“Ah! Let me do the dishes, Senpai.”
Taking the two empty glasses, Akari-chan stood up.
She was in a particularly good mood today, happily humming as she disappeared into the kitchen.
Her ponytail, which she had tucked into a bundle while cleaning, swayed back and forth as she walked.
If I had something to say, it would be how simple my kitchen is; it’s only a door away from the living room, and it’s set up in the corridor.
However, I don’t think I can ever get used to this situation.
Since entering college and living on my own, I’ve only ever had boys enter my room before, but today was the first-ever time I had a girl come to my room, and that girl was Akari-chan.
Oh, no. The more I realize it, the more nervous I get.
I had a good number of ‘girl’ friends back in high school, but never once did I have a girlfriend. Of course, I never confessed my love to any of them, and nor did they…which is why I can say that I’ve never had any kind of romantic connections back in high school.
In fact, some of the girls I was on the committee with even ran away from me when I talked to them about their work…
Back in junior high, it was even more miserable. Most of my time was spent on club activities. The only girl I got along with was the junior manager.
The more I was involved with her, the more she became attached to me, but it was hard to count it as an experience because it was more akin to having a sister rather than a girlfriend.
So, for me, who has never sung to celebrate my youth, isn’t it too much of a challenge to sleep and eat alone with a younger girl in a cramped room like this?
In addition to that──well, it may look like I’m judging people by their appearances, but one important element that can’t be ignored is──that Miyamae Akari is a beautiful girl.
While I am not sure whether or not it’s appropriate for me to consider a high school student one year younger than me as a child, she exudes a childlike charm that straddles the line between ‘cute’ and ‘beautiful’.
She had a good figure. You could even see the swell of her breasts from the top of her sailor uniform. And because they are suspended by the swell, her waist is sometimes exposed. Although her camisole hides it, you can still tell that her waist is pretty tight──
“What the hell am I doing analyzing this!?”
I shook my head and forcefully drowned out the image of Akari-chan that was floating around in my head.
Akari-chan is a very beautiful girl, no doubt about it. Back when I was in high school, I often heard about her reputation beyond the walls of my grade.
Speaking of which…ever since Subaru’s second year of high school, he would often forget to pack his lunch roughly 2 to 3 times a week. And every time he did, Akari-chan would come all the way to our classroom during lunch break to deliver them to him.
Naturally, there were many fans of Akari-chan in our class. And that was regardless of gender.
Akari-chan was very polite and took the trouble of greeting me every time she came to class…….Well, I think it was mainly because I had lunch with Subaru every day, so she couldn’t ignore me.
Honestly, I didn’t think it was all that bad. She was a beautiful girl I never got tired of seeing, and whenever she came to deliver Subaru’s lunch, it put a smile on my face since that showed just how much she loved her brother, despite how troubling it was.
Yes, she is a very good girl who loves her brother.
The story of her being in debt may have very well been the result of her excessive love for her brother.
It must have been difficult for her to come up all the way to our classroom’s to deliver Subaru’s lunch for him. And it must’ve been even more difficult for her to come to my house, so it would’ve been heartbreaking for her if I had rejected her entirely at that time.
I mean, Subaru.
Why the heck are you offering up your sister to cover up your debts?
Is that guy a demon?
The next time I see him, I’m going to punch him in the face.
Moreover, it was only 500 yen. No, it doesn’t matter whether or not it was 1,000 yen or 10,000 yen, but…I’d just wish he’d borrowed more from me so I wouldn’t have to feel so guilty……!!
“Hah~.”
“Hnnnghh!?”
Suddenly, something warm tickled my ear, and I couldn’t help but let out a strange noise.
I reflexively turned around──and I was met with Akari-chan’s face at point-blank range.
“W-wah!??”
Akari-chan’s eyes spun around in a circle, her face turning bright red as she staggered back, tangling her legs together, falling on her butt.
“Are you okay!?”
“I’m sorry……I didn’t know whether to call out to you or not because you seemed to be thinking about something.”
So that’s why I could feel her breathe. She was just close to me.
To be honest, I didn’t notice it at all.
I guess that’s how absorbed I was in my thoughts, but it was even more awkward because what I was thinking about was about Akari-chan herself.
“Ah, I’ve finished washing the dishes, so I thought I’d ask what I should do next…….”
