After leaving the infirmary of my own volition, I joined the others in the dorm while waiting for Hecate to finish cooking. We talked for a while about a variety of things, then we all sat down together to eat.

“Can you get the food yourself? I’ll get it for you. What do you want?” Hecate, to my left, asked, still overly cautious about my condition.

“It’s fine. I can get it myself. Don’t worry about me.”

The table which always seemed too big for just the four girls, was filled to the brim with a variety of dishes. Carol, to my right, and Narumi, across from her, had already served themselves and didn’t wait for the rest of us to begin. Katja was a bit worried, just like Hecate. After she heard me say I was fine, she decided it’d be pointless to worry and started eating as well.

Somehow, sitting together with them for a meal doesn’t feel as awkward as I’d imagined it. In fact, it doesn’t feel awkward at all! Maybe I was overly self-conscious when I first joined the House, or maybe it’s because of all that happened since we first met, but I don’t mind this at all. The sounds of everyone moving and their short exchanges quickly filled the room. It might get a bit noisy, but it seems nice!

“Hm?!” Narumi quickly swallowed her food and looked around for something on the table. “Where’s my phone?” Did she forget it somewhere? Yeah, Narumi without her phone is a sight I’ve started to find strange.

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t need it while you’re eating, do you?” Hecate asked, glancing at her from the other end of the table.

“I could do both things if I wanted.” True. Eating is not that demanding. “I’m not planning to, though. I just want to know where it is.”

“Is that it? Next to the couch?” Katja pointed at a piece of furniture next to the couch, and Narumi wiggled around in her seat, trying to see it.

“Oh, you’re right! Carol, can you go get it for me?”

“…” Carol paused for a second and looked up from her food. “No.”

“Eh?” Narumi was dazed.

“Why would I have to get up for you? If one of us has to get up to get it, it should be you. Also, don’t think I have forgotten how you tried to embarrass me earlier in the infirmary.”

“What…? Did I do that? And why are you still mad about something like that? That was like… so long ago…” Now that I know at least part of Narumi’s spacey nature is intentional, it’s hard to tell whether she really doesn’t remember or if she’s just playing dumb. If she’s doing it to tease Carol, she’s damn clever. “Fine, whatever, I’ll go get it.”

Narumi got up from the table and went to get her phone. “*Sigh…*” Carol made an exaggerated noise, and we continued eating. She doesn’t seem mad at Narumi. She’s even smiling a bit.

Narumi returned to the table and placed down her phone. Everything should have been fine, but for some reason, she wasn’t eating. She was instead staring at me. Did I do something?

I stopped moving my hands when I noticed her gaze, and looked up at her. “…” She leaned over the table without saying a word while lifting a thin piece of meat with her chopsticks.

Wh- what’s she doing? Is she offering it to me? Is she trying to feed me? Seriously?! “What?” I couldn’t help but ask as I tilted my head to the side. Narumi’s chest is the biggest among the girls, with only Hecate being able to compete. When she leans on the table like that, it’s quite the sight. Hehehe… I can get used to this… I’ve always wanted to have a cute girl like her to feed me.

“Weren’t you hurt?” Narumi mimicked the tilting of my head as she asked her own question. She was worried about that after all… Haven’t I said plenty of times that I’m good? Still, if it weren’t for the others being here, I would have taken her offer already.

“Narumi…” Carol said next to me, her voice bubbling with rage. “You idiot! Watch what you’re doing! You’re pressing your boobs on the food!”

“Ahh!” Narumi completely forgot what she was doing and sat back down properly. “My shirt’s all dirty now! I gotta wash it!” Narumi got up from the table and rushed to the nearest bathroom. Carol was once again left shaking her head.

“Let me handle this.” Hecate lifted up the affected dish and rearranged the table. Just because her clothes touched the food, it was still good… Hecate didn’t need to do anything. In fact, the titty flavor would probably add to the experience… Ahem, forget I said anything.

