"What… are these?"
Looking at the three plates of dishes set out on the table, Stella was completely at a loss.
When they went to the supermarket together just now, Makoto asked her to pick some ingredients, but she had no idea what to eat.
In the end, she could only let Makoto decide freely.
And after last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast, she felt that her tongue had already been completely captured by Makoto's cooking.
Whatever he cooked, she would like it—Stella was sure of this.
"Mapo tofu, braised sea cucumber with scallion, and spicy crab."
Pointing to each dish on the table, Makoto introduced them one by one.
Just like before, the portion sizes were quite large—definitely enough for Stella to eat her fill.
Oh, right, one thing to mention here.
All the costs for the ingredients were entirely covered by Stella.
In her words, since she wasn't putting in any effort and she consumed a lot at every meal, at least this much should be her responsibility.
But because of that, Makoto let out a long breath of relief.
He really had no choice—he was poor.
Mapo tofu wasn't a big deal, but buying expensive things like sea cucumbers and crabs in large quantities could've killed him financially.
"But… I've never heard these dish names before. They're not washoku, are they?"
Stella looked puzzled, while her chopsticks hovered indecisively above the three plates, not knowing where to start.
"They're not. This is a different country's cuisine."
Makoto, on the other hand, didn't hesitate at all. He stretched out his chopsticks, picked up a crab, and started slurping.
"Different country's? Makoto, how do you know that?"
When you don't know how to start, imitating others is often a good choice.
Stella asked while following his lead, picking up half a spicy crab and putting it in her mouth.
"Mm…"
A moan, ambiguous in its sound, escaped her lips.
Stella's face instantly flushed red. Her cherry-pink lips opened and closed, just like a little fish blowing bubbles.
"Wow, I feel like I'm in the sea—"
"Wait, no, don't, Shizuku—"
Just as Stella recovered and was about to give her tasting impressions, a blood-curdling scream suddenly came from next door.
"This voice sounds familiar… I think it's Kurogane."
Makoto immediately put down his chopsticks, his brows furrowing.
"It really does sound like him… Could he be living next door?"
Stella listened carefully.
The sound wasn't as loud as before, but it still seemed to be Ikki Kurogane's voice, constantly crying things like "Don't!" and "Stop that!"
"…Well, looks like we can't just ignore this. I'll go check. Stella, you keep eating."
Makoto's impression of Ikki had been very favorable, so he felt he should at least check in on him, as long as it was within his ability.
"I'll go too."
Seeing Makoto already about to open the door, Stella quickly grabbed a few napkins from the table and wiped the oil from the corners of her mouth.
-=-=-=-
Outside Room 406
When Makoto put his hand on the doorknob, he found it turned freely.
"Kurogane, are you in there? I'm coming in."
Without further warning, he pushed the door open.
And the scene that appeared before Makoto and Stella instantly froze them in place, unable to move.
Because what they saw was truly shocking.
Normally speaking, even if it was a mixed dorm and boys and girls lived in the same room, situations like this were rare.
And if they did happen, at least it should be between two high school students.
But here—things were far more outrageous. A girl about middle-school age was pinning down a high school boy.
The one pinned underneath, of course, was Ikki Kurogane.
He looked like a bullied wife, lying on the bed, flailing his arms desperately like a drowning man.
At the same time, he caught sight of Makoto entering and gave him a pleading look, silently begging him to rescue him.
As for the girl, Makoto had no idea who she was.
But one thing was undeniable: she was extremely cute.
She wore the Hagun Academy girls' uniform. Her petite figure was just slightly bigger than Nene's, but it was clear she was still very young.
She had shoulder-length silver hair and a doll-like delicate face.
Normally, the sound of the door opening should've been pretty loud.
Even Ikki, who was pinned down, noticed Makoto entering.
But the girl acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, continuing her actions with Ikki. Her small hands slid slowly down from Ikki's neck, clearly aiming to go further…
And then—
"Wha-what are you two doing?!"
Stella's face turned red as a boiled crab, steam practically coming off her head like an engine.
"Sorry to disturb you, Kurogane. I'll take my leave now."
Tongue-tied, Makoto didn't know what else to say or do. He turned silently to leave.
"No, don't go!"
"Shizuku, get off me already! We've got guests, guests—!"
Ikki summoned all his strength, finally managing to shove the girl—whom he called Shizuku—off him, shouting in desperation.
"Honestly, it's been so long since I last saw my brother. This was the perfect chance to express my feelings… Why do people always have to get in the way?"
With a regretful sigh, Shizuku slid reluctantly off her brother, still sounding disappointed.
Makoto's footsteps halted mid-turn.
Like a rusty machine, his stiff neck turned back. His calm gaze slowly shifted into one of horror, as if he were looking at a pervert.
"Kurogane… so you had this kind of hobby. Apologies for disturbing."
