"Ahhhh! My HP hit zero!"
"Finishing blow! OK! Rare item get~!"
Amidst Shido's wail and Yutsuki's cheer, the boss battle on the PSP ca to a perfect end.
"My, my~ You were a huge help, young man. If you hadn't so happily drawn aggro... I an, tanked the damage, this battle would have been a bit dicey."
Yutsuki patted Shido's shoulder and thanked him with a very sincere (fake) tone. Shido stared at Yutsuki with resentnt.
"I wonder who secretly equipped with an accessory that has passive Taunt Up in it. (Stare—)"
Yutsuki tilted her head, looked askance at the ceiling, and answered.
"Well... I don't know anything about that. I just picked one randomly from the inventory, I didn't look closely at the accessory's added effects."
"...Well, whatever." Seeing Yutsuki playing dumb, Shido couldn't be bothered to expose her and sighed helplessly.
"Haha... sorry."
Seeing Shido not making a fuss about it, Yutsuki actually felt a bit embarrassed and apologized first.
"It's fine, it's just a ga anyway."
"Hey, hey! That's not right, young man Shido! Did you forget, we are also in a ga world right now. This half-hearted attitude won't do. Although it's a Ga, it's not sothing to play around with!"
Yutsuki pointed the PSP at Shido and said with a serious face.
"Ah, sorry... Why do I have to be lectured by you, who treats teammates as sacrifices in a ga!?"
Beep————!
"Ah, the porridge is done."
Hearing the sound from the pressure cooker, Yutsuki put down the PSP in her hand. After checking the clock on the wall, she said to Shido.
"...Shido, you should head down too. Everyone should have finished making their dishes by now."
"This is bad, it's already this ti, I have to hurry back... Ah!You almost completely changed the subject!"
Tch— Yutsuki clicked her tongue secretly.
"Now, now! Don't worry, I distinguish very clearly between gas and reality. I definitely wouldn't use Shido as a human shield at a critical mont... probably?"
Say the last part with certainty!
After retorting in his heart, seeing Yutsuki's very happy smile, Shido still chose to give up and dropped his shoulders exhaustedly.
Then, right before leaving, a wisp of steam leaking from the pressure cooker gently brushed past the tip of Shido's nose.
"Hm? This sowhat subtle sll is..."
"Yes, yes!~ Good work, young man. Next, go get ready as a judge and properly enjoy the dishes prepared for you by the youthful and beautiful girls!"
"Wait!"
Before Shido could react, Yutsuki, with a smile on her face, pushed him out of the room.
"This amount is really... whether I can finish eating it all is a question in itself."
Shido sat right in the middle of the living room sofa, looking at the dishes filling the table in front of him, and said with black lines dropping down his forehead.
"Well, it can't be helped, it's an amount for eight people."
On the side, Kotori shrugged and said with an "it can't be helped" expression.
"Moreover, mixed in among them are so indescribable black substances I've eaten before..."
Shido looked at one particularly obvious existence, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
"Geez, who made this kind of thing?"
Tohka asked everyone, expressing indignation.
"It was you, Tohka!"
Although she knew the other party wasn't intentionally playing dumb, Yutsuki still delivered a paper fan slap to Tohka's head. Pointing at the black charred object on the table, she roared, "It's completely burnt, isn't it? And it looks burnt on the outside but completely raw on the inside. Kaguya and Yuzuru, you two at-grilling idiots too... what do you take at for!"
The Yamai sisters, shot while lying down, didn't know if they were recalling their unbearable dark history or if it was because they were evaluated as being on the sa level as Tohka. The two of them kneeled on the ground clutching their chests, as if their hearts had been pierced by arrows.
"Ugh... so strange. I clearly grilled it properly using a low-temperature ceramic grill..."
Tohka rubbed her head, muttering sowhat aggrievedly.
"No, Tohka, grilling at isn't just putting it in a machine to grill. Generally, before that, you have to use knife skills to process it into an appropriate size, coat the surface with butter or sothing, and depending on the situation, wrap it in tin foil before putting it in the oven to prevent the at juices from flowing out... Okay, that's a bit too difficult for you."
Seeing Tohka starting to emit steam from her brain working on overload, Yutsuki sighed speechlessly.
"Well... if it's just the surface, it should still be edible..."
