Unconsciously, the whole morning passed.
At noon, the resident little chef, Shiina Mahiru, made lunch. As expected of her, the food was exquisite, filling the entire room with an irresistible aroma.
Hozuki Nozomi wanted nothing more than to continue holding her in his arms, feeling the warmth of her presence, but she shyly refused, pushing him away with a flushed face.
There was another reason as well.
Her hands—and those delicate, lovely feet—were sore. She had no strength left. If she stayed in his embrace any longer, she might melt completely. Her heartbeat was already betraying her composure, and she really didn't dare to indulge him too much.
If Nozomi felt uncomfortable, she would undoubtedly feel guilty. And yet, she wasn't ready to completely surrender herself to him. Not yet. Not until she had sorted out all the emotions swirling inside her.
There was no need to rush.
They both lived in Sakurasou. There would be plenty of chances to be together. Plenty of moments just like this. As long as they understood each other's feelings, that was enough for now.
Nozomi finally had a moment to check the task rewards from his Game Life System.
—Right, he almost forgot.
The system had given him a quest when he saved Mahiru from those five thugs. Now that the mission was complete, there had to be a reward waiting for him.
[Ding! Shiina Mahiru's crisis quest has been completed. Rewards have been issued.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Player! You have acquired a new skill: Meow Star.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Player! You have received a fixed monetary reward: 1,000,000 yen.]
Nozomi blinked in confusion.
"Meow Star?"
What the hell was that supposed to be?
If it had been something like Cat King, he might've had some idea, but Meow Star? What was he, some kind of cosmic feline?
Thankfully, the system provided an explanation.
[Meow Star: The user becomes a natural animal communicator and can converse with animals without barriers. The skill activates when the player meows. Skill effects can be toggled on and off at will.]
"...Huh."
Well, it wasn't exactly useless.
If nothing else, it would make him an excellent veterinarian.
Still, the fact that he had to meow to activate it was a little embarrassing. If anyone caught him doing that, he might just die on the spot.
Even so, a skill was a skill.
Curious, Nozomi decided to test it out. He called over the stray cats that he often took care of around Sakurasou and let out a soft "meow."
[Ding! Meow Star skill activated.]
Immediately, a flood of feline chatter filled his mind.
"Meow, why is the fragrant poop scooper calling us again? Is there dried fish?"
"Meow, is he going to make us act cute to charm the females?"
"Meow, I bet there's food! There better be food!"
"Meow! Act cute and demand dried fish!"
Nozomi smirked.
He could understand them. Not just their body language or tone, but their actual words. This was… actually pretty damn cool.
Still, he had a better idea.
"Remember that pretty girl from last time?" he whispered to the cats. "If you ever see her again, go up to her and act as cute as possible. Make sure she follows you to me. If you pull it off, I'll give you a mountain of dried fish."
"Meow! Long live the poop scooper!"
"Meow! Wait… why does the poop scooper speak cat?"
"Meow! Is the poop scooper actually a cat?!"
Several of the cats stared at Nozomi with wide, suspicious eyes. He grinned, waving them off.
"Go play. I'll feed you later tonight."
With that, he turned off the skill.
Honestly, that was more fun than he expected.
Meanwhile, in a luxurious apartment across town, Yukinoshita Yukino—who had been watching a cat video while hugging a panda plushie—suddenly sneezed.
She had no idea that somewhere, someone was scheming.
=====================
That afternoon, Sayu Ogiwara and Misaki Kamiigusa returned, their arms full of shopping bags.
Sayu's spending money, of course, had come from Nozomi.
How could he expect a girl to go shopping without giving her enough cash?
So, like the generous boyfriend he was, he handed her 20,000 yen and let her enjoy herself.
Sayu, in turn, took the money with a quiet determination. She wasn't just some accessory in Nozomi's life. She wanted to stand on her own, build something for herself, and one day, make money for him in return.
"You're back."
Shiina Mahiru greeted them, but her voice was slightly strained. She was still thinking about everything that had happened that morning. Just remembering Nozomi's warmth, his touch, made her cheeks flush.
"Yes! And I brought you a gift!"
Sayu grinned and handed Mahiru a bag.
"Thank you, I'll make sure to get something for you next time," Mahiru said politely.
Sayu waved her off. "Oh, don't worry about it. Just promise me one thing."
"Eh?"
"We're gonna wear these for Nozomi later."
Mahiru's face exploded into a deep red. "W-Wha—?!"
"What, don't tell me you two didn't do anything while we were gone." Sayu leaned in close, her mischievous smile widening. "So? How far did you get?"
Mahiru hesitated for a moment before whispering a single word.
"...Just kissed."
Sayu's jaw dropped. "That's it?!"
Mahiru nodded shyly.
"Oh, come on! Are you seriously telling me you're just gonna stand by and let me and Misaki-senpai handle all of Nozomi's 'needs'?"
Mahiru's whole body stiffened. She knew what Sayu was trying to do—trying to rope her in, trying to get her to share the responsibility of satisfying Nozomi.
But… she was still so embarrassed.
"I… I'm scared," she admitted. "He's… too intense."
Sayu rolled her eyes. "You'll get used to it. But if you hesitate too much, don't come crying to me when Nozomi focuses all his 'attention' on me and Misaki-senpai."
"I-I won't be jealous!" Mahiru huffed.
But her lips unconsciously formed a small pout.
Meanwhile, Nozomi welcomed Misaki back with a big hug, pulling her close with ease.
Naturally, it was just his way of expressing affection.
And Misaki, being Misaki, grinned ear to ear.
"Nozomi, Sayu also brought you a gift." She said mysteriously.
"Oh? What is it? Let me see!"
"Hehe, nope! You'll find out tonight."
"Oh? Tonight?" Nozomi's eyes gleamed with anticipation. Was this some kind of special reward?
"Now I'm really looking forward to it!"
"Ah, seems like you're quite free, huh?" A familiar, lazy voice interrupted them as Chihiro-Sensei yawned, stepping up from the first floor.
"Hehe, Chihiro-Sensei, there's something for you too!" Misaki Kamiigusa announced cheerfully.
Chihiro rolled her eyes. "I don't expect much, but hey, who doesn't love free stuff?"
"Don't worry, don't worry! I guarantee this one's perfect for you!" Misaki pounded her chest in confidence.
Chihiro simply scratched her head before turning to Nozomi. "Oi, Nozomi, I need a favor."
"Sure, I've got time. What do you need, Chihiro-Sensei?" Nozomi responded with a grin.
She handed him a photograph. "Go pick someone up for me. A relative's kid. She's arriving at the airport around 7 PM."
"Let me guess… She's moving into Sakurasou, isn't she?" Nozomi sighed, already anticipating the answer.
His gaze dropped to the photo in his hand. As soon as he saw it, his expression shifted.
"Wait… this girl… Isn't she your genius painter cousin?!"
Chihiro gave him a suspicious glance. "Huh? How do you know about Mashiro?"
"You mentioned her before. When you were drunk, you went on and on about how you also have Shiina family genes but somehow missed out on the artistic talent…"
"AHHHHHH! STOP! Not another word!" Chihiro lunged at him, covering his mouth.
Some things were fine for him to know… but he didn't need to say them out loud!
And anyway, it wasn't jealousy.
Not really.
Just a mild complaint.
It's not like she was envious of her cousin's ridiculous talent or anything.
After all, what kind of life is that? Someone who only cares about painting and doesn't even understand the simple joys of beer? No, thank you!
"Alright, alright, I get it!" Nozomi chuckled, prying her hands off. "I'll head out and pick her up."
"You better! If she gets lost, I'll be the one dealing with the fallout, and you'll regret it!" Chihiro huffed, crossing her arms.
"Got it, got it." Nozomi waved a hand before turning to the others. "Mahiru, Sayu, Misaki-senpai—I'll be out for a while."
"Take care!" Mahiru responded softly.
As soon as Nozomi left, Sayu turned to Mahiru with a mischievous grin.
"Nee, nee, he called you by your name just now~"
Mahiru's cheeks flushed instantly, and she lowered her head, flustered. "Uhh…"
"Aww, don't be shy! Here, let's try on the outfits. They're not weird or anything! Just cute little cat costumes!"
"O-okay…" Mahiru nodded hesitantly before following Sayu to the room.
Meanwhile, Misaki had already grabbed the drowsy and disinterested Chihiro.
"Oi, what the—?! Misaki, what are you doing?!"
"Shh, shh, it's fine! Just wear it!"
"Wear what—hey, stop pulling at my clothes! Wait—NOOO!"
Misaki ignored her protests and continued dressing her up in the cute uniform-style cat costume.
Mahiru, meanwhile, found herself deep in thought.
Chihiro's cousin… wasn't that Shiina Mashiro?
A genius painter with an eerily similar name to hers…
She remembered hearing that Mashiro was exceptionally cute.
Hozuki Nozomi…
That guy wouldn't do anything weird to her, would he…?