Chapter 165

R̃êã​d̃ ̃​òn̂ ́K̂âẗR̃êád̃ïn̈g̈Ĉãf̃ẽ

A Meeting with a Guest. (3)

“…Um, I have a question.”
“Hm? What is it? Feel free to ask~”

The delicious, unmistakable scent of kimchi stew filled the air, but Miko-san was standing right in front of me.
In other words, she wasn’t the one cooking.
So then… um…

“Weren’t you the one who said you’d be making the stew?”
“Ahh, well—don’t things taste better when made by someone who’s really good at it?”
“But still…”

Didn’t she say Rinco-san had pulled an all-nighter and was resting?
I had just started thinking Rinco-san seemed surprisingly normal despite being close to Inari, but I was beginning to rethink that.
Even if they were twins, how could she make someone who stayed up all night cook?
Just imagining myself asking Koyuki to make kimchi stew after she’d been awake all night made me feel like a terrible person, and I shook my head.

“It’s fine~ Rinco probably prefers it this way. If I told her I made it for the guest, she’d totally blow up, like, ‘You served that terrible food to a guest?!’”
“…Is that so?”
“Totally. And besides, you know, what’s-it—twins are basically treated like the same person anyway, right? So food Rinco made is basically food I made!”

Okay, yes, I get that… but you’re clearly only using that logic when it’s convenient for you!
I thought about saying something, but it didn’t feel right to nitpick someone I’d just met, so I let it go.
There are all kinds of people in the world, after all. Yeah.

“It’s ready.”
“Are you sure you’re okay, Rinco-san?”
“I’m used to all-nighters, so I’m fine. A person can function just fine on three hours of sleep a day.”
“…Ahaha.”

Both Miko-san and Rinco-san seemed just a bit outside the realm of normalcy.
Turning my head with an awkward laugh, I saw a familiar pot—and inside, a familiar dish.
It was a textbook-perfect kimchi stew.
Packed full of meat, too—it looked amazing.

“Wow…!”
“Right? Pretty impressive, huh? Looks tasty, doesn’t it?”
“…Can you not act all proud when you didn’t even make it?”
“Augh!?”

With no hesitation, Rinco-san brought her fist down on Miko-san’s head.
Tears welled up in Miko-san’s eyes as she clutched her head after the full-force punch.
Whoa, she really hit her… If I had taken that punch, I think my skull would’ve split in half.

“Toya, how about you? You okay with spicy food?”
“Hmm? Of course.”
“And you, Inari?”
“I… I’m fine too.”

Toya looked calm, but Inari didn’t look so good.
Could it be that she wasn’t good with spicy food?
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what counted as spicy anymore.
Well, actually—my body had changed, and I hadn’t really eaten spicy food since, so maybe I really didn’t know yet.

“If you force yourself to eat spicy food, it’ll make you pass out.”
“I-I said I’m fine, okay?”
“Oh~ is that so? Then you can eat a lot, right?”
“Can you not say unnecessary things, Toya?!”

So she is bad with spicy food, huh, Inari.
In this setting, my Korean blood gave me a clear advantage.
Physically, I might be the weakest here, but the current me was far more resilient than the me right after I changed bodies.
I just needed to be careful not to get overwhelmed by the spice after so long without it.

“Anyway, Nacchan, you okay? What if you start hiccupping after eating something spicy?”
“…I’ll be fine. I can do this.”
“Just saying you can doesn’t make it true!”
“If I’ve decided I’m going to eat it, then I’m eating it. That’s my creed, Inari.”

I said it with dramatic flair, but really, it just meant I really wanted to eat kimchi stew and didn’t want anyone to stop me.

And so, the five of us sat around the table and took a moment to express gratitude for the meal.
Come to think of it, even though Rinco-san had pulled an all-nighter and cooked, she wasn’t going back to bed afterward.
Her willpower was seriously impressive—I truly admired her.

“Thank you for the food.”
“Let’s dig in~♪”

Scooping up a big spoonful of kimchi stew, I focused intently on the dish.
…Is this really okay to eat?
It wasn’t that I doubted Rinco-san’s cooking skills—I just wasn’t confident in myself.
What if the level of spice I remembered was different from what this body could handle now?

“…”
Not eating it wasn’t an option.
All food exists to be eaten, after all.

“…Nom.”

