Chapter 69: Tempura in the Rain

PS: The year 2025 has arrived. The author wishes everyone a Happy New Year here. This update is the 2,000-monthly-ticket bonus chapter I promised. The remaining two chapters will be posted tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow evening. The author keeps his word.

"I have to say, Uesugi-san, this so-called Tower Mansion of yours is nothing special."

The Soul of Fuji TV announcer Hironaka Mariko drifted around the room. While Uesugi Muneyuki was directing the moving staff to place the furniture, she unceremoniously critiqued his living environment: "You talk about the Peerage all day long, yet you're just a Regular Employee living in an ordinary 18th-floor Tower Mansion. You people really are all the same, Minato Ward Boy and Peerage man!"

"If living in a Tower Mansion counts as being a Regular Employee, Hironaka-san, your standards for Regular Employees are a bit high," Uesugi Muneyuki replied irritably.

The monthly rent for this 18th-floor Tower Mansion at Sakata Bridge in Bunkyo Ward is about 300,000 to 350,000 yen, and the monthly management fees and utilities come to about 50,000 yen. Based on the rule that rent and management fees should not exceed one-third of monthly income, the owner must have a net monthly income of at least 1,000,000 yen to afford it.

Yet, in the words of Hironaka Mariko, such a man is merely a "Regular Employee."

Generally speaking, in Tokyo, if a marriage relies solely on the husband's income while the wife is a housewife, the husband's annual income must be at least 6,000,000 yen to live a relatively decent life; this is also the minimum requirement for many women regarding their future husband's income when planning to be a housewife.

If the husband's annual income reaches over 10,000,000 yen, then the single-income housewife arrangement is very comfortable, and this is what the vast majority of Japanese women aspire to. If the husband's income reaches this level, even if he goes out to carouse and find a mistress, as long as he doesn't bring her home, wives will basically choose to endure it.

Ten years later, a survey conducted by the University of Tokyo and official institutions on over 1,000 randomly sampled high school girls in the Kanto Region found that more than half of the women dreamed of getting married and becoming housewives after graduation, forming an overwhelming majority compared to those who wanted to work. Everyone wanted to marry a husband with an annual income of 10,000,000 yen after graduation, or at the very least, 6,000,000 to 7,000,000 yen was the bottom line.

Unfortunately, let alone an annual income of 10,000,000, Japanese men who can earn 6,000,000 a year by the marriageable age of around thirty are already very rare. This situation was more common during the golden age of the bubble economy, which does not mean it remained that way afterward.

This has formed Japan's "older husband, younger wife" culture, where a large number of Regular Employees around thirty years old marry women in their early twenties.

"Are you kidding? I already earn 6,000,000 a year. If my husband can't earn 10,000,000, then why would I marry him?" Hironaka Mariko said as a matter of course. "Is your income higher than mine? And this policewoman, can you two even afford the rent together?"

Uesugi Muneyuki stopped paying attention to this ghost announcer, thinking to himself that it really was the case.

This Tower Mansion is just an average middle-class level, not particularly luxurious. Most true wealthy elites live in large flat-floor units in Tower Mansions above the 30th floor, or in Garden Western-style Houses like the Uesugi main family, or more modern Villas.

But Uesugi Muneyuki was already very content.

Simply dividing the areas of the new home, the standard 3LDK Tower Mansion was clearly meant for a family of three. The guest room at the entrance was simply arranged, the living room was empty and lacked many things, and Uesugi Muneyuki's own master bedroom looked slightly sparse with just a single bed. It took about two hours for Uesugi Muneyuki to have the moving company finish placing everything.

"Finally done!" Sitting on the large sofa in the living room, feeling the sunlight streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling glass window on one side, Uesugi Muneyuki pulled Ikeda Erena to sit down and smiled: "How is it? This home is not bad, right?"

"Mm, it's okay." Ikeda Erena bit her lip, her cheeks flushed, her hands clutching the edge of her skirt as she sat down cautiously beside Uesugi Muneyuki. After touring Uesugi Muneyuki's new home, the tall beauty's breathing was a bit heated. She kept her legs tightly pressed together, like a sprouting spring bud, sensing that Uesugi Muneyuki might intend to... here.

