CH 3

Chapter 3 — Dinner with the Saint.

“〜〜〜〜♪”

I was humming my favorite and respected anime song as I stirred the curry sauce on the saucepan.

Yep! You guessed it right! Tonight’s dinner is the dish that everyone loves, curry!

After parting ways with Hiiragi, I immediately took a bath and prepared tonight’s dinner.

Uh-huh, curry is one hell of a great dish, no?

It’s not that it’s troublesome, but if you make a little extra, you won’t have to make breakfast tomorrow, you know? Don’t you think it’s the perfect dish for people living alone?

While thinking as such, I scooped up a small amount onto a small plate and tasted it.

…Hmm, it tastes pretty good, doesn’t it?

With that in mind, I turned off the IH stove and put rice and curry on the plate, then carried it to the table.

The time was already 19:00. It’s already a bit late, but I think I should eat fast then read my favorite light novel.

“Well then, itadaki—”

*ding dong*

“—masu… Frick, who is knocking at this hour?”

As I was giving thanks to the food, my entrance’s intercom suddenly rang.

…Is it some suspicious newspaper salesman? Or Souta and Toudou who came to play? These two things are the only possible situation I could think of.

Hmm, who is it I wonder?

“Well, let’s go check, then.”

I stopped thinking and just went towards the door.

“Yes, yes, who might thou—”

“G-good evening… Kisaragi-san…”

“—be… huh?”

As soon as I opened the door, what greeted my eyes was Hiiragi in her pajamas.

Wearing a pale pink pajama, Hiiragi’s adorableness was being drawn out even more.

…Plus, she had this pleasant faint fragrance about her that seemed like she just got out of the bath and she looked a bit flushed… She looked… a bit sexy.

“W-what’s up… Hiiragi?”

Becoming a little distracted by that, I forcibly averted my gaze away.

…This is bad, if I keep looking at her, I feel like it’d turn into something dangerous.

“U-uhm… I… have a little favor to ask.”

“Favor?”

She was squirming her body as if embarrassed, before saying,

“U-uhm… That… I… I’m scared of walking alone at night…”

“O-okay…”

I’d rather you not come out of the closet like that. Why did you suddenly reveal one of your fears like that? It’s a bit concerning.

“I am unable to go buy food alone at night…”

“I-is that so…?”

Is she asking me to accompany her?

Fortunately, although it’s getting dark outside, convenience stores and supermarkets are still open. It’s definitely possible to go buy food.

But, I’m just about to eat dinner…

I want to dig in while it’s still warm, so I don’t really want to go with her if possible.

“T-that’s why I was wondering if you could—”

I feel a little guilty, but I’ll have to refuse to go shopping with her. I want to eat too…my stomach is growling.

“Sorry, but I can’t go with—”

“—if you could let me eat with you?”

“—you to… what?”

I couldn’t help but make a strange sound at Hiiragi’s statement.

…Eh, you’re asking me if it was possible to eat dinner with me instead of going out to buy food with you?

Honestly, it was a bit surprising and different from what I was expecting.

“A-actually—”

♦♦♦

“—I see.”

I listened to Hiiragi’s circumstances at the entrance. After she finished explaining, she seemed even more embarrassed than before, her face turned bright red as she looked down.

“So, in other words, you don’t have any cup noodles at home, and you were planning on going out to buy food today, but you got too caught up coming home with me and forgot to buy anything. Now you’re in trouble because you have no dinner for the night… Is that it?”

“…Yes.”

What a situation. So she really lives off just cup noodles.

…I can’t believe she’s been surviving on that until now.

I can’t help but imagine Hiiragi’s living situation and hold my head in my hands.

“Do you have any other food or something? For example, stuffed bread?”

“…There are none. Really, there’s nothing.”

“…Seriously?”

…Is this girl really okay? And her parents had the audacity to allow her to live alone?

However, it would also hurt my conscience to leave Hiiragi here with nothing…

To be honest, I don’t really feel obligated to go that far for someone I had just gotten involved with today…

“…Uu.”

Her body was shaking and looked really feeble, blushing and looking down.

Seeing Hiiragi like this…

I can’t help but feel like I have to do something to help her.

“…First of all, come in.”

“…Eh?”

Hearing my words, Hiiragi lifts her head in surprise.

“If you’re fine with curry, then I can give you some.”

