By a little past six in the evening, the three had finished their game session. Eriri led Wakaba Hiiro and Mirei Shinohara next door to her own home.
Standing at the gate, Mirei's heart was filled with excitement and curiosity as she watched Eriri unlock the door. When she had learned earlier that Eriri would be inviting her to dinner, she had been so elated she could barely contain herself—her smile never left her face during their entire co-op gaming session.
Wakaba Hiiro, by contrast, remained calm, her demeanor hardly different from usual. At most, there was a quiet undercurrent of anticipation for the meal to come.
"I'm home!"
"Excuse us…"
Stepping into the entryway, both Eriri and Mirei called out softly. Mirei glanced around the foyer with cautious curiosity.
Even Wakaba Hiiro, who wasn't the type to speak up when entering her own home, offered a quiet "excuse me" after Eriri and Mirei had spoken.
As if expecting Eriri's return with guests, Aoi Kujou had already set out three pairs of indoor slippers at the entryway.
At Eriri's prompting, the three changed into them. Just as they finished, Aoi Kujou emerged from the living room beside the stairs.
"Welcome home, Ojou-sama."
Aoi gave a polite bow to Eriri before straightening and fixing her sharp gaze on Wakaba Hiiro and Mirei Shinohara.
Wakaba Hiiro remained entirely unfazed, but Mirei—normally bold—suddenly grew timid, lowering her head to avoid the intense gaze of the stunning maid.
Soon, Mirei felt that sharp stare lift, replaced by Aoi's calm voice.
"You must be Wakaba-san and Mirei-san, my lady's classmates. Welcome. I am Aoi Kujou, her personal maid."
Hearing her speak, Mirei finally lifted her head to look at her. The realization that such a beautiful woman was Eriri's personal maid brought a flicker of envy to her eyes.
In Mirei's mind, a personal maid wasn't just an ordinary servant—"personal" meant an especially close relationship.
She couldn't help but think that Eriri truly embodied the title of "young lady," perhaps even surpassing the legends, for this was Mirei's first time seeing a real maid in everyday life.
Mirei gave a polite bow in return.
"Hello, thank you for having me. I'm Mirei Shinohara. Sawamura-san has been very kind to me these past couple of days."
Wakaba simply gave a small nod, offering no polite words. In her mind, no one but Eriri deserved her earnest attention.
In truth, she had been assessing Aoi just as Aoi had been assessing her. Because of Eriri's special nature, Wakaba took a bit more interest in those connected to her than she would in others.
Though her strength was far beyond Aoi's by several dimensions, her conclusion was simple: Aoi Kujou was, to her perception, a perfectly ordinary human. She quickly lost interest.
"Aoi-nee, I'm back—come give me a hug~"
Right there in front of Wakaba and Mirei, Eriri spread her arms and dashed toward Aoi.
Without a moment's thought, Aoi instinctively opened her arms, catching Eriri and pulling her into a warm embrace.
Watching Eriri and Aoi embrace so closely right in front of her, Mirei Shinohara was nearly green with envy. Even Wakaba Hiiro, usually so calm, felt an unfamiliar twinge of discomfort—a strange emotion she had never experienced before.
Eriri didn't linger in Aoi's arms for long. After rubbing her face against Aoi's soft chest for several seconds, she lifted her head and looked up with her big eyes.
"Aoi-nee, is dinner ready?"
Aoi nodded indulgently. "Yes, it's ready anytime."
"Great!"
Eriri stepped back from her embrace and beckoned to Wakaba and Mirei.
"Wakaba-san, Mirei-san, let's head to the dining room."
"Mm-hm!" Mirei nodded rapidly.
Even Wakaba set aside her earlier thoughts, feeling a rising eagerness for the dinner she had been anticipating.
Led by Aoi, the group moved through the living room into the open dining area to the right.
The long rectangular dining table was already laden with ten elegant covered plates, each capped to keep the heat in. On either side of the table, four beautifully arranged place settings awaited.
"Choose any seat you like," Eriri said casually.
She took a seat first. Mirei eyed the spot beside her, but before she could claim it, Wakaba slid in and took it without hesitation.
Mirei froze, then sighed in frustration—she had hesitated for nothing and lost her chance. She reluctantly chose a seat opposite Eriri instead.