Seeing Tohka feeling a bit down, Shido tried to comfort her.
"Honestly, there's not a single usable part. Just from this point, Yatogami Tohka can be judged out."
Hearing Origami's rciless scolding, Tohka widened her eyes angrily.
"Wh-What did you say!? Then what did you make, Tobiichi Origami!"
Hearing Tohka's words, Origami puffed out her chest. Although her face was still expressionless like a doll, the gaze she directed at Tohka had the feeling of looking at a stray dog.
Ignoring Tohka's angry glare, she said tenderly to Shido:
"Here Shido. My carefully considered stewed vegetables, seasoned with black sesa oil. Please taste it~"
"Uh... this thing that looks like black tar is vegetables?"
Shido looked at the dish Origami handed over, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and asked sowhat hesitantly.
"The calories have been perfectly calculated. Guaranteed to leave you full—of—vi—ta—li—ty—"
Why emphasize the last few words with such a weird expression!!!
"Um... are you sure you only put sesa in this thing? I sohow feel like there are other subtle slls..."
Stare—!
Facing the gazes focused on her by everyone, Origami looked at Shido plainly. Then, seeming to associate it with sothing, a flush of excitent appeared on her cheeks.
"Only sesa."
—Stop spouting nonsense! Everyone shouted in unison in their hearts.
Well, the dish served by this Amazon warrior of love was also out imdiately in another sense, so Shido shifted his gaze to the other dishes.
"Well... this at and potato stew is quite good. Although it still has a bit of a beginner's feel, you can feel the maker's dedication."
I really wish Origami and Tohka would learn from this. Shido added in his heart.
"Y... Yes, I made it... It got a little bit burnt... I'm sorry..."
Hearing her dish pointed out, Yoshino answered sowhat weakly.
"My, my~ This is a surprise for Shido that Yoshino secretly asked Yutsuki-chan to teach her. Hey, hey~ Yutsuki-chan, how are Yoshino's cooking skills?"
Hearing Yoshinon's question, Yutsuki chuckled lightly, patted Yoshino's head, and said, "You did great. It looks like you've put in quite a bit of effort in private too. Yoshino is an amazing child~"
"Yes... Thank you for your guidance..."
Hearing Yutsuki's approval, the nervous expression on Yoshino's face eased a bit. Then, the rabbit puppet in her hand smiled and said to Shido:
"Co on, co on~ Yoshino's cooking skills have even been approved by Yutsuki-chan~ Shido must taste it properly~"
"Yes, yes, I will."
Hearing Shido's words, Yoshino slowly let out a breath, a relieved smile appearing on her face.
Next...
"Oh my, so my dish is just going to be served like this? It doesn't have any competitive edge at all. Honestly, it's a bit of a killjoy~"
Kurumi shook her head and said sowhat helplessly.
"Well... is this pot au feu Kurumi's dish? It looks quite delicious... And this sll, you added wine as a seasoning, right?"
Hearing Shido's words, a charming smile appeared on Kurumi's face, and she answered happily:
"I'm surprised you noticed. As expected of Shido-san. Such sharp eyesight makes my heart skip a beat."
Kurumi's words made Shido scratch his cheek a bit shyly. Kotori, who was watching from the side, said disdainfully:
"What a pity, this dish doesn't suit Shido's taste. I know Shido's favorite food, you know."
Kurumi raised an eyebrow slightly and said with a slightly provocative tone.
"So very confident~Spirit of Fire-san~. Then what did you make?"
"Hehe~ This!"
Seeing Kotori's proud expression, everyone couldn't help but look in the direction she pointed. Placed there was... cheese bread with fried eggs and salad.
"...Breakfast?"
Shido had a feeling he was being looked down upon by his little sister.
"Wh-What? Don't you eat it often, Shido?"
Feeling the atmosphere in the room beco a bit subtle, Kotori said sowhat uncomfortably.
"No, although it's indeed made quite well... after hearing what you just said and then seeing this dish, there's a feeling of 'Ah... unexpectedly normal'."
Yutsuki said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"...!"
Realizing her mistake, Kotori's cheeks turned red at a visible speed. She experienced a brief loss of speech due to embarrassnt. Then, with a tone that could be considered giving up in a way, she pressed Shido.
