When I Started a Food Delivery Part-Time Job, I Ended up Being Invited to the Home of a Gloomy, Clumsy Beautiful Girl - Chapter 8: Stay Over?

Chapter 8: Stay Over?

About thirty minutes, or perhaps an hour, had passed.

Finally, Yukishiro-san stopped crying, and while she wasn’t completely back to normal, she had regained some energy—and was now heartily devouring the food spread out on the table.

Today’s order was nearly the entire menu of a certain famous family restaurant.

Hamburgers, steak, pasta, gratin, salad, tonjiru… the table was practically overflowing.

“Aizawa, eat too…”

“Huh, is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

Come to think of it, she had invited me to eat together, hadn’t she?

While gauging Yukishiro-san’s expression, I ultimately picked up the mentaiko pasta.

As I brought the pasta to my mouth with a fork, Yukishiro-san murmured softly.

“…Mama got mad at me.”

“So that’s why you were crying…”

Hearing the reason, it made sense.

She had cried so much because of her mother’s words, apparently.

Even so, Yukishiro-san probably couldn’t bring herself to hate her mother. In fact, because she loved her so much, it hurt her deeply.

“I’ve been scolded before. But… it’s been a while since she said something about my figure. Today, we were supposed to go eat yakiniku together. I was really looking forward to it…”

“…”

No wonder she hadn’t planned on ordering UberMeats.

Going for yakiniku together after work—she had been looking forward to that promise.

“I know I need to lose weight. But… I don’t want to stop eating.”

Yukishiro-san’s voice was earnest, almost childishly honest.

“You’ve managed to maintain your figure until now, right?”

“Yeah… but today, she said it wasn’t good enough.”

—She wants to lose weight. But she wants to eat.

To resolve that contradiction… there’s only one way.

The only thing I could do to help Yukishiro-san was that.

“Yukishiro-san, do you feel like anything tastes good as long as it’s delicious?”

“…If it’s delicious.”

“Then, how about I make low-calorie, high-volume meals for you?”

As soon as I said it, I regretted it.

It had only been a few days since I started getting involved with Yukishiro-san. Sticking my nose into someone’s eating habits was probably too much…

But—

“…You’ll cook for me?”

The response was a voice full of anticipation.

“Like I said, I’m the son of a restaurant owner. Sure, I ran away from it… but I’ve been cooking since I was little. Adjusting calories is a piece of cake.”

“…That’s amazing…”

Yukishiro-san’s eyes sparkled brightly.

—She’s so predictable when it comes to food.

“Of course, you’d have to cover the cost of ingredients. It’d probably be cheaper than ordering UberMeats… but I can’t do it every day. I’ve got my part-time job, so maybe three times a week for now?”

“…I want to eat it. I want to try Aizawa’s cooking… But, is it really okay? I eat a lot, you know?”

“It’s fine. I guess I’m the type who can’t ignore someone in trouble. Let’s just call it fate.”

As I said it, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Lately, my own meals had been pretty haphazard, so this might be a good chance to keep my cooking skills sharp.

“…Then, I’ll ask you to do it. I’ll pay you for your work too.”

“Huh, that’s…”

“Cooking is hard, right? So, I’ll pay you properly.”

“No, it’s not about the money… Let’s put that on hold for now.”

“…Okay. Then, just tell me whenever you want it.”

UberMeats is easy because it’s through an app, but receiving money directly feels different.

Still, that would mean cutting back on my part-time job hours.

Well, for now, I could make up for the reduced hours somewhere else…

And so, it was decided that I would make Yukishiro-san’s dinners.

“…Well, I’ll head home now.”

“Ah…”

At the entrance, as I picked up my things and stood to leave, Yukishiro-san grabbed the hem of my clothes to stop me.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m… lonely…”

“Huh… w-wait, that’s…”

Her sudden puppy-like eyes made my heart skip a beat.

But, no matter how you look at it, this was…

“—Stay over?”

W-What did she just say!?

No, no, no, no! That’s way too much!

“No way! We’re high schoolers! A guy and a girl alone together is totally out of bounds!”

“You’re going to leave me when I’m lonely?”

Ugh… don’t give me that look…!

She might be feeling lonely after what happened with her mom.

But even so, that’s just…

“…What about your friends? You’ve got close friends, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Why don’t you call one? Ask them to stay over tonight. Tomorrow’s Saturday, after all.”

“…Okay.”

After a moment of hesitation, Yukishiro-san took out her phone and called someone.

After a few rings, the other person picked up.

“—Ayame, I’m lonely.”

Her friend’s name was apparently Ayame.

“Please come stay over.”

“Please.”

“Otherwise, Aizawa will…”

“…Aizawa’s my classmate.”

“Yeah, a guy.”

“You’ll come right now?”

“Okay. I’ll wait…”

After hanging up, Yukishiro-san looked up at me.

But something was bothering me.

“Your friend’s coming over?”

“Yeah, that’s good… but you totally didn’t explain enough about me!?”

“Yeah. When I mentioned you, she said she’d come right away.”

—That’s definitely a misunderstanding!

Her coming right away… am I being treated like I’m one step away from getting reported!?

“W-Well, I’m heading out then. Let’s talk about when I’ll start cooking over LINE.”

“Okay. …Thank you so much.”

“Rest well tonight, okay?”

“Yeah. …See you, Aizawa.”

I hurriedly left the apartment and jumped on my bike.

I absolutely didn’t want to run into Yukishiro-san’s friend.

—

Yukishiro-san is becoming more dependent…