To be honest, I didn’t take that first bite without some anxiety.
What if I started coughing? What if I hiccupped?
Even a minor reaction could be disastrous for me now, so I was understandably tense as I brought the spoon to my mouth.

“How is it? Tasty? I made it while half-asleep, so it might be a little underwhelming for a Korean like you—”
“It’s delicious!!”
“Glad to hear that, Ichinose-chan.”

But all my worries were unfounded—Rinco-san’s kimchi stew was perfect for my taste.
How was it this good?! Was Rinco-san secretly Korean or something?!
It was so authentic, I couldn’t help but wonder.
Miko-san wasn’t lying when she said they often had kimchi stew.

Spicy broth packed with meat—plus the rice was fluffy and cooked just right!

“Wow, she’s eating a lot for someone so small~ Don’t you think it’s adorable?”
“It really is.”
“Hngh… huu… haaa…”
“It’s even funnier how someone else here can’t handle it. Pffft!”

As the two praised my appetite, I couldn’t help but feel a bit bashful.
Thankfully, the attention soon shifted to Inari, or I might have died of embarrassment.
But seriously, Inari really couldn’t handle spice.
She was already tearing up after just a few bites—it was kind of pitiful.

“I told you, you don’t have to eat it if you can’t handle it…”
“I-I’m eating it, okay… Haa… You know, like—haa—when you like something but aren’t good at it…”

That was Inari’s deal.
She loved spicy food but just couldn’t handle it well.
Every time she tried, she ended up eating only a little and feeling frustrated.
Honestly, if you can’t take the heat, most people would just avoid it—but Inari was steadily working her way through the stew, slow as she was.

Poor thing. Loving something but not being able to fully enjoy it must be rough.
Or maybe, I thought, Inari’s the one who enjoys it the most.
She reacts so strongly to even mild spice, it might feel like she’s eating something super intense.

Anyway—Rinco-san’s kimchi stew was phenomenal.
Sure, maybe part of it was that I hadn’t had it in a while, but it still hit every note perfectly.

“…Thank you for the meal.”
“Th-thank yuh vewy muh…”
“Thanks for the food!”

Seriously, it had been such a great day.
Although… wouldn’t it be perfect if we had iced Americanos for dessert?
That would be so Korean. Seriously.

—

[Today’s Miko-chi Stream~]
[(A clip of Miko-chi talking about eating kimchi stew with a cute girl from Korea.MVI)]
She was surprisingly good at handling spicy food, which really shocked me wwww
Apparently, the others were chugging water, but she barely drank any.

↳ [She didn’t say who it was, right?]
↳ [↳ Probably didn’t mention it because she’s not someone in the industry.]
↳ [She hesitated when someone asked if the girl was cuter than Kuro-chan—it was hilarious wwww]
↳ [↳ But if she hesitated… just how cute was this girl…?]
↳ [↳ Must be cuter than we can even imagine.]
↳ [By the way, does anyone know why Miko-chi is taking a break soon?]
↳ [↳ It’s not her usual kind of break either.]
↳ [↳ Isn’t the break on the same day as Toya’s live concert?]
↳ [↳ No way—Miko-chi?! ww]
↳ [↳ I can’t believe Miko is a Totomo fan…]
↳ [↳ More likely she’s appearing as a guest than being a Totomo herself lmao]

[Nacchan seems super happy today.]
[(A clip of Nacchan saying she was overjoyed to have a kimchi stew full of Korean flavors.MVI)]
Come to think of it, didn’t Miko-chi also say she had kimchi stew with a cute girl?

↳ [Huh?]
↳ [Huh…?]
↳ [Eh?]
↳ [LOL]
↳ [A small girl from Korea, been in Japan a while, good with spicy food… wwww]
↳ [↳ That’s obviously Nacchan wwwwww]
↳ [↳ These people aren’t even trying to hide it LOL]
↳ [↳ But seriously, how did Nacchan end up eating kimchi stew with Miko-chi?]
↳ [↳ That combo makes no sense lol]
↳ [↳ Maybe Miko-chi is appearing at Toya’s live show ww]
↳ [Nacchan eating kimchi stew happily—what a sight.]
↳ [I want to eat spicy food with Nacchan too.]
↳ [↳ I want to wipe away Nacchan’s tears as she tears up from the spice…]
↳ [↳ More like Nacchan would be wiping your tears wwww]
↳ [↳ I’d be okay with that too.]
↳ [↳ LMAO]

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