I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine - Chapter 62

Episode 62: Report to Friends

After class, during lunch break.

As usual, we headed to the cafeteria located in the basement floor of the same building.

There, we ordered our preferred dishes and took seats that we had already claimed.

Hikari and I sat across from Imazato-san.

Imazato-san tends to order a variety of toppings, so she requires enough space for two people’s seats.

“Wow, Seira-chan, it’s amazing again today. Or rather, isn’t it more viscous than usual?”

“…This is pretty normal. Today I added some seaweed.”

Observing the uniquely concocted mozuku (edible seaweed), tororo (grated yam), natto, okra, and onsen egg curry made by the lady of distinguished birth, Hikari and I had ordered the same dish, Kansai-style udon.

It seems that if you are from a similar hometown, your tastes are also similar.

I was attracted by the clear broth, which I rarely see in Tokyo, and ended up choosing it.

As I was slurping it unconsciously.

“…Are you two dating?”

Suddenly, Imazato-san asked us this.

I almost spat out the noodles, quickly covering my mouth. Glancing sideways, I noticed Hikari also had her hand over her mouth, in the same pose.

This unexpected question seemed to catch us off guard.

“…How did you know? I was just about to report it.”

And so I said.

It wasn’t a lie. Indeed, I had been considering the timing to inform her.

Keeping secrets in this lunch gathering would just be exhausting.

That’s why I decided, after some consultation with Hikari, to tell her beforehand.

Some people might not want to tell others.

In reality, I’m also not the type to want to tell just anyone.

When I started dating Asuka, my ex-girlfriend, the news spread by the next day and it was honestly a bit bewildering.

So, Hikari already knew of this…

“T-That’s right…! Um, actually, there’s a lot going on…”

She wasn’t ready to report it.

Hikari’s face turned bright red, her hand trembling as she held her chopsticks, stuttering, “um, um.”

Perhaps because of the poor design of the chair, she was shaking.

She was clearly nervous. However, Imazato-san remained calm.

After swallowing the curry in her mouth.

“I expected this. It’s not something that surprising.”

She put down her spoon and said.

“The way you two are slurping udon together seemed like you’d grown closer than just lovers. It felt more like an old married couple.”

“W-What, Seira-chan!? Married couple, that’s…”

“No, not a married couple, but more like an old married couple.”

“W-We’re not old yet! We’re still fresh-faced university students!”

Hikari argued back, but, as expected, Imazato-san ignored it completely and started eating the sticky curry, pulling threads with each scoop, as if nothing had happened.

Honestly, it’s much better than being overly concerned. I didn’t mention it because I wanted her to change her behavior. I just wanted to report the facts.

So I resumed slurping my udon.

A little later, when Hikari also began eating her udon, Imazato-san handed us each a small bowl.

“Please, take this. It’s a gift for you two.”

Inside the small bowl is okra. It’s the same small bowl dish I received from her once before.

“No, you got this because you wanted to eat it yourself.”

“It’s just a small gesture. Besides, it’s also to spread the love for sticky and slimy foods. Please, don’t hesitate.”

She pushed the small bowls toward us even more. Hikari and I exchanged glances, then each said “Thank you” and accepted the bowls.

It wouldn’t be right to refuse her kindness. Although I felt like we were receiving too much… we already had something prepared for her.

Gratefully, we enjoyed the okra udon.

It was our first time having this combination, but it was delicious. The soup thickened, and the noodles slid right down. Thanks to that, we finished eating in no time.

We waited for Imazato-san to finish her curry. Then, I took out a paper bag from my backpack.

When I handed it to her, Imazato-san looked at it curiously.

“What’s this?”

“We went back to Kansai, right? So, it’s a souvenir. It’s a pretty famous donut over there.”

“For me?”

“Yes. From both of us. You’ve helped us a lot in April, and we want to keep getting along, so we decided on this together.”

“…I see.”

Imazato-san took the donut box out of the bag and stared at it. She examined the special train-shaped package from various angles.

“Do you not like donuts?”

We tried to choose something without strong likes or dislikes, something local…

I started to worry that maybe she would have preferred something sticky.

But she shook her head, long and thick hair moving with her.

“No, it’s just that I’ve never received something like this from a friend. I’ll gratefully accept it.”

Then she straightened her posture and bowed deeply.

“No, no, thank you. Let’s continue to get along.”

In response, Hikari put her hands on the edge of the table and bowed politely, so I followed suit, bowing as well.

We looked like businessmen greeting clients.

While I was thinking this, Imazato-san’s phone, which was lying next to the table, started ringing.

She excused herself and answered the call a little away from us. When she returned,

“Well, I must be going now. Something urgent came up. Thank you very much for the souvenir. See you.”

She picked up her tray and left quickly. It must have been quite urgent. Maybe something happened with her family.

As I pondered this,

“Imazato-san is busy.”

I murmured. But there was no reply, so I looked to the side and saw…

Hikari was hugging her arms, looking very uncomfortable. Her chair was slightly turned away from me, avoiding eye contact.

“…Um, Hikari?”

“W-W-What…?”

She stubbornly refused to look my way, but I could tell what was going on.

Not just her body language, but also the blush spreading up to her collarbone, visible under her blouse.

“…Are you embarrassed?”

“D-Don’t say that…”

“But you were acting normal just now.”

“That’s because Seira-chan was next to me… but being alone with you makes me nervous or something… It can’t be helped!”

Hikari closed her eyes tightly and looked down.

Even this looked adorable to me, which was a problem. As I stared at her, Hikari opened one eye to peek at me and then quickly closed it again.

“You’re staring too much…”

“S-Sorry…”

“It’s not bad, but… I want you to look at me. But maybe a bit more subtly.”

I see, this is a serious case. It won’t be resolved anytime soon. I had just decided not to act awkwardly, but with her reacting like this, it was impossible.

I tried to think of a topic, but nothing came to mind.

“Well, it’s nice weather today.”

“Y-Yes, it’s warm.”

“Ah, it’s warm.”

Without making eye contact, we continued with this exceedingly mundane conversation.

Eventually, the next class time approached, and we headed to our separate classrooms.