At this point, continuing the meal was naturally impossible. After Shirase put down his chopsticks, Yukinoshita Haruno and Hiratsuka Shizuka both suggested taking the injured Yukino to the hospital first.
For a girl, an injured nail was not a trivial matter. If not handled properly, who knew if it might leave an unsightly scar or cause permanent deformation?
As the group exited the restaurant, Shirase's [Free Hosting] mode was nearly over.
Before getting into the car, Haruno waved at him again. "Want me to drive you home?"
"No need," the system replied coldly as ever.
"Aw, feeling shy? Younger boys really are cute~" Yukinoshita Haruno teased cheerfully.
She then sighed regretfully. "I still had a lot to ask you today. What a shame this happened. I suppose I'll have to wait until next time."
[Host, can't the system beat her up, really?]
"Stop it. Hurry home and start cooking. Kana-nee should be home by now."
[System expresses deep regret at not being able to hit this annoying woman.]
Shirase ignored the damned system's hidden urge for "justice enforcement" and urged it homeward. At this moment, the rear car window rolled down, revealing Yukinoshita Yukino's delicate, porcelain-like face.
"Thank you," she said softly.
The system didn't respond, just turned and walked away.
While walking, it still chatted with Shirase internally.
[Earlier, the system truly wanted to tell her that rather than thanking you, she might as well let the system beat up her sister.]
"…You're actually not a hosting system, are you? You're more like a Sett System, right?"
[System does not understand host's statement.]
...
Yukinoshita Yukino watched Shirase's departing figure, only withdrawing her gaze when the car started moving.
From the passenger seat, Hiratsuka suddenly spoke. "Those customers in the restaurant might call the police."
"I already made a call earlier," Haruno said calmly, smiling faintly. "Rest assured."
Hearing her say that, Hiratsuka relaxed and glanced back at Yukino, who was clearly lost in thought. "Are you two friends now?"
Yukino was quiet for two seconds before answering calmly, "At least I don't dislike him."
"Oh? Then you're friends," Hiratsuka laughed softly. She murmured thoughtfully, "Speaking of which, I heard from someone that the loner from my class, Hikigaya, seems acquainted with Shirase-kun. People have spotted them chatting in the hallways a lot. It seems Shirase isn't unwilling to make friends—he's just too lazy to handle relationships."
"How well do you know Kojima-sensei, Hiratsuka-sensei?" Yukino suddenly asked.
Hiratsuka blinked in surprise, but it was Haruno, driving the car, who laughed first. "What she's really asking you is how much you know about Shirase-kun, you see."
Yukino shot Haruno a slightly irritated glance.
Hiratsuka laughed openly. "I get it now. Well, Kojima-sensei and I aren't particularly close—we've only chatted a few times. But I can tell she's actually a very decent person… Don't worry, Yukino, I'll try to become better friends with her and gather some information for you."
Enjoying the chaos, Haruno cheerfully added, "Count me in. Making friends is my specialty."
"Would you both just shut up already!" Yukino finally snapped.
"Aw, Yukino losing her temper is so cute~"
"Haruno, maybe you should stop talking. Don't you see Yukino's angry now? But to be honest, this is my first time seeing her like this, and it's quite adorable."
"..."
...
When Shirase returned home, sounds from the TV were coming from the living room. Kojima Kana had obviously arrived home first.
After this [Free Hosting] ended, the progress bar for the new feature unlock reached 80%. By his estimation, one more session should be enough to unlock [Immersive Hosting]. He was actually quite curious about what that involved.
Ignoring the system's prompts for spinning the lottery wheel and leaving a five-star review, Shirase peeked into the living room. Sure enough, Kojima Kana lay sloppily sprawled out on the sofa.
Seeing Shirase, she waved lazily yet comfortably. "I already made dinner. If you're hungry, no need to heat it up—just eat."
"Okay," Shirase nodded. Considering all that had happened at the restaurant earlier, he really hadn't eaten enough.
"Oh right, this Sunday we have to visit Kirisu-sensei's home," Kana's voice rang out from behind as Shirase picked up the dishes.
"She couldn't withstand the cockroach army invasion anymore?" Shirase casually asked.
"Cockroach army… don't use such terrifying names so casually!" Kana immediately sprang upright, visibly shaken.
Shirase calmly set the dishes on the table and smiled faintly. "Looks like it's finally my turn to step in."
Kana indignantly put her hands on her hips. "Hey! I'm here too, you know! Though flying cockroaches really are disgusting, your big sister isn't the type to get beaten easily by mere insects."
"You say that as if it's true," Shirase muttered.
Kana instantly bristled. "What, do you think I'm some weak woman afraid of cockroaches?"
Holding his chopsticks, Shirase casually replied, "Have you ever seen a cockroach the size of a baby's fist?"
Kana's expression abruptly turned grave. "How big?"
"About the size of a baby's fist. I saw one before…"
"Okay, okay, stop. I get it already," Kana quickly interrupted, unwilling to hear any more.
Shirase chuckled quietly. She's always pushing herself, huh.
...
When Shirase finished washing the dishes, Kana was still sitting on the sofa, lost in thought—her expression switching between furrowed brows and serious contemplation. She was probably already visualizing her upcoming strategic battle against the cockroach horde.
Not disturbing her, Shirase returned to his bedroom and opened the lottery wheel, ready for the prize draw.
Since the previous two lotteries hadn't resulted in any further "robbery" incidents, Shirase suddenly realized—those prizes didn't contain names of anyone he knew.
Did this mean that if a familiar name appeared again among the prizes, the damned system would once more control him and make him steal things?
Shirase felt that possibility was extremely high.
As the lottery began, four prizes appeared before Shirase's eyes.
He remained calm. Even if this time a familiar name appeared again, he wouldn't panic.
After all, he'd already experienced this kind of situation. At worst, he'd just have to clean up after the damned system once more.
So Shirase ignored the first three items—a figurine and tickets to some celebrity's concert—and looked directly at the fourth prize.
[A warm sweater knitted by Kojima Kana for you]
It was a brown sweater, only about half-completed—clearly unfinished. Judging by the thickness of the sleeves, it was designed for autumn rather than winter wear; the kind you'd feel cold wearing in midwinter.
Shirase instinctively glanced out the window. It's only April. Is Kana-nee already thinking ahead this far?
The lottery cursor spun, inevitably stopping on the fourth prize without any suspense.