Jhin took Hitori Gotoh, whose legs could barely straighten, back home. Under the deeply meaningful gazes of her parents, he brazenly called them "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law."
As a result, he was almost made to stay the night, which scared Hitori Gotoh so much her little face turned pale. If Jhin were to stay over, she thought she might actually die.
Over the next few days, Jhin spent time at home with Nymph and Gabriel, occasionally having long phone calls with Hitori Gotoh or going directly to her house to help her record videos to upload to her "guitarhero" account. Life was quite comfortable.
Oh, and Jhin also went with Nymph to buy a canary to keep at home. Nymph meticulously cared for the little bird every day, and her own emotions gradually became richer. At least, Jhin could see her happy smile from time to time.
However, he hadn't forgotten his promise to Suou Amane. He went straight to the mall to buy fresh ingredients, then called Suou Amane to come and drive them back.
Faced with Jhin's date invitation, Suou Amane set the location directly in the Mihama Academy student dorms.
More precisely, in the student dorm's kitchen.
"Thump. The ingredients are all loaded. Let's head back," Jhin said as he got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.
"Yeah! This time, I'll definitely beat you and reclaim my confidence as a woman!" Suou Amane declared to Jhin, full of confidence. Then she moved the gearshift a few times and pressed the clutch, but the car didn't budge. "Huh? Why isn't the car moving?"
Jhin's face darkened. "Why don't you take a look at what you're grabbing?"
"Ah, sorry. So it was your 'gearshift'," Suou Amane said, grinning like a fox that had stolen a chicken. No, she had stolen a chicken. She even brought her left hand to her nose and sniffed. "Did you change laundry detergents?"
"Are you feeling frustrated lately?"
"I'm doing okay. It's definitely not because a certain someone hasn't come to see me at all."
After all, she was the girl who had done that in Jhin's room on their first meeting. When the two were alone, Suou Amane was the one who would initiate the sexual harassment.
Jhin really had no reason to be petty. After all, the previous dates had basically been back-to-back, but they had abruptly stopped after his day with Hitori Gotoh, with no activity for several days.
Kazami Kazuki had even thought she'd misjudged.
That Hitori Gotoh, who seemed to lack confidence and didn't care for dressing up, was actually the ultimate human juicer.
If she hadn't contacted Nymph by phone to confirm Jhin wasn't bedridden, Kazami Kazuki would have already planned to add Hitori Gotoh to her list of case studies.
Previously, her only case studies had been Suou Amane and Irisu Makina.
Suou Amane was wearing a rather incongruous combination of a sexy camisole, hot pants, and an apron. Compared to her, Jhin was much more formal, having changed into a pristine white chef's uniform and even ceremoniously donning a tall chef's hat.
"As you wish. Let's settle this in the kitchen today."
"Hmph, hmph. I asked my mom for lessons at home. This time, I'll definitely be able to defeat you."
Jhin glanced at his Cooking skill, which was still at Lv7. Perhaps because he hadn't practiced seriously for a while, the skill hadn't improved in a long time after reaching Lv7, the watershed between mortals and geniuses.
Beating Suou Amane would still be a piece of cake. After all, this Cooking skill wasn't just about simple dish preparation; it encompassed all food-related arts, including Chinese cuisine, Western cuisine, desserts, and more.
Right now, Suou Amane was like a rookie hero who had just left the starting village, received a blue-quality weapon from the village chief, and was now swaggering in front of Jhin, the final boss. It was a good thing this boss wasn't a tentacle monster, or it would have surely been a "white slime" ending.
"Since it's a competition, there must be a prize, right?"
In response to Jhin's question, Suou Amane puffed out her chest, quite proud. "If you win, the prize is me."
"And if you win?"
"My prize is you."
So no matter what, you can't lose, huh?
Jhin didn't mind. They were all his 'wings' anyway. He'd contribute some deoxyribonucleic acid, and Suou Amane would contribute some H₂O; it all evened out.
"Let the competition begin."
"Okay."
Michiru Matsushima saw flashes of fire and heard the crackling of oil from the kitchen and curiously asked Kazami Kazuki, "Hey, Kazuki-nee, what are Jhin and Amane doing in the kitchen?"
"A date... I guess?"
Suou Amane could be considered one of Kazami Kazuki's top candidates for Jhin's wife, but even she hadn't expected Suou Amane to choose the kitchen as a date spot.
Could being in a kitchen really help deepen a relationship? Even someone as sharp as Kazami Kazuki couldn't understand the move.
"Kazuki, tell them to come in and get the dishes!"
"Michiru, tell Makina to come get the dishes!"
Jhin's and Suou Amane's voices rang out at the same time, and the girls continuously carried dishes to the new, wide wooden table in the main hall.
When the table was so full of food it couldn't hold any more, the two in the kitchen were still churning out dishes. Kazami Kazuki had Jhin contact Nymph, Kessoku Band, and the whole angel-and-demon group to come help.
Hearing there was good food, the first to arrive was Ryo. She didn't even meet up with Nijika and the others, getting a head start and reaching Mihama Academy first.
The second to arrive after her was Satania, followed by the rest of the girls.
Just from the aroma wafting through the air, Satania couldn't help but drool. "Wow! They made so much delicious food! Is it someone's birthday today?"
"It's no one's birthday. It's just two people in the kitchen who got carried away with a cooking competition," Kazami Kazuki said, picking up a piece of braised pork to taste. "My little brother's Chinese dishes really have a special flavor."
"Kazuki-nee," Irisu Makina volunteered to go scout the situation, though in reality, she wanted to go sneak a bite. "I'll go see if they're done in the kitchen."
"Go ahead."
"Yes!"
In fact, by the time the girls had all arrived, Jhin and Suou Amane had more or less finished their duel. Because when Jhin started kneading dough for bread and whipping eggs for a chiffon cake, Suou Amane knew she had already lost. She was only relatively skilled at cooking meals; she hadn't considered desserts at all.
Since she'd already lost, Suou Amane decided to just help Jhin pipe the cream, an area where she was quite an expert.
She made a small opening, then kneaded it with her hands for a bit. Knowing that piping cream would take some time, Suou Amane leaned in, adding a pair of "assists" and squeezing with a bit of force. Just then, Irisu Makina ran in to scout and saw this scene.
"Ah~" Irisu Makina was about to cry out in surprise but quickly covered her small mouth with her hands. She fluttered her eyes, and with a syrupy sweet tone, she lifted her slender legs. "Amane-nee, I'll help you too!"
Suou Amane had always treated Irisu Makina like a semi-daughter. Now, seeing this scene of "fatherly love and filial piety" with her own eyes left her a bit dumbfounded. A strange sense of rivalry welled up, and working together with Irisu Makina, they quickly piped the cream.
Jhin and Suou Amane had made far too much food. Even after calling for outside help, they couldn't finish it all, so they had the girls pack up the leftovers to take home.
Ryo was the happiest of them all, carrying a dozen boxes of food back with her. It looked like she wouldn't have to survive on weeds for a while.
___
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