[AFTER] Chapter 233 – A picnic is nothing without the food!

About two hours have passed since the Tanaka family arrived to play at the park. Even though everyone was energetic at first about playing, Takei and Akari ran out of steam quicker than their daughter.

"Dad's gonna die from all this running around... I'm sorry for being an old man!"

"Ahaha, it's okay... I don't have that much energy left myself either..."

Since they were both busy adults, this amount of running around was a bit substantial for the both of them. Both Takei and Akari were very active with their exercising, but old age didn't discriminate.

"My back...!"

As the idiot couple was running around with Marie, Takei's expression stiffened as he reached for the cramp in his back.

"Are you alright, dear?" Akari asked as she put her hand on his back with a worried expression.

Takei wryly smiled in response. "Yeah, it was just a bit too much exercise for an old man like me."

"Muuu... You're not an old man so stop acting like one!" Akari pouted.

"My bad," Takei chuckled.

As the two joked back and forth, Marie came up to them and grabbed both of their hands.

"Is it time for lunch yet?" Marie asked with an expectant gaze.

Takei glanced at the time on his smartphone and noticed that it was a bit past noon. The Tanaka family usually had their lunch at noon, so it was no wonder Marie was getting hungry.

"I'll spread out the picnic sheet and then mommy will get the food out, okay?"

"Yay! Thanks, Papa!"

Marie beamed at him with a wide smile as she hugged his left leg to show her appreciation. Even though Takei had seen this same scene many times throughout the years of raising his daughter, his heart still melted whenever he saw her smile.

"I spotted a weirdo who likes little girls~" Akari pointed at him while pouting.

In response, Takei looked at her with an exasperated expression. "What?"

"Fufu, I'm just kidding~" Akari giggled. "Time to go bring the food~"

As they had planned, Takei went to spread out the picnic blanket under a large tree with an ample amount of shade. On the other hand, Akari brought over the picnic basket and began to lay out all the different types of food that was stuffed in the basket.

"Wow, the fried chicken is still warm?!" Takei gasped in surprise.

"Fufufu, this is the power of insulated tupperware!" Akari proudly grinned.

Earlier in the morning, Akari had made a multitude of different food items that would be brought on the picnic trip. Even though the entree was sandwiches, there were other foods such as: fried chicken, fried rice, side dishes, and dessert.

"I was there when you cooked it, but this looks better than I expected," Takei praised his wife.

Akari bashfully smiled in response to Takei's praise. "Hehe, thanks."

"Yummy fooooooood!" Marie looked at all the food in awe.

Now that the picnic blanket was fully laid out and the food was all ready, the family began to dig in to their lunch.

""Thanks for the food!""

The first thing that Takei went for was the fried chicken. Takei had been watching his weight and diet, so he hadn't had any fried food in a while.

Expecting some divine flavor, Takei excitedly bit into the side of the fried chicken.

*Crunch*

Wow! Holy cow! Did you hear that crunch? It's so good! What did she put in this?!

Takei's flavor sensors were currently being overloaded by the beautifully cooked fried chicken in his mouth.

"Wawawa, so yummy!" Marie exclaimed in delight as she bit into a sandwich.

It also seemed that Takei was not the only one that enjoyed Akari's cooking.

"This fried chicken is amazing, you surprise me every time. Can I worship you?" Takei laughed.

"Only more than you already do~"

The Tanaka family ate their lunch with great gusto due to the fact that Akari was a wonderful chef. Before they had even realized it, all of the food had disappeared and their stomachs became completely full.

"Uwah, I'm so full~ I might gain a few pounds from eating this much..." Akari dejectedly looked down at her stomach.

"I love all types and sizes of Akari so it doesn't matter if you're chubby or skinny!"

"Mou, you flatter me too much," Akari patted Takei's head. "Good boy, good boy~"

Just like they had always done, Takei and Akari automatically went into their own world without even trying.

"Zzzzz..."

Light snoring could be heard right next to the idiot couple as they were flirting. The both of them turned to the side and noticed that Marie had fallen asleep after she finished eating.

"Ah, looks like she fell asleep," Takei smiled at the sight of his cute daughter sleeping.

"So cute~ I just want to hug and cuddle with her," Akari said as she tried her best to refrain from pinching Marie's marshmallow-like cheeks.

Since they had accomplished their goal of playing around at the playground and eating a delicious lunch today, Takei and Akari decided to head home for the day.

"I'll start packing everything up and putting it away, can you take Marie to the car?"

"Got it," Akari nodded.

Takei cleaned up all the food and rolled up the picnic blanket. Once he put everything back into the trunk of his car, he was ready to drive them home.

Buckling his seat belt, Takei turned around in his seat and saw Marie sleeping peacefully in her booster seat. This tranquil scene was something he had seen often, yet he loved it every single time.

"We have such a cute daughter," Takei grinned.

Akari held Takei's hand and replied with a happy expression. "Hehe, we sure do."

—

End of picnic. Next chapter returns with Yuta and Marie!

Serious-san: When are we getting our own series?

Sugar-chan: Yeah! Give us our own series!

Author-san: We'll see...