"What's wrong, Tohka? Why do you look so pale as soon as you got home?" As soon as Tohka walked through the door, Yuzuru saw her gray, drained expression. She was a bit puzzled—someone who always spent her days eating, sleeping, and playing without a care, why was she suddenly like this today?
"Don't even mention it. My dignity... And I wish the people of this world the best of luck." On the way home, aside from being battered by the cold wind, Tohka had finally realized exactly what she'd lost, and her whole face went pale. She had clearly just poisoned everyone—she didn't have the slightest doubt that Miku would perfectly reproduce that song. That woman's musical talent was frightening, so soon enough... Tohka could already imagine GiliGili Ai echoing everywhere.
"Um, what are you two doing? And why are you dressed like this?" Only then did Tohka notice that Kaguya and Yuzuru were both wearing identical maid outfits. She was stunned—she was pretty sure she hadn't bought anything like that.
"Ah, this?" Hearing Tohka's question, Kaguya proudly puffed out her chest and declared, "Miku said only this can fully display a girl's charm."
"Agree. Also, now that we've moved in, we have to tidy up the empty rooms. And Miku-senpai still has things she hasn't moved over, so we were cleaning up the house." Yuzuru added helpfully from the side. At least she bothered to explain why they were dressed this way. But after explaining, she added, "My charm will definitely be higher than this idiot's."
"..." Tohka was speechless. That damned Miku—Tohka knew she had a perverse hobby of dressing others up in maid costumes. Back in the other world, that woman had tried to make her wear one too. Unfortunately for Miku, back then the one outside was her inverted self, so she ended up making herself wear it instead. And now, Miku was doing the same nonsense here. Was wearing this really the only way to show feminine charm? And those two were still hung up on competing over every little thing.
"You two... Seriously, I put my trust in the wrong people." Sighing helplessly, Tohka changed her shoes and walked inside.
"Ah, here, Tohka—come taste what I made." Just as she was about to sit down, Kaguya walked over carrying a plate. Like she was offering a treasure, she placed the food right in front of Tohka.
"Objection. Tohka should taste mine first." At the same moment, Yuzuru also walked over with a plate.
"..."
Being stared at by the two of them like that, Tohka didn't feel happy at all. On those plates, the pastries looked more or less normal, but the problem was—last time, these two had managed to give her food poisoning so bad she passed out. Even if she knew they probably didn't mean harm this time, she still had some psychological trauma. She was pretty sure they were just used to competing by habit, but she couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Come on, Tohka, try the pastries we made." As she was silently sweating bullets, Kaguya was getting impatient and urged her on excitedly.
"Fine, fine." Under their intense stares, Tohka knew there was no escaping. She put on a resigned expression and decided to just go all in—she picked up both spoons at once and stuffed a bite from each into her mouth simultaneously. Even if she looked a little ridiculous, at least they wouldn't keep staring at her like that. She didn't know the sisters really weren't insisting on victory—she'd just misunderstood.
"Ugh!!!"
But the moment she tasted the food; her whole body froze. She could clearly feel the moment it entered her mouth that the flavor split into two extremes. One was mainly sweet, mixed with a sour tang. She was genuinely curious how those could be combined, but it was still tolerable. The other, though—if it had been spicy, she could have handled it. If it were bitter, she'd still be okay. But the filling turned out to be wasabi...wasabi—goddamn wasabi.
"Ughhh—water!!!"
Immediately, Tohka leapt up. Ignoring the sisters' startled faces, she dashed straight for the bathroom.
"Uh...what just happened?" Watching her flee, Kaguya was completely bewildered. What had made Tohka react so violently? Yuzuru, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, looking down at Kaguya's plate. She dipped her finger into it and touched it to her tongue...
"Kaguya, you idiot—what kind of filling did you use? Wasabi filling—are you insane?!"
Yuzuru almost choked. Wasabi-filled pastries—this was the first time she'd seen anything so absurd.
"Huh? Nani?" Hearing her, Kaguya dipped a finger in as well and tasted it. She froze, then her face turned red. She finally understood why Tohka had reacted like that. Still a little unwilling to admit fault, she mumbled, "I could've sworn I used mung bean paste...how did it turn into this?"
"Ah—oh, I'm back."
At that moment, Miku walked in through the door. "Ah, Tohka's song was wonderful—I've already finished the music arrangement. By the way, she's not back yet? Really now, did she miss the bus? Hm? These are pastries—perfect timing, I'm hungry. I'll just have a bite..."
"No—don't!!!"
Miku ignored the sisters, walked to the sofa, and sat down. She picked up the plate Tohka had left behind and grabbed a spoon. Only then did the sisters snap out of their stupor, but it was too late to stop her—
"Ah—mm."
"..."