We're going! Who's afraid of who!?
Shiyu and Elf shared a look and decided to head to Elf's mansion together.
Though their destination was the same, they didn't travel together.
Rin, Eriri, and Megumi went in one group. Shiyu and Elf stayed to finalize things with their editors before heading over separately, arriving almost at the same time.
When the two exhausted girls reached the mansion, they noticed the curtains on the first floor were tightly drawn, blocking out all light.
"Do... do you think he's actually mad?" Elf asked Shiyu in a raspy voice. She swallowed hard after speaking, her throat stinging.
"So what if he is?"
Shiyu took the gate key from Elf, pushed it open, and crossed the yard to the front door.
"If you aren't scared, why is your hand shaking?" Elf teased in her hoarse voice.
"I-It's because I signed too many books... aren't your hands shaking too?" Shiyu's voice was just as raspy. She swallowed several times to dull the pain in her throat before sliding the key into the lock.
Wrong way. Flip it. Wrong again. Flip it back... Click. It was open.
The foyer was silent. No sounds of a party. But Rin, Eriri, and Megumi's shoes were lined up neatly.
The two put on their slippers and tiptoed into the living room. No one was there, but they could hear the sound of cooking and smell the delicious aroma of a meal coming from the kitchen.
Phew...
They finally relaxed. The scent of food made their stomachs growl.
It was nearly 6:00 PM. They hadn't eaten anything since a light breakfast, and they were starving.
"They must be cooking. I'll go see what's for dinner."
Elf padded toward the kitchen in her slippers, and then she saw it... Cooking was indeed happening, but only Megumi Kato was working at the stove. Shiyu, following close behind, also saw the scene.
As for Rin and Eriri...
"GUH-WOOO!!!!!"
Eriri was kneeling on the floor, her head being held firmly by Rin. He was using her like a human fleshlight. Eriri's eyes were rolled back, and drool was dripping onto the floor. At this point, she had no capacity to care about her image in front of Shiyu and Elf.
Rin ignored the two newcomers and checked the timer on the rice cooker.
"The rice is done. Go ahead and start scooping it into bowls."
Shiyu and Elf didn't move. Their throats were too sore to speak, so they just gave Rin confused looks.
"I'll do it~" Megumi winked at them. She opened the cooker and scooped five bowls. Strangely, two of the bowls had very little rice—barely half a bowl each. Even a normal girl wouldn't be full on that, let alone two girls who hadn't eaten all day.
Maybe they aren't hungry?
As Shiyu and Elf reached for the bowls to take them to the table, Megumi stopped them with a cunning look. "These three can go out, but these two aren't ready yet. The dish isn't finished~"
Not finished?
???
Under their bewildered gazes, Megumi held the two meager bowls of rice near Rin's... lap.
"GUH-ACK!!!! Cough, cough, cough!!!!"
Rin pressed Eriri's head down one last time before pushing her aside. He took the bowls from Megumi and held them right where Eriri's saliva-coated mouth had just been.
" " !!!!! " "
The half-bowls of rice were now completely covered, becoming "Donburi"... Protein Donburi.
"This is the fatigue relief I prepared for you," Rin said, handing the two bowls of Protein Donburi to them. "I read online that this substance is great for maintaining the throat and the skin."
"Wh-What kind of garbage were you reading!? That's impossible!?" Shiyu's lip twitched as she looked at the Protein Donburi. She ignored the pain in her throat to complain.
If she were to eat it on its own... fine. It wasn't her first time.
But mixed into rice...? The taste might not be terrible, but the thought of it being fresh from Rin, potentially mixed with Eriri's spit, made Shiyu feel like gagging.
Who could actually eat this!?
Wait... actually, Karen would probably love it. And Mashiro... I've seen her eat it mixed with her favorite baumkuchen.
Shiyu felt that Mashiro could probably live on his fluids alone.
"You don't understand. This isn't some folk remedy... You weren't there for the music party with Nijika and the others. They drank this and sang and danced on stage all night without getting tired."
I'd rather be tired!
Shiyu wanted to shout it, but he seemed a bit annoyed earlier. If she didn't eat it... well, who knew what other pranks he had in mind.
Elf didn't care as much. It didn't taste bad on its own, so mixing it with rice shouldn't be too much of a hurdle.
"Oh, and one more thing." Rin pulled a glass bowl of greens from the fridge. "Besides the rice, there's a bowl of salad. Also for you two."
" " ... " "
One bowl of Protein Donburi and one bowl of Protein Salad.
That was the entirety of Shiyu and Elf's dinner. The fried ribs and seared steaks were for Rin, Megumi, and Eriri.
The two girls stirred the gooey, white "porridge" in their bowls with their chopsticks but made no move to eat.
"Want some steak?"
Nod, nod, nod.
"You should have said so..." Rin cut a piece of steak and carefully held it toward Shiyu. Under her look of despair, he dropped the meat right into her bowl of goo.
Great. The butter-seared steak was now a "Protein Butter-Seared Steak."
It wasn't that Rin didn't want to share. He just didn't want them dipping their goo-covered chopsticks into the serving platters... He had no desire to eat his own "protein."
As for their rice and salad, they could dip whatever they wanted in there.
Seeing that Rin wasn't going to let them off the hook, the two closed their eyes and steeled their resolve. It's just a bowl of 'Semen Porridge,' isn't it!? It's not like it's poison!
One hand on the bowl, one on the chopsticks, they tilted their heads back and shoveled the Protein Donburi into their mouths.
Chug, chug, chug...
Hiss...
Actually... wait a minute.
Not only was there no bad aftertaste, but there was a faint sweetness combined with the aroma of the rice. If Shiyu hadn't been told what it was, she could have eaten another massive bowl!
But even if she wanted more, Rin couldn't produce that volume on command.
As the smooth "porridge" went down, the ache in their hands vanished, and their throats stopped stinging. After only one small bowl, their starving stomachs felt surprisingly satisfied, and their bodies—which had wanted nothing more than to melt into the sofa—began to surge with vitality. Is this effect really that absurd?
It works the moment you swallow it?
Shiyu: "It actually works!"
Licking the stray grains of rice and traces of fluid from her lips, Shiyu and Elf both looked like they hadn't had enough. They immediately turned their attention to the Protein Salad.
With the porridge as a base, they didn't hesitate to devour the salad, even using their fingers to wipe the remaining "protein dressing" from the bottom of the bowl.
"Phew... much better." Elf patted her flat stomach. "How did I not know it had this kind of effect?"
"I don't know either. Like I said, we only realized it at the music party... but the effect must have been there all along. Otherwise, how could petite girls like you and Sagiri handle being used so roughly? You would have broken long ago."
"That makes sense..."
Recalling their first experiences, Elf felt a chill of retrospective fear. He had been so rough back then; without this miraculous effect, they probably would have been sent to the hospital. Instead, they were perfectly fine and had a great time.
So... does this mean we can try even more extreme plays?
Elf's gaze drifted toward Eriri.
Eriri would definitely love some "over-the-top" play... Heh heh heh, look at her eyes. They're practically sparkling with anticipation!!!