About the Cool Beauty in My Class Declaring She Won’t Eat Anything Except My Bento - 14-15

Chapter 14: Going Out with a Cool Beauty

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“Shall we go then?”

“Ex—ah, um, yeah… Shall we?”

When I visited Ayano’s room after putting in my contacts and fixing my hair, she stepped out looking composed, as if the earlier incident had been a mere illusion.

She had definitely been flustered back then, and my own heart had been pounding out of my chest. The flush on my cheeks that I hadn’t quite been able to suppress was hidden thanks to the darkness of the night, but looking at Ayano now might have helped me calm down a bit too.

“…You know, you didn’t really have to come along, Ayano,” I said.

We stepped into the elevator, and I asked her the question while feeling the sensation of suspension. Rather than a simple question, I wanted to know her intention for trying to tag along even after such an embarrassing event.

“You’re always helping me, so I thought I should help out with whatever I can, even if it’s just a little.”

“Hmm?”

Ayano explained while keeping her eyes fixed on the elevator doors. I gave her shoulder a little poke.

“Hyah!”

“My lady, I don’t wish to force you either. Therefore, please tell the truth of your own accord.”

“Ho—how did you know?”

“Because you were being a ‘cool beauty.'”

Ayano let out a cry like she had seen a ghost and jumped back, then crouched down while hugging herself. Since Ayano’s tone had been so cold, I suspected she was desperately pretending to be cool, and it seemed I was right.

“Come on, why were you so intent on coming along?”

“I… I don’t want to say.”

“I can do whatever I want with your lunch tomorrow, you know… What’ll it be?”

“Ugh… I hate it when you’re mean, Kirihara-san.”

“You say that like you don’t hate the usual me.”

“Hm? That’s true, but… fine. I’ll tell you.”

An impact like being hit with a blunt object struck me. It was troublesome because Ayano would say things like “I don’t hate you” as if it were nothing. To me, she seemed less like a “cool beauty” and more like a little devil.

“If I didn’t see you now, the next time we meet would be tomorrow, right? If I remembered what happened today then… I’d end up blushing all by myself for ages… Actually, please forget I said that.”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller until she ended up looking down while still crouched. So, was this about her pride as a “cool beauty”? If so, I’d need her to maintain that in front of me too, or I’d be the one in trouble…

“We—well, it’ll be bad for me in various ways if I remember it too, so I’ll forget it…”

“It’s a win-win situation again.”

“You really like that phrase, don’t you?”

“I suppose it’s because I don’t like owing people favors. I haven’t really thought about it much, though.”

We left the apartment building, and I walked half a step behind Ayano as we headed toward the nearby supermarket.

“What are you making for lunch tomorrow?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Since you went through the trouble of coming along, I thought I’d make a set of all your favorites.”

“My… is it really okay for such a happy thing to happen?”

“Good, you’ve stopped hesitating. Points for that.”

“Hehe, what kind of points?”

“I’m awarding you ten Kirihara Points.”

“Oh my. Then I simply must save up to one hundred points.”

“Ser-seriously? I’ll have to think of a reward…”

As I started to think about it seriously, Ayano turned around and gave me a smile. Despite her outfit of a grey checkered long skirt and a black knit top, her radiance, which seemed not to dissolve into the night, was surely something inherent to Ayano herself.

“It’s dangerous to look backward while walking.”

“I’m not a child. Besides, if anything happens, you’ll protect me, won’t you, Kirihara-san?”

“…Who knows.”

“Hehe. Walking behind a girl at night to protect her… you really are very kind.”

“I wonder.”

I gave a wry smile, realizing once again that I couldn’t hide anything from Ayano. While we were talking, we reached the supermarket in no time.

“Now, what should I get…”

The lunch break would fall in the middle of the sports festival. Coming up with a menu was quite difficult when you needed a lunch that could satisfy a high schooler at their hungriest.

“Ayano, do you like fried chicken?”

“I like it as a dish, but I can’t eat a large amount.”

“…Come to think of it, you are a light eater, aren’t you?”

I had completely forgotten because she hadn’t shown a trace of that in front of me.

“It’s unfair that your cooking is so easy to eat and delicious, Kirihara-san.”

“I didn’t really say anything, though.”

“No, you were implying that I’m a big eater.”

“I actually prefer girls who eat a lot, you know?”

“That’s just a canned response. I don’t trust it.”

“Give me a break…”

“But, looking at the usual Kirihara-san, it’s probably true, so I’ll forgive you this time.”

“As expected, you’re a good observer.”

Anyway, for now, the fried chicken was confirmed. What else should I make? I’d include some frozen foods, but if the rest were all frozen… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

“Oh, I want to eat that. The rolled omelet.”

“Ah, the one I made before?”

“Yes, yes. It was seasoned just right and had a great texture. It was very delicious.”

“You’re good at reviewing food.”

“I also want to eat the burdock root kinpira. The taste and texture of the ingredients are perfectly preserved, and that slight spiciness is addictive.”

“You… I’ll make you plenty of it from now on.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

I felt like I was being flattered by her genuine impressions, but it didn’t feel bad at all. Or rather, for Ayano, she was probably just honestly sharing her thoughts. In the sense of being pure, maybe Ayano really was a “cool beauty.”

