Chapter 456: You Must Apologize!
Chapter 456: You Must Apologize!
“No way! Mr. Himekoji would definitely be the one getting killed!”
Her hand gripped his painfully tight, sending sharp pain through him.
“Please don’t do something foolish!”
Rikka’s small face was tense, her eyes unblinking and filled with worry.
Himekoji stared at this version of Rikka for two long breaths.
The serious look on his face vanished all at once, replaced by a playful grin.
“Haha, I was just joking.”
“Don’t joke about things like that either!”
She scolded him with total seriousness.
He never imagined it possible before—being sternly lectured by a little chuunibyou…
“Anyway, did you just call me ‘Mr. Himekoji’?”
Himekoji tilted his head, avoiding her gaze while smoothly changing the subject.
“Huh? D-Did I call you wrong?”
Success. The topic shift worked perfectly.
Rikka froze, her voice hesitant and unsure.
Since becoming the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye, she hadn’t interacted with anyone except her sister.
“No, it just struck me as funny.”
“Funny?”
Rikka tilted her head in confusion.
“Mhm, it’s my first time being called that by Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye.”
“Then… what about before?”
She suddenly pressed on, seeming to muster courage.
Her gaze held worry, nervousness, even a little fear, but it stayed firmly locked on Himekoji.
Her face showed an urgent need to know the answer.
“Before”—for Rikka now—was merely an unknown, an unsolved riddle.
“Before—”
Himekoji drew out his words teasingly.
Knock knock.
But a knock at the door interrupted.
“I’m coming in.”
It was Touka’s voice.
“You two, have some porridge first.”
Touka placed the tray on the table, then turned and called to them.
After that, perhaps because Touka was present, Himekoji and Rikka didn’t continue their conversation.
The topic ended there.
As she sipped porridge, the tension gradually eased from Rikka’s face.
It was like she felt relieved.
A coincidence, he guessed, but Himekoji just happened to catch that tiny shift in emotion.
…
“Don’t eat too much.”
Taking advantage of Touka getting up to draw the curtains, Himekoji whispered a warning to Rikka.
“Huh?”
Rikka frowned in confusion, blinking at Himekoji with puzzled eyes.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, her face flushed bright red before puffing up in embarrassment and anger.
“I am watching it!”
“Ah?”
This time, it was Himekoji’s turn to look confused.
“Watching what?”
“…Weight going up…”
She mumbled, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard Himekoji strained his ears, he couldn’t catch Rikka’s whisper.
“My weight keeps going up, but there’s not a single sign my breasts are getting bigger…”
Her head lowered with deep resentment. Rikka glared down with frustration at the modest, utterly humble curves beneath her shirt.
Naturally, this line was also spoken too softly for Himekoji’s ears.
If he had heard, Himekoji would definitely have used Yukinoshita as a point of comparison to comfort her.
…
“I’m done eating.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
After breakfast, Touka skillfully cleared the dishes.
Himekoji pretended to rise and help. Just as expected, he was politely refused.
“Just rest.”
Touka picked up the tray and left the room.
Himekoji deliberately waited a while.
“Alright, now’s the time!”
“Huh?”
Under Rikka’s confused stare, Himekoji magically produced a pack of instant noodles from behind his back.
“Whoa! I-Instant noodles!”
Rikka recognized it instantly, even though it wasn’t in her current memories.
No, even counting her old memories, she’d only ever tried them once before.
He’d promised: once the battle ended, he’d treat Rikka to instant noodles.
Though that promise had dragged from yesterday until today.
“Shh! Keep it down!”
Himekoji pressed a finger to his lips.
“Ah! Right!”
Rikka, who realized it later, seemed to remember something too. Her cheeks flushed red, and she stuck out her tongue a bit sheepishly.
It wouldn’t be good if her sister heard.
Mr. Himekoji recalled Rikka saying before that Touka, being a chef, didn’t allow her younger sister Imouto to touch junk food like this.
That was exactly why Rikka craved it so badly.
The more it was forbidden, the more she wanted to try.
He tore open the lid, added the seasoning packet, and poured in the hot water.
“I’ll dig in!”
Rikka, standing beside him, reached out eagerly as if she couldn’t wait.
Mr. Himekoji stopped her by tapping her forehead.
“Not yet, wait three minutes.”
