When I reunited with my arrogant childhood friend, she had become a talented and beautiful girl – Even though she has probably forgotten about me and I don’t want to be toyed with, for some reason she keeps getting involved with me!?

“…I’m hungry.”

Today, I felt hungrier than usual. Instead of nutritional food, I was thinking of buying some prepared food from the supermarket as I descended the elevator.

Looking down the hallway connected to my home, I saw Fumiko standing in front of my apartment door.

As if she was waiting for someone.

“Welcome home, senpai.”

Noticing me, Fumiko greeted me with a warm smile like a saint and waved.

At a glance, unlike before, her lovely appearance was lively, and her skin looked healthy.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, thanks to you, I’ve fully recovered. So, I came to repay your kindness.”

Saying this, she lifted a bag of groceries.

And so…

I invited Fumiko into my home, and she ended up cooking dinner.

I didn’t think it would really happen…

This situation is like that, isn’t it? If I were to put it in a title style, it would be something like “After taking care of the popular saint at school, she repays me by cooking dinner! For some reason, the saint has become extremely attached to me.”

No, I shouldn’t be thinking about such stupid things. I should just do what needs to be done.

I decided to prepare the cushions and table while waiting for the food to be ready. As for the dishes and chopsticks… I should be fine since I have some unused ones that I bought as extras.

“But senpai, what’s with your refrigerator? It’s only got water and nutritional jelly… Are you eating properly?”

“Yeah, well…”

“Nutritional food and jelly don’t count as proper meals.”

“…………”

I was pointedly rebuked and felt awkward, averting my gaze from Fumiko.

“And… you haven’t finished unpacking. How can you live alone in this state?”

She said, looking around the living room with a look of disbelief.

“Ugh…”

I was struck with a painful truth.

Yes, I had moved from the Kandou residence and was able to set up all the furniture, but I hadn’t managed to properly store away the utensils, trinkets, clothes, and such.

Because of that, the scene of cardboard boxes scattered here and there was a sorry sight.

Before moving here, I used to clean my room regularly and keep it neat. It was a change of pace.

But…

“When you live alone… well… there’s no one around, and I don’t expect anyone to come over, so I don’t feel motivated. Cooking… yeah. Somehow, when I think about cooking just for myself, I don’t feel like doing it.”

“I feel like it’s not just a matter of motivation.”

With a serious look in her eyes, she said so and started cooking.

Whether she was skilled or not, in about an hour, the table was lined with dishes.

Stewed hamburger, fried shrimp, croquettes, macaroni salad. I was taken aback by the luxurious lineup that looked like a Western-style restaurant.

By chance, all of them were my favorite dishes.

“Wow, this looks incredibly delicious! And it’s so luxurious!”

“I, I wanted to make up for the trouble I caused.”

Fumiko said this, picking up the cushion placed opposite her.

What was she going to do? As I watched, she moved next to me.

“Oh, sorry.”

“No problem.”

When I shifted over, Fumiko naturally placed the cushion and sat next to me.

…Huh? Eh!? Next to me!? Isn’t it normally across from each other!?

“Is something wrong?”

Why does she look so unperturbed?

Is it me who’s being strange?

“Um, shouldn’t we… shouldn’t we eat across from each other?”

“Do you think so?”

“It feels like we’re too close, or the distance is too short.”

Since it’s a table for one person, sitting next to each other inevitably makes the distance very close.

In fact, I can feel Fumiko’s sweet scent and body heat; we’re so close that our arms touch. Isn’t this distance a bit too close?

“I think it’s fine.”

“But, no, still–”

“There’s no problem, right?”

“Ah… Yes.”

There was a strong will there that wouldn’t back down no matter what.

Intimidated by that strong (and somewhat frightening) determination, I nodded.

While giving a bitter smile at Fumiko, who looked satisfied, we both said “Let’s eat” and put our hands together.

Oh, it’s delicious.

The stewed hamburger is juicy and full of meaty goodness. And above all, the fried egg on top is a great idea.

The fried shrimp is plump, and especially this tartar sauce. It’s the tartar I love with lots of pickles, onions, and boiled eggs.

I also tasted the croquettes and macaroni salad and thought, the saint… she’s an amazing cook.

“Really, everything is extremely delicious.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It makes cooking worthwhile.”

Fumiko smiles with a hint of embarrassment. I almost find myself mesmerized by that smile. As expected of a saint… how can I say it… she’s cute.

“You’re not eating much, aren’t you?”

“I wanted to watch you eat a bit more because you seem to enjoy the food so much.”

With a gentle smile like that of a saint, she playfully poked my cheek.

“Oh, I see…”

That made it a bit difficult for me to eat. But it would be rude to say so.

I continued eating dinner, feeling somewhat… no, quite watched by Fumiko, whose sense of distance seemed a bit off.

We finished eating without any problem, and together we washed the cleared dishes.

“You really eat a lot, as expected of a man.”

“It was so good, I couldn’t control myself… really, it’s so good I could eat it every day.”

I said this as if I were joking, but it wasn’t flattery. It was from the heart.

I hadn’t eaten until I was stuffed like this in a really long time.

“Well… if we split the cost of ingredients and cook at your place… occasionally, I’d like to eat your cooking…”

“…Eh?”

Fumiko put her hand to her mouth and started thinking seriously.

I had thought she would just brush it off, so I was surprised and confused that she took it seriously.

“No, I’m sorry… It’s too much, don’t worry about it.”

“Really? I think it’s a good idea. By the way, do you have any plans for the weekend?”

“I don’t… why?”

“I’m going to help you unpack. You’re just going to leave it like this, aren’t you?”

“Uh…! No… I was… I was going to clean up, okay?”

“Then please say that without looking away.”

Fumiko’s sharp retort came.

“We’ll discuss the cost sharing then.”

“Why are you going so far… I mean, normally, you wouldn’t take so much care of a stranger just because you live next door, would you?”

I didn’t understand her reasoning.

“I don’t want to hear that from you of all people… there’s no special reason why people care about each other, is there? It’s probably not logical.”

I was taken aback by her words.

I didn’t expect the words I had said to Nakano to come back at me… It felt like I’d been hit in the chest.

“And it’s your fault for being so messy.”

I couldn’t say a word against her comment that I was messy. It was so true that there was nothing to argue with. Is the truth always so harsh?

“I’ll… keep the weekend free.”

“Good.”

I twitched my cheek as I watched Fumiko nod satisfactorily.

And so, my plans for the weekend were set to unpacking.