Azusa's cooking was dreadful. I could confidently say it was an expression without a hint of exaggeration. No, can it even be called cooking? Thinking common-sensically, pouring vinegar onto tough combat rations wouldn't be called cooking, would it?
Actually, there was no need to ponder that. The food she brought in a bowl was at a level where one might wonder if it even went through a cooking process in the first place. Honestly... the food Azusa first brought confidently would have been better off just chewing a raw egg as is.
It was the same now. Kenji looked down at the food portioned for him and contorted his face.
What, what in the world is this? I get that she tried to make a sandwich, but the bread was all burnt, the lettuce was in clumps, and the meat was shriveled to the point of crumbling like concrete with every chew.
Am I supposed to eat all this? Seriously?
I couldn't taste it, but honestly, with visuals like that, could it possibly be tasty? There was no need to ponder in the first place. Because the expressions of the four people holding Azusa's cooked food weren't very good.
Though I didn't have any particular conviction or resolve about cooking, Kenji thought people should at least live while eating tasty food. But this damn sandwich was a truly remarkable item that shattered that thought in an instant.
"...Azusa."
"How is it?"
*Plop*, Kenji placed the sandwich he was holding onto the bowl. Azusa, who had been inwardly expecting his evaluation, turned to look at him with sparkling eyes. But instead of answering, Kenji got up from his seat, picked up two slices of bread with both hands, and approached Azusa.
Then he placed the bread slices on both her cheeks.
"Repeat after me. I am a stupid sandwich."
"H, huh?"
"No, that's wrong. What are you?"
"I, I am a stupid sandwich...?"
"Right. You stupid sandwich. From now on, you're excluded from cooking duty."
"Wh, why!"
"You're excluded until I say it's okay. You have to think about us who have to eat what you cook."
"...Is it that tasteless?"
Kenji grinned, tore off a small piece of the sandwich portioned for him, and put it in Azusa's mouth. She moved her mouth a few times, then frowned and stuck out her tongue.
"Tasteless, right?"
"...*Grk*, frustrating."
Azusa was defeated. Kenji let out a deep sigh and went into the kitchen in her place. Though it was called a kitchen, it only had a portable burner sitting there, but he busily took out various ingredients from the refrigerator and prepared to cook.
Then the four people who had been nibbling on the sandwich Azusa made brightened up. They threw the something-shaped-like-a-sandwich onto the bowl and waited for Kenji's cooking to be completed.
"Traitors..."
Azusa muttered quietly while watching that scene, but no one paid attention. Normally, Atsuko or Saori would have comforted her, but this time both remained silent. To that extent, Azusa's cooking skills were hopeless.
Kenji selected various ingredients from the refrigerator and started cooking. What he made was stir-fried pork belly with kimchi over rice. A dish that a broke college student who could only cook basic things would be familiar with. Kenji carefully scooped the fried rice and divided it into bowls.
He couldn't taste-test it, so he was inwardly anxious, but fortunately, they finished their meal with satisfied expressions. Even Azusa, who had been sitting with a sulky face at first, started eating after hearing he'd teach her cooking later. Then she ate scraping her bowl while smiling brightly; it wasn't hateful, just cute.
After finishing the meal, they went up to the building's rooftop.
The sky, which had been cloudy until the afternoon, had cleared up somewhat by night, holding moonlight brighter than usual. The halo was the same. The halo, which seemed to embrace countless constellations, made one feel a mysterious mood just by looking at it. Kenji snorted a laugh and put a cigarette in his mouth.
Just as he was about to light it, a voice came from behind.
"Teacher."
It was Atsuko. Kenji put the lighter he was holding back in his pocket and turned his head.
Atsuko's attire was quite simple. Covering her upper body without gaps, a pure white dress reaching just above her knees gave the feeling of pajamas a heroine in a fantasy novel might wear. It was clothing that suited Atsuko, whose atmosphere and appearance were noble-like. Kenji put the lighter he was holding back and waved his hand.
"What, do you have something to say?"
"No, I came to check on the flower pots before bed."
"Ah, the pots."
A few days ago, when they went to buy Saori's birthday present, he had also bought several flower pots for Atsuko. He had only bought showy plants without considering difficulty of care or flower meanings; there must have been a plant tricky enough to care for that required checking in the middle of the night.
"...♪"
Atsuko began humming a tune and started tending to the flower pots placed on the rooftop. From the cracked and chipped pots she originally had to the clean-shaped pots Kenji bought. She carefully trimmed each one without discrimination.
Her face held a faint smile as she did so. Kenji gazed at her intently from a short distance away, then took out the lighter he had put away and lit his cigarette. Pungent smoke rose, and peach scent filled his nasal passages.
'She doesn't reject it now either.'
Just a month ago, when he first smoked, she had thrown a fit telling him not to kill his lungs, but now she shows no rejection reaction. Probably natural since he smokes almost a pack a day. Kenji thought so and raised his head toward the sky.
On Earth, the night sky is brighter in the countryside than in cities. He vaguely remembers hearing it's because there's a big difference in the number of artificial lights. But the Arius autonomous district, which is at a level more wretched than the countryside, was much murkier than the night sky seen from Trinity.
It couldn't be helped. Since they used all sorts of tricks to avoid external observation, they would naturally hesitate to reveal the sky as is.
It was regrettable. Still, thanks to the stars and moon being clearer than usual, it wasn't boring. Kenji exhaled cigarette smoke, *hoo*, and casually sat on the railing. After a few minutes passed like that, Atsuko, who had finished tending all the pots, approached.
"Do you like the night sky?"
"I do. It's pretty, and when I look at it, I can forget my immediate worries."
"Really?"
