Chapter 92: The Yukima Household Is Particularly Lively Today

Chapter 92: The Yukima Household Is Particularly Lively Today

"Wait! You guys, wait for me a moment!"

Eriri finally snapped back to her senses and quickly ran to the door.

She pulled Hinatsuru Ai out of Yukima Azuma's arms.

"Who are you people? And what is your relationship with Azuma!?"

Seeing Eriri standing protectively in front of her, Sora Ginko furrowed her brows. The folding fan in her hand lightly tapped her slender neck.

"That's something I should be asking. Who are you? And what is your relationship with Azuma?"

A cold aura unconsciously spread around.

Yukima Azuma noticed that the grayish-blue eyes of his senpai had now turned an icy blue.

"Huh? I'm Azuma's childhood friend!"

"Oh, really? I've never heard of you."

"That line sounds familiar... Wait! That's supposed to be my line!"

"Hmph, I'm his senpai. Ever since he learned how to read, we've been together."

Eriri was so shocked she couldn't find any words.

Could such a thing really be true!?

Doesn't that mean she had known him even earlier than Eriri herself?

No, wait—what senpai!?

Eriri looked at Sora Ginko with suspicion in her eyes.

Sora Ginko didn't want to say more and used her folding fan to prod Yukima Azuma.

"This is Sora Ginko, my shogi senpai, in the truest sense, as we share the same mentor."

"This is Hinatsuru Ai, my disciple, who is currently studying shogi with me."

"And this is Eriri, my friend since elementary school. You could say she's my childhood friend."

Yukima Azuma introduced everyone to each other.

A giant question mark seemed to appear above Eriri's head.

Azuma studied shogi?

How did she not know anything about this?

Standing behind her, Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't hold back her laughter.

Eriri turned around, glaring angrily.

"Kasumigaoka Utaha, what are you laughing at? Don't tell me you knew about this!?"

Kasumigaoka shot her a disdainful glance.

"Of course I knew. I've been acquainted with Sora Ginko over there for a long time now."

"Moreover, the fact that Lonely-kun is a professional shogi player is something even Kato-san knows."

"And yet, someone who claims to be his childhood friend knows absolutely nothing about it."

"Listen closely: the person standing before you is none other than Japan's greatest shogi genius."

"The youngest 7-dan professional shogi player in history, a legend with only one loss in his career, a symbol of overcoming the strongest—Yukima Azuma, 7-dan."

Eriri was utterly stunned.

She thought back to everything that had happened.

No wonder Kasumigaoka had that smug expression, like she was watching a play, when Eriri played shogi against Yukima Azuma.

No wonder she had been completely crushed, even with a four-piece handicap.

At that moment, Eriri felt like a total fool.

"Uh… hello, everyone."

The tension at the doorway was broken by a soft voice.

Sora Ginko was startled by the unexpected sound.

Like a startled kitten, she stepped back and hid behind Yukima Azuma, looking in the direction of the voice.

Hinatsuru Ai, meanwhile, was so frightened that the tuft of hair on her head stood upright.

Neither of them had realized when a petite, gentle-looking girl had quietly appeared behind them.

Seeing Kato Megumi arrive, Yukima Azuma introduced everyone once more.

Afterward.

The five girls sat around the table.

Eriri glanced at Sora Ginko with a "stay away, stranger" look.

She leaned over and quietly asked Kato Megumi beside her:

"Kato-san, did you know Azuma is a professional shogi player?"

Kato Megumi nodded.

"Of course. Every time Azuma-san participates in official tournaments, I'm the one taking care of Shiratamaru."

Under the table, Shiratamaru, hearing its name, trotted over to Kato Megumi and rubbed its head against her leg.

Eriri looked up at the ceiling.

She truly felt like an idiot.

Ah!

Oh, vast blue sky, why are you so unfair to Eriri!

Yukima Azuma popped his head out from the kitchen.

"Megumi, come help me prepare the ingredients. There's too much stuff."

Hearing this, Kato Megumi got up and walked into the kitchen.

Hinatsuru Ai immediately hopped off her chair and ran after her.

"Shishou, Ai will help too!"

The three remaining in the living room began to wonder if they should pick up some cooking skills themselves.

...

"Are these... century eggs?"

"Wow, this is my first time seeing them!"

Looking at the glossy black eggs on the cutting board, Kato Megumi blinked curiously.

This was something she had only ever seen on variety shows before.

She'd heard it was a culinary specialty from China.

But in Japan, nobody dared to eat it.

Even on variety shows, it only appeared as a "punishment."

Hinatsuru Ai wasn't much different.

Standing on a small stool, she stared intently at the century eggs on the cutting board, the ahoge on her head swaying gently.

"Yeah, I ordered them internationally. The shipping cost more than the eggs themselves," Yukima Azuma confirmed with a nod.

Kato Megumi reached out to touch a century egg lightly, then brought her fingertip to her nose to sniff.

Immediately, her small, delicate nose wrinkled.

Seeing Kato Megumi's adorable reaction, Yukima Azuma couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Is this really edible? Azuma-san, are you messing with me?"

Kato Megumi's voice remained gentle, but her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.

Clearly, she thought Yukima Azuma was playing a prank on her.

"I'm not joking, Megumi. This is just an ingredient for cooking. I don't usually eat them raw either."

"But once prepared into a dish, the flavor becomes much more pleasant."

Hearing Yukima Azuma's explanation, Kato Megumi nodded thoughtfully.

"Like sashimi, right?"

"Umu, something like that. Megumi is really sharp."

That morning's breakfast consisted of lean pork and century egg congee paired with soup dumplings.

While busy in the kitchen, Kato Megumi couldn't help but be amazed at Hinatsuru Ai's proficiency.