"Th-There's no such thing. Shido, you definitely like eating bread and salad too, right? Right!"
"Well... because it's easy to make, fast to eat when rushed in the morning, and I do eat it quite often... Mhm, mhm. So, Yutsuki, did you really make porridge?"
After giving Kotori a half-baked answer, Shido coughed lightly. With a bit of an intention to change the subject, he asked Yutsuki.
"Well... indeed, but I did put a little effort into it at least."
Sighing with a feeling of having no choice, after opening the pressure cooker, Yutsuki scooped a bowl and brought it in front of Shido.
Then, after the sll of the porridge completely spread in the air, slling the slightly bitter dicine scent in the air, Shido made a few guesses in his heart.
"Yutsuki... did you make a dicinal diet?"
Unlike Origami's dish which had suspicious chemicals added, what Yutsuki made was a dish truly based on pharmacology.
"Well... calling it a dicinal diet is a bit of an exaggeration. It's just salty porridge with a few dicinal herbs that protect the stomach and intestines, plus vegetables." Yutsuki waved her hand and said, "Besides, porridge puts very little burden on the stomach and intestines, and it's definitely harmless to the body. Eating a little isn't a bad thing for you, right."
"Mhm, then I'll have so first... ah... so bitter—"
Although it wasn't as bitter as truly brewed traditional Chinese dicine, honestly, it wasn't a taste that people could swallow happily. A sowhat complicated expression appeared on Shido's face.
"Just endure this little bit. As they say, good dicine tastes bitter. Although I tried adding so tomatoes and cabbage for flavor, I haven't had much exposure to dicinal diets either."
Yutsuki scratched her cheek and said sowhat helplessly.
"Yutsuki-nee, you should know, right... this is a cooking competition."
Kotori looked at Yutsuki with slightly weird eyes and said.
As the na implies, this is a competition to compare whose cooking is more delicious. Although Yutsuki's cooking considered health factors a lot, clearly, when the dicinal taste was too prominent, Yutsuki could be judged out just like Tohka and Origami.
"Well, I never planned on winning this competition in the first place. If it weren't to cooperate with Arusu's investigation, I might have just forfeited."
Yutsuki shrugged as if she didn't care. Seeing Shido eat her cooking bite by bite despite the bitter look on his face, a smile unconsciously appeared on the corners of her mouth.
"Hehe, now that the most dangerous opponent has chosen to self-destruct, you guys are nothing to fear! Look... this supre masterpiece, condensing the heart's blood of and Kaguya, is unmatched by anyone."
"Certainty. Combining the power of Kaguya and Yuzuru, there is nothing left to fear."
Kaguya and Yuzuru, seeing Yutsuki, their biggest threat, drop out of the competition, felt assured of victory and declared confidently.
"Well... is this the almond egg you announced you were making earlier?"
To Shido's question, Yuzuru nodded gently, then proceeded to serve two more dishes, explaining.
"Side dishes. Paired with French consommé and burdock salad."
Hearing this, Tohka interjected sowhat panicked.
"Wait, Yuzuru! To decide the winner, isn't there only one dish?"
"Rebuttal. Although only one dish decides the winner, there was no specific rule against pairings."
Yuzuru retorted sowhat proudly.
Well, Yutsuki had also noticed this loophole. If the side dishes were chosen well, they could indeed emphasize the deliciousness of the main dish. In a one-on-one cooking battle, it was indeed a good idea.
"Well, there was indeed no explicit rule." After thinking for a mont, Kotori didn't oppose Yuzuru's idea, but still said, "However, the side dishes cannot be counted in the evaluation."
Kaguya acted very calm. Covering one side of her cheek with her right hand, she pretended to be cool and answered:
"Kuku... This is enough. At most, this is the result of us thinking as attendants. It's nothing to us if the side dishes aren't evaluated. Rather, you all should feel fear from my dish. Especially Yutsuki—my comrade~ I will make you understand that my cooking skills are no longer what they used to be. Tremble before this masterpiece of the ages, ignorant mortals—ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Although the cooking was indeed good, this girl getting a bit carried away was annoying. Thinking this, Yutsuki grabbed Kaguya's cheeks and pulled outwards hard.
