"Brother, we should move her to the second floor," Belle suggested.
After all, it wasn't good for outsiders to see what was in the first-floor room. Even though Wise knew Ellen, Belle couldn't fully trust her yet.
"Well… alright then."
"Move her to your room, Brother."
"What?"
"What do you mean 'what'? This is your mess, Brother, so you better take full responsibility!"
Since things had come this far, Wise kept quiet and stepped forward, lifting Ellen, who remained fast asleep.
She resisted at first, but after sniffing the air a little, she relaxed and drifted back into a quiet sleep.
Even so, Ellen didn't feel light in Wise's arms. She looked slender enough, but that big tail of hers really made things tricky.
To keep it from swinging around and getting in the way, Wise had to hold it in one hand. The tail carried surprising strength, and it was a good thing Ellen wasn't struggling.
With no customers in the video store, Wise managed to bring her back to his room without drawing any attention.
Ellen, still unconscious, rested quietly in his arms as he carried her inside.
In a situation like this, nothing questionable could happen. With Anby, Nekomata, and Belle following closely behind him, it simply was not possible.
'Not that I ever planned to take advantage of her in the first place…'
Once he set her down on his bed, he took the girls to the kitchen for dinner, his stomach already rumbling with hunger.
Meanwhile, at the Cunning Hares, Nicole had been waiting for Anby and Nekomata to return when a message flashed across her screen.
"Huh? What do they mean they're not coming back for dinner? They're eating at Wise's place?"
To Nicole, this wasn't bad news at all. Saving on two extra portions made things easier, and if they kept scoring free meals elsewhere, her monthly expenses would lighten nicely.
Thinking of this, Nicole couldn't help but smile. Saving Dennies always made her happy. It was just a shame it was already late. Otherwise, she would have dragged Billy along to snag a free meal.
Back at the video store, Wise set the dishes on the table, while Belle, Anby, and Nekomata were already sitting down.
"Mmm, it smells amazing, nya~!" Nekomata said, practically drooling.
"Brother's cooking has gotten way better lately. Is it because you're trying to charm more girls?" Belle asked with a tone that was half teasing and half resentful.
"Cough, cough, No, nothing like that. Anyway, Ellen should be waking up soon. I'll head upstairs to call her."
Wise brushed off what Belle told him and headed upstairs to his room.
"Hmm? Still not awake?"
Recalling Ellen's routine, she usually went to classes during the day, worked at night, and sometimes went shopping with her best friend.
Anyone else would've collapsed already, but Ellen was just a little short on sleep.
Wise approached the bedside and looked at the still-sleeping Ellen. He reached out and gently nudged her shoulder, trying to wake her.
She responded with a faint frown, rolled to the side, and his hand slipped onto her chest right as she opened her eyes.
Seeing this, Wise did not squeeze or grope on reflex. He pulled his hand back as quickly as he could. If he ever crossed that line, he doubted he would live long enough to regret it.
But he was already late. Ellen noticed the hand he pulled away and the lingering warmth on her chest.
Her face turned bright red in an instant. She reacted like a startled little fish with surprising fierceness, twisting her body and pushing Wise onto the bed.
Wise had no idea what was happening. He could not even react before she pinned him down.
The way they ended up looked a bit suggestive. Wise lay on his back while Ellen sat over him. One of her hands rested firmly on his chest, the other held his wrist, and her tail pressed down on his legs to keep him still.
"You... you! , what did you do to me?!"
Ellen was behaving like an innocent maiden, which she truly was. But she rarely displayed such vulnerability because the circumstances of her life demanded constant strength.
"Wait, Ellen, please let me explain first..."
"Alright, I'll give you a chance to explain clearly," She said with zero warmth, shooting him a murderous look.
"First of all, this is my room," Wise whispered softly.
"!!!"
"And I didn't do anything! I only brought you here because you suddenly fainted. What happened just now was purely an accident," He spoke quickly, almost stumbling over his words.
Hearing him, Ellen began remembering what happened before she passed out.
"I fainted… right, I only collapsed because I was exhausted!"
When she recalled the vague fragments in her memory, there was no way Ellen would ever admit she was the one who caused everything.
The excuse she chose felt far safer than admitting the truth.
"So, can you let me go now?"
"Ugh…"
After Wise reminded her, Ellen finally noticed how they were still tangled together. Shame and anger surged up, and she instinctively swung her hand at him.
Even though she pulled back some of her strength at the last moment, the loud smack still echoed through the room.
The three downstairs heard the noise and rushed up to check what was going on, only to find Wise holding his face while Ellen stood beside him, her head turned away, too flustered to say anything.
"I'm so sorry my brother did something so rude. Ellen, please forgive him this time."
Once everyone returned to the dining table and the story was cleared up, Belle bowed her head apologetically toward Ellen.
"It's really not that big of a deal…"
Since the whole thing turned out to be a misunderstanding, Ellen couldn't help feeling a bit bad for hitting Wise harder than she meant to.
Wise sat off to the side, holding an ice pack against the swelling on his face.
"Still, everything that happened ended up troubling you, and it's Brother's fault. So please don't decline. Have more of the food he made, consider it his way of saying sorry," Belle insisted, gently pushing a full plate toward her.
Ellen was a bit shocked. She honestly didn't expect all the delicious food to be made by Wise alone.
"Then… I'll accept it."
The moment she tasted the first bite, her eyes immediately widened.
"This is incredibly good!"
At that moment, Ellen didn't know how else to explain it. Wise's cooking was just miles better than Rina's.
Rina might get a bit upset if she heard it, but it was still the truth.
"Right? I knew it! It's so good I don't think I can live without Wise anymore, nya~"
Nekomata hugged the little fish in her bowl and bit into it with zero concern for appearances. She could handle chopsticks, sure, but this way fit her personality way better.
Her random comment made Anby and Belle slow down for a moment. Ellen didn't react much at all.
By then, the Nekomata's favorability had already hit 89 points.