"We… should make sothing, right?"
"Mm, yeah."
Looking at Nia, who had collapsed into a heap, Mikoto and Shido looked at each other, then both smiled wryly.
The two ca to the kitchen. What they saw was a stovetop covered in dust. It looked like it had never been used before.
"What should we do, senpai?"
Shido asked.
"Ugh… as for ingredients, let's use what we bought earlier."
Mikoto thought for a mont and said that. Although the ingredients had been bought for the Itsuka house, the amount was far more than enough for one day, so using a little would not be a problem.
"Then, let's make miso porridge."
Shido thought for a mont and said.
"Eh? I was thinking of making plain scallion noodles."
Mikoto tilted her head. It seed the two had decided on different dishes.
"I want both! I want to eat both!"
Just as the two were about to settle on one dish, Nia's excited voice ca from the room.
And so, the two smiled gently and each picked up the ingredients they needed.
There was only one small pot in the kitchen, so making any proper food was almost impossible. Shido poured water into it, added raw rice, soaked it for a bit, then started heating it.
"Right, Shido…"
Since the only pot was occupied, Mikoto estimated the timing, then took out a large tal soup ladle. She placed a small store bought box of pork lard inside, lted it, then added chopped onions and began frying scallion oil. Although using a large ladle to fry scallion oil was a very unofficial thod, it was not difficult for the girl.
"Mm?"
Shido opened the refrigerator and discovered that Nia's kitchen contained nothing but alcohol. However, alcohol was also sothing that could be used for cooking.
"Nia… might be a Spirit."
After finishing the scallion oil, Mikoto took out a box of concentrated soup stock and dissolved it with hot water from the electric kettle. Supermarkets nowadays had many convenient soup stocks like this, but most of them were Japanese-style soup bases like bonito or tonkotsu. So when she saw Chinese style soup stock being sold, she had bought it out of curiosity.
"Wh-what? Senpai, why would you say that?"
Shido's hand slipped, and he nearly dropped a bottle of Japanese sake onto the floor.
"Didn't I say earlier? Looking at the timing, it's about ti for the next Spirit to appear."
A rich fragrance gradually filled the kitchen. It was not the kind of sll rich with additives, but quite close to a proper Chinese style soup stock, which made Mikoto very satisfied.
"But even so, isn't that too…"
While the girl was making the soup base, Shido seasoned the cooked rice with green onions, miso, and Japanese sake.
"'Too hasty', right? But Shido, you noticed it too, didn't you? Nia's age doesn't match her experience."
Mikoto said while chopping green onions.
"Now that you say that…"
Shido cracked an egg into the rice, completing the final step of his dish.
"Although I don't know whether Shido knows this, Spirits don't age as long as they still possess spiritual power."
At the sa ti Shido finished his dish, the girl skillfully washed the still hot pot, then began boiling water for the noodles.
"In short, I'll go check on Nia first."
Shido sighed, then walked out of the kitchen carrying his dish.
"Mm."
Mikoto nodded. Once the noodles were cooked, she placed them into the soup stock, then decorated them with blanched greens and chopped green onions before pouring scallion oil over them. A steaming bowl of plain scallion noodles was finished right after.
"Well, this is about the best I can do…"
Because the soup stock was a ready-made instant product, the taste was still sowhat different from what the girl had expected. However, with limited cooking tools and limited ti, there was no helping it.
By the ti Mikoto's food was also placed on the table, Nia, who was holding chopsticks, showed eyes full of excitent.
"Okay! Then first, I'll taste the boy's food… ahm…"
After eating a mouthful of Shido's miso porridge, Nia showed a shy expression, then began taking off her clothes.
"Wait, what are you doing?!"
Shido shouted with a red face.
"It's common sense in cooking manga that if the food tastes good after you try it, you have to take off your clothes."
Nia said with a giggle.
"I've never heard of that kind of common sense!"
Shido loudly retorted.
As Nia spoke, she rolled up her jacket, then…
"Ah…"
Halfway through, she looked at her flat chest and froze.
"Um, sorry, boy. You won't be able to see the shape of my boobs. If possible, could I use the shape of my butt as a substitute?"
"Please just eat properly!"
Shido shouted with every bit of strength in his body.
"Then next is the girl's work. Ti to dig in!"
Nia then tasted a mouthful of the plain scallion noodles Mikoto had made. After that, she suddenly flopped onto the bed. One hand wrapped around her chest, while the other lightly bit against her lips. She squeezed her legs together, her face flushed, and spoke.
"It's… it's too good."
"If I hadn't made it myself, I'd definitely think so strange thing Origami bought had been put in there by mistake."
Looking at Nia, whose posture looked less like she was moved by the delicious food and more like she was unsatisfied in so strange way, Mikoto sighed helplessly.
"You two should read more modern cooking manga. I can recomnd a few to you."
Looking at Shido and Mikoto's reactions, Nia said with a grin.
"Please eat properly!" x2
As a result, the two retorted in perfect unison.
After Nia finished eating, the two washed the dishes and prepared to leave.
"Ah, wait a mont, boy."
At that mont, Nia called Shido back.
"Do you still want to eat sothing?"
Shido asked.
"No, no. Look, I haven't hired any assistants either. It's only so simple work, so could I ask you two to help? I'll pay you, okay?"
Nia was pointing at the large desk for drawing manuscripts. In other words, she wanted Mikoto and Shido to help her organize the manuscript.
"Wait, those are important manuscripts. Is it really okay to let an amateur like handle them?"
Shido waved his hands again and again. Even Mikoto shook her head. Even though she could not draw manga, she understood that if they handled even one thing poorly, those manuscripts might directly beco useless.
"It's fine. You'll only be erasing lines with an eraser."
Perhaps because she had eaten her fill, Nia spoke full of energy. And so, the two were dragged by Nia into her workroom. Compared to the room earlier, it was more spacious and had a more professional atmosphere.
"Then, girl, please erase the lines. After that, boy, fill in the black parts where X marks are drawn."
Nia said.
"Wait, didn't you say earlier that we'd only erase lines? Filling in black is…"
Shido said in dissatisfaction. It was not that he did not want to help Nia, but compared to erasing lines, filling in black required more skill. For an amateur like Shido, it would be bad if he ruined the manuscript.
"It's fine. Although this is only my guess, boy, you've probably drawn manga before, right?"
Nia asked.
"Why are you suddenly saying that?"
Shido asked in confusion.
"You know, boy, people who don't understand manga won't shorten 'erasing things with an eraser' to 'erasing lines,' and they also won't call the black parts 'filling in black.' For example, the girl's reaction is much more like soone who doesn't understand manga."
Nia smiled slyly and pointed at Mikoto.
"Ah…"
Shido looked at Mikoto, who was tilting her head with several question marks appearing above her head, and realized that he had been exposed.
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