Magiclad Girls and a Mob who will save them, or else the world is doomed!

Chapter 92: Maguro vs. Fried horse mackerel and tempura deviation

[Hihara Karen PoV]

I ended up making a massive cooking disaster and served frozen food to everyone, showing my complete lack of domestic skills. Although everyone ate it with an "it can't be helped" expression, I felt like my face was on fire. There's no denying that my wife potential compared to Kohaku's is lacking. I was aware of this. That's precisely why I've been putting in effort every day to compensate, but things haven't been going as smoothly as I'd hoped, not as seamlessly as in those isekai novels. Things don't always fall into place smoothly.

Damn it, if only I hadn't watched that anime... Regretting it now won't help. Even when it's hard to face forward, I have no choice but to do so. The gap between me and Kohaku is widening. That cute and manipulative junior of mine has been getting more physically close lately. She pats his shoulder when calling his name, whispers near his ear in a pseudo-megaphone fashion, brushes her hair behind her ear in a seductive manner right in front of Izayoi, raises her voice by a couple of tones when speaking to him, and she seems to favor outfits that accentuate her bodyline at home! How much more does she need to do to satisfy herself? She might look like an angel, but I'm pretty sure she's harboring some devilish thoughts. There's a reason behind every action, nothing is meaningless; she's systematically working her way forward.

We had mutually agreed to put aside any romantic competition, considering we both had been in dual relationships. That was my belief. Yes, this is the point. We haven't been as tense lately, and actually, we've been getting along well. Being close and taking care of each other seemed to have solidified in our minds, and we weren't overtly competing for his attention, so I let my guard down.

But now, I need to take some action. I don't think Izayoi will start disliking me or stop caring for me, but the difference between the one who keeps making efforts and the one who doesn't might become evident somewhere along the line.

So, I have no choice but to step up my game. Izayoi isn't dense, so my intentions are likely to be easily understood, which is a fantastic advantage. However, this also applies to Kohaku. Half-hearted efforts won't make a significant impact.

On the other hand, I don't want to be too aggressive due to my tsundere tendencies, which will result in being super embarrassed and making weird statements. So, ideally, I want to avoid that.

Which means... Wait, am I in trouble? Could I become a sub-heroine or be sidelined from the main plot? No, no, that's not acceptable, absolutely not.

It's embarrassingly mortifying, but I have to do something...

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[Izayoi PoV]

I headed to the bathroom for my final preparations before going to my bedroom. I always decide to be the last one to take a bath; I don't want to put them in the bathwater after a guy has been in there. There's no personal reason for it, of course. Now, this is my precious alone time. Since I sleep alone upstairs, I spend the night in a separate room from them. Occasionally, I hear laughter from the downstairs Japanese-style room, which only adds to my feeling of solitude.

Under the moonlight, I thought I would go to sleep alone, but when I got to my bed, there was a futon on top, and someone was inside it.

— A premonition, a good one.

I took the futon away, and inside was an otherworldly beauty, the ultimate tsundere.

"Ah, uhm, you see? This is a-about global warming prevention, or, well, there are too many people on Earth, and it causes global warming, so, that's why I'm here, it's not for personal reasons!"

Oi oi, she's too cute. Since she didn't tie her hair, she has a different kind of cuteness this time. In short, she's cute, but I have to consider the "gap moe" too. She's not just cute; she's transcendentally cute, and I might become emotionally unstable, but let's handle this like an adult.