The Kansai Villain’s Rebirth: I Accidentally Ended Up With a Harem.

Kansai Guy, Declaring Okonomiyaki a Side Dish.

Saturday. Today we’re holding the second study session at my place.

I pretty much know the drill from last time, so once again I’ll be drilling knowledge straight into Shi-chan’s head. Occasionally I’ll ask Rinko-san for clarification when I get stuck. Cram hard today, let the brain rest tomorrow. Solid plan.

“Hot plate’s ready. Alright, let’s head out.”

Today I’m treating everyone to something properly Kansai. We’re hitting the supermarket first, so it’ll take a little time. Should be fine.

Of course they’re already there.

Obviously. I’ve given up at this point. We agreed to meet in front of the school, and all three of them are waiting like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Caring means you lose.

“Morniiing!”

“Dai-chan, chassu!”

“Good morning, Daiki-kun!”

“Morning, Tennouji-kun.”

We exchange quick greetings and head straight to the supermarket. And once again, Mio-chan’s super-power activates.

“…Hmm, this cabbage looks perfect! Next is pork… okay, this one! The marbling is beautiful!”

“As always, Mio turns into a different person the moment we step into a supermarket…”

“Thanks to her we always get the best stuff cheap, though…”

“Shi-chan! No snacks!”

And the final item she grabs… okonomiyaki flour.

“Wooow, okonomiyaki! I’ve been wanting to try this!”

“Sounds good. Your takoyaki was flawless, after all.”

“Real Kansai okonomiyaki!”

“Well, hot-plate style, but yeah.”

We also pick up squid, shrimp, and yakisoba noodles. This is turning into a luxurious modern-yaki. If I’m hosting, I might as well go all out. We grab all the little extras… done. Now we just go home and cook.

I start carrying the bags—then a hand reaches out.

I thought it was Shi-chan, but… it’s Rinko-san.

“T-Today I’ll carry them…”

“Roger that. Thank you kindly~”

“R-Right…”

Behind us, Shi-chan and Mio-chan are giggling like crazy. So this was the plan from the start.

Ah, she’s fidgeting with her hair. She’s not angry—she’s just embarrassed. Rinko-san is so adorable.

What “ice queen”? She’s overflowing with emotion, gentle, and cute as hell. When she’s chatting with Shi-chan and Mio-chan she’s always smiling and animated.

“Rin-chan, how is it?”

“M-Mio… I’d be happy if you took over…”

“No way♪”

“Shina…”

“Nope♪”

“Uuuu…”

All the way home, Rinko-san kept her head down, playing with her hair, face bright red. Too cute.

***

We finish prep quickly and start mixing the batter.

Mio-chan’s cabbage shredding skills are on another level—I could never copy that. Thanks to her, we have the perfect mountain of cabbage.

“That’s… an insane amount of cabbage.”

“Okonomiyaki lives and dies by the cabbage, y’know. Then tempura scraps, dried squid strips… squid and shrimp in… alright, time to cook!”

First we fry the yakisoba and pork. Once they’re nicely browned, I drizzle a little sauce on the noodles and let them cook a bit more. Push the noodles aside, spread the batter, lay the pork and noodles on top… and wait.

“Here we go!”

I flip the okonomiyaki—

“Ooooooh!”

“Dai-chan, amazing!”

“Beautifully done. Looks delicious.”

“Dai-chan! I wanna flip one too!”

“E-Eh!? Shi-chan, you should leave it to Daiki-kun!”

“I wanna tryyy!”

“W-Well, okay… but you gotta commit. Hesitate and you lose.”

“Alright… here I go— hyah!”

Mercilessly, the okonomiyaki falls apart.

“NOOOOOO!!”

“Shi-chan, look out—!”

“…Is this… salvageable…?”

“I-I can fix it! See, just gather it like this…”

“It’s a mess… Shina, you’re still eating that.”

“If you shape it right it’ll still cook fine.”

“Uuu…”

W-Well, these things happen. It all goes to the same place! We managed to patch it together somehow… oh, rice is done too.

