Hearing Hisako Arato's words, Hoshino Sora said domineeringly, simultaneously increasing the pressure in his hands, which made Erina Nakiri cry out in surprise.
Of course, accompanying the pain was a wave of comfort—a joy that came from the depths of one's heart!
As the foot massage continued, Hoshino Sora soon helped the three exhausted beautiful girls release themselves. Hisako Arato was the most exaggerated; after her foot massage, she immediately went to the bathroom to shower.
Hoshino Sora was left looking at his hands, a hint of disbelief on his face. For a moment, he wasn't sure if Hisako was overly sensitive or if he had used too much force.
Soon, it was seven in the evening.
The girls gradually arrived home. Hojo Miyoko and Merchant Xingchen also came to Hoshino Sora's house at his invitation. Merchant Xingchen's face was full of smiles, looking very happy.
Hojo Miyoko held Merchant Xingchen's hand, a clear smile on her face too, though not as obvious as Merchant Xingchen's. If others saw her, she would pretend to be prim and proper.
Under Merchant Xingchen's persistent coaxing, the two went to an amusement park today.
It was the first time the girl from the Other World experienced the splendor of a technological world. The towering Ferris wheel reaching into the clouds and the roller coaster soaring into the sky were all rare wonders that did not exist in her Other World.
As for how she knew about these things, it all started last night.
After arriving at Hojo Miyoko's dormitory, the latter, fearing she would be bored, turned on the TV. Then, she saw an amusement park promotional video playing on the TV, which was how she learned that such an interesting place existed in this world.
So, she pleaded with this senior sister she had just met, asking her to take her to the amusement park.
Initially, Hojo Miyoko found it troublesome and did not agree. But she couldn't resist the little girl's constant coaxing and various acts of coquetry, calling her "Big Sister" so sweetly. She finally relented.
Of course, there was another reason why she agreed to Merchant Xingchen: she had never been to an amusement park when she was a child.
Agreeing to her was probably also a way to reward her childhood self.
"Your hat is so cute. Did you go to the amusement park today? Did you have fun?"
Looking at Merchant Xingchen, who was wearing a hat, Hoshino Sora immediately recognized it as from the nearby advertised amusement park because he had seen it on TV before. The park probably spent a lot on advertising, as he saw this amusement park quite frequently.
The hat on Merchant Xingchen's head was a free gift one would receive only by going to that amusement park—a very cute reindeer hat.
"Happy! It's a pity Master isn't here. If Master were here, I would be even happier~"
Along with her happiness, there was a slight regret. If Master were here, she would definitely be even happier, but it was a shame Master wasn't. However, having Miyoko-neechan accompany her was also good.
"Next time, I'll go with you all," Hoshino Sora said with a gentle smile, stroking Merchant Xingchen's head.
"It's a promise, pinky swear for a hundred years, no changing! Next time, let's go to the haunted house together. Today, because we were too scared, Miyoko-neechan and I didn't dare to go in."
"Cough, cough, it was you who didn't dare to go in. I never said I was scared." Hearing Merchant Xingchen's childish voice, Hojo Miyoko protested from the side. She had never said words like 'I'm scared.'
"Okay, we can go anywhere."
With a pinky swear, their thumbs sealed the promise. Haunted houses could only scare children; adults knew they were fake, so Hoshino Sora naturally wouldn't be afraid.
"Let's eat first; the food will get cold if we keep talking."
Although everyone had arrived, no one at the table touched their chopsticks until Hoshino Sora did. Everyone tacitly waited for him, and the demeanor of the head of the household was fully displayed at this moment.
Even Hoshino Sora hadn't expected that he would have such strong deterrence, or rather, earn such respect, in the eyes of the girls.
In fact, it was his action of waiting for everyone to return before starting dinner that earned him their genuine respect. Because they felt respected themselves, they wanted him to be the first to start eating.
"Well then, I'm eating." Sensing the atmosphere, Hoshino Sora, though a bit surprised, said nothing. He reached for his chopsticks and murmured a phrase.
Then the girls also picked up their chopsticks: "We're eating."
The next moment, the dishes on the table disappeared at an astonishing speed. A dozen girls ate more fiercely than a dozen strong men. The most exaggerated was Hoshino Sora, who finished a bowl of rice in three or four minutes and consumed five or six catties of food in a little over ten minutes.
At first glance, the table full of dishes seemed daunting, but after seeing how frantically they ate, one understood why so much food was prepared.
Various delicious flavors met in their stomachs, and as time passed, Yui Yuigahama's body emitted a faint white glow.
In an instant, the girl's clothes shattered, which made her expression freeze for a moment. Her Gourmet Cell successfully advanced from LV4 to LV5, and her physical abilities were comprehensively enhanced.
