki did not refuse. Every time he and Yuzune came to buy something, Grandma Asahi would give them korokke. Although he had refused many times, the old lady continued to do so, and over time, he had to accept it.

"By the way, Miyazaki, how was your first day of high school?"

Grandma Asahi has presbyopia but does not like to wear glasses. After giving the korokke to Miyazaki, she took off her glasses and put them aside.

"Um, the school is very big and nice," Miyazaki replied.

Japan is an aging society, and the elderly in this country are often lonely. Children rarely visit their parents, and unlike in China, where people are busy with work, the Japanese attitude is more like indifference.

In fact, since the 1980s, the number of people living alone in Japan has been increasing, especially among the elderly. In Japan, children have the right not to support their parents, so if a person living alone dies suddenly, it can take days, weeks, months, or even years before anyone notices, and this happens frequently.

In a way, Grandma Asahi gives korokke to Miyazaki and Yuzune because of this.

Grandma Asahi's husband died early, and her two sons live in Osaka, so she usually lives alone. About half a year ago, when Miyazaki and Yuzune came to buy groceries, they suddenly noticed that Grandma Asahi was not there. Yuzune was worried, so the two of them went to Grandma Asahi's house.

They found that Grandma Asahi had fallen at the entrance, and it was Miyazaki and Yuzune who took her to the hospital.

Miyazaki does not mind chatting with Grandma Asahi and listening to her talk, as the elderly just want to have a few more words with them.

"Is the tuition enough? Sakurano Gakuen is a private school, right?" Grandma Asahi asked with concern.

"Um, no problem. The savings left by my parents are still enough, and if it really comes to that, I will go to Uncle Sato for help."

Uncle Sato, whose name is Sato Ichiro, is Miyazaki and Yuzune's current guardian. He is a lawyer and is skilled in household matters. Yuzune's cooking and sewing skills were learned from Sato Ichiro, but he does not live with Miyazaki and has his own family.

"Ah, with little Sato around, there's no problem." Grandma Asahi also looked relieved.

...

The term ACG originated in Taiwan and was quite popular in the 1990s. It is now less commonly used in Japan. The ACG and ACGN terms in the text are used for the convenience of the readers, as terms need to be localized. Besides, this is a parallel world, so there's no need to worry about it. OvO

I am a strong advocate of realism, but if I wrote it that way, it wouldn't be the Japan that everyone knows. Just like the term "anime" is not used in Japan, there are many cognitive pitfalls. Some can be used as jokes, but using them everywhere would be misleading. Therefore, I am using the parallel world concept to be responsible to the readers.

Also, let's have a little activity. Everyone can share what tropes they notice in the book. If there are good ones, I will randomly highlight and reward them. Of course, there are limited highlights this week, so if there are not enough, I will add them next week. I will also respond to meaningful comments. ~

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