...
"No eating, thank you." Silence Suzuka silently added another mark to Lucian's tab in her heart.
Lucian returned the phone to Special Week, "Alright everyone, dig in."
"I'm digging in!" x11
...
Today's dishes weren't made solely by Lucian; Rice-chan had also contributed.
"Onii-sama, try this." Rice-chan proactively picked up a dish for Lucian, watching expectantly after he ate it.
"Delicious, just maybe a bit too much sugar, and add a little more water during cooking."
"Oh oh~" Rice-chan firmly committed it to memory, then picked another dish for Lucian, "Then, how about this one?"
"This one's delicious, Rice-chan's cooking is really getting better and better." Lucian freed a hand to rub Rice-chan's head.
"Mmm~" Rice-chan hunched her shoulders, her expression very sweet, "Onii-sama, there's also..."
"You eat first, I'll pick for myself in a bit. Look, you've barely touched your rice."
"Okay, Onii-sama." Rice-chan nodded, eating in small bites.
"Trainer, Urara's picking for you too." Haru Urara also stretched her chopsticks into Lucian's bowl.
"Rice-chan was letting me taste what she made, what does Urara want me to taste?"
Haru Urara giggled, whispering: "I also want Trainer to taste the flavor."
There was a possibility of double meaning in Haru Urara's words, but Lucian didn't respond, simply silently eating what she had placed in his bowl.
Come to think of it, Haru Urara had been very well-behaved ever since her "darkening," cherishing her pelvis a lot.
And she only clung to him when they went to Kochi.
...
Tokai Teio was sitting beside Mejiro McQueen.
"McQueen~ how many bowls is this for you? And why are you only eating rice, not the dishes?"
"Because the rice is already so delicious." Unlike Twin Turbo and Haru Urara's head-down gorging, Mejiro McQueen sat upright, taking one bite after another.
"McQueen, there's a rice grain on your mouth."
"My apologies." McQueen put down her chopsticks, but after groping around for a long time she couldn't find the grain, "Teio, where's the rice grain you mentioned?"
"Just teasing you, McQueen~ hehe." Having followed Lucian for so long, Tokai Teio had learned some bad habits; this energy could finally be used on Mejiro McQueen.
"Really now." Mejiro McQueen picked up her chopsticks again, but Tokai Teio's gaze made her uncomfortable, "Teio, aren't you eating? And what are you staring at?"
"Observing."
"Observing?"
"Mm, seeing when McQueen's tummy will flip over."
"Teio!" Mejiro McQueen immediately sat up straight, sucking in her little belly, then picked up dishes and stuffed Tokai Teio's mouth full, "This should quiet you down a bit."
Tokai Teio puffed out her cheeks, chewing while smiling at her.
...
"Delicious! Delicious! This one's delicious too!" Twin Turbo's chopsticks moved so fast afterimages could be seen.
Nice Nature helplessly watched the meat disappearing from her bowl, "Twin Turbo, that's from my bowl..."
Matikanetannhauser was still laughing; she picked up a piece of cauliflower, but when it reached her mouth it was empty, "Twin Turbo, that was mine."
"Oh~ sorry, reflex." Twin Turbo swallowed it down, "But sure enough, other people's food tastes better."
Nice Nature said nothing, only silently picked up a big piece of chili pepper; when it reached her mouth, sure enough, it vanished.
"Hm?" Twin Turbo's movement froze, she spat out the chili pepper in her mouth, "Nature, how can you eat chili! It's killing me with spiciness!"
She then noticed Matikanetannhauser beside her, "Tannhauser, what did you pick?"
"Bitter melon desu, as expected, the slightly bitter flavor is delicious." Matikanetannhauser chewed, cupping her cheeks, closing her eyes in enjoyment.
"Little Shar... Twin Turbo, don't bully Nature and Tannhauser, okay." Lucian had already finished a bowl of rice; he picked some far-away dishes for Nice Nature and Matikanetannhauser, "The chopsticks are clean."
"Arigato~"
"Thank you."
"Got it, Trainer." Twin Turbo was very obedient because Lucian had called her name correctly.
"Trainer, you were just about to say a bad word!" Haru Urara suddenly said.
"Bad word?"
"You just said 'Little Shar,' although you quickly corrected it, Urara still heard it." Haru Urara proudly pushed up nonexistent glasses, "And you tell Urara not to say bad words, yet Trainer says bad words himself."
"Bad word?" Twin Turbo looked at Lucian in confusion.
"Then tell me, how should the last character be pronounced in Japanese?"
"Th-This..." Haru Urara was stumped, "Urara can only say it in Chinese."
But she couldn't say it, because if she did, Trainer would punish her little mouth—maybe with a kiss, maybe not.
On the other side, Tokai Teio had already explained the matter to Twin Turbo.
"Soka! Although you're my rival, thanks for explaining it to me, Teio."
"No problem, Two Jets."
"Twin Turbo! Teio, say it with me one syllable at a time!"
Still, the fact that Tokai Teio got her name wrong excited her more.
So Tokai Teio was definitely doing it on purpose, because she pretended not to hear and went to tease Mejiro McQueen again.
"Hmph." Twin Turbo angrily touched her shark teeth, "So why did Trainer want to scold me?"
"I didn't scold you, I was just about to call you 'Little Sharky.'" Lucian said helplessly, "There's always someone trying to frame me, Seiun in the afternoon, Urara in the evening."
Seiun Sky, who was unusually quiet during dinner today, said, "Trainer, don't @ me."
"So it wasn't 'Little Shark Arm.'" Haru Urara murmured, "Then I really did wrong Trainer."
"Little Sharky? Why would Trainer subconsciously call me Little Sharky?" Twin Turbo pressed for the root of the matter.
"Well about that..."
Lucian usually thought of her that way in his mind, so it slipped out.
Actually, he thought calling Twin Turbo Little Ha... no, not Little Newborn, but Little Hatsune.
Whether it was the gradient deep-blue twin tails hairstyle, or the heterochromia, or the very trendy outfit, Twin Turbo always made Lucian's eyes light up.
As expected of the "last individualistic faction"?
Personality-wise, it reminded him of the description "naturally small fighter."
"Does Trainer think I'm as fierce as a shark when I run? One bite and a Matikanetannhauser or something?" Twin Turbo proudly scraped her little nose.
"Are?" Matikanetannhauser, immersed in the world of food, was stunned for a moment upon hearing her name, then continued enjoying the meal.
The title of "Especially Dazed" seemed about to change owners.
Lucian scratched his cheek, "Uh... if you say so, then sure."
...