"Mm, this should do it."
Mazumi Mami looked around the carefully arranged room and nodded in satisfaction.
For their first group dinner since starting school, he had gone out of his way to buy a suitably sized low table and set it in the middle of the living room.
Various hot pot ingredients had already been neatly washed and prepared—freshly sliced beef and lamb, fish balls and shrimp paste, assorted mushrooms and vegetables, tofu and bean-curd sheets...
The spread was dazzling, its colors sure to whet anyone's appetite.
A few cans of drinks and some juice sat to the side, along with a selection of snacks.
A conspicuous circular space had been left open in the middle of the table for the star of the show: the hot pot itself.
All the preliminary preparations were done. All that remained was for Takina Inoue to arrive with the "heavy equipment."
"Let's see... It should be about time."
Mazumi pulled out his phone. The screen showed [18:30].
He had already sent the three girls his room number in the group chat.
"Knock, knock—"
Almost as soon as he had finished speaking, a light, cheerful knock sounded at the door.
"Coming." Mazumi got up to answer it.
The moment the door opened, a golden figure swept inside with a little gust of wind.
"Ahhh! Young master! I'm exhausted! Hurry and hug me so I can recharge!"
Chisato Nishikigi didn't care one bit about appearances. Like a koala, she flung herself straight at Mazumi and wrapped her arms around his neck, practically dangling in his embrace.
She brought with her a little warmth from being outdoors, mingled with the familiar scent of her shampoo, a hint of sunshine and citrus wafting toward him.
"That's... some pretty terrible acting, Chisato."
Takina, following behind her, commented with a perfectly composed expression, though a helpless smile flickered in her violet eyes.
"You were the liveliest one on the way back, chattering away the whole time. With our superhuman physiques, a little walking is nothing."
As she spoke, she bent down gracefully to take off her shoes. Her slender fingers deftly undid the buckles on her calfskin ankle boots, revealing her shapely lower legs, encased in finely textured black thigh-high socks.
The socks clung close to her skin, outlining the elegant lines of her legs. Their tops tightened slightly above her knees, creating a striking contrast with the fair skin left bare.
She stepped barefoot onto the soft mat by the entrance, the black soles of her socks touching its pale surface without a sound.
"Yeah, even if you want to act spoiled, you should at least wait until we're inside and you've taken off your shoes."
Walnut came in after her and pushed up her signature headband.
She slipped off her soft-soled loafers, made for ease of movement, revealing feet covered in clean white cotton crew socks.
The white socks hugged her delicate ankles and calves, their tops stopping neatly halfway up her lower legs. They had the tidy look of someone who worked in tech.
She too stepped onto the mat, moving even more quietly than Takina, almost like a cat.
"Hehe, you two just don't get it, do you?"
Still hanging off Mazumi, Chisato turned and stuck her tongue out at Takina and Walnut.
"I might look full of energy on the outside, but that's all thanks to burning through my 'young master energy'! I desperately need a recharge! This is the most efficient way to do it!"
She proclaimed her absurd logic with complete conviction.
"What kind of energy theory is that...?"
Mazumi laughed at her shameless antics. He steadied her with one hand while the other rose out of habit to gently ruffle her fluffy golden hair. "All right, all right. Come on in first."
"Yes, young master~"
Satisfied with her "recharge permission," Chisato immediately slipped nimbly down from Mazumi's arms.
She kicked off her brown calfskin shoes, the kind made for running, with slightly careless movements.
Beneath them, her feet were covered in short white athletic socks.
The socks only reached a little above her ankles, with simple ribbed edges that faintly outlined the elegant shape of her arches.
She too stepped barefoot onto the floor, wiggling her toes mischievously as she felt its coolness.
The three girls, each with her own distinctive style and all bright and youthful, had now taken off their shoes. In the relaxed ease of being at home, they gathered in Mazumi's dorm room.
Socks in different colors covered their uniquely charming ankles and calves, an unspoken yet captivating detail in this cozy scene.
"Why don't you all sit down and rest for a bit? I've prepared the ingredients. Once we catch our breath, we can dig in."
Mazumi led them over to the low table.
The four of them sat around it, and the atmosphere immediately grew more intimate.
The abundance of ingredients on the tabletop was enough to make anyone's mouth water.
"Takina, I'll leave the hot pot setup to you."
Mazumi looked toward the violet-eyed girl, who was best at "spatial transport" and precise operations.
