After just one lunch, Jhin's culinary skills made Eriri, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Kato Megumi understand exactly why Tachibana Chizuru was willing to trade an entire class period for the chance to have Jhin cook personally.
Every authentic Chinese dish Jhin made had them wishing they had a second stomach. Not to mention that after the meal, Jhin "cruelly" brought out dessert and placed it before them.
Fighting back the heart-wrenching despair that they would gain several pounds after this meal, the girls used their legendary dessert stomachs to completely annihilate the sweets.
Kato Megumi rubbed her full little belly and sighed, "If Jhin-san cooked for us every day, I bet we'd gain so much weight in half a month..."
"Half a month?"
Eriri felt that wasn't nearly enough time. Her stomach currently felt like an overinflated balloon that would pop if someone so much as poked it.
"One week would be enough."
"Ugh... I think the food is already up to my throat." Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had eaten the most of the three, was not feeling well at all, as if she might throw up at any moment.
"Who told you to eat so much? Now all that useless fat on your body has found some new friends. Congratulations."
"That's still better than Sawamura-san, who can eat as much as she wants and not gain any weight."
The two frenemies started bickering again.
The other girls were doing much better than the three of them, with the exception of Tachibana Chizuru, who was already lying on the sofa, too full to even speak.
"You guys... It's not like you'll never get to eat this again. Why are you going all out? Don't burst your stomachs," Jhin said, walking out from the kitchen with a tray holding four cups of orange-red tea.
"Rest for a bit and drink this hawthorn tea. It'll help with digestion."
"Thank you, Jhin-san. It feels like you can do anything," Kato Megumi said as she took the cup. She took a sip, and the sweet and sour taste of the hawthorn tea filled her mouth, seeming to ease the bloated feeling in her stomach.
Jhin was very modest. "I can't do everything. I'm just particularly skilled when it comes to cooking."
"Even so, that's amazing."
Kato Megumi felt her femininity points in the cooking department had been completely crushed by Jhin.
"Speaking of which..." Jhin plopped down on the sofa and glanced around at the girls in the living room. "Does this mean I can expect a return gift of one dish from each of you?"
Suou Amane felt her own cooking skills had improved recently and had to show Jhin. "I don't mind. I've cooked for you before, anyway."
"I'll be on a team with Amane-nee!" Irisu Makina cleverly found a way to slack off.
Michiru Matsushima paced back and forth, and Jhin noticed her eye color switching between blue and green. It seemed her two personalities were planning to cooperate on a dish.
Jhin then turned his gaze to Komine Sachi. As the second-best cook among the girls, she promised him with a solemn expression, "I, Komine Sachi, will definitely make the most suitable dish as a return gift!"
This made Jhin feel a bit expectant. He then looked at Sakaki Yumiko and Kazami Kazuki, whose fingers had never touched kitchen work, and their reactions were brief and to the point.
"Instant noodles." That was Kazami Kazuki's answer.
"Takeout." That was Sakaki Yumiko's answer.
"Ara, Jhin-san didn't even look our way," Kasumigaoka Utaha remarked, noticing that Jhin was politely avoiding looking at the three new transfer students.
Not wanting to seem too antisocial, she spoke up to remind him, "We're all classmates, you can't be such a stranger."
"In that case... I'll be waiting for everyone's return gifts."
Kato Megumi's cooking should be reliable.
As for Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha... Jhin didn't hold out much hope for the culinary skills of an otaku doujin artist and a light novel author who dressed like an edible chocolate popsicle.
Wait, aren't I an otaku too?
Thinking about it that way, Jhin felt he should give the two of them a certain amount of credit. What if they could cook up a delicacy that was so shockingly... no, dazzlingly delicious? Though the probability of that was even smaller than the probability of Char not saying his classic line.
"Oh, right, could you all install this messaging app? It'll make it easier to stay in touch."
Jhin sent the app he had named "momotalk" to Eriri and the others.
"momotalk? I've never heard of this app."
"I had someone develop it for me."
"I see."
...
Back home that evening, Jhin had a sudden flash of inspiration. He thought of a good way to trick Eriri into revealing her identity as a doujin artist. Even if it didn't work, it wouldn't matter; he could just think of another way.
He decided to act on it immediately and opened [momotalk].
Jhin: "Eriri, are you busy?"
Eriri: "No, I just finished my homework."
Jhin: "That's great. There's something I wanted to discuss with you."
Eriri: "Before that, can you promise me something?"
Jhin: "What is it?"
Eriri: "Um... you already know that I'm an otaku, right?"
Jhin: "Yeah, I had a feeling back when you were asking those questions."
Oh, girl, from the moment you said your name, I knew everything about you, except for your three sizes, which I didn't bother to memorize.
