Heroine-Saving System: Reborn In A Third-Rate Manga As The Protagonist-Chapter 43: Welcoming Dinner

Kōya let out a long sigh as he came out of the bath wearing only a soft white robe, his damp hair falling across his forehead.

He was completely refreshed with every muscle in his body finally relaxing after the intense combat.

’I don’t want to admit it, but the water was just at the right temperature...’ he thought, slightly irritated by how perfect everything was. It made him wonder how she knew exactly what he preferred.

And not only that, but the soaps that had been provided were simply high quality premium brands that probably cost hundreds of crowns each. His hair felt very glossy and smooth now, and his skin was actually soft for once.

All in all, he felt very well taken care of, which was somehow more concerning than comforting. He walked into the living room and took a moment to admire it properly.

It was like a small apartment of its own, spacious and well-furnished, except it seemed like Room 1 was deliberately the most luxurious option in the entire Class 5 building.

The furniture looked new, the lighting was warm and adjustable, and there was even a proper entertainment system setup. He walked in the direction of the dining area, following the incredible smell of home cooking.

It was a wooden table with four matching chairs, however it was more than enough space for two people to eat comfortably.

Misora was there doing the finishing touches on the table arrangement, adjusting plates and utensils with careful precision.

There were several beautifully prepared dishes spread across the table, and even a heart-shaped cake positioned in the center as a centerpiece.

She was leaning over the table to adjust something, positioned in a way that let him see her full behind quite clearly through her apron.

The curve was... considerable. Kōya bit his lip unconsciously.

The woman certainly was perfect in every physical aspect, which made her behavior even more dangerous. She carefully let go of the cake after one final adjustment and turned back to face Kōya.

"Oh, Kōya-kun... you were there," she said, a small natural blush finding its way to her cheeks. "I made dinner as well. I guessed you were coming today based on your hunting schedule, so I made a bit of a welcoming dinner for you and even baked a cake."

She reached up and wiped a bit of flour from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"This was my first time making tonkatsu and baking a cake together like this, so please don’t expect it to be the best..."

Looking at how she appeared right now... with the flour smudges, the slightly messy hair from cooking, the genuine nervous expression, and all this obvious effort put in just for him... the word escaped his mouth before he could even think to stop it.

"Cute," he said simply.

Her cheeks reddened even more intensely, the blush spreading to her ears but then he mentally shook himself and his head after, catching what he’d just said.

"Thank you for everything, Class Rep," he added more formally, trying to reestablish some professional distance. She glared at him suddenly, and it felt like his spine physically locked in place from the intensity.

The eyes she was giving him were pretty chilling... they were commanding in a way that reminded him she was actually the daughter of the White King.

"We’re roommates now, not strangers or just classmates," she pointed out firmly, her voice dropping slightly. "Please refer to me with my name. My first name."

The demand was clear and non-negotiable.

"Misora?" he asked somewhat hesitantly, testing the name. She nodded immediately, though her cheeks were still quite red from embarrassment.

"I’d like it very much if you did..." she said while averting her gaze down to the floor, suddenly shy again. "You don’t absolutely have to if it makes you uncomfortable, though."

The option to refuse was offered, but they both knew what answer she wanted.

"Alright, Misora..." he said, deliberately using her first name. Her entire face brightened with genuine happiness, like she’d just won something important.

"Well then, can you show me to my room first? I need to settle in and change into something more comfortable than this robe," he said.

"I’ll just give you a small tour of the whole apartment... it isn’t really that big, so it won’t take long," she said, looking around and gesturing.

"This is the dining room where we are now... there are four chairs in case we have visitors over, and we can use this table to eat our meals properly together. It’s the proper way to share food."

Her tone became slightly stern.

"If you’re ever going to take food to the living room to eat while watching something, then you better not stain the furniture anywhere or I’ll be upset."

She led him out of the dining room with purposeful steps and pointed at the area right opposite the living room.

