Chapter 99

"A, ano, gomen nasai, totsuzen..."

Suka-sa-zu Mina returned to look at Yuki, who pressed his head and moved back a bit. Keeping a firm grip on her to prevent her from escaping, he sat her down next to Saya and took a seat beside her. Despite this, Mina remained silent, so he lightly tapped her shoulder, urging her to speak. In response, she silently slapped his hand away.

"From before, I've been thinking I'd like to talk to Nago-san, but at school, it's somehow hard to talk..."

While doing this, Saya timidly opened her mouth. Mina, still looking in the opposite direction, said:

"School is, well, full of chatterboxes..."

Though her words were incomprehensible, Saya seemed pleased that she got a reaction and leaned slightly toward Mina.

"E, etto... then, what are Nago-san's hobbies?"

Games, manga, anime, drawing, and some incomprehensible jokes. Saya thought Mina would answer immediately, but Mina fidgeted uncomfortably before saying:

"S, hobbies are, well, housework?"

"K, housework!? Nago-san does housework?"

"Sure. I do a lot of things at home."

"Wow, amazing. Cooking too?"

"Sure."

Suddenly, Mina put on a smug look, snorting. Saya, not sure why she was showing off, said:

"I'm also studying cooking right now."

However, Saya managed to continue the conversation, and it felt like things were going well. Yuki thought it might be better not to interfere, but then:

"Ano, if it's okay, could you teach me some cooking?"

"But I refuse."

Just as she said this, Mina turned to Yuki with a smug look.

"Then, I'll show you what I'm good at."

"T, what you're good at? Ah, that? That's a bit..."

"Omelet rice."

When it came to cooking, Mina could only think of omelet rice. She seemed to think it was quite difficult, as it was the most challenging dish she could make.

"A, omelet rice? I can manage that too..."

When Saya said this, Mina frowned, displeased. It was unclear if she had some mysterious competitive spirit.

"Then, why don't we make it together?"

"Huh, I can do it alone just fine."

Yuki thought that if they worked together, they might naturally become friends, but Mina ignored him, stood up, and went to the kitchen. Saya, looking bewildered, followed, and Yuki had no choice but to join them.

"First, we'll defrost this in the microwave."

Mina took the frozen rice from the freezer and showed it off. She spoke as if she were a cooking teacher, but she wasn't saying anything particularly difficult.

After putting the rice in the microwave, Mina took a half-used onion from the refrigerator and began cutting it on a cutting board. Surprisingly, she was quite skilled with a knife.

"Onions make your eyes water, so you use your mind's eye. Cut with your mind's eye."

"A, ano, it's better to keep your eyes open..."

Saya's comment made Mina frown and half-open her eyes while chopping the onion. After cutting it in half lengthwise, she finely chopped the remaining half.

"Let's make onion soup too, shall we?"

"Onion soup...?"

A question mark appeared on Saya's face, but it was probably a mistake for consomme. Mina, not noticing, filled a small pot with water and placed it on the stove to boil.

"Wow, doing it all at once. You're efficient!"

"Right, this is multitasking."

Suddenly acting like a strategist, Mina took a frying pan from the lower cabinet and placed it on the front burner. She then poured oil from a bottle into the pan.

"A, there's too much oil..."

"This is the Nago way."

"He, hee..."

Just excessive oil. It looked very dangerous, so Yuki stood right behind Mina to watch.

When the pan started sizzling, Mina sautéed the finely chopped onion and then added the defrosted rice. She quickly poured ketchup over it and mixed it. Occasionally, she shook the pan, but rice kept falling out.

"A, the rice is falling..."

"Here, we select the inferior rice that can't keep up."

Whatever that means, Yuki hoped she would consider the cleanup. The heat was too high, and as expected, the smell of burning started coming from the pan. Mina, absorbed in shaking the pan, suddenly turned off the heat when she realized something was wrong.

"Well, this is good enough."

Ignoring Saya's comment, Mina transferred the rice to a plate, spilling some in the process. She then remembered to open the refrigerator for eggs and the cabinet for a bowl, despite having hot water ready.

"Use the older eggs first."

"I know that!"

"The bowl is in the back there."

"I know, I know! Yuki-kun, you've been so noisy..."

As she turned to Yuki, the handle of the pot on the stove hit her. Seeing the pot tilt, Yuki quickly pushed Mina aside and reached to support the handle.

"Hot!"

He managed to prevent the pot from completely overturning, but hot water splashed onto his hand.

"Are you okay!?"

Saya's sharp voice rang out. She quickly turned off the stove and turned on the faucet to run cold water.

"Let's cool it with water... and if there's ice..."

Saya, ignoring the stunned Mina, opened the refrigerator and searched inside. She efficiently filled a bowl with ice from the automatic ice maker and added water to make an ice bath.

"No, it's fine, no need to make a big deal out of it."

The water wasn't boiling hot, so it probably wasn't a burn. Yuki cooled his hand under the running water, but Saya insisted it was not okay.

They paused the cooking, and Yuki moved to the dining table, submerging his hand in the ice bath. Saya, looking worried, sat next to him. As they sat, they realized Mina was nowhere to be seen, probably having retreated to her room.

"Is she sulking?"

Yuki reflected that he might have been a bit too forceful. Maybe he should have let her do as she pleased.

"A bit of a shock, wasn't it..."

"Well, it's nerve-wracking when someone watches you closely. I think everyone feels that way."

"Are you angry...?"

"No, there's no reason for me to be angry."

Yuki said this casually, and Saya looked at him intently.

"...You're kind. But it's good that it was just a little spill. Your quick reaction helped."

"Well, it was a bit dangerous, so I was paying close attention."

It was clear from the start that something might go wrong. Otherwise, Yuki's usual reaction time wouldn't have been fast enough.

"Wow, you were really paying attention..."

Saya sighed in admiration, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Thank you, Saya-chan."

"A, no, it's nothing. I'm sorry for acting on my own..."

When he lifted his hand from the ice bath, it seemed fine, though it was cold. More concerning was Mina's absence. Yuki said, "I'll go check," and excused himself to Saya before heading to Mina's room again.

The manga version is also updated today.