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While I was getting lost in my thoughts, Carol reached across the table and swiped Narumi’s phone. “Hey, Iroha, can you keep it hidden?”

“Ehh?” She wants me to hide Narumi’s phone? Why? Is she trying to get back at her? Don’t drag me into this! “Why? I don’t want Narumi to get angry with me.”

“Ugh… You’re no fun…” Carol thought about it for a moment. She had to hurry. Otherwise, Narumi would catch her in the act. “I have an idea!” Carol placed the phone back where Narumi first forgot about it. Geez… These two sure are making dinner a mess. Katja has been following the events with her eyes and a slight smile, while Hecate has done her best to ignore them.

“Whew…” Narumi returned to the table with a new shirt and sat down again. “That was close…” She relaxed her shoulders and made herself comfortable. Didn’t last long, though. “Wait, where’s my phone? Did I take it with me? I’m pretty sure I didn’t.” Carol covered her mouth with one hand, and I could see her snickering. She was being pretty obvious, and Narumi noticed. “You did something, didn’t you, Carol? Where did you hide it?!”

“Me?” Carol scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh yeah?” Narumi came over to Carol. “Prove it!”

“Wanna do a body search? Go ahead. It will cost you, though.” Carol stood up and faced Narumi.

“Wait, you don’t have it?!” Somehow, before she even touched Carol, Narumi already knew Carol didn’t have it with her. I guess she’s used to Carol’s mind games. She knows what’s a bluff and what’s not. “Where is it then? D- do you have it, Iroha? Did Carol rope you into this?!” Damn, she’s sharp.

“No… I don’t have anything. She did try to-”

“Why would Iroha hide your phone, you idiot? I would never rope her into anything in the first place. Don’t throw out accusations without thinking.” She really just said that, huh? “Your phone is right there, see?”

“Why is it there again?” Narumi went over to the lounge for a second time. “That’s where I left it before… I’m pretty sure I went to get it…”

“You’re going senile… You talked about picking it, but you never ended up following through.” Making Narumi believe she’s going insane… That’s mean, Carol.

“Really?” Narumi sounded a bit confused, almost as if she was believing Carol’s gaslighting. “Yoink! You think I’m that stupid?” When she passed by Carol’s seat, she quickly stole a piece of meat from her plate and stuffed it in her mouth.

“Narumi?! That was one of the best pieces!”

“Mhmm! Don’t worry, I can tell.” After a lot of obstacles, Narumi finally returned to her seat, ready to resume her meal. Carol clicked her tongue in response. Who’s the winner in their exchange? Is there a winner? I can’t even tell…

“Why are you two fighting today? You’re gonna give Iroha the impression that we’re all savages here…” Katja sighed with a soft smile. “Sorry for the mess, Iroha.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s been fun.”

“That’s good. Mind if I ask you a question then? What’s your usual diet like? Do you eat a lot of proteins? Have you changed anything recently?” She sounds weirdly enthusiastic…

“I live alone, so I take a lot of shortcuts… Like premade meals and stuff… I never really thought about things like that, to be honest.”

“I see… So it’s not a change in diet that’s behind your growth… With some tinkering, I think I can help you grow even stronger. Iroha, Have you ever tried to-”

“Alright, stop right there, Katja. Now’s not the time to optimize diets or training plans. Let Iroha enjoy the feast.” Hecate cut in, stopping Katja mid-sentence. “Narumi, you’re slowing down, but you’re not done yet, are you? You should eat some more.” And now she’s acting like a grandma, forcing food on her cute grandchildren… They are cute. I’ll give her that.

“Yeah, Narumi. Weren’t you the one cheering for the feast earlier? You can’t stop eating until there’s no food left.”

“I can eat some more, but I’ll die if I have to eat everything…”

“Same goes for you, Carol. You haven’t eaten a lot, so don’t think about stopping yet.” Carol tried to pile on Narumi, but Hecate then turned on her too. “And you too, Iroha. Don’t be shy.”

