I Managed to Bring Down the Entire Family of That Impossible-To-Conquer S-Class Beauty, Completely Filling in Her Outer Moat
――The next day.
It wasn’t a holiday, so school was in session as usual.
“That sushi was delicious, huh?”
I muttered that to myself while spaced out during class.
My wrist still hurt a little, but it was better than yesterday.
Before I knew it, class ended and it was lunchtime.
Today, surprisingly, I received a bento box from Chitose-san’s daughter as an apology.
I didn’t get to see her face since it came through her dad, but she must be a beauty—born to that handsome guy.
“Koki, let’s eat lunch together!”
“Sorry, man! We agreed to have a club meeting today~. Can’t eat with you today!!”
“Oh, okay. I’ll just eat alone then. See ya!”
“Alright!”
Well, since Kouki isn’t here, I guess I’ll eat alone.
While listening to my classmates’ idle chatter like it’s the radio.
“Whoa! China-san can cook too?! Looks delicious~!”
“Hehe. I made some for my dad and his friends, and made one for myself too? But it’s nothing special.”
“No way! It looks amazing! Tell me all about it!!”
See? The kind of stories that make great bento conversation just roll around the classroom.
I’ll eat while listening to Amagiri-san’s bento stories.
“Ooh, this looks tasty. I’ll try them in order.”
Listening to the classmate radio, I clasped my hands together before digging into my bento.
Just feeling someone’s warmth makes it delicious. I don’t even need to eat it. …But I will.
“So, first off, I made this tamagoyaki. I like it sweet, but I hope my friends like it too…”
(Whoa, this tamagoyaki is sweet. I’m definitely a savory guy, but this is actually pretty good… Actually, two pieces just aren’t enough.)
I gobbled down the tamagoyaki and reached for my next target with my chopsticks.
“Next is karaage. It’s leftovers from yesterday, but it turned out so good I had to include it.”
(Whoa! Delicious! Though I regret it doesn’t have that freshly fried crispiness. I really want to try it fresh someday…)
Well, savoring each bite is nice, but my hunger is winning out.
I should eat at a faster pace.
“This is sautéed spinach and bacon. Hope you don’t mind spinach, Hope-san.”
(Buttery flavor, huh. The crisp texture and saltiness of the spinach is irresistible!)
“This is sweet potato fries. Actually, it’s my first time making them. Uh, they turned out okay… right?”
(These sweet potato fries have… a unique seasoning. First time making them? They’re not inedible, though.)
“And finally, this brown rice onigiri! The filling is my favorite hamburger steak♪”
(I was thinking the popping texture of brown rice was great, and then hamburger steak!? My inner child is going wild with joy!)
And before I knew it, the bento was empty. It felt like time had skipped.
I was so absorbed in the bento I missed what Amagiri-san was saying, but oh well.
“Eating China-san’s bento must extend your lifespan~”
“I wanna try some too!!”
“Only a superhuman could eat it…”
“Probably harder than getting first place on the final exam lol”
“Ahh, I’m so jealous of the people who got to eat Amagiri-san’s bento~”
Amidst the echoing voices of disappointment, I was filled with satisfaction.
I tried not to think about how bad it would be for Chitose-san’s daughter if this bento was actually handmade by Amagiri-san.
“Thanks for the meal. Phew, that was delicious. I should send Chitose-san a chat.”
I stowed the bento box in my backpack and pulled out my phone.
Suddenly feeling eyes on me, I looked up and saw Amagiri-san in the distance, tilting her head and watching me.
“China chan, what’s up?”
“Huh? Ah, no… nothing! (Did Watarai-kun’s lunchbox look the same? Probably just my imagination.)”
What now? I’m not in the mood for trouble.
I tried to blend into the air, fading into the shadows to avoid getting tangled up.
Time to use the technique that real ninja (self-proclaimed) taught me in Iga.
At that moment, my one ray of salvation—and Amagiri-san’s ray of despair—approached.
“—So China-chan can cook, huh? Actually, I cook sometimes too.”
A refreshingly handsome guy, yet persistently clingy.
The student who confessed to Amagiri-san in class on Friday and got rejected—Hikari Fumihiko.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, yeah. So, how about we swap lunch boxes sometime?”
“Eh… well, I don’t think I’m making one tomorrow?”
“Then the day after tomorrow! I’m free anytime!!”
“Um… but that kind of thing is a bit…”
Amagiri-san frowned, clearly troubled. Even her troubled expression was cute—I was defeated.
But of course she’d be troubled. Exchanging lunches with a guy she doesn’t like, the guy who she rejected? What kind of torture is that?
What made it even more troublesome was that about seventy percent of the girls were under his handsome aura’s spell.
“Huh, wait, wait. Exchange lunches with Fumihiko-kun!?”
“Lucky him. Let’s do it, Amagiri-san!”
“I wanna swap too~”
Like this, just being handsome can trigger this bizarre phenomenon where everyone suddenly becomes your ally.
Amagiri-san seemed troubled, searching for a polite way to decline.
Here comes the rescue, a minor trigger sparking the start of a romance comedy—!
Yeah, it’s a plot I’ve seen somewhere before. By the way, I’m not doing anything. Well, to be precise… I myself am doing nothing.
“I’m baaaack!! Seriously, there’s a limited-time lunch swap campaign with China-san right now!?”
Koki, fresh from his meeting, burst through the classroom door and yelled that.
I’d sent a message to his phone beforehand, so he believed it instantly and let out that scream.
He’s such a straightforward, desire-driven guy. A good man.
“Um, we’re not doing that. So sorry!”
“Whaaa?! Hey, Nozomu! You tricked me, didn’t you!?”
“!? Is he dumping it right now…!?”
All eyes instantly turned to me, and a torrent of criticism poured down.
“Ah, um, it was a misunderstanding! Sorry, sorry! See ya!”
“…Tch, you got in the way…”
Just as I took Kouki’s hand and left the classroom, I heard Fumihiko’s sharp click of his tongue.
Maybe it was my fault I couldn’t force a promise out of him, but the guy’s a total fortress, you know?
I think you should be grateful he just politely declined.
“Hey, Nozomu! Stop blowing smoke!”
“I just got ahead of myself. Here, take Thousand-san’s autograph. Forgive me.”
“Wooooo—! Super super super—I FORGIVE YOU!!”
“Easy.”
Good thing I got Chitose-san’s autograph yesterday while I was at it.
This cancels out the lie, right?
Maiasa