In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

"Alright, stop it." Saeko interrupted her explanation without giving her a chance to argue: "No wonder your hands and feet are always cold in winter, and you snuggle into someone's arms for warmth as soon as you get into bed. You can't even guarantee your most basic energy intake, how can your body not feel cold?"

"..."

Saeko's matter-of-fact statement left Utaha speechless.

This is what Qianye told her, it must be Qianye who told her, right?

Originally, Saeko came over just to see if Shiyu had finished her work and planned to prepare some things for her to take a bath. But now that she knows Shiyu has been busy until so late and hasn't had dinner yet, given her personality, she naturally can't just sit idly by.

“Perfect timing. I was worried that Qianye would be hungry if he came over late from work, so I prepared a late-night snack for him when he came back this afternoon. Let me heat it up for you now.”

"It's really unnecessary, Saeko..."

Utaha's refusal was completely useless. Saeko seemed not to hear her protests and turned to go to the kitchen on her own.

Her behavior patterns and ways of showing care are exactly the same as those of a mother who loves her children.

No, in some ways, she even possesses more "maternal radiance" than her own mother.

After all, Shiyu is already in her second year of high school. Although her mother cares, she is at least aware that "her daughter has grown up" and will not interfere excessively in her daily affairs.

If she said she wasn't going to eat dinner, her mother would at most grumble a few words, but she wouldn't act like she was disciplining a willful child who didn't know how to take care of herself, like Saeko did.

Or perhaps... Saeko is doing this on purpose, wanting to see her lose control of her eating and her figure deteriorate further, so that she has no advantage over the athletic Saeko, thus gaining more attention from Chiya...

Due to the novelist's habitual way of thinking, Shi Yu's inner monologue is exceptionally rich, even revealing dark speculations with a hint of irony.

However, this is just wishful thinking.

If Saeko Busujima truly possessed such cunning and shrewdness, she wouldn't have so readily accepted herself and Eriri into Chiya's life from the very beginning, nor would she have allowed them to form the current... delicate yet stable relationship with Chiya.

"Alright, come and eat!"

About ten minutes later, Saeko returned to the living room carrying an elegant tray with a rather appealing-looking ham sandwich, along with sliced ​​fruit and a glass of warm milk.

Considering it was late at night, she didn't prepare anything too greasy, but rather struck a delicate balance between taste, satiety, and the nutrition she had just emphasized.

Thank goodness, the sandwich looked refreshing and appetizing, with slightly charred bread, lettuce, tomatoes, fried eggs, and slices of smoked ham inside. It looked fantastic.

At least it seems Shiyu can still eat this.

If Saeko really served her a feast of fish and meat, she wouldn't know what to do.

Under Saeko's expectant gaze, Utaha had no choice but to smile helplessly and thank her. She then clasped her hands together and said, "I'm starting," before putting on disposable gloves, picking up a piece, and taking a bite.

"what about the taste?"

"Saeko, I've always admired your cooking skills. The food is delicious, but you've taken so much for me. I definitely can't finish it all."

"It's okay, just wait for Qianye to come and give it to him. Since it's your leftover, he won't mind."

"Yours is the same, won't you eat some with me?"

"I've already eaten a lot for dinner, you should eat more, eat more~"

After Shiwa started eating, Saeko didn't leave. Instead, she poured herself a cup of tea, sat down next to her, and stared at her with a smile, resting her chin on her hand.

Those smiling eyes, seemingly filled with hidden thoughts, also revealed a glint that was hard to look away from.

"You don't need to worry about my Saeko, I'll clean up after I finish eating."

The implication is that you don't have to stay here with me; after all, being watched while eating is indeed a rather strange experience.

Saeko understood what she meant, gave an apologetic smile, and immediately stood up as well.

"Okay, then I'll go and run a bath for you... Oh no, it's best not to take a bath right after eating. I'll go back to my room and pack my clothes for tomorrow and the day after. See you later."

"Ah."

After Saeko left the living room, the inexplicable pressure on Shiwa suddenly eased.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, but her heart was not completely at peace.

Although Saeko didn't say it outright, Shiyu could sense something from the somewhat impatient yet extremely ambiguous look in her eyes when she looked at him.

One could vaguely discern from her demeanor an emotion that conveyed a sense of "that's it, eat more to conserve your energy for tonight..."—an emotion that was hard to define as encouragement or urging.

But I can understand it.

That's definitely been the case lately. Whether it's her or Saeko, Chiya hasn't been able to go on a date with either of them for a long time because she has to juggle student council duties and other work-related matters.

Of course, they would occasionally spend time together briefly at family restaurants or cafes outside of school during lunch break or after school.

But her definition of "dating" is not this kind of casual, playful interaction at all.

Rather, it refers to the kind of complete and intimate companionship where, in a space where it's just the two of you, you have long stretches of undisturbed time to have deeper, more soul-searching conversations, share mundane daily moments, and then fall asleep in each other's arms until you wake up in each other's arms the next morning.

The above is a literary way of putting it, but it's enough to understand the general meaning.

According to what Shiyu learned from Saeko during this period, Chiya was so busy mainly because of work.

However, she didn't believe it at all.