“Hecate’s right. Eat some more meat, you two. You need more protein.” Katja was still thinking about diets, and she offered more unsolicited nutritional advice.

“Tell that to that idiot! She’s the one stealing my food!” Carol pointed with her chopsticks, which made me and the others smile.

A few boisterous minutes later, the table was nearly empty, and everyone was pretty much done. “How was it, Iroha? Was the feast to your liking?”

“Yeah. It was perfect.”

Hecate giggled while smiling. “Thank you. Say, have you ever thought about living here at the House with us?”

“Oh! You should move in, Iroha! It would be so much fun!”

“What…?” Hecate invited me to live with them, and Narumi cheered. Uhmm… What the hell? I mean, I can see the appeal, but it would make it hard for me to watch anime and play games… How am I gonna gush over my waifus while under the same roof as them? The fact that I’m a weirdo deep down would surface in no time…

“You see, we have a few vacant rooms here in the dorm. If you’re interested, all we’d have to do is clear one up for you. What do you say, Iroha? No rent and comes with free food.” Wow… That came out of nowhere. And they’re all adamant about it too. Hecate and Narumi are the only ones who’ve spoken up, but Carol and Katja are looking at me expectantly.

“Uhmm… Thanks for the offer, but I already have a place to live…”

“Who cares? If you move in, that doesn’t matter anymore, does it?” It’s not exactly that simple, Narumi…

“I expected something like that. It’s a real shame. It’d improve the team’s morale to have you live with us. Well, what if we arrange a room for you regardless?” She’s insisting? Was I not clear enough? Even the other girls seemed confused with her.

“That’s really nice, but moving doesn’t really work for me… I like where I’m living right now.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. You don’t need to move to have a room here. It can just be a tiny sanctuary here for you to crash at sometimes. When we return late from a mission, when training runs a little late, or even when you’re just visiting, wouldn’t you like the option to sleep here?” Everyone cheered for Hecate’s suggestion. They thought this that way, I wouldn’t have any reason to refuse, and honestly, I don’t.

“If you’re fine with me hogging a room that I might not use that much, then I don’t mind.”

“It’s perfectly fine, Iroha.” Katja responded. “It’s better to give you a room than have it empty, just gathering dust. It might be a problem when we get a huge influx of new recruits, but that’s likely never going to happen.” She giggled.

“Will you return tomorrow, Iroha? Come back as soon as you can, okay? Let’s pick a room together!”

“Hey, Iroha, if we get the room ready tomorrow, then you should sleep here to try it out. Got it?”

“Ohhh! Kinda like a sleepover! Good idea, Carol! Let’s do it! That’s fine, right, Iroha? Hecate can cook something special again too! It’s gonna be so much fun!”

“You want this much food two days in a row? You’re gonna get fat. Though, as dumb as you are, it might all just end up on your chest. Right, Iroha?”

“Hmm… If you’re here tomorrow, how about we do the thing we talked about earlier, Iroha?”

Iroha, Iroha, Iroha, Iroha! One after the other, from every side, they all called and went off on their own without ever giving me an opportunity to say anything! Ahahahaha… What have I gotten myself into?

…

“See you tomorrow!”

“Bye!”

“See you!” The girls accompanied me to the front gate, and I waved goodbye as I left. Whew… That was exhausting… Seems like I have a sleepover tomorrow. It was hard to get a word in, so I ended up agreeing to most of what they wanted. I’m not gonna complain, though. I had a lot of fun today. And by the looks of it, tomorrow’s gonna be no different!

I’m completely spent. I may be physically fine after that last battle, but I haven’t had the opportunity to relax yet. I can’t believe how much closer I am to everyone at the house right now. Katja has always been friendly, Carol started to open up, and now Hecate and Narumi have fully accepted me as well. I guess I managed to convince them that I’m someone they can trust. All it took was putting my life on the line and getting stabbed a couple times. Sounds kinda simple when I put it like that… Well, it paid off.