Why Is the Prettiest Girl in School Trying to Talk to a Loner Like Me during Lunch Break? - Chapter 127 - One Coin

Chapter 127 – One Coin

“Finally, Asakura-san joins the debate. How skilled is our school’s most famous beauty?”

“That’s why I’ll devote all my efforts to improving our school cafeteria from within.”

“B-but like I said, the cafeteria can’t just slash prices!”

“But more students are bringing bento these days, right? If we just say ‘we can’t lower prices’ and do nothing, eventually most students will stop using the cafeteria and it’ll shut down. Shouldn’t we at least explore improvement options?”

“But even so, what can be done? Increasing usage without lowering prices or adding new menu items…”

“It does seem difficult…”

“I have a solution.”

“”What!?” (Andou and Ishida)”

“Let’s see. For example… how about selling cafeteria items separately?”

“Selling items separately?”

“Yes. Currently the cafeteria charges 600 yen for a set meal—rice, soup, and side dishes as a package, right? Instead, we could sell rice for 100 yen, soup for 100 yen, and side dishes for 400 yen individually.”

“There’s no way that would increase cafeteria sales—”

“No, it would work!”

“What did you say?”

“It seems Andou-kun gets it.”

“Yeah, Asakura-san’s itemized selling would definitely work! Because personally, the biggest problem with our cafeteria is that every single price exceeds 500 yen!”

“Hmph, what’s the issue? Even if prices exceed 500 yen, we’re talking about a difference of just a few hundred yen, aren’t we?”

“You’re an idiot, Ishida… You don’t get it at all! For us poor students, those ‘few hundred yen’ make all the difference!”

“W-what are you talking about…?”

“Ishida-kun, what do you usually have for lunch?”

“Asakura-san, why the sudden question… I always bring a bento. So what?”

“Just as I thought. From what you said earlier, I suspected you don’t actually use the cafeteria.”

“Hey… wait, someone opposing price cuts doesn’t even use the cafeteria…?”

“So what!? W-what’s wrong with that! I don’t use the cafeteria not because it’s ‘expensive’ but because I have a bento prepared daily…”

“Ishida-kun, I’m not saying it’s ‘wrong’ that you don’t use the cafeteria.”

“R-right. Then—”

“But you see… Ishida-kun.

That’s precisely why you can’t understand the feelings of students who depend on the cafeteria!” SLAM!

“What… did you say?”

“Ah~ exactly. Since you don’t actually use the cafeteria yourself, you can’t truly grasp how much those slightly inflated prices hurt students.”

“Hey! W-what’s that supposed to mean!?”

“Ishida-kun, do you know the average lunch budget for high school students?”

“What’s this about? Hmph, probably around 500 yen, right?”

“Correct. That’s about your budget too, isn’t it, Andou-kun?”

“Right. I’d say most students here have roughly that amount.”

“Ishida-kun, keeping that in mind, please consider this… With 500 yen for lunch… what would you order from our cafeteria?”

“What would I—”

(500 yen? Well, I don’t like noodles or rice bowls, so the safe choice would be—) (Ishida)

“The set meal.”

“Alright, Andou-kun. Judge it.”

“OUUUUUUT!”

“WHAT!? Hold on! What’s out about that!?”

“Andou-kun…”

“Unfortunately, you can’t order the cafeteria set meal with that amount. Set meals cost 600 yen—You Don’t Have Enough Money.”

“Exactly.”

“Damn… T-then soba! Soba costs 550 yen so—”

“Andou-kun, finish him!”

“Also ouuuuut!”

“WHY!? Stop screwing around! Soba costs 550 yen so I could order it!”

“*Sigh*… Andou-kun, explain it to him.”

“Ishidaaa! Can’t you even do basic math? We established 500 yen as the budget! With only 500 yen, how exactly do you buy 550 yen soba? Go back to elementary school!”

“It’s just 50 yen more! Surely anyone can manage that!”

“Ishida-kun, that’s exactly the problem!”

“…What?”

“You just said ‘it’s just 50 yen,’ didn’t you? That’s the disconnect between you and students who depend on the cafeteria. Sure, everyone could spend an extra 50 yen if pressed and order soba. They could even spend an extra 100 yen for the set meal.”

“Right, I sometimes treat myself to the cafeteria set meal maybe 2-3 times a month.”

“Then why doesn’t everyone do that?”

“Ishida-kun, Andou-kun said ‘occasionally,’ remember? That’s because going over budget by a few hundred yen is only manageable occasionally… But what if it happened every day? If you spent an extra 100 or 200 yen on lunch daily, how much would your monthly expenses increase?”

“! T-that would be…”

(Let’s see… Spending 600 yen instead of 500 yen daily, with school days per month being) (Ishida)

“…”

(Five days a week, times 4 weeks, so 5×4=20, add two zeros—) (Ishida)

“Even conservatively, over two thousand yen.”

“Hmph, so what? It’s only two thousand yen per month… Surely that’s manageable—”

“…Andou-kun.”

“ISHIDAAA! Are you stupid!? Where exactly do we squeeze out that two thousand yen? Us poor students don’t live in fantasy land where we can go ‘Mommy~ more allowance please♪’ and get unlimited money! If anything, admitting we spent it all would get us murdered!”

“””Exactly…!””” ←Student audience

“Plus, having just cafeteria soba for lunch leaves you starving later! Honestly, even the set meal portions leave me wanting more—keep that up for a month and you’d definitely achieve that ideal slim figure! We’re growing students who absolutely need extra carbs with these meals!”

“””Yes yes yes…!””” ←Student audience

“Well, Ishida-kun… This is the reality for typical male students. Do you understand now how crucial keeping lunch under 500 yen is for them?”

“Y-yes… I had no idea everyone here was so desperate for carbohydrates…”

“And Asakura-san’s itemized selling would really help with lunch budgets. For instance, I could get cup ramen plus cafeteria rice for under 300 yen, or just the set meal’s sides and rice for exactly 500 yen on budget! When really hungry, I could order triple rice with cup miso soup and cup yakisoba!”

“””Yes yes yes…!””” ←Student audience

“Andou, that’s… frighteningly carb-heavy.”

“Andou-kun… Even I’d have to intervene on that last one…”

“Huh?”

“””Huh?””” ←Student audience

Translation Notes:

– One Coin (ワンコイン) – Refers to 500 yen, the standard lunch budget. Students try to keep lunch costs to a single coin

– Itemized selling (バラ売り) – Selling cafeteria items separately instead of as fixed sets, allowing flexible purchasing within budget

– “You Don’t Have Enough Money” – Video game-style message when you can’t afford something, fitting Andou’s otaku personality

– Carb obsession – Students prioritize filling carb-heavy meals due to tight budgets. Andou’s extreme combos (triple rice, cup noodles) reflect real student survival tactics

– “Mommy~ more allowance please♪” – Mocking baby-talk showing how unrealistic it is to ask parents for extra lunch money