The main evidence is that right after the summer vacation ended this semester, Chiya had an overwhelming number of work commitments. Even his personal assistant, Miyoko, was so busy that she developed dark circles under her eyes. During that time, he didn't spend as much time with them as he did during that period... you could say it was a period of neglect.

His workload has decreased significantly recently, with only the addition of student council work at the school. How could he possibly be busier than during that period?

There's clearly something wrong with this.

The time spent not actively seeking them out clearly didn't disappear; instead, it smoothly shifted to other places.

So where exactly did they go?

If you think about it a little more carefully, the answer becomes quite obvious.

Without a doubt, it was that blonde philanderer!

Lately, that annoying, bright smile on his face, as if he's been thoroughly pampered, hasn't disappeared. He looks more radiant every day... He must be being pampered and satisfied by Qianye quite thoroughly...

whispering sound--!

However, this is the only time.

A cruel smile appeared on Shi Yu's lips.

He bit down hard on the sandwich, as if imagining it to be some annoying guy.

However, this is the only time she can endure it. During this period, thanks to Saeko's subtle and overt persuasion, she has managed to hold back and not do anything.

But starting tomorrow, it will be a world of three where she and Saeko will stay by his side, undisturbed by the outside world.

Shi Yu has always been quite confident in her own charm, after all, she has experienced being hated and tormented by her lover countless times.

During this period of neglect from her lover... well, let's just call it neglect. She only considered it as a fleeting infatuation driven by a sense of novelty.

So now that he's back by her side, she'll make full use of her advantages, whether it's her body or something else, to get his attention back on her.

What makes it even safer is that this time it's not just her; Saeko will also be included.

She will never forget that time she spent the night in the hotel at the amusement park.

The three of them filled the themed room, which was full of childlike innocence and fantasy, with a strong hormonal atmosphere that lingered until they checked out the next day.

At that time, Chiya was truly excited, like a wild beast.

His demands, almost disregarding their limits, were so forceful they seemed to want to pierce through their bodies; his ferocious intensity, as if he truly wanted them to be mothers… caused not only her, but even Saeko, whose physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people, to faint several times along the way…

It's clear that he has a stronger interest in multiplayer mode than in the more formal and conventional two-person mode.

The effect of her joining forces with Saeko is not a simple addition of one, but an explosive attraction that can trigger a qualitative change!

In this way, there is a clear and effective solution to the problem of how to get a boyfriend who seems to be "fickle" to "come back to the right path".

Although it's a little embarrassing, since we've already decided to spend the rest of our lives together like this, there's nothing to hesitate about.

They insisted on turning off the lights at the beginning so the two of them wouldn't see anything too embarrassing. As for what happened later... well, by then they'd be completely consumed by desire anyway, so it didn't matter...

Shiyu shook her head, temporarily suppressing those overly passionate and romantic fantasies, and her gaze returned to the sandwiches that were still quite full in front of her.

She thought for a moment, then reached out and picked up the second piece.

Saeko is right. We should definitely eat more on this day to prepare for the high energy expenditure that's coming soon...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Saeko returned to her room and quickly packed her luggage for the next two days at the hot spring inn. She then planned to tidy up the guest room that Utaha had always used and make the bed.

But halfway there, she suddenly remembered something, paused, changed her mind, and turned back towards the living room.

In the living room, Shiyu had already eaten two small pieces of sandwich and was now sipping her milk.

When Saeko returned, she looked apologetic: "I'm sorry, I really couldn't finish the rest."

"It's ok."

As mentioned before, the rest is up to Qianye. If everything goes smoothly, his physical exertion tonight will far exceed the combined total of the two of them.

"Let me help tidy up... Saeko, you said Chiya also has work tonight?"

"Well, he didn't say exactly what it was, but he told me he would be a little late tonight, so I guess he has some work to take care of."

"..."

Shiyu nodded, indicating that she understood, and said nothing more.

"Oh, right, Shiyu." Saeko put the used dishes into the sink, and as if suddenly remembering something, she said in a casual tone, "Didn't it rain for several days in a row recently? The guest room that I had reserved for you has some dampness in some places because the window seems to have been left open, and it's starting to get moldy. I've been busy with school matters lately and haven't had time to call someone to come and fix it."

"Is that so?" Shiyu replied calmly, awaiting Saeko's next words.

"Well, so you might have to stay in another room tonight." Saeko turned around, wiping her hands, her tone apologetic and helpless: "But the other empty rooms, because they haven't been occupied for a long time, have had their doors and windows tightly closed, so they might be a bit dusty and stuffy... Is that okay for you?"

"It smells..." Shi Yu frowned slightly, feigning a troubled expression.

"It's really hard to accept..." Saeko thought for a solution: "How about this, you sleep with me tonight."

"What about Qianye?"

"His room is fine, so we can just leave it as it was before."

"If you don't mind, I'm fine with it."

"Then it's decided. It'll be good for us to talk before we go to bed tonight."

Saeko put her hands together and smiled happily.

Shiyu nodded and helped carefully wrap up the remaining sandwiches and put them in the refrigerator.

Although her expression didn't change much, her earlobes did turn slightly red.