“I’ve heard the reason you chose this school, Sou-san.”
Kimiya said.
Just like she said, of all people, I had only told her the real reason I picked this school.
—Because I want to deal with human relationships in a calculated way.
I didn’t share the full details. It’s not like I have some concrete goal.
But even though I only explained my general intent, she still offered me her support without asking for more.
“That said, I can’t agree with you pushing yourself so hard.”
“……Sorry.”
“And so, let’s go.”
After giving me a wry smile as I fell silent, Kimiya suddenly said that.
“Eh? Go… where?”
“To eat lunch, of course. You haven’t bought anything, have you?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Actually, I made a lunchbox. I was worried I wouldn’t get the chance to show it to you.”
She blushed slightly, smiling modestly and shyly.
“…You made it? As in, you cooked it yourself?”
“That’s what I said. Why the question? I’m actually good at cooking, you know.”
She giggled, shaking her shoulders, amused by my dumb question.
I hadn’t noticed it at all, but sure enough, she was holding a box wrapped in cloth in one hand.
Without thinking, I stared at it intently.
Maybe she noticed, because she suddenly pouted and said:
“Don’t worry. I didn’t run so fast that it got messed up inside.”
“Huh? Oh—no, sorry. I wasn’t worried about that to begin with.”
“I see. Then if you’re not worried about the taste either, what are you afraid of?”
To that question, I hesitated a little before answering.
“Wouldn’t it be kind of scary if people found out that the super popular Kimiya made me a handmade lunch?”
“I see. You’re good at dodging, huh? I’ll let that slide for now.”
—In that case.
Kimiya raised a finger and gently pressed it to her lips.
“Let’s keep this a secret between us. Just for you, Sou-san. Special treatment.”
She said it with a playful, mischievous smile.
—Yeah, I can’t beat this.
It was a more than generous offer to begin with. I decided to accept it honestly.
With her homemade lunch in hand, we went looking for a place to eat, hoping to recharge for afternoon classes.
Ideally, I didn’t want anyone seeing us. At times like this, the overly large school grounds come in handy. Since the weather was nice today, it wasn’t hard to find a good spot.
We settled on a bench in the shade of some trees on the edge of campus to enjoy Kimiya’s homemade lunch.
There was a vacuum cleaner sitting nearby, which kind of killed the mood, but I decided to ignore it.
“Here you go. Please, enjoy.”
“Thanks. Let’s eat.”
I opened the wrapped package and looked inside. By the way, there was only one portion.
“…Just to check—are you giving me your own lunch?”
“Nope. I made this especially for you. Though I admit I didn’t make any for myself. I already ate at the cafeteria.”
“Then you should’ve told me earlier… What if I’d already eaten?”
Kimiya smiled sweetly and said:
“But you hadn’t, had you?”
” …… I give up. “
I decided to just focus on the lunch in front of me.
Whether it was surprising or not, the contents looked like a typical homemade bento. The main items were hearty fried chicken and hamburger patties, with side dishes like seasoned vegetables and simmered dishes to balance out the nutrition and appearance.
Wondering what to try first, I went for the hamburger—it stood out the most.
“Mmm… wow, it’s really good.”
“…I’m glad to hear that. I was a little nervous, to be honest.”
Kimiya smiled, putting her hands together in thanks.
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“This isn’t frozen food, right? Must’ve been a lot of work making it this morning…”
“Didn’t I say it was handmade? I even bought all the ingredients myself.”
Frozen food could still count as handmade, I guess—but this was beside the point.
What should I do? Now I’m getting nervous. It’s so delicious, it’s scary.
Does a rich girl like her even shop at regular supermarkets?
This bento might actually be made with some crazy expensive ingredients.
My clueless palate and limited vocabulary for compliments felt downright shameful now. As I ate in silence, Kimiya sat beside me, shaking her shoulders with laughter.
“Fufufu. I’m so happy you really like it.”
“Hm?”
“It’s nothing. It’s just, your face is really expressive when it comes to food. Must be a guy thing.”
…Ah, so that’s why she kept staring at me… Man, this is kind of embarrassing.
Having her watch me eat with such a beaming smile was a little unsettling—but the food was more than worth it. Honestly, I should be grateful.
Even if I hadn’t been hungry, I probably would’ve eaten it all just the same.
“You know, this is actually the first time a girl’s made me lunch. Really, thank you.”
“Wow. So I got Sou-san’s first, huh? I’m glad I worked hard.”
“…I said I give up. So could you stop teasing me already?”
“I wasn’t trying to! It’s just rare to see you get flustered like this. Sorry.”
Before I knew it, I’d finished the entire thing.
It wasn’t a huge portion, but I have a small appetite anyway, so it was just right.
“Thanks for the meal. It was seriously delicious. Should I wash the chopsticks and lunchbox before giving them back?”
I put my hands together and bowed slightly, thanking Kimiya.
“Glad you liked it. Just return the box as it is. More importantly, we should go return the vacuum cleaner before lunch break ends.”
“Right… Sorry again. I made you go through all this. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind making lunch for you again.”
“If you do that, I’ll never be able to look you in the eye again…”
“That’s fine. You can just keep your head down forever.”
“…Kimiya-san?”
“I’m kidding ♪”
Since her attitude and tone never really change, it’s hard to tell when she’s joking—kind of terrifying, actually.
She is a daughter of a distinguished family, after all. Maybe it’s not a joke…
Trying to shake off the ominous vision of the future forming in my mind, I decided to focus on how to return the favor for the bento she made.
“It feels wrong to just keep accepting things from you, so I’d like to make it up to you somehow.”
When I asked if there was anything I could do, she smiled and replied:
“I see. In that case, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
—Hmm?
If I were more perceptive, maybe I would’ve noticed something odd in that moment.
But I didn’t. At the time, I didn’t feel anything strange.
“Sou-san, are you free after school today? It should only take about thirty minutes.”
“That’s fine. I don’t have anything planned yet… Thirty minutes?”
Maybe it was a job request? That thought crossed my mind—but then I realized it probably wasn’t.
Kimiya is active in many sports clubs, but she doesn’t belong to any one club specifically.
It’d be strange for her to call in a favor through work.
As I tilted my head in confusion, she kept smiling and said:
“Actually, the student council president asked me to introduce you.”
“The president… wants to meet me?”
I had a bad feeling. Being summoned at school is rarely a good thing.
And for it to come from the student council president instead of a teacher? Weird. Then again, if it were a teacher, they’d just contact me directly. So in that sense, it made sense.
—Could it be about my “job”?
It’s not like part-time work is banned, so there shouldn’t be any issues—or so I’d told Kimiya. Maybe someone’s keeping an eye on me. That’s the only reason I could think of.
“Ah, no, no. I don’t think it’s a scolding or anything.”
Maybe she noticed the suspicion on my face, because she quickly waved her hand.
“Really?”
“The student council doesn’t summon individual students just to lecture them.”
“Yeah, if anyone were to do that, it’d be a teacher…”
“Sorry, I don’t know the details either. The president just knew that we’re in the same class and asked if I could arrange a meeting since we’re close.”
“I see… well, if it’s just that, then sure.”
I nodded. No reason to say no.
Back during the school tour before enrollment, I only got to meet the vice president.
If this gives me a chance to connect with the student council president, it might actually be a good thing. A new opportunity to expand my network.
That’s what I thought—but for some reason, Kimiya’s face had gone oddly blank, as if it were intentional.
“You’re really okay with this?”
“Eh… uh, yeah. I’m okay with it, but…”
Only after all this did I finally start to feel uneasy.
Something was off. The whole flow of this conversation felt weird.
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