"Since Morishita-san says so..."
Shikime Natsu watched Morishita Ai's utterly grave expression as she "issued her mission," the corner of his mouth curving upward, and agreed without missing a beat.
"No problem — I'll grant Morishita-san's request."
"Let's go. To my dorm."
With that, he turned to lead the two lovely girls back to his room.
But before Shikime Natsu had taken more than a few steps, Morishita Ai's voice rang out.
"No."
Morishita Ai shook her head with complete seriousness and flatly vetoed the suggestion.
"Hm?"
Shikime Natsu stopped in his tracks and looked at her, mildly puzzled.
"Why?"
"Going to Shikime Natsu's dorm today would carry an extremely high danger coefficient."
Morishita Ai raised one finger and wagged it slowly, those violet eyes of hers flickering with vigilant light — as though Shikime Natsu's dorm were some dragon's lair.
"Dangerous?"
Shikime Natsu blinked, then couldn't quite hold back a laugh.
"What possible danger could there be in my dorm?"
"I mean, Morishita-san..."
"The last time you two came over, I don't recall doing anything out of line, do you?"
If anything, he'd treated them to a proper home-cooked meal. Before a relationship was established, Shikime Natsu simply wasn't the type to pull anything improper. How, exactly, had his dorm become a "danger zone" in Morishita Ai's mind?
"That was then. This is now."
Morishita Ai delivered this verdict with scholarly gravity.
"Back then, Shikime Natsu was already suspicious — but at least he hadn't yet revealed his true nature."
"But now..."
She narrowed her eyes and fixed him with a piercing stare.
"Just a little while ago, someone openly issued a perverted proclamation declaring his intention to take both me and Yamamura Miki into his harem."
"Given this extremely dangerous ideological disposition..."
"Who's to say he won't lure us into his room and stage some unspeakable secret-room imprisonment or forced-conquest incident?"
"For the sake of mine and Yamamura Miki's personal safety, we must eliminate this risk entirely."
"..."
Shikime Natsu pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
He had to admit — Morishita Ai's imagination was as uniquely... creative as ever.
Standing to the side, Yamamura Miki heard Morishita Ai's dead-earnest analysis and felt her brain go completely blank.
She looked at the helpless Shikime Natsu, then at the grave-faced Morishita Ai.
Her clear eyes were full of nothing but confusion.
At least, Yamamura Miki didn't think going to Shiki-san's dorm would be dangerous at all. Shikime Natsu was a good person — someone who had noticed her presence and brought her into the view of others.
Of course, even though that was how she felt, Yamamura Miki didn't voice it. The exchange between Morishita Ai and Shikime Natsu had a certain... rhythm to it, like they were doing some kind of bit together, and jumping in uninvited didn't seem right.
"Okay, okay."
Shikime Natsu spread his hands and gave up arguing.
"Since Morishita-san has declared my dorm a forbidden danger zone..."
"Then where should we go?"
"If not my dorm, the only options would be borrowing the school cafeteria or a kitchen at one of the shops."
Borrowing either would cost some personal points — but for Shikime Natsu, that was a drop in the bucket.
"Rejected."
Morishita Ai's brow furrowed slightly. Evidently, that idea didn't sit well with her either.
"Then where?"
Shikime Natsu was genuinely at a loss now. It wasn't as if they could haul everything to the academic building and set up a kitchen there.
"My dorm."
Shikime Natsu couldn't help giving Morishita Ai a rather strange look.
He stared at this girl whose logic was wired on a completely different circuit board from everyone else's, his mind overflowing with objections.
Won't go to my dorm because she's afraid I'm up to something...
And then she turns right around and invites me to hers?
What kind of logic is that?
Does Morishita Ai's dorm have some kind of mystical seal on it that suppresses the inner wolf?
Sensing his faintly puzzled gaze, Morishita Ai's cheeks flushed with the faintest, barely-perceptible warmth — though she concealed it almost immediately.
She crossed her arms, tilted her chin up slightly, and forced a composed tone.
"That's a completely different matter."
"On my home turf, I have the home-field advantage."
"Besides..."
She paused, her gaze drifting for a moment before sharpening back into focus as she warned:
"Most importantly..."
"Shikime Natsu. Please don't let your imagination run wild."
"I am simply providing a venue. Nothing more."
"..."
Shikime Natsu could only smile helplessly and nod.
"Alright. If Morishita-san insists."
"Then your dorm it is."
Honestly, it didn't matter to him where he cooked, as long as there were ingredients and a heat source.
Before long, the three of them were on their way to the dormitory building.
Along the way, Morishita Ai suddenly turned her head and glanced at the empty-handed Shikime Natsu.
"Shikime Natsu, aren't you going to buy ingredients?"
"Fair warning — my dorm has nothing in it. But Morishita Ai, in her boundless generosity, will reimburse you for whatever you spend!"
"No need. I'll swing by my dorm and grab the ingredients from there."
Morishita Ai nodded, then seemed to think of something.
"In that case, I can't just eat Shikime Natsu's food without contributing anything."
"Even if Shikime Natsu is treating, it's only proper that Morishita Ai provide some logistical support."