“Oh, um, you don’t have to do so much. Why don’t you get some rest?”
“Yes, it’s……. It’s not good to be too hasty, isn’t it? We have plenty of time.”
Akari-chan placed her hand on her chin and nodded in agreement. Then,
“After all, we’re going to be living together!”
“Living together….well, that’s right…”
Hearing her say it so clearly, I wanted to shy away from this conversation.
How could Akari-chan smile so positively in this kind of situation?
Just as I thought, it’s that thing. It’s probably because the corner of the room had a trunk case and a Ni*ri(brand NItori) futon. Well, I guess it comes with the bag; it’s a sleepover after all.
Especially the latter new item was unique in the sense that made me feel like a war veteran, taking all my energy. As I could expect from a more expensive futon.
“Ah, Senpai, speaking of which…”
“What?”
“The refrigerator is almost empty…….”
Akari-chan sent me a considerate gaze along the lines of ‘Did something bad happen?’.
……I wonder why. It’s not like I’m being accused of anything, but I feel weirdly embarrassed.
She was right. The refrigerator in my house was almost empty.
When I first started living alone, I went to an electronics retail store and picked out a two-door refrigerator that was filled with some food for my own cooking. For self-catering…
“Senpai, don’t you cook for yourself?”
Oops, I think Akari-chan’s tone of voice has become a teensy bit accusatory. No, maybe I’m just being paranoid.
“What kind of food do you usually eat?”
“Uh……mostly convenience store lunches?”
“Huh…”
She let out a big, blatant sigh!
“Senpai, you can’t eat like that.”
“No, but convenience store lunches are surprisingly delicious nowadays…”
“I’m not talking about the taste. I’m talking about nutrition.”
It was like scolding a child who doesn’t listen well, and I couldn’t even deny it. To be honest, I was at a loss for words.
My parents worry about me every time I call them, asking if I’m eating right…….
“Listen, Senpai. If you don’t eat properly, you may be fine now, but in ten or twenty years, the price for neglecting the present will surely come! You need to eat right when you’re young and healthy!”
Akari-chan clenched her fists and delivered a powerful speech. It felt strangely persuasive.
“You know a lot, don’t you?”
“Yes, I’m studying!”
When Akari-chan said that, her eyes were shining with confidence──I don’t feel like I can say, “The main reason I don’t cook is because I can’t be bothered to clean up after myself.”
I’m not in a mood to give such a pathetic reason.
“But it’s also true that cooking for yourself every day is quite a challenge. I don’t know if it’s just cooking, but the cleanup is a hassle.”
“H-How…did you!? You’re not reading my thoughts, are you, Akari-chan?”
“I could see it on your face.”
I felt embarrassed that a younger girl could see through my sloppiness, but Akari-chan smiled warmly at me with a hint of affection.
“Don’t worry, Senpai. From today onwards, I will prepare nutritious and delicious meals for you.”
“What, Akari-chan?”
“Please leave it to me. I’m a pretty good cook. I even used to make my brother’s lunch!”
I know that. Subaru bragged about it to me a lot.
It’s true that Subaru’s lunches are always very colourful and look very tasty, but──
“Huh? Senpai, have you ever exchanged side dishes with my brother?”
“Erm. He was so proud of it that he never shared the contents with me. If I recall correctly, he said, [My sister’s homemade food is only for me, her brother.].”
“That idiot brother……!”
Oh, did Akari-chan just curse her brother…..?
It was a very quiet voice, so I might have misheard it.
“……I understand. Then you don’t know anything about my cooking skills, do you?”
“I don’t think ‘anything’ is the right word for it…”
“No, But I suddenly feel like I’m on fire…”
Akari-chan’s eyes glittered, and she smiled fearlessly.
I don’t know what it is, but our earlier conversation seems to have sparked something in her.
“It’s decided then, Senpai! Let’s go!”
“W-Wait, where are we going?”
“To buy ingredients, of course! I want to make sure Senpai enjoys my home cooking so that he knows how valuable my existence is to him!”
◇◇◇
So, we went to a relatively large supermarket in the neighbourhood.
The visit to the store was my first in three months. It was a nationwide chain of stores that sold a wide variety of products at low prices, making them affordable for students with tight budgets.
As I had given up cooking for myself early on, a convenience store within a five-minute walk was enough for me, and it made me feel strangely guilty to go into a supermarket full of food waiting to be cooked.
