Eat from the Bowl, Then Curse the Cook

After teasing Kitagawa Kai, Sakayanagi Arisu turned to the girl drinking water. "Looking closely, Ibuki-san and Kamuro are actually quite alike."

"Huh?"

Ibuki Mio immediately frowned. "How are we alike?"

"Ibuki, don't mind her. Arisu didn't mean anything by it."

Kitagawa Kai explained on her behalf.

"She's always like this with people she knows well."

Sakayanagi Arisu gave a half-smile and snorted softly. "Boyfriend-kun's forced explanation only makes me seem even more malicious. But then again, Boyfriend-kun has always been like this. Once he gets something, he no longer knows how to cherish it."

Sensing that the flames of war were starting to spread toward him again, Kitagawa Kai decisively ended the topic and swiftly slipped into the kitchen.

Ichinose Honami stayed in the living room to entertain Ibuki Mio and brought her a clean towel.

"Dry off your sweat first. Catching a draft right after exercising makes it easy to catch a cold."

"...Thanks."

Ibuki Mio accepted the towel. Feeling the pleasant warmth against her palm, her tense body and mind gradually relaxed without her noticing.

She looked around the cozy, spacious apartment and could not help asking curiously, "Ichinose-san, do you all... usually live together?"

"Arisu and I live in Room 520. The others live in several apartments nearby."

Ichinose Honami explained gently, "But whenever everyone has time, they come over to visit. We cook together or gather in the living room to chat."

"Living so close together, doesn't that get troublesome?" Ibuki Mio paused.

At a school that emphasized competition and personal gain, such close-knit relationships seemed somewhat out of place.

She had always lived that way herself. In her class, only Shiina Hiyori could be considered her friend.

"Not at all. We do run into little problems sometimes, but everyone is willing to talk things through