After returning home on the third floor, Sora cooked some rice.
While waiting, he also quickly made a simple seaweed and egg soup.
Once the rice and soup were on the table, he took out the portion of fried fish he had set aside earlier for dinner from his inventory.
The golden, crispy fish was still steaming hot, exactly as if it had just come out of the fryer.
Looking at the meal before him, Sora took out his phone and snapped a photo.
Then he opened LINE.
At the moment, he only had two friends on LINE, both added earlier that day.
He sent the photo to Eriri first.
A few seconds later, once the message showed “Read,” he immediately long-pressed the image and unsent it.
Soon afterward, the words “Typing…” appeared.
Sora closed the chat window and sent the same dinner photo to Kotonoha.
However, Kotonoha seemed to be busy.
Even after a minute, the message still hadn’t been marked as read.
Sora didn’t mind.
Instead, he reopened his chat with Eriri.
[Eriri: ?] [Eriri: Why did you suddenly send me a picture like that?] [Sora: Sorry, wrong person.] [Eriri: You can mess that up too?
Idiot!] [Sora: Yes, yes, I’m an idiot.] [Eriri: Did you make that yourself?] [Sora: Yeah.
Anyway, that’s enough chatting.
I’m going to eat dinner.] ——— Eriri stared at the conversation on her screen and pouted.
Seriously?
Talking to a beautiful girl like me is less important than eating dinner?
Scrolling through the chat history, she recalled the dinner photo that had been withdrawn.
Fried fish.
Egg soup.
Rice.
Simple, but it looked pretty decent.
She hadn’t expected him to cook it himself.
Then again, as a transfer student living alone, cooking for himself was probably his only option.
Thinking about it that way, he seemed a little pitiful.
The corners of Eriri’s mouth lifted slightly as she found a tiny sense of superiority.
Still…
If he sent the photo to the wrong person, who was the intended recipient?
His parents back in another country?
A friend?
Or maybe the author of the light novel he wanted her help promoting?
She wondered whether that person was male or female.
Before she knew it, her imagination was running wild.
Then her mother, Sayuri Sawamura, called from outside the room.
“Eriri, dinner’s ready.” “Okay!” Eriri entered the dining room and found dinner already set on the table.
Compared to the meal in Sora’s photo, theirs was much more luxurious.
Looking at the empty chair nearby, she asked, “Dad isn’t home?” Sayuri sighed.
“He’s working late.
Let’s eat first.” Eriri puffed up her cheeks unhappily.
“Again?
Why is he always working overtime?” A trace of helplessness appeared on Sayuri’s face.
Mother and daughter sat down together for dinner.
Casually, Sayuri asked, “How have things been at school lately?” Thinking about everything that had happened that day, Eriri hesitated.
“It’s been…
okay.” Sayuri immediately narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Nothing happened, right?” Eriri shook her head.
“No.
The art club’s just been busy lately.” Sayuri smiled.
“I see.
Well, that can’t be helped.
You’re the ace of the art club, after all.” Then she added teasingly, “And wasn’t there another nickname?
Something like the fairest-skinned girl in school?
The Golden Legend of Toyogasaki?” Eriri’s face instantly turned red.
“Don’t say weird nicknames like that out loud!” Being called that at school was one thing.
Having her own mother say it to her face at home felt like public execution.
Still, the relationship between mother and daughter was unusually close.
Sayuri teasing her daughter was practically routine.
After all, she was a hardcore otaku herself.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t support Eriri’s doujin activities and even help sell her books at conventions.
“Mom.” “Hm?” “I want fried fish tomorrow.” “Sure.
I’ll buy some fish.” ——— Meanwhile, Kotonoha was making dinner in the kitchen.
Her mother, Manami Katsura, was a successful career woman working in food marketing management.
Though attractive and charismatic, she was extremely strict.
Not only with her employees, but also with her two daughters.
Manami worked overtime almost every day, making it impossible to rely on her for cooking.
As for Kotonoha’s father, he and Manami had divorced long ago due to personality conflicts.
As a result, Kotonoha had been cooking for herself and her younger sister Kokoro ever since she was very young.
Unlike her reserved older sister, Kokoro was much more lively.
She often teased Kotonoha, while also paying close attention to her well-being.
While her sister cooked in the kitchen, Kokoro was doing homework in her room.
Then suddenly, she heard a notification sound from Kotonoha’s phone.
A LINE message.
Kokoro’s curiosity immediately ignited.
Someone actually messaged her sister?
Her sister barely had any friends!
Could she have made a new friend at school?
Was it a boy?
Or a girl?
First, Kokoro quietly peeked toward the kitchen.
After confirming that her sister was still busy cooking, she returned to the desk and picked up Kotonoha’s phone.
The notification preview was still visible.
It was a photo.
Hmm?
Sora Harumi?
After a moment’s thought, Kokoro unlocked the phone.
Knowing her sister’s passcode was perfectly normal for a younger sister, right?
She pressed and held the notification preview to enlarge the image.
That way she could see it without marking it as read.
The image expanded.
It was a dinner photo.
Fried fish.
Seaweed egg soup.
A bowl of rice.
“There’s not much information here, but sending dinner photos still feels suspicious…” Kokoro frowned thoughtfully.
After all, her sister was far too innocent.
She could easily be tricked by a bad guy.
“Better not jump to conclusions.
I’ll observe her a little more first.” Kokoro put the phone back and returned to her homework.
A short while later, Kotonoha entered the room.
“Have you finished your homework, Kokoro?
Dinner’s ready.” “Okay, Sis.
I only have a little left.
I’ll finish after eating.” “Alright.
Go wash your hands.” Kokoro obediently headed to the sink.
But before leaving, she glanced back.
She saw her sister pick up the phone from the desk.
A look of surprise immediately appeared on Kotonoha’s face.
Then she unlocked the screen and began typing rapidly.
It was almost as if she was afraid the other person might misunderstand her for replying too late.
Kokoro narrowed her eyes.
Something was definitely going on with her sister.