"You have a hematoma."

"I know."

"Got it during the training?"

"Kind of," I answered Murakami. She stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind herself. Then I turned and looked at Lu who had walked out of the kitchen. The girl became awkward because of our talk.

Ha…

I went back to my room, lay down, and placed a cold compress on my forehead. It was made by Lu after the awkward feeling between us went down a bit. The girl seemed embarrassed. She was blaming herself for my injury.

That was very good for me.

At least she wasn't calling the police.

And yet I still had an unpleasant feeling inside of me because of this entire situation. I was wondering: what else will the magazine force me to do against my will? Will I be able to remain a human despite all this pressure? Or maybe one day, in the dark of the night, I will stumble upon the reflection of myself in the mirror holding a mountain of woman underwear in my hands?

Steeling this stuff is also a typical shonen trope, after all.

I sighed.

'Ring, ring!'

My phone started ringing. It was 17.00. Time for dinner.

I walked out into the hallway. Lu was sitting in the hall, in front of a low table without chairs. There was a plate full of pilaf on it. The girl noticed me and turned her eyes away. I approached her, feeling the pleasant aroma of the dish, placed the compress on the table, and said:

"Thanks."

Then I started walking away.

However, suddenly…

"Wait, are you…"

"I'm going to the city. Gonna buy something for dinner."

"I see…" said Aoi and lowered her head.

I opened the door.

"I have… Made a lot, so maybe… If you want to…"

I closed the door and turned to Lu. Her head was lowered and she was looking at the table.

"How much? I mean, what should I pay you?"

I wasn't particularly rich.

"Ah, nothing. I mean, my family owns a restaurant and this stuff is the remains, so… I mean, remains from the kitchen, it's fresh. I can share," said the girl in a very embarrassed voice.

I see… So that's her way of being 'dere' after the display of 'tsun'…

I remembered what the Relationship Gauge had been showing about Lu:

[Aoi Lu: 8 (A pleasant first impression).

We barely knew each other… Well, why not.

Either way, I didn't feel like going into the city.

And maybe I will earn some Points for this.

I nodded:

"Okay… Sure."

Aoi sighed,

Suddenly, the second door on the right side of the hallway opened and a head full of white hair looked out of it:

"Me too! Me too!" said Murakami.

Aoi winced at her.

"You too… Why?" I asked in a dry voice.

"'cause I'm hungry."

"…"

…

…

…

Whether it was because of the persuasive power of her arguments, or something else, but Murakami did manage to get a place behind the table when we were having dinner. The girl got herself an entire plate of pilaf (actually, it was some similar Chinese dish, but I could not remember the name of it).

She also was the first to finish with her plate. And right away she asked for a second. Aoi, with a stern look at her face, gave her the pan.

After that, Murakami started looking at Lu attentively.

Aoi asked while being visibly embarrassed:

"What?"

"So your family owns a restaurant, Aoi-chan?"

"Yes…"

"Do you work there?"

"Sometimes… I don't have much time. I need to study," said Aoi.

"Also… I have a younger brother and a sister," she added after that for some reason.

"That's a large family," I said.

"A very large family," added Murakami.

Aoi nodded and started attentively chewing on the rice. It was tasty, by the way.

I finished my dinner and stood up.

"More?" asked Aoi.

"No, I'm full. Thanks. It was very fresh, by the way. As if it was made just now."

"Ah, I've just heated it on a pan and added a few eggs. So it won't be dry."

"I see. Thanks, gonna wash my plate now," I said and walked toward the kitchen. Meanwhile, the girls behind my back were still talking:

"So… When are you going to introduce us to your family, Aoi-chan?"

"Why would I do that…"

…

The kitchen was small and old.

I started washing my plate. Meanwhile, I started wondering if there was something like a cooking manga among my genres. Now that will be pleasant. Much more so than swinging a wooden stick.

Ha.

I was about to go back when suddenly, I saw a little box laying nearby. The kind that is used in restaurants when you ask for take-out food.

The box was warm, for some reason. As if Aoi had made it just now. But why?

Whatever, it doesn't concern me.

At least for now.

I walked back into the hall, thanked Lu, and went back to my room.

There, I checked whether anything had changed in the magazine. There was only one difference:

[Aoi Lu: 9 (A pleasant first impression).

We are making a progress.

I killed some time by reading on my phone and then started getting ready for sleep. It was a holiday tomorrow, and yet I still had to get up early for my training.

I brushed my teeth and was about to lay down on my back when I heard someone knocking at the door:

"Good night!" said a familiar voice.

"Same to you," I answered Murakami and closed my eyes.

…

…

…

On the morning of the next day, I had a shower, eat breakfast, and walked outside.

It was a cold spring morning.

I looked at the trees around, sighed, and opened the magazine on the page with the SHOP…