Chapter: 103. No Longer Just One Person (4k2)
——I can’t say it!
——“Because I need to conduct a physical examination, so let me observe and touch that area well.” That kind of thing is completely unspeakable!
Standing next to Nagi, Kanade’s brain was racing.
Kanade had been conflicted about whether to tell Nagi that he needed to examine her body.
After Nagi’s cute yet enticing declaration, Kanade felt that the chance to speak had slipped away in an instant.
Some might say that receiving permission from a girlfriend who looks like a loli is a good thing, right? Even if it might be misunderstood as having that kind of preference, at least he could gain her understanding.
To that, Kanade could only say: That’s not the case at all!
Rather than affirming his loli preferences, or rather, “affirming the misunderstanding that he has a bizarre loli obsession,” it was more about self-affirmation.
——It meant “I dislike it, but since it’s Kanade-kun, I might as well satisfy him a little.”
In other words, it was just Nagi’s gentle and considerate expression; it didn’t really mean he could do it like that.
——Saying “Since little Nagi said it was okay, I might as well comply” would sound like an utter scumbag boyfriend who targets the other person’s body.
——Especially since he and little Nagi had just started dating; although there were some timing issues, he had indeed confessed after she became this way. If he really showed enthusiasm in this regard, it would be impossible for her to shake off the suspicion of being a “perverted loli fan.”
“At this rate, do I really have to use Mr. Kurokawa’s method?” After struggling with his thoughts, Kanade finally made up his mind.
No, wait, what he needed to deal with before that was—
“Um, um, thank you, little Nagi, I… I really like you, no matter what kind of little Nagi you are…” Kanade originally just wanted to respond to Nagi’s straightforward expression of affection but suddenly felt his heart racing mid-sentence.
It was a feeling completely different from before.
He just wanted to convey his feelings of affection to her, yet he could deeply feel his own heart’s throbbing.
It was no longer a one-sided emotional arrow; the two feelings collided and intertwined, making Kanade feel dry-mouthed, constantly wanting to swallow, and his body grew warmer.
At that moment, the cute face of the other party flushed with a faint pink hue seemed full of temptation in Kanade’s eyes, and his attention uncontrollably drifted down to her small, enchanting pink lips.
Unknowingly, Kanade’s head had already tilted toward Nagi—
“Click.”
At that moment, the sound of the door to the Shiki Hall opening reached them.
The crisp sound startled both Kanade and Nagi like frightened deer, making them turn their heads and avert their gazes simultaneously.
Following that was the sound of multiple suitcase wheels rolling across the wooden floor, along with the voices of Mana and Yukino, indicating that they had just returned from moving their luggage from the girls’ dormitory.
Although they were much faster than Kanade at that time, with Mana, an ability user, present, their efficiency was indeed unmatched.
The arrival of the two aptly interrupted the somewhat peachy atmosphere that had enveloped Kanade and Nagi.
“Did Yukino-chan bring everything over? I can handle the remaining dishes alone. Kanade-kun, why don’t you check if Yukino-chan needs any help?” The one who first broke the awkward silence was Nagi, who had been keeping her head down, too shy to look in Kanade’s direction.
When she spoke, Kanade nodded while looking elsewhere, his face flushed.
“Y-Yeah, I understand. Then I’ll leave the rest to you, Nagi…”
Saying that, Kanade removed his apron, kept his head down, and walked out of the kitchen.
During this time, the two did not dare to look at each other.
Once Kanade’s footsteps faded from near to far and only Nagi remained in the kitchen—
“Ugh—” Nagi finally couldn’t help but raise her right hand to cover her excessively flushed cheeks.
——What is this feeling? It’s as if I just said the pre-prepared lines like before…
——What is this acceleration of my heartbeat…
At first, she had only intended to tease Kanade a bit, something she had done countless times in the past.
But this time, when Nagi said “I like you” to Kanade, she felt her heart racing suddenly, almost like she was a small deer in disarray.
This was a feeling she had never experienced before, causing her to lose her sense of autonomy.
Especially when she heard Kanade’s response, upon hearing “I like you” from him as well, for that brief moment, Nagi felt her body so light she could almost float.