She looked at him and asked:
"What do you want to drink? Yamamura Miki and I will go buy it now. Meet us at my dorm afterward."
After saying that, she seemed to remember something else, and narrowed her eyes with a probing glint.
"Oh, right."
"Shikime Natsu still remembers my room number, doesn't he?"
Back when the two of them had gone with Shikime Natsu to visit Kamuro Masumi's dorm, Morishita Ai had mentioned her room number in passing. She had also told Kamuro Masumi that "those who hesitate are lost" — and Kamuro Masumi had taken that entirely to heart, becoming Shikime Natsu's first girlfriend without a moment's hesitation.
Truly a terrifying woman.
"Of course."
Shikime Natsu nodded without the slightest hesitation and rattled off the digits without missing a beat.
"If I remember correctly, it's room XXX, right?"
Hearing her room number recited with perfect accuracy, Morishita Ai showed no surprise. Instead, her expression settled into the unmistakable look of I knew it.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
She shook her head and fixed Shikime Natsu with the kind of gaze normally reserved for deviants, her tone edged with contempt.
"Shikime Natsu really is a pervert."
"I only mentioned it in passing..."
"And yet Shikime Natsu remembers it so precisely."
She crossed her arms and instinctively stepped back half a pace, taking on a guarded stance:
"Just as I suspected..."
"You've been harboring improper thoughts about me for quite some time, haven't you?"
"Memorizing a girl's room number that thoroughly... truly frightening."
"..."
Looking at Morishita Ai like this, Shikime Natsu found himself completely at a loss for words.
This girl... she really is impossible to deal with.
If he'd said he didn't remember, she would have definitely complained that he "didn't care" or "didn't keep his companions in mind." But now that he had remembered, he was suddenly a pervert who had been "scheming for ages" with "ulterior motives."
No matter how he answered, her bizarre logic would find a way to box him in.
Seeing that Shikime Natsu said nothing more, Morishita Ai felt thoroughly pleased with her "victory."
Like a general who had just swept the field, she raised her eyebrows with smug satisfaction and magnanimously declared:
"Well. Since you're still going to cook for us, I'll let your perverted behavior slide this time."
"Now then — what would you like to drink?"
"Orange juice is fine."
Shikime Natsu had absolutely no desire to keep poking at the subject, and answered without much thought.
"Copy that."
Morishita Ai nodded, grabbed Yamamura Miki by the arm, and headed off in the direction of the convenience store.
"Move out, Yamamura Miki. We have a supply mission to execute."
"H-huh... o-okay..."
Watching the two of them walk away, Shikime Natsu smiled helplessly and turned toward his own dorm.
Back in his room, Shikime Natsu thought over what to cook. Since Morishita Ai and the others hadn't requested anything in particular, he decided to recreate the same menu as last time they'd visited.
After all, both Morishita Ai and Yamamura Miki had given it high marks that time.
Shikime Natsu took out a bag — and in the next instant, every ingredient he needed materialized inside it. Supernatural abilities really were absurdly convenient. He picked up the bag and headed straight for Morishita Ai's room.
He had barely arrived at her door when Morishita Ai and Yamamura Miki came walking up, shopping bags in hand.
"Here."
Morishita Ai reached into her bag, pulled out a blue bottle of Pocari Sweat, and held it out to him.
"This is what you ordered."
"Hm?"
Staring at the bottle in front of him, Shikime Natsu was fairly certain he had asked for orange juice. When had it turned into Pocari Sweat?
Had Morishita Ai bought the wrong thing on purpose?
But looking at her perfectly composed expression, Shikime Natsu said nothing. He just smiled and reached out to take it.
"Thanks."
However.
Just as his hand was about to close around the bottle —
Morishita Ai found herself staring at none of the surprise or confusion she'd expected from Shikime Natsu's face.
He just... accepted it? That naturally?
Not even a flicker of a reaction?
That left Morishita Ai — who had been banking on a satisfying little prank — feeling thoroughly put out.
"Tch..."
She clicked her tongue, flicked her wrist to pull the Pocari Sweat back, and fished an orange juice from Yamamura Miki's bag, handing it to him instead:
"You're no fun at all."
"Here — this is actually yours."
"That Pocari Sweat is for Yamamura Miki, who did all the hard carrying."
Shikime Natsu smiled helplessly and accepted the orange juice.
"Morishita-san, you certainly have a lot of tricks up your sleeve."
"It's called tactical probing."
Morishita Ai declared with absolute conviction:
"Assessing Shikime Natsu's composure under pressure is also one of my responsibilities."
With that, she took out her key and moved to unlock the door.
At that moment, Shikime Natsu suddenly recalled the scene from last time — when they had come to his dorm.
A small smile crossed his face, and he spoke up.
"Hey..."
"Morishita-san, do you need me to wait outside for a bit?"
"Give you some time to tidy up first?"
"Just in case... there are things in there that I probably shouldn't see?"
Those were the very words Morishita Ai had once said to him.
Now, he returned them to her, word for word.
Sure enough.
Hearing those words, Morishita Ai's hand paused on the door.
