Volume 2 - CH 14

“Aichiii, I brought him with me~”

“P-Please treat me well…”

“What kind of character is that…”

The following day after I was blessed to meet Airi-chan, Ashida grabbed me as soon as lunch break arrived, and dragged me to Natsukawa’s sweat. Seeing that I totally forgot the promise, I felt exceptionally guilty to see Natsukawa act so flustered. Natsukawa was surrounded by the other girls and Sasaki, who already visited Airi-chan before, as well as a few other boys sitting on the outer ring of the group. I feel like those guys were the most annoyed at my appearance.

I bet they’d much rather be in the middle of the action with the other girls, just like Sasaki. Well, I get where they’re coming from. Grabbing a nearby chair and sitting down next to Sasaki, Ashida showed a satisfied smile, and sat down across from Natsukawa. It’s honestly crazy how ‘Definitely Ashida’ became a rule when talking about who’d sit closest to Natsukawa. What kind of system is this, are you some dictator?

“Sajou, aren’t you always eating somewhere else? Pretty surprised to see you join us.”

“Well, there’s some stuff going on…”

“Huh…”

There’s the number one idol of the class, Natsukawa, and the number one hottie, Sasaki. With his personality and talent at playing soccer, he’s got total protagonist potential. After all, there’s always a ring of girls forming around him. Not to mention that he can not only talk about sports, but games as well, to a level where I couldn’t even make him my enemy if I wanted to. Ever since the Natsukawa boom happened, he’s always right next to her…Maybe that’s also a big reason?

“Um…so you’re eating with us as well, Sajou-kun.”

“Ah, sorry. I just took the seat next to Sasaki.”

“T-That’s not what I was on about…”

I was asked by the nearby Saitou-san, with a bit of an awkward tone. Well, I guess that makes sense, with me around, it makes it harder for her to approach Sasaki. I even heard a faint ‘Why is that bastard here’ in the shadows around me, but I’ll just ignore that. Instead of backing off, let me just double down.

“Ehhh, really?”

“A-Again, that’s not it…!”

When I teased her with a quiet voice, she started panicking. Ahh, that’s so cute…But, I’m sure that Saitou-san is part of the group of girls that are interested in Sasaki. Having watched the class ever since April, I can tell as much.

Well, don’t worry about it. I won’t tell Sasaki anything unnecessary, nor do I plan on clinging on Natsukawa again like I did before. I’ll just melt into this atmosphere. That’s right, I am to become the onions of a curry.

“H-Hey, Sajou.”

“Hm…?”

At the same time as Sasaki poked his index finger at me, I saw someone twitching in my field of view. Sitting across from Sasaki was Natsukawa, giving me a stern gaze. That face is cute as well. You’ll make me fall for you. Oh right, I already did.

“Sasaki, it seems like someone is jealous of me.”

“Wha…like I would be jealous of you! Are you an idiot?!”

Natsukawa stood up with a ‘What nonsense is this!’ reaction. You don’t need to be so forceful about it…

“Sasaki…it seems like I’m being treated like an idiot.”

“I mean, you are one.”

And then, the whole class laughed. Except Natsukawa, she just averted her face. Although it smoothened the atmosphere around me, the damage I received was no joke. If I didn’t have resistance stacked in my build, I might have gotten one-shot by that…

Let me change my outlook on this. I might as well go eat my lunch now. No matter how sad and lonely I may be, delicious food stays delicious. Not to mention that it’ll heal my mental health if I fill my stomach.

“Sasaki, you got a lunch box as well, huh. Did Yuki-chan make that?”

“How did you know…”

“Why’d you think I wouldn’t?”

Compared to the dull container, Sasaki’s lunch was cutely aligned inside of it. I don’t think his Mom has that much modern sense, and knowing that Yuki-chan was a hyper brocon, there’s only one possible conclusion for this. I could even visualize Yuki-chan making the lunch for him.

“Oh yeah, you only got a piece of sweet bread right, Sajou. Is that even enough?”

“Been eating random stuff as of late. And I do eat sweets a lot. Especially chocolate or gum.”

“Oh yeah, that got found out in class before, and the teacher got angry at you…”

“Just forget about that.”

Of course, Big Sis is the same. We both just eat some sweets at noon, and that’s enough for us. She especially, as she can need the sugar to keep her head fresh, as the examinee that she is. I totally get it, but I wish she’d stop stealing my sweets because of that. At least pay for them with your own money…

As I was explaining myself, Natsukawa opened up her mouth with an annoyed tone. Everyone, it’s time for an announcement.

“That’s not healthy at all.”

Oh my, how strict. I didn’t expect to get scolded.

“You know, a lunch box is basically just cold food with rice. Thinking about health, it doesn’t change much.”

“Then at least buy some salad…You need the nourishment from vegetables.”

“Eh?”

That’s pretty unexpected. I know that Natsukawa can be like a caretaking Onee-san, but hearing her care about me like this felt pretty fresh.

“Yeah…Well, I’ll just eat it at random. Thanks.”

“What do you mean ‘random’!”

“Eh?”

I was giving her my gratitude, but it seems like Natsukawa wasn’t too happy with my response. Maybe my way of phrasing it was off after all…Or maybe I didn’t seem caring enough. I’m honestly just more than happy that she’s talking to me, so wanting anymore would be greedy of me.

“—You can’t do that, Sajou-kun. You need to eat some vegetables.”

“Eh?”