"The house is still missing a lot of things. Master Eirina, would you like to offer some suggestions?" Uesugi Muneyuki looked around and said casually. Having moved into a spacious and bright new home, he was in a good mood.

However, the tall beauty did not answer his question immediately. Ikeda Erena only felt that the two of them were sitting a bit too close. Even though it was almost October and the temperature in Tokyo was dropping, the two of them sitting together on the sofa, almost touching as they talked, smelling the pleasant pine scent on the man, listening to his melodious voice, and with the heat of their conversation mingling, the air was slowly warming up.

The velvet Silk Stockings wrapping her legs didn't seem so uncomfortable anymore.

Being with him, it seemed like everything was happy.

But... looking at the superior environment around her, looking at the man's new home, looking at his expression as he hesitated to speak and blinked at her, Eirina began to waver.

He was probably about to confess.

Is it really okay to accept his confession? Is being a housewife really what she wants?

No! This is not the reason she came to Tokyo! This is not the reason she persists!

That shyness in her heart was suppressed by her firmer will and conviction, causing Eirina's mood to gradually calm down. Even though she felt happy about this situation, and even though she liked being with him, she still exhaled a hot, turbid breath and said softly: "Uesugi, that..."

"Hm?" Uesugi Muneyuki signaled for her to go ahead if she had suggestions.

"Although it's a bit much, I don't want to quit my job." Ikeda Erena's face was flushed, and she said very embarrassedly: "I still want to continue doing this job."

Uesugi Muneyuki: "???"

A series of question marks appeared over the man's head.

Does your answer have anything to do with my question?

"Sorry, Uesugi-kun, I don't want to think about so many things right now. You know, we martial artists easily become slack if we don't keep training." Ikeda Erena continued. Seeing Uesugi Muneyuki's expression freeze, she felt even more ashamed, lowered her head, and said in a somewhat bewildered tone: "So, can we keep the status quo?"

"Keep the status quo?" Uesugi Muneyuki was even more confused. The house is missing so many things, yet you want to keep the status quo?

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." Eirina suddenly added. Her beautiful face was full of shame. Seeing that Uesugi Muneyuki's expression was still not very good, Eirina slowly shifted her body toward him. Her body trembled, and the large, full breasts on her chest trembled along with it. Her tight, slender legs wrapped in black Silk Stockings were simple and plain yet complemented each other perfectly. The miraculous, delicate body composed of her perky chest, full buttocks, and slender waist was fully displayed before Uesugi Muneyuki.

Eirina, blushing and ashamed, paired with her heroic short hair and yellowish skin—having lost her aggressiveness, she was very cute: "In the future, I'll let you see it. If it really doesn't work, if you really want to taste it, occasionally rewarding you is fine... but I really don't want to quit my job, okay?"

"Sure!" Uesugi Muneyuki thought to himself, if you don't want to quit, then don't. Why did you agree to let me touch you?

Looking at Eirina's long, straight, perfectly proportioned black-silk-clad legs under her skirt, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

He had wanted to touch them for a long time.

Ikeda Erena responded softly and slowly raised her head, but upon seeing Uesugi Muneyuki's gaze, the tall beauty let out a light cry and immediately ran toward the bathroom: "Um, I'm going to the bathroom!"

Having said that, the pair of long legs in Silk Stockings under her skirt disappeared at the bathroom door with a clatter, leaving behind a bewildered man.

"What a greedy woman!" At this moment, Hironaka Mariko spoke up. The ghost announcer looked toward the bathroom and couldn't help but click her tongue in wonder: "How can there be such a greedy woman? Wanting both this and that?"

"Huh? Wait, what exactly do you mean?" Uesugi Muneyuki didn't understand at all: "Hironaka, what exactly is she saying to me? You understood?"

