Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Apparently, I’m a Freak?

Right away I took off my Dive Gear and exited my room, I walked downstairs and head to the kitchen. Only to hear the front door opening up as Hikari burst through the door.

"I'm home, bro!"

"P-Pardon my intrusion, Big Brother Yoruto."

"Welcome back, Hikari. And welcome, uh... Himeji? I wasn't expecting you to come over this evening."

"What are you saying, brother? I texted you beforehand saying that Himeji will be joining us for dinner today."

What?

"I received no such text though."

"What?"

Hikari quickly pulled out her phone and swiped to her messages.

"Ah." she let out that sound of realisation, as she manually breathed in through her mouth with her teeth clenched together.

"The message failed to send, didn't it?" I made a guess.

"Yup." And it looks like I was correct. 

"Good grief..." I sighed and walked my way to the fridge while putting on an apron.

"If the both of you don't mind waiting for a bit longer, I can cook up a feast by around eight there. How's that sound?"

"I don't mind! What about you, Himeji?"

"I-I don't mind... either."

"Alright then, the both of you can go take a bath and do your homework first. I'll call the both of you when dinner is ready."

"I understand, Big Brother Yoruto."

"Roger roger, bro! Come on, Himeji. I'll scrub your back for you."

"Ah! Wait. Don't push me, Hikari!"

Thus, I began pouring most of my energy into making a grand dinner for tonight.

Between fighting The Jackson and making tonight's dinner, I would have to say that the latter is more challenging than the former. Because the fridge that was supposed to be full, was almost cleared out in the end as dinner was then served.

Hikari was in her casual wear. Whereas Himeji was still in her uniform after their bath. The both of them sat next to each other and ate the mountain of food in front of them like no tomorrow.

"Sooooo Gwwooooooddd! Dis ish so gwood, brutha!"

"Hikari. Don't speak while your mouth is full. That being said..." I turned to Himeji. "The food's not going anyway, you know., Himeji."

Himeji then swallowed down the food in her mouth first. "But Big Brother Yoruto's food is so delicious." she said, before stuffing herself more like a hamster.

"By the way, brother, we didn't get to finish talking about the game in the morning. So, how far have you gone into it now? I'm curious."

"Eh? Big Brother Yoruto also plays UFO?"

"Oh yeah. I'd never told you that, did I?" Hikari said to Himeji, as they both looked at me. "Come on, bro! Tell us, tell us!"

Good grief. At least give me a moment to chew on the food in my mouth.

"I'm not sure how far it is in the game. But I've beaten a boss by myself."

"Oooo, sweet! Which boss did you kill? Wait. Let me guess." Hikari thinks for a second. "It's the Great Scrowler in the Dead Plains, isn't it?"

"There's a boss version of those things? Also, where's the Dead Plains?" I said, insinuating that she's wrong.

"Then umm, is it the Wandering Soldier in the Foggy Graveyard?" Himeji asked next, joining in on the conversation.

"Where is that at also?" My response to that, however, indicated that it was incorrect as well.

Before they made another guess again, I straight up told them. "I beat The Jackson in Shade Forest." When I said that, Hikari's mouth dropped while Himeji dropped her chopsticks and picked them back up.

Then, Hikari shouted. "You beat The Jackson!? Alone!?"

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"Yeeeaaah...?" I replied, confused as to what she was making a fuss about. "It snuck up behind me, so I fought it and ended up winning. It was difficult. But not as hard as I thought." I said, making them to be even more appalled, as if I had just killed a dog or something. Not that I would actually do that.

"'Not as hard', you say...." Hikari gave me a deadpan look, while Himeji quickly got herself a new pair of chopsticks. "Brother, The Jackson is one of the hardest bosses in the game for new players." Hikari then stated, surprising me with that information.

"It was?"

"Yes, it was! What level were you at when you beat it?"

"Twelve." I answered casually.

"You beat it at level 12!?" Hikari suddenly yelled again. Himeji on the other hand gave a surprised look while a piece of half-eaten chicken wing hangs in her mouth.

"Big Brother Yoruto is amazing, huh?" Himeji remarked after finishing her chicken.

"Yeah, I guess. So what level are you at now, bro?" Hikari then asked me. To which I replied, "Fifteen." casually and continued eating.

"Fifteen.... Fifteen, huh..." Hikari was staring at the ceiling, repeating my response in a daze before she snapped out of it all of a sudden and started devouring away at the variety of food on the table.

"Thanks for the meal!" she then shouted and stood up after filling her stomach full and turned to Himeji after that.

"Himeji. Once you've finished eating and returned home, join me in the Dead Plains and we'll grind our way to level 20 tonight."

"T-Twenty!? But we're only at level 10."

"And that's exactly why we're doing that. Because no way am I letting this freak of a brother beat me when he has not played a single video games since he was fourteen!"

"Hey. Who are you calling a freak, huh?"

"Oh shut up, bro! You've only started playing the game last night and already you have reached level 15, and have beaten one of the game's hardest bosses that most newbies couldn't beat in a party, let alone soloing it. You are a freak!" she stated. Which would makes sense, considering. But still....

It's a bit harsh to be calling your brother a freak, don't you think? Maybe the players who said that The Jackson was difficult simply needed to do better at facing it. Also, from the sound of it, I won't be playing with Hikari today as well, it seems. Shame.

I sighed, keeping those thoughts to myself. "Anyways Hikari, wash your dish first before you go and play the game."

"Yeah. Ok bro." Hikari replied and quickly washed her dish before going up to her room.

Then I turned to Himeji.

"Take your time to eat, Himeji. I'm done with my meal now, so you can have the rest." I said and stood up from my seat. "If you can't finish it all, you can leave the leftovers alone. I can use them for Hikari's lunch box tomorrow."

 "Yes! Understood, Big Brother Yoruto."

However, when I returned from washing the dishes and doing some other minor chores, Himeji had cleared every food on the table clean with none leftover.

"Was it that good?" I asked her upon my return. To which she answered, "Yes!" with a delighted expression on her face, as if she hadn't just devoured more than half of the portion that would have filled the stomachs of eight to ten people in a normal setting.

Just where did all of the food go in that body, I wonder?

"Well, I'm glad you loved it."

"Umm, yes." Himeji then stood from her seat and grabbed her bag on the couch. "T-Thank you for the meal, Big Brother Yoruto. I shall be going home now." she said in a gracious manner, bowing to me in gratitude for the lovely meal I made for her.

Although now, thanks to her, I'm going to have to go back to the supermarket tomorrow and buy more groceries for tomorrow's dinner.

Not that I could tell Himeji that though...

Mom also has yet to send the money for this month, so I'll have to use my own savings. Dammit.

"It's getting late now. So I'll walk you home, alright?"

"Oh umm, yes.... Of course. Thank you... Big Brother." Himeji looked away from me at the end there. Her face had also turned red, from the looks of it.

Her usual shy self have returned, it seems. Shame. I was hoping that her cheerful side would stay. But I guess that only happens whenever she's happily eating, huh?

The both of us wore our shoes by the front door and left the house together, where I would then escort Himeji back home which was just a few blocks away from ours.

After ensuring that Himeji has entered her home safely, we waved each other goodbye as I proceeded to walk back home by myself.

Then, I returned home and washed the dishes first before going up to my room to log into the game again.

At this point, I can honestly say that I am probably going to become addicted to the game. Despite its questionable rating...