——

Waaaaah, no!!!

The water goddess Sayo felt extremely bad whenever she thought about these things.

Just then.

Hanabi Haruka noticed her new bento and asked in surprise, "Wow, Saya, what's up with your bento today? It looks completely different from usual. What is this... a foreign-style bento?"

"ah?"

Water Goddess Xiaoye was so startled that she almost dropped her chopsticks.

Kaoru Amakawa also noticed her bento and said, "Really? Saya, you didn't make this bento yourself, did you? It's completely different from your usual style, and there's so much of it... Your mom wouldn't make a bento like this, would she?"

"Ahhh... this... um... I..."

Just as the water god Xiaoye was at a loss.

Hua Lingyao spoke up.

"However, your bento box looks really delicious. Can I add some side dishes to try? Of course, I'll trade you my own side dishes."

"That's certainly possible..."

"Thanks!"

Hua Lingyao exchanged some side dishes with the other person, picked up a braised quail egg from the other person's lunchbox, and put it in her mouth.

She couldn't help but admire it greatly.

"Wow, this tastes so good! It's so well-braised and the sauce is amazing. It's incredible. The person who made this bento must be an incredibly skilled cook."

"Haha, really?"

Water Goddess Xiaoye became even more nervous. She ate some herself, and it was indeed very delicious.

"Who made your lunchbox?"

"Um... it was made for me by a close friend of mine."

"A friend? She must be a very skillful girl."

"Ah, this... haha, um."

"How wonderful! If I could have such a lovely girl make me a bento box like this, I would feel so happy."

"Forehead."

Water Goddess Xiaoye was speechless for a moment.

Kaoru Amakawa chimed in with a comment, "Hey friend~, Yoru, what's the name of your cute female friend?"

"She... her name is Xiaolin."

"Kobayashi? Which Kobayashi?"

"It's Kobayashi, who lives near our shrine."

"Is that so?" Kaoru Amakawa said, indicating that she didn't recognize him at all.

"Um."

As they talked...

Water Goddess Xiaoye regretted it terribly. What on earth was she saying?!

We're doomed.

I couldn't help myself and lied unconsciously, sob sob, what should I do now?

...

"Achoo!"

At that moment, Lorraine, who was far away at the shrine working on infrastructure, suddenly sneezed.