As she sat, Mirei noticed there were only four place settings. Curious, she asked, "Sawamura-san, aren't your parents eating with us?"
Though she hadn't seen them in the living room, she assumed they might be in another part of the house.
"My parents aren't in this city," Eriri replied with a smile. "I only bought this place a few days ago. Right now, it's just me and Aoi-nee living here."
"I see!" Mirei nodded in understanding.
It suddenly made sense why Eriri lived in what appeared to be an ordinary detached home—far from what she imagined for a young lady of her status. Clearly, her real residence was elsewhere.
Once Aoi took her seat, Eriri and the others lifted the covers from the plates, releasing a wave of rich, mouthwatering aromas that filled the dining room.
The ten dazzling dishes on the table seemed to glow, and Mirei's eyes went wide. She couldn't help but swallow audibly as the intoxicating scent washed over her.
She could practically smell the wealth in these dishes: giant Hokkaido king crab, Ise lobster, yellow-lipped fish, white truffles, and even ingredients she couldn't identify.
Wakaba wasted no time. Without waiting for the hostess to speak, she picked up her chopsticks and reached for the pepper-salt beef short ribs before her. One bite made her eyes widen instantly as an unparalleled flavor burst across her palate.
In that moment, Wakaba Hiiro felt as if she had wasted countless years of her life, never having tasted such soul-stirring, transcendent flavor before.
Until now, food had always been something she ate simply to fill her stomach, never caring much for portion or taste. She finally understood it wasn't that she didn't care about flavor—it was just that no dish before had ever been good enough to move her.
Without pausing to voice her thoughts, she quickly finished the meat left on her chopsticks and launched her assault on the remaining nine dishes, utterly unconcerned with appearances.
Watching her, Mirei Shinohara's swallowing became noticeably faster. But rather than diving in, she kept sneaking glances at Eriri across from her.
Sensing her gaze, Eriri smiled. "Alright, Mirei-san, don't just stare—dig in."
With Eriri's go-ahead, Mirei wasted no time, joining the fray with chopsticks already in hand.
Naturally, Eriri and Aoi also began eating, though their movements were elegant and refined, a stark contrast to the ravenous Wakaba and Mirei.
For Eriri and Aoi, such luxury was nothing unusual.
Before long, the only ordinary human at the table, Mirei, reached her limit. She set down her chopsticks reluctantly, stomach full to bursting, though over half the dishes remained.
She had eaten at least two days' worth of her normal meals and wondered if she would even be able to sleep in such a state.
Some time later, Eriri and Aoi also put down their chopsticks—not because they were full, but because they were satisfied.
The only one still going strong was Wakaba Hiiro, who had never slowed her pace from the start.
Mirei's eyes widened. By her rough estimate, Wakaba had eaten more than twice what she had managed. She couldn't imagine how the other girl's stomach could hold so much.
She could only chalk it up to an incredible natural appetite.
Several minutes later, Wakaba finally stopped, leaving nothing but scraps on the table. Everything else was in her stomach.
Letting out a contented sigh, eyes half-closed, Wakaba set down the crab leg shell in her hand. "Thank you for the meal."
Eriri tapped her shoulder with a smile. "Well? Wakaba-san, tonight's dinner didn't disappoint you, right?"
"Of course not. Every dish here was the most delicious I've had since I was born—truly unforgettable."
Even Mirei, struggling to sit upright, quickly agreed. "Me too! If I hadn't been so full, I wouldn't have wanted to stop."
She leaned back, one hand on her now-rounded belly, making for a slightly comical sight.
"By the way, Wakaba-san, how can you eat so much and still be fine?" Mirei asked.
Wakaba ignored the question entirely, offering no response despite having played co-op games with her for over an hour earlier.
Mirei could only pout, deciding not to dwell on it. Better to think about how to grow closer to Eriri in the days ahead.
Leaving the cleanup to Aoi, Eriri led Wakaba and Mirei back to Wakaba's home. It was only a little after seven, still hours before bedtime, so they planned to keep gaming.
However, Mirei was too stuffed to do more than watch pitifully from the edge of the bed while Eriri and Wakaba played together.
An hour passed, and by eight, Mirei had recovered enough to join in. But by then it was too late—her family had called, urging her to return home.
She left reluctantly, while Eriri and Wakaba continued playing until well past eleven before heading home themselves.
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