CH 46

“Onii~, we’re going on a diet.”

“Well, do your best… Wait, isn’t that Haruki?”

“Yes. So please take care of the diet menu for our dinner.”

“Ha? I don’t know any kinds of recipes like that, you know?”

(So that’s what they’ve been talking about last night.)

Hayato walks along the school route, remembering this.

He doesn’t think that they both need to go on diet, but he couldn’t very well say that to Himeko, who looks like a devil.

(My supply of knowledge for cooking is basically just small and such.)

Also, for Hayato, the word “diet” had never been a part of his life.

In the countryside, one car per person is the norm in Tsukinose. As a student, Hayato has been forced to walk or ride bicycles for a long time, even if he goes for a little shopping, and he has not been able to get enough exercise. He never thought about calories in food.

So for him, this was a very annoying problem.

He also has a bitter feeling that he should have alternated with Himeko in the first place.

But he also remembered Haruki’s well-proportioned style.

He’s sure that was based on a lot of effort.

“Hayato was so good at cooking.”

“Gosh, this is what it feels like to have your stomach grabbed…”

“It’s better to eat together than alone.”

At the same time, He couldn’t help but think of Haruki enjoying the food he had made.

(I see. I may be responsible for making her gain some weight.)

“I think this is a good opportunity to expand my skills.”

Hayato dared to say it out loud, as if to express his enthusiasm.

His mouth was loose in a good mood.

◇◇◇

The time was between arriving at school and the morning homeroom.

Whenever he had spare time, Hayato tried to visit the flower beds where the vegetables were planted.

There is also the fact that he feels at home when he’s tinkering with the soil, as he did back then when he was back in Tsukinose.

Another reason was to talk to Minamo Mitake, who often misunderstands him and makes excuses.

By the way, the only thing he’s been doing these days is weeding the flower beds.

This time of year, if you are not careful, the flower bed will soon be covered in weeds. It is easiest to pluck them up while they are still small buds.

If they work hard enough, they can finish plucking the weeds in no time. It wasn’t so much that Hayato had to put it in a bag, it was just enough that he could hold it in one hand if he tried hard enough.

“Is that everything?”

“Yes, thank you, Kirishima-san.”

Minamo Mitake, with a little bit of dirt on her cheeks, answers Hayato with a smile.

She was currently dressed in gym clothes, a straw hat and a military gloves, very different from the fashionable Tsukinose girls (*mainly wearing children’s jerseys) style, which made Hayato feel even more familiar with her.

Evidently, Hayato was also worried that he couldn’t imagine a diet menu, so he talked to her in a casual, small talk kind of way.

“Mitake-san. Have you ever been on a diet?”

“Fue?! Am I too fat? Should I go on a diet?

“Ah No, no! It’s for my sister! My sister wants me to help her lose weight! You don’t need to do that at all, Mitake!”

“I-I’m sorry, I misjudged it again… Auuuuu~~~” [PRN: TL said he added “Auuu~~” because she’s like a dawg.]

As usual, Mitake was busy making quick judgments, her face turning pale and red, but when she calmed down, she tilted her head and groaned as she thought together with him.

“I guess the most important things are exercise and diet?”

“What they want from me is food. I’m the one who makes it. But all I can make is what’s called highly seasoned men’s food or something like that.”

“Ah, Kirishima-san also cooks. By the way, your recipe for overnight pickled eggplant was very helpful to me the other day!”

“Haha, that’s good to know. I’ve always been a man of necessity. My mom was…”

“Oh, maybe that hospital you were at the other day was…”

And then, Mitake blinked her eyes. When she thought she had fluttered, she looked into Hayato.

He had a strange look on his face.

He had a look in his eyes that could be described as both admiration and sympathy, and as she wondered what that meant, his expression turned into a wry smile.

“You’re a good big brother, aren’t you, Kirishima-san?”

“Wha-?! It’s not like that.”

“Fufu~”

Now it was Hayato’s turn to panic.

