Chapter 82

"Ah, Yui and Rio are in a love triangle!"

For some reason, Mina suddenly shouted this, put down the bag she was holding, and took out a box of sweets.

"Yui likes mushrooms, so here. Rio, this one."

Then she handed a different box of sweets to each of them. Mina stood between the two, who were holding the boxes and tilting their heads, and crossed her arms dramatically.

"Fight!!"

"Stop it."

She flicked Mina's head and pushed her aside. Mina, pouting, approached Yuki.

"Ah, I get it. Yuki made Rio cry."

"That's not it. What's with all these?"

"These took a while to get because I kept spinning them until I got the ones I wanted."

In the bag, besides the sweets, there were several round plastic containers from gacha machines. Mina picked one up,

"Rio, look at this! It's a butt-chin panda! How are you doing!?"

She showed the small animal figurine to Rio. As Rio hurriedly wiped away her tears and tried to respond, Mina leaned in close and peered at Rio's face,

"Then I'll tell a funny joke to make you laugh!"

Eri, unexpectedly sidelined, glanced over and saw Eri with her arms crossed, looking defiant.

"Hmm, I'll let my disciple handle it."

"Yui has hemorrhoids but athlete's foot!"

"That's just an insult. Try something to cheer Rio up!"

"Yui has athlete's foot but hemorrhoids!"

"You just switched them! That's enough, you're excommunicated!"

"Hmm, my master is Rio Elder! Yui is just a minus growth value!"

They argued, and soon they started wrestling and pushing each other. Eventually, Mina said,

"But, Yuki and Rio seem to be getting along well."

"What, what do you mean!?"

"But Rio is just a friend, right? Yuki said so."

"Friend?"

Mina seemed to remember what Rio had said when she first came to the house. Suddenly, Mina became enthusiastic,

"Friend... right, right. That's right! Friends, yeah, yeah!"

"Come on, Rio, stop crying and let's start the party!"

Mina pulled Rio to her feet. Rio, embarrassed, stood up, not wanting to cry in front of Mina.

Eri, watching this, whispered with a smile, "Even though you were the one crying last time."

Yuki nodded and laughed along with her.

---

"Here, Yui loses again! Eat these bamboo shoots, eat them!"

"Ah, bamboo shoots are delicious... I'm falling to the bamboo side..."

Every time Eri lost the game, she was forced to eat bamboo shoot snacks. They were playing a multiplayer game, but Eri was the only one being mercilessly beaten. In the end, she fell to the bamboo face.

Eventually, Mina got sleepy and started dozing off, so they decided to wrap things up. Leaving Mina at home, Yuki, Eri, and Rio walked together to the nearest bus stop. Only Rio was taking the bus home. When they arrived at the empty bus stop and waited for the bus, Eri was still grumbling about losing the game.

"But it was a close call, all of them."

"After all that, you haven't improved at all?"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who just watches."

Eri, taking advantage of the moment, confronted Yuki. Yuki, standing between them, tried to mediate.

"Hey, stop fighting, both of you."

"Fighting? It's not even a fight. Conflict only arises between equals."

"Eri's level is just too low."

"Ooh, are you up for it?"

"That's what I'm saying, stop it."

Yuki stood in the middle, trying to mediate. Eri, having no choice, stepped back but still glared at Yuki. Suddenly, Rio took Eri's hand, then Yuki's, and forced them to hold hands.

"Come on, both of you, be friends."

"Hey, Rio?"

Rio placed her hand over theirs, pressing down. Just as Eri was making strange noises and panicking, the bus arrived.

"See you. Keep holding hands."

Rio let go of their hands, reminded them, and got on the bus. As the door closed, she turned back, raised her hand, and smiled contentedly.

The book version is now available!

For more details, see below.