"Wake up! Tomorrow is the quarterfinals of the Autumn Elections," Erina urged, shaking Sui awake early in the morning.
Reluctantly opening his eyes, Sui yawned and remembered that today was indeed the day of the quarterfinals.
Yesterday, the eight finalists had drawn their themes, and as Sui had expected, the topics were diverse.
By this time, Erina was already getting dressed. With her back turned to Sui, her elegant curves were on display.
Seeing her, Sui couldn't help but think of Alice. The two sisters really did resemble each other from behind.
He had wanted to help Alice prepare for the quarterfinals, but she had been avoiding him for days, and he hadn't seen her at all.
At this moment, Erina turned her head slightly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she scolded, "Don't peek while I'm getting dressed."
Sui felt speechless. The two sisters were so alike in so many ways.
He obediently turned his head away but couldn't resist turning back for another peek after a moment.
Erina, now fully dressed, turned around and shot him a frosty glare before asking with a blush, "What color stockings should I wear today?"
"Black, I think," Sui suggested after a brief thought. He felt that black stockings would complement the Totsuki uniform and suit the tsundere girl well.
Erina nodded and changed into black stockings.
"Aren't you getting up yet?" she asked with a hint of annoyance upon seeing Sui still lying in bed.
"Give me a kiss, and I'll get up," Sui teased with a playful smile.
Erina gritted her teeth, then reluctantly leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Now get up!" she demanded, her face bright red.
Sui chuckled, then got out of bed.
They washed up, had breakfast, and then headed out to watch the competition.
The Autumn Elections were being held at The Chandra's Room, a venue dedicated to the Ten Best Food Contest.
There were two matches scheduled for the day. The first was between Alice and Sōma, and the second between Megumi and Ryō Kurokiba.
In the players' waiting room, Sui found Megumi, Alice, and the others.
"Sui, did you come here especially to watch my match?" Megumi approached him, her face flushed with happiness.
"Of course," Sui replied with a smile and a nod.
Over the past few days, neither of them had brought up the kiss again. They continued attending classes as usual, though their relationship had grown subtly closer. Occasionally, Megumi would look at Sui with a slightly different expression.
He noticed Alice sneaking glances at him from the corner of the room. When he smiled at her, she blushed, puffed up her cheeks, and looked away in a huff.
Sui couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.
Erina, unaware of this exchange, turned to Sui and said, "Let's head out."
"Alright," Sui agreed, following her out of the room.
The competition soon began, with the theme for Alice and Sōma's match being "bento."
Sui and Erina found seats in the audience.
"Miss Erina is sitting with that transfer student," a student nearby whispered.
"Yeah, they seem really close," another remarked.
"He didn't participate in the Autumn Elections, so maybe he's already secured a spot among the top ten?" someone speculated enviously.
Hearing the students' discussions, Erina blushed slightly but did not move away from Sui.
In the arena, Alice presented an exquisite Temari bento, a work of art in its own right, while Soma made a simple nori bento.
However, as Sui had expected, the final result was that Alice lost, and the name written on the judging slip by Senzaemon was Sōma's.
"Alice actually lost to that guy," Erina said in surprise. She hadn't expected Alice to lose. "It seems her skills have been fully assessed."
"Yeah," Sui agreed, standing up. "I'll be right back."
"Are you going to comfort Alice? That's fine," Erina said with a nod.
As expected, Sui found Alice sitting on the ground in the hallway, crying like a child. He was taken aback.
Alice cried like this the other morning too.
'The two sisters really are similar,' he thought.
"Are you alright?" Sui asked as he walked over, extending his hand to her.
Alice looked up in surprise when she saw Sui. A trace of panic flashed across her face, but after a moment's hesitation, she took his hand and let him help her up.
"You really don't need to cry like this," Sui said gently.
"I don't need your concern! I haven't even confronted you about what happened last time," Alice retorted, her face turning red as she looked down, speaking in a small voice.
Ever since she was a child, Alice had always lived in Erina's shadow. Although both were daughters of the Nakiri family, people always remembered Erina, the holder of the God's Tongue. Everyone only paid attention to Erina.
That was why Alice had gone to Northern Europe—to find her own way to surpass Erina. But she never expected to lose in the quarterfinals.
"You're very talented, too," Sui said softly, wiping away her tears.
Alice truly had great potential, but her opponent was Sōma, who had the aura of a protagonist. Defeat was inevitable.
Feeling Sui's hand gently brushing her cheek, Alice looked up at him, startled.
"I'm really sorry about what happened that day. I didn't mean for it to happen," Sui apologized, having wanted to explain himself for a while.
Alice let out a soft snort, turned her head, and after a moment of hesitation, whispered, "I know. I don't really blame you."
She understood that it had been an accident and that Sui hadn't done it on purpose. She just hadn't known how to face him, so she had been avoiding him.
"I can take responsibility for what happened," Sui offered sincerely.
"I don't want you to take responsibility!" Alice shouted, her face turning crimson.
But after a brief pause, she opened her arms and, blushing even more, whispered, "I... I want you to hug me."
Sui was taken aback. He hadn't expected Alice to make such a request, but after a moment of contemplation, he wrapped his arms around her gently.