Although Kamijou Mutsuki hadn't cooked since the accident before, the truth was that his cooking skills were actually pretty good.
Sure, the performance of his hands wasn't great anymore—but if he could still play the violin, cooking a simple meal should be easy, right?
At least… that's what Mutsuki thought before he knocked ingredients onto the floor several times, shattered a few bowls, and nearly cut his hand.
…Not a big problem.
Anyway, Soyo Nagasaki's family could afford a few broken bowls.
Worst case, he'd just pay her back later with a bigger "salary."
Still, anything too complicated was clearly out of the question.
So he decided to just make a bowl of porridge.
Perhaps because Mutsuki had finally gotten used to the rhythm of cooking again, nothing unexpected happened this time.
It was only a simple bowl of meat porridge, but it should be good enough for Soyo to make do with.
Just as Soyo had begun to grow a little impatient from waiting so long, Mutsuki finally pushed the finished porridge into the room.
Yes—pushed.
Somehow he had found a small cart, and the bowl of porridge was placed neatly on top of it.
Wait.
It's just a bowl of porridge, why are you presenting it like a five-star hotel banquet?
Is it because you can't carry it steadily or something?
After placing the cart beside the bed, Mutsuki propped a pillow against the wall and helped Soyo sit up.
Wait a second.
He wouldn't be planning to…?
Watching his movements, the girl clearly misunderstood something, and her cheeks gradually turned red.
For someone taking care of a patient, this would normally be perfectly natural.
But Mutsuki was a boy her age, so it still felt a little…
While Soyo was getting shy over it, Mutsuki suddenly took out a small table from somewhere and set it in front of her.
Then he carefully placed the bowl of porridge on the table and said:
"Go ahead and eat."
"..."
Wait.
You're just going to let the patient eat by herself?
Isn't that a bit half-hearted for someone supposedly taking care of her?
Soyo puffed up slightly and glared at him.
Even though she had felt embarrassed and resistant to the earlier thought, now that Mutsuki clearly hadn't intended to do it, she inexplicably felt dissatisfied.
"So this is how you take care of a patient?"
she asked irritably.
"Then what do you want me to do?"
"You… feed me."
Even though she had already made up her mind, when the words actually left her mouth, Soyo couldn't help but blush.
Her voice was so soft it sounded almost like a timid murmur.
Of course, Soyo wasn't doing this just out of spite.
More importantly, she was putting her plan into action.
Because of Kamijou Mutsuki's butterfly effect, Soyo Nagasaki had actually become even more obsessed with Sakiko Togawa.
Although the incident at the villa had hurt her deeply, she still didn't want to give up.
But if the "maid route" wouldn't work anymore… then what should she do?
The once world-shaking intellect that had nearly been crushed by reality emitted its final glimmer of brilliance.
If she couldn't become a maid, then she could become the mistress of the house instead!
Surely Sakiko wouldn't think she was pitying her then, right?
As for reviving CRYCHIC, she had already stopped placing her hopes on that for the moment.
But as long as she could extend the time the two of them spent together, there would always be a way!
Right now, the only problem was how to win over Kamijou Mutsuki.
But even someone with Mutsumi's figure could charm Mutsuki so thoroughly—wouldn't Soyo have it easy by comparison?
Before, she just hadn't been serious.
Once she got serious, taking him down should be effortless!
…and then she saw Mutsuki pull out his phone.
"What are you doing?" Soyo asked curiously.
"Looks like your condition is worse than I thought," Mutsuki sighed.
"Your brain must be fried from the fever. If I call emergency services now, it might still be in time…"
Soyo: ?
Wait—what exactly do you mean by that?
"…Are you really that unwilling?"
The girl's expression darkened.
With her looks, if she wanted to play feeding play, she could easily gather a whole circle of volunteers even at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy.
And you're the one complaining?
"…Fine then," Mutsuki finally said after seeing how stubborn she was.
"But are you really sure about this?"
"…If you're that unwilling, then forget it."
Hearing the girl's clearly sulking tone, Mutsuki could only scoop up a spoonful of porridge and bring it to her lips.
"…If you have complaints, you can just stop feeding me!"
Watching his hand shake like someone with Parkinson's, Soyo angrily bit down on the spoonful of porridge and complained.
"With that hand of yours, anyone watching would think you're about to compete for Supreme Sorcerer or something!"
The feeding play that should have been full of ambiguous tension instead sent Soyo's blood pressure skyrocketing.
Did Kamijou Mutsuki really dislike her that much?
She was a patient today, and he still wouldn't even indulge her a little?
For some reason, Soyo Nagasaki suddenly felt a bit wronged.
"Subjectively, I have no objections," Mutsuki replied calmly, as if he had expected her reaction.
"But objectively… the conditions aren't something I can control."
"What do you mean?"
"My hands had a small accident before."
"What kind of accident?"
"A car accident."
"… "
Soyo fell silent.
"Don't worry," Mutsuki said with a smile when he saw her expression.
"It was just a mere fatal injury—nothing serious at all!"
How exactly are those two words supposed to go together?
After hearing his explanation, Soyo stayed quiet for a moment, then suddenly snatched the spoon back.
"…You don't need to feed me anymore?"
"Stop talking!"
Although it was just ordinary meat porridge, the taste was unexpectedly good.
Still… she hadn't expected that this carefree, shameless guy had experienced something like that before.
Even though Mutsuki described it lightly, Soyo understood very well what kind of psychological scars such an accident could leave behind.
These hands—permanently damaged in a car accident—must surely be a wound in his heart that couldn't easily be mentioned.
And yet she had still asked him to cook for her… to feed her porridge…
Even someone like Soyo couldn't help feeling a bit guilty now.
It was hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for someone in Mutsuki's condition to finish even such a simple bowl of porridge.
But if Mutsuki was willing to do this much for her even in this state… could it mean that—
The girl gently shook her head, dispersing the warmth spreading across her cheeks.
Yet somehow, the gloomy feelings in her heart had already quietly disappeared.
She looked up at the boy beside her.
This guy…
"…What are you doing?"
Mutsuki spoke unclearly, suddenly finding a mouthful of porridge shoved into his mouth.
"If you're so unwilling, I don't need you to feed me. This is repayment."
"…Then why are you still doing it?"
"I can't finish it. You help me eat."
And thus, a rather bizarre scene appeared.
The patient, Soyo, was now feeding the person who was supposed to be taking care of her—Mutsuki.
This was her new strategy.
Since Mutsuki couldn't feed her, then she would feed Mutsuki instead.
After all… feeding was feeding, right?
The plan was perfectly successful!
That's right—this was only part of her strategy to get closer to Sakiko Togawa and eventually become the lady of the house.
There were absolutely no extra feelings involved!
Absolutely none!
Meanwhile, at Tsukinomori Girls' Academy, the normally well-behaved Mutsumi Wakaba was unusually distracted during class.
Soyo…
She wondered how she was doing now.
There shouldn't be any problems… right?
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Author's Note (PS): Since many readers want to see anime spoilers, the Live performance scene will be held after the current anime finishes airing.
Originally, the author planned for Taki Shiina to appear as a guest singer at the music festival, as a small Easter egg after the normal performance of Hekitenbansou.
However, some readers felt that might not be appropriate. If most people think so, the author will move the guest appearance to a dedicated MyGO!!!!! concert later, performing it after the regular setlist. 🎤
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