Chapter 139 - Common Ground
One way or another, everyone ate quite well, and all the plates were empty.
Mashiro-nee, you ate too much because it’s been a while since you had Chinese food…
“Satisfied?”
“Mm.”
Mion, who usually seemed to eat little, enjoyed every dish too.
Well, A5-grade beef Bell Pepper and Shredded Pork Stir-fry, Sweet and Sour Pork made from premium pork, and Nira Tama (Garlic Chives and Egg) with special eggs are practically cheating.
“Thank you for the meal. It was very delicious.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to be so formal. Mashiro-san and Miki-chan, just be yourselves.”
Ah, it seems she’s figured us out?
Well, at this point, it’s probably obvious.
The two exchanged glances, but it wouldn’t be right to suddenly let loose either.
“Also, as you’ve probably noticed… Mio and I usually eat out or order takeout.”
As expected.
The ingredients were all top-notch, and more importantly, the cooking utensils, tableware, and probably even the rice cooker looked brand new.
In other words, they usually don’t cook at all… They must be busy with work.
“Please have some tea.”
Tsubaki-san poured Tieguanyin tea, matching the Chinese meal. Did they only have tea-making tools?
The tea she brewed before the meal was also delicious, so perhaps that was Tsubaki-san’s hobby?
“If only Tsubaki could cook…”
“Unfortunately, I would only waste ingredients.”
Is that so? And that’s why she didn’t help?
Seriously, she should at least be able to use a kitchen knife… My mother couldn’t, though. Sigh.
“It can’t be helped. In that case, Tsubaki, please do your best with the office work.”
“Yes.”
That’s helpful, but…
“Uhm… why do you take the train to school?”
If they have a private car and Tsubaki-san, I’d think they’d just get picked up and dropped off.
“I used to have Tsubaki pick me up and drop me off during elementary and middle school, but it wouldn’t do for a high school student to be unable to ride a train alone, would it?”
“Well… that’s true.”
But suddenly being alone… Hm?
“By any chance, Tsubaki-san, do you usually watch to make sure she’s alright?”
“Yes. I was also watching when Shou-sama assisted the young lady.”
Seriously… or rather, if you were watching, I wish you’d done something before I did.
I looked at Tsubaki-san, and she said,
“You need not worry. That person was later apprehended and handed over after attempting similar actions with a different female student.”
“Cough!”
I involuntarily choked.
But Mashiro-nee and Miki were nodding, and Mion’s mother had a look on her face as if to say, “That’s only natural.”
Well, that old man was definitely out of line, but still.
“?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. So, Tsubaki-san picks you up at the station on the way home?”
“Mm.”
Hearing that, I felt a little relieved.
The automated tour buses can get crowded sometimes, and in such situations, there’s always that worry about weirdos.
If only I had the steel mentality of Mashiro-nee or Miki, I wouldn’t worry…
“Since Shou-sama began accompanying her, I leave it to him, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Ah…”
But that doesn’t seem to solve the problem of her being unable to ride the train alone, does it?
………
……
…
Without incident, the lunch gathering (?) concluded.
“If you don’t mind, please come cook again. I’ll definitely make time.”
“Yes.”
Mion’s mother still had work, so with a very regretful expression, she went upstairs.
After that, we figured we’d just hang out, but before that,
“Is Mashiro-nee’s VR HMD set up?”
“Yeah!”
“Mhm, it’s all done.”
I realized it after saying it, but to configure personal settings from a VR HMD, you naturally need a wireless internet connection.
For WearID registration, an ‘application cert’ provided by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s iris authentication system is required…
That part can be set up in flow, but afterwards, the physical information scan for base avatar creation, involving standing, sitting, and lying down, is quite difficult.
I was envious that they could do it smoothly thanks to the spacious living room. I almost hit my arm against the wall when I did mine…
“By the way, Brother, it seems there’s an official IRO update live stream at 1 o’clock tomorrow.”
“Eh, seriously?”
“Indeed. Since we’re here, why don’t we all watch it?”
“Is that alright with Mion?”
She nodded to my question, so I needed to quickly do the dishes.
“Alright, I’ll do the dishes, so you all go ahead and watch.”
Tsubaki-san, who had appeared with a cart-like object, efficiently cleared the dishes.
“Mm…”
Mion signaled that I didn’t need to help, so I left it to her.
I figured there was a huge dishwasher, so it was probably just a matter of loading them in.
My house, for some reason, doesn’t have a dishwasher, which is common these days.
Or rather, my dad handles the dishes so naturally that the existence of a dishwasher simply isn’t in his head.
“Uhm, which way should we watch it?”
Watching with everyone wearing VR HMDs would be fine, or displaying it on the large Holographic Display would also work.
Ah, but Mashiro-nee couldn’t enter the club room. Kumano-sensei knows her, and Bell-buchou probably wouldn’t say no, but still.
Did Mion realize that? She woke the Holographic Display from sleep mode.
““Ooh!””
Mashiro-nee and Miki couldn’t help but exclaim at the large display floating in the air.
Mion opened the official live stream on her tablet, and then…
“Uhm…”
The PV that played during the previous update started looping.
There was a ‘[Scheduled to start at 13:00]’ in the top right, but as usual, it would probably be delayed.
Then, a scene of me and Lupi playing together started playing in the PV…
“Hey, that’s Shou, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. My brother is quite famous in IRO.”
Mashiro-nee, please don’t tell anyone in IRO that you’re my sister, okay?
Putting myself aside, I can easily imagine her getting tangled with troublesome people and losing her temper… I’ll have to warn her when we get home.
Miki needs to cooperate with me on that too…
“This doggy is so cute and cool. Can I have one too?”
“That would be difficult. I believe they only exist on my brother’s island, do they not?”
“What’s that? Isn’t Shou cheating?”
Mashiro-nee was grumbling, but ignoring her was the correct response.
Come to think of it, Lupi is still just `[Wolf?]`.
I think there was an encyclopedia in a book in the cabinet, so I need to finish renovating the mountain cabin quickly and read it…