Chapter 141: A Hearty Dinner
"Yomi?"
Suddenly hugged by Isayama Yomi, Tsuchimiya Kagura was momentarily stunned, but then quickly returned the embrace with both arms, holding her tightly.
A few moments later, Isayama Yomi took the initiative to let go.
"I just went after the one who attacked us."
"How did it go?"
Tsuchimiya Kagura immediately asked about the outcome of Yomi's pursuit.
Given Yomi's strength, surely the one who dared attack them must have been dealt with, right?
"They got away."
Yomi paused slightly as she spoke.
But Kagura didn't catch the nuance in her tone.
Hearing that the culprit who injured everyone actually escaped from Yomi, a trace of surprise flashed across her face. But she quickly began to reassure Yomi, saying she would definitely catch them next time.
"Yeah."
Forcing a faint smile, Yomi nodded.
Then, the two of them worked together to carry the unconscious Iwahata Kouji further away from the damaged car to wait for rescue.
.
.
.
"Hmph, that means Komachi wins again!"
At the Hikigaya household.
Since it was already dark outside, the Hikigaya siblings had lit candles in the living room and were continuing their board game.
Finally, amid Komachi's cheer of victory, the first round came to an end.
"This game takes way too long…"
Throwing the board game pieces onto the sofa, Hikigaya Hachiman leaned back, rubbing his tired eyes from prolonged use.
A single round had lasted nearly two hours! If he hadn't been one of the players, he would never have believed such a game existed in this world.
"That's because there were only two of us, right? Also, Onii-chan, you were clearly holding back too much! You could've beaten Komachi several times…"
While speaking, Komachi frowned slightly, but the bright smile on her face showed she was happy that her brother was going easy on her.
"Well then, time to make dinner~"
After tidying up the table and chairs, Komachi cheerfully bounced off toward the kitchen.
"Let's just whip up something simple tonight."
Hachiman followed close behind, holding a candle, worried she might slip in the dark.
"No way! Meals are sacred—how can you just casually make something?!"
Komachi crossed her arms in front of her, rejecting his suggestion.
However, a little over ten minutes later...
"Tonight's dinner is… ramen…"
Setting two bowls of plain, broth-only ramen on the table, Komachi's face was filled with frustration.
She had forgotten that without electricity, they couldn't cook rice.
"All right, don't be upset. Once the power comes back tomorrow, you can show off your cooking skills again."
Patting her head in comfort, Hachiman sat across from her, placed his hands together and quietly said "Itadakimasu," before picking up his chopsticks to eat.
But the moment he poked into the noodles, he felt some unexpected resistance.
"Did she sneak something extra under the noodles?"
He glanced at Komachi's bowl, which still looked like plain ramen, while inwardly suspicious.
Spreading apart the noodles with his chopsticks, he uncovered a fried egg and a grilled sausage.
"Honestly…"
Seeing this sneaky move to give him extra food, Hachiman helplessly shook his head.
"Hehe…"
On the other side, watching Hachiman eat the egg, Komachi smiled smugly.
He'd eaten the egg specially prepared by his adorable little sister—once dinner was over, he definitely wouldn't say no to another round of board games!
Excited by the thought, she picked up her own chopsticks, said the pre-meal phrase, and lifted some noodles.
"Eh?"
The weight on her chopsticks was clearly off.
Looking closely, Komachi discovered a Tenrofu (large spider delicacy) hidden in her ramen.
She instantly recalled the leftover cooked dishes from lunch.
"When did he even put this in?"
Staring at the mountain of meat pulled from the bottom of her bowl, Komachi couldn't figure out when Hachiman had managed to sneak all of it in.
Frustrated yet defeated, she began eating the unexpectedly luxurious ramen feast.
"Still too young…"
Watching her sulk, Hachiman smiled silently.
Thanks to his spiritually enhanced vision, he now had night vision.
So all of Komachi's seemingly flawless tricks had been seen through completely.
Before long, both bowls of ramen were eaten clean.
"I'm full…"
Wiping the oil from her mouth after finishing the last sip of broth, Komachi sat gloomily on the sofa, playing with her phone.
Clearly, she realized her little trick had been noticed and countered by Hachiman.
He also finished eating, cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, washed them in the dim candlelight, and neatly stacked them before drying his hands and walking over to Komachi.
"Why are you sitting so close?"
Seeing him sit down beside her, Komachi puffed up her cheeks and turned away, clearly still sulking.
"Playing board games under candlelight strains your eyes."
Trying to get her to understand his concern, Hachiman explained as he sat on the sofa.
"I know that... but I still want to play with Onii-chan."
Turning to face him, Komachi laid on her side.
"Sorry, there's just been too much going on lately…"
Hachiman wore a helpless expression.
Most of the people coming to him for help had already been directly haunted by evil spirits.
There was no way he could just watch them suffer.
"Sigh… if only Komachi could help too…"
Of course, Komachi understood her brother's situation.
With his personality, even if people didn't ask for help, he would still step in whenever he saw trouble.
"But I can't, right?"
She lowered her head. Hachiman gently patted her hair.
As he reflected on how lucky he was to have such a sister, he also felt relieved that she couldn't be involved.
Sure, fighters like Kagura and Yomi looked cool, but they were constantly in danger.
Just like on the train today.
If he hadn't stopped her, that girl Yomi would've definitely gone out to investigate.
And if the electric current had suddenly come back on while she was on the tracks…
Thinking of that terrifying possibility, Hachiman's heart skipped a beat.
Yes—he truly was grateful that his sister was just a normal middle school girl.