A reversal of fortune and victory in a world hated by all girls!

Actually, I was thinking about going out, but I didn't know what I would do. Later, I thought that if I were alone, I should probably not go out, so I gave up the idea.

If Hayakawa hadn't met him in the first place, she might still be that timid girl who was shy around people and dressed sloppily.

"Actually, the tasks of a manga artist's assistant vary depending on the artist. Take Yoshihiro Togashi, for example. Although he has now become a mahjong master, during his peak years as a manga artist, he not only worked himself to the bone but also did most of the detailed work himself. Several of his assistants later said in interviews that working for him felt like being a free agent, with a very easy workday. However, just as there are hardworking manga artists, there are also some lazy ones, and some even just draw a draft and have their assistants do everything else. These kinds of people should be condemned and despised."

"Oh, oh." Hayakawa nodded repeatedly, listening while jotting down the key points Ayano had just mentioned on a piece of paper. The two really did seem like a master and apprentice teaching each other.

"By the way, Ayano, you just mentioned working yourself to the bone, which reminds me of the two main characters in Bakuman. After becoming professional manga artists, they were still in high school and ended up balancing their studies and drawing manga at the same time, which caused their bodies to develop problems. So, if you really become a professional manga artist in the future, what should you do?"

"It's okay, I'm fully prepared for that. Besides, if I really become a professional manga artist someday..." Ayano's gaze gradually lengthened before settling on Hayakawa, "I'll appreciate your support then!"

"Huh, me? Me?"

"Yeah, I definitely hope you can keep helping me. You can come and learn more before that happens. Once I officially become a professional comic artist, I will officially hire you as my assistant. If the comic becomes popular, I will find second, third, and fourth assistants to help me. It's just a matter of working overtime, so bring it on!"

Ayano spoke with righteous indignation, and her imposing manner instantly infected Hayakawa, who was holding the pen. In fact, she had wanted to try drawing for a long time, but she never knew where to start. Taking a manga class was too troublesome, so in the end she just became an ordinary anime fan, occasionally buying some merchandise Blu-rays to support her favorite characters.

Now that such an opportunity was truly before him, Hayakawa's heart began to race, and his eyes gleamed with even more excitement.

"Don't worry so much. I'll teach you what you don't understand. Let's draw comics happily together."

Ayano tilted her head and smiled at her, her ponytail swinging back and forth.

Aoi Natsuki, standing nearby, also glanced at her again. Although her words were a bit clichéd, they still had a good impact on the atmosphere. Besides…

For Hayakawa, who had never experienced anything like this before, this was a complete and straightforward challenge.

Just like the final, walk-off home run in baseball, it struck deep into the depths of her heart.

Hayakawa blushed and nodded repeatedly, her small hands clenched tightly on her knees, making her look like a little child.

Indeed, simple-minded people are easily moved.

Aoi Natsuki then took another sip of tea. The two people in front of him had once again entered into a "master-disciple relationship," and he continued to act as an outsider, offering no opinion on what they were saying.

"It's getting late, I'll go cook lunch now. As for your fridge... never mind, I'll just go check it myself." Asking Ayano was pointless, so Aoi Natsuki put down her teacup, stood up from the tatami mat, and walked towards the door.

"Looking forward to your lunch!" Ayano's voice came from behind.

What a lazy bum who only knows how to wait for meals.

Aoi Natsuki looked helpless, but since it all depended on her to improve Hayakawa's skill points now, she could still fulfill this small request of cooking.

I went down to the first floor and went straight into the kitchen.

I opened the refrigerator. Oh? There's quite a bit of food inside. It seems she cooks regularly. Could it be Takahashi Mitsu? Is she really learning to cook all by herself?

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

Natsuki Aoi took out some vegetables from the refrigerator, as well as two ribeye steaks from the freezer.

Let's just have a simple lunch like this.

Just as he was thinking, a girl's exclamation interrupted his thoughts of recalling the recipe. He turned around and saw Takahashi Mito returning from outside.

