Interrupted Dinner

The question certainly put Tris on the spot, but she decided to answer the question as vaguely as she could. "No, I don't think so." She continued. While there was a good chance that they were really talking about her sister, she decided to deny it for now.

"Ah, I see," Jun shrugged it off as if it wasn't important. Before Kazuichi and Tris could say anything, they headed inside their house— which was actually a shared living space.

"Please make yourself at home, we have enough room for two guests." Minori amicably greeted, gesturing for the two of them to take a seat as they set up a smoke grill right outside.

In truth, they have no room for two guests. Kazuichi and Tris have to sit too close to each other that their shoulders rubbed against each other. Still, they uncomplainingly remained. It was a small price to pay for a free warm meal.

"You're in luck. We were saving this chicken for today, and now we get to eat it. Consider it as our thanks for protecting us and helping us with the job. I'm sure that you probably have other things to do outside but we took up your time because of our inadequacy." Jun once again bowed to Kazuichi and Tris.

Judging by how efficient they were in dealing with the infected, Jun and Minori had concluded that they were pretty high-ranking in the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. They could've ignored them when they were being attacked, but they went out of their way to save them. Kazuichi and Tris haven't realized it but they essentially saved the duo's life. Had it not been for them stepping in, they would've been dead already.

"We should be the ones thanking you. You were willing to part with such a luxurious meal all because we helped you with your job." Kazuichi modestly said. This wasn't his usual response, but he had played countless games in his shut-in life which enabled him to act under a pretense of humility.

It didn't take long before Jun and Minori served the much-awaited chicken. While it hasn't been that long since Kazuichi had tasted meat, it felt like this was the first time he'd be having a proper meal. With a nod of thanks, Kazuichi received his bowl of newly-cooked rice. Tris nodded with him, surprised that they had rice in their shelter.

Tris felt the urge to ask where they got the rice but then she realized that asking such an obvious question would give their lie away— it would establish the fact that they weren't from the Scarlet Blood Stronghold as they were not familiar with such a simple thing.

"Mmm~ It's not much compared to the food you have over there, but I hope it suits your palate," Jun spoke before settling down on the floor. "Itadakimasu~"

"Itadakimasu~," They all said in unison before they started eating.

The chicken was cooked well, so much so that Kazuichi felt like he would salivate after taking the first bite. As for Tris, her eyes also lit up after tasting the chicken. It was a simple roasted chicken, and yet it was by far the best meal they'd ever tasted ever since the apocalypse had taken over the world.

"I'm glad you liked it," Grinning from ear to ear, Jun handed Kazuichi another bowl of rice since he seemed to finish his first bowl in an instant. As it turned out, they didn't have to ask for seconds. Kazuichi and Tris were just as hungry as they were.

"Eat up. Eat up. While we don't have that much food, we do have rice, so feel free to eat as much rice as you want."

Kazuichi and Tris didn't need any telling twice. Before they knew it, the uncomfortableness they felt inside the shelter dissipated, and they heartily ate with Jun and Minori.

Compared to the outside, the atmosphere of the shelter was noisier than they thought. It was concerning, considering that they've been living by the edge of the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. Even with their precautions in place, there's still a chance that an infected would wander toward the gates of the shelter.

Then again, they have a pretty solid defense outlining the shelter. Kazuichi removed the thought in his mind, concluding that it was needless for him to worry about something that might not even happen.

"Oi, Kazuichi, try this out. It's pretty good." Tris said, stretching her hand and handing Kazuichi a piece of salted potato.

Not thinking too much about it, Kazuichi ate from Tris's hand. His hands were occupied with a spoon and a bowl of rice so that's what he did.

"How sweet, I wish someone would feed me too," Jun commented, teasing the two of them as he started chuckling. Minori gave him a strong pat on the back, signaling that he shut up.

Meanwhile, Kazuichi started thinking about why it was such a big deal. It's not like being fed by someone equates to a kiss, and it left him confused. As for Tris, well, she started blushing, but she didn't say anything and just continued eating.

Seeing her reaction, Kazuichi thought that he had done something unusual. As usual, his socialization skills were still not good enough. Adding to that, he couldn't bring herself to ask Tris what was wrong. 'Wait, maybe she wanted something in return? Ah, right.'

Kazuichi's expression lightened as he finally understood why Tris was acting bashful— or so he thought. As he would later find out, his assumption was absolutely wrong.

"Here you go," Kazuichi mumbled to himself, extending his hand to feed Tris a bite of salted potato as well.

"Wha— ?" Before Tris could finish the word, Kazuichi shoved the food in her mouth before he turned away. Now he realized why Tris reddened— feeding someone was actually pretty embarrassing.

Ting. Ting. Ting.

Jun and Minori were about to tease the cute couple but they were interrupted by the sound of bells. Without another word, they stood up and armed themselves with axes and bats.

"What's going on?" Kazuichi asked.

"The shelter's under attack." Jun simply answered before rushing outside to see what was going on.