Back to Yuragi-sou

"I'm home,"

When she heard Kimihito's voice, Chitose immediately warmly welcomed his arrival. "Ara? You're home, Kimihito-kun? And it looks like you've got the item." Right now, she was relaxing while drinking tea on the sofa near Yuragi-sou's foyer.

"Well… I was lucky to get this in one go." He said while adjusting his glasses.

" Now you can see Yuuna-san, right?"

"Um, I was quite surprised by her appearance." He said with a small laugh.

"K-Kimihito, is there something wrong with my appearance?" Meanwhile, Yuuna became confused because of seeing Kimihito laughing. She thought he still remembered the incident at the clothing store.

"It is nothing."

Seeing the two of them get along made Chitose feel happy. That's because this is the first time the person who lives in the same room with Yuuna is not afraid of her.

"Kimihito-kun, do you want to take a shower or eat first?" Chitose asked when she suddenly remembered what time it was.

'It might be nice to sleep after a hot shower.' He thought, imagining how comfortable it would be to drink milk after coming out of a hot bath and then sleep.

"I'll just eat first."

"In that case, then I will prepare it immediately." She said, then went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

After seeing Chitose leave, Kimihito immediately went to his room. Having nothing she wanted to do, Yuuna decided to go after Kimihito.

Kimihito only put his groceries and the dagger he had brought inside his room. Carrying oddly shaped daggers all day was a bit of a hassle. He was hoping to get some storage space from his gacha system.

'Even if there is.' He thought.

Honestly, Kimihito didn't expect to get anything specific from a gacha because the probability was minuscule. In addition, he also did not fully understand the system he got because his current information was still limited.

"Yuuna, I'm going downstairs." He said, decided not to overthink about the system.

"Yes! I will come"

Thinking about a thing that only has limited information is just speculation. For Kimihito himself, speculating also has its limits. He will only think of something if it already has a clear enough clue for him. As for the system, the information provided is limited and insufficient to reach a clear conclusion, so thinking about it is futile and will only waste time and energy.

***

"Oh, Sagiri." Said Kimihito after seeing Sagiri was eating quietly.

"You've come home, Sagiri-san!" Yuuna said, not expecting that Sagiri had come back from school.

"Kimihito Kurusu, Yuuna. How?"

"I'm lucky to get it. But I didn't expect Chuuma Ninja's stuff to be so famous... And expensive."

"Of course!" Hearing him praise the goods from her village certainly made her feel proud.

When he noticed that only the three of them were in the living room, he asked, "By the way, have you seen Nonko?"

"Nonko? I haven't seen her since earlier. Maybe she's in her room." She said since she came home, she hadn't seen Nonko at all.

"Is that so? Maybe I'll go to her room later."

"Is there something?" She asked curiously.

"I just wanted to give her a Sake."

Clack

"If you want to find Nonko-san, she's in her room," Chitose said, coming to the living room while bringing dinner for Kimihito and Yuuna.

"Please enjoy the dinner."

"Itadakimasu." X2

Tonight's menu was ordinary curry, but Kimihito was sure it wouldn't taste like regular curry. He knew Chitose's cooking skills could not be underestimated, especially when cooking Japanese dishes. He firmly believed her cooking skill was the best among the best.

When Kimihito started eating Chitose's curry, he wasn't as surprised as the first time he tried but just smiled a little. It was because he had anticipated whatever was to come from the taste that his tongue would taste. This was an easy thing for him, and he even believed that everyone would do that because all he was doing was raising his expectations. By imagining Chitose's food would taste amazing, then he wouldn't be surprised anymore if his expectations were right because he had imagined it from the start.

When it comes to food, Kimihito has heard some dishes even can make people who eat them become naked. He didn't understand the 'naked' part. Still, he guesses that was probably because the person who was eating it didn't anticipate the taste of the food being felt by their tongue, which makes people who enjoy the food not realize that they are naked, which caused 'that' incident to occur.

The tongue that receives a lot of complex information instantly transfers everything to the brain. Because it takes time to understand all the information that comes, the brain can't understand everything at once, causing the information to flow to all parts of the body, sensitive parts, that's because the brain is connected with all the nerves in the human body. That's all Kimihito could think of about the unique phenomenon around the culinary world. However, he still didn't understand the meaning of the 'naked' part.

Without realizing it, Kimihito had already finished his food. Having finished, he immediately went to his room to get ready for the hot spring.

