I endured the humiliation and humiliation while being besieged by the ghost story elder sister.

As soon as she finished speaking, she grabbed Xi Ling's arm and walked towards the machines that were still playing music not far away.

Almost instantly, Ami and Honoka, who had been left behind by the two, couldn't help but look at each other, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes.

"Um... Ms. Fanxia, ​​do you know what fun things there are to do around here?"

"I'm not really sure either, I've hardly ever been to places like this before..."

The two couldn't help but feel that they had become out of touch with the times. In order not to feel lonely, Honoka and Ami decided to wander around together and look for games that interested them.

a long time.

As the game's ending music played again, the girl sitting in the chair finally couldn't hold back any longer. She slammed her hands together in a fit of impotent rage.

"Aaaaaah! Why! Every time I'm just a hair's breadth away from beating you, Mio! Why is it always just a tiny bit short?!"

"...Want to play again? Oh, and don't forget our bet."

Hiyo, sitting in front of the machine opposite Arisa, responded calmly.

This is Arisa's 31st challenge, but in reality, the "Muscle Master VI" uses a best-of-three format.

If you really count it, they've played ninety-three games. Apart from the thirty-one times when Xi Ling deliberately let Arisa win in order to complete three games, he precisely controlled the remaining sixty-two games so that Arisa was just one point away from winning.

To prevent Arisa from losing interest after a short time and becoming too overwhelmed to continue playing.

Under Mio's precise control, they had been there for a while. Not far away, Honoka and Ami, who had just finished their duo match, also came over after hearing the noise. They were curious about why Arisa was so furious.

then.

At Arisa's request, they started the thirty-second game. Incidentally, before playing, Arisa made a bet with Nozomi.

That means the loser has to unconditionally grant the winner one request. In other words, Arisa is almost becoming Nozomi's all-powerful wish-granting machine...

This time, with an audience present, Mio followed her previous tactics, giving Arisa a glimmer of hope for victory before delivering a powerful Shoryuken punch.

game over.

The entire arcade could hear Arisa's desperate wails, but to Himo, they sounded incredibly pleasant.

It feels so good to tease Arisa every now and then.

Then he raised his head and looked at Aunt Ami standing behind Arisa, and found that her expression seemed a little strange.

Then I heard her talking to Arisa.

"Haven't you realized yet? You silly daughter... Xi Miao deliberately left a sliver of blood for you to see..."

"...I don't believe it!"

Chapter 107 Matcha

stare--

The way the girl stared at him seemed to want to strip him naked and see for herself whether Xi Ling was truly cunning.

Under Arisa's watchful gaze, Nozomi felt immense pressure, fearing that Arisa would discover her precise control over her health bar...

Then, Arisa used this as an excuse to play the "instant pause" trick on him a few times, which made him uncomfortable.

In addition to Ximiao and her group, students from other nearby schools were also dining at the family restaurant.

As they passed by Nozomi's and Arisa's desk, they naturally noticed the unusually conspicuous school uniforms and school badges on Nozomi and Arisa's clothes, and were all momentarily stunned.

"Alright, alright~ let's stop worrying about winning or losing this game. Have someone bring the menu over, let's see what we want to eat~"

Honoka, who was unaware of the bet between Nozomi and Arisa, tried to step in and smooth things over.

Seeing this, Arisa stopped staring intently at Nozomi, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Soon, after calling over the waitress and telling each other what set meals they wanted, all that was left was to wait patiently for their food to be served.

Taking advantage of this free time, Arisa, who had finally recovered from the afterglow of being teased by Himo, looked at her mother sitting next to her and asked.

"Mom... are we just going to let this go like this? Those guys forced Mio to take O-drugs. Although it's not a serious problem, it doesn't feel right to just let it go so easily..."

It should be noted that Arisa has always been vengeful, a trait she naturally inherited from her mother, Ashi.

So, seeing her mother so simply stop asking questions, she remained puzzled but couldn't find an opportunity to bring up the issue.

Upon hearing her daughter's question, Asahi dismissed it.

Do you think that kind of person would willingly suffer this injustice in silence?

"Of course not...but..."

Before Arisa could finish speaking, Ami interrupted her and explained.

"Some things can't be explained in that small meeting room. We need to wait until they make the first move before we can rightfully retaliate."

"..."

Well, it seems that Arisa was overthinking things after all. She thought that her mother's personality had become much gentler, so she was being soft-hearted.

But after hearing her words, Arisa realized that her mother hadn't changed much at all.

After the group had dinner, at Ami's invitation, Nozomi and Honoka went into Ami's apartment.

