Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 05: Tanaka-san’s Mom Is a Great Cook!

Chapter 05: Tanaka-san’s Mom Is a Great Cook!

Alright, here’s another very important question—part three:

When do guys start thinking, “Yeah, I wanna marry this girl someday”?

Maybe it’s when she takes care of you while you’re sick, fussing over you like a devoted nurse.

Or maybe it’s when she really gets you—understands who you are and rolls with all your weird quirks.

There are tons of possible answers, sure.

But for us high school boys—who are still basically kids?

It’s the moment we get a taste of some really good home-cooked food.

That’s it.

One bite of something warm, nostalgic, and perfectly tailored to your taste buds, and suddenly you’re thinking—“I wanna be with this girl forever.”

“Onii-chan! I brought your lunch again today~!”

“Rino, thanks for going out of your way again.”

And so, the one who’s firmly holding the number-one spot in our school’s “Girl You Wanna Make Your Wife” rankings…is none other than one of the Shikihime and the protagonist Kaisei’s little stepsister—Rino Natsuse.

A tiny, adorable beauty with a golden ponytail—someone who honestly looks more like a little sister or class mascot than a future bride.

But the reason she sits at the top of the “wifey” rankings?

Yeah, it’s got nothing to do with her looks.

It’s something else entirely.

“But hey, aren’t you overdoing it? Making this much food every single morning has to be rough. I’ve actually started a part-time job, so I can take care of lunch myself now. You should give yourself a break sometimes.”

“No way! I’m totally fine. Besides, there’s no way I’d let some random stranger feed you during such an important growth period. What if they gave you something weird that messed up your development? That’d be a disaster! Making sure Onii-chan grows up healthy is my job!”

What she proudly held up was a towering stack of bento boxes—ten tiers tall.

And believe it or not, every single dish inside was handmade by Rino-chan herself.

…And every single one?

Absolutely delicious.

“Ahaha, got it. Thanks, Rino. But this is way too much. Mind if I share it with everyone?”

“Hmm… I really wanted you to eat it all yourself, Onii-chan… but yeah, I went a little overboard again today, so I guess it’s okay. But! On one condition—you have to take at least one bite of everything. Got it?”

“Of course.”

“Uooooooohh! It’s Rino-tan’s homemade cooking!!”

“Another masterpiece! Rino-san, please marry me!!”

“Kaisei-oniisan! Please let me have Rino-san!!”

Still, no matter how tasty something is, there’s only so much one guy can eat.

From the very first day Rino-chan brought her mega-bento, Kaisei gave up trying to tackle it solo.

He immediately switched to team effort mode, dragging in classmates to help clear the boxes.

The result?

Dozens of students got a taste of Rino-chan’s cooking—and just like that, a wave of boys were completely conquered by her culinary charm.

Naturally, being in the same class as Kaisei, I’ve had a few chances to try it myself.

And yes—Rino-chan’s cooking really is that good.

I’ve never eaten at a fancy Japanese restaurant or anything, but I’m pretty sure her food would blow even that out of the water.

“Wow, this meat-wrapped rice ball is amazing. The sauce is chef’s kiss. Famu… this sweetness—she totally used honey as a hidden ingredient, didn’t she? Nakayama-kun, want one too?”

“Nah, I’ll pass.”

That said—

If you asked me whether I’d want to marry Rino-chan because of her cooking…

Yeah, no. Not me.

Her food’s definitely amazing—the kind of stuff you’d love to have at a celebration or special occasion.

But something I’d want to eat every single day?

Not really.

Plus, I know the truth about Rino-chan.

Behind that super cute face is a full-blown, clingy yandere heroine.

If I ever started dating her, I’d basically be signing up for a lifetime of being chained down—literally.

Locked up. No freedom.

So yeah.

No thanks.

No matter how good her food is, there’s no way I’d want someone like that as my wife or girlfriend.

What I want is someone normal.

A girl who’s decently good at cooking, gets a little jealous now and then, but still forgives me in the end and lets us go on cute, flirty dates together.

That’s the kind of girl I want to marry.

And in that sense, even if I don’t know whether Tanaka-san can cook yet, she’s already perfect in every other way.

She’s totally the ideal girl.

I want to date her so bad—but after yesterday’s epic screw-up, I know it’s gonna take some time.

