CH 53.3

「Good work to you too, Saki-chan.」

「You were so cool.」

「Thank you. But… Those lowlifes should have been cut into smaller pieces.」

Not good, Saki is on the verge of falling to the dark side.

Well, Saki’s also one of the members of we love Mikan-senpai team, after all.

「Well, it’s also a fact that we pulled a bad lottery. Those guys, they were a rather famous shitty club, after all.」

「Yes. But you see….」

Seiichi is consoling Mai, who has been feeling down and depressed all the time since the match.

I can relate to Mai’s feeling, who ended up ceasing to be able to move in the face of a battle.

It is a natural instinct as a human being to end up shrinking away when they are pointed with malice and killing intent from other humans.

Unlike that of monsters, it’s fishy and flimsy, and I think that’s exactly why dirty and repulsive malice is unique to humans.

「I guess I was lacking in resolve, or something….」

「My bad, Mai. I’m….」

「That’s right… I was lacking in my resolve to beat my opponent to death. Like, those guys were super irritating. How the heck could they do such a thing to my Mikan-chan-senpai? Next time I see them, I’m going to kill them for sure!」

「Ah, yes.」

Letting out a grinding cry, Mai begins to stuff her cheeks with plenty of karaage.

I get the feeling that there was some kind of unsettling remark mixed in.

「Like, you see, I can’t help but think that I’m going to lose my standing. I mean, it’s true that I didn’t get to play an active role, but I also did my best. Ah, but you see, can you believe it? The bunch from my former club, you see. They didn’t even make it to the main tournament, totally serve them right.」

「Yes, yes.」

Otoha-senpai, who is emptying her glass with a hearty gulp next to Rinko-senpai, is instantly on the high.

She’s certainly a beauty, but she’s totally a deplorable Senpai.

「Ah, Touma-kun. Thank you for your hard work.」

「Yes. Likewise, Mikan-senpai.」

In the dining hall that’s in the form of a standing party, I bring myself to where Mikan-senpai, who is quietly sitting by the window, is.

「You too, Shizuka-chan, thank you for helping everyone out.」

「I was only of a little help, though…」

I’ve heard that the Senpais, who were cheering for us on the spectator seats, were also faced with some trouble.

It seems that with Shizuka and the others’ follow up, they managed to pull through it without problem.

「Is something the matter?」

「Huh?」

Mikan-senpai, who is floating a smile on her face in a grin, reacts with a twitch.

「… Ahaha. You sure are perceptive, Touma-kun.」

If the usual smile is 100%, then the current Mikan smile is only about 80%.

「Err, you see. I was thinking if perhaps I’d once again gotten ahead of myself and caused trouble for everyone, or something….」

「It appears that all of the Senpais don’t share the same thoughts.」

「But you see…. Fuaa.」

As Mikan-senpai is downcast, in the gloomy mode that sometimes she gets herself into, I stroke her head.

「You chose a path that was much more right than I did, Mikan-senpai. For sure, that’s not something anyone else can do.」

「G, geez. I wonder why you always treat me like a child, Touma-kun….」

Mikan-senpai, who closes her eyes comfortably even while complaining, is so lovely.

Well, I’ll be sure to settle the scores with those who bullied Mikan-senpai and Otoha-senpai at a later date.

It would be a sissy act to drag out the results of victory or defeat for a prolonged time.

That’s why, I ought to deliver them their due punishment as soon as possible.

Well, through the battle this time, I get the feeling that the unity of the club has strengthened in many ways.

Maybe it could be said to be a not so bad result.

「So yummy~. What is this, so yummy~?」

When I shift my attention back to everyone in the dining hall again, I notice that somehow there is something strange mixed in.

At the table where the sweets are laid out, a darkish Fluffy-san is lording it over.

With a cream puff in the right hand and an éclair in the left, she’s heartily gobbling them up, which are arranged on a silver tray.

The place should more or less have been reserved, but it seems that an outsider has gotten in from somewhere.

「It’s so yummy~. I’ve never eaten such a tasty sweets~.」

「I see. The exit is over here.」

Dangling the Kigurumi Doggy-san by the nape of the neck, I lead her out of the dining hall.

「No! I wanna eat more~. Sweets~, sweets~…」

The flailing about Doggy-san is super resisting.

「Err, Touma-kun. Is that person, by chance your acquaintance?」

「Ah. You are.」

It’s dubious whether I can call her my acquaintance, but Kurumi-senpai points at the Doggy-san.

「Fufufu. Looks like you finally realized it. 『Gluttony』 serving as the club president of『Black Honey』, Asura-chan, that’s me…. What are you doing? How terrible of you to kick me out. Sweets~.」

「Is she your friend, Kurumi-senpai?」

「Ah, umm, that’s not it. I’ve only seen her at the venue, but… Don’t you think that the door is going to get torn apart?」

I hope she could stop scraping it with her Kigurumi claws.

When I let her in as I have no other choice, she sinks her teeth into the table where the sweets are piled up before anything else.

「So yummy~, so yummy~.」

She’s a completely suspicious person, but she looks so overly happy as she eats the sweets, so everyone’s gaze on her is warm.

「Err, Touma-kun. 『Black Honey』 is an A-ranked club, right? Where did you get acquainted with the president of that club?」

「I’m unsure if I can call her my acquaintance, though.」

Even I have no idea how to answer Rinko-senpai’s question.