"You didn't understand? Tsk tsk, as expected, Minato Ward Boy and Peerage man are all the same!" Hironaka Mariko looked full of contempt. She made a ghost face—because she really was a ghost, making this ghost face was quite terrifying. She twisted her face into a hemp rope, all her facial features rolled together, and her two eyeballs popped out of their sockets and then retracted: "She thought you were going to confess to her."

"Normally, an unmarried man bringing an unmarried woman to his new home and asking for her opinion on the layout has a very strong implication of a confession. And this woman, she's really greedy. If I were 23 and a Regular Employee man living in a Tower Mansion confessed to me, I would definitely have agreed." Hironaka Mariko complained: "Why is she so ordinary yet so confident?"

"Wait, when did I ever want to confess to her?" Once Uesugi Muneyuki heard the explanation, he understood. He frowned: "According to you, Ikeda thinks I want to date her?"

"Otherwise?" Hironaka Mariko burst into laughter; she understood too.

"I never wanted to date her from the beginning. She must have misunderstood." Uesugi Muneyuki was now completely aware, and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "How could I date her with marriage as a prerequisite? She isn't even a career woman!"

"Then why are you pandering to her so much?" Hironaka Mariko looked full of contempt: "Hypocritical man."

"Who told you that relationships between the sexes must aim for marriage? Have you ever thought about marriage with President Kameyama?" Uesugi Muneyuki retorted sharply: "Representative Director, Production Bureau Director, director, screenwriter, and Johnny's superstar Nakai—did you sleep with every one of them with the attitude of getting married?"

"Tsk!" Hironaka Mariko was left speechless by Uesugi Muneyuki's rebuttal, so she simply changed the subject: "Anyway, she's a greedy woman, you get it now, right?"

Uesugi Muneyuki understood.

To put it bluntly, Ikeda Erena wanted to maintain their existing Partner and ambiguous relationship, but she didn't want to officially date him with marriage as a prerequisite. She wanted to continue being active on the front lines of criminal investigation instead of being a housewife or being transferred to internal affairs, and she didn't want to lose her position by his side due to refusing Uesugi Muneyuki.

In short, she wants both.

And the only thing she didn't expect was that Uesugi Muneyuki never once thought about dating her with marriage as a prerequisite!

You've overthought it, Master Eirina!

Messing with a female Public Servant is very troublesome! Not to mention a landmine-gravity, boss-killing, report-happy, mother-tyrannosaurus!

Don't worry, you can be absolutely at ease. I, Uesugi Muneyuki, will definitely not consider marrying you, so you can put your heart at ease!

When Ikeda Erena came out, she found that Uesugi Muneyuki's attitude toward her seemed to have changed subtly.

Sorry... Erena felt very uncomfortable inside. She liked this man very much, but she was unwilling to give up her current career. She didn't want to be a housewife; she hoped to continue this life of upholding justice and punishing evil.

It was hard on you, Eirina bit her lip, silently saying sorry in her heart; I was too greedy.

"Let's go, let's go eat." Uesugi Muneyuki stood up and said with a smile, "I'll pay back the Tempura I owed you last time at lunch today; I know a great shop!"

"Mm!"

……………………

"Welcome!"

After walking for about five minutes, Uesugi Muneyuki brought Ikeda Erena to a small shop that looked exceptionally old from the outside.

The shop was located on the first floor of a detached house; the building was an old-fashioned wooden structure with lanterns and a sign hanging at the entrance, on which was written "Ten-Hachi-Chi-Shu" and a string of katakana.

Pushing open the shop door, an aged voice came from inside; an old gentleman with crane-like hair and a youthful face, along with a slightly plump white-haired old woman wearing a headscarf, smiled and greeted Uesugi Muneyuki and Ikeda Erena.

"Just go with the old recommended set; whatever you have in stock today, bring it all, and add one Set Meal, with extra rice." Uesugi Muneyuki was clearly a regular here.

"OK!" The old gentleman smiled and made an incredibly cheesy OK gesture.

This old couple was already nearly eighty years old; they had been making Tempura here for a full fifty years and were a true "Tempura Master" couple (not meant disparagingly).

"If you didn't know about this old shop, you'd think it was an izakaya." Uesugi Muneyuki introduced it to Eirina, "Don't worry, the shop I recommend is definitely delicious."

