âAh! It collapsed again!â
Shiho Fujise looked at the Dashimake egg on her plate and muttered in disappointment.
This was her second attempt to make a dashimaki egg, and while it was the best she could do, it was clearly not as good as the previous two dishes.
âIf you were making dark matter yesterday, or even just an hour ago, youâre doing pretty well, you know.â
âYes, you are. Itâs a little misshapen, but I donât think that the taste will change that much.â
âBut isnât the texture of a rolled egg also important?â
âI guess.â
âI know, right? I really want to make something fluffy and soft! Okay, can I try one more time?â
âYeah, sure. I got plenty of ingredients.â
âI just looked in the big refrigerator and it was full of stuff.â
With that the three of them ate what they made and began to cook again.
âBy the way, Hisamura-kun and Sei-chan havenât come back yet.â
âYeah, itâs taking longer than I thought.â
It has been more than ten minutes since theyâve left the kitchen.
âIâm sure Hisamura-kun is comforting Sei-chan, but will she be okay?â
âEh? Sei-san? What happened?â
Rinke was surprised at Shihoâs words and asked.
Rinke thought that the two of them were just going to the other room to get some bento boxes.
âSei-chan was depressed, so Tojoin-san took care of her and left her alone with Hisamura-kun. Right, Tojoin-san?â
âIf she stays depressed, itâs going to make me sick.â
âI didnât notice at all.â
âSei-chan did her best to hide it, too. I donât think anyone other than me, Tojoin-san and her boyfriend Hisamura-kun would have noticed.â
âYou make it sound like Iâm close to Shimada-san.â
Tojoin seemed a little uncomfortable with her words.
âWeâre good friends, right? Even today, because Sei-chan asked you to, you even lent me this kitchen.â
âItâs not a favor, itâs a punishment. If it wasnât a punishment, I wouldnât be helping you cook, my love rival.â
âLove rival?â
Rinkeâs eyes widened as another piece of information came up that she didnât know about, and she muttered the words quietly.
âEh? You guys are love rivals?â
âOh, did I not mention that?â
âOh, I never told you that. Huh, thatâs embarrassing.â
âO-Oh, I didnât know that. Can I ask who you two like?â
âItâs a guy named Yuuichi Shigemoto. Heâs in the same grade as us at school.â
âAhh, Shigemoto-san?â
âEh? You know him?â
âMy brother brought him home a while ago, and thatâs how we met.â
âI see. Rinke, please donât fall in love with Yuuichi. You and I have built a good relationship this way, and I donât want to ruin it.â
âO-Okay.â
Rinke took it to heart with some trepidation as Tojoin gave her a very nice smile and a warning.
âThatâs why Iâm not that close with Shimada-san. Fujise-san is a love rival, while Shimada-san is more of a normal rival.â
âRivalry? Is that in terms of sports?â
âYes, I suppose so. Iâve been almost unbeatable in my studies and in sports, but this was the first time Iâve ever been beaten that badly.â
âItâs also amazing that you have never lost a single time before.â
Rinke met Tojoin for the first time today, so she had no idea how superhuman Kaori Tojoinâs abilities were.
She has never fallen out of first place in any grade in her studies, and sheâs better at sports than most people in the club.
However, for the first time in her life, she has lost in a head to head fight against a person named Sei Shimada.
She didnât have any players from the basketball team but she still played against Tojoin on equal footing.
Rather, Tojoin, who had three basketball players on her team, had the advantage, but she was still completely outplayed by Sei.
When you are beaten up that badly, you have no choice but to admit defeat.
âIâll definitely pay her back for that, sooner or later.â
Tojoin said with a fearless smile on her face.
âFufu, Iâm glad to see that Tojoin-san has become friends with Sei-chan.â
âNo, we donât get along that well⦠Oh, forget it. By the way, Hisamura-kun and Shimada-san are really late. I wonder if theyâre kissing or something.â
âK-Kiss!?â
Rinkeâs cheeks reddened as she reacted to Tojoinâs casual remark.
âNo matter how much they want to, they probably havenât done it. I mean theyâve only been dating for two weeks.â
âOh, youâre so pure-hearted, Rinke. If it were me, Iâd kiss Yuichi passionately on the exact day we started dating.â
âE-Exact dayâ¦ââ
The words made Rinke blush even more, but Shiho didnât look any different and just smiled.
âFufu, Iâll be the one that goes out with Shigemoto-kun so you can have that fantasy with someone else, Tojoin-san.â
âOh, thatâs very nice of you. Although, youâre the only one whoâs allowed to say such delusional things in your dreams.â
âIf I was dreaming, Iâd be doing something even more amazing, so donât worry.â
âHey, hey, I canât tell if you guys are fighting or getting along.â
âWeâre getting along.â
âWeâre having a fight.â
âWhich one is itâ¦?â
If it had been just Shiho and Tojoin, there was a good chance they would have been arguing the whole time, but the presence of Rinke ended the argument right there.