Tanaka Masao ate a full five bowls of porridge before he was satisfied, but Yukinoshita Haruno had made enough, so he fulfilled his wish of taking home what he couldn't finish.
He returned home with a thermos and found the house surprisingly quiet.
Upon entering the living room, he saw that his parents weren't there, only Kashi. Tanaka Masao, somewhat puzzled, asked,
"Where are Dad and Mom?"
"They just called and said they're having dinner with friends tonight and will be back late."
"Then what are you doing? Haven't you eaten?"
"Not yet."
Seeing Kashi looking somewhat happy, Tanaka Masao was puzzled.
This girl was always the most enthusiastic about eating; missing a single meal was like the end of the world for her. Why was she so happy today, despite not having eaten?
Just as Tanaka Masao wondered, the doorbell rang.
"Hello, your delivery."
Watching Kashi skip joyfully to the door, Tanaka Masao finally understood why she was so happy.
His mother, Tanaka Kazumi, was very concerned about her family's health.
To put it simply, she cooked almost every meal, so there were very few opportunities to order takeout.
Kashi had also recently become obsessed with watching TV, and every time she saw a food commercial, she would drool.
Unfortunately, her stomach was always full of food made by Tanaka Kazumi, so she never had a chance to eat these things.
But today, she had finally seized an opportunity.
Looking at Kashi's delighted expression, Tanaka Masao asked,
"What did you buy?"
"Pizza!"
Kashi eagerly opened the pizza box and said proudly,
"If you wish, I can reluctantly share a slice with you, but only one at most."
However, when she opened the box, her entire body froze.
Because inside the box wasn't a pizza with rich toppings, but a plain crust.
Kashi was famously short-tempered. How dare someone mess with her food? Did they not respect the second-in-command of the Demon Realm?
In the blink of an eye, Kashi had already placed a complaint call.
"Hello, boss, what's going on? I ordered a beef pizza, and you only gave me a crust.
Do you even want to do business? Believe it or not, tomorrow I'll…"
Listening to Kashi's passionate rant, Tanaka Masao silently stepped forward and flipped the pizza over.
Large chunks of beef and abundant toppings were revealed.
Kashi: …
The atmosphere around them fell into a brief silence.
Even Kashi felt a bit embarrassed at this moment; her gaze became shifty, and the fiery aura around her vanished instantly without a trace.
"Believe it or not, tomorrow I'll order another takeout. I really like eating it."
She awkwardly hung up her phone.
She looked up and saw Tanaka Masao's face, full of mockery.
Tanaka Masao:? Was my expression mocking? I just felt a bit speechless, alright.
Being seen by Tanaka Masao in such a shameful and embarrassing state, Kashi felt she had lost a lot of face.
Face? Did Kashi even have such a thing?
Kashi: Are you looking down on me? I'm a No-Face Alien who ate the No-Face Fruit.
Kashi's face turned red at a visible speed.
A girl's blush surpasses all sweet nothings.
"Why are you speaking so loudly? You scared me."
Tanaka Masao: Was I speaking just now?
Wasn't he just silent, then flipped the pizza over?
Could this be the legendary deafening silence?
Just as Tanaka Masao wondered, Kashi handed him a slice of pizza.
"What does this mean?"
Tanaka Masao was very cautious. Kashi was someone who protected her food fiercely; how could she be so generous as to share with him?
Something out of the ordinary must be afoot.
Had she put a curse in the pizza, trying to silence him?
"You didn't see anything and didn't hear anything, got it?!"
Hearing Kashi's somewhat fierce statement, Tanaka Masao realized.
Oh, so it was hush money. Well, given Kashi's timid nature, she wouldn't dare to curse anyone.
But if it was hush money, one slice of pizza wasn't enough.
"One plain crust? That's not enough for me."
Hearing Tanaka Masao's words, Kashi felt like her lifeline had been squeezed. Although very angry, she couldn't resist.
"Such a greedy human."
Kashi, with a pained expression, took another slice of pizza for Tanaka Masao.
"Only this much."
"Do you even want to do business? Believe it or not, tomorrow I'll…"
"Stop! Do you really think I have no temper?!"
Tanaka Masao gained another slice of pizza.
Watching half a box of pizza end up in his hands, Tanaka Masao nodded in satisfaction.
Indeed, provoking Kashi was like kicking a soft target.
Kashi looked at the half-eaten pizza in front of her, feeling a pang of regret.
[Anyway, my body is small now, so I can't eat that much. This much is fine.
Although Kazumi paid extra, and it wasn't from my own allowance, it still hurts so much.]
However, all of Kashi's worries vanished the moment the pizza entered her mouth.
"So delicious."
She happily squinted her eyes, savoring the delicious taste in her mouth.
Just as Kashi was about to continue eating, Tanaka Masao brought a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of her.
It was the porridge he had packed from Yukinoshita's house, still warm in the insulated container.
"What is this?"
Looking at the appealing porridge in front of her, Kashi wiggled her nose and sniffed, almost drooling.
"I had dinner at Yukinoshita's house. Yukinoshita specifically told me to...
…send this incredibly delicious porridge to Kashi."
"I won't be modest."
The delicious porridge entered her mouth, and Kashi let out a sound of pure enjoyment.
"Mmm, Masao, you're so good to me. I like you the most."
Being told "I like you" by someone of the opposite sex should, by all accounts, make Tanaka Masao very happy, but Kashi's affection felt too cheap; he simply couldn't be happy.
Half an hour later, Kashi lay on the floor, her face full of satisfaction, stroking her belly, and entering the settlement screen.