CH 9

After returning to my own house and packing my uniform and a few other daily clothes into the carry-on bag that Hino-san had prepared for me, I drove straight back to Tojo-san’s house in her car.

Hino-san said she would wait in the living room until Tojo-san came home.

When I was shown to one of the three bedrooms, I learned a shocking fact.

“This is the room prepared for Inamori-sama.”

“… Eh?”

In the room, there was a large closet, a simple desk and a chair.

The room, only five tatami mats in size, felt like solitary confinement with such a small amount of things. [EN: 5 tatami = 8.2 m² = 88.3 ft².]

“It was originally a room for guests, but since Fuyuki-sama rarely lets strangers into her home, it had become practically unused. So please feel free to use it as you wish.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you…”

“If you need any furniture or any other items, please feel free to let me know. I’ll order it for you.”

After saying that, Hino-san left the room.

As I was left behind, I looked around the room that had just become my room.

The room was clean, without a speck of dust, and felt much larger than the 1K apartment I lived in.

“Let’s put the clothes away for now.”

I opened the closet and put away my T-shirts and underwear on the shelves inside.

To be honest, I felt sorry for them because they were all too tattered and didn’t really fit with this room.

By the time I was done, it was already past 13:00.

I realized that I was hungry, so I decided to go back to the living room.

Speaking of which, I wondered if Hino-san was going to eat lunch. I have a bento box that Tojo-san made for me, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t see hers on the table.

When I opened the door to the living room, I found Hino-san reading a book.

“Ah… Hino-san.”

“How can I help you?”

I couldn’t help but call out to her, and she looked up while putting a bookmark in her book.

“Well, I was wondering what you do for lunch…”

“If that’s the case, I thought you could eat the lunchboxes that Fuyuki-sama made for you.”

“Oh, no… I meant what about Hino-san’s lunch.”

Mr. Hino looked as if he didn’t know what I was talking about and was silent for a while.

An indescribably awkward moment.

Eventually, Hino-san re-booted, cleared her throat and continued.

“I try not to drink anything other than water while on duty, so don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, are you fine with that?”

“I’ve trained myself to be flexible.”

Could it be that this person was not just a secretary?

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. My exact job is to be Fuyuki-sama’s secretary and bodyguard. I eat a certain amount of food every day at specific times so that I have no problems with my physical condition when the time arises.”

“Bodyguard…? Wouldn’t you need to stay by Tojo-san’s side while she’s at school…”

“I would, but Fuyuki-sama doesn’t like to stand out in school, so I wait until it’s time to pick her up.

My relationship with Tojo-san is still young, but I feel that it was somehow ‘typical.’

She understood that if she walked around with a bodyguard on campus, it would cause unnecessary animosity.

“Of course, if something were to happen when I’m not there, I would have taken steps to resolve it immediately. Don’t worry.”

With that, Hino-san went back to her book.

I looked at her and the lunch box on the table for a bit before taking the lunch box and sitting down next to Hino-san.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Yes, please don’t mind me.”

Even though I was asked not to worry about it, I knew that it was human nature to worry about things to a certain extent. It seemed strange to go all the way back to my room to eat, so I decided to eat in the living room after all.

“Oh…”

When I opened the lunch box, I found a beautiful assortment of side dishes and a bed of white rice.

The balance between the vegetables and the main dish was just right, and the rice was cooked perfectly, not too soggy and not too hard.

It looked delicious from every angle, no matter how you looked at it.

The side dish in the foreground… was a Tamagoyaki. [TL: Tamagoyaki is a type of Japanese omelet, which is made by rolling together several layers of fried egg.]

“… Yum!”

As soon as I took the first bite, I could already taste it.

The gentle sweetness of the egg spread to my mouth, and the smell of dashi went through my nose. [EN: Hard to explain dashi, so here is a recipe I found: https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-dashi-jiru/]

The same thing happened with the meat udon, but the seasoning was even more to my liking. Maybe it was just right. 

I believe that there are two types of Tamagoyaki: salty and sweet. Tojo-san’s was the sweet type.

I like it better, so I welcomed it with or without reservation.

It’s not as if she’s figured out what I like—or so I hope—, but I’m happy that the flavours match.

In addition to the Tamagoyaki, the asparagus wrapped in meat and the well-seasoned Chikuzenni were all excellent. [TL Note: Simmered Chicken and Vegetables is Chikuzenni.]

As for the vegetables, the ones that didn’t need cooking—like the small tomatoes—, the broccoli and all others were easy-to-eat sized.

“… Is it delicious?”

As I was engrossed in eating the lunch that Tojo-san had given me, a voice called out to me from next to me.

When I looked up, my eyes met with Hino’s with serious eyes.

“Ah… Y-yes. It’s delicious.”

“I see… I’m glad to hear that.”

Hino-san had an even more genuine smile than the one in the car and returned her gaze to the book.

For a moment, I thought that she wanted to eat her bento too, but I was sure that she wasn’t going to, and was perhaps happy about Tojo-san’s cooking being praised.

I think Hino-san cares about Tojo-san more than she cares about her job.

“… I’m sorry, Hino-san.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I thought you might be a little scary.”

“Scary?”

“But I think I misunderstood you. Hino-san is a kind person who likes Tojo-san, right?”

I am ashamed of myself for having once judged someone based on their appearance.

My apology was also meant to be a warning to myself.

“U-Um… Thank you…?”

I’m not sure what she was talking about, but she looked upset.

Was it abrupt and unintelligible? If so, I’ve done something wrong again.

“Ah… It’s almost time to pick up Fuyuki-sama.”

I closed my phone, and Hino-san left the room quickly.

I checked my phone and saw that it was still class time.

It seems I have said something that made Hino-san uncomfortable.

I’m going to be with Tojo-san for at least a month, and if someone close to her gets a strange impression of me, I’ll have one more thing I need to worry about.

“I’ll apologize again later….”

Once I turned my attention, I took my empty lunch box and headed for the kitchen sink.