The Beautiful Girl I Accidentally Helped Who Has Somehow Become Attached To Me. - Chapter 4: The End Of The Relationship.

The End Of The Relationship.

The small connection that formed between me and Mikami Hina disappeared as soon as I accepted her thanks.

Or at least, it should have disappeared—cleanly and completely.

But then—

“Why are you here!?”

“What’s with the shouting? I don’t understand your question.”

For some reason, she was standing in front of me again today.

It made no sense. I’d thought over it multiple times and still couldn’t figure out how it had come to this.

“Um… why are you here, Mikami-san?”

“What a strange question. I’m here to eat, obviously.”

“Oh… right.”

This spot had always been my personal hideout, but it seemed she’d taken a liking to it too. In that case, I’d need to give it up and find somewhere else.

“…Where are you going?”

“Hm? Oh, well, since you’re already here, I figured I’d go find another spot.”

“Isn’t eating together an option?”

“Uh…”

What to do?

Originally, I’d found this place as a quiet corner for eating alone. But as a result of the small favor I’d done her, here I was now, sharing it day after day.

Sure, I admit it was more comfortable being alone. I left the classroom to escape and eat here by myself, after all.

Still, I had to admit…

While having her here made things feel a little awkward, it wasn’t unpleasant. And being around her didn’t feel suffocating, like it did in the classroom.

“So, what’s your decision?”

“Alright, fine.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling that Mikami-san had somehow lured me into this, but since I didn’t have anywhere else to go, I resigned myself to sitting down beside her.

“Is that all you’re eating, Kirishima-san? Just bread again? You’re going to end up lacking nutrients. Please feel free to have some of my lunch.”

“No, it’s fine. If I keep accepting your food, I’ll start feeling guilty…”

“Don’t worry about it. Really, help yourself to anything you like.”

With that, she held out her bento box to me. It was packed with delicious-looking food, making it hard to resist.

Unable to turn down the tempting offer, I decided to accept and reached out.

“Alright… I’ll just have one piece of tamagoyaki, then.”

“Go ahead. Do you like tamagoyaki?”

“Well, it’s not tamagoyaki specifically, but I really like this kind of sweet flavor.”

“I see. Hehe, we’re alike, then.”

“Alike…  huh.”

Since she likes this flavor too, that’s probably why she makes sweet tamagoyaki and includes it in her bento. Considering that Mikami-san’s bento is filled with things she enjoys, prepared just the way she likes, the fact that I end up liking her food means our tastes might be similar… in a way, that makes us “matching.”

“So, Mikami-san, do you usually make your own lunch?”

“Not always, but I’ve been trying to since high school. I may not be able to make anything too elaborate, but being able to fill a bento with my favorite flavors is really nice. You should give it a try, Kirishima-san.”

“Do I look like someone who can cook?”

“No, not at all. Not even a tiny bit.”

“…Then why did you ask?”

“I just felt like saying it.”

Cooking? That’s impossible for me.

I don’t cook, and I can’t wake up early. Prepping lunch in the morning is out of the question.

That’s why I genuinely respect Mikami-san, who somehow manages to wake up early and even cook. She talks about it like it’s no big deal, as if it’s the simplest thing, but to me, it’s a serious challenge.

“The tamagoyaki was delicious. Thanks.”

“You’re very welcome. Are you done already?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to take too much and leave you with less to eat. And I’m pretty much finished too.”

The tamagoyaki I’d taken from her bento was already in my stomach, and the yakisoba bread I’d brought along had just disappeared too. They were probably having a nice time together in there.

“I noticed before, but you really don’t take long to eat. What do you usually do after you finish?”

“Either take a nap or study. There’s a vocab test in English class this afternoon, so I was thinking of doing a quick review.”

I pulled a vocabulary notebook out of my pocket and flipped through it, scanning the words I hadn’t quite mastered in class, along with grammar notes I’d written down. I was deep in focus when I felt Mikami-san’s gaze on me, prompting me to look up.

“…What’s up?”

“…You’re so diligent, even though we just started high school.”

“Oh, that’s…. It’s only because I don’t have any friends to hang out with.”

“…That’s… rather sad, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… right.”

Saying it out loud myself only made it feel even sadder. So please, don’t look at me with that pitying gaze. It’s almost enough to make me want to cry.

“Are you good at studying, Kirishima-san?”

“Hmm, not sure? Probably about average.”

It was a vague question, asking if I’m “good at studying.” High school classes had just started, and for now, I was managing to keep up without any issues. But with so little to go on, it’d be pretty embarrassing to confidently claim I was good at it, so I gave a lukewarm answer.

“I mean, we haven’t had a real test yet, and you can’t measure academic ability that easily anyway.”

“…That’s true.”

“For now, it’s just these small quizzes and, although I haven’t experienced one yet, maybe even pop quizzes.”

“Oh, I heard from a friend in the class next door that they had a surprise math quiz.”

“Oh, really?”

Honestly, tips like that are really helpful. Each teacher has their own style for pacing and tests, and knowing there could be pop quizzes at all is useful. I don’t know which teachers are covering which classes yet, but I’d like to start gathering info and planning accordingly.

As we chatted about the little things in our school lives, our conversation flowed naturally. Then, all of a sudden, Mikami-san noticed something and paused.

“By the way… I think it might be my fault, but… um, your hand has stopped moving.”

“…Oh.”

At first, I’d been flipping through my vocabulary notebook while answering her questions, but somewhere along the way, I’d stopped flipping entirely, and found myself just enjoying our conversation…? Me, the loner…?

“It seems I stopped eating too. The bell will ring soon, so I’d better hurry and finish my lunch. I’m sorry if I interrupted your studying.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m still good—probably. Sorry for making you pause eating too.”

“Then, let’s just say we’re both at fault and call it even.”

Mikami-san took away my study time.

I took away her eating time.

Before a back-and-forth apology battle could start over that, I decided to accept Mikami-san’s suggestion to call it even, and we focused on making the most of the little time we had left in our break.

As the bell rang, signaling it was time to head back to the classroom, we parted ways.

“Thank you for today. Well, see you again.”

“Yeah, see you.”

Without feeling any awkwardness in our exchange, we went our separate ways and returned to class.

By the way, I had a moment of panic during the English vocabulary quiz when I forgot a word, but I managed to remember it just in time and ended up scoring full marks.

That was close!