Feeding the Dog

(Sun Yao)

Holding the meat I'd personally grilled (Zara can't speak, so I couldn't ask), I couldn't find Yezi or Miluno. I really wanted them to taste my cooking...

I asked the blonde idol who was lounging in a deck chair enjoying the sunshine, "Miss Sirius, do you know where Miss Miluno and Yezi went?"

She pointed in the direction of the mountain path.

"She took her boyfriend, Jun, to the grove."

"... Huh?"

The word "grove" often evokes images of certain inappropriate films.

Yezi is handsome, but surely not handsome enough to win over Miss Miluno?

Besides, they had quite an unpleasant argument in the mansion before...

"Then, I'll go deliver some kebabs to them."

Miss Sirius laughed and said, "Hey, don't spoil their fun!"

There seems to be a hidden meaning in what he's saying.

Stepping onto the mountain path, my sandals clicked against the bluestone paving stones. Normally I wouldn't notice, but this time the sound was alarming. I hurriedly summoned my wand and wrapped myself in bubble wrap to reduce the noise and make myself less noticeable. I also carefully wrapped the grilled meat I was carrying in Bubble Membrane, preventing the smell from escaping and preserving its temperature perfectly...

I don't know why I was sneaking around, but I just wanted to see what they were doing.

"Um?"

The woods at the foot of the mountain were sparser than those on the mountain, making it easy to spot the two figures. They weren't looking in my direction, so I used the low bushes for cover and quietly crept up behind them. Through the gaps in the bushes, I could barely see their lower bodies... that is, their four legs.

Miss Miluno's legs are longer than those of models on TV; that's from long-term training in kicking techniques... no, it's because her legs are long that she's so good at kicking, right?

Although magical girls' appearances are mostly drastically different from their original forms, judging from Miss Miluno's consistently dashing style, her true form wouldn't be much different from her magical girl form. I would be very surprised if I ever saw Miss Miluno's true form.

I have a feeling about this.

As for Yezi's legs...

Well, it seems there's nothing more to discuss here.

However, his skin tone was darker than I remembered, obviously tanned by the Hawaii sun, since he didn't seem to have the habit of using sunscreen.

Without seeing their upper bodies, it's impossible to determine the atmosphere between them.

The Bubble Membrane lowered my own voice, but it also made it difficult for me to hear their conversation.

Just as he was thinking this, Yezi was knocked to the ground by Miss Miluno. His face was pressed against the grass and mud, and his hands were pinned behind his back by Miss Miluno's knees.

How did they start fighting? Is it because of what happened earlier?

On one side is the idol they admire.

On one side are her childhood best friends.

I sincerely hope there won't be any conflict between them.

I immediately gave up eavesdropping, released the Magic Membrane around my body, and stood up from behind the bushes with the plate in my hand.

"Stop hitting me!"

"Ceruno?!"

Miss Miluno seemed quite surprised by my sudden appearance, and even a little... panicked?

"Miss Miluno, please let him go!"

"Don't come any closer!"

She yelled at me and demanded, "Did you hear everything?"

"Huh? What did you hear...?"

I don't understand.

I don't understand why Miss Miluno is so flustered.

"Could it be that you were telling Yezi something you don't want me to know?"

"... No, don't overthink it."

She sighed, moved away from the Yezi, which seemed unharmed. It dusted itself off, stood up, and then threw something away.

I looked closer, and it was a long strand of hair... Did Yezi secretly take Miss Miluno's hair, get caught, and that's why she got a beating?

"Seriously, what are you going to do with a girl's hair?"

He scratched his head but didn't answer. His throat still hadn't recovered? That Mexican hot sauce must have been incredibly potent.

Miss Miluno said, "Let's not talk about that. What brought you here?"

"I personally grilled some meat skewers, and I wanted you two to try them..."

Yezi took a skewer from the tray, patted my head, and bit off a piece of roasted meat sprinkled with cumin and sizzling with oil. He frowned slightly and swallowed it while enduring the pain in his throat.

"... How... how is it?"

He flashed a bright smile and gave me a thumbs-up.

Come to think of it, this was the first time Yezi had patted my head. He rarely gives me such direct affirmation, so I was quite happy.

"Miss Miluno, please have a taste."

Under my expectant gaze, Miss Miluno also sampled the grilled meat skewers.

"It's alright, but it's a bit too raw inside; the fire was too strong."

It's alright, but not quite right. Compared to Yezi's unconditional affirmation, Miss Miluno pointed out the problems in a more realistic way.

She once said that frequent thanks and apologies lose their meaning.

The same goes for praise, so she doesn't easily utter words of praise.

"Is it not fully ripe?"

It clearly looks perfectly cooked.

"Try it yourself."

Miss Miluno handed me the skewer she had bitten. I hesitated for a moment, then opened my mouth, tore a piece of meat off with my teeth, and restrained my wandering thoughts...

It was my first time grilling meat, and I hadn't quite mastered the heat yet. Plus, the meat pieces were thick and firm, and there was even some pinkish undercooked meat inside.

"It failed?"

If it were beef, it would be fine, but this pinkish texture suggests it's pork. While it might taste better, undercooked pork is definitely not good...

The Golden also came running after smelling the scent. It circled Miss Miluno a few times, then stood up and used its forelegs to paw at her long legs.

This is a prayer for food.

But salty food is not suitable for dogs, and Miss Miluno knew this, so she bit off a piece from her own skewer, licked the surface clean in her mouth, and then spat it out to feed Golden.

What a gentle person.

Golden devoured the roasted meat, which was covered in Miss Miluno's saliva, and then looked at the plate in my hand.

You shouldn't eat too much salty food!

"Awoo--"

It made a pitiful sound.

"Do you want me to lick it clean for you too?"

"Ugh!"

It really understands what I say, and its barks sound like it's talking. For a dog, the Golden is a bit too smart.

"Is it okay if my saliva gets on you?"

What a strange question I asked! It's all because it's too smart; I subconsciously treated it like a person.

With that in mind, I picked up a skewer of grilled ribs with the bone in and took a bite.

But before it could be expelled, a buzzing sound came from the air.

The experiment has ended.

Miss SpiCa has arrived as well.

In other words...

Swallow.

Look up.

A blue halo.

The daily routine is about to begin.