“Here, have some of my cabbage rolls.”

“Ah, thanks…”

Saitou-san placed a cabbage roll on the empty plastic bag that previously contained my sweet bread. Taken by surprise, I couldn’t say more than properly thank her. But, wait a second? Saitou-san should be interested in Sasaki. Why would she be this considerate of me? As a matter of fact, she was still glancing at him even now…

No wait, I get it. She’s trying to make Sasaki jealous with this. She wants him to think ‘How nice’, and look at me in jealousy.

“I see…”

“Don’t give me a ‘I see’…!”

I observed Saitou-san’s expression, and muttered these words, only to get a retort back. It seems like she figured out what I was thinking. Fine then, I’ll play along!

“Mm…Ah, delicious. I can feel the nourishments from the vegetables sinking deep into me…I might just become vegan.”

“You suck at giving impressions.”

When I stuffed the cabbage into my mouth, a sweet and delicious taste filled my mouth. Is this the power of a ‘Girl’s lunch box’? That alone makes it so much better. Although I was planning on giving an honest review, Sasaki’s reaction wasn’t exactly satisfying. Doesn’t seem like he’s particularly jealous either. If anything, he doesn’t understand the charm of a girl’s lunch box. Can’t this guy just go on an isekai trip already…

“Ah, Sajocchi, have some of my cabbage rolls as well.”

“Are cabbage rolls popular right now or something?”

As I was busy insulting Sasaki in my head, this time Ashida brought up her own cabbage rolls. Maybe this is all some plot to show how feminine they are? Nah, I doubt Ashida is the type of person to be bothered by that.

“Here, open wide.”

“Eh?”

What do you mean ‘Open wide’? Not to mention your chopsticks…When I gave Ashida a ‘Are you serious?’ expression, she just grinned at me. That’s right, Ashida just loves teasing me…Well, don’t mind if I do.

“Ahhhmm!”

“—Ah…”

“Hehehe, delicious, right!”

“Yup yup, delish.”

When I gave that response, Ashida showed another grin. Why do you seem so satisfied now? Didn’t you say that your Mom is making the food for you? Are you bragging about your Mom? Well, my Mom’s the same! Her fried rice is delicious! Though she doesn’t have much repertoire of Japanese food!

I can even tell the taste difference between the Saitou-san family and the Ashida family. In Ashida’s case, I can taste the ketchup. Well, they’re both delicious.

“Phew, it’s been a while since I had cabbage rolls…”

“—W-Wataru!”

“Wah!? W-What?”

I let out a satisfied sigh after gulping down the cabbage roll, when someone suddenly called out my name, which had my back straighten in shock. This just reminds me of the times my angry Big Sis called out my name…

Looking at the source, Natsukawa stood up from her seat, and walked towards me with her own lunch box in hand. Wait a second, what is this about? Why does she look so determined? Why? I mean, I get what she’s trying to do, but why? Even the other girls around us are all like ‘Eh, seriously?’ as they’re looking over at us.

“It’s not a cabbage roll, but…”

“N-Natsukawa, I’m already—”

“W-With this, then!”

“No, um…”

Let’s organize this situation. First, Natsukawa feeding me is ridiculous. Leaving aside Ashida, it’s even weird for Natsukawa to even be conscious of me. She rejected me after all. I mean, I’m really happy, but would you really do that? Everyone around us is shocked, and I can feel myself blushing even!

However, all of that was blown away when she pushed her asparagus wrapped in bacon towards me. Not to mention that it’s a pretty thick one. Natsukawa-san…That judgement might have been off. After all…I really hate asparagus~

“N-Natsukawa, you don’t have to force yourself—”

“Kei is fine, but you won’t do it because it’s me…?”

“Urk…!”

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! What kind of face is that, I want to hug heeeeeeer! What am I supposed to do!? Can I just cheer her up? But, am I even allowed to!? Either way, thank you very much for the treat! Since I love Natsukawa oh so very much, I’m happy! …But, I do really hate asparagus.

“Y-You need to eat your vegetables…Come on.”

“Uuu…”

She pushed her chopsticks towards my mouth. Despite the bacon and asparagus not even touching my tongue, I can already taste it.

“…Nom…!”

“Ah…!”

I couldn’t pull back. I do hate asparagus, but it’s definitely better than eating insects. Comparing it to all the survivalists on TV nowadays, asparagus is like snake sushi. I should feel blessed to have been born as a Japanese! And, I can’t forget about that! Onwards, asparagus…!

“………Ah, it’s delicious.”

It really was. There were no remains of the typical asparagus taste. Instead, a comfortable taste and sensation widened up on my tongue.

“…H-How much?”

“Ehh?”

You ask me that right now? It is delicious, but that’s about it. What am I supposed to answer here.

“Um…it’s better than Big Sis’.”

“B-Better than your Onee-san’s!?”

There’s no mistaking that, yeah. She often forces me to eat stuff I hate after all. I bet she’s enjoying my suffering face as well.

“Maybe because I was making it like I would for Airi…”

“H-Huh…so you made this yourself?”

“Ah…y-yeah, that’s right…”

I can see that not a lot of kindergarten children enjoy the taste of asparagus. Basically, this was made with that in mind…? That’s Aika-onechan for you, I love you!

However, Natsukawa-san, what are you going to do about the atmosphere around us? Run? Should I just leave?

Oddly enough, Natsukawa didn’t seem bothered by this at all, and just happily smiled at me.