"This is the kitchen... I’ve already stocked it up with different kinds of food... fresh vegetables, meats, rice, noodles, everything we might need. The refrigerator is also there against the wall, and I’ve put some cold drinks inside it already. I didn’t know your favorite beverages yet, so I just picked a variety of options."

She moved on quickly, gesturing to the central space.

"Then this is the living room proper... it’s like any normal living room where we can chill and relax together. We can watch Flixnet here on the large screen. I already paid for a premium subscription, so if you want to watch a movie or show anytime, I’ll gladly join you."

Kōya sweatdropped internally.

’She really is paying for absolutely everything...’ he thought with growing concern. This level of investment was not normal roommate behavior at all.

She pointed to a door at the far corner of the living area.

"That’s the bathroom, which you just came from obviously. It’s also where the washing machine and dryer are located. After we’re done with dinner tonight, I’ll do your laundry for you," she said matter-of-factly. "If you have any dirty clothes at all, please put them in the designated basket there. I’ll wash everything when I get to it later."

Misora then led him down a short hallway where there were two doors positioned right next to each other.

"The restroom is that door right there..."

She opened one of the bedroom doors, revealing her personal room. It was significantly more girlier than he had ever imagined possible.

She had several cute plushies arranged on the bed... bears, rabbits, cats, all in pastel colors.

Even the walls had adorable kitty-pattern wallpaper with pink and white fairy lights strung all over, creating a warm, cozy glow.

It looked like a teenage girl’s dream room, completely like her kind persona. She closed the door as quickly as she had opened it, clearly embarrassed.

"That’s my room, and yours is right next to it, Kōya-kun," she pointed out, her voice slightly higher than usual. "You can access the ALI Store app on your Academy phone and pay to customize your room however you want. They offer warm wallpapers, furniture upgrades, better lighting, everything. It costs quite a sum of Individual Points though, so budget carefully."

Kōya opened his assigned room’s door.

It had all the basic necessities... a plain white bed with simple sheets, a wooden desk with a studying lamp, and a modest wardrobe for clothes but other than those essentials, it looked pretty bland and impersonal, like a hotel room.

The walls were just plain white with no decorations at all.

"Please make yourself at home and settle in however you like..." Misora said with a gentle smile. "Once you’re done arranging your things and changing, please come to the dining table and let’s have your proper welcome dinner together."

With that, she entered her own room and closed the door softly. Kōya did the same, stepping into his new room and shutting himself inside, only after that did he breathe a genuine sigh of relief.

’It’s pretty tough living with a woman,’ he thought honestly.

Especially with the way she was acting toward him... it made him feel a lot more awkward and on-edge than he already naturally was around the opposite sex. He was used to living with four guys back on Earth when they had shared the same cramped apartment and split rent amongst themselves every month.

But that casual, comfortable dynamic couldn’t even be compared to living with Misora.

This felt like walking through a minefield where any wrong step could trigger something dangerous.

He looked around his plain room.

"Well, time to place all my things here properly and wear some casual clothes now," he said to himself while raising up his main storage ring.

It glowed softly with contained mana.

...

About ten minutes later, Kōya fumbled for the door handle while wearing a comfortable white oversized t-shirt as well as loose black shorts. He was at home after all, so formal clothing seemed pointless.

He opened the door after putting everything on and hurried down the short hallway to the dining room.

He had spent too much time carefully arranging his room and organizing his belongings in the wardrobe.

However, when he arrived at the dining area, Misora was already sitting patiently at the table.

The food was still steaming hot as if she’d kept everything warm somehow.

"Oh, Kōya-kun... you’re done setting up already," she said while looking up from her Academy phone where she’d been scrolling. "How was the room? Is everything to your liking?"

"It’s nice and comfortable. The bed is surprisingly soft too," he replied honestly.

He sat down on the chair directly next to her and finally looked properly at the countless dishes that were spread across the table.

On the dining table sat multiple dishes arranged with obvious care and precision.

There was crispy golden tonkatsu with a perfectly fried breading that glistened slightly under the light, cut into neat diagonal strips and placed on a bed of finely shredded cabbage.

There was also a large bowl of steaming white rice so fluffy that each individual grain was visible and distinct.

