Chapter 9 – Mom, It's All a Misunderstanding!
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Rikka was still locked in an intense internal battle, debating whether she should really… feed her lifesaver mouth-to-mouth.
When suddenly—
Kihara jolted upright from the sofa.
A sharp, knife-like pain in his stomach had forced him awake.
"Kihara, you're awake!"
Rikka let out a relieved sigh.
But Kihara didn't respond.
His eyes were locked onto one thing.
The milk in her hand.
And the bread beside it.
Milk—I'll eat it!
Bread—I'll eat it!
Rice—I'LL EAT EVERYTHING!!!
What followed was nothing short of a feeding frenzy.
From the living room… to the kitchen…
He devoured everything in sight like a reincarnated glutton.
Watching him wipe out nearly a week's worth of groceries, Rikka's mother's lips twitched slightly.
She seriously suspected her daughter had brought home some kind of zombie that only knew how to eat.
…but she had no proof.
"Rikka… who is this boy?"
"He's Kihara, my classmate."
"…Oh. How many days has he not eaten?"
Rikka paused for a moment, then shook her head.
"No, that's not it… he just… has a big appetite."
"…I see."
Rikka's mother sighed.
"Well, since he's awake, you watch the shop. I'll go see if I can buy more groceries."
"Okay."
Once Kihara finally snapped out of his eating frenzy, he looked around.
Stacks of empty plates.
Rikka, looking slightly exhausted, still wearing her oil-stained apron.
He gave an awkward but polite smile.
"Uh… Rikka… the bill?"
Rikka replied expressionlessly:
"Thank you for your patronage. That'll be 103,459 yen."
"…H-how much!?"
"You ate twenty bowls of tonkotsu ramen, four cups of coffee, three plates of mapo tofu… and everything else, including my favorite caramel pudding and rum ice cream. Oh, and a week's worth of groceries."
Kihara blinked blankly.
"I… really ate that much?"
Rikka sighed, her clear blue eyes blinking slowly.
"Honestly, I thought your stomach would explode halfway through. I was ready to call an ambulance… but yes, you really did eat all of it."
"…Alright. I'll pay."
He wasn't the type to dodge responsibility.
He pulled out his wallet.
…then froze.
He only had a little over 60,000 yen.
That was all the money he had in this world.
Rikka noticed immediately.
"…Not enough?"
"…Yeah. Can I work to pay it off?"
"…Figures. It is over 100,000 after all."
She hesitated.
Their shop didn't really need extra help… it was usually pretty quiet.
Maybe letting him pay it off slowly would be better.
If it were just her desserts, she could've treated it as thanks for saving her life.
But this amount?
Even if she agreed, her mom definitely wouldn't.
"Perfect timing. Our shop needs someone to watch the store."
Rikka's mother returned, instantly making the decision.
"Starting today, you'll work to repay your debt!"
Then, without delay, she handed both of them a new task.
"Cooking tired me out. You two, wash all the dishes!"
"Leave it to me, Auntie!"
To Rikka's surprise, Kihara wasn't just all talk.
He rolled up his sleeves and got to work immediately, efficient and skilled.
"Kihara… do you usually wash dishes at home?" she asked, stepping beside him.
"You might not believe it, but I've been cooking for myself since I was around twelve or thirteen."
"…By yourself?"
She glanced at him, misunderstanding something.
"Sorry… I didn't mean to—"
"My parents are alive," he cut in calmly.
"They're just not around often, so I had to learn."
"Oh… I see. That's good."
She sighed in relief.
Just then, her hand brushed against some floating vegetable scraps in the sink.
The slimy texture made her flinch.
And suddenly—
The image of that horrifying spider monster flashed in her mind.
Kihara noticed and spoke up.
"This was actually only my second time seeing that kind of monster. I didn't expect it to run after a failed ambush… and I ended up dragging you into it. Sorry."
"So… my lifesaver is also the reason I got attacked, huh…"
Her feelings were complicated.
Of course she was a bit upset, anyone would be after getting chased by something like that.
But…
He had saved her.
And from what she'd seen so far, he wasn't a bad person.
After a moment, she spoke sincerely:
"Still… thank you for saving me."
"No need. Your family's my creditor now—if you've got any trouble, just call me."
Kihara sighed inwardly.
Am I cursed with debt or something?
One week in Gensokyo—massive debt.
Now here—more debt.
At least it wasn't owed to some terrifying general…
"Wow, you sound pretty reliable~" Rikka teased lightly.
Then she glanced back at the sink.
Half the dishes were already done.
"Whoa… you're fast. You're more capable than I thought."
"Calling me 'classmate' feels a bit distant. You can just call me Kihara."
He grinned.
"How about I call you… Lady Rikka?"
"Lady Rikka!?"
She stared at him, instantly on guard.
Her mental image of him went from "classmate"… to "possible weirdo."
Is this guy some kind of masochist?
"Shouldn't I show respect to my creditor?"
"Then wouldn't 'Lady Takarada' make more sense?"
"…Oh, good point. Should I call you that instead?"
She imagined it for a second and immediately felt secondhand embarrassment so intense her toes curled.
"Nope. Just call me Rikka."
He smiled shamelessly.
"Got it, Lady Rikka."
"You did that on purpose, didn't you!?"
Her face flushed red as she flicked water at him in retaliation.
Kihara instantly behaved, scrubbing dishes with extreme focus.
like he was carefully cleaning a prized figure.
"…Why did you suddenly get so obedient?" she muttered.
Then she noticed—
A gaze.
She turned her head.
Her mother was peeking from behind the curtain… slowly pulling her head back with a knowing smile.
"Looks like I should go rest a bit longer~"
"Mom, it's not what you think!!"
.....
Thank you for reading.