"No problem. Leave it to me."
Takina nodded, her expression serious.
She stretched out a hand and lightly traced the empty space in the middle of the table with her slender fingertips.
The next moment, light flickered, and an antique, elegant copper hot pot with a divided center appeared out of nowhere, landing steadily on the table.
A small pile of fire-starting alcohol pads, several pieces of high-quality smokeless charcoal, and a pair of fire tongs appeared alongside it.
"Snap—"
With a soft click, a match appeared in Takina's hand as if from nowhere. She struck it against the striker, and an orange-red flame flared to life.
She deftly dropped the lit match into the stove beneath the hot pot. The flame quickly caught the alcohol pads, which in turn ignited the charcoal.
The orange-red glow of the coals shone faintly through the pierced patterns in the copper pot, bringing warmth and gradually rising heat.
Next, she methodically poured the two broths Mazumi had prepared—the rich bone broth and the spicy beef-tallow broth—into the two sides of the divided pot.
Before long, the charcoal began to heat the broths. A faint bubbling sound arose, and the rich aroma began to fill the room.
Walnut had already set her laptop at one corner of the table. Her fingers tapped at the keyboard now and then as streams of data rolled across the screen. Even during a moment of rest, part of her attention was clearly still on intelligence analysis.
By comparison, Mazumi and Chisato seemed to have nothing to do.
"Well, young master—"
Chisato suddenly drew out the words, her amber eyes turning slyly toward him as she shifted to one side and naturally laid her lower leg across his lap.
"It's time to keep your promise! You said you'd give me a massage! I walked so, so much today. My calves are practically aching!"
She made her demand with complete confidence, her white-socked foot almost touching Mazumi's hand.
"Chisato!"
Walnut looked up from her screen, pushed up her glasses, and complained with a disgusted look. "Don't just shove the feet you've been walking around in outside—and might have gotten sweaty—into the young master's lap! That's so rude!"
"My feet don't stink!"
Chisato immediately retorted, deliberately swinging her lower leg. "They smell nice! They're soft and fragrant! Right, young master?"
"I bet Walnut's just jealous of me!"
She turned to Mazumi with a grin.
Walnut's face flushed slightly. She gave a huff and turned away. "Who would be jealous of something like that...? Boring."
"Really?"
Mazumi chuckled. His gaze swept over Walnut's ears, which were slightly red despite her seeming to focus on the screen, then shifted to Takina, who remained seated upright but kept glancing over at them. "I'm not so sure."
Walnut's fingers paused over the keyboard, and her voice softened. "...If, if the young master really insists, I suppose I could... reluctantly agree."
"Tsundere's out of fashion, Walnut!"
Chisato immediately called her out, looking smug.
"Q-quit it! I'm not a tsundere!"
Walnut's voice rose slightly, embarrassed and annoyed at being found out.
"Ahem." Takina, who had been tending the heat, cleared her throat. She seemed to sit a little straighter, her violet eyes calmly meeting Mazumi's as she spoke with her usual seriousness.
"Young master, objectively speaking, I also walked a considerable distance while investigating today, so my leg muscles have accumulated some fatigue. From the perspective of maintaining peak operational condition, some relaxation would be beneficial."
Her words were perfectly earnest, but the tips of her ears were faintly red, and her wandering gaze gave her away.
Looking at the three girls before him, so different in personality yet equally adorable, Mazumi felt warmth surge in his heart, and his smile deepened.
"All right, all right. We'll do it one at a time."
His tone was gentle and indulgent, as if soothing pets squabbling for attention. "You've all worked hard today. It's only right to relax a little."
"Yay!"
Chisato cheered, beaming with triumph.
Walnut couldn't help letting the corners of her mouth curl up, and even the way she pushed up her glasses seemed more cheerful.
Though Takina maintained her elegant posture, a faint smile spread through her eyes as she continued watching the hot pot, now bubbling away.
The setting sun outside the window cast its final rays into the room, gilding this warm scene.
The coals glowed red, the broth's aroma filled the air, and the young people's relaxed conversation mingled with the bubbling of the soon-to-boil hot pot.
On their first day infiltrating this school, shrouded in mysteries, and carrying out a difficult mission, this little dorm room was filled with the genuine, precious peace and warmth they shared.
In this moment, there was no heavy burden of the Empire and no hidden danger—only four companions who shared secrets and trust, enjoying a simple, lovely stretch of time before dinner.