I Was Reincarnated as a Stepping-Stone Character in an Eroge, and by Breaking the Heroines’ NTR Flags in Place of the Protagonist, They Ended Up Falling for Me - Chapter 23 - Mayu’s Envious Gaze

Chapter 23 – Mayu’s Envious Gaze

We arrived at the family restaurant and were guided to a table by the waiter. We were all looking at the menu, thinking about what to order.

First, I thought I’d order a heaping serving of fries so we could all share.

As for my own order… maybe a hamburger steak sounds good——

Fried shrimp, hamburger steak, omelette rice…and I also want pudding! But that would be so many calories…!! What should I do? I can’t choose! I want to eat it all!! But the calories!

Reika next to me was really noisy… Seriously, she can’t possibly eat that much.

Honestly, eating all of it wouldn’t be a problem, but… I’ve been gaining weight lately. I can’t afford to let this continue! What should I do? I want everything! But the calories!

I wonder if she’ll be able to eat it all… Dammit, I’m starting to wonder what Reika will order…

This is it! The kid’s meal! Half shrimp fry, half hamburger steak, half omurice, and it comes with pudding too!?

It was the kid’s meal, to my surprise.

…There’s no doubt about it. My stomach is craving the kid’s meal right now. Calorie-wise, a kid’s meal is the only option… but a kid’s meal is too embarrassing for a high school student…! What will happen to my image of being cool, aloof, and classy…!

Don’t worry. That image has already turned to dust.

“Have you two decided?”

Mayu, who was sitting across from us, asked while putting her menu away. It seems that she has already decided what she wanted to order.

“I-I’ll decide now. Wait a moment.”

If only one more person would order the kid’s meal…!!

Reika glanced in my direction.

Wait, this girl… no way.

“Tsu-kun? If you’re having trouble…shall I decide for you?”

She’s trying to get me to order the kid’s meal?!

“No, I can choose for myself.”

“Tsu-kun, right now…you want hamburger steak, fried shrimp, and omelet rice. And pudding for dessert, right?”

That’s you, not me.

“No, not really…”

“There’s no need to hide it. I’m your girlfriend, so I can tell.”

What’s with this girl, I want to punch her.

…Wait, a message from Hinano?

[Master, today is Hinano’s special jumbo fried egg and cheese hamburger steak, so please buy a strawberry tart and come back soon!]

Hinano sent me this message along with a picture of her making a peace sign while looking at the jumbo hamburger steak before it was cooked.

Oh no…!! I forgot to tell her I’d be eating out tonight!!

If I contacted her now, she’d definitely get sulky. Hinano can be so troublesome at times like this. She won’t listen to me at all, and it takes a long time for her to get over her bad mood.

I did something similar the other day and had a really hard time. If I have to go through that again——

“I’ll get some fries to share and the kid’s meal, but what about Tsukishima?”

I chose the kid’s meal without any hesitation. Mayu looked very surprised, but I didn’t have time to care about that.

“Huh? Ah…! H-hmph. T-Tsu-kun, you want the kid’s meal? W-well then, I guess I’ll order one too? The kid’s meal. Yeah. That might be good. I’ll order it with you as your girlfriend…so you won’t be embarrassed.”

“Is that so, thanks.”

I tapped on the tablet to order a mountain of fries and the kid’s meal.

Hmm? You can choose between buttered rice and chicken rice for the omurice filling?

“You’re going with buttered rice? The classic choice is chicken rice, Tsu-kun. You’re so basic.”

“You’re only picking chicken rice because it comes with a little flag stuck in it, aren’t you?”

“N-no!!”

Well, that’s partly true!

So it is true…

After a while, the dishes we ordered arrived one after the other. The look on the waiter’s face as he brought the two kid’s meal was one I won’t forget anytime soon.

“Now that I think of it, why don’t you two call each other by your first names even though you’re dating?”

“We call each other differently when we’re alone.”

Come to think of it, this girl calls me Tsu-kun when we’re alone, but calls me Ishibashi in public.

“Why not use the same names in public?”

Mayu tilted her head at Reika’s answer.

“Well, that’s because…it’s embarrassing…”

Reika blushed and averted her gaze.

So it’s too embarrassing for her to call me “Tsu-kun” in public, huh…

“Speaking of which, you said you two only started talking normally recently. Was there some kind of trigger?”

“Well, that’s… Um…”

“It all started because of Ishibashi-kun.”

“Huh?”

“Hey?!”

Mayu started talking, ignoring the panicking Reika, perhaps because she can sense my feelings.

“There was a rumor going around that Ishibashi-kun and Reika-chan were dating. I got curious and asked her what kind of person Ishibashi-kun was.”

“Wait, Mayu. Don’t say anything more.”

“Then she happily told me about Ishibashi-kun, saying that he was cold but kind, that he’s reliable in emergencies, that he was really cool… Reika-chan was really bragging about Ishibashi-kun… I think that’s when Reika-chan and I started to be able to converse with each other.”

“Mayu!! You didn’t have to say that much!!”

“One time, Reika-chan started to…”

“Waaa! Waaa! Waaa!”

Reika was in full panic mode while Mayu seemed to be having a great time recounting the story.

I see. So this is why Mayu was friendly towards me from the beginning.

“When did you two start getting along?”

Feeling sorry for Reika, I decided to change the topic.

“Well…”

Mayu started talking happily. I was listening to her while eating my kid’s meal.

Suddenly, from beside me,

What?! What is this?! This chicken rice… has green peas and corn in it?!

I heard Reika’s inner cry.

Hold on. Are you a child?

What?! Who came up with this menu?! Putting mixed vegetables in chicken rice is not something humans would do! And why would you even try to mix something like green peas, which tastes bad no matter how you cook it?! I don’t understand!!

Oh come on! You’re so noisy! I can’t concentrate on what Mayu is saying at all!?!

“……”

Reika’s gaze turned towards me again. Her gaze was not directed at me, but at my buttered omelet rice.

“…What?”

“Ishibashi, you’re thinking you should’ve chosen chicken rice instead, aren’t you? I can tell. I’m your girlfriend, after all.”

That’s you, not me. (2nd time)

“Well, I guess there’s no helping it. If you really want, I’ll trade it for your buttered omelet rice.”

“…Do whatever you want.”

Seeing Reika exchanging our omelet rice with sparkling eyes, I couldn’t help but sigh.

“…You two really get along well. I’m a little jealous.”

Mayu muttered as she watched Reika and I exchange.

This isn’t something to be jealous of, though. Seriously.

“…Well, Ishibashi just loves me too much~ Isn’t that right, Ishibashi?”

“Ah, yes… That’s correct.”

“Why are you suddenly so formal?”

Mayu continued to watch our exchange with an envious gaze.

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T/N: Dem, spoiled Reika is so cute~ And we’re getting development on Mayu’s side, you can expect what’ll happen in the future, muehehehe… DOROBO NEKO!