"Mm, I'm looking forward to it." Ikeda Erena took a look and only felt that this shop was truly narrow.

At the entrance was the kitchen counter; inside the long counter was the kitchen, and the cabinets on the wall were filled with alcohol, bowls, chopsticks, and seasonings. Further inside were the stove and range hood, all old items that looked like things from the last century.

The old gentleman held a pot in front of him containing black sesame oil, with a large box of batter mix placed beside it.

On the other side were tatami booth seats with cushions and low tables on the floor. Two rows of price lists were hung on the wall with wooden plaques, and a large television was placed in the corner, which happened to be playing a promotional program featuring Bai Chuan Mai.

Because it was noon, there were not many people in the shop, so Uesugi Muneyuki and Erena chose a seat by the window.

Rumble~

Suddenly, thunder came from outside, and while they were waiting, the autumn rain poured down with a splash.

"The customer's luck is really quite good." The old gentleman used extra-long chopsticks to pick up a skewer of Shrimp Tempura from the sesame oil: "Hey, this is today's Shrimp Tempura!"

The sound of rain mixed with the fresh scent in the air, paired with the fragrance of deep-frying and the bouncy, crispy, and delicious Shrimp Tempura, instantly made Ikeda Erena's eyes squint: "Delicious!"

"Don't rush, this is just an appetizer." Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at the rain outside, smelling the fresh air pouring in from outside the shop and the fragrance of sesame oil inside, and said to the boss, "Boss, this is heaven hinting that you should change the oil!"

"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? I use a pot of new oil every day! If you don't believe me, look!" The old gentleman, half-jokingly and half-angrily, lifted the small pot and then coated the next dish in batter: "The next dish, the choice of Tokugawa Ieyasu!"

Erena did not understand, but Uesugi Muneyuki had already caught the meaning.

Sea Bream Tempura.

In the late Warring States period of Japan, the method of making Tempura had already been introduced to Japan via Sakai Port, and this deep-fried delicacy began to become popular among the common people. It is rumored that after the first Shogun of the Edo Shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was recommended it by a merchant in Kyoto and tasted it, he found it truly delicious, so he bought several large fish at once and made them all into Tempura to enjoy alone.

As it turned out, perhaps because the old turtle's daily diet was usually light and restrained, his body could not handle it for a moment and he developed enteritis, or perhaps pancreatitis; the 75-year-old Tokugawa Ieyasu became a Tempura glutton, then vomited and had diarrhea until he died.

This is, of course, just a historical anecdote and not necessarily true.

There is also a funny one: the origin of Tempura might be "temple," because this deep-fried stuff was introduced to Japan along with Christianity. When the Japanese asked the Portuguese, who were celebrating the holiday with some deep-fried delicacies, what it was, the Portuguese thought they were asking about religious activities and casually replied "temple," which the Japanese recorded as "Tempura."

"Come, Sea Bream Tempura that Ieyasu also loved, and fried shrimp heads!"

The old gentleman served the food one after another, using long chopsticks to deep-fry them one by one, then taking them out of the pot.

"Mushroom Tempura!"

"Eggplant Box Tempura!"

Squid Tempura, Scallop Tempura, Sea Urchin Tempura, Lotus Root Shrimp Paste Tempura, Conger Eel Tempura, Anglerfish Liver Tempura, Seaweed Roll Yam Paste Tempura, Corn Tempura, Green Pepper Tempura.

Everything can be Tempura.

Ikeda Erena had never eaten such authentic, complex, and particularly palatable food; the tall beauty was full of praise throughout the meal, saying "Oishii" endlessly.

A little bit of rumbling, muffled, continuous thunder, the heavy rain outside the house mixed with fresh air and moist water vapor pouring into the room, the delicious, fragrant, and slightly bouncy and crispy Tempura in her mouth, and Uesugi Muneyuki sitting by her side laughing and talking with her.

At this moment, Erena suddenly understood what happiness was.

This was the happiness she wanted!

Updated, please give me some votes~

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(End of this chapter)