The two looked at each other. Aoi Natsuki remained calm, having already prepared herself for the possibility of Aoi's sudden return. However, Takahashi Mito never expected Aoi to be in her house. As soon as she entered, she saw a man's figure, which startled her.

Fortunately, she recognized Aoi Natsuki at first glance, otherwise she might have turned around and rushed out the door.

At that moment, Takahashi Mito took off her high-top boots, revealing black stockings underneath. Aoi Natsuki, acting on his male instincts, glanced at them, but in that one glance, Takahashi Mito felt as if she were naked in front of this boy. She immediately frowned, pressed her right foot against her left, and said sternly, "What are you looking at! What are you doing in my house!"

The conversation returned to normal.

Aoi Natsuki was used to her domineering attitude, so she took it in stride, picked up the things she took from the refrigerator, and turned to walk into the kitchen.

"Did Ayano send me here? Is it about the manga?"

"Ayano again? Goodness, she actually dared to send people to the house, she's really gone too far!" Takahashi Mito quickly put on her cotton shoes and hurried towards the kitchen.

"You're not going to cook again, are you?"

"Yes, have you eaten? Why don't you eat something together?" Aoi Natsuki pulled out a cutting board from the corner of the kitchen and started washing the dishes. "Where do you keep things like seasonings and chili powder?"

Mito Takahashi frowned, then stepped forward and pulled out the first drawer on the left side of the stove: "You're really quite the social butterfly."

"What do you mean by being overly familiar? Takahashi, we've known each other for almost a semester now, and we've met at least fifty times, if I'm not a hundred. We're pretty close friends, aren't we?" Aoi Natsuki said calmly.

Friends...

Mito Takahashi doesn't dislike this word.

"Also, I noticed you have quite a lot of food in your fridge. You used to always say you ordered takeout every day, so why are you starting to cook for yourself now? What prompted that?"

Aoi Natsuki asked casually, and her subordinates had already started washing vegetables under the tap.

Hearing this, Takahashi Mito was momentarily speechless. She couldn't very well say that it was because of the meal that Takahashi Mito cooked for her that she had the idea of ​​wanting to cook for herself. That would make her sound like a girl who only knew how to indulge in self-pity!

"..."

"What's wrong? Lately, you always suddenly stop talking while we're chatting. I've never seen you like this before." Aoi Natsuki didn't hear any notification sounds indicating an increase or decrease in the other person's affection level. Since there was no change, he didn't need to care too much about what they had just said.

"No, I just feel that eating takeout all the time isn't good, so I wanted to cook some myself, that's all! Don't overthink it, it has nothing to do with you!"

"I didn't say there was any connection."

"Alright! I don't want to talk to you anymore. You should hurry up and cook, I'm a little hungry too." Takahashi Mito's tone was somewhat insincere. She glanced at him again before walking into the living room.

Now that he's already at my house, what about the gift I bought earlier...?

Yes, she still hasn't given away the pen she bought before.

There was no opportunity, so I kept waiting.

This wait lasted until after Christmas.

"..." Takahashi Mito's expression was a bit strange. She felt that the temperature in the hall was a bit low. She looked at Aoi in the kitchen, then went to the machine on the wall by the door that controlled the room temperature, turned it on, and raised the temperature by two degrees.

"Aoi!"

"Huh?" Natsuki Aoi simply responded without turning her head.

"I've turned on the air conditioning for you. If you're still cold, just let me know."

"okay."

Then nothing happened.

Standing by the dining table, Takahashi Mitsu's gaze fell on Aoi Natsuki, who was chopping vegetables in the kitchen with her back to her. After a long while, she finally uttered two words: "Baka..."

……

"Takahashi, how much can you eat? I'm planning to make some pasta."

"Not much, I've been on a diet lately."

"Dieting?" Aoi Natsuki paused in her work, then picked up the spatula and walked to the kitchen doorway to look around. "Everyone else starts dieting in the summer, why are you only starting in winter?"

