Chapter 39: CH 39

After that, I went to class as usual, and then after a while it was lunchtime.

“Yo, Yuuichi.”

As usual I ate with him right next to the window seat.

I sat at the front while Yuuichi sat at the back as we ate lunch.

“Oh, Tsukasa. Thanks for yesterday. I never got to see you at the amusement park, but you were watching over mine and Fujise’s date, right?”

“Ahhh… Yeah”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t told Yuuichi that it was my fault that Tojoin-san showed up at the end.

As we ate lunch, I explained what had happened to him.

“Eh, I didn’t know that.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was just trying to help her out.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m glad I got to hear Kaori’s real feelings.”

“EXPLODE!” [TLN: YEAH!]

“WHY?!”

“Think about the situation calmly. A person was confessed by his childhood friend to at the same time by a beautiful girl with an hourglass figure as well as a girl that’s super popular with the boys in school. What would you do to him in such a situation?”

“Stab him at the back in the middle of the night.”

“You understand. So be careful at night now onwards.”

“WAIT A MINUTE! IT’S A JOKE A JOKE! You won’t stab me in the back right? It’s normal to be jealous at this.”

“That’s right. So when you’re walking down the street at night, watch your back.”

“I was just kidding.”

“Ara, I will kill anyone who tries to stab Yuuichi in the back, so don’t worry, you can walk with me safely at night.”

“……”

As Yuuichi and I were talking, we heard a woman’s voice coming from right beside us.

We both looked up at the same time, and of course, there was Kaori Tojoin standing proudly.

“Good day, Yuuichi, Hisamura-kun”

“Y-Yo Kaori.”

“G-Good day, Tojoin-san.”

I wonder if Tojoin-san has a technique to eliminate her presence or something.

I hadn’t noticed her presence at all until she called out to us.

She looks so much more radiant than she did yesterday, when she was deciding  to NOT go and interrupt their date.

Just as she walked into this classroom, most of the eyes in the room began falling on us.

“Yuuichi, I made lunch for you today. You’ll eat it, won’t you?”

“What? Seriously? Kaori, you can cook?”

“Of course, there’s nothing I can’t do for you.”

I’m sure that in the original story, Tojoin-san’s cooking skills were on the level of a professional chef.

Yuuichi took the lunch box and opened it to find a very tasty looking array of dishes waiting to be gobbled up.

“Oh, amazing!”

“Fufu, Eat lots okay? I made it all for Yuuichi, after all.”

“Ahh, I can totally eat a lot of this.”

“Oh, so Tojoin-san is going to come to this class tomorrow and eat with us too?”

“Yes, I will. Am I interrupting anything?”

“N-No. I-It’s fine.”

I didn’t think Tojoin-san was going to go so far for him…

It was probably a strategy to try and grab Yuichi by the stomach.

On that note, Yuuichi’s other potential romantic partner is….

“W-What should I do, Sei-chan, should I go make lunch for him too?”

“No, first of all, in Shiho’s case, I think she needs to practice how to make lunch.”

Fujise looked over here with an alarmed look whilst Sei-chan looked a little pale.

Yes, Fujise is the typical bad at cooking heroine.

She is a heroine who creates dark matter in a romantic comedy manga.

I seriously wonder what happened to that dish. What kind of unknown ingredient did she add to make it that way?

Her everyday behavior is not ditzy at all, but for some reason, only when she decides to cook does she make the elementary mistake of mistaking sugar for salt.

It is said that the combination of all these factors resulted in a finished product that is completely black even though the product is supposed to be a white stew.

On the contrary, the usually ditzy Sei-chan becomes a superhuman and is amazing at cooking.

I’m really curious about Fujise’s bad cooking, but more importantly, I’m dying to eat the bento that Sei-chan would make for me.

My last supper would definitely be a home-cooked meal by Sei-chan.

“Sei-chan, can you teach me again sometime?”

“Of course, but if I’m going to teach you cooking, you’ll have to follow my instructions to the dot. Please.”

“Yeah, thanks!”

Their conversation just now worries me.

