Popular Spots Are Busier on Holidays
Popular restaurants are always busier on holidays—Ding!
Sairin (Lv. 500) — Favor Relationship → Blind Faith Relationship
—Crunch, crunch, crunch…!
—Ding! Ding! Ding!
Along with the crisp sounds, notifications chime. At the same time, a semi-transparent window materializes before my eyes. Her favorability is climbing in real time.
‘How far is this going to go? I haven’t even accepted the conditional empathy yet……?’
With every piece of sweet-and-sour pork that vanishes, Sairin’s favorability rises effortlessly. This isn’t some auto-hunt system; the favorability is being raised in real time. Until now, favorability only increased after finishing an entire dish, but the Gourmet Feeding skill at S-rank works differently. The proficiency I’ve built up is finally showing its true worth. Maybe it’s thanks to that random stat boost (favorability increase effect) that appeared earlier.
“Hah—! It’s been ages since I’ve had such crispy fried food…… The sweet-and-sour sauce pairs with it perfectly……!”
Sairin keeps exclaiming in delight. Yet her chopsticks never stop. She’s completely absorbed in eating, almost in a trance. Well, nobody really dislikes fried food.
Hmm. I’m not exactly feeling favorable myself. Not only did she pour sauce all over it, now she’s about to finish the entire sweet-and-sour pork by herself. If the system applied to me too, my favorability toward Sairin would have dropped past “neutral” all the way to “wary.”
‘My first carefully prepared meal is steadily shrinking?’
If she really finishes every last piece, I feel like my favorability toward her would hit rock bottom.
—Gulp, gulp…!
That aside, she’s eating incredibly well. At this rate, is she going to reach the worship stage? She must be hungry, but it’s not entirely a bad thing, right?
—Thump, thump, thump!
Enraptured by the sweet-and-sour pork, Sairin swallows a little too quickly and pounds her chest.
—Gulp, gulp…!
Then she immediately downs some water to clear her throat.
—Crunch! Crunch…!
And without pause, she resumes eating.
‘This is basically a mukbang at this point……’
While I’m lost in thought, half the sweet-and-sour pork has already disappeared. She has a much bigger appetite than I do after skipping meals all day. Well, her true form is a dragon, so of course she’d eat more than me. But is she really planning to finish it all……?
I wanted to tell her to stop, but the favorability stat made me hesitate. It was rising on its own anyway—I didn’t want to miss such a golden opportunity.
‘An idle auto-favorability game actually exists……?’
There’s no way I’m passing up such an easy favorability boost. I can just grab a quick bite later and have a proper dinner at the restaurant.
“……”
Just as I’m thinking that and shaking my head, her busy chopsticks suddenly freeze. At the same moment, a hush falls over the lounge. The constantly ringing notifications stop, and even the crisp sounds that had been echoing with every bite of Sairin’s jaw cease.
“Hm? Miss?”
“Oh dear…? S-s-sorry……! I only meant to have a taste, but before I knew it……!”
—Clack……!
Sairin hurriedly sets her chopsticks down. She seems to have finally come back to her senses. She whips her head around, breaking into a cold sweat, and fans herself with her hand while deliberately looking away as if none of this is her fault. After all, even she must feel embarrassed about demolishing more than half of the large sweet-and-sour pork in such a short time. No wonder her cheeks are flushed—an unusual sight for her.
“Miss? I’m perfectly fine. Please don’t hold back and eat some more.”
“I-I’m full now……! Ahem……!”
“Is that so? I really don’t mind……”
I mean it. I’m fine even if she finishes it all. At first I felt bad about the sweet-and-sour pork going to waste, but my thoughts have changed. Since she already went ahead and poured the sauce on, I might as well let her finish it cleanly. Leaving leftovers feels wrong in its own way—part disappointment, part something else. If she ate the rest too, Sairin’s favorability might have reached the worship stage.
“No! I’m really full! How could I possibly eat all of that?! I’m not some dragon who only exists to devour food……!”
Huh? She isn’t? She was vacuuming it up like one earlier.
“…W-well, this was supposed to be your meal, wasn’t it? I ate far too much. I’m truly sorry.”
At least she knows how to apologize. She’s a dragon with a conscience. Well, that’s fine. It just means my cooking was that delicious, so I’ll accept it.
—Slide……!
Sairin pushes the remaining sweet-and-sour pork toward me. A clear declaration that she won’t eat any more. Then she lowers her head deeply. She genuinely seems to feel sorry. But simply saying sorry isn’t enough.
“Miss? In that case, may I ask you for one favor?”
