This is not the date I wanted.

"It's just a coincidence. Food before it comes out of the pot is first come first served. Just eat the vegetables next to the pot. Yatogami Tohka."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. I'm going to put the ingredients back in. You two should be quiet for a while."

"Sister Mengyue, just one, just one will do. Let me have a better lollipop."

"No snacks allowed during meals. What good is it to eat hot pot with a lollipop?"

"A lollipop during hot pot is absolutely delicious!"

"Don't make it sound like you're some uncle who drinks draft beer to relieve stress after work."

Walking to the door of the living room, Shidou saw that on the dining table in the living room, there were all kinds of sumptuous ingredients. In the middle of the table, a large pot of food was being cooked in boiling soup, emitting a mouth-watering aroma.

And everyone just sat around the dining table, enjoying the hotpot with gusto.

This was not an unusual scene. As always, everyone gathered at the same table to eat together, sometimes bickering, sometimes quarreling, and there was almost no time to calm down.

Although he felt somewhat helpless in his heart, at the same time, every time he saw this scene, Shido Gokawa felt as if his heart was filled and fulfilled.

"……Great."

His shoulders relaxed involuntarily, and a sense of peace of mind came over him. It was only until he saw this scene at this moment that Gokawa Shido felt grounded.

"Shidou? You're awake!"

As if sensing Shidou's footsteps, Tohka turned around.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling well?"

"Yeah... no problem. Tohka and everyone else are, are they okay?"

Seeing Tohka and everyone else with some bandages on their bodies, Shidou didn't know why, but felt more guilty than concerned.

"Hmm! I've fully recovered."

Tohka nodded, flexed her arms to show her muscles, and then pulled Shidou to sit at an empty seat at the dining table.

"Oh? My possessions, I have finally woken up from my endless dream. You are such a lucky guy to be able to catch up with this crazy feast."

"I agree. If you miss out on such high-quality meat, it will be a loss in your life, Shidao."

"Ah ha ha--"

Shidou responded to the Yamai sisters with a wry smile.

Honestly, Shidou was still completely confused about the current situation. After looking around at everyone in distress, Shidou turned his gaze to the person who was most likely to explain it to him.

"It's nothing special. We haven't had a good meal since morning till night, and it's very cold in winter. Although it's a bit late, we all decided to treat ourselves to hot pot."

Meng Yue answered Shidou's question by shrugged.

"That's it..."

Although Mengyue's answer was very simple and clear, Shidao still felt confused due to the lack of memory of this period of time.

"By the way, the cost of the ingredients including the meat is - this amount."

"What--?!"

When Shidao, who was in charge of the family finances, heard Mengyue say the number, his face suddenly turned pale and he almost fell off his chair.

"...Mengyue, why did you buy such expensive meat? If so, we will have to live very frugally for the rest of this month."

In order to prevent others from noticing his abnormality, Shidou lowered his voice and spoke.

"Ah - don't worry about that. I bought all this with the money you made from busking."

Meng Yue chuckled and waved her hand in reply.

"Eh? Street performing?"

Hearing this unexpected answer, Shidou's face was full of confusion.

(What on earth did I do during the time I lost my memory?)

"By the way, Shidou, why are you out in your pajamas? Didn't I put your clothes next to the bed?"

Meng Yue tilted her head in confusion. Shidao then realized that he was sitting in the living room in his pajamas and felt awkward.

"Ah... I didn't notice. Eh? So, who helped me change into my pajamas?"

"It was me who brought you back here. Who else could it be except me?"

"——!?"

Meng Yue answered as a matter of course. Then he noticed Shidao's flustered expression, and immediately understood something, and a smirk appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Well, teenage boys also care about this kind of thing. Don't worry, I didn't take off my panties. And to be honest, I have no interest in Shidou's ** at all."

"Forehead……"

The corner of Shidou's mouth twitched slightly.

What should he let go of? To be honest, Shidao had no idea. His heart was filled with an indescribable subtle sadness.

(As expected, in Meng Yue’s eyes, I am just a simple family member—well, forget it.)

He couldn't help but smile bitterly. For some reason, Meng Yue's attitude made him a little depressed, but he was not as irritated as before. It was as if he had already got the answer.

"--it hurts!"

Suddenly, a chopstick hit his forehead with a "whoosh". Shidou touched his forehead in pain, and looked up. At this time, across the table, his sister Kotori was glaring at him with dissatisfaction.

"——Hmph! You look like a disgusting idiot. Are you secretly excited because Sister Mengyue saw you having sex? You are a monkey who has been having sex all year round."

Unconsciously, he had developed a certain resistance to his sister's sharp tongue in commander mode. Shidou sighed and retorted in a suicidal way.

"Kotori, you're so cute even when you're jealous."

--pain!

Immediately, another chopstick hit Shidou's forehead.

"...You've only become more eloquent. Don't get carried away, Shidou."

Kotori turned her head away, an obvious blush on her cheeks.

"Ahem - let me warn you once again, Shidou! Your current health is no different from that of a person who has just recovered from a serious illness. It's late today, so forget it. You must go to Fraxinus for a checkup tomorrow, okay?"