Fujise’s cooking skills are at a level that Sei-chan would not immediately respond to if asked to teach her how to cook.

Sei-chan is so devoted to her best friend that she would go to the amusement park alone to watch Yuuichi and Fujise on their date.

And yet, it’s only a dish, it’s a dish that makes her hesitate on accepting that offer.

“Yuuichi, Hisamura-kun, do you mind if I stay here?”

“Ahh, it’s fine.”

“Sure, feel free to stay.”

Tojoin-san sat down near our seats and spread out her own lunch.

Apparently, it was the same contents as Yuichi’s lunch.

“Fufu, We’re like a family when you spread out the lunch like that. Yuuichi.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Mhm, That’s right. I’m the wife and Yuuichi is the husband. Ahh, that might really happen on Yuuichi’s birthday next year.”

“I-I guess so.‘

Tojoin-san is attacking him insanely hard.

We’re still having lunch in the classroom, okay?

There’s a whole bunch of students around us, you know?

Ever since Tojoin-san came into the classroom, everyone’s been listening to our conversation very intently.

“Did you hear that….?”

“I knew it. They are engaged after all.”

That’s what all the students around me are currently saying.

Don’t you guys talk about that kind of stuff when the people in question are gone or maybe say it in a voice that they can’t really hear from this distance?

I can hear your voice from the front all the way over here…

“Oh, we’re not engaged yet.”

Of course, Tojoin-san could hear them too, but no one expected her to reply to those comments. Both me and the rest of the class were in shock.

“Ahh… right…”

One of the male students around me said.

“Ehh, well, it’s true that I want to marry Yuuichi though.”

“EHHHHHHHHHH?!”

Tojoin-san said it without an ounce of intention of hiding it. Not only us but even the man himself was shocked to hear it.

The girls were cheering in a high pitched voice.

“Wai- Kaori! Not in a place like this.”

“Oh, isn’t it wrong that Yuuichi didn’t know how I felt all along?”

“I-I’m sorry about that.”

Damn, Tojoin-san is strong.

At this rate, the rumor would probably spread all over the school again.

The rumour that Kaori Tojoin loves and wants to marry Yuuichi Shigemoto will spread like wildfire.

Moreover, this won’t be a rumour falsely spread by Tojoin-san, but a true story with several eye-witnesses to attest to the fact.

It will certainly spread much faster than the last rumor.

That would leave no room for Fujise to counterattack.

“W-Wait a minute.”

As I was thinking about this, a voice echoed through the class.

I looked over and saw Shiho Fujise, who had been sitting far away from us, standing up and approaching us. [TLN: Poor guy is about to get shanked by every single guy in class. Line up boys.] [ED: my knifes ready.]

Fujise says, her face turning red, as everyone in the class looks at her.

“I-LO-I-LO-I LOVE SHIGEMOTO-KUN TOO! I WON’T GIVE HIM TO TOJOIN-SAN!”

There was a moment of silence, and then the classroom was filled with screams.

“EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!”

“Fujise-san likes Shigemoto too?”

“NO WAY!? The two prettiest girls in school like the same person?”

“Carnage! Chaos! I LOVE IT!”

What an almighty scream.

The guys, especially, are screaming and lamenting in jealousy.

Yeah, well, I know the feeling too guys.

I wonder if I would have been on that side if it weren’t for Sei-chan being for me.

“Wai-Wait, F-Fujise…W-Why here?”

“If I don’t say it now, rumors will spread that Shigemoto-kun is Tojoin-san’s fiancee again.”

“You’ve got some nerve, Fujise-san. I guess that’s why you’re my rival.”

Before I knew it, Tojoin-san also stood up and faced Fujise, smiling and glaring at each other.

“I hate to break it to you, Fujise-san, but I’ve never lost a game since I was born.”

“That’s good, because I think this is the first time you’re going to lose, so you’ll be another step stronger.”

“Even if I were to lose once or twice in my life, it would never be here of all places.”

“I don’t know about that. You never know what life has in store for you in the future.”

You two are a real beehive, you know?

The acrimonious classroom from earlier quieted down in an instant when they heard them talking to each other.