“S-suddenly? I was the one who was supposed to ask a favor……”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. I can’t possibly be so shameless. What is it you need?”
“Ah, it’s nothing major. You may have heard already, but this lounge is now open to young ladies of all grades.”
“W-what did you say……?! Is that true? This is the first I’ve heard of it!”
“Indeed. The empathy instructor informed me earlier. Starting tomorrow, all grades will be allowed to use it.”
“S-so that’s why it suddenly got so much bigger……”
“Anyway, to make up for the shortage of hands, we need two students on duty from each grade. Would you be willing to team up with Miss Raylin and help out?”
My request is simple. In fact, it’s more of a suggestion than a request. If Sairin refuses, that’s the end of it.
“You want me to pair up with that tomboy right now?”
“Yes. From what I understand, the two of you are sisters. If close siblings form a team—”
“Don’t be ridiculous! You want me to team up with a fool who can’t even protect her own little brother? I refuse!”
“…Pardon?”
Sairin suddenly shouts. It’s a far cry from her usual calm demeanor—far more agitated than when she was devouring the sweet-and-sour pork earlier.
“I’ve never had such an irresponsible little sister. I’d appreciate it if you kept that in mind.”
“Ah… Is that so? My apologies. I misspoke.”
Damn, that’s not how I meant it to go. I was hoping to raise favorability by having her on duty, but were she and Raylin really on such bad terms? I suddenly recall the story Raylin once told me—about their youngest brother, Shaolin. It seems Sairin still holds a grudge against Raylin for failing to save him from the monsters and returning alone.
“Still…… Considering the meal and sincerity you just showed me, I’ll help you out just this once. I won’t do it again as a permanent team.”
“Oh—! You really mean it?”
“Yes. Just this once.”
“Even once is fine with me.”
“Good. But don’t misunderstand.”
“Pardon? Misunderstand what?”
“Hmph……! It’s not because I’m particularly concerned about you who resembles Shaolin, nor because Raylin’s clumsy personality bothers me……! So don’t you dare misunderstand, got it?”
“…Ah, yes. Of course.”
Sairin stands with her arms crossed, earnestly warning me. ‘What’s this? Is the favorability effect already showing?’ I hadn’t noticed it before, but now her inner thoughts are crystal clear. It must be thanks to the increased favorability. Strong denial is strong affirmation. She pretends otherwise, but she’s clearly the eldest sister type who worries about her siblings more than anyone and quietly looks after those around her.
‘Anyway, this worked out. The third-year duty pair is settled, so later during roll call I can assign the rest by grade……’
—Crash!
Bang!
Just as I’m mentally arranging the duty teams and finally lifting my chopsticks, it happens. Huh? Who is it this time? Who kicks the door open without even knocking? Even the young ladies have basic manners.
*
My name is Yugo. A beastkin with wolf blood running through my veins, and a third-year staff member in the academy’s security department.
“Heh! Heh……!”
I’m furious right now. About a week ago, that little miss almost broke my neck with her power. I barely managed to return to work, and what do they do? They tell me to handle all the landscaping for the newly built lounge since I’ve had plenty of rest. Landscaping is originally the management department’s job—something those rabbit ears are specialized in. But they were all dragged into the lounge construction for two days, so there’s no manpower left.
“Damn it……! Me, with the proud blood of a wolf flowing through my veins! Me, a carnivorous beastkin! Did they think I came here just to arrange flowers or something—?!”
There’s no way I can do that kind of work! My wolf pride won’t allow it. I’m dumping all of this on that Breeder guy!
‘Sniff, sniff—! That rich oily smell! I knew it—he’s in the lounge!’
—Crash!
Bang!
I channel all my pent-up anger into my foot and violently kick open the lounge door. Immediately, I see the human servant’s face inside. That mild-looking mug is perfect for dumping work on.
“Hey, Breeder! There’s something you need to take care of right now!”
“……Shh!”
“Huh?”
Breeder meets my eyes and raises a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet. Then he glances sideways at the seat right in front of him. Sitting there is a woman with blue hair—
“Huh? W-wait, is that another young lady……?”
“Yes. That’s correct. Do you have a problem with it?”
“E-eek—?!”
At those words, the blue-haired young lady turns her head.
“By the way, who are you supposed to be? From the looks of it, you’re a security department staff member. Don’t beastkin even learn basic etiquette? Bursting in without knocking—tsk……!”
She narrows her eyes and glares at me sharply.
‘No, more importantly, what the hell is that guy’s identity?’
How does he keep attracting young ladies around him every single time? And he’s just a human……?!