"Eh? But it's okay for me to stay—I don't have anything else to do right now anyway."
The named Nakano Yotsuba blinked, confusion clearly visible in her eyes.
Nakano Ichika teased, "The kitchen's only so big, and since the three of us are also pretty big, it'll get crowded if we all stay here."
Shirase paused in his movements upon hearing that, thinking to himself: You'd better only be talking about kitchen space. What do you mean by 'big'?
Yotsuba ended up being persuaded to leave.
The girl felt a little regretful because earlier, after Shirase noticed her drooling, he'd specifically told her she'd be allowed to sneak a taste once the food was ready.
Though Yotsuba didn't want to resort to something as shameful as sneaking bites, the temptation of good food was too great to resist.
"You have something to say to me, right?"
The moment Yotsuba left, Shirase immediately spoke up.
"Eh? Was it that obvious?" Ichika feigned surprise, softly touching her smooth cheek.
Shirase didn't pause his cooking. "Pretty obvious. At least, I noticed it right away."
"Maybe that's just because you're smart. After all, you're an honor student. Little airhead Yotsuba didn't realize it at all," Ichika said, smiling lightly.
So you've been comparing me to Yotsuba all this time? Shirase almost laughed aloud at the thought.
Standing beside him, Ichika's eyes held a faint, glimmering light. "Kana-nee said you're familiar with Chinese cuisine?"
"A bit," Shirase nodded.
"A bit… To what extent exactly?"
"About three or four stories high."
"Eh? Aren't you being a bit immodest?"
"No matter how modest I try to be, do you really think I could fool someone as sharp as you?"
Ichika chuckled softly. "Nino was right. You really aren't serious sometimes."
"No, I never claimed to be serious," Shirase retorted.
Ichika blinked. "Ah, true. If you were actually serious, you wouldn't have come up with such convincing excuses so quickly to trick Itsuki."
"That was just an emergency measure." Shirase wasn't surprised at all that she'd seen through his nonsense.
After all, from his perspective, that was merely him cleaning up after the system's mess—just like game developers frantically adding their own mother into a gacha pool after angry players complain about abysmal drop rates.
"If there's a chance later on, could you let me taste your Chinese cooking?" Ichika asked.
"No problem."
"Thanks~ Then, I have one more question."
Ichika's voice took on a different tone.
Ah, finally getting to the point, Shirase thought.
The girl beside him continued slowly, "Due to our terrible grades on the placement exams, Dad's been looking for ways to help us. He mentioned to us before that Kana-nee told him your grades have improved drastically recently…"
At this point, Ichika's lips curved upward into a charming smile. "Don't deny it, okay? Your class's Kirisu-sensei has been keeping an eye on you. Apparently, she and Kana-nee are close friends, so that's how Kana-nee found out."
Shirase vaguely guessed what she was getting at, yet still asked, "So?"
Ichika sighed lightly, covering her forehead with her hand. "If nothing unexpected happens, Dad wants you to become the tutor for us quintuplets. After all, our grades really are awful. Since we already know you and no one dislikes you, having you tutor us would be the most natural thing in Dad's eyes."
Shirase took the food out of the pan and calmly asked, "You don't want me to tutor you?"
"Right." Ichika admitted immediately. "Actually, it's not just me who thinks so—everyone probably feels the same. We're fully aware of our situation. No matter how good your grades are, tutoring us would just be pointless. So…"
Pausing briefly, she suddenly adopted a dramatic tone reminiscent of a chuunibyou:
"In terms of grades, we're already beyond salvation. So please don't bother yourself."
"You've got a point—but I refuse," Shirase countered without hesitation, adopting a distinctly JoJo-like tone.
"Looks like you've already made up your mind," Ichika replied helplessly, smiling faintly.
Shirase corrected her, "It's not that I've made up my mind. If Nakano-san really does want me to tutor you, then I wouldn't refuse—nor would I have any reason to refuse."
"Why?" Ichika seemed genuinely puzzled.
"It's simple logic: as your friend, there's no way I'd willingly stand by and watch people I care about sink into degeneracy."
"Degeneracy? That's a bit too extreme…"
Ichika chuckled casually, raising her hand to point toward the living room. A playful smile formed at the corners of her eyes. "Well, I won't stop you. But if you're thinking of single-handedly convincing the other four, you're facing quite an uphill battle, you know."
Shirase asked, "Do they really dislike the idea that much?"
"Absolutely. Even Nino, who gets along best with you, probably wouldn't accept you as our tutor," Ichika smiled mischievously, finally revealing why she'd remained so calm and confident throughout.
"That might not be the case." Shirase started on his second dish, his voice calm and steady. "If it's Nino, I have ways of convincing her."
"And then?"
"And then I'll have her help me convince another sister, and continue from there. It'll definitely work."
"…"
Ichika's red lips parted in surprise. Clearly, she wanted to say something, yet in the end, no words came out.
Finally, she lowered her head, chuckling softly to herself. "Geez…why do you have to be so stubborn…"
She clearly wasn't expecting Shirase to respond, because without even waiting, she quietly left the kitchen.
Shirase continued immersing himself happily in his improved cooking skills.
...
As all the dishes were finally placed on the table, the four sisters—already hungry for quite a while—immediately stretched out their necks in anticipation.
Even Itsuki, who had stuffed herself with meat buns earlier, was staring fixedly at the dishes, unable to tear her eyes away.
"This is incredible!" Yotsuba exclaimed joyfully.
"Looks like Kana-nee wasn't exaggerating," Miku softly chimed in.
Ichika turned to Shirase, eyes curved gently. "Arigatou, Shirase."
Then she glanced at the drooling Itsuki beside her. "Itsuki, you all should say thanks too."
Itsuki hesitated, instantly recalling the incident earlier, still harboring lingering frustration. "Shirase-kun himself said this meal was his apology."
"But I think the meat buns and his earlier apology were already compensation enough," Ichika replied smoothly, acting the part of a responsible older sister.
Miku and Yotsuba quickly nodded their agreement and expressed their thanks.
Finally, it was Itsuki's turn.
Seeing all three sisters staring at her, she could only reluctantly pout and mutter, her voice flat and unenthusiastic, "Arigatou, Shirase-san."