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Ritsu Tainaka wasn't the least bit happy about Akio ditching his friends for some other girl. With both hands darting out like a "twin dragon plays with pearl" move, she lunged at his ribs, aiming to tickle him into submission.
But Akio was faster. His hands shot out, catching her wrists before she could land a single poke.
Their eyes locked, sparks flying.
And then the wrestling match began.
Of course, Akio had the strength advantage. Even without his current status as a Dimension God, it wasn't exactly difficult for him to pin down one hyper little drummer girl.
Ritsu tried again and again to break free, but every attempt ended in failure.
At last, she gave up with a huff, yanked her hands away, and dove dramatically into Mio Akiyama's arms.
"Mio ...! Akio's bullying me! Uwaaaah!"
"Oi, oi, that crying's way too fake," Akio deadpanned. Then he sighed. "Fine, fine, you win. I'll make you something good for lunch today to make up for it. Deal?"
"For real?!"
Ritsu lit up instantly. She tore herself away from Mio's comforting hug, eyes wide as saucers, staring Akio down like a starving cat spotting tuna.
"A man's word is worth more than four horses chasing it," Akio said solemnly.
Ritsu thought for a second, then grinned. "Okay then—I want spicy diced chicken and mala chicken wings."
"Done."
Akio nodded, already firing off messages to his "assistants"—Erina Nakiri would handle the spicy diced chicken, while Secretary-ko could whip up the wings.
Only then did Ritsu beam with satisfaction.
Mio, looking a little embarrassed, lightly tapped Ritsu on the head and murmured to Akio, "You really didn't have to do that. Ritsu was just messing around."
"It's fine. Coincidentally, that'll be lunch today anyway."
That one line was enough to hook Ritsu completely. The rest of the morning, her brain was occupied with exactly two things: spicy chicken and mala wings. Forget class—her stomach was the only thing paying attention.
When the lunch bell finally rang, she practically ripped open her lunch box, though her eyes never left Akio. It was like she was trying to telepathically pressure him: Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up.
Akio chuckled, reached under his desk, and pulled out his lunch.
In truth, Erina and Secretary-ko had already finished preparing it earlier and sent it over. Akio had simply tucked it away into the Light Dimension until now.
The moment he set it down and flipped the lid open, a blast of rich, mouthwatering aroma flooded the classroom.
Every student who hadn't already left stopped what they were doing. One by one, heads turned toward Akio's desk.
Drool. Everywhere.
The food smelled insanely good—better than anything they'd ever caught a whiff of.
Ritsu was stunned, inhaling deeply. "Oh… oh my god. This smells amazing! Did you seriously make this yourself?"
Akio's cooking had always been decent, but this was on a whole other level. Worlds apart.
"You guessed right—it's not me. Someone made it for me," Akio admitted with a nod. "Two of my friends, actually. What do you think?"
"'Friends,' huh? You mean girlfriends?" Ritsu gasped dramatically, eyes wide. "Wait—you got yourself a girlfriend already, didn't you?!"
Akio shook his head. Erina and Secretary-ko were… followers, at most. Not quite girlfriends. Though, honestly, if either of them wanted to cross that line, he wouldn't complain. Their looks alone were enough to tempt him. Erina especially—she was technically just a high schooler, but her figure definitely didn't say "high school." And Secretary-ko? A total textbook beauty.
Akio wanted them, sure—he wasn't going to pretend otherwise. But they didn't seem interested in that kind of relationship, and forcing it would just be scummy. Feelings had to go both ways, after all. He wasn't that shameless.
"You're sure they're not girlfriends?" Ritsu squinted at him. "Because who else would go this far to make you something this fancy?"
Normal friends wouldn't.
"Girlfriends? What are you talking about?"
Just then, Mio wandered closer, lured by the heavenly smell.
Ritsu pointed an accusing finger. "I'm talking about Akio! His lunch today was made by some 'friends,' but I think it's actually a girlfriend."
Mio blinked at Akio.
He shook his head. "No, not a girlfriend. But… yeah, I guess the relationship's a little more special than normal friends."
Because, well—they were his followers.
Ritsu narrowed her eyes, voice turning sing-song. "Ooooh… so you're saying it's that 'more than friends, not quite lovers' kind of thing?"
"You've got way too much imagination," Akio muttered. He grabbed his chopsticks and gave her a light bonk on the head.
"Ow! Geez, you trying to silence me or something?" Ritsu whined, rubbing her head.
Akio ignored her.
Mio, however, was staring curiously at his meal. "Wait a sec, Akio… your lunch is hot. How is that even possible?"
That made Ritsu perk right up too. "Yeah, you're right! How is your meal warm?"
Normally, students who brought lunch from home had to pack it in the morning. By the time noon rolled around, it was always cold. Unless you had one of those rare insulated lunch containers, there was no way it'd still be steaming.
Which was why both girls were gawking like he'd just performed a magic trick.
"Ah, just a little trick of mine. Nothing special."
Akio smiled, of course not admitting that the food had only just been cooked.
Ritsu's eyes lit up again as she leaned across his desk. "Come on, Akio, tell me! Tell me how you did it!"
Because who wouldn't prefer piping hot food over cold leftovers? Even Mio was gazing at him with hopeful eyes now.
Akio gave in with a smirk. "Well, actually… I'm a mage. I just heated it with magic. Sounds believable, right?"
For a Dimension God, passing off as a mere mage was practically modest.
Ritsu rolled her eyes. "Tch. Forget it, you're stingy."
But Mio didn't laugh. She studied his face carefully, then asked in all seriousness:
"Akio… could it be that you really are a mage?"
"..."
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