Chapter 17: It’s Not Good to Keep Secrets!
Class resumed after the break, and just before Kazuma’s sanity could give out, it was lunchtime.
“Uhiiii…”
“Oh, you alright?”
“Oh, Shinya, huh. As you can see.”
“Then, you seem to be alright.”
“What’s that?”
Shinya, who had approached Kazuma’s desk, was holding a convenience store bag.
“This? I bought it at the dorm’s store.”
“Come to think of it, the Combat Course dorms were pretty luxurious…”
Kazuma stared enviously at the sweet bun Shinya took out, but then he remembered he’d be living in that dorm himself soon enough and looked away.
“Do a lot of guys go to the cafeteria?”
“Yeah. Not many buy from the dorm store. The cafeteria’s more crowded.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s cheap and has large portions.”
“That makes sense. It’s definitely a matter of life and death for us.”
“I don’t eat much, so this is enough for me, but it’s probably tough for normal people.”
“But you have combat training this afternoon, right? Don’t you throw up?”
“What are you talking about? We’ve been doing this for almost a year. Of course we’re used to it.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true…”
They probably threw up during training in the beginning, but that wasn’t the case anymore. His Combat Course classmates had grown tough over the past year.
“So, you’re not going to the cafeteria?”
“Yeah. I made a bento.”
“Wha-!?”
Saying that, Kazuma took a bento box out of his bag. A surprised Shinya looked back and forth between the bento and Kazuma’s face, then asked in a trembling voice.
“You… made this?”
“I did. Myself.”
“Seriously…? Seriously…”
It was already a well-known fact that Kazuma was a domestic type. Incidentally, so was his preference for older, motherly women.
“Well then, itadakimasu.”
“…Can I have a bite?”
“You… are you happy eating a guy’s home cooking?”
“Well, no, but… It looks so good, what can I do?”
No matter how you looked at it, Kazuma, who excelled at all housework, was also a skilled cook. As a result, the side dishes in the bento Shinya was looking at were colorful. What’s more, annoyingly enough, it was even nutritionally balanced.
“In that case, I’ll have some.”
“Huh?” “Huh?”
Just as a hand reached for Kazuma’s bento, which was spread out on his desk, a piece of tamagoyaki was snatched away and disappeared into the mouth of the side-dish thief, Alice.
“Nmu…”
“Ahhhh! Tamagoyaki is my favorite!”
Having his favorite tamagoyaki stolen, Kazuma cried out, but it had already vanished into Alice’s stomach.
“…Delicious.”
“Right?! It’s my masterpiece. I don’t like to compromise on my tamagoyaki!”
He was annoyed that it had been taken, but Kazuma couldn’t help but feel happy when his cooking was praised.
“I’ll have another one.”
“Stop it! There won’t be any left for me!”
Kazuma used his body to shield the bento from Alice, but she reached out regardless.
“Nooo! Pervert~!”
“Who are you calling a pervert, you brat!”
“Adadadada!”
“That doesn’t hurt!”
“Without my Powered Suit, I only have the durability of a normal person!”
“I heard from Kaede. You’re plenty strong even without a Powered Suit.”
“…Tehe.”
“That’s not cute!”
“Agagagagagaga!”
Alice squeezed Kazuma’s head with an iron claw, like a vise. When Kazuma was finally released and tried to eat his bento as if nothing had happened, Alice pulled up a nearby chair and sat down beside him.
“Alice-chan, aren’t you going to the cafeteria?”
“Yeah, I bought something from the store today too.”
Saying so, Alice took out a convenience store bag similar to Shinya’s. Unlike Shinya’s, however, hers was packed full of savory buns, which Kazuma thought fit Alice’s image perfectly.
“What’s with that look?”
“Nah, just thinking Alice-chan never fails to meet expectations.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“No deep meaning in particular.”
“Hmph, is that so.”
Hearing Kazuma’s words, Alice opened her bag of savory buns and began to eat them heartily. Beside her, Shinya was also eating his sweet bun, nibbling like a small animal. Seeing how completely opposite the two were, Kazuma couldn’t resist making a retort.
“It’s the other way around!”
“What is?”
“What is?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing…”
It seemed like it would turn into a complicated discussion, so Kazuma cut the conversation short and decided to focus on his meal. Alice had eaten one of his tamagoyaki, but he still had more. Fearing she might take another, Kazuma decided to eat them first.
“Phew~, gochisousama.”
“You have good manners, huh.”
“My Kaasan was strict~.”
“Well, your mother certainly is intense…”
“I’ve visited your place a few times too, but I don’t think I could win against her.”
“You’d better not challenge her. She’s stronger than me.”