"I leveled up!"
Not caring about the clothing fragments around her, Yui Yuigahama exclaimed excitedly after realizing what happened. Because she joined Hoshino Sora relatively late, she had eaten relatively fewer gourmet foods, so the advancement speed of her Gourmet Cell was the slowest among the harem members.
Now that she had advanced, it meant that all members of the harem were at LV5, including Kanroji Mitsuri and Butterfly Ninja, who were far away in the Demon Slayer World. Because Hoshino Sora had specially prepared meals for them, their leveling was incredibly fast.
She wondered how they were doing now.
Thinking of Kanroji Mitsuri and Butterfly Ninja, far away in the Demon Slayer World, Hoshino Sora felt a surge of worry, wishing he could immediately go to their world and help them slay Muzan Kibutsuji.
Unfortunately, he couldn't. Not to mention not knowing where Muzan Kibutsuji was, it was very difficult for him to enter the Demon Slayer World. He also didn't know if Butterfly Ninja had established a Dimensional Restaurant branch in their world.
He hadn't seen the two of them for a long time.
Forget it, overthinking is useless. The boat will naturally straighten itself when it reaches the bridge!
Yui Yuigahama would never have guessed that a small level-up would make Hoshino Sora think so much.
"Put on your clothes, let's eat first."
To prevent such situations, Hoshino Sora kept many sets of women's clothing in his storage backpack, all loose-fitting, which any girl, no matter her figure, could wear.
However, simply wearing oversized clothes with nothing underneath can create an extremely seductive feeling, especially when standing in a strong wind.
But this was only for temporary wear, and only Hoshino Sora and the others saw it. So, if it was seductive, then so be it. Yui Yuigahama quickly put on the clothes he gave her, then stretched lazily.
The feeling of Gourmet Cell upgrading was truly wonderful; it felt like every cell in her body was rejoicing! Transforming! Ultimately making her body stronger—it was a process of evolution.
"Eat, eat heartily.
Speaking of which, when is the Zongzi Competition held? Can we come and help then?"
Yui Yuigahama said cheerfully, her eyes filled with curiosity. She was indeed very interested in that Zongzi Competition in China and also wanted to come and help Hoshino Sora, so she could feel more useful.
She felt that she was always receiving things from Hoshino Sora and rarely giving back. This feeling wasn't very pleasant, and she didn't want to be a useless trophy wife.
"In half a month. I heard there's also a Mooncake Competition later. Generally speaking, every festival has its own events.
If some festivals are far apart, traditional food competitions like the Dumpling Competition or Shaobing Competition will be interspersed between them. The top few places have cash prizes. Oriental Academy loves to hold these competitions to stimulate students' creativity."
"No wonder their strength is so formidable. With these assessment competitions happening every ten days to half a month, the students must be putting all their effort into culinary research to achieve higher rankings."
Hearing Tadokoro Megumi's words, Erina Nakiri couldn't help but sigh. Compared to Oriental Academy, Totsuki Academy was still too lenient; it held too few activities, and the students' core competitiveness was insufficient.
"Half a month, that gives us relatively ample time. In that case, let's start preparing tonight.
We'll let the customers of Gourmet Manor be our tasters and see which zongzi sells best! Then we'll enter the competition with that zongzi and take the opportunity to witness the skills of Chinese chefs!"
Rolling up his sleeves, Hoshino Sora put down his bowl. He was full, and it was time to get to work. While everyone had time and energy, it was best to prepare for the competition!
"I want to help too!"
Merchant Xingchen raised her small hand from the side. Although she didn't know what zongzi was, she wanted to help her master. Even if she didn't know what to do, she wanted to give her all for Hoshino Sora!
"Alright, alright, I'll trouble you to put in some effort then."
Looking at the highly motivated Merchant Xingchen, Hoshino Sora rubbed her small head and said with a smile. Hojo Miyoko, who was beside them, watched it all, feeling a secret envy.
The other person was younger and more doted on by Hoshino Sora. She could enjoy actions like head rubs and cheek pinches, and Hoshino Sora had no burden doing them with her. But it was different for Hojo Miyoko.
Although they were both disciples, Hoshino Sora would absolutely not do such actions with her, because they were similar in age. He maintained a sense of propriety and distance with her, not showing excessive intimacy.
If it were an ordinary person, they would undoubtedly respect and like such a proper master. But she was different; she had a crush on him, so she really wished Hoshino Sora would be a little less proper.
Actions like head rubs and cheek pinches were encouragement to her. She also really wanted to receive Hoshino Sora's praise and affection; it was the best encouragement for her efforts!
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