A Case in Which My House Is a Gathering Place for Girls - Chapter 37: The Beginning of the Battle

If it were a silly story, I would go in with a slight hesitation, but not this time. I couldn’t help but stop opening the door.

“How did she even start a company when her parents aren’t rich?”

“Maybe she’s doing sugar daddy stuff behind the scenes? With that face and body, she can take rich old men as much as she wants.”

It feels like my head is boiling and my eyes are turning red. Kanna is not the kind of person to do such a thing. When I tried to open the door to clear this misunderstanding as soon as possible, I was grabbed by the sleeve from behind.

“Wait. What are you going to do in the classroom, Itsuki?”

“Calm down, Itsuki. You can’t barge in with that face. It’s way too scary.”

I looked back and I found Asakura and Sasazuki. Both of them were breathing heavily and their expressions were grim.

“Why are you two here?”

“That’s because Itsuki didn’t come to the club room for a long time. But I’m glad we made it in time. I was able to prevent the incident from happening.”

“It would have been disastrous if we had allowed Itsuki to enter. Asakura-san, good job.”

Sasazuki patted Asakura with a sigh of relief. Their strange exchange left me confused.

“Itsuki, I understand you want to protect your childhood friend, but be patient here. Even if you leave now, it will only go up in flames and it’ll only make things worse.”

“Asakura is right. You have to be patient. You should take a look in the mirror and see what kind of face you’re making right now. You look pretty scary.”

As she spoke, Sasazuki snapped a picture of me on her smartphone and showed it to me. My face in the image was indeed stiff with rage.

“You look like a man who has decided to take revenge on the criminal who killed your loved one. If this were a film, it’d be a perfect take. But you shouldn’t be directing that expression at your classmates.”

“That’s mostly right, but one way or another was unnecessary, Mika.”

Asakura and I both let out wry laughs at Sasazuki’s blunt distinction between friends and everyone else. Even so, calling me that kind of man was a bit much. Though, I had to admit, I’d completely lost myself in anger.

“Anyway, let’s head back for today. First of all, we need to figure out a way to put out the fire. Clearing up the misunderstanding comes after that.”

“It’s important to calm down. If you don’t calm down, you won’t be able to come up with a plan.”

“…That’s right. Thank you, both of you.”

I was able to calm down as I was biting my lips at my helplessness. But thanks to my reliable friends, I managed to settle down.

“Okay! Now that we’ve got it together, let’s go home. They say you can’t fight if you’re hungry, and you’ve got to get ready first.”

“What do you want to eat, Itsuki? I’ll make you something you want to eat tonight.”

“Wait a minute. I’ll make it once in a while. I’m sorry to leave it to Mika alone.”

“No, Asakura is prohibited from standing in the kitchen. I and Itsuki will only have more work to do.”

Asakura pretends to be really depressed. She looked at me as if for cover fire, but I shook my head.

“I’m sorry, Asakura. What Sasazuki is saying is completely correct.”

Not only Asakura but also Kanna are prohibited in the kitchen. It’s not that neither of them can cook. But for some reason, they were incapable of following a recipe properly, as if they were cursed.

“It will be fine! I’ll make it today! I won’t mess anything up like I always do!”

“You say that, but I still haven’t forgiven you for making a dish that looked like a Lovecraftian horror in a pot.”

Asakura suppresses her chest by coughing up blood at Sasazuki’s harsh words. Just what kind of monstrosity had she cooked? For the sake of the genius sprinter’s reputation, I would leave that unanswered.