She didn’t know why she felt this way; it was simply an instinctual response to the atmosphere, making her incredibly focused on Kanade before her, wanting to get closer to him, as if every one of his movements was magnified in her heart…
——If it weren’t for Mana and the others coming back just then…
Thinking of that possibility, Nagi suddenly shivered.
A blend of relief and regret appeared on her flushed face.
————————————-
After taking the luggage from Yukino, Kanade helped her move it to the girls’ floor.
Since he couldn’t find out if Ayako and Fuko were returning to the Shiki Hall, he led Yukino to the innermost room.
That room was also the farthest from Nagi’s room.
Kanade didn’t know why he made such a decision; it felt as if an inner voice wished for Yukino to stay a little farther away.
After Kanade helped Yukino get her luggage into the room, the sunlight streaming through the window indicated that it was getting late.
So, he suggested to Yukino and Mana that they should have lunch together first and then start unpacking after filling their stomachs.
“Really? What does everyone want to eat? I’ll go buy it,” Mana volunteered.
But Kanade shook his head in response: “No, lunch has been prepared already.”
Yukino revealed a surprised expression upon hearing this.
“Thank you~ By the way, it’s quite unexpected… When did you become so considerate, big brother?”
“That last sentence was unnecessary!”
Meanwhile, Mana’s reaction was completely opposite to Yukino’s; her keen intuition gave her an ominous premonition at that moment.
“Wait a minute, Kanade-kun, does prepared lunch mean…”
“Ah, it was the food that little Nagi just cooked in the kitchen.” Perhaps having let down his guard regarding Nagi’s cooking, Kanade replied to Mana’s question with a light tone.
But his demeanor and words exploded in the minds of the two girls across the table, like a death sentence.
In an instant, both Mana and Yukino displayed expressions of despair as if they had seen hell.
“D-Does this mean that Nagi-chan’s cooking?” Mana no longer displayed her usual cold demeanor; her voice trembled slightly.
Yukino directly knelt on the ground, hugging Kanade’s legs, sobbing uncontrollably, “I’m sorry, big brother! I don’t know what made you angry, but please, have mercy on me!”
“Hey!? Is your reaction a bit too disrespectful toward little Nagi!?”
The two’s despair-filled expressions, as if awaiting execution, didn’t change even when they reached the dining table.
At this point, the table was already filled with aromatic and delicious dishes.
If it were in another setting, just seeing such a lavish feast would have made Yukino’s stomach grumble.
But unfortunately, sitting at the table was the black-haired little girl, turning the scene into a horror show.
Her stomach began to twitch, and her gut was churning, as memories she wished not to recall surged back.
Yukino vividly remembered her first experience eating food that Nagi had personally made when she had just started elementary school.
It was cookies that Nagi had baked during home economics class with her teacher, perfect in both appearance and aroma. The young Yukino had been deceived by those superficial qualities and bitten into one, only to experience an unimaginable taste that even today she couldn’t find the words to describe.
It was a flavor that could not be expressed in words; it was one that would not even be permitted to exist in hell.
To say the least, Nagi’s cooking was such that it could easily cause one to lose consciousness on the spot, or even for someone to lose consciousness after experiencing the aforementioned horrific taste.
And the most fatal aspect of this cooking was—
“Everyone, do try it! I made all your favorite dishes today~” Nagi beamed a bright, sunny smile at the three who had just arrived.
In the face of such a cute child’s smile, even the cold-blooded and ruthless killers would find it hard to decline the invitation.
“U-Um, thank you, Nagi-nee…” Yukino forced a stiff smile, her movements slow and robotic as she made her way toward the dining table.
As for Mana, the moment she saw this table of food, she had already resigned to her fate in her heart, taking a seat at the table with a look of self-sacrifice.
Thus, the scene was set with Yukino and Kanade on one side, and Nagi and Mana on the other.
“I’m going to dig in.”
With a fatalistic mindset, the two reached for the hellish food in front of them, only to taste unexpectedly delicious flavors.
“!? This, this is—” At the moment the dish touched her tongue, Yukino’s previously empty eyes suddenly widened, the light returning to them.
