"Hisako-san, the girl who followed behind you—should we invite her in?"
Once Erina, Hisako, and Ikumi stepped inside, Kael finally spoke.
"Someone was following us?"
Erina and Ikumi froze, but Hisako's expression instantly darkened.
"It's Nao Sadatsuka. Ever since I beat her last time, she's been watching Erina-sama from a distance," Hisako said flatly.
"Nao Sadatsuka…? Didn't she score over eighty points in the Autumn Selection prelims? Why would she be trailing after Erina-san?" Tadokoro asked, confused.
Hisako let out a quiet sigh.
"This goes back to when we first entered Totsuki. After Erina-sama enrolled, tons of students wanted to follow her. I was already serving as her secretary, so it was my job to keep those… questionable people away."
"Sadatsuka was one of them—and the toughest one to deal with. To stop her from clinging to Erina-sama, I challenged her to a Shokugeki."
"If I lost, I would give up my position as Erina-sama's secretary. If she lost, she'd have to stay fifty meters away from Erina-sama at all times. Exceptions like group classes didn't count, of course."
"But even then, she kept pestering us. She followed us around constantly and kept sending Erina-sama all kinds of creepy letters. I destroyed every one of them."
Just talking about Nao made Hisako bristle. She genuinely couldn't understand how someone could be that obsessive—to the point of spying with binoculars from exactly fifty meters away after losing.
Erina rubbed her temple helplessly.
"Technically… her letters weren't harassment. They were full of praise. It was just the way she wrote them that was… impossible to accept." She still got goosebumps remembering them.
Sure, compliments were fine. Trying to curry favor was normal.
But why red paint?
And worse—why write the letters like they were blood-soaked curses?
Even Erina felt creeped out reading them at night, so in the end she told Hisako to burn them.
Erina had actually considered pulling Nao under her wing.
But Nao was simply too unhinged. Give her an inch and she'd sprint a mile.
So Erina reluctantly gave up on the idea.
Everyone listening looked equally speechless.
Fanatics really were terrifying—you never knew what they'd do.
"Are you sure Sadatsuka-san's target is Erina-san?" Kael asked suddenly.
"It definitely is. Is something wrong?" Hisako frowned.
"You all know my hearing is sharp, right? Even from over fifty meters, I can hear her muttering to herself. And right now… nine out of ten things she says are about 'Hisako-onee-sama.'"
The room went dead silent as everyone slowly turned to stare at Hisako.
"What—? About me? And what kind of ridiculous title is that!?"
Hisako practically exploded. Just hearing it made her skin crawl.
"Hisako, what's going on?" Erina demanded.
Nao had always targeted her. Why was it Hisako now?
"I—I don't know!"
Hisako looked genuinely lost—until something clicked in her memory.
"Wait… during the Autumn Selection prelims, right after I beat her, she acted weird. I think she really did call me 'onee-sama' once. I just didn't think about it at the time."
A chill ran through her.
If Nao switched targets to her, she wouldn't even have the safety buffer of fifty meters.
And while she was usually with Erina, there were definitely times when she ended up alone.
"I see. Looks like beating her hit her harder than you thought. Now she sees you as her number-one idol," Kael said.
"She's still muttering right now, and honestly… it's so saccharine I can barely take it." Even Kael shuddered.
"What could she possibly be saying to make even you fold?" Yuki asked eagerly.
Seeing everyone's curiosity, Kael reluctantly repeated Nao's lines—basically the kind of cringe-inducing romance quotes you'd find on shady internet confession pages.
"Ugh—nope, absolutely not! I'm getting chills everywhere!"
Yuki scratched her arms frantically, and everyone else looked stunned.
Tadokoro suffered the most—her eyes went swirly, and her face turned red like a boiled crab.
"Hisako… I'm so sorry you had to deal with this," Erina said gently.
She'd read plenty of shoujo manga, but compared to Nao's obsessive lines, those were practically children's books.
The thought of Hisako dealing with that level of deranged devotion made Erina genuinely worry for her.
"Erina-sama…"
Hisako's face was a confused mix of emotions. She never imagined Nao would switch targets over a single dish—and become even more terrifying than before.
Kael spoke up again.
"You should probably call her inside and straighten things out. With how obsessed she is with you right now, she'll listen to anything you say. Instead of worrying about being stalked when you're alone, settle it now."
His suggestion made sense.
Nao practically worshiped Hisako now. If Hisako gave an order, Nao would obey.
And if she brought Nao under her wing, she'd gain a loyal follower—and could tell her to stop being so creepy.
And since Nao still honored the terms of their Shokugeki, she clearly had boundaries.
"I'm okay with explaining things to her—but this is Polar Star Dorm," Erina said as she looked at Mito and the others. They were guests. Bringing an extra person along without asking would be rude.
"Let her in. It's already September, and it gets cold at night. Leaving her alone outside isn't safe," Fumio Daimidō said.
"Then let's bring her in. Hisako, go get her," Erina said.
Hisako nodded nervously and stepped outside—only to freeze.
"Uh… Kael-kun? Do you know where she is?"
Outside was pitch-black. She couldn't see a thing.
"Up in that tree," Kael said.
Nao was perched on a branch, watching Hisako through binoculars.
When she noticed Kael pointing at her, she jolted so hard she nearly fell.
"Got it. Thanks, Kael-kun."
Hisako headed toward the tree.
Nao, seeing her approach, panicked and scrambled down, trying to escape.
"Nao Sadatsuka! Stop right there!"
Caught in the open, Nao froze.
"H-Hisako-onee-sama!"
She hid her binoculars behind her back guiltily.
"D-Don't call me that!"
Hisako's whole body flinched. Hearing it directly was way worse than hearing Kael describe it.
"T-Then… what should I call you?" Nao asked timidly.
"Just call me Hisako-san."
Hisako relaxed a little when Nao immediately nodded.
"No, that wouldn't show enough respect! Then… how about 'Hisako-sama'?"
Nao rejected the suggestion entirely. She couldn't possibly use something so plain for her idol.
"You know what—fine. Call me whatever. Just come inside. We need to talk."
"I can't! Erina-sama is inside—I'm not allowed within fifty meters of her!"
"Don't worry. Erina-sama already canceled that agreement."
Nao's eyes lit up instantly.
Did that mean she could openly follow Hisako now?
The intensity of her stare made Hisako want to flee.
"Just come already," Hisako said, speed-walking back to the dorm. She absolutely refused to be alone with Nao any longer—one more minute outside and Nao might actually tackle her.
Nao followed her inside obediently.
"Huh? You're Sadatsuka-san? But why do you look completely different now?" Alice asked.
She remembered Nao from the prelims—her dishes smelled awful, and she carried herself like a hunched-over swamp witch. It was impossible not to notice her.
But the girl standing in front of them now was upright, fresh-faced, almost… cute.
Hisako's cooking really had transformed her.
"She definitely changed a lot," Erina agreed.
"It's all thanks to Hisako-sama! Her dish changed my life!" Nao declared passionately.
"Anyway, that's not important. Sadatsuka Nao—do you want to follow me?" Hisako asked directly.
"Of course I do! Really—can I!?"
Nao's eyes sparkled.
"You can—but only if you agree to a few conditions."
Hisako explained everything they'd discussed.
Just as expected, Nao agreed instantly.
Following Hisako meant everything to her—far better than spying with binoculars from fifty meters away.