She turned to look at Shikime Natsu, something genuinely incredulous flickering through those violet eyes.
As if to say: how dare he use her own move against her?
She recovered quickly, though her expression carried a note of mild displeasure.
"Hmph."
She let out a soft scoff and said with an air of lofty dismissal:
"There's absolutely nothing I need to prepare for."
"I'm not the type who keeps strange magazines or dubious props hidden in their room, unlike some people."
"My dorm is perfectly clean."
She straightened up, adding with visible pride:
"Morishita Ai is no slob."
With a click, she unlocked the door and pushed it open.
"Come in."
Shikime Natsu smiled and walked in without ceremony, ingredients in hand.
Yamamura Miki followed behind, a little tense. This was her first time in Morishita Ai's dorm, and she couldn't quite shake a mix of curiosity and unease.
Inside the room.
Shikime Natsu swept his gaze around out of habit.
He had to admit — Morishita Ai's room was exactly as she'd described. Reasonably tidy. No clothes strewn about, no clutter; the overall aesthetic was clean and minimal.
However...
On the bookshelf and desk, there were some rather unusual decorative pieces.
Alien figurines with bizarre designs, what appeared to be props from some kind of occult ritual, and several metal components of entirely indeterminate purpose.
It was perfectly consistent with her "girl-on-a-different-wavelength" persona — though it didn't really change much.
Noticing Shikime Natsu's wandering gaze, Morishita Ai let out a soft huff:
"See?"
"I told you my room was perfectly normal."
"No shameful secrets whatsoever."
Then, as if a thought struck her, she immediately raised an eyebrow and tacked on a sharp warning:
"However..."
"Even though there are no secrets, I would ask Shikime Natsu to keep his eyes and hands firmly to himself."
"Do not go sneaking through my wardrobe. Do not get any strange ideas about my bed."
"If Shikime Natsu truly cannot restrain the 'beast within'..."
She pointed toward the wall.
"Then please go next door and find Kamuro Masumi to handle it."
"Kamuro Masumi's room is not far from mine."
"Since we are in my dorm now, I ask that Shikime Natsu exercise the utmost restraint."
"..."
Shikime Natsu had to genuinely wonder just how much of that sort of content Morishita Ai had been consuming, to have filled that little head of hers with such a peculiar assortment of scenarios.
Shaking his head, he ignored her entirely and walked straight to the kitchen area with his ingredients.
The school equipped every student dorm with a standard compact kitchen.
But...
When Shikime Natsu stepped up to the counter and looked at the bare surface and the empty cabinets, he went completely quiet.
No pot.
No spatula.
No bowls or chopsticks.
Not even a knife.
It was just a countertop. A bare, empty countertop.
"Um..."
Shikime Natsu turned around and looked at Morishita Ai, who was sitting in a chair calmly sipping water.
"Morishita-san..."
"Do you not have a single piece of cookware here?"
"Are you expecting me to perform some kind of 'cooking from thin air'?"
Morishita Ai's sipping stopped dead.
She blinked. Stared at the empty kitchen. And the perfectly composed expression on her face finally showed a crack.
After a moment of silence.
She set down her bottle and spoke with an air of righteous authority:
"This... this is Shikime Natsu's fault."
"A competent personal chef should inspect the facilities before beginning a task. Failing to do so is a dereliction of duty on your part."
"As for me..."
She continued, entirely unabashed:
"I don't cook. What would I need any of that for?"
"Besides..."
"You're the one who forgot to bring cookware."
Shikime Natsu hadn't thought of that.
Morishita Ai certainly wasn't going to admit that when she'd invited him over, she had simply forgotten that her dorm had no cookware. Since she never cooked, the thought had genuinely never crossed her mind — she'd only considered that having ingredients would be enough. The cookware had slipped her memory entirely.
"Haah..."
Shikime Natsu let out a sigh.
"Fair enough. My fault."
"Sit tight — I'll head back to my dorm and grab what we need."
With that, he turned and left Morishita Ai's room.
Fortunately, both their rooms were in the same building.
Shikime Natsu activated his presence-erasing mode, slipped through the corridor at speed, and returned to Morishita Ai's room in short order — this time lugging a complete set of pots, pans, and utensils.
Back in Morishita Ai's dorm.
Shikime Natsu laid the gleaming set of professional cookware across the counter and began preparing the ingredients with practiced ease.
Morishita Ai and Yamamura Miki sat at the nearby table, sipping their drinks and watching his back as he moved through the kitchen.
Morishita Ai's gaze drifted to the cookware.
Every so often, she lowered her head and tapped at something on her phone, apparently looking something up.
Then she closed her phone with a perfectly blank expression.
She had just confirmed what she'd suspected — Shikime Natsu's cookware was extraordinarily expensive.
Would a normal person really spend that many points on kitchen equipment?
Just how much does this Shikime Natsu love cooking? Or does he simply have so many points he doesn't know what to do with them?
She had actually been thinking about buying a matching set so that he could use it the next time he came over — but Morishita Ai had quickly discovered she couldn't afford it.
And so that idea was quietly shelved.
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Samsara Game: Starting with Shirogane Kei
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone