"Eri...na?"
A soft yet strange sound escaped Erina's lips as she suddenly took Hachiman's finger into her mouth.
Hachiman, stunned by the sensation, felt his finger enter a warm, moist space, and could distinctly sense a nimble little tongue gently licking the remnants of sauce clinging to his finger.
Hiss…
So this is the legendary "God Tongue's" finesse.
As she diligently cleaned the sauce from his finger, Erina trembled slightly, her delicate hand rising to hold his wrist.
The soft, rhythmic sounds of "tsk, tsk" filled the air, accompanied by the intoxicating flush on her face. At that moment, the girl exuded an indescribable allure that left Hachiman momentarily dazed.
On instinct, his finger twitched slightly, eliciting a gentle response from her tongue, the two dancing in an almost unintentional yet intimate interplay.
"Mmm..."
Feeling the subtle movement within her mouth, Erina let out a faint whimper but didn't stop her actions. Instead, she focused entirely on her task, her cheeks faintly tinged with embarrassment.
After a short while, with a soft "pop," Erina released his finger from her mouth. A thin, shimmering strand of moisture lingered momentarily between them before vanishing.
She swallowed quickly, trying to compose herself, then shyly spoke, her voice soft.
"T-This should be fine now, right?"
Hachiman glanced at his now impeccably clean finger, devoid of any trace of sauce, its surface glistening slightly under the light.
He nodded reflexively. "Y-Yeah, it's fine."
Erina exhaled softly, the tension in her expression easing. "Then, let's get back to cooking, shall we?"
Erina nodded nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened, and turned toward the kitchen counter.
However, the moment she turned away, her face flushed a deep crimson, the color spreading even to her petite earlobes.
D-Did I really just do something like that?
Was that really me just now?
Ahhh, this is so embarrassing!
No, no, I can't keep thinking about it. There's cooking to be done. Cooking!
As the flames of the stovetop reignited with a crisp "whoosh," it felt as though the lingering intimacy from earlier had also been consumed by the heat, leaving only the task at hand to occupy her mind.
...
After finishing with the cooking, the two of them left the kitchen.
Since he was already here, Hachiman was definitely going to spend the night.
However, when he appeared at the dinner table, Alice immediately jumped up in excitement, completely disregarding Erina's murderous glare, and wrapped her arms around Hachiman's.
Naturally, the two sisters fell into their usual quarrel.
"Alice, let go of him!"
"No, Erina, you're just too cunning. Hachiman-kun must have arrived a long time ago, and you've been hiding it from me! Since you've monopolized him for so long, the rest of the time is mine."
"Ahhh, don't even think about it! Let go of him now!"
"Nope."
Watching the two sisters argue, Nakiri Mana felt curious.
From her perspective, based on the relationship between Hachiman and her daughter, he was surely going to be her future son-in-law. But why was Alice also so close to Hachiman?
On the other hand, Nakiri Leonora smiled brightly as she watched her daughter and niece fight over Hachiman. She rested her delicate cheek in her palm, speaking with a hint of envy.
"Ah, this is youth, isn't it?"
As for Nakiri Senzaemon, seeing his granddaughters fighting over a man, he didn't seem bothered at all. Instead, he wore a smile as if everything was going according to plan.
Soon, dinner began.
Due to Nakiri Soe being busy with work, he had already returned to Northern Europe.
As for Nakiri Azami, while he was undoubtedly overjoyed by his wife's recovery, guilt toward Erina and her mother led him to leave the Nakiri household as well, continuing to focus on expanding his career.
Thus, at the dinner table, aside from Hachiman and Senzaemon, the only others present were Erina, Alice, and their mothers.
Oh, of course, Hisako and Kurokiba were there too—but the two of them wouldn't dare to say a word.
Predictably, Erina and Alice each claimed a seat on either side of Hachiman, and the sisters continued their back-and-forth sparring throughout the meal, neither willing to yield an inch.
After dinner, the two sisters still wanted to continue their battle, but Senzaemon intervened, rescuing Hachiman from their clutches.
The two of them retreated to the study, where they began discussing recent events.
Seated on the sofa, Senzaemon was the first to speak.
"The restaurant is running exceptionally well, and those young talents you recommended, Hachiman-kun, are improving rapidly."
The "young talents" Senzaemon referred to were, of course, the residents of Polar Star Dormitory.
While the Polar Star members were not as formidable as the Elite Ten, they were undeniably part of the second tier, right below the Elite Ten and prospective members. In fact, in the original storyline, when Soma and his peers became members of the Elite Ten, the Polar Star residents were regarded as the strongest beneath them.
This was evident during the Autumn Elections arc, where every member of Polar Star scored above 80 points—a remarkable achievement.
Had it not been for the extraordinarily high standards of Erina's generation, such scores would have easily secured them a spot in the main competition, if not the top prize itself.
This demonstrated that the Polar Star members possessed skills on par with, or even exceeding, those of previous Elite Ten members.
Typically, after graduation, Elite Ten members establish their own restaurants and rarely work under others. This made the Polar Star members ideal candidates for recruitment.
"That's good to hear. Honestly, I feel a bit guilty—I've barely been involved with the restaurant's operations. It's mostly been your people handling everything," Hachiman said with an apologetic smile.
"Haha, no need to feel that way. You're still a student, Hachiman-kun, with school responsibilities. Besides, the recipes you've provided are more than exceptional," Senzaemon replied, laughing heartily.
"But I heard you acquired a game company today?"
Whether it was Erina's earlier inquiries about game companies or their actions today, there was no way such things could escape the attention of the Nakiri family head.
Hachiman wasn't surprised that Senzaemon knew. He nodded with a smile. "That's right. You probably know that I'm also a light novel author, and with the ACG culture in Japan growing more popular, I decided to enter the industry. My first step is to adapt my novels into games."
"Oh, adapting your novels into games, is it?"
Senzaemon looked intrigued by the idea.
"However, from what I understand, the adaptation rights for novels are usually owned by the publishing house, aren't they?"
"Typically, that's true." A confident smile appeared on Hachiman's face. "But when I signed the contract for my latest book, I only sold the rights for the novel and manga adaptations. All other rights remain with me."
"Ah, I see. It seems you've been planning this for a while, Hachiman-kun," Senzaemon remarked with admiration.
Senzaemon nodded, giving Hachiman an approving look.
As the head of a top financial conglomerate, he greatly admired Hachiman's foresight and meticulous planning. After all, such traits were essential for achieving great things.
Hachiman responded to the praise with a silent smile, neither denying nor overly acknowledging it.
At that moment, Senzaemon recalled the earlier scene of Erina and Alice fighting over Hachiman and decided to broach the topic.
"What does Hachiman-kun think of Erina and Alice?" he asked with a curious tone.
"They're both very cute. I like them both," Hachiman replied without hesitation, openly expressing his thoughts.
Hearing Hachiman's straightforward declaration of "I want them both," Senzaemon didn't show any sign of anger. Instead, he chuckled and continued, his tone light.
"If Hachiman-kun can get both of them to agree, this old man has no objections."