While the three were chatting, Sen Getsusa ran into the kitchen and started getting busy.
Yuno Gasai had been assigned the task of entertaining the guests by Sen Getsusa, so she could only stay stuck to the sofa like a nail, perfunctorily replying to the questions raised by the two girls and occasionally having to act as the initiator of new topics.
The three of them whispered, chatting from Yuno Gasai's family to the convenience store where they worked, to the balding middle-aged store manager, and from the manager to his wife and the house they lived in.
"Is Sister Yuesha's house here bought?"
Machida Mariko wasn't very clear about Sen Getsusa's situation, so she could only ask Yuno Gasai.
Before she had even entered the door, she had seen this house from afar while carrying the package.
Having such a large apartment in a place like Omotesando, where land is worth its weight in gold—even if it were rented, it would mean they were rich enough.
"Of course it's bought!" Before Yuno Gasai could answer, Sen Getsusa suddenly poked her head out from the kitchen, a bit of sauce stuck to her small nose. "But my parents bought it. Do you girls want some fruit?"
The girls shook their heads.
Sen Getsusa smiled and ducked back into the kitchen to continue her work.
Machida Mariko looked in Sen Getsusa's direction and murmured to herself, "Sister Yuesha is so gentle..."
Aoyama Nanami rolled her eyes. "When exactly did you go blind?"
She grabbed a bag of snacks from the table, tore it open, shared some with the two, and then picked up a few pieces with her fingers, tossing them into her mouth and chewing with a crunch.
"When we first met, we encountered a robbery. To this day, there's still that lunatic's footprint on the streetlamp in front of the convenience store."
Yuno Gasai leaned over Aoyama Nanami and looked at Machida Mariko. "As I thought, does Mariko also think Tsukisa is a gentle person?"
Machida Mariko: "Of course, Sister Yuesha is both cute and gentle..."
Aoyama Nanami: "It's not that I'm saying anything, but you two—"
Yuno Gasai: "Let's tell Mariko some stories about Tsukisa..."
Machida Mariko: "Okay, okay!"
The two of them talked over Aoyama Nanami, whispering and whispering... Aoyama Nanami:???
...Leeks and crown daisies were sliced diagonally into sections; tofu and Chinese cabbage were sliced vertically into chunks.
The stems were removed from the shiitake mushrooms, and a cross was cut into the caps.
The konjac knots only needed to be boiled in clear water for about a minute, then fished out and cut with scissors.
Sen Getsusa chopped briskly with rhythmic thuds, picked up the seasonings at her side, poured cooking wine, mirin, and soy sauce into a glass bowl, and added half a spoonful of Sugar to stir.
She cut a small square of white beef tallow and put it into the heated pot to coat it evenly. Once the beef hit the pan, the aroma of the meat immediately wafted out. Using the juices from the fatty beef, she then sprinkled on large spoonfuls of white Sugar.
Finally, the konjac knots and enoki mushrooms could be added to the pot.
"In the black swamp, starlight shines."
"In the gap between gods and men, offerings are made with devotion."
Humming a song, a cheerful Sen Getsusa also stuffed the thawed crab sticks and prawns into the pot, arranging them neatly with chopsticks.
The massive pot was packed tight. Before covering it, she drizzled on the sauce.
"La la la la, my deity!"
"I gaze upon you, like the stars longing for the sun and moon..."
This song, learned from Yubabas Sister, carried an air of both eeriness and warmth. The person humming the ballad wore an apron and was barefoot, her long hair cascading down her waist.
A strange scene arose naturally.
—The surrounding steam rose upward, blurring the concept of concrete space. If this moment were captured on old film, the viewer would surely think they were in a fairy tale from times past.
By the side of a verdant lake, the scent of green grass blew toward them. A small wooden cabin was built by the lakeside, its wooden mailbox stuffed with letters delivered by the postman.
Inside lived an enchanting woman; rumor had it she was a man-eating fairy hiding deep within the forest.
Inside, the woman was humming a song, standing on her delicate white tiptoes, happily boiling the limbs of the human males she had bewitched.
Outside, a hundred flowers bloomed, and giant trees grew, blotting out the sun.
The fairy's song lingered through the forest, jumping from the petal of one flower to the leaf of another tree.
"La la la la~"
Sen Getsusa happily picked up the pot and turned around, preparing to take the arranged pot to the stove.
—This turn almost scared her to death.
"Aie!! What are you three doing? You scared me to death."
Sen Getsusa put down the cooking pot in her hand with lingering trepidation.
Yuno Gasai, Aoyama Nanami, and Machida Mariko—the three girls were peeking with just their heads visible, bodies hidden outside the door, hands gripping the doorframe, quietly watching Sen Getsusa cook and listening to her hum.
Sen Getsusa waved them over helplessly.
The vision was torn apart, the flowers withered, and the giant trees collapsed.
The three girls at the door looked at the huffing Sen Getsusa with slightly complex expressions.
"It sounded amazing! Simply amazing!"
Aoyama Nanami clapped her hands excitedly, stood on her tiptoes, and shouted to Sen Getsusa, "Quickly send a demo to a record company! I'm about to have a friend in the entertainment industry!"
"Do you want to try being a voice actress? With a voice like that, it would be a waste not to use it!"
Sen Getsusa nonchalantly untied her apron and smoothed her hair, thinking Aoyama Nanami was making a fuss over nothing. "I'm still far from being a professional like you guys."
"Um..." Machida Mariko had also listened to the whole thing. From the moment Aoyama Nanami started speaking, she had been thinking about how to describe it.
"It felt like being in a forest, right?"
Machida Mariko's words were affirmed by Yuno Gasai.
She said in an inquisitive tone, "You actually managed to sing such an eerie melody with a sense of nature..."
Machida Mariko had a look of 'exactly' on her face. "At first, I just thought it sounded good. Later, giant trees reaching the clouds began to appear in my mind, and the lantern grass and other plants became very, very large..."
"There were also rabbits and gray horses running through the forest, and the sound of a tinkling stream was right by my ears..."
Aoyama Nanami hadn't felt that much; she just thought it sounded good—as a result, the performance of the two traitors beside her made her look particularly uncultured.
Not happy.
-`д'-
"Here, since you're already here, help carry this over."
Sen Getsusa stuffed the pot into Aoyama Nanami's hands, found some tableware to give to Yuno Gasai, and Machida Mariko was responsible for the soda.
The three of them sighed in admiration as they walked.
"Did Sister Yuesha study vocal music?"
"As far as I know... no." Yuno Gasai shook her head in confusion.
That feeling just now was truly strange. Having come into contact with the 'mystery', Yuno Gasai naturally knew what had happened.
But looking at it this way, this girl Machida Mariko... is very sharp.
"It's talent, I guess. Sen Getsusa seems to be able to do everything quite well."
Aoyama Nanami grumbled while carrying the pot, her small face puffed out. "That's why I say I hate the word 'talent'; it's really discouraging..."
"If Nanami takes Sister Tsukisa to a voice acting audition next time, that classic story will happen."
Machida Mariko smiled teasingly, revealing her dimples. "'I went to an audition with my best friend, and she ended up being chosen!'"
Aoyama Nanami felt that this possibility was simply too high... She placed the pot on the table with a stove underneath.
Aoyama Nanami couldn't help but quietly lift the lid to take a peek.
"Ooh! Beef! Grilled tofu!"
"And the sauce and—wow, it's sweet! Authentic Kansai Sukiyaki!"
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