Chapter 56: Kami-nii-sama, No Escaping!
"You... can cook?"
Katsuragi Keima looked at Elsie with disbelief, his eyes full of mistrust.
"Hey! Don't underestimate me, Kami-nii-sama!" Elsie said with a serious face. "Once Kami-nii-sama tastes it, you'll understand my culinary skills!"
"I'd rather not. I'd prefer to go to the cafeteria and eat the Mountain Vegetable Set—"
The moment Keima turned to leave, an incredibly terrifying force directly restrained him.
"Kami-nii-sama~ where do you think you're going?"
Keima looked down; Elsie's raiment was currently wound around him like tentacles, leaving him unable to budge.
"What are you doing!"
"Preventing Nii-sama from running away! After all, Nii-sama is in a fragile state; you have to eat well!"
"Let me down! The cameras will see this!"
"Don't worry, Nii-sama! My raiment has a stealth function!"
"Ugh, aaaaaah!"
Without a shred of room for resistance, Keima was dragged back to the dormitory.
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In the afternoon, during class.
Keima returned to his seat looking haggard and listless. Just moments ago, he had been forced to consume food from Hell. And that was meant literally.
Elsie had somehow obtained ingredients from Hell and turned them into a meal. It had to be said that while the presentation was truly disastrous—as if the ingredients had been dismembered in the most brutal fashion imaginable, with some parts still wriggling in a repulsive manner that rivaled the indescribable beings of Cthulhu mythos—the taste of these dishes was unexpectedly good.
However, as a price, Keima had spent the following time running to the bathroom several times. Because of this, his complexion looked incredibly dark, and even his hands holding the game console were trembling.
At this moment, Elsie was also glancing out the window from time to time, a look of worry on her face. Before she had gone to find Keima, one of the "ingredients" had escaped. To be precise, it was a creature from Hell. While it wouldn't eat or kill humans, it might cause some trouble if others saw it.
'I'll go look for it when I have time!'
Elsie then went back to chatting with the classmates sitting next to her.
Elsie wasn't the only girl worried about something. There was also Sakura Airi.
Her peripheral vision drifted toward Keima from time to time, while her hands were tucked inside her desk, tightly clutching the game cartridge she had bought yesterday. All morning, Airi had been looking for an opportunity to give him the gift. But so far, she hadn't found the chance to speak up. This made it impossible for her to concentrate on the lecture.
It wasn't until the bell rang that Airi's consciousness returned to the real world.
"Let's go. Today's study session is continuing," Keima said to Airi as he packed his things.
"Um..." Airi nodded.
The three of them soon arrived at the library. Today, Kushida Kikyo had said she was busy and didn't come. However, Keima guessed the reason for her absence. It was likely because of Elsie.
In his heart, Keima had to admire Kushida's mental fortitude. Facing a "common sense black hole" like Elsie, she had managed to stay composed from beginning to end, maintaining a patient smile...
But speaking of which, what if he assigned Elsie to Horikita Suzune's study group?
Keima remembered that Horikita's study session had officially formed today. After the events of last night, Horikita's attitude toward those around her had improved significantly. While she still maintained a superior air, she no longer felt as "thorny" as before, and her sharp-tongued remarks had decreased quite a bit. Several other classmates who clearly struggled with their grades had finally agreed to join her group temporarily.
Of course... if he sent Elsie over there, their study group would probably collapse within a single night. Furthermore, in Horikita's eyes, Elsie was also a "top student" type who had merely scored low on the mock exam on purpose.
Fortunately, even though Kushida wasn't there today, there was someone else to help. Shiina Hiyori.
Following Keima's invitation yesterday, Hiyori had joined the study session. Although they hadn't spent much time together, Keima could feel that Hiyori's academic ability was outstanding—far higher than Kushida's. It might even be superior to Horikita's.
And in terms of tutoring Elsie, Hiyori seemed even better. While Kushida simply explained the points of knowledge, Hiyori combined the facts with stories. At the very least, Elsie's ability to digest the information seemed slightly higher with the latter.
"So, Elsie, do you understand this question now?"
"Yes! It's a multiple-choice question!"
'I'll pretend I didn't ask.'
Keima tried to ignore the conversation between the two and turned his attention to Sakura Airi beside him, asking: "Sakura-san, do you understand this question?"
"Um..."
"If there's anything you don't understand, you can just say so."
"I... think I... mostly understand..."
Airi nodded, but Keima could see that she seemed a bit distracted. Just then, a tall figure walked over to where Keima and the others were sitting.
"You guys have already started!"
Shiina Hiyori looked up slightly toward the source of the voice. Long cyan hair, a striking figure, a cute face—and that beauty mark under her eye that served as her personal trademark.
Hasabe Haruka.
"Haru-chan!"
Seeing Haruka arrive, Elsie waved happily at her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, El-chan!"
Haruka smiled and sat down next to Elsie.
"Are you two that close already?"
Keima looked up at Haruka. She and Elsie were already calling each other by nicknames. He had observed previously that Haruka was a bit of a loner in class and hadn't integrated into any small groups yet. However, judging from her interaction with Elsie, she didn't seem completely unskilled at or averse to socializing.
Was she the type who could quickly close the distance once they were on the same wavelength?
"Yes, Nii-sama! Haru-chan is my deskmate, after all. We talked a lot this afternoon! We're surprisingly in sync!" Elsie said with a laugh.
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