“Oh, okay.”
Rikka reluctantly pulled her hand back, watching the time and counting the seconds impatiently.
“Done.”
Exactly three minutes. Not a second more, not a second less.
Mr. Himekoji handed the cup of instant noodles to Rikka.
“Finally! Finally! By the way, aren’t there any instant noodles that cook in just one minute?”
Rikka seemed overly excited.
“Of course there are.”
With current technology, noodles so instant you could eat them right after adding water weren’t impossible.
“Then why wait three whole minutes?! Wow… so fragrant!”
Faced with the delicious smell of the noodles, Rikka’s complaint only lasted halfway through her sentence.
“Because letting it sit for three minutes makes it taste better. There’s a special flavor that comes from waiting,” Mr. Himekoji explained with a smile.
But Rikka wasn’t listening anymore. She lifted the cup, slurping the noodles eagerly, her eyes closed in satisfaction.
“Yummy!”
Eating it occasionally really was great.
Just as Mr. Himekoji thought this, he noticed Rikka suddenly pause in the next moment, as if worried.
Emotions flashed across the girl’s face—reluctance, conflict—and then, appearing to reach a firm decision, she resolutely turned her face away and shoved the cup of noodles back at Mr. Himekoji.
“I’m full!”
“Huh?”
Mr. Himekoji glanced down. There was still more than half left; Rikka hadn’t eaten much.
Just like with the porridge earlier.
“I’ll make Mr. Himekoji apologize for what he said!”
“Huh?”
What did I say?
Mr. Himekoji couldn’t help but start to think, or rather, reflect—
What exactly had he said that was so harsh?
Harsh enough to warrant an apology?
No clue.
Anyway—
“Sorry.”
Might as well apologize right now.
“Eek!”
But Rikka wouldn’t accept it; she bounced up as if really annoyed.
“I didn’t mean apologize now!”
“When then?”
“After I get skinny!”
“Huh?”
Mr. Himekoji’s mouth fell open in bewilderment. For a second, he was completely confused.
“What does apologizing have to do with losing weight?”
Moreover…
Mr. Himekoji looked Rikka up and down.
“There’s absolutely no need to lose weight…” he muttered, feeling utterly baffled.
If anything, her small figure could stand to be slightly fuller.
“Liar! You just said I was fat!”
“Huh? When?”
Mr. Himekoji blinked innocently; he had no memory of saying anything like that.
“You told me to eat less!”
“No, that was to save room for the instant noodles…”
Suddenly, Mr. Himekoji understood. He was both amused and exasperated.
“Even if you say that now, I won’t believe you!”
“What do I need to say to make you believe me?”
“Nothing! I won’t believe anything you say!”
“Alright…”
Mr. Himekoji sighed. Girls all seemed to have this crazy obsession, some kind of deep-seated stubbornness, about their weight.
Rikka was like this. Nanami was too.
Neither of them had anything remotely to do with being ‘fat’.
“Well then, Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye, allow me to ask. How many kilograms are you planning to lose before I need to apologize? From how much to how much?”
“I need to go from at least 47 down to… Wait?!”
Halfway through, Rikka suddenly realized something and frantically covered her mouth again.
“Oh, so it’s 47 kilograms. Honestly, gaining a few more kilos would probably be healthier,” Mr. Himekoji said stroking his chin, sounding very matter-of-fact.
“Wah! Mr. Himekoji is too sneaky! To trick a girl into telling you her weight like that, using such underhanded means! Sneaky! Mean! Shameless! Pervert! Disgusting! And I actually thought you were nice!”
Rikka covered her face in furious embarrassment. To Mr. Himekoji, this over-the-top reaction wasn’t just about weight being revealed.
It seemed more like she felt totally exposed.
Do girls really care about their weight this much? he wondered.
Anyway, Mr. Himekoji shrugged it off, unconcerned.
“Well, I always planned on being the bad guy anyway.”
“You can’t!”
But Rikka immediately spoke up.
Her hands, which had been covering her face, were now firmly grabbing the hem of his clothing.
Her blush, extending right to her ears, still hadn’t faded. She turned her face away, not looking at him and seemingly not wanting him to see her face either.
“Mr. Himekoji,” she said in a voice like this.
“I need you… to be a good person.”
Her request.
…
…