Chapter 62

Rin'ou glanced at Yuki once and then quickly returned her gaze to the manga.

"Ah, it's the Colossal Titan."

Yuki, not paying attention to Rin'ou's attitude, sat down beside her. The manga Rin'ou was reading was the one that Yui bought during their last outing. However, upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a rental manga.

"You could have borrowed it from Yui if you were going to borrow it from the store..."

Ignoring Yuki's comment, Rin'ou continued to read the manga intently, flipping through the pages at an unusually fast pace, as if she were participating in a speed reading contest.

"...Is it interesting?"

"It's interesting."

"No, I mean the way you're reading it."

"I'm reading all the lines properly. I understand the content perfectly."

"No, that's not what I mean..."

"I'm studying to be able to talk with Yui because I like her."

"You should study for your tests."

"I've already studied enough. It's just that... I'm bored by myself."

The last words she added carried a hint of melancholy. Rin'ou stuffed the half-eaten onigiri into her mouth, then glanced at Yuki once more.

"Eating while reading is bad manners, but I don't care when I'm alone."

She said this as she put away the book, as if an intruder had appeared. Next to where Rin'ou was sitting, a slightly smaller bento box was placed on a spread-out cloth.

"What's that?"

"It's a bento I made myself."

"You made it yourself? You can make a bento?"

"Are you mocking me? Making a bento isn't that difficult. It's just a matter of whether you have the time and the will to do it."

Rin'ou said this nonchalantly. Indeed, she was high-spec. The taste was unknown, but the tamagoyaki was neatly cut to the same size, and the onigiri were tightly packed to the same size. There was also spinach in sesame sauce and simmered hijiki, both of which were neatly arranged in the compartments, looking like a sample of something.

"What are you staring at?"

"Maybe your personality shows in your bento."

"What do you mean by that?"

Rin'ou's face turned a bit scary, so Yuki didn't say anything more and opened the lid of the bento Yui had brought. A burst of pink flooded his vision.

(This is... a heart-shaped time bomb...?)

The sakura denbu on top of the rice was scattered all over the bento, causing a fire. Yuki's comment about it being an explosive earlier wasn't far off. The shaking of the bento during transportation didn't help, but the main issue was the excessive amount of denbu. Seeing the explosion, Yuki froze, thinking, "Is this some new form of harassment?" When Rin'ou peeked over to see what was happening, Yuki quickly closed the lid.

"Why did you close it?"

"Well, just a moment."

Yuki was unsure whether to show this to Rin'ou, who was sitting next to her. But Rin'ou, perhaps misunderstanding something, suddenly adopted a gentle tone.

"...Right, it must be lonely to eat a bento here. It's not right to your mother who made it for you."

"My mother isn't here right now."

"...S-Sorry."

"It's fine, really."

Yuki thought, "Well, that's a boomerang comment..." but since Rin'ou made it herself, it wasn't really her mother's doing. Even if her mother had made it, Yuki wouldn't feel guilty at all.

"Then, did Nari make this bento himself?"

"No, this is from Yui..."

Yuki started to say honestly but then thought it might be a bit awkward. As expected, Rin'ou's eyes changed, and she leaned in.

"Y-Yui's bento...? C-Can you share a little...?"

"No."

"Then let's trade, trade!"

"No way."

"One bite, one bite!"

"You're so persistent."

Since she was really persistent, Yuki reluctantly opened the lid to show the mess. Seeing the scattered denbu bento, Rin'ou asked,

"What is this?"

"It's just that it got a bit shaken."

"It doesn't look delicious. Give me the meat roll."

However, she didn't seem to mind much. She was strong. Rin'ou quickly snatched a meat roll with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, closed her eyes, and slowly chewed, savoring it thoroughly. Yuki, watching Rin'ou in a blissful state, started to eat while pushing the scattered denbu to one side.

"Hey! Eat more slowly and savor it!"

"If I eat each bite slowly, I won't finish."

"Then share it with me. I'll eat it for you."

"Why would it come to that?"

Deciding not to do this anymore, Yuki guarded the bento with his body, and Rin'ou glared at him resentfully.

"Actually, thinking about it, this is a lie, right? You're just teasing me. There's no way Yui would make a bento for someone who isn't even her boyfriend."

You're absolutely right, Yuki thought. But since Yui really did give it to him, there was nothing he could do.

"...But the taste is definitely Yui's... I know because I've had it before."

"This denbu?"

"No, without the denbu."

"You remember the taste...?"

"Stop saying it like that. You remember more than you think."

So, her taste is also high-spec. However, this made Yuki feel a bit uneasy. Rin'ou, looking more suspicious, leaned in closer to Yuki.

"Confess. You bought it, didn't you?"

"No."

"Prostrate yourself."

"No, no."

"Hah, did you steal it...?"

"That's not it."

You have no trust at all. Well, the last time he received a bento, he did try to pay for it, so it wasn't entirely off the mark. Yuki, frowning, suddenly had an idea and raised his voice.

"I get it! You must have some leverage over Yui! That's why you made her make the bento... Is that it! I'll save Yui!"

With that, Rin'ou suddenly lunged at Yuki. Yuki moved the bento to a safe place, but Rin'ou tried to pin him down with her arm. As Yuki lost his balance, Rin'ou pressed harder, almost as if she were about to strangle him.

"It's not that. Yui is just... playing a game to make the person next to her fall in love."

Yuki finally confessed. He thought it was better to tell Rin'ou, as a true friend should know both the strengths and weaknesses of the other. Rin'ou's grip suddenly weakened, surprised by Yuki's words.

"...What? What do you mean?"

"Actually, Yui is... a seat neighbor killer..."

If you suspect that Yui is losing in cooking, the button is below.

...What's going on now?