Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139843121925685/episodes/822139844362760293
“…This is weird.”
During lunch break, I muttered to myself at my desk.
This is weird.
It’s just weird.
No, it’s too early to give up.
I called out to the girl sitting next to me.
“Nice to meet you starting today!”
“?!”
The girl’s eyes widened in shock… then immediately turned stiff.
“Uh, um… n-nice to meet you…”
She looked like she was scared of something.
Then, suddenly, she stood up from her seat.
“Ah—oh right, I have library committee work to do…! See… see ya!”
“Ah… ah…”
The girl hurriedly exits the classroom, looking flustered.
“…Haa.”
Clearly… she’s avoiding me.
Well, if she dislikes me, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll just have to accept it.
But…
“How many is that now…?”
This wasn’t the first time I’d been treated like this.
Almost every student I met at school reacted the same way she did just now.
“Seriously, why…?”
…I couldn’t think of any reason.
But…there must be some reason, surely.
“—Yuu!”
Suddenly, my name was called from behind.
That voice… Yukina!
“Oh, Yukina…! What’s up?”
“Hey Yu, wanna grab lunch together? I know a pretty good spot~”
Yukina said this with a mischievous grin.
“Is that okay, Yukina…! That’d be awesome!”
I avoided eating alone…!
Just as I was inwardly rejoicing—
“—It’s not fair to just take Yuki-chan! Let me join too…!”
Tsukino, holding her lunchbox, called out.
“Alright, Tsukino, let’s have lunch together too! More people are better!”
“Thank you…! Should we invite Karen-chan too?”
“Yeah. Let’s go to Karen’s classroom first.”
Just as we were about to head to Karen’s classroom…
“――Senpai! Are you guys having lunch without me?”
We bumped into Karen, who had raced up the stairs.
“Karen…! No, we were just about to go to your classroom…”
“Huh…? You’re not lying… I guess! Fine, I forgive you!”
Karen peered at my face, then smiled brightly, looking relieved.
――◇――◇――◇――
“Look, here…! I kinda like it here~”
And so, Yukina led me to a beautiful empty classroom.
This classroom was located on the top floor, offering a panoramic view of the cityscape and the school grounds from its windows.
Even in the game, there was a scene where the protagonists ate lunch here together… but actually coming here, it’s a pretty nice spot.
I plopped down on a random chair and pulled out the bento I’d bought at the convenience store.
“…Huh? Yu-san, is your lunch just a bento?”
Then, Tsukino asked me curiously.
“Well, yeah. Obviously I can’t prepare my own meals, so this is the only option…”
“…Oh, right… Sorry, I wasn’t thinking…”
As soon as she heard my words, Tsukino’s face twisted apologetically.
“Ah, no… Even if my legs were healthy, I still couldn’t cook, so I’d probably just get a convenience store bento anyway. So, don’t worry about it.”
“Is that… so… But I feel bad…”
Tsukino glanced at her own bento for a moment… then her eyes widened as if she’d noticed something.
“Oh! Yuu-san! I’ll share some of my bento with you…! It’s homemade, so it should be more nutritious than a convenience store bento…!”
“I-is that okay?”
“Of course it is!”
Tsukino nodded cheerfully—
“—Hey, Tsukino-chan, that’s cheating! Senpai, please take my bento too!”
“—Yeah, yeah—! I want Yuu to try my homemade cooking too~?”
Karen and Yukina pouted.
“Huh, both of you…? Wait… Can you two even cook…?”
I’m pretty sure… in the game, only Tsukino could cook, and Karen and Yukina were totally hopeless at it…?
“Senpai, you just totally thought we couldn’t cook, didn’t you?!”
“W-Well…”
“Mouu…! To a senpai like that… Here!”
The next moment, something was shoved into my mouth.
“Huh?! Mmmph… what’s this?”
The sweetness of eggs and a slightly salty taste… Could it be—
“Hmmm… It’s tamagoyaki!”
“Hehe, spot on! How was it? The taste of my tamagoyaki…!”
“It was absolutely delicious…! This really was made by Karen, right?”
“Of course it was! For the past few months, I’ve been practicing cooking like crazy, learning from Tsukino-chan, just to get Senpai to notice me!”
Karen puffed out her chest as if to say “Aha!”
“I see… You did that for me… Thanks, Karen…! It was really delicious.”
“Ehehe… It feels so good when people compliment the food you make for them…! You’re welcome!”
“—Karen, that’s not fair! Yuu, eat my food too!”
This time, Yukina shoved something into my mouth.
Yukina… wasn’t just bad at cooking.
She had a special ability where everything she made turned into dark matter…
I cautiously chewed…
“Huh… Wait, what? This is… delicious!… This is insanely good!”
Fried chicken… maybe?
The crispy coating remained even after cooling, and the more I chewed, the more umami burst out.
It was so delicious I wished I could eat it fresh.
“Hmm, I worked super hard on this!”
“Yukina, thank you so much too… I’m really happy you did this for me…”
The thought that both of them had worked so hard on cooking, something they hated, just for me… somehow, it made me happy.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I looked out the window.
—The next moment, I did a double take at that figure.
Because… standing there was the game’s protagonist, Akiba, who must have just arrived at school.
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