“Rice is ready~”

“Eh!? Daiki-kun, rice with okonomiyaki?”

“Wait, I don’t think I can eat that much…”

“Huh? No way. Okonomiyaki goes with rice.”

“Isn’t okonomiyaki itself the main dish?”

“No no, it’s a side dish.”

“Ehhh!? Okonomiyaki alone is plenty!”

“There’s such a thing as the okonomiyaki set meal—rice and miso soup included.”

“Miso soup might be nice, but… I can’t eat that much. And it’s not a side dish!”

…What? Another cultural difference? Okonomiyaki sets exist, don’t they? …They don’t here? Fine, I’ll turn the rice into fried rice for dinner.

Flip a few more times—done. Kansai-approved okonomiyaki, complete!

“Wooow, looks so good~!”

“Okay—sauce, mayo, whoa, bonito flakes and aonori! Amazing!”

“Itadakimasu… I don’t know if I can finish this.”

“You can leave some. I’ll use it for dinner.”

“So it really is a side dish…”

The okonomiyaki was a huge hit. The only downside was having to worry about aonori stuck in our teeth afterward.

“I’m stuffed~! Dai-chan, make it again!”

“How about every time you guys stay over?”

“Yay!”

“I-I’d like it too when I stay over, please!”

“Gotcha. Glad it was such a success.”

“’Cause it was so good…”

We finish the dishes, take a short break, and are about to start studying when I notice Rinko-san has gone unusually quiet.

“Rin-chan?”

“Shi-chan, shh…”

“Hm?”

Eyes closed… is she asleep?

“…suu… suu…”

“She’s out…”

I gently lay Rinko-san down so I don’t wake her. She stirs with a little “Nn…” but stays asleep—safe. I grab a blanket from the bedroom and drape it over her. If we let her sleep like that she’ll catch a cold.

“What a cute sleeping face…”

“Nihihi, adorable, right♪”

“Rin-chan must be exhausted.”

“She’s been wound tight with study sessions this whole week.”

Something’s been bothering me, actually. I feel like something’s going on with Rinko-san that she’s keeping from us. That might be why she’s sleep-deprived.

“Maybe Rin-chan feels safe enough at Daiki-kun’s place to let her guard down.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She would never show this side at a friend’s house… or even at Imamiya-kun’s. Rin-chan’s always so tense, you know?”

“She really does give that vibe… like she can’t ever show weakness.”

“I’ve never seen her look this peaceful. Hehe, Daiki-kun really does have some kind of healing power over us.”

“Hope so. I just wish she’d rely on us a little more.”

“Yeah… she barely shows us her weak side either…”

“Dai-chan… please take good care of Rin-chan.”

“Got it. I’ll try…”

“…suu…”

I gently brushed a strand of hair from the sleeping princess’s face.

***

“Nn… fuaa… ah…”

“Morning, Rinko-san. You were out cold.”

“Nn… Dai… kun? Morning… my… prince…?”

“Rin-chan, morning~ Still half-asleep?”

I could’ve sworn I just heard “prince”… I’ll pretend I didn’t.

“…!!!? Wait, what!? No way! I fell asleep…? You’re kidding! What time is it—three!? I slept for over two hours!? Oh no, I’m so, so sorry! You should’ve woken me!”

“Nah, you looked like you were sleeping so peacefully…”

“Y-You saw my sleeping face!? Wait—! T-This is…!”

“My blanket.”

She yanked it over her head like a cocoon, then peeked out with just her eyes, staring at me.

What is this creature? She’s too cute for this world.

“Ahaha! Rin-chan is precious!”

“Fufufu, your sleeping face was adorable♪”

“Sh-Shut up…”

“It really was cute.”

“Sh-Shuuut uuuup! Idiot! I’m ignoring you!”

Teasing her too much would be mean, but getting to see this version of Rinko-san made my whole day.

After that she taught seriously, but Shi-chan and Mio-chan kept grinning the entire time, and Rinko-san’s troubled little frowns were just as adorable.