Chapter 70: Staying at Nejire-senpai's HomeAuthor: Geraint
Just stopping in front of Nejire's home, it was a spectacular two-storey house with an impressive design, both inside and out. Ichika had already transformed back into his younger form, while Nejire wore her middle school uniform—though traces of her makeup still remained.
Nejire unlocked the gate and pushed it open.
"Come inside."
As they walked into her backyard, Ichika could tell that Nejire's family was a bit on the wealthy side.
"Please make yourself at home, Ichika-kun."
"Then, pardon my intrusion."
Nejire brought him to the living room and said,"Just wait a bit, I'll go change and wash my face."
"Yeah, sure."
Ichika set down his bag and sat on the couch.Nejire turned on the TV before hurrying upstairs.
On the news was a broadcast of him shaking hands with the President of France after signing the bilateral agreement.
"This was supposed to be Mera's job. What is he doing? If this keeps up, I'll have to take over and become the head of the commission... My school life will be in danger."
Several minutes later, Nejire came downstairs wearing a cute pink dress with white borders.
"Thanks for waiting!"
"Oh, Nejire-senpai..."
"I'll be cooking tonight! What do you want for dinner?"
"I'm fine with anything. Just something light."
"Okay! Coming right up!" she chirped, heading into the kitchen.
Ichika smiled, watching how energetic she looked while cooking.
A few minutes passed as he watched TV, but it was mostly Pro Hero news—boring stuff—when suddenly he smelled something burning.
"Huh?"
A bad feeling crept up his spine.
"Don't tell me..."
He rushed to the kitchen to check on Nejire—and froze.
She stood at the stove in an apron, cooking some dark matter in a frying pan, with uncontrolled flames licking the edges.
When Nejire noticed him, she smiled sweetly and said,"Oh, just a little more, Ichika-kun! Dinner will be ready soon—"
"You don't know how to cook, do you?"
At those words, Nejire froze and dropped her spatula. She squatted down, clearly dejected.
"I'm sorry, Ichika-kun. I was just really happy to bring a friend home… then I realized only my mom knows how to cook here."
Ichika turned off the stove and rolled up his sleeves.
"Then let me handle it." His voice was calm, confident.
"Huh?"
Nejire looked up at him, surprised.
"You can cook?"
"Yeah. Let me show you."
Ichika checked the fridge and pulled out the available ingredients. He placed a chopping board on the counter and began peeling vegetables. After that, he chopped them up, cleaned and diced some spices, then prepared the meat and seasoned it thoroughly.
Nejire sat nearby, watching him. She pouted as he casually tossed her dark matter into the trash bin.
"Such a waste..."
"Do you want to eat it?"
Her eyes darted away."...Never mind."
"You can't call that food. It's not even edible."
"Sorry for not being able to cook!" Nejire pouted, watching him move smoothly around the kitchen. She was amazed at how quickly he prepared two dishes at once.
Ichika made a fresh vegetable salad while frying the meat thoroughly in the pan. Just the smell alone made Nejire's mouth water.
"You're a good cook, Ichika-kun. Where did you learn?"
"From cooking magazines and TV. I used to experiment when I lived at the orphanage. I'd feed the results to the other kids."
"Hehe... You'll make a good husband someday."
Once dinner was ready, the two of them sat at the table and began eating.
"Let's eat!"
Nejire took a bite of the meat.
"Mmh!"
Ichika smiled proudly.
As she swallowed, her eyes sparkled.
"This is—!"
"Yeah. It's a French dish. The French President talked to me about their cuisine, so I tried making something similar today."
"It's so good!"
"You should really learn how to cook, Nejire-senpai. You might need to prepare meals for public officials someday to showcase our country's special dishes."
Nejire went pale and her eyes filled with tears.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you."
"Yay! Thank you, Ichika-kun!"
After the meal, Nejire washed the dishes. When she returned to the living room to check on Ichika...
"Huh?"
He was lying on the couch, fast asleep.
"Ichika-kun? I already prepared your room..."
No response.
Hands on her hips, she pouted."So you sleep like a log."
She tried to lift him up, but he was too heavy.
Panting, she sat beside him on the floor and watched his peaceful expression.
"Hm?"
She leaned closer, curiously examining his face. She poked his nose and mumbled,
"You don't show it, but you're tired, right? Being a middle school student and the acting President of the Commission... you're really amazing."
She gently ran her fingers through his pink hair, feeling the slightly coarse texture.
"It makes me want to know more about you... Nee, Ichika-kun... tell me—"
Ichika suddenly grinned in his sleep and mumbled,
"Nejire-senpai... we can make a new element from your cooking. It could be used as a biological weapon against villains..."
A vein popped on Nejire's forehead. She pinched his nose in revenge.
Ichika squirmed in his sleep, struggling to breathe.
"Kyah!"
Thud!
Ichika fell—right on top of her.
"Eh?"
Her face turned beet red as Ichika's head landed between her chest.
"Wait! Ichika-kun! You shouldn't—!"
She tried to push him off, but he was too heavy.
After several failed attempts, she gave up, tired. Her eyes slowly closed as she stared up at the white ceiling.
"I-Ichika-kun... you perv..."
Unable to resist her drowsiness, she drifted off to sleep on the warm mat, cuddled up beside him.
When morning came, Ichika woke up from a long night's rest. The first thing he saw was the living room ceiling.
He felt something warm and heavy on his shoulder and leg. As he turned to his side, his eyes widened.
Nejire was sleeping beside him, her body curled up against his.
Her thigh lay across his leg, her smooth skin exposed. Her skirt had flipped up slightly, revealing her blue-and-white panties. She was completely unconscious.
She smelled nice. Very nice.
Tempting.
But Ichika shook his head. He wasn't the type to take advantage of someone. Carefully, he adjusted her posture and fixed her skirt. Then, he picked her up and carried her to the couch. Once she was lying down, he covered her with his jacket and quietly left for the kitchen.
Once he was gone, Nejire's eyes fluttered open, her cheeks flushing red.
She had been awake the whole time.
She covered her face in embarrassment.
"...What am I doing?"
(To be continued.)
A/N: Webnovel added a bunch of annoying novels to my reading list and the whole app started lagging. I couldn't even log into my account. That's why this chapter was uploaded late. Did any of you experience the same thing? I'll fix the rest of the mistakes later.