(Aahh… I really wanna taste Tanaka-san’s cooking someday…)

But you know how it is.

Even when you know better, you can’t help but dream.

That’s just how people are.

As I slowly picked at my lunch—homemade by my mom—I let my imagination drift, picturing what something Tanaka-san made might taste like.

And then—

“…That hamburger looks really good.”

A voice came from beside me.

I turned my head—and there she was.

Tanaka-san, staring longingly at my lunch.

Curious, I picked up the hamburger with my chopsticks and moved it left… then right…

And sure enough, her eyes followed.

Exactly like I thought they would.

I kept the game going for a good ten seconds, watching her track it like a cat zeroing in on prey.

Then, at last—our eyes met.

And in that instant, Tanaka-san’s head looked like it was about to start steaming.

“Ah! Um—this isn’t what it looks like, okay!? I was just curious why Nakayama-kun didn’t seem interested in Natsuse-san’s cooking, so I was trying to figure it out, that’s all! It’s not like I wanted to try it or anything!”

“Guh…!”

And then came the frantic explanation.

Her face went bright red in a matter of seconds.

It was so ridiculously cute that my sanity gauge took a critical hit.

But I couldn’t let my feelings show—not here, not now.

So I turned my face away before anything leaked out.

“…If you’re that curious, wanna try some? I’ve still got half left.”

Still, I couldn’t help myself.

I just wanted to see her smile.

So I offered up my precious hamburger.

“Oh, no… I couldn’t possibly. That’s your important lunch, Nakayama-kun. I’d feel bad taking it.”

Polite as always.

She turned me down right away—probably didn’t want to accept food for free.

But her eyes?

They kept flicking back to the hamburger like it was calling her name.

Yeah, totally couldn’t hide it.

“In that case, how about we trade? Something from your lunch for this?”

“S-Sure! If you’re okay with that, I’d be happy to.”

She was struggling to be honest with herself, so I tossed her a lifeline.

And though she still looked super apologetic… she whipped out her lunchbox with impressive speed.

“Please… feel free to pick anything you like.”

She opened the lid and held it out like she was presenting a royal treasure—seriously, it was like a knight offering up their sacred sword.

“Alright then, I’ll take a piece of kara—”

“Ahhh—!”

The second I reached for the fried chicken with the back of my chopsticks, a little yelp slipped out of Tanaka-san.

I looked up and saw her face twist in despair—like I’d just shattered her entire world.

…So, uh, yeah. Pretty sure fried chicken was her absolute favorite.

“—I mean, never mind, I’ll take the tamagoya—”

“Uuh…”

Trying not to be a jerk, I redirected to the rolled omelet.

But that clearly ranked high on her favorites list too—her face scrunched up all over again.

“—Alright, kinpira gobo (sauteed burdock root) it is.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

In the end, I picked a side dish that definitely didn’t stack up to a hamburger in terms of value.

But, well—whatever.

“Mmm~! Sho gfod!”

Okay, yeah, maybe I was a little bit salty about the trade.

But watching Tanaka-san chew with that happy little grin made it all totally worth it.

Besides, I still got to taste something straight from the Tanaka family kitchen.

Honestly?

That alone made it a win.

“Itadakimasu!”

Grateful for this unexpected blessing, I took a bite of the kinpira gobo.

“Whoa—this is good.”

The savory dashi had soaked perfectly into the vegetables, and the mild sweetness of the burdock root hit just right.

Compared to Rino-chan’s high-end, fancy flavors, this was something else entirely—

Simple. Homey. The kind of taste that instantly makes you feel at ease.

It was just… comforting.

The words left my mouth before I even realized.

“Ah… ahh—”

I heard a soft gasp from beside me.

Turning to look, I found Tanaka-san staring intensely in the opposite direction.

“Hm?”

Curious, I followed her gaze…

Only to find nothing but blue sky.

No birds. No planes. Not even a passing cloud.

(…Okay then.)

“Man, this is so good.”

(Seriously though—Tanaka-san’s mom must be an incredible cook.)

I gave up trying to figure it out and went back to savoring the kinpira gobo she’d shared with me.

Which is probably why…

“…(Yes!)”

I completely missed the moment Tanaka-san clenched her fist in a quiet little victory pump, a huge smile lighting up her face.