Chapter 1 - Plot of the Elders (3/8)

The girl rudely spat out a half-chewed piece of bell pepper and shouted in anger.

"That's odd. It's plenty nutritious, you know?"

Mutsuki tried eating an identical bell pepper sitting on the large plate in the center.

He thought it had a unique flavor but not anything worth getting worked up over, but Ange was angry regardless.

He loved cooking, but for some reason, his reputation was poor.

"What do you think, Micha-san? Is it not any good?"

He turned to his other roommate in search of an ally.

"Hmm? Anything's fine by me as long as I can drink."

The brown beauty had been passed out drunk earlier, but she was already working on another can of beer. She grabbed one of the stuffed bell peppers (that had some extra ingredients) and easily popped it into her mouth.

"Ahhhh~ Now that's the stuff♪"

"See, Ange. Micha says it's good."

"She's talking about the beer. …But forget it."

The girl gave up and reached her chopsticks toward the salad on another plate. It was a premade item they had bought at the supermarket.

"…Ah, I'm out."

After eating the bell pepper, salad, and fries to go with her drink, Micha shook the can and gave a sorrowful look toward the hollow sound coming from it.

She then gave Mutsuki a begging, upturned look.

"No. I already told you only two cans a day."

"Ehhh~~~?"

"Don't give me that."

He ignored her.

Her wild brown face was flushed around the eyes from the alcohol, so she looked sexy enough to get any guy to do whatever she said. He would have been in trouble if he had not looked away. After all, that was her third can she had just finished.

However, the young woman saw right through to the boy's weakness.

"C'mon, Mutsuki-kuuun."

A coaxing tone filled her voice.

"Uuh…"

The angle gave him a double punch from her childish begging look and the bewitching cleavage visible thanks to her risqué outfit. He quickly looked away, but…

"C'mon, pleeeease."

"Wah, wah."

She collapsed forward.

The tea table was small, so she was quite nearby and her face landed right in his lap.

"C'moooon. Muuutsuukuiii-kuuun."

"I-I said no. You secretly…well, no, you didn't even try to hide it. Anyway, you drank a bunch during the day, so I can't let you have anymore-…wah!"

She started rubbing her cheeks against the base of his thighs and she curled up her body to press her breasts against his hip.

"Pleeeeeeeeeease~~~~"

"Wait…okay! Okay already!"

When she started shoving her face right into his crotch, he admitted defeat and frantically moved away. At this rate, the contents of his pants were going to enter a dangerous state at the dinner table.

Ever since he met her, he had never been a match for this young woman, so he fled to the kitchen adjacent to the living room.

"Get me a pickled plum."

Ange gave him an order of her own.

He opened the fridge, grabbed the requested items, returned, and handed them each to the one who had requested them.

"Here, Ange. …Micha-san, you're going to make yourself sick eventually."

He made sure to at least warn her.

"~~♪ I'll be fine. Angels like us are made from flames unlike you humans made from dirt. That means flammable substances like alcohol are nutritious to us."

She refused to listen and started gulping away.

"…Really?"

"I wouldn't know. I hate alcohol."

Ange placed the pickled plum on top of her rice.

Seeing a red-haired blue-eyed girl eating Hinomaru-style rice was a surreal sight. Mutsuki gave up on Micha and focused on her reaction.

"How is it, Ange?"

"What do you mean? All pickled plums are the same…bfwah!"

Seeing a cute girl do a spit take was also surreal.

"This isn't the same at all! What's with this pickled plum!? It's sweet! Sweet!"

"Yeah, I pickled it myself. In plum honey."

"Hon-… Whoa, it does taste like honey…"

"D-don't get mad, okay? This is actually a traditional method."

"I don't care how traditional it is! It doesn't go with rice! How could you watch me cover my rice with honey without saying anything!?"

Eating it thinking it would be sour had amplified the damage of the sweetness, so she did not even have it in her to yell anymore.

"Ugh… My rice is covered in honey…"

"S-sorry."

"And isn't this honey a little dark?"

"You can tell? The honey I used was actually kind of old, so I added some black vinegar to kill any germs."

"Ahh! Ahhh! Don't tell me that! I'll remember! I'll remember the hint of vinegar flavor!"

"But black vinegar honey is a traditional health drink…"

"Shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!"

Ange was angry and Micha was happy with her beer.

These two had been his family for a month now, so he had grown quite used to this scene.

Of course, he had not forgotten about his real family.

"Ahhh~ I'm so lonely without my Mu-chan~ So lonely, so lonely, so lonely~"

"Don't cry. I might stop by this Sunday."

Every morning and sometimes at night, he would call home to hear his parents and sisters' voices. He had not missed a single day during the past month. They did not know when the enemy would attack, so he could only see them for a few hours on the weekends. He normally had to get by with a phone call.

He had one older sister and two younger sisters.

He was currently speaking with the older sister (who was an adult in college).

"Sob, sob. You promise? You'll really come see me? If I don't refill my little brother nutrients, I'll be all empty."

"Yes, yes."

"No saying 'yes, yes'."

"Sure, sure."

"No saying 'fine, fine' either~"

She had the tearful voice of a spoiled child.

Lately, even his youngest sister (a kindergartner who had a habit of wetting the bed) had matured enough to not cry even though he did not visit often, so he could only shrug with his cellphone in hand.