Physically, Kazuma was overwhelmingly stronger, but in many other ways, Honoka was the stronger one. “A mother is strong”—true to those words, Kazuma could never win against Honoka.
After finishing lunch, Kazuma, Shinya, and Alice chatted idly. As they laughed over trivial things and spent a relaxing lunch break, the group that had gone to the cafeteria returned.
“Oh~, looks like you guys are having fun~.”
“Shunsuke. Was the cafeteria crowded?”
“Of course. It was packed.”
“Ugh~. Good thing I didn’t go.”
“Kazuma, what did you do for lunch? Did you get something from the store?”
“This guy brought his own bento.”
Alice answered Shunsuke’s question, pointing at Kazuma with a grin.
“Seriously!? Ah, no, come to think of it, you were pretty domestic…”
“Can’t imagine it from how he usually acts, though.”
“Exactly!”
Shinya’s comment sent the classroom into a whirl of laughter. They had known since the self-introductions that while Kazuma was usually a bit of a clown, he was also a domestic kind of guy. The contrast was so stark that those who didn’t know Kazuma well often got confused. Now, however, most of his classmates were aware of his domestic side, so there was no such confusion.
“Laughing at me, how mean~.”
“Now, now, don’t say that. We’re complimenting you.”
“If that’s the case, then I guess it’s okay.”
“So simple-minded~.”
Laughter echoed once again. As Kazuma and the others were excitedly chatting about trivial matters, Kaori approached them. Looking a little embarrassed, she spoke to Kazuma.
“Sa-Satsuki-kun. Um, do you have a moment?”
“Eh? Sure, but what’s up?”
“Umm, it’s a bit difficult to talk here, so could you come with me?”
“No way… a confession!?”
“That’s not it! Besides, Satsuki-kun, you already know, don’t you!”
“Ah, I see. It’s about that.”
For a moment, Kazuma had hoped it might be a confession from Kaori, but she was, after all, his older brother Tatsumi’s fiancée. Kazuma, having no intention of making a move on his brother’s partner, wasn’t particularly interested in Kaori in that way.
“Sorry, I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Oi, oi, is it something you can’t let us hear?”
“Natsume-san says so.”
“Well, alright, but lunch break’s almost over, so come back quick.”
“Okay~. Well then, Natsume-san. Shall we go?”
“Ah, yes.”
Led by Kaori, Kazuma arrived at a spot beside the stairs, hidden in the shadows. It was a place where one wouldn’t notice anyone unless they specifically looked, making it perfect for a private conversation.
“Is this about Nii-san?”
“Yes. Actually, I haven’t told everyone yet that Tatsumi-san and I are engaged…”
“Ah, so you want me to keep quiet about it?”
“Yes. Could I ask you to?”
“I don’t mind, but what will you do if someone confesses to you, Natsume-san?”
“I’ll turn them down properly then. Because I have Tatsumi-san.”
“What if they don’t give up?”
“Eh? No, but if I turn them down, isn’t that the end of it?”
“There are guys who don’t give up easily. This might be a rude way to put it, Natsume-san, but you’re also the type who doesn’t give up easily, aren’t you? Considering the age difference with Nii-san, I bet you were brushed off at first, weren’t you?”
“Ugh…”
“I’ve been with Nii-san since we were kids, so I pretty much get it. You were probably brushed off noncommittally at first, and he didn’t even see you as a woman, did he?”
“…You’re spot on, as if you’d seen it all yourself. That’s right. At first, he saw me as a little sister. But I didn’t want to give up…”
“So, that’s how it is. It means there are people out there who don’t give up easily.”
“Then, do you think it’s better to announce that I have a fiancé?”
“I think you should. That alone will act as a deterrent. And speaking as Nii-san’s ally, being dishonest isn’t good, right? If you have a fiancé, you should say so properly. Hiding it makes it seem like you’re doing something wrong.”
“That’s true…”
“Well, I can’t take responsibility for the decision, so it’s ultimately up to you, Natsume-san. But if anything happens, I’ll always be there to help. If anyone dares to make a move on Nii-san’s fiancée, as the successor to the Satsuki-ryu, I’ll teach them a lesson they won’t forget!”
“Ahahaha, you’re so reliable…”
After thinking for a moment, Kaori looked at Kazuma and clearly stated that she would announce she had a fiancé.
“I’ll tell everyone. That I have a fiancé.”
“Got it. If you run into any trouble, tell me. As his younger brother, I’ll lend you my strength.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
After that, Kaori returned to the classroom and announced she had a fiancé, but Kazuma, who had disappeared from the classroom with her, was mistaken for being that fiancé.
Naturally, Kaori vehemently denied it, persuading her classmates that this was absolutely not the case, and Kazuma also backed her up.