Activated Narcissus

"Hello, everyone. Nice to meet you. I'm Narcissus's mother, Chizuko. I brought some homegrown tomatoes—come on, don't just stand there." As she spoke, Chizuko placed a large bag of tomatoes into the hands of "Shiraishi, sitting cross-legged on the floor."

"What are you standing around for? Put them in the fridge!" Chizuko urged.

"Um—Mom, this is our chief." Narcissus explained awkwardly.

"Hm? Wasn't your chief—ah! So he was sitting down?" Chizuko said, laughing as she patted Shiraishi on the shoulder, seemingly finding it quite amusing.

Shiraishi deliberately added, "That's right. Come to think of it, I'm still your superior—" As he spoke, he casually handed the tomatoes to Haitani beside him.

Haitani followed suit. "That's right, that's right." Then he passed the tomatoes to Kawai.

Chizuko covered her mouth and chuckled. "Oh my, I'm terribly sorry. Our Narcissus has been in your care. Here, take this big one!"

As she spoke, Chizuko pulled a wooden red horse toy from the bag and placed it in Shiraishi's hand. "It's completely handmade. Pretty, isn't it? Take it home for your child to play with!"

Shiraishi: ...

"The chief isn't married yet..." Narcissus quietly reminded his mother.

"Oh? Then he should hurry up. Don't end up like my son, and finally—sigh!" Chizuko began chattering away without reservation.

"Oh, there's more—this is the director, right? You must have children. Here, you pick first. These smaller ones are for everyone else." Narcissus's mother began rummaging through her bag again.

Narcissus hurriedly pulled his mother aside. "The director's wife ran off ages ago..."

"You don't need to explain that!" Haitani snapped irritably.

"Um, Mom, don't worry about the gifts for now. Sit down first." Narcissus had his mother take a seat.

"Yes, Auntie, please sit down first." Fuji politely invited Chizuko to sit, and Chizuko immediately