In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

That idiot Rikka is trying to get by with her older sister's homework by using this kind of trick. If Toka finds out, she'll definitely smash her head in!

No matter how you look at it, this is too low and too pathetic!

Unfortunately, Toka hasn't returned during this time and hasn't been able to keep an eye on her. It seems that the increasingly adorable Chiyo is constantly bothering her, making it impossible for her to get away for the time being, as she feels a surge of pity for her.

Without her older sister's restraint at home, Rikka became increasingly unrestrained, causing Minamoto Chiyo more and more distress—how should she deal with this brat?

He felt that he should wait a little longer, to give himself, but more importantly, to give Liu Hua some time to think things through: whether she should honestly admit her mistake or work hard to improve herself in the future!

But Rikka clearly doesn't have that kind of proactive awareness. She's been so obvious about it lately, she doesn't believe that someone as clever as Chiyo wouldn't notice anything at all.

There must have been a reason for protecting her!

This is clearly a case of pretending to be ignorant when you know the truth!

Now that it's the holidays, he's spending less and less time at home, and realizing that he's intentionally avoiding her makes it even harder for her to accept!

No matter how hard it was to accept, she could only accept her fate. As a girl, she couldn't just tell him to keep protecting her.

On March 4th, upon learning that Chiya would be home for dinner after finishing work that evening, Rikka naturally went home with him.

Originally, she just wanted to go back and hug Chiyo, and spend the night there, that was all.

In fact, it was pretty much as she had expected.

After returning home in the afternoon, I played house with Chiyo and waited for my father, Chiyo, and older sister to come back.

Afterwards, the family enjoyed a happy dinner together. As usual, her older sister urged her to study in a serious tone, saying that she would soon be a senior in high school, the most important stage of her life... and so on.

Rikka listened to the perfunctory response, while Chiya and her father chimed in with laughter, preventing her from being nagged indefinitely.

Then it quickly became evening, and Chiyo's parents took her to rest.

On the second floor, Rikka also finished taking a shower after her sister, went to bed around 10 p.m., and watched some anime.

Around 11 p.m., her sister knocked on the door to remind her that she shouldn't stay up too late during spring break. After a lecture, she reluctantly put down her phone, hugged her pillow, and went to sleep.

Then, I don't know how much time passed.

That night, after Rikka fell asleep, she had a dream.

Not long after, she suddenly woke up from her dream.

After sitting up in bed, she took a moment to realize it was a dream, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Luckily, my older sister didn't find out that I was slacking off on my homework, otherwise I would definitely have gotten a beating!

She lay back down, still shaken, and began to drift off to sleep again. Then, in the stillness of the night, she suddenly caught a subtle sound.

The sound was intermittent and unclear, accompanied by a creaking sound, like someone eating a late-night snack.

At first, she didn't pay much attention, thinking that she was just hallucinating because she hadn't recovered from the dream.

But after waiting silently for a while, she suddenly got out of bed and realized that something was very wrong!

After listening intently, she got out of bed, opened the door, tiptoed downstairs, and arrived in the living room without any hindrance.

Gradually, the sounds became clearer: a creaking sound, a popping sound... The former sounded like someone eating something, while the latter sounded like the opening of a can of sparkling water or a beverage.

And a very distinct aroma of spicy crayfish, steak, and roast chicken wafted into my nostrils!

Even without seeing the specific situation in the living room, Rikka now roughly understands what happened!

What?! Even if you want to avoid eating delicious food yourself, you don't have to go this far! Have the party after she falls asleep! That's incredibly unfair!

And as Rikka, still fuming, stood by the wall and slowly peeked out, she did indeed see it—

Gen Chiya and Takanashi Touka huddled together, watching TV, eating crayfish, and toasting with their beers—it was incredibly enjoyable!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next day, March 5th.

As agreed beforehand, Eriri finished drawing her manga in the morning and came to the apartment to find Rikka in the afternoon.

The two chatted about their recent situations, and then talked about how Yukino had been taken care of by Haruno-nee after the holiday to familiarize herself with the work at home. Finally, they took out their phones and watched some short videos of travel photos shared by Yako-nee and Utaha-nee who had been traveling during this time.

Most of the time, Eriri was the one talking, while Rikka spoke very little, just listening quietly and occasionally letting out a soft "hmm" to show that she was indeed listening.

While the two were talking, a comedy program was playing on TV, and Rikka's eyes were fixed on the TV screen, so Eriri didn't notice anything amiss and just assumed she was engrossed in watching it.

Eriri couldn't help but sigh that everyone now has their own lives.

What was said in jest was taken to heart by the listener. With a mind full of thoughts, Rikka followed the speaker's words and focused her attention on her older sister.

He's usually so strict with himself, always appearing both strict and cool, so what happened last night?

When did she and Qianye...?

How long has it been?

What kind of mood does she usually have when facing herself so that she can remain so nonchalant?

Qianye felt the same way. How could they maintain such composure and act as if nothing had happened, even after the three of them lived under the same roof and their relationship had crossed that line?

