I Wouldn't Mind Making an Extra Portion

"Hello, Senior. My name is Saegusa Izumi. I really have to thank you for looking after my sister."

The other girl, whose hair was a little longer, greeted him first. She had a sweet smile and clearly loved to smile.

"All right, Kasumi, hurry up and say hello." When Saegusa Mayumi saw that Saegusa Kasumi still didn't seem willing to greet him, she gave her a smack on the head.

"I'm Saegusa Kasumi. Pleased to meet you."

Perhaps under her sister's pressure, Saegusa Kasumi spoke reluctantly.

"I'm Kudo Mitsunobu. But it wasn't me looking after Senior; if anything, she's the one who's done a lot for me."

Kudo Mitsunobu didn't mind Saegusa Kasumi's attitude and greeted the sisters kindly.

"By the way, Senior, are you heading back already? Won't you come inside and sit for a while?" Saegusa Izumi asked with interest.

After all, this was the first time she'd seen her sister get so close to a boy her own age, and she had a whole heap of questions.

That was also why Saegusa Kasumi was suddenly acting this way. She loved her sister too, but Kasumi had come to idolize her a little too much.

So she couldn't stand seeing a man suddenly get so close to her sister.

"Yeah, I'll take my leave for today. I'll come by for a proper visit sometime," Kudo Mitsunobu said with a nod.

He hadn't wanted to meet anyone from the Saegusa Family in the first place. It was fine if he ran into the sisters, but if he met Senior's father, he'd have to go inside no matter what.

"I see. Then when you come to visit next time, Senior, we'll be sure to give you a proper welcome."

Saegusa Izumi spoke very politely. There was no need to find out the truth right away; she could thoroughly interrogate her sister tonight.

As she thought about it, Saegusa Izumi's expression grew more and more twisted, as if she could already picture her sister looking mortified and ready to die of embarrassment while being interrogated that evening.

Saegusa Mayumi couldn't help feeling a chill.

"Hurry up and leave. I don't want to see you."

Saegusa Kasumi muttered under her breath again.

"Kasumi?"

Saegusa Mayumi's voice shot up an octave.

Saegusa Kasumi shrank her neck in fright. "Goodbye, Senior."

"Anyway, sorry for the trouble today, Koushu. Please get some rest when you get home. You must be tired after today."

With that, Saegusa Mayumi led her sisters into the house. He could still see the girl called Saegusa Izumi asking Saegusa Mayumi something all the way inside.

Saegusa Mayumi's cheeks were bright red, like ripe tomatoes, while Saegusa Kasumi stayed huffy, flailing her arms around.

The motorcycle roared, a wisp of smoke puffing from its tailpipe. The next moment, Kudo Mitsunobu and his bike had vanished.

By the time Kudo Mitsunobu got home, it was already completely dark. He'd certainly had a lot to deal with that day.

"Just thinking about it is exhausting!"

Kudo Mitsunobu didn't feel like cooking at all that day. He put the ingredients from the fridge into the automatic cooker, then went to take a shower.

He usually wasn't very fond of the food made by the automatic cooker, even though it tasted no worse than a hotel chef's cooking.

For some reason, he felt that this method of cooking lacked a certain homey warmth. After his shower, he ate a fairly refined dinner and prepared to continue with his work.

He placed his [Night] on the Adjustment Platform. This time, he planned to add the Magic Formula for a movement-type spell to the Split Bullet he'd used in the training room.

By this point, he already had a complete plan and was confident he could construct it that very night. But his main goal wasn't to upgrade this spell into an A-rank magic.

His ultimate aim was to add a release-type spell as well, letting the four systems of magic operate in sequence and eventually creating his very first strategic-class magic, one that belonged to him alone.

Chapter 19: I Wouldn't Mind Making an Extra Portion

It was lunchtime again, in the familiar Student Council room.

There wasn't much change in who was present: five beautiful girls, each with her own charms, a graceful young man, and, well, a plain-looking fellow who could've passed for some random passerby.

"Tatsuya, you're really lucky. Is that a lunch your younger sister made for you?"

Kudo Mitsunobu looked at the two identical lunch boxes across from him. Inside were two fried shrimp, boiled broccoli, a beef steak, and an omelet roll.

Just by looking, he could tell that Shiba Miyuki had carefully considered the nutritional balance. The food looked delicious, too. Even though it had gone cold, he could smell its fragrance from across the table.

"Yeah. After seeing the lunch Watanabe-senpai brought last time, Miyuki thought bringing a packed lunch to school sounded pretty nice," Shiba Tatsuya said calmly. Shiba Miyuki, on the other hand, had already fallen into a bashful state over the words, Tatsuya, you're really lucky.

"But you brought a lunch yourself today, too. Did you make it?"

Shiba Tatsuya looked at the lunch box in front of Kudo Mitsunobu.

"Huh? Koushu, you can cook?" Sitting beside Kudo Hironobu, Saegusa Mayumi seized the lunch box and pulled it in front of her while he was distracted.

"Come on, let me see how you did."

It was a square box about twenty centimeters across, with two levels that looked very generously filled.

She opened the lid.

All kinds of dishes gleamed enticingly. The first tier held neatly arranged dishes, and the second was filled with hand-pressed sushi in various styles.

"Gulp!"

Maybe it was his imagination, but Kudo Mitsunobu thought he heard someone swallow.

"Koushu, your cooking is really this good?"

Saegusa Mayumi looked at Kudo Mitsunobu in astonishment. Even she, despite frequently eating at high-end restaurants, felt an irresistible urge to dig in when she saw the dishes before her.

How many more surprises was this boy going to spring on her?