After I Picked up a Notebook Filled With Intense Emotions, the Girls Started Acting Strange

It was lunchtime.

I had promised to eat with my friend Kazuma. I was already feeling a bit tired just thinking about it. He’d probably flirt in front of me again. As I got up from my seat, someone called out to me.

“Shiomi-kun, do you want to eat lunch together?”

I turned around and saw Sena-san standing there.

I didn’t quite understand what was happening, so I looked around and pointed at myself to make sure she meant me.

“Yeah. I mean you, Shiomi-kun.”

She smiled at me warmly, without a hint of hesitation. Some classmates murmured in surprise.

It made sense. They were shocked because not only had she walked to school with me this morning, but she was now inviting me to lunch instead of Shindou.

And I was honestly shocked too.

“W-Wait a minute, Mizuki!”

Shindou came running over while panicking. He glanced at me, then turned to Sena-san with his face full of questions.

“Th-This lunch is mine, right?”

“..Nope? See, the container’s different from usual, right?”

“W-Why!? You always make it for me!”

“But today, I didn’t make it for Arata.”

“…W-Why are you eating lunch with Shiomi then!? You should eat with us like always!”

“Why? Because I have something I want to talk about. Right, Shiomi-kun?”

“Eh? Yeah.”

I guessed she meant she wanted to talk about Shindou. That was the only thing that made sense, so I nodded along.

“If it’s a talk, you could just tell me! Why Shiomi!?”

“What do you mean, Arata? I want to talk to him about it. Geez, don’t make me say it out loud, it’s embarrassing!”

“…!”

Sena-san looked away.

Seeing that, Shindou’s worried expression instantly changed to a satisfied one.

“I-I see. Well, fine then. Go ahead and eat with Shiomi today.”

He shot me a triumphant look and then left.

“Then, let’s go!”

“Y-Yeah…”

After Shindou left, Sena-san turned to me and smiled brightly.

…Was it just me, or did the way she looked at Shindou just now seem really cold?

With that little question in my mind, Sena-san and I left the classroom together.

◆

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

“I have no idea.”

We were in the school courtyard now.

Many students eat lunch here, enjoying the warm spring sun. There seemed to be a lot of couples. I’m usually stuck eating with a couple plus one, so I always wonder how they see me. It’s sad.

But today, it wasn’t just a normal couple. It was a couple plus another boy and a girl. From a distance, someone might think it’s just two friendly couples eating together. I silently thanked Sena-san for that.

Anyway, Kazuma couldn’t hide his surprise at suddenly eating lunch with Sena-san.

On the other hand, Kanda seemed completely fine and was happily chatting with her.

Kazuma leaned over and whispered to me while watching the two girls talk.

“Isn’t Sena-san Shindou’s childhood friend? And doesn’t she really like him? Why is she here?”

“I don’t know either.”

“I’ve actually been asking Shiomi-kun for advice for a while. Today, I invited him to help with another question.”

““!?””

Even though we were whispering, Sena-san immediately explained it aloud, making both Kazuma and me flustered.

She really has ears everywhere. Plus, she was just talking to Kanda a moment ago.

“Advice? What kind of advice?”

“Uh… It’s about how to approach someone I like.”

“…”

Sena-san kept glancing at us shyly. I tilted my head, not sure what she meant.

Maybe she didn’t want to say the person’s name out loud because it’s embarrassing.

…Although everyone already seems to know. Maybe Sena-san doesn’t realize that everyone knows?

“No way! So that’s what you were asking for advice about!”

“You mean. It’s about Shindou?”

“Ah.”

Just as I thought that, Kazuma clearly said the name. I quickly looked at Sena-san.

But she didn’t look embarrassed at all.

Instead, her eyes were blank, without any sparkle.

…What kind of feeling is that?

“Ah, huh? W-Was I wrong?”

“Kazuma! You have no tact at all!”

“Oh!”

Even Kazuma was thrown off by that reaction. Seeing this, Kanda seemed to notice something was wrong and lightly scolded him.

“Ahaha, I wonder about that.”

Did that sound a little broken, or was it just me?

“Um, Sena-san? Are you okay?”

“Yeah! I’m fine! I just felt sad that things weren’t going well, even though Shiomi-kun was kindly helping me with my question. That’s all!”

“I see. I’m sorry, Sena-san. Kazuma has no tact. If you’re having trouble with Shindou, you can also ask me for advice.”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you!”

Even though it was their first time meeting today, their relationship already looked natural. That’s Kanda for you.

“So, what’s your problem today? If it’s hard to talk about it in front of us, we can do it another time.”

“…Maybe I’ll do that.”

Even though she had invited me to lunch for advice, I somehow felt a little guilty.

Well, she was the one who said it was okay since I had plans with Kazuma anyway.

“Forget about Kazuma! Shiomi-kun! What do you think of this lunch?”

Suddenly changing the topic, Sena-san made me look down at the lunch box in front of me.

It was a two-tiered bento she had made as a thank-you.

At first glance, it looked well-balanced with vegetables and colors. But on top of the rice, it was completely covered with fried chikuwa seaweed sticks. It was completely covered.

…What is this?

“Hey, how is it!? I remembered you said you liked chikuwa tempura last time, so I put lots of it in!”

“It’s good. Thank you.”

“Yay!”

She smiled so brightly it almost hurt to look at her. My words weren’t a lie. It was really delicious, maybe the best I’ve ever had.

But something felt strange. I didn’t remember ever saying chikuwa tempura was tasty in front of her. When did I even say that?

Yeah, I like it, but it’s not like it’s my favorite.

“Uh, by the way, when did I say it was tasty in front of you?”

“Ehh~ I can’t tell you that…”

She’s blushing for that?

I had no idea.

“Ah, do you want me to feed you some? Like ahh?”