Initially, she had planned to keep an eye on the younger girl, worried that Hinatsuru Ai might hurt herself.

To her surprise, Hinatsuru Ai's cooking skills seemed even better than her own.

"Hinatsuru-chan, you're amazing!"

"Of course! Ai is the young lady of the Hinatsuru family, owners of a hot spring resort. I've been learning to cook since I was little."

"Hehe, shishou, don't you think I'm great too?"

"Umu umu, very impressive, very impressive."

When the pot of lean pork and century egg congee was finally ready and served into bowls,

Kato Megumi took her bowl, brought it up to her nose, and sniffed.

This time, there was only the sweet aroma of rice and the light freshness of pork.

The strong pungency from earlier had completely vanished into the congee, becoming a subtle enhancement to the dish's fragrance.

As the bowls and dishes were laid on the dining table, the three girls stared curiously at the dark, semi-translucent bits mixed into the congee.

"What is this?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked, looking toward Yukima Azuma.

Yukima Azuma smiled gently. "Try it first, and then I'll tell you."

So, one by one, they tasted it.

The first thing they noticed was the gentle fragrance of rice and a mild saltiness, without any unpleasant flavors.

The strange ingredient had a texture akin to a slightly salty jelly when eaten.

"This is delicious!" Eriri's eyes sparkled.

"Surprising. Very tasty," Kasumigaoka nodded in approval.

Sora Ginko simply bowed her head and focused on eating.

Being naturally shy, especially with Eriri and Kato Megumi present, Sora Ginko felt a bit out of her comfort zone.

Seeing everyone's reactions, Yukima Azuma chuckled softly and said:

"Actually, that's century egg."

Upon learning the truth, the three girls widened their eyes in shock.

"No way!"

Eriri had tried century egg before when her mother bought some out of curiosity.

It was a traumatic memory she'd vowed never to repeat.

Kasumigaoka and Sora Ginko had similar reactions.

Though they'd never tasted it, they were well aware of its infamous reputation from online shows.

"It's true," Yukima Azuma shrugged. "The bad reviews online are just because of poor preparation methods."

Breakfast continued in a lively and cheerful atmosphere.

Everyone seemed quite satisfied.

Well… except for the part where Eriri burned her tongue.

Yukima Azuma had clearly warned everyone that the soup inside the dumplings was hot, so they should be careful when eating.

But Eriri, being the clumsy one, still managed to burn herself.

Now, this silly girl stood outside the kitchen, sticking out her small pink tongue.

Yukima Azuma retrieved some ice from the fridge to help cool her tongue.

Fortunately, he had prepared small ice cubes earlier for chilling drinks.

Come to think of it… Eriri sticking out her tongue looked somewhat… alluring.

Yukima Azuma couldn't help himself and lightly touched her soft, pink tongue with his finger.

Eriri immediately let out muffled sounds of discontent, "Umm! Umm!"

At that moment, the sound of knocking came from the front door.

Yukima Azuma and Eriri exchanged puzzled glances.

The girls in the living room also looked curious.

Who could it be this time?

Kirisu-sensei was at Shuchiin.

Yukino had already left for work early in the morning.

Logically, there shouldn't be anyone else visiting.

Yukima Azuma wiped his hands and headed toward the front door.

When the door opened, he saw a blonde girl with shark-like teeth standing outside.

At that moment, she was flashing a malicious smile at Yukima Azuma.

"Tch!"

A sound of annoyance clicked from the hallway, where Sora Ginko was standing.

"Sainokami Ika, why are you here?"

Hearing Sora Ginko's question, Sainokami Ika tilted her head.

Her golden eyes, adorned with a lightning-bolt pattern, stared intently at Sora Ginko.

"Of course, I'm here to play shogi with Azuma. As for someone untalented like you, just shut up."

Sora Ginko's face instantly darkened.

In terms of reading ahead in a shogi game, she was indeed slightly inferior to Sainokami Ika.

She had once been mocked by this person at the game table.

However, this time, before Sora Ginko could retort, Yukima Azuma reached out and gave Sainokami Ika's head a light flick with some force.

"Ow!"

Even an eccentric girl like Sainokami Ika clutched her head and whined at this moment.

"If you say something like that again, then leave. Get out of my sight forever."

After saying this, Yukima Azuma motioned for Sainokami Ika to come inside.

After Yukima Azuma's stern reprimand, Sainokami Ika noticeably became much more obedient.

She hadn't expected Yukima Azuma, who had always kept a distance from her, to be this assertive from the start.

"Who's she?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha walked over to Sora Ginko and asked in a low voice.

"Azuma's ex-girlfriend," Sora Ginko replied casually.

As a result, after hearing this response, all the girls in the apartment simultaneously turned their sharp gazes toward Sainokami Ika.

Sainokami Ika: !?

"Ginko, stop saying weird stuff like that. She just confessed to me but got rejected," Yukima Azuma sighed helplessly.

After letting Sainokami Ika inside, Yukima Azuma took a pair of disposable slippers from the bottom shelf and pointed to his room.

"You want to play shogi with me, right? Go sit there."

Hearing that, Sainokami Ika immediately kicked off her shoes.

Wearing only her long black over-the-knee socks and not bothering with slippers, she dashed excitedly toward the shogi table, looking at Yukima Azuma with anticipation.

However, Yukima Azuma didn't look at her but instead turned and called out:

"Ai, come here."

Hinatsuru Ai obediently stepped in front of Yukima Azuma.

Yukima Azuma pointed to Sainokami Ika at the shogi table.

"I'm giving Ai a mission: tame her. This is the challenge your master is assigning to you!"