"Kyousuke, your face looks a bit off. Are you feeling unwell?"
Holding a ladle, Touko Yotsuya walked out of the kitchen. Noticing her son's expression seemed wrong, she stepped forward with a face full of concern.
"I'm fine. I was just thinking back to a horror program I watched earlier and got a little scared..."
Kyousuke Yotsuya hesitated for a moment before finally making up an excuse. He did not tell his mother his sister's secret.
He believed it was best for his sister to tell their mother herself; he only needed to silently support his sister from behind as she pursued her own happiness.
"Kyousuke... wait a minute, please don't misunderstand..."
An anxious Miko Yotsuya trotted all the way down from the second floor, her footsteps going thud, thud, thud.
If Kyousuke told their mother about the misunderstanding from earlier, she would have to spend a lot of effort explaining it clearly.
"Don't run around in the house! What if you trip and fall? Honestly!"
With her left hand on her hip, Touko Yotsuya stared with full authority at the black-haired girl who had chased him down the stairs.
Under the pressure of their bloodline, Miko instantly behaved. Touko Yotsuya then glanced at the siblings before her and asked:
"What is it? What kind of misunderstanding have you two gotten into again? Since it is a misunderstanding, it is better to resolve it as soon as possible."
Hearing this, the two siblings looked at each other.
Kyousuke Yotsuya hurriedly said, "At first, I thought Gabriel was someone Sister had just picked up from somewhere. But just now, I saw how close their relationship is, so I dismissed that thought. Finally, I was worried about disturbing them, so I just ran away... Sister seems to have misunderstood something."
Kyousuke Yotsuya's words were a mix of truth and lies.
He indeed suspected that Gabriel had been picked up by his sister or brought over for some other reason.
After all, he had never heard the name Gabriel from his sister before.
But now he had figured it out.
Because Gabriel was special to his sister, his sister probably didn't want to reveal too much, which was why she was usually so careful and didn't dare mention Gabriel.
"So that's how Kyousuke viewed Gabriel at first... However, when I saw Kyousuke run away in such a hurry just now, I thought he was afraid I would neglect him because of Gabriel, so I chased after him."
Miko's heart skipped a beat after hearing him, and she followed his lead by finding a plausible excuse.
Kyousuke almost guessed right!
But it's great that he didn't misunderstand my relationship with Gabriel!
Miko had just breathed a sigh of relief in her heart when she suddenly saw her brother using his eyes to cheer her on.
'?'
Did he really not misunderstand anything?
Miko was starting to find her brother a bit hard to read.
To the side, seeing that the two had cleared up the misunderstanding, the stern look on Touko Yotsuya's face was replaced by a gentle smile as she said:
"It is good that the misunderstanding is resolved. You two come over and eat as well. Gabriel-chan already sat down at the dining table while you were talking."
"Eh? Since when?"
"Didn't she hate the idea of leaving the computer desk?"
Kyousuke and Miko looked toward the living room.
They found a blonde loli already sitting by the long wooden table, holding a laptop in her arms and staring with glowing eyes at the steaming dishes on the table.
"It smells so good, and it looks delicious... Miko and Brother-san, don't just stand there, come over and sit. Mrs. Yotsuya, when do we start eating?"
After Gabriel noticed the gazes of Miko and the others, she waved and greeted them.
Her cravings had been triggered.
As someone who had also studied cooking for a few months, she could judge the quality of these dishes just by their appearance and aroma.
Clearly, Touko Yotsuya's skills were excellent—only slightly better than her own.
"Just a moment!"
Touko Yotsuya responded.
"This girl... she really doesn't treat herself like a stranger at all," Kyousuke couldn't help but mutter.
Before long, the two arrived in the living room.
Miko sat next to Gabriel, glanced at the laptop in the blonde loli's arms, and couldn't help but say, "Do you really have to bring that with you while eating?"
"Because I don't want to be apart from it for even a moment. I want to become one with this machine!"
"No! I feel like if I keep letting you do whatever you want, you will definitely become a deadbeat in the future. Do you want to be Falling from Grace?!"
"Becoming a Fallen Angel or whatever doesn't really matter. I can just wipe myself clean when the time comes. Besides, being a deadbeat isn't so bad..."
Gabriel spoke with total indifference. Suddenly, she found Miko reaching her hand into her arms. Subconsciously tightening her grip on the computer, she hurriedly shouted, "Wait, Miko, what are you doing?! Don't get all handsy—ah... don't separate us, you Demon!"
"Calling me a Demon is going too far!"
Even if she wouldn't be Falling from Grace, she couldn't bear to let Gabriel gradually turn into an irreredeemable deadbeat!
Ignoring Gabriel's protests, Miko directly reached out and snatched the laptop away from her.
Snatched a computer from an Angel's hands—one would think that was impossible. She was actually just giving it a try and didn't expect the whole process to go so smoothly.
At the head of the wooden table, Uncle Yotsuya watched the two fooling around with a smile in his eyes.
The Large Dog's massive body lay beside him, its eyes constantly scanning the people in the living room. When its gaze swept over Gabriel, it spat out two words with a fearful expression: "So hot..."
"I told you not to actively provoke her. Until you have permission, don't stupidly approach her."
Uncle Yotsuya gave a helpless reminder.
The Large Dog showed a thoughtful look and, after a long while, nodded slightly: "...Oh."
Once Mrs. Yotsuya walked out of the kitchen, the Yotsuya Residence officially began enjoying tonight's dinner.
Under the constant food-shoveling offensive from Touko Yotsuya and Miko, Gabriel's small belly also became rounded.
After dinner.
Inside Miko's room.
Gabriel lay heavily on the soft bed, letting out a long sigh of satisfaction.
Just as she expected, Miko's mom has great cooking skills. I'll be eating well from now on.
She looked at Miko, who was changing into her pajamas in front of the closet. Remembering that the other girl had to go to school tomorrow, she sat up from the bed: "Miko, come here for a second. I'll give you a Blessing."
She couldn't accompany Miko to and from school in the future. Although the System had arranged a Transfer Student status for her, it wasn't necessarily at the school where Miko was.
Actually, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that she didn't want to go to school at all!
Gabriel didn't want to live through a plot like "Reborn as a High School JK"; she just wanted to be an Otaku.
Miko's eyes lit up upon hearing this. After quickly changing her clothes, she hurriedly came to the bedside and sat opposite Gabriel, asking nervously: "What should I do next?"