"Well, although it feels a bit exaggerated, this cooking is indeed very well done. All the ingredients have been seriously processed. Just slling the aroma makes it feel very delicious."
"Confession. The decisive factor in this. Are the onions Kaguya cut while shedding tears."
"Uuu... Yuthuru... Kucki... Unnethathary..." Kaguya, her face being devastated by Yutsuki, let out panicked cries of unknown aning.
"Then Darling~ Honey~, the last one is Miku's curry full of love~"
With a bright, sweet smile, Miku handed her dish to Shido and Yutsuki.
Uh... upon seeing Miku's dish, Shido's and Yutsuki's faces twitched in unison.
Honestly... neither Yutsuki nor Shido could understand just what kind of ingredients were added to make the curry flash with rainbow colors.
"...Miku, tell the truth, how did you make this curry."
Scooping out a small spoonful, looking at the sauce on the rice grains flashing with colors like a rainbow, Shido swallowed, but still didn't dare put it in his mouth.
"Mhm... after listening to various opinions from my classmates over the phone, it turned out like this. How is it... a very tempting aroma, right."
Uh... the sll is indeed the sll of curry... It's not just the sll that's similar, right?
"Don't worry, Shido... although it's a bit hard to believe... but this is normal curry."
Yutsuki, having tasted it with a "give it a try" ntality, was chewing Miku's curry with a very complex expression.
Just what kind of chemical reaction could make a curry with such a strange appearance taste the sa as normal curry? Is this the so-called "extres et"? Or is Miku actually a hidden Lv6 wizard?
"No way..."
Hearing Yutsuki's words, Shido looked at her in disbelief.
"Geez, Darling. Judging things solely by their appearance is a bad habit, you know. Co~ I'll feed you. Ah—"
Saying this, Miku gently brought the spoon to Shido's mouth.
Then, this action of Miku's successfully touched everyone's bottom line.
"Shido. Then I should also feed you first. Eat from this side first."
"Kuku. Rejoice, Shido. You have to offer you glorious delicacies."
"Speak. Please also eat the cooking Yuzuru made."
"Ara~ Shido-san will definitely finish my cooking too, right~"
"Shido! Mine too. E-Eat this piece of at."
"Hey, don't forget my cooking either. I made it. (How much effort can you put into a breakfast?)"
"Yoshino! Yoshino! It's ti to compete now, co on~ show everyone your spirit!"
"U-Um! Mine... please taste it too!"
"I say... you guys wait... I can't... eat this much..."
Dealing with the dishes everyone handed him non-stop one by one, along with the signals from his stomach constantly approaching its limit. Shido finally understood why Yutsuki cooked a dicinal diet to protect his stomach and intestines.
...
"Ugh... I can't, my stomach is so bloated..."
Shido leaned back on the sofa, holding his stomach, showing an uncomfortable expression on his face.
Honestly, although he barely made it through thanks to Yutsuki's dicinal porridge, because so of the dishes he ate had problems themselves, it caused Shido to now feel the pain of indigestion.
For the ti being, Shido didn't want to eat anything else.
"Do your best, Shido~ There's still one more dish you haven't tasted!~"
There's more?! Hearing Yutsuki's shout, Shido's expression instantly turned very terrible.
"Well... don't make a face like you can't eat anymore. I personally suggest it's better if you eat this last dish~"
Patting Shido's shoulder, Yutsuki handed a cup of dessert to Shido.
"Pudding...? Bavarois (a type of French dessert), looking at the color, it seems so fruit was added."
After a few simple comnts, Shido still decided to taste it.
"Mhm... mhm, slightly sour. There's pineapple, fig... was so yogurt added too?"
A cool feeling spread inside his body, as if cooling down an overheated engine. His originally sowhat bloated stomach and intestines also felt much lighter.
Although it was stead a bit too hot and the straining wasn't done well, for the current Shido, it was indeed the gentlest taste.
"Mhm. I think... this one is the most delicious."
Hearing Shido's words, except for Yutsuki, everyone showed surprised expressions.
"Nani? Isn't my cooking the most delicious, Shido?!"
"I'd actually like to ask you, Tohka, what part of yours did you think could win?"
Yutsuki looked at Tohka weirdly and retorted.
"What... to actually surpass our Yamai Golden Egg."