After all, she was the person who gave the "losing dog" label to the blonde-twintails archetype. How could Jhin not know about her? Of course, he would never say any of this to Eriri.
Eriri: "I knew it. Could you please keep it a secret for me?"
Jhin: "Why? You saw how everyone else in class reacted today. There's no need to be so secretive about it anymore, right?"
Of course, Eriri couldn't just tell Jhin that she was afraid talking to him about it in the classroom might expose her identity as a doujin artist.
Unable to find a good excuse, she sat cross-legged on the floor in frustration, her small, bare, snow-white feet, with their fair and delicate, bud-like toes, twitching in annoyance from time to time.
How on earth could she get Jhin to drop the idea?
Jhin: "Alright, I'll keep it a secret for you."
The sudden pleasant surprise made Eriri grin from ear to ear, heedlessly walking right into the trap Jhin had set for her.
Eriri: "So, what did you need my help with?"
Jhin: "I have a friend who wants to sell some doujinshi, but they're not sure if their skill level is good enough to be popular. I can't really judge the quality of the work myself. Do you have any friends with similar hobbies who could take a look for me?"
Eriri: "I do have a friend who's pretty good at drawing. Send me the picture, and I'll send it to her to take a look."
Jhin: "OK, one second."
Jhin had Nymph quickly whip up an illustration for him that looked technically unpolished, then sent it to Eriri.
After receiving the illustration, Eriri studied it for a while, then waited some time before messaging Jhin back.
Eriri: "My friend said that the skill level of this drawing still needs improvement. By the way, they asked me to ask what kind of doujinshi this is for?"
Jhin: "Uh... the R-18 type."
When Eriri saw this message, her eyes went wide.
Isn't this just like me? Jhin actually has a friend like that?
Eriri suddenly felt a surge of excitement. She felt it was her duty to guide this kindred spirit she had never met, since not everyone's parents were like hers—a moebuta father and a fujoshi mother who even helped her organize a circle to sell her doujinshi.
Eriri: "That friend is probably around your age, right?"
Jhin scratched his head, finding this a bit difficult.
He had made this friend up out of thin air and hadn't set up detailed background information like their age.
After a moment's thought, Jhin quickly found a solution.
Jhin: "We're online friends, so I don't know her exact age. From her voice, she sounds younger than me. Her screen name is Eromanga Sensei."
Eriri: "Eromanga Sensei... to actually use that name, it seems she's dead set on going down the path of R-18 doujinshi."
No, no, no, she's a legitimate illustrator, just a little... lewd.
Jhin: "So, do you have any good advice?"
Eriri: "Minors can't sell R-18 doujinshi, you know."
Jhin: "So I should just tell her to give up?"
Eriri: "Not necessarily. It would be fine if she could find an adult to sell the doujinshi for her publicly."
Jhin: "Oh? How would that work, exactly?"
As he sent this message, Jhin revealed a delighted smile. The big fish had taken the bait.
Eriri: "You just need to have an adult help her form a circle."
Jhin: "Mhm, and then?"
Eriri: "Then she just needs to be responsible for the art, and the circle will be responsible for attending conventions to sell it."
Jhin: "So that's how it's done. By the way, what kind of drawing skill is needed to sell R-18 doujinshi?"
Eriri scrolled through the illustrations on her phone, realized they would all need to be fully censored, and so she carefully took a picture of the uncolored cover art on her desk and sent it to him.
Eriri: "[Image] A level like this would sell pretty well. Anyway, the law only forbids people under 18 from buying the books, it doesn't forbid them from drawing them."
Jhin: "Ooh~"
Eriri: "My friend's circle happens to be involved in this area too. If that Eromanga Sensei person really can't find anyone to help her establish a circle, she could consider collaborating with my friend's circle. That way they could look out for each other."
Careless Eriri had no idea that even though she had meticulously avoided anything that could reveal her identity when taking the photo, a single, mischievous strand of golden hair, so fine it was unnoticeable without close inspection, was lying on the paper.
Jhin: "Hmm... Eriri, you seem very familiar with this whole process."
Eriri: "It's all stuff my friend asked me to pass along."
Eriri's small, fair hand holding the phone trembled slightly. She hadn't said too much and aroused suspicion, had she?
Jhin: "This friend you're talking about... it's not you, is it?"
Eriri: "Hahahaha, Jhin, what kind of joke is that?"
Jhin: "[Image] This strand of golden hair, and the same brand of pencil I went with you to buy before."
The red circle in the picture was glaringly conspicuous, like a noose tightening around Eriri's neck, leaving her breathless. Jhin's next words delivered the fatal blow.
Jhin: "Plus, the art style looks familiar. I'm not mistaken. You're Kashiwagi Eri-sensei, right?"
___
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