"Ugh~ It's so hot, can't the air conditioner be turned down a little?"

After taking off her shoes and entering the house, Fan Xia couldn't help but tug at her clothes. A few beads of sweat appeared on her fair forehead, which she subconsciously wiped away.

"Is it really that hot? I remember it's usually set to around 20 degrees Celsius."

Seeing her like this, even Ashi couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, even though she herself felt quite cool.

However, to take care of Fanxia, ​​she went and turned the air conditioner to the lowest temperature, which made Fanxia feel a little better.

In the living room, Hiyo was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, enjoying a massage from Arisa behind her.

After all, over thirty opportunities are enough for Arisa to do anything, and no matter how much he squanders them, he won't lose out in the end.

"Push your left shoulder a little harder! Arisa, didn't you eat enough?"

"..."

Suppressing the urge to drag Mio back to her room and give him a good beating, Arisa was practically gritting her teeth as she massaged his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Fanxia, ​​who was sitting on the side watching the show, looked on with amazement and said something that seemed to enjoy the spectacle.

"What's going on, Arisa? Why are you so subservient to Mio? You were just angry a moment ago!"

While the three of them were interacting, in the kitchen, Ami, who was busy with the cat maid and Boros, showed no sign of stopping her work.

“Um… Madam, if you’re going to stir the matcha, you should do it a little more gently, don’t use so much force, so that the texture will be smoother and softer.”

Seeing Ashi's sudden idea to try making matcha herself, Boros's face was full of worry.

Normally, she would do these kinds of things, while Asumi and her daughter Arisa were completely inexperienced in such matters, having never lifted a finger in the kitchen.

Just as she was about to remind Asumi again, she was met with a somewhat impatient rebuttal.

"Everyone's matcha is a little different~ Why do you insist that mine taste exactly like yours, Pegasus?"

"But……"

"Alright, alright, you can just watch quietly from the side."

After an unknown amount of time, Ami and Pegasus, carrying several cups of matcha that they had painstakingly prepared, walked to the living room.

What they were holding naturally attracted the attention of Ximiao and the others, prompting Arisa to ask with some curiosity.

"Mom, what's that in your hand?"

"Matcha, oh~ Come and try some~ I made it myself."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing that it was something her mother had made herself, for some reason, the expression on Arisa's face visibly became somewhat subtle.

Unaware of what the girl behind her was thinking, Nozomi took the teacup from Ami's hand without any precautions and curiously examined the matcha inside.

If you only smell it, it actually gives him a pretty good impression.

then.

Without hesitation, Nozomi took a sip of the matcha.

A complex flavor immediately filled his taste buds—bitter, fragrant, and so on—it was hard to describe in words.

But he resisted the urge to spit out the matcha and swallowed it, then spoke to Ami.

"The taste is not bad... Auntie Ashi~"

"Eh~ Really?! As expected of Nozomi, she understands my cooking skills~ Unlike that silly daughter of mine, who always avoids my cooking like the plague."

however.

After hearing what Aunt Ami said, Nozomi turned her head sharply and glared fiercely at Arisa.

His eyes seemed to say, "Why didn't she remind me sooner that Aunt Ami's cooking skills are so bad? He almost fainted after just one sip of matcha."

It's hard to imagine how Arisa managed to keep going when Aunt Asi suddenly felt like making something for Arisa to try.

What Mio didn't know was that Arisa, who could have refused her mother's feeding, was also skeptical when she heard him say that the taste was alright. She took the teacup and brought it to her lips.

Then, after taking a small sip, he spat the matcha back into the cup without any hesitation.

All I heard was Arisa saying irritably, "What is this! It's still the same as before, able to make such a weird taste. Mom, you certainly have a strange talent."

"Eh?"

Somewhat skeptical, Ami also tried it, and immediately her complexion turned sour.

Then, recalling how Xi Ling had said the food tasted good, her gaze towards the boy was filled with a hint of admiration.

In just a short while, all three of them were tormented by this matcha, and seeing this, Fanxia silently put her teacup back on the table.

"Well... I think I'll pass. I'm not really interested in matcha or anything like that."

Just when she thought she had escaped this calamity, she completely forgot that the two people sitting next to her always adhered to the principle of sharing happiness and hardship.

Nozomi suddenly grabbed the cup of matcha from the table, while Arisa, in perfect unison, ran over and pinned Honoka's hands down, giving her no chance to resist.

But because of this commotion, Fanxia, ​​who desperately didn't want to drink the matcha, suddenly leaned her head forward.