The person who likes me is a yandere.

This was strongly opposed by Qiong. In fact, no one wants to be called "adult" at home every day.

As a result, Asuna chose the title "Sora-san".

According to her, if she weren't called by the surname Kasuga and had to be addressed by her full name, then the honorific title "Miss" would be indispensable. She even said that if she were called by a nickname like "Ono Sora," she would lose herself. I sensed that she was quite insistent on using honorifics.

On the other hand, Sora calls Asuna "Miss Yuuki".

Since Asuna calls Sora "Miss Sora", I think it would be fine if Sora also called Asuna "Miss Asuna"? But Sora is actually a little shy.

It seems that although she has many female friends at school, she doesn't have the ability to quickly become familiar with anyone. It's as if Sora had already decided to address people she meets for the first time by adding "Mr" or "Miss" after their surname.

...Can't we just be casual about what we call people?

Also, I called them "Sora" and "Asuna" as usual. They didn't seem used to being addressed that way. They said it disgusted them to be called "Miss." What exactly did "disgusting" mean?

In short, although it has nothing to do with being hungry preventing us from fighting, we've decided to have dinner anyway. I don't plan to fight either.

"Um, is there anything I can help with...?"

"Jie Ai, please sit down."

"Ah."

Our dining table is for four people. It was prepared by my parents three years ago when they built this house to start a new life. Since both my parents died unexpectedly while traveling, we have never had the four of us sit together at this table. Even if we had sat together before the trip, I probably have no memory of it.

When I sat at the table, Qiong and I didn't face each other, but ate side by side.

On the one hand, this makes it more convenient for two people to watch TV together, and on the other hand, it prevents them from realizing that there are two empty seats.

"Okay, let's eat."

At the table set with potato stew, white rice, miso soup, and omelet broth, I sat side by side with Sora as usual, while Asuna sat opposite me.

The three of them said together, "Let's start eating!" and began their meal.

Sora is an excellent cook. Asuna first took a sip of the miso soup, her expression brightening as she exclaimed, "It's delicious!" After taking a bite of the broth omelet, she smiled and said, "It's so good." If she had said it was good while eating plain rice, it would have given the impression that she was being overly polite about everything she ate, but Asuna said, "Compared to a lunchbox, a rice cooker is definitely better." She praised the rice. It must have been tough for her to camp out in the wild.

"The potato stew is delicious... I haven't had such authentic potato stew in a long time."

What exactly is this unorthodox potato stew?

When Qiong was praised for her cooking skills, she replied shyly, "Eat more!"

We usually turn on the TV while eating, even if we don't intend to watch it. Today, as usual, they were showing the 6 PM news without the usual (does anyone still say that?) anchor. After Asuna praised the dinner, only the news anchor's voice could be heard at the table.

The usual lively dinner, which should have been more lively than usual, didn't happen. It was as if three strangers happened to sit together at a four-person table in a mixed-use restaurant. An indescribable atmosphere of indifference lingered in the air, accompanied by the sticky aroma of stewed potatoes.

The time spent having dinner with Hinata was a time to talk about what had happened at school.

Whatever the content, I'd like some dialogue. I don't really like meals that are too silent.

"By the way, Asuna. Could you please introduce yourself to Sora?"

After Asuna put down her chopsticks, she answered like a primary school student being called upon by the teacher to read aloud: "Yes!" Sora also put down her chopsticks, ready to listen. Both of them are very serious.

“I am… Asuna Yuuki… sixteen years old… starting from above…”

Starting from above

Is she going to announce her measurements like an idol introducing themselves?

"...180...2.0...163...12.7."

It's the four dimensions. No, no, what are these numbers?

"...Miss Asuna, what was that just now?" Asuna asked.

"Yes, it's about their IQ and eyesight, as well as their maximum Hertz count when shouting and their time when running 100 meters."

"..."

"..."

Qiong and I remained silent. Then I asked the obvious question.

Why publish these?

...On another note, she has really good eyesight, a really loud voice, and walks really fast.

