Chapter 33: The Reason Old Eight Became a Foodie.
....
Kihara was not sure if this was a trap set up by his tricky sisters-in-law. For all he knew, a hidden camera might be tucked away in some corner of the room, just waiting to record him taking advantage of them so they could run and complain to Lala.
Judging by their attitude yesterday, he was clearly still in their evaluation period. He absolutely could not let his guard down at a time like this.
Facing the tempting view of his sisters-in-law sleeping on his bed, he only needed to maintain a calm smile, tuck them neatly under the blanket, and turn around to leave.
After doing this, Kihara quickly walked downstairs.
Anna Yanami looked at him curiously, noticing a slight oddity in his expression. Setting down the pineapple bun in her hand, she asked, "Huh? Why did you come down so fast? Where are Momo and the other?"
"Maybe they got tired from playing. They are currently fast asleep on my bed."
"WHAT!?"
If her hearing were not perfectly normal, she would have doubted whether she had misheard. The sisters-in-law, who had met him less than twenty-four hours ago, had already climbed onto their brother-in-law's bed???
'What kind of melodramatic TV plot is this? Or are alien customs completely different from Earthlings?'
Without overthinking, Anna devoured the rest of her pineapple bun in a few quick bites and dashed straight up to Kihara's bedroom.
Lala was currently in the kitchen with Sanae, learning how to prepare a simple yet delicious dinner, so they knew nothing about this matter.
Her slippers made loud thumping noises against the wooden floorboards. Anna burst into the bedroom, but the scandalous scene she had pictured did not exist. The two sisters were simply sleeping normally under the covers.
"Eh!?"
The reality—which completely mismatched her wild imagination—left her frozen on the spot. Kihara walked up slowly from behind her, playfully reaching out to pinch her soft earlobe. "What? Did you actually think they were lounging around my room in some bizarre outfits?"
"N-No way! I just didn't want them to oversleep and miss dinner. After all, Sanae's cooking is really delicious."
"Then go ahead and wake them up. I need to head downstairs to prepare the seafood clam soup."
"Mmhmm."
Anna watched him leave, gently patting her full chest as she let out a long sigh of relief.
'Maybe I am just overthinking things. No matter how charming the blockhead is, it's impossible for these two sisters to fall for him this quickly. Besides, he is their brother-in-law. Such a thing is completely impossible.'
When Momo and Nana were finally woken up, both looked completely dazed, as if they had not slept enough.
Turning her head to look at the twilight outside the window, Momo knitted her brows in confusion. "Is it already nighttime? What exactly did we do during the day?"
"I don't know... My head feels a bit dizzy from sleeping so long..."
"You two probably just aren't used to the environment since you just arrived on Earth," Anna said cheerfully. "Kihara is cooking personally today, and his food is incredibly delicious! Hurry downstairs and eat!"
Whenever the topic turned to Kihara's culinary skills—which completely blew Michelin-star chefs out of the water—even the gluttonous Anna would puff out her chest with immense pride. In her mind, no one in the world could cook better than him.
Not even the food machine Lala invented could compare.
Seeing her exaggerate so much, the hunger pangs in Momo and Nana's stomachs were instantly triggered. They grew highly curious to taste the cooking she praised so fiercely.
"Miss Yanami, I remember you are Mr. Kihara's childhood friend," Momo mused.
"Have you really never grown tired of his cooking after all these years?"
"How could I ever get tired of it? If a day comes when I grow tired of his food, that will mean something is wrong with my tongue, not with Kihara's cooking!"
"Ahahaha... That is indeed... a very passionate statement."
"Is it really that good?" Nana muttered, deeply skeptical.
After all, the aroma of the food Sanae made yesterday was already very close to the standard of the royal chefs back at Planet Deviluke. Kihara was just an Earthling who had never encountered the advanced techniques of galactic molecular gastronomy. It was hard to believe his dishes could surpass a royal palace chef.
"Oh, you'll understand once you taste it!"
After the two sisters tried the seafood clam soup Kihara personally prepared, they came dangerously close to swallowing the soup bowls along with it.
The three flavors of salt, freshness, and rich aroma blended together naturally. The moment the soup touched their tongues, the sheer freshness nearly blew their minds, completely free of any fishy odor.
Right after, the savory richness exploded within their mouths, filling every cell in their bodies. It felt as though they were wrapped in a safe bubble, strolling freely at the bottom of a beautiful blue ocean.
After tasting Kihara's skill, the two sisters turned their heads to look at each other.
'This cooking easily surpasses the royal palace chefs. Let's add 10 points?'
'How about we add 20 points? Mr. Kihara is an Earthling, yet he managed to polish his cooking skills to the very peak of the galaxy. Adding only 10 points feels like an insult to his craft.'
'Since you put it that way... why don't we give him 30 points? That way, we can ask him to make desserts for us in the future with a perfectly straight face.'
'Makes sense!'
Without Kihara's knowledge, his sisters-in-law's affection for him had jumped by a massive margin. It proved that the old saying, "The way to a person's heart is through their stomach," held true for anyone, regardless of gender or planet.
As for Anna Yanami, ever since the very first time she tasted his cooking, her inner foodie soul had awakened, making her realize one absolute truth: She had to become Kihara's wife!
...
Meanwhile, back in Gensokyo.
Aya Shameimaru, working as a reporter and being a crow Tengu, believed she possessed a very sharp nose for news. And she was right.
Thus, when Marisa came flying across the sky of Gensokyo on her magic broom, humming a smug, cheerful tune, Aya flew up to block her path.
"Marisa, I remember you were in the very first group to go play in the alternative world. Looking at how happy you are, you must have had a fantastic time over there, right?"
"Huh? Is it really that obvious on my face!?"
"Yes! Your cheeks are rosy and your eyes are filled with smiles. If you claim nothing good happened, I suggest you go visit Eirin Yagokoro for a checkup."
"Who are you calling sick?!"
"I didn't name anyone, you chose to apply it to yourself."
Marisa rolled her eyes at her. "Tch, I won't bicker with you. I need to head back to conduct an experiment!"
"Wait, wait! Don't be in such a rush!" Aya quickly spread her arms to block her path again. "I'm offering an interview fee this time. Why don't you consider it?"
"If you're paying... I suppose I can consider it."
Lately, because Kihara had not come over to purchase mushrooms, and Marisa was used to spending money carelessly, her wallet had gradually emptied out. If she ran a few more experiments, she would have to consider surviving on wild mushrooms and moss in the Magic Forest.
Running off to the alternative world to scavenge for food from Kihara was one way out, but she truly disliked that realm's heavily dormant magic environment. It made her feel as uncomfortable as a fish that had suddenly leaped onto dry land without water.
"Then it's a deal! Let's find a place to sit down and talk about it in detail!"
"Let's head over to Mystia's Izakaya then. I haven't eaten dinner yet anyway!"
"Sounds good!"
.....
Thank you for reading.