Chapter 419 - Housewarming Gift
After that, I ended up dozing off without realizing it. The alarm jolted me awake, and I rushed to start prepping, spending just under three hours in the kitchen.
I was feeling pretty satisfied with the rather lavish results, but Nia, who had been staring blankly at the dishes arranged on the table, began tapping away at her smartphone—
'Wait, what, are you a chef?'
She blinked, her dazed expression unchanged. I chuckled at her incredibly honest reaction, finished getting the drinks, and declared my mission complete.
"An apprentice at best. But I can guarantee it'll taste decent."
'What's your standard for that self-evaluation?'
The standard, huh? For this particular menu, it would be Mr. Hayashi (37, single), the owner of the Chinese restaurant where I used to work.
What was supposed to be a short-term gig helping out a coworker turned into a year-long stint after he took a liking to me for some reason and offered me a great hourly wage.
He was a good-natured chef of flame. I wonder if he's still declared himself a bachelor for life.
'Whatever, it looks delicious... but why Chinese?'
"No reason, just felt like it."
That was a lie. I might have only just met her, but I now had a reliable informant. It was a simple matter to ask about food preferences, and she happily provided them.
For the record, I had zero expertise in the cuisine of her home country, Russia, so I opted for her second choice.
"C'mon, sit down and eat. From one end to the other, it's all yours."
'Do you think I'm some kind of monster???'
Hey, don't get mad. I'm fully aware I got carried away and made too much.
—And so, after dinner.
"Why is it that everyone who visits my room takes over my sofa like they own the place?"
So far, that's two out of three. In terms of potential, it's not entirely out of the question that Mitsueda-san might end up the same way if we become incredibly close... maybe.
'I think the person who makes a mountain of ridiculously delicious food is to blame.'
I teased her from behind the sofa, and Nia, who was sunk deep into the cushions as if she couldn't move, lazily held up her phone and waved it.
"Well, I'm glad you liked it. For reference, what was your favorite?"
'The sesame balls and the almond tofu.'
"Dessert, right away. Fine by me."
As expected of a girl, I suppose.
I could clean up after Nia leaves. For now, what should we do? I highly doubt she'll just say "Okay, bye!" and leave right away—
'Hey.'
"Yeah?"
The screen of the device she held up again displayed only a single word to get my attention. As I waited for her to continue, she typed out her words at her usual incredible speed...
'You talked with Hiyo-chan, didn't you? What did she say?'
With a response time almost indistinguishable from a normal conversation, she posed the question.
"Oh? What ever could you mean?"
'Yeah, yeah, you weren't trying to hide it. You made my favorite things without even asking, and there wasn't a single thing I dislike.'
"That's not true. Wha, you're quite the detec—oof."
As I feigned ignorance with a playful tone, a cushion bomb came flying.
I caught the projectile with my face instead of dodging. When I moved it aside, the young lady sunk into the sofa had her cheeks puffed out, making her dissatisfaction perfectly clear.
Well, yeah, I wasn't trying to hide it. The reason Mitsueda-san came to see me in secret was almost certainly because she was embarrassed about being overprotective of her best friend.
I know she possesses a level of thoughtfulness I could never hope to match. If she had wanted to keep it a secret, she would never have so readily given me the information when I asked about Nia's favorite foods, prefacing it with, 'I was thinking of making some dinner tonight.'
Not that I think she's being overprotective. It's a precious and beautiful friendship between two girls. They can do that as much as they want.
'Spit it out. Tell me. C'mon, hurry.'
"Alright, alright, I get it... but it wasn't a big deal. Just that since she's farther away now and can't support you like before, she asked me to follow up and help you out with things. That's all."
As for the incredibly sincere expression on her face when she said it... well, I probably didn't need to reveal that. I'd rather not get cornered by her later with a scary look on her face for saying too much.
And besides—
"............"
—this girl, who was now giving me a sidelong glance with a still-displeased look, was a mirror image of Mitsueda-san. She probably understood her best friend's feelings perfectly well on her own.
Truly, this was a matter where I had no role to play.
'By the way, did you exchange contact info?'
"I can see exactly where this is going, so let me stop you right there. I swear I won't misuse a beautiful, older illustrator's contact information just because I have it now."
In fact, I couldn't even imagine what would constitute 'misuse.' To be perfectly blunt, that's the last thing on my mind right now.
Do you even get it, you who are a primary cause of all this?
Between you and a certain princess—I'm doing everything I can just to face you both.
"So, what's the plan for tonight? I'm not gonna tell you to go home or anything."
Of course, consciously saying such things out loud was a level of embarrassment my tolerance couldn't handle.
In the virtual world, it comes out surprisingly easily... I still feel like my emotional safeguards are looser over there compared to reality.
'You're not?'
"You'd get mad if I did, right?"
'I wouldn't get mad, but I'd sulk.'
"Isn't that pretty much the same thing?"
The atmosphere and conversation were just as they always were, no different from when our avatars are together in the virtual world. It reaffirmed it, I suppose—I really do like this relationship we have.
..................No, correction.
I... probably, surely, most likely—
'HOWEVER!'
Nia shot up from the sofa, and the words thrust before my eyes resounded loudly, interrupting my thoughts.
'For tonight, I shall be taking my leave!'
The words that followed were, if I had to say, unexpected.
I asked what brought this on with my eyes, and she gave me a clever expression that mixed exasperation, smugness, and a defiant smile, then poked my stomach with her fingertips.
Hey, I just ate. Stop that.
' Y O U R O U T F I T S ! Yesterday's party already put us a whole day behind, so if you slack off any more, they won't be ready by the event!'*
"...Ah... ahh, you're right. That's true."
It's not that I had completely forgotten—it's just that with a never-ending pile-up of more pressing events and tasks, it had been pushed to the back of my mind.
It's true that being stuck with my current hundred-percent girly options is a problem. I'd like to get some stylish, cool outfits for my Trance ability as soon as possible.
'So, I'm going home today.'
"Yeah, got it... wait, your [Arcadia] machine is..."
'Still in my old room. So I'm going back there for tonight. I'll probably move in for real the day after tomorrow.'
So that's it. She was just stopping by to drop off her luggage. I thought it was a bit crazy for her to come rushing over the day after getting the offer... but if that's the case, it's within the realm of reason.
"—And you're really okay?"
'Don't worry about it. See, Hiyo-chan's already in the parking lot.'
As I walked her to the door to see her off, she held out her device, displaying a chat app screen.
The latest message showed a sticker of that character resembling Mitsueda-san jumping up and down with the text, 'Arrived!' Hiyo-chan-san really likes her stickers.
"Alright. Well, let me know if anything comes up."
'Okay, thanks. And thank you for dinner.'
She gave a little bow and turned as if to leave—only to spin back around, as if she'd forgotten something.
And then, for whatever reason, Nia opened her mouth and,
"..., ..., ..., ..."
...she formed one, two, three, four silent sounds.
Give me a break—if I hadn't been able to read that, it would've been a disaster.
"Yeah. Good night. See you."
"...!"
Leaving behind a dazzling grin, she finally dashed away. Watching her back as I closed the door, I let out a breath, her smile inescapably burned into my mind—
"Every single one of them... I wonder if a day will ever come when I can win, in any sense of the word."
As I thought about a future that seemed impossible... I found that, little by little...
...I was able to admit that, deep down, I didn't mind this at all.
One step at a time.
※On a personal note, I'm a little busy for a while, so I might not have time to reply to comments. Needless to say, I'm grateful for all of them and they give me encouragement and nourishment. I think I'll be able to give quick, brief replies, so please bear with me.