Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

"Ah, Ms. Yuzhu, good morning."

Shirou quickly wiped his hands with his apron and walked over.

"I'm using the kitchen."

The girl raised an eyebrow unhappily and said, "You'll understand once you see it."

Shirou scratched his cheek sheepishly: "I figured I didn't have anything else to do during the day, so I might as well make lunch... Sorry for using the kitchen without telling you."

Yuzhu glanced into the kitchen.

He saw a rice cooker cooking rice, diced ham and carrots on a cutting board, and green beans, scallions, corn kernels, and eggs in small bowls.

fried rice?

He was definitely cooking... Was he passing through the front hall when he came back from buying groceries?

The thought of being seen sleeping unguarded by the strange boy in front of her made Yuzhu feel agitated again.

If you don't suddenly feel like making fried rice, I won't be...

The girl initially wanted to yell, "Don't ever come into the kitchen without my permission again!" But then she thought better of it—

This was probably Qingzi's instruction as well.

If it weren't for Qingzi's request, this child wouldn't have needed to cook at all.

Feeling somewhat guilty, Yuju gave up on lecturing Shirou and simply uttered a single word.

"Warmer..."

"Ah...you found out?"

Shirou was both expectant and embarrassed: he wasn't fixing the heater to please Arisu.

But doing this could help me get back closer to her—

Don't do that again.

The girl uttered words colder than the winter night's chill, piercing the boy's chest like a sharp knife.

“I understand that you are just following Aoko’s instructions.”

That's precisely why it makes people uncomfortable... They clearly didn't have the intention, yet they made such a tender gesture...

I really, really feel uncomfortable.

Shirou: "…………"

Youzhu silently walked past him into the kitchen and took out a complete tea set from the cabinet.

After standing there for a while, Shirou returned to his original position and continued to prepare the ingredients.

For a full five minutes, no one spoke.

As Yuzu was leaving the kitchen with the teapot, Shirou called out to her.

"Miss Yuzhu, would you like to have lunch together later?"

Yuzhu didn't stop and left the kitchen directly.

I'll prepare your share!

The indomitable voice of a young man came from behind.

……

……

……

Back in the living room, Yuzhu first took out the "Mirror of Afternoon Nap" to check on the situation in Misaki City, and then started reading a book.

The kitchen and living room are separated by only one wall.

The girl felt uneasy at the thought of a stranger being nearby.

As the owner of the mansion, she could have easily sent Shirou back to Aoko's room—

That was the only place in the house where he was allowed to stay.

In Ayumi's subconscious, Shirou was already the same as the stray dog ​​that Aoko picked up on a rainy day and insisted on keeping despite the landlord's objections.

Although Arisu could command Shirou to stay away from her, but—

"We missed the best opportunity..."

Youzhu frowned slightly, wishing she had said it in the kitchen.

She was determined to send Shirou back to Aoko's room if he made even the slightest noise.

The result was completely unexpected.

She failed to get Shirou out of the kitchen, and even more incredibly, the girl completely forgot about his existence.

Shirou wasn't deliberately lowering his voice in the kitchen; it was just that he had developed a certain habit after living in the mansion for more than half a month.

To put it in a fantastical way—Shirou has become one with the mansion, just like the lady of the house.

That's probably why Shirou was repairing the heater while Arisa was sound asleep without her noticing.

Of course, "the past version of Arisu" didn't know any of this; she just found it strange.

“…It’s so quiet.”

The girl frowned slightly, then understood.

This was probably what Aoko told him—

"When Youzhu is studying, she has to tiptoe around as much as possible, otherwise she will get scolded"... Yes, that must be it.

"...I never expected Aoko to be so considerate. You never would have guessed that usually."

After sighing again, Yuzhu continued reading her book.

Judging from the sunlight streaming into the living room, it was already noon.

On a gloomy winter day, the sunlight gives a feeling of warmth.

Just as the clock was about to strike noon, Shirou returned to the living room with two servings of tableware.

A beautifully carved enamel plate holds a completely different style of Chinese fried rice, the golden kind.

"Miss Yuzhu, lunch is ready."

"..."

Yuzhu had already decided long ago:

Once the boy brought over lunch, she closed her book, turned and left, leaving him with only a cold, rejecting back view.

She had already mentally rehearsed these movements several times, but...

The aroma of fried rice filled the living room.

Smelling that enticing aroma, Yuzhu felt as if her bottom was being sucked into the sofa.

The glistening golden fried rice is perfectly separated, with each grain distinct, and the green, orange, white, and yellow garnishes are incredibly appetizing.

"........."

Youzhu swallowed her saliva.

She originally thought that Shirou chose fried rice because it was easy to make and had a high calorie content, which was suitable for boys in their growth period.

However... this plate of fried rice is definitely not the kind of dish that "a boy might just make to fill his stomach when his mother isn't home."

Just by smelling the aroma and looking at the appearance, you can sense something the chef has poured into it.

I won't eat...

Say it... say it already, Yuju!

Tell him, I don't want to eat! I don't want to eat!

When she came to her senses, Yuzhu had already grasped the spoon.

The girl stared at the fried rice for a long time with a complicated expression, and finally scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth.

………………tasty.

The fried rice the boy made wasn't the kind of delicious that would make your mouth water, nor was it the kind of delicious that would bring tears to your eyes.

It's simply... very delicious.

Seeing that Yuju had lowered her guard and started eating fried rice at a leisurely pace, Shirou also started eating.

……

……

Yuzhu gradually came to understand everything.

This boy named Amamiya Shirou is no stranger.

If you just imagine it as Aoko's "possession", Arisu won't feel that allowing him to stay at home is such a violation of principles.

That's right.

Aozaki Aoko is a resident of this mansion, while Shirou is an "item" she recently brought into the house.

Just like Ayumi's own fairy tale monster, except that this "item" just happens to have the appearance of a boy, and can talk and cook.

Thinking about it this way, Yuzhu suddenly felt enlightened and realized that it wasn't unbearable after all.

So when Shirou returned to the living room after washing the dishes and asked Arisu if he could stay there, the girl nodded gently.

"As long as you don't get in my way, it's fine."

"Youzhu said calmly."

When Aoko first moved in, she also felt a little uncomfortable.

This is just a replay of what happened back then.

In time, she'll get used to it.

The result was once again beyond the girl's expectations.

Yuzu's mood didn't sour at all because Shirou was in the living room.

There was no communication between them, yet a peculiar atmosphere permeated the air.

It offers both the liberating feeling of being alone and the reassuring feeling of having someone by your side.

The girl got up from the sofa and decided to go to the kitchen to make another pot of tea.

It's only been two hours since I had my last cup of black tea?

No, it's been two hours since the last cup of black tea!

in the kitchen.

"Consider it a return gift for lunch, and make a cup for that child too."

Yuzhu stared at the teapot where white smoke was rising and decided to use black tea to make up for the fried rice she had just eaten.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered something, opened a drawer, and took out a small blue glass bottle.

—Meskalin.

An alkaloid extracted from a thornless cactus in South America.

About one to two hours after taking the medication, you will experience very unpleasant feelings, such as anxiety, nausea, and trembling, followed by dreamlike, colorful visual hallucinations.

Local Native Americans dried it and used it in communion during religious ceremonies. Although it was just a common hallucinogen, if used by a witch, it could become a slow-acting poison that could even kill a magician.

The girl used her snow-white fingers to remove the cap from the small bottle, then looked at one of the two teacups in front of her—

A teacup prepared for Shirou.

After much deliberation, Yuzhu finally put the lid back on.

The girl put the glass bottle containing the poison back in the corner of the condiment jar and continued making tea.

……

……