“Th-thank you very much!”

Hiiragi replied, showing a smile that seemed like flowers blooming, clearly delighted.

“!?”

Seeing that expression, I can’t help but feel my heart skip a beat.

While feeling my face turn red, I welcome Hiiragi into my apartment.

♦♦♦

“Wow! This is really delicious! It’s really good, Kisaragi-san!”

Hiiragi said while her cheeks puffed up with curry.

…In the end, I prepared a separate serving for her, apart from mine, and quickly gave it to her so she could eat.

While I was thinking that we shouldn’t let the food wait and quickly eat it so it wouldn’t turn cold, I was also thinking that it wasn’t a good idea to keep a girl in a guy’s room for too long.

Thus, I wanted Hiiragi to quickly finish her food and send her back home.

—However,

“Your cooking is really good, Kisaragi-san!”

With a radiant smile, Hiiragi praised my cooking. Seeing that, I could feel a warm feeling well up my chest.

I never thought it would make me happy to have someone say my cooking is delicious…

It was a feeling that I rarely experience since I am living alone. I usually eat with no one else and feel lonely, but eating with someone like this is the first time since Souta and her girlfriend came over.

Moreover, seeing the other party enjoying the food so much makes me feel like it was worth cooking.

Perhaps, it’s good to have this kind of experience once in a while…

Was what went through my mind as I watched Hiiragi puff up her full cheeks happily.

♦♦♦

“Thanks for the food.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

—A few moments later.

After completely finishing the curry, Hiiragi patted her stomach as if satisfied.

“Thank you so much for today,” Hiiragi said as she bowed her head.

“Sure, no worries.”

“U-uhm… Here… This is for today’s dinner…”

Hiiragi said as she slowly took out a ¥10,000 bill from her wallet.

Yukichi♪ Yukichi♪ My cooking is worth ¥10,000…wait, isn’t that way too much?! Surely you wouldn’t spend ¥10,000 on a single meal, would you?! [TLN: 10,000 yen bills have Fukuzawa Yukichi’s face.]

“You don’t have to pay for it! …Rather, don’t just casually take out a ¥10,000 bill like that. What would you do if it were stolen?”

“I’m sorry…”

When I lightly told her off, Hiiragi became noticeably crestfallen.

…Crap, I was just giving a bit of advice, but seeing her makes me feel a bit guilty.

“T-then! Please at least let me do something in return!”

“It’s a bit exaggerated for just treating you to a meal.”

“No, it’s not!”

Hiiragi replied as she brought her face closer to mine.

…You’re way too close. Your face is way too close.

The saint’s perfectly beautiful face was right in front of me. Her translucent pupils and her cherry blossom-colored lips were drawing me in.

T-this is bad! I’m being way too conscious!

“U-uh, H-Hiiragi-san… Isn’t your face way too close…?”

“Fueh—!? I-I’m sorry!”

Realizing her own actions, Hiiragi’s face turned bright red and she quickly backed away, then once again lowered her head.

Does she even realize the situation we’re in…?

A young man and a girl alone in this narrow room. One would normally be cautious to prevent any mishaps from occurring, wouldn’t they?

Despite that, the girl now present is—lowering her guard down too much.

…Does she perhaps trust me?

Although it hasn’t been that long since we became involved with each other, for some reason, I feel that kind of atmosphere coming from her.

“T-then… could you please at least let me clean up your room?” Hiiragi said, blushing as she looked around my room.

Clothes were scattered about and half-read books were on the bed instead of the bookshelf. My room was in a state of neglect with trash piled up in the trash can.

…Looking back now, I can’t believe I let a girl into a room like this.

“It’s fine, I’ll take care of it later,” I replied while waving my hand to Hiiragi.

Well, even though I said that, I’ll probably end up putting it off for later.

Cleaning is not my strong suit, and I just find it too bothersome to even try.

…I don’t even know how to make my room organized and clean.

“No way! I know you’ll just put it off because you’re lazy, Kisaragi-san! If you stay in a room that’s as dirty as this, you’ll eventually get sick!”

…She got me.

How did she even figure it out? Am I the type of person who’s very easy to read?

“Sigh… Alright. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

Hiiragi’s desperate attitude made me sigh and reluctantly give in.

“Yes!”

The moment I agreed, Hiiragi smiled very happily.

I never thought I, of all people, would end up having a girl clean my room.