…
Silence.
The room that had just been filled with cheerful voices was now dead quiet.
Back in their room, Makoto and Stella sat at the table without saying a word, heavy silence hanging between them.
Only after a long, long time did Stella, face still red, manage to speak.
"Makoto… Is Japan really that kind of country?"
"Well…"
Makoto instinctively wanted to refute her, but then suddenly recalled what he'd once read about the Japanese imperial family in his previous life… and found himself unable to deny it outright.
"Stella, things are different in modern society. While rare cases like this do exist, we should respect their traditions."
His answer was awkward and forced.
The truth was, he'd really liked Ikki at first.
Although they hadn't known each other long, from his words and demeanor, Ikki had seemed like a good person.
But to be in that kind of relationship with his own sister… Makoto couldn't easily accept it.
So these words were not only to reassure Stella, but also to convince himself not to judge Ikki with prejudice.
"Even so, it's hard to accept. With your own sister… that's…"
Stella had lost all strength.
Even with delicious food on the table, she had no appetite left.
Her worldview was being shaken to the core.
Knock, knock, knock—
Rhythmic knocking suddenly came at the door.
Knock, knock, knock—
"…Fine, I'll get it. Stella, whatever happens, don't look at him with prejudice, alright?"
The knocking went on for what felt like dozens of beats before Makoto finally sighed and stood up.
"Gulp—"
Swallowing nervously, Stella nodded blankly.
"I… I understand."
Makoto opened the door. Outside stood Ikki and Shizuku, side by side.
Makoto drew in a deep breath, his eyes softening with a warm expression.
"Sorry for disturbing you two just now. Don't worry, as a fellow countryman, I can understand. Especially for a swordsman family like the Kurogane family, you must have strict traditions. So you don't need to explain further. Come in, sit down. I made dinner—consider it an apology. Let's eat together."
He bowed slightly, offering his apology sincerely, saying the speech he'd already rehearsed in his mind.
Such an apology was only natural.
After all, he had been in the wrong for barging in without permission, even if it was out of concern.
But to his surprise, Ikki's expression twisted with grief and frustration—while Shizuku's eyes suddenly lit up.
"I already said, that's not it! She's my sister—Kurogane Shizuku! My biological younger sister, one year younger than me! Who in their right mind would do the things you're imagining with their own sister?! We're real siblings! And what's this about Kurogane family traditions? There's no such thing!"
Ikki's voice broke with despair as he explained.
Normally, he bore humiliation with calm indifference. But here and now, he truly looked ready to break.
"My, my, brother, this friend of yours is really something. My opinion of him just improved."
Shizuku, on the other hand, looked at Makoto with admiration.
"…Unacceptable. He really is just a pervert."
Stella had promised herself she'd try to look at them calmly, as Makoto asked.
But in the end, she couldn't do it.
Having never encountered something so scandalous, she couldn't handle the shock of sibling love.
Shame and outrage overwhelmed her, pushing her to the edge of an outburst.
Shizuku, meanwhile, completely ignored Stella. She kept gazing adoringly at her brother's face, her eyes filled only with Ikki.
"Shameless… Truly siblings… Completely unacceptable… This goes against all moral principles…"
Maybe Stella's a bit of a closet pervert herself…
Makoto glanced at Stella's face out of the corner of his eye.
Honestly, he hadn't expected her reaction to be this extreme.
In the two days they'd lived together, he'd often felt Stella's burning gaze on him.
Yet here she was, acting so innocent. It wasn't an act, he knew—so "closet pervert" seemed like the right word.
"Tch, just some irrelevant outsider daring to judge the bond between us siblings. Who do you think you are?"
Shizuku lashed out viciously at Stella, showing her sharp tongue and ability to twist logic.
"And compared to you, Princess, my brother's friend here clearly has far more sense."
She pointed proudly at Makoto.
Makoto's face instantly went pale.
"Forget it, forget it! Do what you want, I don't care anymore! I'm going out for some air."
Feeling betrayed and attacked, Stella seemed ready to give up.
"Geez, I told you already! Shizuku and I are NOT what you think! Why won't anyone believe me? Why does this keep happening? What on earth happened these past few years?!"
Ikki muttered in frustration, knowing how powerless his words sounded.
Makoto sighed helplessly, glancing at the dishes on the table.
"Brother, why let yourself be bound by these worldly notions? I love you so deeply…"
Shizuku continued to pour out her feelings, undeterred.
Meanwhile, Stella—who had only stepped onto the balcony for air but kept peeking back into the room—looked ready to explode.
Makoto rubbed his temples, feeling a splitting headache.
"…Alright then, how about we go out and spar a bit? That should help calm you down, Kurogane."
"…You're right."
Ikki stood up, his shaken demeanor now steadier.
"Besides, it'll fulfill the promise we made this morning."