Miso soup sat in a proper lacquered bowl with soft cubes of tofu and dark green wakame seaweed floating in the rich brown broth.

Small ceramic dishes held colorful tsukemono including bright yellow pickled daikon and pale green pickled cucumber.

Tamagoyaki had been rolled into a perfect rectangular log and sliced to show the characteristic yellow spiral layers inside.

A small dish of thick, dark tonkatsu sauce waited on the side for dipping.

In addition to all that, the cake was shaped like a heart and positioned in the center of everything with ’Welcome Home Kōya-kun’ written in blue frosting and decorated with delicate sugar flowers around the top edges. It felt significantly less like a welcoming dinner and much more like an outright love confession.

Both of them looked at the spread of food in momentary silence.

"Kōya-kun... before we eat, I have a piece of important advice for you," Misora said seriously. "It may sound very blasphemous coming from me, but please stop praying to the White King."

’Oh, even his own daughter is warning me about it...’ Kōya thought with dark amusement.

Collecting lifespans from believers was too much, honestly... straight-up evil.

"Oh? Okay, I’ll stop," he simply agreed without argument. Misora couldn’t quite hide her surprise at his easy compliance.

Honestly, she had expected Kōya to argue at least a bit or ask why, but it seemed he already suspected something was wrong with the prayer system too.

’Very interesting indeed,’ she thought. ’He’s more perceptive than I gave him credit for.’

"Itadakimasu," both of them said in unison as they pressed their hands together in the traditional gesture.

Then they began eating. Kōya picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of the tonkatsu first, dipping it lightly in the sauce. The moment he bit into it, his eyes widened slightly. The breading was perfectly crispy on the outside while the pork inside was incredibly tender and juicy.

The seasoning was spot-on... not too salty, with just the right amount of savory depth.

"This is really good, Misora," he said genuinely after swallowing. "The tonkatsu is cooked perfectly. The meat is so tender."

Her face lit up with pride and happiness.

"Really? I’m so glad! I was worried I might have overcooked it or made the breading too thick," she admitted.

He tried the rice next... it was fluffy and had that perfect slight stickiness that good Japanese rice should have. The miso soup was rich and warming and the tofu was silky smooth.

"Your cooking skills are actually really impressive," Kōya continued honestly. "Did you learn from someone, or is this self-taught?"

"I had private chefs growing up, of course, but I wanted to learn how to cook properly myself," Misora explained while eating her own portion delicately. "So I studied cooking techniques seriously for the past few years. I’m glad all that practice is paying off now."

’She literally trained for years to be wife material,’ Kōya thought with some amazement.

The dedication was almost scary. He tried the tamagoyaki next... the sweet egg roll was perfectly balanced, slightly sweet but not overpowering.

"The tamagoyaki is great too. The sweetness level is just right," he complimented.

Misora’s smile grew even wider.

"Thank you, Kōya-kun. Knowing you enjoy my cooking makes all the effort worthwhile," she said warmly. They continued eating in comfortable silence for a while with both focused on the delicious food.

Kōya made sure to try everything she’d prepared, giving compliments where appropriate. The tsukemono provided a nice acidic contrast to the rich tonkatsu, and everything worked together harmoniously.

After they’d both finished the main dishes, Misora leaned forward and pressed a knife to the heart-shaped cake.

She cut a generous piece carefully and used a fork to pull it out then she lifted the fork directly to Kōya’s mouth.

He hesitated for only a moment before eating from her fork, accepting the offered bite.

"Kōya-kun..."

Kōya swallowed... the cake was really sweet and moist, clearly homemade with quality ingredients.

The System had already confirmed silently that it hadn’t been spiked with anything dangerous or suspicious.

"Yes?" he asked while wiping his lips with a napkin.

"You seem to have a lot of women flocking around you lately..." Misora said, her tone becoming more serious. "Like Mio, Mirei, Professor Saki, and that Ichinose girl from the stream."

"Wait, hold your horses... what do you mean Mirei and Professor Saki? Even Mio?" Kōya asked with genuine confusion.

