Chapter 20: Misunderstood as a Lolicon
After eating a delicious lunch, Denji let out a satisfied burp with a look of pure bliss. This was the first time in her life she had ever eaten her fill, and the first time food had ever tasted so good.
However, this made her even more shy about showing off her own cooking skills in front of Chiya-gege, as her abilities were far inferior by comparison. She silently resolved to secretly improve her cooking until she could finally impress him.
"Keep it in moderation; eating until you're too stuffed isn't good for your health. Besides, I can cook for you every day from now on," Chiya said with a smile.
"Really?!" Denji became instantly excited.
"Really," Chiya nodded with a serious expression.
"Hell yeah!" Denji was overjoyed.
But then her face turned slightly red. She suddenly realized—didn't that mean Chiya nii-chan intended to stay by her side forever?
[Ding! Host has activated the achievement 'Denji (Lv.4)'. Gained 15 Attribute Points!]
At this moment, Chiya hadn't realized that Denji's thoughts had taken a bit of a detour. He simply assumed she was happy about the food, which caused her affection level to rise again.
Denji then took the initiative to gather all the bowls, chopsticks, pots, and plates, carrying them to the kitchen sink. "Chiya-gege, let me handle the dishes!"
Currently, Chiya was the only person close to her and the most important person in her heart. Pochita was important too, but Pochita was a devil, not a human. She didn't want to be someone who just ate and did nothing; she was terrified that Chiya would find her annoying and abandon her, so she wanted to do as much housework as possible.
"Alright."
Chiya looked slightly surprised, not expecting Denji to be so diligent and sensible. Seeing her dragging those oversized pant legs into the kitchen reminded him of the clothes shopping again. "Denji, let's head to the mall together in a bit."
"Okay!" Denji was very much looking forward to getting new clothes.
After cleaning the dishes and resting for a while until Denji's stomach wasn't so full, Chiya finally took her out.
However... how to bring Pochita along was a problem. If Pochita simply followed behind Denji, it would definitely cause a panic, especially in a high-traffic area like a shopping mall.
Even though Pochita looked cute, he was obviously a devil. The chainsaw on his head was far too conspicuous; most people would still be terrified of a devil no matter how cute it looked. That would inevitably attract security, police, or even other civilian devil hunters.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Chiya came up with a plan. He used a piece of clean, soft cloth to wrap the chainsaw on Pochita's head. When Pochita wasn't in combat mode, the chainsaw didn't rotate or extend, so it could be covered up well enough.
Then, he had Denji pick Pochita up. "This way, he looks like a plushie. As long as Pochita doesn't move around too much, it shouldn't cause a stir."
"That is a great idea!" Denji immediately told Pochita, "Don't move, Pochita. You have to be good and listen to Chiya nii-chan"
"Woof!" Pochita gave a short bark, then went completely still, not even blinking his eyes.
To an average person not looking closely, he really did look like a stuffed toy. After all, it wasn't strange for a young girl to carry a doll around, and there were no real dogs that looked like Pochita anyway.
"You don't have to overdo it. It's fine to move or blink if you're uncomfortable."
Otonashi Chiya said as they headed out together with Denji and Pochita.
Just as they got downstairs, they bumped into Hayakawa Aki at the entrance; he seemed to have just finished taking out the trash. When Aki saw the young blonde girl beside Chiya, he froze for a moment.
His eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Chiya with a bizarre, judgmental expression. "Otonashi... I didn't think you were that kind of person..."
It didn't help that the girl was wearing what clearly looked like Chiya's oversized clothes. It was the kind of sight that immediately made one think of things that were, legally speaking, "highly suspicious."
Chiya instantly realized he was being misunderstood and hurried to explain. "It's not what you think! This is my distant younger sister, Denji."
"Is that so...?" Aki's eyes remained skeptical.
"Of course it is." Chiya didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I'm Chiya-nii chan's sister. Nice to meet you," Denji added. Understanding the situation Chiya was in, she stepped in sensibly to back him up, speaking to Aki with polite etiquette. However, deep down, she was a little unhappy—she wasn't entirely satisfied with the title of "sister," and her lips pouted just a tiny bit.
Seeing how polite Denji was and that she didn't look coerced in the slightest, Aki finally believed Chiya's story. He responded, "Hello. I'm Hayakawa Aki, a colleague of Otonashi's."
Chiya patted Denji on the head. He was grateful for how sensible she was; otherwise, clearing up this misunderstanding wouldn't have been easy. Being patted on the head immediately dissolved most of Denji's inner dissatisfaction, and she smiled happily.
In Aki's eyes, this interaction looked even more like a genuine brother-sister bond. It suddenly reminded him of his own younger brother, and his gaze darkened for a moment before he quickly shook it off.
"Otonashi Denji? Should I call you that?" Aki assumed Denji was her given name. Since it's rare to address someone by their first name upon a first meeting or without being close, he wanted to use her full name. Since she was Chiya's sister, he assumed her surname was also Otonashi.
Chiya was about to explain that Denji wasn't his biological sister, but Denji beat him to it, nodding vigorously. "Mm-hm! That's right. My name is Otonashi Denji."
Chiya glanced at her, not quite understanding why she was so insistent on it. He didn't overthink it, though; there was no harm in letting Aki believe they were blood siblings.
However, Chiya overlooked one thing: in Japan, a wife traditionally takes her husband's surname after marriage. It wasn't that he didn't know this, but Denji's quick-wittedness had distracted him from the implication.
"Then why is Otonashi Denji wearing your clothes?" Aki continued to press.
"She just moved in with me yesterday. Her luggage was stolen on the way, and she had nothing to change into, so she had to borrow mine for now," Chiya explained. "That's why I'm taking her to buy new clothes right now."
"I see." Aki finally nodded, his suspicions laid to rest.
Chiya let out a quiet sigh of relief. Based on Aki's initial expression, he looked like he had been seconds away from calling the police. He really didn't want to be labeled a lolicon. His reputation had almost been ruined in an instant!