CH 14

During lunch break.

Thanks to Chieri being by my side the whole time, I haven’t been involved with any delinquents from this morning even until now.

Chieri then tells me with a big smile on her face.

“Ruka! Let’s eat lunch together!”

“Yeah…”

Continuing to feel the stinging stares around me, I replied to Chieri.

“I don’t feel comfortable here. Where do you usually eat at, Ruka?”

“I, that… always alone in the restroom… haha.”

I’m always hiding from the bad guys and having a lonely meal, I told her that sad reality.

“So I guess I should go to the bathroom with Ruka, right?”

“No, no, no! Back of the school building! Let’s go behind the school building!”

While dismissing Chieri’s words, which I couldn’t tell if she was joking or being serious about, we headed to the back of the school building, carrying our lunch boxes and water bottles.

We arrived and sat down in a shady, inconspicuous location.

Then Chieri suggested something to me with a sniffle.

“I’ve always wanted to try it once!”

Saying that, Chieri handed me the package of her own lunch.

“Ruka, let’s trade lunches, shall we? I’ve always wanted to try someone’s family’s lunch once!”

I was wondering why she had a very huge lunch box with her, but it seems that it was supposed to be given to me.

“I don’t mind, but…”

“I’m glad! Ruka, if you like my lunch, then from tomorrow I will make one for you too, okay?”

“Did you make this by yourself, Chieri?”

“I had a little help from the maid!”

“Actually, I always make my own lunch too.”

“Ara, that’s unusual. But I’m worried about the nutritional balance and taste of a man’s home-cooked food. So I guess I’ll give it a try then!”

Does she have that much confidence in her cooking?

Looking at Chieri puffing out her chest proudly, seems like it.

I handed Chieri my lunch box made of cypress wood.

I’m not that a big eater though, so it’s a relatively normal size.

“… Hinoki cypress? That’s quite a nice material for a lunch box.”

“Well, the owner of my part-time job gave me this box of leftovers from when she made Osechi, and I kept it because it kept the food from getting damaged.”

“Hee~, there’s someone else who cares about Ruka too besides me! That’s great information!”

Contrary to her words, Chieri opened my lunch box with a look with a some kind of complicated state of mind.

“… What’s this?”

As she muttered these words, I explained to Chieri, who had frozen up when she saw the contents of my lunch box.

“This is Duck Confit. This one is Cod Poêlé. Gelée and Pâté de Campagne, and next to that is Carottes Râpées. Chicken Galantine.”

“?????? Is this a piece of art?”

“And here’s another one to go with your pâté and terrine.”

I poured the onion soup I had in my thermos into a cup and handed it to her along with a slice of French bread.

The lunches I make are mostly French food.

Because Fujisaki-san always lets me have some ingredients from the shop after I finish my part-time shift.

Thanks to her, I have always saved money on food.

I’m very particular about making sure that the food is nicely arranged, and so, Saika, who takes the same bento as I do, is always happy to empty her lunch box.

“… Itadakimasu.”

Chieri nervously took a bite of Gelée and the next moment she dropped her chopsticks.

To which I rushed to catch it.

“Oh, it’s too good…”

“Haha, you’re exaggerating. I’ll have Chieri’s lunch too. I’m looking forward to it.”

When I went to open Chieri’s lunch box, she hurriedly grabbed my hand.

“W-wait! Don’t open it! My cooking is nothing compared to this… and let’s not exchange lunches after all! I can’t accept this!”

“No way, I want to eat Chieri’s food too.”

“No you can’t! I’ll practice more! One year! Give me one year! After a year, I’ll be able to cook food that Ruka can eat on my own!”

“It’s too long… Besides, I enjoy any kind of food.”

Thus, it wasn’t until after about 10 minutes of such confrontation that I was finally able to taste Chieri’s delicious lunch.

Chieri’s lunch was full of high quality ingredients that anyone would find delicious.

However, when I told her that what I found most delicious was the slightly burnt and misshapen omelet that was hidden at the edge, she seemed to be pleased with herself, speeding up her chopsticks as she ate my lunch.

“Yes, I have Crème Brûlée for dessert…”

“ — I’ll want it!”

In the end, Chieri was very satisfied with my lunch.

“If you want, I can make lunch for you starting tomorrow, Chieri. You seem to like it a lot, and I like making them too.”

“Uu… it’s not supposed to be like this… But please do.”

Chieri has been so kind to me that I feel relieved to be able to repay her in some small way, even if it is like this.

But for some reason, Chieri’s eyes were a little teary as she ate the dessert with relish.

[Postscript]

I’ll say it again because it’s important.

If you think it’s interesting, please follow my work and rate it stars… It motivates me a lot!

Thank you for reading