During the lunch break, a crowd had gathered around Saiki, consisting of Akihisa, Yuuji, and the others, all eating their lunches together.
"Finally lunchtime. Classes are such a hassle, they really drain your brainpower. I'm starving."
Akihisa took out his own bento and sat down next to Saiki.
Sakamoto Yuuji: "You spend most of class either spacing out or sleeping. When exactly did your brainpower get used up? Geez."
Tsuchiya Kouta: "Agreed."
"Hmph, you guys just don't get it." Yoshii Akihisa opened his bento, about to dig in, when he noticed Saiki's generously portioned lunch.
"Whoa, Saiki, your bento looks amazing. Where'd you buy it?"
[It's homemade.]
Akihisa: "That's awesome. I made mine too, but it never turns out like yours."
"I see." Tsuchiya Kouta lowered his head in thought.
Yoshii Akihisa: "What's up, you gloomy pervert?"
Tsuchiya Kouta's eyes suddenly lit up. "Guys who can make good bentos and cook delicious food are popular. No wonder the girls around him stick so close."
(That and this probably aren't related at all.)
Sakamoto Yuuji nodded. "That must be it."
"Really? I can make bentos too, but sadly, I still haven't run into any romance. No girls like me either. Sigh."
Yoshii Akihisa let out a heavy sigh and shoveled a few big mouthfuls of rice.
[That's not necessarily true.]
Sakamoto Yuuji: "Is that so? Then, Akihisa, what do you like to eat in your bento?"
"Me? Anything's fine. Sausages, maybe, or hamburger patties."
Even though Akihisa didn't understand why the question came up so suddenly, he answered honestly.
Saiki and Yuuji glanced over at the girls' table next door, where Shimada Minami and Himeji Mizuki were sitting. They had perked up their ears, clearly listening intently to the conversation here, and were now jotting things down in little notebooks, writing who-knows-what.
(Only this idiot hasn't noticed.)
Saiki shoveled another big bite of rice.
On the other side, at the girls' table, Kubo Nagisa was sitting and eating together with Taira Tamao and the others. She had just opened her bento.
"Wow! Nagisa, your bento looks different from usual. It looks even tastier than snack food!"
Taira Tamao asked with sparkling eyes from the side.
Kudo Hazuki: "Yeah, it's totally different from your usual weird style."
"Especially this steaming piece of meat—what is this?" Taira Tamao could only point at the item inside Kubo Nagisa's bento box.
Kubo Nagisa thought for a moment. "I think it's called braised pork."
"That's so nice! Let's trade then. I'll give you this bell pepper stuffed with meat." Taira Tamao raised her chopsticks and reached toward Kubo Nagisa's bento.
"Hey!"
Once again, in a familiar scene, Kubo Nagisa lifted her bento and dodged away.
Taira Tamao: Eh (=°Д°=)
Taira Tamao looked a little surprised, then reached out to grab again.
But every time, Kubo Nagisa nimbly avoided her.
"Why this time? Normally we always trade food, don't we?"
"Normally, yeah…"
Kubo Nagisa looked at her bento and broke into a smile. "But this time～ no way!"
Taira Tamao: "Ehhh～"
Kinoshita Hideyoshi happened to catch the scene and spoke up. "Oh, Kubo-san, that's quite a generous bento. But it looks a little familiar somehow."
"Oh, familiar? Where have you seen it before, Hideyoshi-san?" Kudo Hazuki asked with interest.
Hideyoshi: "Hm, it looks just like Saiki's bento."
"Huh? What? What's going on?"
Shikimori seemed to hear some kind of summons and suddenly popped up. She looked at Kubo Nagisa's bento, then at Hideyoshi. "Really? Hideyoshi-san."
"Yeah."
After getting confirmation, Shikimori turned to Kubo Nagisa and asked, "Kubo-san, your bento looks really delicious. Did you make it yourself? Or did you buy it?"
[Please don't let it be made by Saiki.]
While Shikimori was still imagining wild scenarios, Kubo Nagisa looked over at her, gave a gentle smile, took a bite of the braised pork, and said in a soft tone, "This?～"
"Saiki-kun made it. What about it? Shikimori-san, want to try a piece?"
Boom boom boom boom. Upon hearing Kubo Nagisa's answer, Shikimori's mind seemed to fill with the sound of thunder on a clear day.
"Hah～ hah, n-no thanks." Shikimori's eyes turned gloomy, her face darkened, and she looked toward Saiki.
Saiki was eating, but he seemed to sense a certain gaze. He had been listening to the whole conversation and never expected it to turn out like this. He really didn't want to turn around.
"Oh, is that so? That's too bad～ Then, Hideyoshi-san, would you like some?"
Seeing Shikimori refuse, Kubo Nagisa turned to ask Hideyoshi.
"Hey, Kubo, how could you do that? Just now I～ mmph～" Taira Tamao started to speak but was quickly muffled by Kudo Hazuki covering her mouth.
Kudo Hazuki watched the scene with the eyes of someone enjoying a show. "Don't interrupt them. This isn't the time for you to talk. Hehe."
Hideyoshi answered politely, "No thank you. I already ate some from Saiki earlier. We're really close, Saiki and I. We traded food for lunch just now."
Kubo Nagisa's chopsticks paused mid-air. The corner of her mouth twitched as she said, "I… is that so? Oh～ hah."
Meanwhile, our Shikimori-san's face grew darker and darker as she listened, then slowly floated over behind Saiki.
Saiki suddenly stood up. [Yare yare, suddenly feel like eating outside.]
But his shoulders were pressed back down—by none other than the drifting Shikimori-san.
[Shikimori-san, is something the matter?]
After pinning Saiki in place, Shikimori lightly floated down to sit beside him. The dark aura around her dissipated a little. She awkwardly took out her own bento and said, "S… Saiki-kun, let's trade bentos and eat together. This isn't anything special, just friends occasionally swapping to try something different, change up the flavor, share cooking tips, that's all."
Yoshii Akihisa, from the side, made a shocked face. "See? Guys who can cook delicious food really do get welcomed by girls."
(That's not it.)
Saiki felt more and more eyes turning toward him, and the atmosphere was getting really weird—especially in the corner, where a group of people in black cloaks holding various torture devices had appeared.
[This…]
"Y-yeah?" Shikimori insisted without hesitation, thinking he was refusing and starting to feel down. Then Hideyoshi walked over from the side. "Really? Saiki, don't be like that. I think it's fine. Shikimori-san, want to trade with me instead?"
Seeing Hideyoshi come over to comfort her, Shikimori smiled. "Sure, Hideyoshi-san."
Saiki saw that it was just Hideyoshi—a guy—doing this with Shikimori, so he figured it was no big deal. He handed over a piece of braised pork and placed it in Shikimori's bento.
[Here.]
Shikimori's eyes lit up instantly, her mood doing a complete 180-degree turnaround. "Thank you, Saiki-kun." [Haha, sure enough, my relationship with Saiki-kun is still good.]
(Just like that and she's happy again?)
Just when Saiki thought things were settled, a group of black-cloaked figures suddenly surrounded them from the side. "Alright, time to begin the heretic inquiry session!"
(? What even is a heretic inquiry session?)
In front of him, one of the black-cloaked figures somehow produced a table out of nowhere, picked up a hammer, and banged it down. "Saiki Kusuo, as a member of the group, you knowingly broke the rules. Do you realize what you're doing right now?"
(I don't even remember when this group ever existed?)