"...Dora Eri, can you help me think of a way?" Rikka suddenly spoke softly.

"Dora Eri?!"

Why is the nickname I used to use when I asked Yukino for help now popping up from Rikka's side?

Eriri's feelings were complicated, and before she could respond, Rikka said again, "Right now, only you know how I feel. I can only ask you to help me think of a solution."

"That's true, but I think you don't need to rush. Let's be more natural and take it slow..."

Eriri was speaking when Rikka suddenly became agitated: "But I don't want to wait anymore! To be honest, last time you and Chiya..."

"What happened between me and Qianye?"

"When you and Qianye were secretly together... I was... secretly listening in my room! Using a walkie-talkie that I had placed there beforehand!"

"?!"

Seeing Eriri's shocked and wide-eyed expression, Rikka gave up in despair: "Eri, you should understand, right? Getting close to Chiya... it's impossible not to have all sorts of wild thoughts!"

"..."

Eriri was stunned for a moment, but after staring at Rikka who covered her face with her hands after saying these words, she slowly realized what was going on.

Yes, that's definitely true...

Rikka said that after getting close to Chiya, she was always captivated by his minty scent and didn't want to leave.

But this desire is relative. Since Chiya is like this, then Rikka naturally is too...

Not to mention Rikka, from the beginning until now, she has always been the same. Sometimes, they don't even need to be very close. Just because of missing each other or having a dream, they will feel like they have been apart for three autumns if they don't see each other for a day!

How to do?

When Eriri supported Rikka, she never expected things to develop so quickly! In her mind, she had been secretly in love with Chiya for almost ten years before finally getting together with her.

She thought that even though Rikka had her help, it would still take at least a year and a half of dating before they could smoothly enter the main storyline. However, she never expected that Rikka would be unable to suppress her feelings so quickly!

The feeling Rikka gave her right now was that she wanted to confess to Chiya that very night and then solidify their relationship!

Unfortunately, this premonition came true in the following conversation!

"You... anyway, just listen to me first, Rikka..." Eriri stammered, trying to persuade Rikka not to be so hasty.

But Rikka then lowered her hand from her face, her flushed face and fixed gaze on Eriri: "I've got it!"

"You've figured it out?"

No, what are you thinking about?!

"Okay, I've decided. Qianye hasn't been sleeping well lately, let's go buy him some melatonin!"

"Huh—!?"

Rikka said very seriously, "Look, in the doujinshi you drew before, there was a plot like this. The male and female protagonists clearly liked each other, but they were too shy to express their feelings. Then the male protagonist got a potion from a fortune teller. He drugged the female protagonist and completely awakened her love for him. The two of them fell in love with each other and, having broken through each other's defenses, they were finally together!"

"...!!!" Eriri was utterly astonished!

Using absurd plot points from a book as examples! This kid must be crazy!

Looking at Rikka's eyes, which were also starting to redden slightly, Eriri had no idea that Rikka had been going on to the point where she needed to listen to Chiya's interview compilation every night to fall asleep, seemingly following in the footsteps of the maid!

Most importantly, Rikka even witnessed the intimate moment between Touka and Chiya last night!

The thought of being kept in the dark for so long without her knowledge was completely unacceptable to Rikka, and she felt a sense of alienation from being excluded!

Rikka Takanashi, who considers herself very, very important to Chiya and her sister, hates that feeling so much!

"Um, Rikka, listen to me, the plot in the doujinshi is all made up by me, it definitely can't be applied to reality." Eriri tried to persuade Rikka to come back to her senses, she was even a little scared as an observer!

Rikka's condition is clearly not right!

"Why not?"

"Putting everything else aside, there's no magic pill in reality that makes people reveal their true feelings."

"The medication is fine; we can use melatonin instead. After Qianye drinks it and falls asleep, I'll confess my feelings to him instantly. That way, the outcome should be the same!"

"...!"

They actually want to improve under these circumstances?!

No, you're definitely not Rikka, who are you?!

Eriri screamed inwardly, realizing that the situation was getting out of control and was getting worse. Her first thought was Yukino, but the problem was that she couldn't ask Yukino for help in this situation!

She stammered, unsure of what to say. At that moment, Rikka, her breathing quickening, made up her mind, got up, and walked towards the entrance.

Eriri hurriedly caught up: "Where are you going, Rikka?"

"pharmacy!"

"You really want to go?!" Eriri was almost crying with anxiety. "No, listen to me, this is wrong, this is absolutely wrong!"

She grabbed Rikka's arm, but Rikka was now beyond her control.

After getting off the elevator and leaving the apartment building, Rikka went to the pharmacy and bought melatonin, claiming she had insomnia!

Throughout this process, Eriri was completely unable to shake Rikka's will.

All she could do was whisper in Rikka's ear that the choice of melatonin should at least take into account whether it would have any impact on human health.

Fortunately, Rikka listened to this advice and chose a product that was relatively gentle on the human body and had few side effects.