Minamo Mitake is a girl with a pretty face that could be described as a diamond in the rough, although she is not fashionable with her clothes. That’s why her words were powerful enough to make Hayato, who has an extreme intolerance to girls of his age other than his own relatives, flabbergasted.

“I think it’s great to be able to work hard for someone else, even if it’s something you’re not used to. My grandpa used to do that too…”

“…Mitake-san.”

It was a voice filled with mixed emotions.

When she looked at him with a slightly sad face in the wrong direction -the direction of the hospital, his thoughts quickly cooled down.

I’m sure she has some things she’s not comfortable telling people.

Hayato scratched his head and turned to Minamo Mitake.

“…A little while ago.”

“Yes?”

“You asked if I cook too, does that mean you do too, Mitake?”

“Well..”

“It doesn’t have to be a diet menu or anything like that, but if you have any recipe suggestions, just let me know.”

“I don’t mind, but mine is more like something my grandpa would like…”

“It would be good for a diet meal. It doesn’t seem to have much fat.”

“Ah! I guess so.”

They looked at each other and laughed.

Something is bugging them both.

The two have only known each other for a short time and don’t know much about the other person yet.

But it was also a smile of mutual sympathy, acknowledgement, and confirmation of comradeship.

“Then I’ll give you the recipe in a message.”

“Yeah… hmm?”

Behind the school building. Mitake looked at the direction of the collection place for thrash with an incinerator.

It is not a place that students visit usually, unless it’s cleaning time.

But there was a pair of men and women with a somewhat tense air about them.

As expected, it was not Hayato who did not understand what this situation was.

(A-A confession? Is this a confession scene?!)

However, she was completely freaked out by the fact that she’s witnessing such an event involving a man and a woman confessing for the first time.

Hayato knows he’s not supposed to look, but he’s curious. He knows well that he shouldn’t peek, but won’t they find him out if he moves a bit closer? These conflicting thoughts were going around in his head, and the confusion only got deeper and deeper.

“That man is Kaido-san, right?”

“Kaido-san… eh?”

“Kazuki Kaido, he’s a soccer player famous for being extremely popular.”

“Ehh???”

At Mitake’s suggestion, he took a closer look at the other person for the first time.

He’s tall and slender, has a toned body from his club activities, and a sweet mask with long slit eyes.

He’s certainly a handsome guy, even from Hayato’s point of view, and it was clear from his appearance that he’s quite a popular guy. It was only natural that the girls would make a fuss over him.

However, Mitake seemed unusually calm by this, which added to Hayato’s confusion.

She then predicted what would happen next with a flat look, as if she already knew the outcome of this confession.

“The girl will soon be rejected and go away, look–“

“Ah…”

As Mitake said, the girl eventually left, shaking their shoulders.

The only one left standing is a boy with an apologetic look on his face -Kaido Kazuki.

Despite the fact that Hayato is encountering an urban legend of calling out someone to confess, he and Mitake seem to be getting used to this situation.

So Hayato, with his head still in confusion, spilled out the words of an honest question.

“…Why?”

“You get used to it. I was also surprised at first, but this place seems to be a popular spot for confessions. Oh, he’s not the only one, you know.”

“Really?”

Hayato, who has never been in a relationship with anyone before, finds that even the word “confession” sounds like a foreign word from somewhere far away.

“But I don’t understand why she was rejected though. She was a pretty girl.”

“Ah, there’s a famous rumor among the girls that’s circulating around.”

But the words that followed were even more incomprehensible.

“That Kaido-san’s true love is Nikaido-san.”

“…………Eh?”

It was enough to blow Hayato’s thoughts away and make his head go blank.

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TL Afterword:

Holy mother of Ursus. I almost fell out of my bed while translating this. Also please read When I Lent 500 Yen to my Friend, He Sent his Sister as a Repayment, What should I do? Manga. I’m translating its manga and it’s still in Chapter 1 and I’m currently at Chapter 5 Raws lezgooooooo. I’m also planning to translate it’s light novel too because I love little sisters. I also might delay Tenkosaki because I’ve decided that I’ll pick up Chuuni Couple.

PR Afterword:

Tch, there’s a second guy now which I may hate.