"Surprise. Didn't Yuzuru and Kaguya win?"
Kaguya and Yuzuru said, sowhat confused.
"Pineapple and fig contain digestive enzys, yogurt has the effect of regulating the stomach and intestines." Origami analyzed softly a few tis, then said sowhat frustratedly, "I calculated Shido's calorie intake up to now, but failed to include tonight's dinner. What a strategic nu that considered all uncertain factors."
No... even if your cooking had considered it, it would have been out imdiately in another aspect.
Well, basically it's like what Kurumi said. Yutsuki's dicinal diet mainly contained herbs to nourish the stomach and intestines and vegetables rich in vitamins, mainly to strengthen the digestive function of the stomach and intestines themselves. While this pudding, through its own digestive enzys, helped Shido relieve the pressure brought by food exceeding his digestive capacity.
Obviously, both these dishes were designed and prepared considering Shido's food intake tonight.
But Yutsuki's dicinal diet failed in terms of taste...
"I-I was only thinking about my own cooking in my head. I didn't consider Onii-chan's feelings..."
"Well, indeed I didn't think it through that thoroughly either. Looks like I have to admit defeat."
"Ugh... Blinded by the desire to win, ignoring the changes in all creation. Although unwilling, it is indeed my defeat."
"Unwilling. But, Yuzuru also admits defeat."
Having a very clear reason for winning, everyone didn't say anything more and admitted defeat very decisively.
"Yutsuki? Did you make this pudding?"
"I don't have the extra free ti to prepare a second dish for you."
Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Yutsuki shook her head, "This is what Arusu asked to give you."
"Arusu? ...Speaking of which, I did see her in the kitchen earlier, I didn't notice..."
Well, after all, Arusu does have a bit of an elusive feel to her. Shido added with a bitter smile in his heart.
"Then, tonight's winner is decided to be Arusu... By the way, where did she go?"
Shido looked around but didn't find Arusu, and couldn't help but scratch his head in confusion.
"Mhm... she said she wanted to go look at the starry sky, so she went out."
Yutsuki answered Shido.
Speaking of which... yesterday I also saw Arusu observing the starry sky outside.
Although Arusu shouldn't have any problems in her own world, the sky was already so dark, leaving her alone outside was still a bit bad. Better go find her and bring her back. Thinking of this, a worried expression appeared on Itsuka Shido's face.
As if seeing through Shido's thoughts, Yutsuki and Kotori simultaneously let out a complicated sigh.
"Well, even if you didn't say so, I would have kicked you out. Leave the cleaning up here to us."
"Geez... going full Onii-chan mode over other people's business, I really can't handle it. Have a safe trip~ Onii-chan."
"Oh!"
Shido responded gratefully, then put on his shoes and went to find Arusu.
"Hey... Yutsuki-nee."
"What?"
"I think, if it's Shido... maybe he can make Arusu feel shy."
"Definitely. Because he's Shido, after all..."
Yutsuki and Kotori watched Shido's departing back. The two looked at each other, and a smile unconsciously appeared on the corners of their mouths.
Grumble————!
Then, from the direction of the living room, a very obvious stomach rumbling sound ca.
"My, my~ An uninhibited stomach rumbling sound that doesn't hide hunger at all, as expected of Tohka-chan."
"I-It can't be helped! As soon as I got back I was busy preparing the cooking, completely forgetting I hadn't eaten."
"Ugh... speaking of which, I haven't enjoyed my usual offerings tonight either."
"Weakness. Stomach is getting a bit hungry."
"I... tonight also... haven't eaten..."
"Ugh... Darling and Honey ate all the curry, there's nothing to eat."
Grumble~!
Hearing the sound from beside her, Yutsuki silently looked at Kotori. The other party seed to turn her back to her as if feeling guilty.
As expected... compared to cooking, everyone is still more used to eating.
Yutsuki sighed helplessly. After tying her hair into a ponytail with a hairband, she rolled up her sleeves and walked towards the kitchen.
"Hey! I'm going to the kitchen to make so simple midnight snacks, you guys hurry up and clean the dining table!"
Then, after that night, everyone unanimously agreed that Yutsuki would definitely be a good wife in the future.
Regarding this, Yutsuki expressed..." I can't feel happy about this at alllllllllll! (#╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻."
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