Completely different from the flavors she remembered, it was edible—or rather, it was not just edible but extremely delicious.
With her chopsticks still in hand, Yukino looked up at Mana, who also seemed to share the same surprise, and after locking eyes, they turned simultaneously to look at Kanade.
Could it be that love really can change a person so much!?
“Big brother, thank you… thank you for saving us.” Tears brimmed in Yukino’s eyes as she gently patted Kanade’s shoulder.
“？？？”
Meanwhile, Mana also turned to Nagi and said, “Thank you, Nagi-chan. It’s very delicious; it’s already at the level suitable for a restaurant.”
“That’s too much praise! I’m just glad you all like it…” Nagi shook her little hands modestly in response.
However, Nagi’s words were immediately interrupted by Yukino from across the table.
“No, really, Nagi-nee’s cooking level is already enough to get married~” Yukino said while casting a glance at Kanade, wanting to tease the shy childhood friends.
The latter looked away, pretending not to see.
“I-Is that so?” Nagi shyly lowered her head.
Then, Yukino sampled more of the dishes and confirmed it wasn’t an illusion. All the dishes were unbelievably delicious.
She couldn’t help but exclaim, “I didn’t expect that without realizing it, Nagi-nee has already caught up to my cooking level…”
“No, Yukino, what are you talking about? You can’t cook at all!” Kanade interrupted Yukino’s pretentiousness.
“How rude, big brother! Every girl surely has one or two signature dishes!”
“Then, Yukino, what can you make?”
“Rice.”
“Isn’t that what a rice cooker does!?”
“Even though it’s a fully automatic rice cooker that only needs to pour in rice and water to complete, since I pressed the start button myself, it can count as me making it, right?”
“That’s ridiculous! And it’s still a fully automatic rice cooker!?”
“Big brother, you’re just being too strict! What is it? Are you a conservative who opposes smart homes?”
“I just oppose people claiming rice cooked by a rice cooker as their own home-cooked meal!” Kanade retorted.
“You’re impossible, big brother! Besides rice, of course, I have other dishes I can make!”
“I wish you had mentioned those from the start… So, what else can you make?”
“Rice.”
“Isn’t that still rice!? Do you think using the English word makes it something different?”
“What nonsense are you spouting, big brother? This is high-quality foreign rice cooked in a fully automatic rice cooker; how can it count as the same thing?”
“In the end, it’s still cooked by a rice cooker!?”
…
Watching Kanade and Yukino bicker, combined with the delicious food in front of her, Mana finally relaxed her nerves that had been tense since that one night.
At that moment, she felt like she was returning to a stable daily life.
“Mana-chan,” Nagi’s voice came from beside her, causing Mana to turn her head slightly.
“What’s up?”
“No, I just… haven’t seen Mana-chan smile in a long time~”
Hearing this, Mana noticed that after relaxing, the corners of her mouth were slightly lifted.
“Thank you, Mana-chan, for always protecting everyone… But from now on, we’ll be here to help too.” Nagi beamed with a bright smile.
Hearing this, Kanade also stopped mocking Yukino.
He turned to Mana and sincerely said, “Little Nagi is right. It’s always been you protecting us, and we’re truly grateful! But from now on, you won’t have to shoulder everything alone; I’ll do my best to help.”
“Ah, and so will I! Although I might not have any special abilities, I’ve heard everyone has one, right? When the time comes, I’ll help you, Anko-senpai!” Yukino chimed in, taking over Kanade’s remarks.
“… Yeah, thank you, everyone.” Is there really no longer just one person by my side? Mana felt warmth spreading in her heart.
……
……
“Thank you for the meal.”
After everyone finished lunch.
Nagi declined Kanade’s offer to help and began cleaning up the dishes with Mana.
Yukino also took this opportunity to ask Kanade a question she had always been curious about:
“By the way, big brother, what kind of ability do you have?”
For Yukino, who had just learned of the existence of special powers, it was only natural to be curious about what abilities her brother possessed.
And this question made both Mana and Nagi, who were nearby cleaning up the dishes, also become attentive.
