In the end, under Ichin's amused gaze, Eriri left the kitchen in frustration.
Watching her retreating figure, Rin chuckled and said,
"Eriri really gets toyed around by everyone… you're not going to comfort her a little?"
"No need."
Ichin shook his head, continuing to chop vegetables.
"That girl's not that fragile. Give her two minutes and she'll be fine."
And indeed, not even a few minutes later, laughter from Eriri drifted in from the living room.
Ichin glanced at Rin.
"See? Told you there's nothing to worry about."
All Rin could do was admit that Ichin's prediction was spot on.
Lunch was handled by Ichin and Rin, so naturally, it turned out to be a feast.
Looking at the dishes covering the table, Kō Yagami smiled as she poured herself a glass of cola.
"With so much good food, it's such a shame Aoba couldn't come."
Aoba had originally planned to visit, but some relatives showed up at her house. Their families ended up going to Disneyland together, so she couldn't make it.
Before they began eating, Kō mischievously snapped a photo of the spread and sent it to Aoba.
At that moment, Aoba was in a Disneyland restaurant with her family, juggling lunch while looking after her little niece—busy beyond belief.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw the picture Kō had sent—an entire table of delicious dishes.
"Ugh! Kō-senpai, you're too cruel!"
Puffing her cheeks, Aoba quickly sent back an angry emoji to express her frustration, then tucked her phone away and looked at her own meal.
Even though Disneyland food was above average, compared to Ichin's cooking, it wasn't even in the same league.
No way. Tomorrow I'm going over to mooch a meal too!
Back at Ichin's place, seeing Kō happily put away her phone, Ichin sighed.
"Kō, hurry up and eat already."
"I knooow~~ Let's dig in!"
Despite six of the seven people being girls, the group still managed to polish off every dish. By the end, they were all stuffed.
After brewing some green tea for everyone, Ichin sat down and said,
"Honestly, what's with all of you? Eating until you're this full. Even Yukino too."
Being singled out, Yukino blushed from her spot on the sofa and hurriedly tried to justify herself.
"It was delicious… so I ate a little more."
Normally, people's appetites shrink in the summer. Keeping that in mind, Ichin and Rin had made plenty of seasonal vegetables like winter melon and loofah, keeping meat dishes lighter.
That was probably why the girls ended up eating more than expected. Still, Ichin hadn't imagined they'd clear out everything.
Rubbing her belly, Kō laughed.
"It's fine, it's fine. Most of it was veggies anyway—we hardly touched the meat and rice. No need to worry about getting fat. Just resting a bit will be enough. Oh right, Ichin, when are we eating the watermelon?"
"You're seriously thinking about watermelon in that state? You'll burst."
He shot Kō a look before saying,
"It's in the fridge, but wait until after two. And I made mung bean soup this morning—you can have some later too."
"Oh! Watermelon and mung bean soup, perfect!! By the way, got any ice cream?"
"Yep."
This time it was Utaha who answered with a smile.
"After dinner yesterday, I went to the supermarket with Ichin. We stocked up on cat food, snacks, and some ice cream too."
The ice cream was mostly for when friends visited. These days, Utaha had far more options than before. Besides watermelon and mung bean soup, she and Ichin often made fresh juice themselves.
Still, ice cream was loaded with sugar. Utaha wasn't too worried about gaining weight, but she tried to limit herself anyway.
As that thought crossed her mind, her eyes casually swept over the other girls' legs.
Hmm. In terms of leg length, only Haruno could compete with her. The others, like Kō and Yukino, were tall and slim, but their legs didn't have quite the same shape as hers.
Not to mention the other features beyond legs…
So, even with all these girls around Ichin, Utaha never felt insecure.
Stretching lazily, she leaned against him with a smile, looping her arms around his.
Feeling her cling to him, Ichin chuckled.
"What's this about?"
"Nothing. I'm just too full to move."
Her voice carried a spoiled sweetness that made Ichin reach out and pinch her cheek.
Watching the two of them, Eriri shuddered, goosebumps rising as she folded her arms.
"Would you two cut it out already? Can't you see there are other people here?"
"Oh my, Eriri, you still haven't gotten used to this?"
Utaha turned toward her with a teasing smile.
"After playing so many galgames, I thought you'd be immune by now. Or did you forget your past identity? You were the famous Eri Kashiwagi-sensei! You've drawn scenes far more intense than this, haven't you?"
The moment that name slipped out, Eriri's composure shattered. She flailed her twintails furiously and yelled,
"Shut up!! Don't bring up that name!! Drawing manga and… and this kind of stuff are totally different! Completely different!!"
"Is that so?"
Utaha tapped her chin with one long finger, amusement in her eyes.
"But art needs references. Don't tell me all those doujins were purely from imagination? You can't get that kind of anatomy detail just by thinking it up."
The more Utaha spoke, the redder Eriri's face grew. Finally, unable to bear it, she let out a cry, bolted toward the guest room, and slammed the door shut.
Watching the closed door, Haruno laughed.
"Oh dear, now she's mad. What are you going to do, Utaha?"
"No need to worry. I've got plenty of ways to handle it."
Utaha's smile didn't fade in the slightest. After knowing Eriri for over years, she understood her personality well—this was nothing more than a bout of embarrassed sulking.
Even Kō couldn't help but laugh.
"Seriously, Eriri's drawn all those doujins herself, yet when someone teases her about it, she still gets shy. I thought she'd have grown immune by now."
"Some personality weaknesses can't be patched up so quickly. It's something only she can overcome."
Ichin rose from the sofa.
"Anyway, you all keep playing. Whether it's the mung bean soup or watermelon, help yourselves later. I'm going to my room to write a bit. These past few days since we got back to Japan, I haven't done any real work—and my hands are getting itchy."
*
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