"These are important abilities for detectives, because danger is always around us."

"Um, who claims to have an IQ?"

"A detective must be confident in his own mind. My ideal IQ is 220."

Oh, I see.

"Miss Asuna is the daughter of the detective agency's owner, right...? What do people at the detective agency usually do?"

"kill--"

Huh!

"Have you ever encountered similar incidents? And so on, giving interviews like this on television."

……

"The serial rapist—"

Oh!

"It's really unforgivable," and so on, muttering to oneself while watching TV.

...In other words, they weren't actually doing anything.

"...Um, what is Asuna-san's special skill?"

Sora cleverly shifted the topic away from the detective agency. How clever of her.

"I started learning dance in first grade—"

Wow, that's amazing!

"Until the second grade of elementary school."

...That definitely can't be called a special skill, right?

"Um... what are Asuna-san's hobbies?"

"Because I often receive commissions for infidelity investigations, having a good grasp of law can sometimes come in handy when giving advice on compensation to clients... My hobby is reading the Six Codes. I've almost memorized the whole book."

That's a real skill! Come to think of it, she should be studying to become a lawyer.

Although Sora was shy, she still tried her best to start a conversation with Asuna.

To give Asuna a chance to open up, she answered the questions honestly and carefully.

But she kept her mouth shut.

Chapter Twenty-Six Goes Astray

Silence fell over the table again, and the three of us continued eating.

The TV was showing a news report about the increase in Japanese tourists visiting Korea because of the cheap won. The screen showed Japanese people happily shouting "Saranghaeyo (I love you)" at the camera. I had to find a way to start a conversation. Who's my favorite Korean celebrity… no, I had absolutely no idea.

Just as I was feeling troubled, my phone rang. There was a text message.

"Excuse me."

I apologize for turning on my phone while eating and then confirm the contents of the text message.

"I heard a rumor today that my brother wrote a love letter to Asuna-san. Could you please let me see it? If you think Asuna-san won't accept, please ignore this message."

Although it was surprising, the person who sent the message was Qiong, who was chewing potato stew next to me.

It seems she typed and sent the text message at the dining table using the hand opposite to the hand she uses to hold chopsticks.

...Speaking of which, Sora is also the kind of person who pays attention to small details.

He actually managed to secretly text me while the three of us were having dinner together, when Asuna wasn't looking.

"Qianyu, what's wrong?"

"No, I just received a discount coupon from the beauty salon. They said they'd give me a free scalp massage this month."

I must keep the fact that Qiong secretly sent me text messages a secret.

"A scalp massage, that's really nice. Which beauty salon is it from?"

Surprisingly, she was interested in scalp massage. I ignored Asuna's question.

"Asuna, can I look at that thing again?"

"That thing?"

"...No, that's the letter I wrote to Asuna when I was in elementary school."

The journalism club member in my class, who prides herself on her memory, transcribed the entire love letter I wrote during morning self-study into text, and confidently declared she would make it a school news release. Even if it's hidden, if Qiong really wants to see it, she'll soon see it in our school's internal newspaper. So showing it to her now is the same.

"...A letter from Qianyu?"

"Yes, please show it to Qiong."

Asuna took out a love letter from her pocket.

Qiong accepted the letter with a serious expression, as if she were receiving a graduation certificate from the principal.

The high school student's younger sister is silently reading a love letter she wrote in elementary school. This is truly a terrifying ordeal.

Yui, who ate the green pepper for me. Asuna, who bathed with me. The Big Dipper-shaped mole on my butt. Slang for heart-draining. Counting each other's moles. Confessing our feelings to each other.

This is the article in the world that most easily stirs my sense of shame.

After reading it, Asuna's gaze shifted back to the top of the paper...

"Qiong, don't read it a second time. Reading it once is enough."

I took the letter from Sora's hand and returned it to Asuna.

"........."

"...Miss Qiong?"

The reason Asuna and I called out Sora's name was because Sora's face had turned as pale as a doll.

Qiong murmured in an extremely faint voice.