"Yuuna, Sagiri, I'm going to take a bath first." He said, then left the two of them.

"Umu." X2

After seeing him leave the room, Sagiri immediately glared at Yuuna sharply. Meanwhile, Yuuna immediately became confused when she saw Sagiri's sharp gaze. "W-what is it, Sagiri-san?"

"Yuuna, be honest! Did he do anything weird to you?"

"Kimihito? H-he didn't do anything weird to me. He is a nice person." She answered shyly, and Sagiri could see the blush on her cheeks.

"I-is that so? It's good if he's like you said." Sagiri didn't know that Yuuna's answer differed from what she thought.

'Am I being too wary?' She thought because she had always been wary of men.

It was hard for Sagiri to let go of her guard against a man she had just met, especially since he was also staying at the same inn as her. Moreover, as a Chuuma Ninja, she is required to always remain vigilant in every situation. But this time, she at least wanted to lower her guard a little towards Kimihito and try to believe him.

***

Shortly after Kimihito finished bathing, he immediately headed to his room to get the Sake he had bought earlier. Right now, he was wearing Yuragi-sou's signature yukata without haori.

'I'll give her one bottle.' He thought.

Kimihito planned to give just one of the Sake he bought earlier and keep the other because he's also curious about Dragon Slayer Sake. But that doesn't mean he's a drinker. He only drinks at certain times, like when he's relaxing.

Room number 1.

"Nonko! Are you inside?" He tried to call her, but there was no answer inside her room.

However, suddenly the door to Nonko's room opened and revealed a young woman, but that wasn't Nonko.

"???" X2

They both looked at each other, Kimihito staring at her, wondering if the young woman in front of him was Nonko's friend. Meanwhile, the young woman became confused because she had never seen Kimihito's face in Yuragi-sou. They both stared at each other without a word coming out of their mouths.

Seeing the young woman still confused, he decided to ask first, "Hello, is Nonko here?"

"Ah yes, Nonko-sensei is inside."

"Nonko-sensei?"

Hearing the young woman in front of him refer to Nonko as 'Nonko-sensei' certainly made him confused. Kimihito even furrowed his brows while imagining Nonko's drunken face. It was difficult for him to pair 'Nonko-sensei' with the Nonko he knew.

"Forgive me. You're a resident of Yuragi-sou, right?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"Nothing... It's just, Nonko-sensei is still working on the manga, and the deadline is tomorrow at 7 am."

"Manga?"

"Yes, and I'm the editor-in-chief of Nonko-sensei, Rui Harashima," Said the young woman named Rui while handing her business card.

Rui is a young woman with gray eyes and short black hair covering her right. She is wearing a blue business suit, a darkish-red tie, and low-heeled shoes.

He was pretty surprised when he read his business card. "Marmalade Monthly Girl? Wait... That means Nonko is a mangaka?"

"That's right, Kimihito-chan!" Suddenly the two of them heard a familiar voice, and they immediately turned their heads towards the source of the vote.

While looking at Nonko, he muttered, "I didn't think so at all."

Honestly, the idea Nonko has a job as mangaka never crossed his mind at all. Who would have thought that a heavily drunk Oni was a mangaka, but he couldn't guess what manga Nonko was working on.

'Is that the drunken story?' He thought.

"Shall we go inside first, Kimihito-chan?" Ask her suddenly.

As soon as he woke up from his shock, he responded to Nonko's words and stepped into her room. "Excuse me."

Hearing Nonko's offer, of course, he did not refuse. That's because he is also curious about what manga Nonko is working on

"Welcome! Even if it's a little messy."

"Heeeh..."

Even though Nonko said that the room looked neatly arranged. But there is one thing that makes everything look messy. There are bottles and cans of drinks strewn everywhere. When Kimihito saw all those bottles and cans, he became convinced by Yuuna's words saying 'it would be weird if Nonko didn't drink'.

"Ehem, I just came here to give you this." He said while giving Sake to Nonko.

"This?"

"Do you forget? You told me to buy Sake. I don't know if you'll like it."

"Oh right! I forgot that!"

"Then I'll go back to my room. If you need help, you can call me, though I can't draw if you ask." He said, then walked out of her room.

"Thank you, Kimihito-chan."

When Rui saw Nonko didn't move at all, she immediately asked, "What are you waiting for, Nonko-sensei?!"

"Just one bottle is okay, Rui-chan?"

"No one bottle before you finish all your works!"

"Eeeh?!"