…I hope I didn’t leave anything weird lying around. I should only have things that are okay to be seen, right?

Well, I don’t think she would clean that much either, so it should be okay.

Come to think of it, didn’t she say there was nothing inside of her fridge?

While Hiiragi is cleaning, I think it’s a good opportunity to pack the leftover curry and rice in a tupperware.

…That way, at least she would already have breakfast for the next day.

Thinking that, I headed to the kitchen so as not to disturb Hiiragi, who had started cleaning my room.

♦♦♦

“How is it, Kisaragi-san?”

“…Well, I think you’ve really done a good job.”

30 minutes later. While I was washing dishes in the kitchen and packing breakfast for Hiiragi, I suddenly received a report from her that she was already done cleaning.

And when I peeked into my room—SHEESH.

The clothes that were scattered around were neatly put away in the cabinet, the half-read books were organized neatly in the bookshelf, and the garbage was neatly separated and tied up. The floor and window frames were spotlessly clean as if they were in the same state as when I moved in.

“You… sure are pretty good at cleaning, aren’t you Hiiragi?”

“It’s a basic skill for any human being!” replied Hiiragi as she puffs out her chest proudly.

…Indeed, her emphasized round balls are truly magnificent.

“I guess. Though, you’re missing the basic skills of a girl.”

“Uu…! P-Please don’t say that…”

Still, I really think that her cleaning skills are amazing. I never thought my room could become this clean in just thirty minutes.

“Uhm… Thanks.”

“No, this is my thanks for today’s dinner.”

“I guess…”

I let out a small voice involuntarily after I saw the saint make a faint smile.

“Ah, that’s right—here.”

I hurriedly said, handing out the tupperware with the leftover curry and rice.

“You said you didn’t have anything in your fridge, didn’t you? Here, you can have this for tomorrow’s breakfast or something.”

“I-I can’t accept that! After you gave me dinner, I can’t let you do something like this for me!”

However, Hiiragi waved her hands and refused to take it.

But I ignored her and forcefully handed over the tupperware.

“To be honest, I never thought my place would be cleaned up with not as much speck of dust. Let me at least do this much for you.”

“B-but—”

“It’s fine, just take it.”

As I insisted, Hiiragi reluctantly agreed and accepted the tupperware.

“Thank you very much, Kisaragi-san.”

“!?”

I couldn’t help but feel my heart race as Hiiragi smiled and thanked me.

…Why does my face feel hot when I look at her?

“It’s getting late, so you should head back. It’s not good to stay too long at a man’s place, you know.”

“Hehe, I guess you’re right. Then I shall take my leave now.”

I suggested to her while trying to hide my flushed face before looking away.

Finally, Hiiragi headed towards the door to leave.

“Kisaragi-san, if your room gets dirty again, I’ll come to clean it for you, okay?”

“…I’ll try my best to make sure my room doesn’t get dirty again.”

After I said that, Hiiragi gave me a small bow and opened the door.

“Oh, and—”

As if she remembered something, she turned back towards me while still holding the door open.

“I’m really thankful for today, and… you really are kind, Kisaragi-san.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes… well then.”

Hiiragi said her thanks and compliment before bidding me farewell and leaving through the front door.

…However, for some reason, my feet started moving towards Hiiragi as she left.

“H-hey, Hiiragi!”

I opened the front door and called out to her, stopping her from leaving.

“Is something the matter?”

Hiiragi tilted her head slightly in confusion at my sudden action.

“E-err, that… If ever you have problems with food again, then you can come over… I’ll cook something for you then.”

“…Yes!”

After hearing my words, the saint made a smile as if flowers were blooming and this time, finally went back to her own room. Watching her leave, I stood in front of the door, dumbfounded.

Why did I chase after her? Why did I tell her to come eat again? Why did I act this way towards Hiiragi, who I had only just begun to interact with today?

“What the hell are you doing, me…?”

Did I end up getting involved with her on my own even though I thought I didn’t want to be involved with her at all?

…Even after thinking about it myself, I couldn’t really understand it.

Her happy face.

Just by recalling that expression made my body and mouth move on their own.

“…A lot of things sure happened today,” I mumbled to myself, feeling a little tired as I returned to my apartment.

What exactly are my feelings towards this girl?

Even after spending the night in my now-tidy room, I still couldn’t find the answer.