"Bullshit! Who's on a diet! I, I just want to eat less sometimes, so just prepare half a portion for me." As she said this, Takahashi Mito instinctively tugged at her clothes, and upon noticing her little belly, she immediately changed her sitting posture.

Aoi Natsuki was naturally unaware of her little scheme. As for whether she was fat or thin, according to his aesthetic standards, Takahashi Mito had never changed.

It had been a long time since the two had spoken alone, and the atmosphere gradually improved. Later, they talked about Yoshi-chan, and Takahashi Mito's originally gloomy mood underwent a complete reversal. It was then that she remembered that she still had an out-of-season watermelon at home, which Ayano had been clamoring to buy at the supermarket.

Let's cut it today.

Having made up her mind, Takahashi Mito walked to the corner of the living room, opened a wooden box, took out a large watermelon, and then went to the kitchen to tell Aoi the news.

"Aoi, look, I bought a watermelon a while ago, it's been sitting there for ages I almost forgot about it. Since you cooked, I'll reluctantly let you have it..."

Mito Takahashi couldn't hide her smile, and she held the watermelon high in the air.

"Meidu?"

This one voice shattered all her original thoughts.

The smile on her face froze instantly.

Her stiff head slowly turned to the stairwell on the left, where she saw Hayakawa standing on the third step, also looking at her with a surprised expression.

This is a complete social disaster!!!

－－－－－－－

Chapter 102 Because He Doesn't Care

……

"Mmm, it's so sweet. Eating watermelon in winter is such a wonderful experience," Ayano Takahashi said, taking a bite of watermelon and looking quite content.

Meanwhile, Takahashi Mito and Hayakawa sat in silence, heads down, eating watermelon.

This was the first time the two best friends had felt so awkward facing each other. The more lively Ayano became, the more restrained the two of them felt.

In the kitchen, Natsuki Aoi was cooking soup. He picked up a spoon and scooped out a spoonful to taste the saltiness. At this moment, he could also receive fluctuations in the favorability values ​​of Mito Takahashi and Keiko Hayakawa. The higher the frequency of the fluctuations, the more unstable their moods were.

"I...I'll go help in the kitchen," Hayakawa said, breaking the atmosphere as she got up and headed to the kitchen.

"I'll go too." These words almost came out of Takahashi Mito's mouth immediately. When she realized what was happening, she saw Hayakawa looking at her with a surprised expression, and she herself unconsciously left her seat.

With no other option, the two of them went into the kitchen to help.

The kitchen is large enough to comfortably accommodate not only the two of them, but also three or four others; however, it doesn't require two people to help.

Aoi Natsuki also sensed the unease between the two, and after thinking about it, she could only assign them each some simple tasks.

Consider it an extra dish.

Hayakawa picked up a washed potato, peeled it, and then cut it into strips. Since he had helped his mother with these things since he was a child, his hand holding the knife was naturally quite steady.

The rhythmic sound of the cleaver hitting the cutting board also resonated in Mitsu Takahashi's heart.

For some reason, she, who had never thought of competing with Hayakawa, suddenly felt a strong competitive spirit.

Even though it wasn't a competition at all, the way the two of them were beating each other up felt like they were vying for first place.

On the left, Hayakawa is cutting potatoes, on the right, Miyako Takahashi is cutting tomatoes, while Natsuki Aoi is preparing cornstarch, beating eggs, and heating oil.

I plan to fry another batch of fries at noon.

"That's enough, that's enough, you don't need to eat so much." Aoi Natsuki saw the mountain of potato fries and quickly stepped forward to stop them, as did Takahashi next to her.

"Leave the rest to me, you're all free now. You can both leave." Aoi Natsuki gave them the order to leave, and the two girls obediently put down their cleavers and left the kitchen.

These two are completely baffling.

Natsuki Aoi shook her head and then started frying French fries.