Atsuko approached with skipping steps and gently took a seat beside Kenji. Stone dust or dirt getting on her pure white dress should have been unpleasant, but instead of frowning, she grinned and gazed at the night sky following Kenji. Then she spat out.
"Can I try smoking too?" UmJQTmx4M0VIZUY5eTI1RWdYaFoyZE1GZTJTTWVKN0pMY3c3eFpYRlpCZGtiK1hscUxsM3RjWXBFUFluVENIOQ
Kenji's face contorted.
"No. Where does someone with milk still on their lips think they're smoking, cigarettes."
"How old are you? You're not much older than us, right?"
"...20."
"Liaaaar."
Atsuko grinned and drew out the end of her words. Then she suddenly thrust her head toward Kenji's face. At a distance where their lips might accidentally touch if they weren't careful, Kenji pulled his head back and spat out in a flustered voice.
"...What are you doing?"
"Just trying to smell it. Hmm... Peach scent?"
"....Stop that and move. It's harmful to your body."
Kenji firmly pressed Atsuko's shoulder. She could have resisted, but Atsuko giggled and was pushed back as he pushed. The distance between them became slightly closer than before.
"Anyway, don't even think about smoking. No, just don't touch it."
"Why?"
"Just know that. You can drink alcohol, but don't smoke. Seriously."
Does saying this make me sound too much like a nag? Still, it's better than letting her learn to smoke. Kenji thought so and extinguished his cigarette on the railing.
"If you're done tending the pots, let's go in now. The others will come looking."
"I want to stay a little longer. And... thanks for the gift."
Atsuko pointed with her finger to a pot planted with a blue rose. It was one of the pots Kenji bought a few days ago.
"Ah, that one... Did you like it?"
"Yes, so I'll take good care of it. So it never withers forever."
"Good."
Kenji answered with a snorting laugh. Atsuko also responded with a fresh smile. She slightly narrowed the gap between her and Kenji.
"By the way, Kenji Oppa."
"...What the, fuck?"
"Huh? Why?"
"No, what's with the sudden 'oppa'? It's creepy."
Kenji said while stiffening his face pale. Oppa? The moment he heard that word, goosebumps rose on his back. It was an instinctive revulsion. Because he had never heard that word even once in his life. Noticing this, Atsuko gave a sly, sidelong glance.
"Oppa. Does Oppa dislike the word oppa? Last time you told me to speak comfortably, why do you suddenly dislike it? Huh? Oppa?"
There were too many 'oppa's in her speech. She was clearly doing it on purpose...
"You said you're 20. Then you're older than me, so calling you oppa is correct. Right, Oppa?"
"..."
"Oppa?"
"...Do as you like."
Kenji spat out while letting out a deep sigh. Atsuko nodded her head, going 'hehe'.
"So, what were you going to say earlier?"
"Ah, that."
Instead of answering immediately, she stretched out one finger and pointed at the sky. Though there weren't that many stars, it was a sky where fixed stars with clear light were proudly showing their forms. Atsuko pointed at that sky and spoke in a slightly cautious voice.
"Can you teach me the constellations?"
"...Constellations?"
"Yes. I like the night sky too, but I don't know the names of the stars well. So can you teach me?"
"I don't know many either."
When he was on Earth, he had no interest in the night sky. He knew names of famous stars like Betelgeuse or Sirius, but didn't know anything about constellation shapes. After falling to Kivotos, he became interested and studied a bit, but it was only superficial. Constellations with ambiguous shapes were hard to even find, let alone distinguish.
"It's okay."
But Atsuko's will was strong. Kenji gazed into her sparkling ruby-like eyes, pondered briefly, then finally smiled slightly and nodded.
"Come closer."
"Okay."
Atsuko quickly moved next to Kenji. Their shoulders touched. It was a distance close enough to feel each other's breathing if they became conscious of it. Atsuko's cheeks reddened. Surely not just because the air was cold.
"That over there is Cygnus. The brightest star there is called Deneb."
"Then what about that one?"
"Corona Borealis. I heard it's close to Hercules, but because of the clouds, that one isn't visible."
"Too bad."
"Yeah."
Kenji said with a voice mixed with laughter. Atsuko sat beside him, alternately looking at the sky and his face while listening to explanations about constellations. As time passed like that, Atsuko's gaze became fixed on Kenji. Though she answered properly each time, she wasn't interested in constellations. She just stared blankly, only piercingly gazing at Kenji's face.
While doing so, a mischievous urge welled up for no reason. Atsuko held a mischievous smile and began sliding off her dress, *sleuk*, *sleureuk*.
"The Milky Way isn't very visible. Only the outline is roughly visible."
"..."
"But Boötes is clear. Among those stars, there's one called Arcturus, but I'm not sure of its position."
"...What, what is that?"
"Serpens. It's split in half because of Ophiuchus."
"Oppa, then..."
"Yeah."
Kenji still answered while keeping his gaze fixed on the sky. Atsuko roughly threw off the dress tangling at her feet and grabbed Kenji's hand. Kenji's body flinched, and his head turned toward Atsuko.
And his eyes widened.
"Hey. Hey. Your clothes..."
Atsuko's outer appearance, which had been noble-like, had completely changed. The pure white dress was nowhere to be found, and she was wearing only a black leotard that emphasized her figure. Her pale legs were fully revealed, and her pertly raised chest showed off its form.
"Oppa."
Atsuko gripped Kenji's hand tightly and giggled. Then she brought her lips to his ear, exhaled a breath, and whispered.
"Oppa, do you know how babies are made?"
"...What?"
"*Hwup*."
Atsuko briefly kissed Kenji's ear.
"Want me to teach you?"
She smiled like a temptress.
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 134
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T