“Now then, what should I make?”
In addition to being an excellent cook, her family was also relatively wealthy, so I was a little worried that she might not have liked it if I had brought her to an ordinary supermarket…but that seemed to be of no concern. If anything, Akari-chan was happily humming away as she rummaged through the store.
She had changed from the sailor suit she had worn earlier to a casual, cool-biz outfit of a T-shirt and shorts. Well, it’s going to be hot, even with her summer uniform. So why didn’t she change out of it earlier──
“Unless she wanted to cherish her brand as a high school student.”
That seems to be the case. She must’ve…thought about that often.
Now that I’ve become a university student, only after losing it do I understand the charm of being a high school student.
Well, just because she took off her sailor suit doesn’t mean that all of Akari-chan’s charm is lost. The thin, summery clothing, showing off her bare arms and thighs without any hesitation, was very healthy as they were being exposed to the sun.
Of course, I waited outside while Akari-chan was in the midst of changing, but when I saw her come out of her room, I was left speechless for a moment; after all, a beautiful girl is still a beautiful girl.
As expected…the heat of the summer is going to blow me away. According to the weather forecast application, today will be a cloudless day, with temperatures soaring well over thirty-five degrees.
I could hardly stand it.
I was feeling sluggish from the difference in temperature between the heat of the supermarket and the air-conditioned store, but Akari-chan seemed unfazed. I guess this is what youth is all about.
“Senpai, I have a surprise question for you.”
“That’s really sudden.”
“Tell me the one thing a man lacks the most when they’re living alone!”
“Eh….?”
The one thing a man lacks the most when they’re living alone?
The first thing that immediately came to mind was money. But it’s only not limited to men.
Moreover, it is said that women who consume a lot of makeup and other things have a much more difficult time conserving money than men who can do it easily. Plus, the answer to the quiz was only limited to men.
If so…then is it a cooking-related thing? What a man lacks, what a man lacks──
“…..Vegetables?”
I thought to myself, “That’s not so bad.”
Because Akari-chan’s brother, Subaru, hates vegetables. To put it simply, he can’t stand the feeling of eating grass.
Surely he’s exploded with picky eating ever since he’s started living alone, and Akari-chan must have seen him as a male representative.
So it wouldn’t be strange for her to say that men have a prejudice against vegetables──
“Bubu. Incorrect answer.”
….It was a mistake. I’m embarrassed.
“The correct answer is…once and for all, a girl’s home cooking!”
“What kind of answer is that!?”
You’re a man living alone!
There’s bound to be a shortage of those!
“Just for the record, where the hell did you pull out that information from……?”
“That’s just my own selfish impression.”
“Isn’t that a little too selfish!?”
That self-serving impression sticks with unpopular men…….sticks a little too deeply in fact….!
“But I don’t think it’s wrong. Perhaps Senpai, who lacks a girl’s home-cooked meal, may end up dying in the not so distant future.”
“I won’t! And even if I did, it would be for a completely different reason!”
The fact that I’m alive now is proof of that.
But I am too sad to say that.
No, really, just what kind of karma did I pile up in my previous life to be showing off my un-popularness to a friend’s little sister?
“But don’t worry. You see, right now, there’s a very young girl in front of you, isn’t there, Senpai?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“If I serve Senpai my home-cooked meal, he will be able to consume the missing ingredient of a girl’s home-cooked meal, this way. I can prove to him how useful my existence is…so it’s a win-win!”
Akari-chan said this is a tone that was neither serious nor joking as she filled her shopping cart with a variety of vegetables and other ingredients in a familiar motion.
“Ah, Senpai. Don’t worry. I’m well aware of your likes and dislikes through my older brother.”
Subaru, that guy, he told you even that?
“The war had already begun long before the fight even began.”
“What an exaggeration.”
“It’s not an exaggeration. Ever since I wrote “bride” as my future dream in my elementary school graduation book, I’ve been striving to be the strongest wife I can be, and that’s why kitchens and supermarkets are battlefields themselves. As a person who will take care of Senpai, this is a battle that I cannot avoid, a battle to capture your stomach!”
“A battle to capture my stomach!?”
“Fufufu, so be prepared for this, senpai.”
At the very end, I saw a malicious smile on Akari-chan’s face, and I thought to myself, “So that’s what a little devil looks like.”
TL notes:
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