Chapter 50
After leaving the hotel, following Aki and Himeno's recommendation, the group arrived at an old-school noodle shop that proudly claimed to have been in business for sixty years with authentically delicious flavors.
They chose a long table for six.
Once seated, Denji glanced left and right: Power on his right, Koharu on his left, Aki directly across, Himeno diagonally opposite…
When ordering, the table naturally split into two sides—Denji took charge of the menu for his side.
As soon as he opened it, Power on the right immediately leaned her little head over eagerly, while Koharu on the left only peeked timidly. The moment she glimpsed the string of numbers on the price list, her heart sank halfway.
Denji flipped through a few pages and finally decided:
"I'll have the extra-large meat sauce udon."
"This great one wants that too~"
Power instantly agreed.
Denji gave her a faint glance and said:
"No way. Once you finish the meat sauce, you'll stop eating."
"Who said that? This great one has always loved… loved eating this! Really! I'm not lying—this great one always orders this whenever we come to noodle shops! And I always finish it properly!"
"No way!"
Denji pushed the menu toward Koharu and firmly rejected Power's choice, then gave a suggestion:
"You'd be better with Hakata ramen. It has lots of meat—I'll add extra toppings for you. You'll definitely like it~"
"Ah—nooo, nooo, this great one wants to eat the same thing as Denji~"
"Sigh~"
Denji let out a helpless breath and finally compromised.
"Then I'll eat the same as you—Hakata ramen."
"Yay! Denji is the best!"
Power raised both hands in victory, then happily hugged Denji's arm, lips puckered into a cat-like pout~
Watching the sweet little drama between Denji and Power, Himeno—who was still agonizing over what to order—gave Aki a sharp elbow.
This blockhead just ordered his usual fixed set and passed the menu to me. Unbelievable!
"?"
Aki, who took the elbow strike, looked utterly confused:
"What's wrong? No appetite today?"
You still have the nerve to ask?
Himeno pouted slightly: "Yeah… someone pissed me off…"
"True. You usually only eat ramen at night. If you're not hungry, come to my place later—I'll cook you some."
"…Pissed. That… that works too~"
The puffed cheeks softened into a small smile—the anger inside instantly vanished.
After closing the menu, Himeno passed it to Arai sitting on Aki's other side.
Once Denji finished ordering for himself and Power, he slid the menu to Koharu and asked:
"What do you want?"
"Eek? Eek… I-I'll just have a small soy sauce ramen."
That was the relatively cheapest option on the menu.
Denji frowned, rubbed his chin, and thought for a moment.
Soon after, he closed the menu, raised his hand to call the waiter, and ordered:
"Extra-large Hakata ramen set for two, deluxe tonkotsu ramen for one."
"Eh? E-eh ehh ehhh ehhh???"
Th-that… that can't be for me, right? Denji-kun must have forgotten about me by accident.
Perfect—this place is a bit too expensive anyway. There are still plain noodles left at home; I'll eat those when I get back.
Koharu comforted herself like this—until the steaming, incredibly generous-looking deluxe tonkotsu ramen was placed right in front of her.
Koharu froze. Th-this… this is really for me? Such a luxurious ramen… is truly for me?
Instinctive craving for delicious food made her dazed for a moment, eyes captivated by the bowl…
Even though those big eyes were full of longing, her small hands remained clasped tightly between her soft, shapely thighs—not daring to move.
Denji had already broken his chopsticks and eaten a mouthful. Seeing Koharu still motionless, he tilted his head slightly toward her.
There she was—like a pitiful little puppy—staring longingly at the food in front of her, wanting to eat but too afraid to touch it.
Only those big, watery eyes gazed up, looking like the tears were about to spill from the corners of her mouth~
Alright—he hadn't considered it properly. For a sensitive, self-deprecating girl like Koharu, if he didn't make it clear, of course she wouldn't dare pick up the chopsticks.
He secretly glanced to the other side.
At that moment Power was imitating his earlier stirring motion—stuffing a huge mouthful into her face.
Denji subtly shifted his body, using his tall back to slightly block Power's line of sight toward this side.
He raised his left hand and gently placed it on Koharu's head.
"Eek~"
Koharu's head dipped slightly. Her gaze shifted timidly toward Denji—cute and pitiful expression faintly confused.
"Eat quickly. It'll get cold and won't taste good."
"Ah, mm… I didn't…"
"It's okay. This is my treat."
Denji smiled, cutting her off, and rubbed her soft hair. Pretending to be serious, he said:
"But you have to finish it all, okay? Whatever you don't finish, you'll have to pay me back in money."
"Eh, ah? Th-this…"
"Haha, just kidding~ Eat without worry. Look how skinny you are."
Denji laughed and gently poked Koharu's delicate, porcelain-like small face~
Whoa—take back the earlier description. The texture feels more like snow mochi!
Koharu's head dipped even lower, cheeks flushed red, body trembling slightly as she stammered:
"Th-thank… thank you… Denji-kun, you, you're really a good person…"
Though it was a very plain and simple compliment, Denji still smiled happily.
He withdrew his hand. As he turned back, he正好 caught Power trying to swap their bowls!
Power was also a "genius." When Denji noticed her stealing the noodles, she immediately turned her head the other way, pretending she didn't see him.
Then her little hand continued to reach over, trying to switch Denji's bowl.
Denji—who had just been smiling—now wanted to sigh again.
"Power, what are you doing now."
"Mm—the waiter just said they served ours backward, so this great one is swapping them back."
"…Our bowls are identical."
"Is… is that so? That evil waiter dared to trick this great one—this great one is going to beat him up!"
Where was there a waiter just now?
How does she manage to convince herself of her own lies? Stupid Power really needs discipline again.
Denji sighed, then picked up Power's bowl in front of her, used chopsticks to lift a mouthful, gently blew on it, and held it to her lips:
"I'll feed you."
"Mhm! Mhm!"
Power nodded eagerly, her big sparkling eyes fixed on Denji, heart overflowing with joy.
She loved watching everything about Denji—even more so when he did things for her~!
She loved Denji the most!
"Ahhh~~"
One bite of noodles—this was the most delicious ramen she had ever eaten!!!
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