Misora popped open a can of green tea and drank it down slowly with a knowing smile on her face before answering him.

"Mirei has been stalking our Weapons classes... she literally had her face pressed against the glass of the training hall door, though she didn’t actually come inside," she explained calmly. "She was especially excited and focused whenever she was watching you specifically. Professor Saki, on the other hand, seems very interested in you as well. She pressed her breasts against your back during class today, after all. And let’s not forget Mio... she even made you a homemade lunch box."

"Right..." Kōya said, remembering.

He had actually eaten that lunch halfway through his hours of killing Broodminders in the Outer Zone. He was planning to wash the container properly and give it back to her tomorrow.

"And that Ichinose girl on the stream was clearly checking you out on camera the entire time... how can you be so completely oblivious to these things?" Misora asked with some exasperation.

"Well, I didn’t particularly notice any of that, and I don’t think it’s really an issue anyway," Kōya said honestly.

"Kōya-kun... these women just want to use you for your power and potential," Misora said seriously, her eyes intense. "They don’t really care about you as a person at all."

’You say it like you’re any better than them... Please pull up her affection, System,’ Kōya thought.

"I see..." he said aloud neutrally while looking at her.

「Heroine: Shirogane Hakua」

「Affection: 35」

’Why is it so damn high already?!’ he thought with alarm. This was literally the first time they had held any kind of real one-on-one conversation.

「Hakua Shirogane views you as her Knight... and as her Knight, you belong to her by right. But she also personally likes you as an individual as well」

’Is it just me, or are all of these girls some kind of spoiled noble brats that think everything just goes exactly as they wish?’ Kōya thought with frustration.

The God of Novelty had deliberately taken away the dense, oblivious heroine characters from the original story and replaced them with girls who were very close to having actual diagnosable mental disorders.

ALL of them were crazy.

Misora stopped eating and then swallowed her current bite carefully.

"I realize I overstepped my boundaries just now... I apologize for trying to meddle in your personal life like that," she said, though her tone didn’t sound particularly sorry. "Please finish eating, Kōya-kun. I will clean up everything when you’re done."

With that, she stood up gracefully and walked to the living room to turn on the television.

’Awkward,’ Kōya thought. However, it seemed she thought very differently about the interaction.

「ⓘ Heroine: Shirogane Hakua’s affection has increased to 40」

’I DON’T UNDERSTAND THESE HEROINES AT ALL!’ he almost yelled out loud in his mind.

...

The next morning, Kōya walked along the corridors of the Main Academy building with purpose.

It was still pretty early... around 7 AM but he had received a direct message from Saki-sensei asking him to come see her in her office before classes started. He finally found the correct office on his Academy phone’s map after getting lost quite a few times.

The Main building was just absurdly big like that, with multiple wings and floors.

It even had her name tag displayed up on the door: "Professor Tanizaki Saki - Mana Theory & Application."

Kōya knocked twice politely.

"Come in~!" Saki’s cheerful voice called out.

He opened the door only for his jaw to literally hang open in shock.

Saki was currently completely topless and in the process of getting dressed in front of her desk.

Now that she wasn’t wearing her usual concealing lab coat, he could see the curvy professor’s body in full detail. She was wearing tight black trousers that hugged her hips and legs perfectly and as she turned to face him casually, his eyes involuntarily fell on her bare breasts.

They had to have been crafted by some kind of clever divine artisan, because he swore they were absolutely perfect in shape and size.

"Oh, it’s Kōya-kun!" she said with genuine surprise.

She brought out her tongue slightly while bonking herself on the head with one fist in a cute gesture.

"Silly me! I thought it was Misora-chan coming by."

Kōya shut the door as quickly as he had opened it with his face burning.

"Put on some clothes, please!" he said with a heavy sigh from outside. His poor virgin heart absolutely couldn’t take any more of this kind of thing.

Not only was he seeing Saki completely topless first thing in the morning, but he had also mistakenly entered the bathroom earlier while Misora was inside taking her morning shower.

It was really not turning out to be a good morning at all.