What kind of existence this selfish Doggy-san is, the display of Interface is as expected unreadable.

「… Given that you can’t scan her, Touma-kun, that means she’s superior in rank, I suppose.」

「Rather than me being superior in rank (level), it’s more that there’s a difference in the steps reached. That matter is important, okay.」

With her mouth covered with cream, Doggy-san sits on the table and crosses her legs.

「Though, I gotta see you in another light. To be able to make such tasty food, the classes of Craftsman branching are not ones to be looked down upon, huh. Especially the chef, with Touma-kun over there, I’m gonna scout you to our club. Ah, what are you doing? Put me down. I’m more amazing than you, you know.」

「Even if you are superior in level, rank, step or whatever, that’s not reason enough to allow you acting so selfishly.」

It is said that where might is master, justice is servant, but us humans have principles that we have to keep.

As I make Doggy-san, who has been gnawing away at the sweets in a pompous manner, dangle, she suddenly becomes quiet.

「Ah, sheesh, she’s eaten all of it. It included everyone’s share too, so you shouldn’t hog it all to yourself. Good grief.」

「I’m going, to fetch, the ones, in the fridge.」

「Ah, Melon. While you’re at it, heat up the skillet. If she keeps on eating cold food only, her stomach will get cold, after all.」

I hold out the Gluttony Doggy-san to Kurumi-senpai and Meiron-senpai, who in a sense are the related parties.

「… Um, can I eat?」

「What else can we do? If you look that happy as you eat, we can’t bring ourselves to say no, can we?」

「… Are you, not scared of me?」

Kurumi-senpai, turning her face away with a tsun feeling to it, tilts her head.

「I’m not particularly scared of you, though, I don’t know why you’re wearing a costume. Err, I do think it’s cute, though.」

As I put the Doggy-san, who remains quiet, down on the chair, Kurumi-senpai places the whole roasted chicken, which was what I aimed for, in front of her.

By the way, it seems that Miharu and Natsumi were also aiming for it, as they’re making a face that screams: ahhh.

「Melon will bring over the sweets, but if you’re hungry, you have to also eat something that will plentifully fill your stomach, okay.」

「Yes. Wow, it smells so good…. There’s rice stuffed inside, so yummy~.」

Kurumi-senpai, she’s too good at taking care of others.

「Amazing, it’s amazingly tasty. I’ve never eaten anything like this. How nice, how nice. Ah, I’m moving into this dorm too!」

Well, I hadn’t seen such a conspicuous Doggy-san before, so I figured she couldn’t be a girl of Asagi-sou.

「Nom nom… Well, I’m from Qilin-sou, after all. The stew is also yummy~.」

「Ah, Qilin-sou is the best high end dorm, I suppose….」

「Asura-chan, so amazing.」

「But if it means I can eat something this tasty, I’m gonna be a girl of this dorm too!」

No, it’s not like the usual meals are made by Kurumi-senpai or Meiron-senpai, though.

「Well, so I’m saying, but…. Otoha?」

「Nnnnu~… Application to move in? No can do~.」

Otoha-senpai, who is plopped down on the table and all dazed, is nicely dead drunk.

「Huh, just why?!」

「I mean, the rooms are already fully occupied, after all. Somehow, the girls who had filed an application to move out have all withdrawn their applications and all. What can I say, in addition to stylish and tasty relaxation, there’s also a new open-air bath. The worn out rooms too, Mikan-chan and the others would renovate them for a reasonable price, so of course, the ones leaving would be the stupid ones, they said. But you know, I’ve also been to the best of my ability all the time as the dorm leader. And yet….」

Otoha-senpai, who for some reason starts to pester the PET bottle, is left alone.

「Eeh, no way…. Nom nom.」

With her tail hanging, she’s heartily stuffing her cheeks with a bucket bread with salmon and caprese on it.

The Senpais who are bringing over plates with food piled on them at bulks are probably akin to feeding the Doggy, who most likely is abandoned.

I have to secure my share of food before she eats it all up.

「Well, even if you don’t take the trouble of moving in here, can’t you just come to play? After returning from the dungeon, our club usually has a feast… Hmm, sometimes, there are also times when we get a lot of ingredients from the hunt, after all.」

「I can come to play?」

How should I put it, the treatment is like that of a mascot idol, one that is of a different kind from Mikan-senpai.

In the end, carrying a pile of eclairs, the share for tomorrow’s intra dorm free offered sweets, wrapped in a furoshiki on her shoulder, Doggy-san goes home in a good mood.

「… Err, in the end, what was it all about, I wonder?」

「I think she came only to have a meal.」

「Ahaha. She must have been crazy hungry, huh.」

Since most of the feast has ended up getting eaten up, Kurumi-senpai seems to be making sandwiches and stuff for us, even as she says geez.

Kurumi-senpai really is a goddess.

Fortunately, she didn’t lay her hand on Rinko-senpai’s bubbly grape juice, so it’s time for a do-over toast.

「… Wha, what, what the heck was that?」

「… Haa. Holy crap, my hands are all shaky.」

Perhaps having a drunken frenzy, the faces of Seiichi and Mai, who have shrunk back to a corner, are white as a sheet.

I should ask Shizuka, who is tilting her head in a cute way, to do her magic on them.

「That was no joke dude. I thought I was going to get eaten….」