Chapter 58: A Sense of Discord Everywhere

June 11th.

Since April 10th, the day he encountered the first spirit, Tohka, he had been in this world for more than two months. During this time, he had met Tohka, Yoshino, and Kurumi—three spirits—and had even traveled five years into the past to save Origami.

But everything changed dramatically upon his return. A girl named Rinne Sonogami inexplicably entered his life, claiming to be his childhood friend. Meanwhile, significant changes swept through Tenguu City, yet not a single person seemed to notice. Even Su Mo’s perceptions had been forcibly altered by some invisible power.

After changing his clothes, Su Mo stepped out of his room once more.

Due to Kurumi’s recent large-scale use of the City of Devouring Time at school, which had caused widespread student unconsciousness, classes had been suspended for a week. Now that the week had passed, Su Mo was due to return to school.

Although he was reluctant to attend, he remembered the effort it had taken to travel back five years and change Origami’s fate. Yet, for the past two days, he had been unable to contact Origami Tobiichi at all; when he visited her home, he discovered she had already moved away. So, to confirm whether history had truly changed, he was so eager to go to school—with the hope of seeing Origami Tobiichi once more.

Upon entering the living room, Su Mo found Rinne Sonogami already present in his home.

He was used to this by now.

“Su Mo, you’re awake? Rinne came over early this morning to make breakfast for us. Come and try her cooking!” Tohka, drooling, called out loudly.

Witnessing this scene, Su Mo felt an odd sense of dissonance.

In the past, household chores at the Itsuka home had been handled almost entirely by Shiori. Now, it was Rinne Sonogami taking charge.

Sitting at the dining table, Su Mo saw an array of neatly arranged breakfast dishes.

Rice, tofu, fragrant miso soup, grilled fish, omelette pancakes, natto, seaweed, pickles—a breakfast so lavish, it embodied the essence of Japanese cuisine.

“It certainly looks wonderful,” Su Mo praised.

Beside him, Shiori nodded. “Yes, with Rinne’s help, I can finally relax a little.”

“Everyone’s here, so let’s eat!” Rinne, dressed in Raizen High’s uniform—a short-sleeved shirt layered with a brown knit sweater—placed her hands together at her waist and smiled with narrowed eyes.

“Well, then, I won’t stand on ceremony,” Su Mo said.

Tohka’s stomach had been growling for ages; if not for the Japanese custom of waiting for everyone to be seated before eating, she would have started long ago.

Her eating habits, however, were astonishing.

Tohka stuffed an entire omelette pancake into her mouth, eyes shining. “Rinne’s breakfast is amazing! This pancake... the outside is so thin and soft, but when I bite into it, delicious egg juice just keeps flowing out!”

“Eating this with rice—mmm—it’s just too delicious.”

Rinne was delighted to hear this, though she replied modestly, “Tohka, you’re exaggerating; it’s just breakfast. Even if you praise me, there won’t be any reward.”

“Then I’ll have another bowl!” Tohka raised her rice bowl and shouted.

“Huh? Another bowl?” Rinne was a little stunned, looking at Tohka with surprise. She hadn’t expected a girl to have such an appetite.

“Yes, isn’t that allowed?” Tohka looked at Rinne with pitiful eyes.

“Of course it’s allowed, Tohka. There’s plenty in the pot, but remember to eat slowly and chew well, eating too fast isn’t good for your health,” Rinne quickly replied, shaking her head.

On the other side, Yoshino picked up a bowl of miso soup.

“I... I’ll start eating, too,” she said, taking a spoonful of soup—but immediately spit it out because it was too hot. “Hot, hot!”

“I almost forgot—Yoshino can’t eat hot things,” Shiori exclaimed. When Tohka and Yoshino had lived at the Itsuka home, she had always fed them, so she was familiar with their eating habits.

Tohka was a classic big eater, while Yoshino, being a spirit of ice and water, was highly sensitive to heat.

Seeing this, Su Mo looked at Rinne Sonogami.

Apparently, she didn’t know Tohka’s and Yoshino’s dietary preferences.

That was odd, because according to the story, Rinne Sonogami was his childhood friend who often came to the Itsuka home to help with chores. She should have known Tohka and Yoshino’s habits. Normally, anyone would be suspicious, but thanks to some mysterious force, nobody questioned it.

Rinne broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, a hint of panic in her expression, and hurriedly took Yoshino’s bowl. “Let me cool it down a little. I’ll serve it again once it’s at the right temperature.”

“Th-thank you!” Yoshino said shyly, still clutching her rabbit plush. Usually, the plush would “speak” for her, but with Shiori and Rinne present, the rabbit remained silent, and everyone simply regarded it as a decorative accessory.

As everyone was chatting, Kotori—wearing a white headband in her rare “little sister mode”—descended from upstairs.

“It’s lively this morning, hearing your voices from early on,” Kotori said, dressed in her junior high uniform. Seeing the sumptuous breakfast, she exclaimed, “Rinne is so considerate, coming over every day to make breakfast for us because of big brother. I bet she’ll look beautiful in a wedding dress someday.”

Such bold words brought a blush to Rinne’s cheeks.

“Nonsense, but I’m really happy to hear everyone’s compliments,” Rinne said gently. She then reminded everyone, “By the way, if you don’t hurry up, you’ll be late for school!”

“Huh—?”

Everyone sped up their eating at once, and Tohka’s eating became even more voracious.

Even after everyone finished, Tohka was still battling at the table.

“All right, Tohka, that's enough. We have to go to school,” Su Mo frowned. For a big eater like Tohka, stopping her from eating was harder than moving mountains.

“Wait, Rinne’s breakfast is just too delicious. Let me have one last bowl,” Tohka pleaded, cheeks puffed out.

Shiori worried, “But you’ve already eaten so much. Eating too much is bad for your health; it’s best to stop when you’re eighty percent full.”

“I’m not even half full yet,” Tohka protested weakly.

Everyone held their foreheads, unable to bear the sight.

Just how much can you eat, Tohka? After all that, you’re not even half full? Even Rinne couldn’t help but open her mouth in surprise, though she quickly recovered, gently persuading, “Tohka, everyone is right. Let’s go to school first, and tomorrow I’ll make you even tastier dishes.”

“Really? Even tastier?” Tohka’s eyes shone, and she couldn’t help but drool.

At last, with everyone’s urging, Tohka reluctantly left the table.

Finally, they all headed off to school together.

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