And they’re even happily laughing at each other, which is even scarier.

“Shigemoto-kun, Hisamura-kun, can I have lunch with you?”

“E-Eh? A-Ahh… Sure.”

“If it’s okay with him, I have nothing to say.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, are you not going to ask me about staying here?”

“Ah, sorry. I forgot about Tojoin-san. I can join you, right?”

“Fufu, sure. No problem.”

Scary, scary, scary.

What, I’m going to have to eat lunch while I’m in the middle of this mess?

“Yuuichi, Can I eat in the cafeteria alone from tomorrow?”

“No, seriously, please, stay.”

“……”

“Come on, say something.”

What should I do? Should I really abandon Yuuichi here?

“Ah, Sei-chan! Come on! Let’s eat together.”

“Shiho, I’m glad you haven’t forgotten me, but are you sure you want me here?”

“Yeah, come and eat with me.’

“Haah, okay.”

Eh? Sei-chan would be joining the group?

If she stays in the group then we can spend a lot more time together.

“Yuuichi, I’m not going to betray you. Let’s always eat together from now on.”

“Yeah, you’re a real asshole, you know?”

I don’t know who’s the asshole here, but I’m going to definitely stay for Yuuichi’s sake.

So, since there were five of us eating lunch together, the seating had somewhat changed.

We gathered the nearby chairs and desks and attached them together so we could all fit in properly.

Yuuichi sat in front of me while Tojoin-san and Fujise sat on both the left and right side beside him respectively.

And next to me, there was Sei-chan.

“Sei-ch- Shimada, please treat me well.”

“A-Ahh, please treat me well too.”

That was dangerous. I nearly called her Sei-chan in front of the whole class just now.

Sei-chan also glared at me a little with a blush on her cheeks, sorry.

“Yuuichi, what do you think about the lunch I made for you?”

“A-Ahh, it’s delicious.‘

“Fufu, I’m glad.‘

“Shigemoto-kun, I’ll make lunch for you next time, will you eat it?”

“O-Of course, I’m looking forward to it.”

Yuuichi doesn’t know that Fujise can’t cook at all.

So I know he’s actually looking forward to it. I hope he’ll be okay in the future.

“Hah…”

Sei-chan gave a small sigh when she heard what Fujise just said. It was so small the three of them in front of us couldn’t hear it clearly.

Yeah, I guess it’s still not okay for Sei-chan.

It’s going to be hard for Sei-chan to teach Fujise how to cook by herself.

I got close to Sei-chan’s ear and called out to her.

“Sei-chan”

“Uwa! W-What?”

Maybe it was because I suddenly spoke in her ear, but Sei-chan jumped up.

“I’ll help you with Fujise’s cooking.”

“Muu… You know? Shiho’s cooking is…. Devastating.‘

“Well, I can tell by watching Sei-chan’s reaction to it.”

I have some knowledge from the original story.

“Y-Yeah… it would be great if you could help me out here. We’ve made a cake together once before… but I still don’t understand how the shortcake turned into a black mess.”

“I don’t know if I’m at a level where I can handle it, but yeah, I’ll try.”

Well I probably can’t, but I’ll do my best to not die.

In front of me and Sei-chan, Yuichi was sandwiched between Tojoin-san and Fujise, fumbling around nervously.

It must be hard being popular, all the guys around us were looking at him with bloodshot eyes.

He really needs to be careful not to get stabbed in the back on the street at night.

The three of them will probably continue their romantic comedy in the future.

As Yuuichi’s best friend and a fan of this manga, I’ll be watching over him.

With Sei-chan’s mouth slightly curving up, we’ll be watching over them quietly.

She was originally a sub-heroine who joined the three in front of her and fell in love with Yuuichi.

I changed that fate.

From now on, I’m the one who’s going to make her happy.

“Nn? Wh-What? W-Why are you staring at me so much?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’m just staring..”

“D-Don’t say that kind of thing here.”

“Fufu, sorry, sorry.”

Ahh, I still love Sei Shimada so much.

I couldn’t help but look forward to the future of high school and the life I would be able to spend with her.