Kitchen War

Shiori faced the most severe challenge in history,

No, not Spirits, not barriers, nor some crisis concerning the fate of the world—

It was the kitchen.

Just now, the commotion in the living room had accidentally drawn away a tiny bit of her attention. Really, only a tiny bit—perhaps only enough time for Huanyue to shout, "Nia, Nia Nia Nia!"

By the time she fully came back to her senses—

Rinne had already put several chopped dishes into the pans at once, like a precision machine.

The proportions of the ingredients, the timing of their addition, the frequency of the stir-frying—

Everything was flawless.

Shiori's hand holding the spatula froze in midair.

Damn it—!

Why hadn't she noticed before?! Rinne was actually an incredibly formidable opponent!

They had grown up together as childhood friends, and they had entered the kitchen together countless times, yet Shiori had never realized that, somewhere beyond her sight, Rinne's skills had improved even further.

A long-forgotten flame ignited in Shiori's brown eyes.

I can't lose!

She took a deep breath, tightened her grip on the spatula, and increased both her speed and concentration.

Chopping. Into the pan. Seasoning. Stir-frying.

The bubbling of soup rang in her ears, as did the sizzle of ingredients hitting the pan—and that effortless, enviable composure.

Shiori gritted her teeth, and her hands moved even faster.

After shaking out her aching fingers a few times, she finally lifted the last dish and turned toward the dining table.

"Dinner's ready—"

Shiori and Rinne called out to everyone at once.

The living room instantly became lively.

"Ooh, ooh, it looks so good! Time to eat!" Tohka's delighted voice rang out from the living room.

"Shiori, Rinne, I can start eating now, right?" She raised her head, gazing eagerly at the two of them.