"No, seriously, where did you learn that from?" Suyan's mouth twitched involuntarily. "And how many times have I told you? Don't call me 'Little Suyan'."
Shizuka planted her hands on her hips and spoke with absolute self-righteousness. "Who told you to come home so late today?"
"Didn't I tell you already?" Suyan sighed, exasperated. "I said I had things to take care of after school and that I would be home late today."
"Did you?" Shizuka tilted her head as if trying to recall.
"I'm pretty sure I told you about Saeko, didn't I?" Suyan prompted again.
Signing a contract with Saeko Busujima wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. Therefore, he had naturally mentioned it to Shizuka. It was just that Shizuka always acted like a natural airhead, so she probably either hadn't paid attention or simply forgot what he said.
"Oh... is that so?"
Prompted by Suyan's reminder, Shizuka finally remembered.
It seems there really was something like that?
But on the surface, she still pretended as if she knew absolutely nothing. However, her shifting eyes and the guilty way she avoided Suyan's gaze completely gave her away.
Suyan reached out with both hands, pinching the soft flesh of her cheeks. "What—do—you—think?" he enunciated slowly.
"Mmph I'm sowwy"
Shizuka reached out, trying to pry Suyan's hands off her face, but failed. She let out a series of adorable, pitiful whimpers.
Realizing resistance was futile, Shizuka gave up, adopting an expression that said: Fine, ravage me as you please.
Seeing this, Suyan quickly lost interest and let her go.
Shizuka rubbed her tummy. "I'm hungry~"
Suyan sighed. "I swear, I can't do anything with you. Did you at least buy groceries on your way home?"
"I did! I did! I bought a ton of meat today! The whole fridge is completely stuffed!" Shizuka nodded vigorously.
"Alright, alright." Suyan rolled up his sleeves and headed toward the kitchen. Suddenly remembering something, he paused and looked back at her. "By the way, have you taken a bath yet?"
Shizuka shook her head. "Not yet."
"Then go take a bath first. By the time you're done, dinner should be ready."
Suyan said, "Oh, right. Remember to draw the bathwater for me after you're done. I want to soak in the tub tonight."
"Little Suyan, let's wash together~" Shizuka whined, clinging to his arm like a child.
Suyan wasn't buying it. He firmly pushed her head away. "Stop messing around. If we both go take a bath, who's going to cook? Besides, if I bathe first and then cook, I'll just end up smelling like cooking oil again. What would be the point?"
"Then we'll just have YukimiBotamon cook!" Shizuka declared with absolute seriousness.
"Mi?"
Hearing their name mentioned, the two fluffy white blobs huddled in the corner perked up. Their large, fuzzy ears twitched, and they turned around, their tiny eyes filled with profound bewilderment.
One of the YukimiBotamon let out a confused squeak directed at Shizuka. Even someone who couldn't understand Digimon language could easily hear the intense emotion packed into that single sound.
YukimiBotamon: What? Me?!
"Shizuka, I am begging you. Please, act like a human being for once," Suyan said, raising an eyebrow. It was a wonder she could even come up with such an idea. Asking a creature that wasn't even the size of her own head—and literally didn't even have hands—to cook dinner...
At the very least, she should wait until they evolved into Angewomon. Hell, even their Champion form, the feline Gatomon, would make more sense than a literal bouncing snowball.
"Ehehe~"
Feeling the strange stares from Suyan and the YukimiBotamon, Shizuka finally realized the absurdity of her impulsive comment. She played dumb and quietly slipped into the bathroom.
Suyan shook his head with a wry smile.
Shizuka was nearly thirty years old—older than he had been in his past life—yet she constantly acted like a toddler. It always gave him the feeling that he was raising a giant child.
Seeing Shizuka slip into the bathroom, Suyan didn't say anything more and turned toward the kitchen.
Most Japanese kitchens were open-concept, connected directly to the living room, unlike the fully separated rooms used for kitchens back in my previous world.
He pulled open the refrigerator door. Honestly, he had expected it to be completely empty, considering he was the one who usually handled the grocery shopping and cooking. To his surprise—good heavens—it really was packed to the brim, exactly as she had claimed.
Suyan picked out a few ingredients, tossed them into the sink, and then grabbed the inner pot of the rice cooker to wash the rice.
After more than half an hour of prep work, all the ingredients were chopped and ready to go. Right on cue, the rice cooker beeped, signaling that the rice was perfectly steamed.
Now it was time for the actual cooking.
He set out the plates he would need and fired up the stove. Making a few simple, home-style dishes was basically muscle memory for someone who grew up in the East. In no time at all, dinner was served.
"Smells so good~"
Just as he finished plating, Shizuka emerged from the bathroom. She was wrapped in a white bath towel, putting her beautiful figure on full display.
Catching the aroma of the food, she immediately showered Suyan with praise, generously providing emotional value.
Suyan was already used to her habit of casually handing out fan-service around the house. Since it was just the two of them living there, he didn't bother commenting on it.
"So yummy~"
Shizuka practically skipped to the dining table. Like a greedy little cat, she pinched a piece of meat with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.
A blissful expression quickly appeared on her face, greatly satisfying Suyan's vanity as a chef.
He had to admit, Japanese women were unparalleled when it came to providing emotional validation. If they weren't, there was absolutely no way someone as notoriously lazy as Suyan—a guy who had survived purely on takeout for 365 days a year in his past life—would willingly cook dinner every single night for over a year.
Faced with this, who wouldn't get hooked and grin from ear to ear?
"Alright, sit down and eat properly," Suyan chuckled.
"Yes, sir!" Shizuka gave a playful, mock salute before obediently taking her seat, eagerly waiting to be fed.
As Suyan served the rice, he casually brought up a topic. "By the way, didn't you mention before that you have a best friend named Minami Rika who lives here with you? When is she supposed to be coming back?"
"Ooh, does Little Suyan want to contract Rika too? Don't worry! As soon as she gets back, I'll definitely convince her!" Shizuka promised, patting her chest confidently.
"Who the hell asked you about that?" Suyan rolled his eyes. "I'm asking because I told you the zombie outbreak is going to happen soon. If you have any way to contact her, you need to tell her to get her ass back here immediately so she doesn't get caught in the crossfire."
It wasn't that he was genuinely worried about her safety. In the Highschool of the Dead anime, Shizuka's best friend was an absolute badass. Not only was she an elite sniper for the SAT, but she had also illegally stockpiled enough modern firearms in this very house to arm a small militia.
However, in the entire year since Suyan had transmigrated, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of this supposedly co-habitating best friend. If he hadn't seen her in the anime with his own two eyes, and if he hadn't personally discovered the literal armory hidden inside the house, he would have genuinely suspected she was just Shizuka's imaginary friend.
"Oh, okay! Got it!" Shizuka nodded enthusiastically.
Watching her diligently stuff her face, Suyan honestly had no idea if she had absorbed a single word he just said.