"Are you here to see Nino? But she isn't home right now… Well, come on in anyway!"
The ever-energetic Nakano Yotsuba enthusiastically invited Shirase inside.
Even though his body was now controlled by the system, this damned system at least had the sense to remove its shoes, not dirtying their clean floor.
"I think Nino went shopping for bags with her friends. She baked some cookies earlier—they're actually pretty good! Do you want some?" Nakano Yotsuba chattered cheerfully beside Shirase, her adorable green ribbon bouncing slightly with her lively footsteps.
The always-spirited girl didn't notice anything strange about Shirase's behavior at all.
Normally, when Yotsuba spoke, Shirase would respond naturally, even if he was just humoring her nonsense to avoid awkward silences.
But today was different.
After entering the apartment, Shirase quickly scanned the spacious, spotless living room. Finally, his gaze landed on a figure seated on the single sofa and stopped moving entirely.
It was Nakano Itsuki.
In front of her on the small coffee table sat a bag of steaming-hot buns—big, white, and fluffy, obviously freshly purchased.
At this moment, with a blissful smile and hands clasped together, she parted her soft pink lips and cheerfully declared, "Well then, itadakimasu!"
"Shirase-kun, why aren't you saying anything?" Yotsuba finally noticed something off, blinking curiously.
"I'm not here for Nino," the system replied flatly.
As he spoke, Shirase realized his eyes were still locked onto the meat buns in front of Nakano Itsuki.
Then he watched helplessly as "he" began to move.
In swift, determined strides, he approached Nakano Itsuki directly and without hesitation.
Fucking system, stop right there! This is not a prize! And definitely not what I drew in the lottery! Shirase snapped internally, losing his cool.
The system continued to ignore him, gaze fixed firmly on the soft, steaming meat buns.
Nakano Itsuki, who'd been eager to savor her beloved meat bun, looked up in confusion: "Shirase-kun?"
The system said nothing.
Itsuki pouted slightly. "Nino was right—you really can be a total weirdo sometimes... Oh well, that's none of my business. Itadakimasu!"
With an adorable shout, the girl happily grabbed one large, fluffy meat bun.
Yet just as her rosy lips parted, she felt the bun vanish from her grip.
Where's my meat bun?
Where'd my great big meat bun go?!
Nakano Itsuki lifted her head in disbelief, watching as her precious meat bun was snatched away by Shirase. Just as she was about to protest, she saw him silently reach out again and seize the entire bag from the coffee table.
In the next second, the culprit who'd stolen the meat buns instantly bolted out the door.
Nakano Itsuki stared blankly.
Nakano Yotsuba, who had just arrived carrying tea, froze in place, mouth hanging open in astonishment. Only after several long seconds did she manage a dazed, soft, "Eh?"
"My meat buns… my meat buns…" Nakano Itsuki murmured blankly, her eyes empty and voice desolate, resembling Furukawa Sanae from CLANNAD upon hearing criticism of her bread.
The only difference was that Nakano Itsuki didn't cover her face and run away sobbing, nor was there a Furukawa Akio to chase after her screaming, "I love your buns the most!"
"Did my eyes play a trick on me just now?" Yotsuba instinctively glanced towards the open door. The doorway remained ajar, but Shirase had completely vanished.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
A furious, aggrieved cry filled the apartment.
"You're being too loud," a bedroom door opened from behind, and Nakano Miku's irritated face peeked out.
But upon spotting the deeply wounded Nakano Itsuki, she immediately grew puzzled: "What happened to Itsuki?"
Nakano Yotsuba was still so stunned she stumbled over her words: "Just now… just now Shirase-kun stole Itsuki's meat buns."
Nakano Miku paused, her expression swiftly returning to calmness: "Are you joking? Besides Itsuki, the meat-bun monster, who else could possibly love meat buns to that insane degree?"
"Meat-bun monster" was Nino's favorite nickname for Itsuki.
"I'm serious! Shirase-kun really just stole Itsuki's meat buns, right in front of us! It was like... whoosh! And suddenly, meat buns gone, Shirase-kun gone," Yotsuba gestured frantically.
Miku glanced at Itsuki, who was still whimpering miserably, and her expression gradually turned doubtful: "How could Shirase-kun possibly do something like that?"
"I don't know either," Yotsuba's current expression was the very image of the baffled Pikachu meme.
...
After robbing the meat buns, the system sprinted straight home and finally halted only after shutting the apartment door behind him.
[Host, your lottery prize has been successfully delivered. Please accept.]
Shirase was silent for exactly one second before finally erupting: "You call this a prize?! Are you sure this wasn't just blatant robbery?!"
The system didn't respond.
Shirase coldly stated, "This time, I'm definitely giving you a negative review."
[Every lottery draw comes with a small bonus: Slight enhancements to your physical attributes.]
"I'm still giving you a negative review."
[You have yet to rate your recent Free Hosting session. Please submit your evaluation promptly. A five-star review will reward you with a bonus gift and a random cashback prize.]
"I absolutely must give you a negative review."
[Detected unused duration remaining on host's Triple-Experience Card. System has considerately paused its activation. Host may continue to experience triple experience bliss in your next hosting session.]
"I…"
Shirase silently opened the review panel and submitted a five-star rating.
This time's bonus gift was yet another Triple-Experience Card.
But the cashback prize turned out to be a figure of Tokisaki Kurumi.
Shirase stared quietly at the finely-crafted figure for a moment before speaking with righteous conviction: "You won't bribe me. Next time, I swear, you'll get a negative review."
With that declaration, Shirase took the figure and returned to his bedroom.
When he came back out, he stared at the still-warm meat buns left on the table in a daze.
Now he'd have to clean up after the damned system's mess—otherwise, today's incident would surely spiral into a troublesome mess.
At that moment, he heard the door opening: Kojima Kana was back home.
Before Shirase even turned around, the mature beauty's complaint filled the room: "Geez, Kirisu-sensei's place is seriously messy. If I'd known, I wouldn't have jokingly insisted on her giving me a tour. I basically served as her maid today... Hmm? You bought meat buns?"
Kojima Kana finished changing shoes and immediately spotted the bag on the table.
A satisfied smile appeared on her lips: "Aw, you really do care about your Nee-san, don't you? You knew I'd be starving after working all day, so you bought meat buns to fill my stomach."
She picked up a bun and took a large bite, humming happily with muffled satisfaction.
Shirase pointed at the thermal container near the kitchen door: "I already cooked dinner—it's all inside. If you're hungry, Kana-nee, you can eat first."
"Eh?" Kojima Kana froze, bun in hand, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Why would I eat meat buns if there was dinner? I assumed you hadn't cooked."
Thus, Nakano Itsuki's beloved meat buns were casually dismissed.