"Well, I see."

Shidou nodded honestly.

"Shidou!"

Just then, Tohka, who was sitting next to him, suddenly came over with a very tough attitude, holding a bowl full of food in her hand.

"Ah~"

Before Shidou could ask, Tohka handed a piece of perfectly cooked beef to Shidou's mouth.

"Ji-Jiuxiang?"

"What's wrong, Shidou? You don't want to eat? This piece of meat is delicious."

Seeing Shidou's troubled expression, Tohka tilted her head in confusion.

"Gulu - no, that's not the question -"

Looking at the juicy and tender meat in front of him, Shidao couldn't help swallowing his saliva. Smelling the mellow and tempting aroma, Shidao was sure that the moment he bit into it, the sweet meat juice would spray out and fill his entire mouth.

To be honest, for Shidao who was already starving, this was a temptation that was beyond belief.

However, he absolutely cannot give in to temptation at this time! ? Having experienced the same tragedy countless times, Shidao knew that if he ate what Tohka fed him at this time, everyone present would rush over and feed him in turn in an endless loop. As a result, Shidao's stomach could not withstand the pressure and he was taken to the hospital.

"Hey...Tohka, listen to me...Ah?"

When thinking of a suitable reason to convince Tohka, Shidou suddenly realized that no one reacted to Tohka's actions. Even Origami seemed to have not heard the conversation between Tohka and Shidou, and buried her head in the food in the bowl.

"Hey, what are you still hesitating about, Shidou? If you're a man, just order it and eat it all in one gulp."

"Meng Yue?"

Turning to look at Meng Yue, he saw her shrug with a chuckle and replied in an urging tone.

"Don't worry. This is a special case. After all, only Tohka's date was interrupted. It's a bit unfair."

"Ha... Then, I'll start."

Although he was a little confused, he didn't have to worry about his stomach bursting. Shidao breathed a sigh of relief and ate the food handed to him by Tohka with a sigh.

"how?"

Tohka looked at Shidou expectantly.

"Mm, it's delicious."

Although he felt a little shy about being fed, seeing Tohka's cute and sympathetic look, Shidou nodded and expressed his thoughts frankly.

"Really? That's great."

After hearing Shidou's answer, Tohka smiled cheerfully.

(As expected, Tohka is the cutest when she is smiling.)

Shidou couldn't help but think with relief.

"Everyone, listen to me."

After filling his stomach a little, Shidou took a deep breath and stood up from the chair.

"This time - I don't remember what happened. But I also vaguely feel that I caused a lot of trouble for everyone."

I clearly remember what I did, but when I think about it carefully, I can't remember anything. This is the only feeling Shidao has.

However, he could still vaguely sense how much risk everyone had taken and how much effort they had made in order to return to this "moment" that was the same as before.

After chewing over thousands of words of emotion in his mouth, Shidou finally bowed deeply to everyone.

"I'm so sorry! And - thank you!"

After everyone looked at each other and there was a brief silence, they all laughed out loud at the same time.

“Kuku——I thought you were going to say something until now! You are not aware enough, my possession! As long as the contract between you and the Son of Hurricane still exists, I will not allow you to escape without permission!”

"I'm sure. Shidou, you don't need to be so polite with Yui. This kind of thing is only natural."

"It's okay. I'll accept anything Shidou asks of me. So, I'll welcome further progress."

"Darling is too polite. Compared to the effort Darling made to save me, this is nothing."

"...As expected you are an idiot Shidou. Forget it, just don't let this happen again next time. I'm not bragging, but if it happens again next time... you will definitely be dragged down by me. Hehe——hehehe......"

"Ah, we are already in a relationship. It's really rude of you to say something like that, Shidou-kun~ If you really want to express your gratitude, then give Yoshino-chan a passionate kiss for her hard work~"

"Um, um... As for Yoshina... you don't have to worry about it... I'm very happy that Shidou-san can come back..."

"Everyone……"

Shidao's eyes suddenly became moist.

"Well, that's it. Don't worry about it, Shidou. To be honest, I'm the one who wants to apologize to you. Anyway--"

Kotori smiled bitterly and shook her head, then crossed her arms and asked in a casual tone,

"You just said you don't remember anything?"

"Well... to be honest, my memory only goes back to the physical education class in the morning. My mind is completely blank as to what happened after that."

"........."

"Um, um. Although it's a bit strange to ask now, what did I do?"

Seeing that the scene suddenly fell into a strange silence, Shidou asked nervously.

"Negative. Nothing. Continue eating, Shidou."

"Kuku - the past has all vanished like mist. Yamai is not a narrow-minded person who would cling to the past. Enjoy the delicacies I have given you."

"Stupid Shidou, this is for you."

The Yamai sisters and Nanashi suddenly picked out food from the hot pot and handed it to Shidao's bowl. Shidao looked down and saw ginger, garlic, and chili peppers.

"that--"

A bead of sweat broke out on Shidou's forehead.

"This is a godsend to dispel the turbid air!"