Naoki was deeply regretting it now—so, so deeply regretting it.
Inviting Artoria to his house for dinner—if he could, he'd go back in time and strangle himself for agreeing to such a request.
"Sorry, Natsukawa, could you add another bowl?"
Seeing the rice bowl extended toward him again, if Naoki remembered correctly, this was the thirtieth time Artoria had said that.
Artoria had eaten thirty bowls of rice!
What kind of stomach was this?!
Meanwhile, Manaka, watching from the side, was sweating nervously and forced a smile. "Pendragon-san, you really have a big appetite… Have you been hungry for a while?"
"A bit hungry. I didn't have breakfast this morning, and lunch was just a piece of bread."
That was a lie.
A consciousness entity didn't feel hunger. The reason she was eating now wasn't because Artoria was hungry, but because after tasting the first bite of Naoki's cooking, her appetite was fully awakened, making her want to eat more.
The extra side dishes prepared specially for Artoria had all gone into her stomach—no, not quite all. She knew not to finish everything, so she ate the rest after Naoki and Manaka were done.
Naoki recalled that he'd only gone to put his rice bowl in the sink, and when he returned, the dining table was clean, leaving only Artoria's rice.
Handing a refilled rice bowl to Artoria, Naoki sighed. "This dinner alone used up most of the rice left in my house and made me add more side dishes… After so long away from the kitchen, I suddenly get hit with this level of difficulty."
"Sorry, Natsukawa. I really couldn't control myself. Your cooking is just too delicious."
Artoria blushed as she apologized.
In the real world, she knew Naoki could cook, but due to various reasons, she'd never had the chance to try it herself.
She hadn't expected his skills to be this good.
"But why is Natsukawa so good at cooking? I recall Sajyou saying most of your meals are prepared by her. You shouldn't have had many chances to cook yourself."
"Well…"
"Because Naoki learns things quickly." Manaka answered for him. "It started a long time ago. Naoki felt bad that I was always cooking, so he thought about cooking for me sometimes. He learned from recipe books on his own and, surprisingly, picked it up really fast. It didn't take long for his cooking skills to match mine."
"But Naoki always learns quickly at the start and then doesn't get much better. It's the same with everything. If he were more serious, surpassing me would just be a matter of time."
On this topic, Naoki unconsciously propped his chin and turned his face away. "I've told you so many times, I lack motivation. I always feel like it's not something I should put my all into…"
Not something to put his all into?
Artoria, who was eating rice, paused her chewing for a moment—despite losing his memories, was Naoki's subconscious still holding onto things he was meant to do?
"If you don't try, what about your college plans? Be careful, you might not graduate."
"Well… cramming should be enough. With you around, I won't fail."
His predictable response left Manaka utterly resigned. "Here we go again… When will you ever get serious, Naoki?"
"Who knows? Maybe… during the apocalypse?"
At that point, everyone would get serious.
With a wry smile, Manaka stood. "It's getting late, I should head home. I need to prepare your lunch and breakfast for tomorrow."
"Thanks for your hard work, Mom."
"Don't call me that… See you later. Pendragon-san, eat slowly, and Naoki, don't forget to walk her home."
"Got it, see you later."
After waving, Manaka quickly left the Natsukawa house.
Hearing their conversation, Artoria was a bit puzzled. "See you later? Is Sajyou coming back?"
"No, it's just how we say goodnight. My bedroom window faces hers, so we usually see each other again before bed."
"You two are really close. It feels like a married couple."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Artoria's words made Naoki choke violently. "Cough, cough, cough… What? You said me and Manaka are like what?"
"A married couple." Artoria repeated. "The way you two interact is so close, it makes people can't help but think that… Was I wrong?"
"It's that similar?"
Naoki, with his usual demeanor, was completely unaware of his situation, leaving Merry and the others, watching through Artoria's perspective, speechless—realize something's off with how close you two are!
"Uh, I know I'm pretty close with Manaka, but as childhood friends, that's normal, right?"
[Normal childhood friends don't cook dinner for each other, spend over sixteen hours a day together, and constantly radiate a romantic aura—Lia, tell him that firmly!]
(Merry, calm down… Though I also think Master's misunderstanding what childhood friends means.)
Trying to calm Merry for a moment, Artoria finished her last bite of rice and set down her bowl. "I'm full. Thank you for the meal, Natsukawa."
"Thirty bowls of rice plus a dozen side dishes to get you full—what kind of stomach do you have?"
"Well… it's kind of big."
Honestly, Artoria was still a bit hungry, but if she kept eating, she'd lose face. Besides, this wasn't the time to eat leisurely.
Gathering the dishes from the table and tossing them into the sink, Naoki looked at Artoria. "I'll clean these up after walking you home. Let's go, I'll escort you. Even if it's not far, it's not good for a girl to walk alone at night."
"No, I don't have a place to stay."
"What?!" Naoki exclaimed in shock. "No place to stay?"
"Yes, the address I mentioned earlier was a lie. I'm sorry. I'm not actually a transfer student either—I used some methods to pose as one. All that information about me was fake."
Of course, this was the work of Merry and Morgan, two Age of Gods Magi working together. Tweaking the [setting] of this world was a simple task.
Hearing Artoria's explanation, Naoki couldn't help but frown as questions arose in his mind. But before he could ask them—
*BOOM—!*
A massive explosion suddenly erupted outside!