“Oh, and I want to eat the potato salad too…”

“………Ayano, you’re a light eater, right?”

“? Yes…”

“Can you eat all that?”

“If it’s your cooking, Kirihara-san, I can eat as much as you put out.”

“I see… No, that’s fine then.”

(I take it back. She’s definitely a little devil.)

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Chapter 15: All Four of Us in My Room

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“Sorry. Thanks for helping me out this early morning.”

“No. Please, let me help with at least this much.”

The next morning. Partly due to her own suggestion, I was making lunch boxes with Ayano, who had come to my house early in the morning.

“The sports festival, huh…”

“We were talking about that in the classroom before, weren’t we?”

“I don’t dislike sports, though. Ayano, you aren’t really fond of them, are you?”

“Well… there is the fact that the boys’ gazes are a bit… uncomfortable.”

She gave a wry smile as she said so. Being a beautiful woman came with its own set of problems, huh.

“…………”

“…Ah, do you want to eat the leftovers for breakfast? I might have actually made a bit too much.”

“! If that is the case, then I shall have some.”

Ayano let out a sigh, acting as if she had no choice.

(What a thing to say after staring at the food with such longing eyes.)

I transferred a small amount of kinpira and potato salad onto a small plate. When I handed it to her, her face lit up and her mouth opened slightly, but she cast a quick sideways glance toward me.

“I’m not giving you any more than that.”

“It is too little.”

“If you eat too much in the morning, you won’t be able to run in the relay.”

“I feel like your cooking will make me run faster, Kirihara-san.”

“You’re not some kind of engine…”

Despite my exasperation, Ayano wouldn’t back down, so I added just a tiny bit more as a token gesture. She stared at me discontentedly, but I shook my head to indicate I had no intention of adding anything else. As we continued making the lunch boxes in that fashion, the doorbell rang through the room.

“…Crap.”

According to the plan, Ayano was supposed to head to school first. However, because we had been taking our time preparing while chatting, the other two arrived earlier than expected.

“Well, I guess there’s no helping it now.”

“Do you think they’ll suspect something…?”

“No, yeah. There’s no doubt about that.”

Still, they probably would have found out sooner or later anyway. I let out a sigh and opened the front door.

“Yo.”

“Hello, hello~!”

“You guys sure are energetic for this early in the morning.”

I sighed again at the sight of the close pair, Shu and Kurumi, who had fixed their hair properly for the sports festival, and invited them into the house. And… I got exactly the reaction I expected.

“Eh, Ayano-san?”

“Su-chan!?”

“G-good morning.”

Seeing Ayano in the kitchen putting the lunch boxes into bags, the two of them cried out in surprise. Well, of course they would, seeing a “cool beauty” in a boy’s room…

“E-err…”

Kurumi looked back and forth between me, who had returned to the living room from behind the two, and Ayano.

“I-is this, you know… that thing people say? ‘You sure had fun last night’?”

“A… A-Aoi-san!?!?”

“What the hell are you talking about??!!”

This was the first time in my life I understood the urge to smack someone on the head with a slipper. A crisp slapping sound echoed through the room.

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“Ow, ow, ow… Why am I hurting in a non-athletic way on the day of the sports festival…”

“It’s your fault for saying something weird.”

“Sota is also at fault for bringing Ayano-san into his house.”

“N-now, now. In the end, I am the cause, so please calm down, you three…”

Kurumi had gone to Ayano’s room once to fix her appearance, and then they had gathered in my room again. While rubbing her head, which was styled in a braided ponytail, Kurumi glared at me with scornful eyes. She seemed to be wearing light makeup, making her look particularly cuter than usual.

Shu, who usually styled his hair with a center part, had it arranged with see-through bangs. The increased sense of composure made even me, a guy, think he looked cool. Ayano only had her hair tied in a simple ponytail, but as expected, it perfectly accentuated both her cuteness and beauty. I was already used to that hairstyle, but for some reason, her face was slightly red, which made my heart race.

“…Ayano?”

“Y-yes.”

“Your face is red… are you feeling sick?”

“No. Please do not mind me.”

“…Kurumi. Did you do something?”

“Nothing at all~”

“Shu, get the truth out of her later.”

“Roger that.”

“Wait, Shu-kun!?”

Setting Kurumi aside for a moment, what I wanted to say was that I looked way too inferior. The four of us would probably head to school together after this, but I was far too much of an outlier.

“The three of you go ahead to school first.”

“Eh, what about you, Sota?”

“…I feel self-conscious walking to school mixed in with you beautiful people.”

I couldn’t help but care about things like that. Well, since we would just talk again at school anyway, it might not mean much, but it was a matter of how I felt.

“I see.”

“As expected of Shu. He understands his own handsomeness.”

“In other words, you’re telling us to give you a makeover.”

“Shu?”

“In other words, it’s my turn to shine…”

“Kurumi?”

“Ah, err… I’ll wait here, okay?”

“Ayano. I appreciate that, but I might want you to stop these tw—… Ah, hey! Don’t pull me!”

While they forcibly claimed it was thanks for the lunch boxes, I was dragged away to the washstand.

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