Chapter 3
Hajime: Suou-kun~ ♪
Tsukasa: Hajime-kun, I’m over here. ...Oh, Nagumo-kun is with you?
Hajime: I invited him. It’s a little late to ask, but is it all right if Tetora-kun eats with us?
Tsukasa: Of course. I don’t mind ♪
Tetora: Thanks, Suou-kun. So you two brought your lunch? I’mma grab something from the cafeteria, so go ahead and eat without me!
Hajime: Eh—I’d feel bad doing that, so how about I wait for you, Tetora-kun?
Tetora: Nah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it! I’ll be riiiight back ♪
Tsukasa: Shall we take Nagumo-kun at his word and begin?
Hajime: I guess so. Let’s eat slowly.
Wow... your bento is so extravagant, Suou-kun. The hamburg steak is so thick, and cooked just right. It looks delicious ♪
Tsukasa: Thank you. I will give your compliments to the chef.
Hajime: Suou-kun, you had a chef make your lunch?! That’s amazing! You’re, like, in a whole different world...
Tsukasa: I’m not very well-acquainted with how other families prepare lunches. I do love how colorful your bento is, Hajime-kun. Did someone in your family make yours for you?
Hajime: No, I made my own lunch today. Although most of the time, I just pack last night’s leftovers.
Oh, but I made this dashimaki on my own this morning. ♪[1]
Tsukasa: Really now? This is something you could find in a first-class Japanese-style restaurant. Marvelous...☆
Hajime: Ehehe, it’s not that great. Suou-kun, would you like to try one?
Tsukasa: Is that okay? I would love to... ♪
Munch munch... ♪
Hajime: H–how is it? I hope you like it...
Tsukasa: It’s wonderful! It’s not just the appearance—the taste is first-rate as well... Did you truly make this, Hajime-kun?
Hajime: Y–yes. I really, truly did.
Tsukasa: Incredible. I would love to eat something this flavorful every day. Would you like to come work as a chef for the Suou family?
Hajime: Huh?! I can only cook simple dishes, and I just had some really good luck with this dashimaki so... um...
Tsukasa: Fufu, I was only joking. But since you’ve given me such a wonderful experience, I’d like to pay it back...
So, I offer you this hamburg steak ♪
Hajime: A–are you sure?! Somehow I don’t think I should...
Tsukasa: Please. I was able to eat such a delicious dashimaki tamago, so please help yourself.
Hajime: O–okay. Thank you... ♪
Gulp...
......
Tsukasa: Um, you’ve gone all stiff, Hajime-kun. Is something wrong...?
Hajime: ......
Tsukasa: Hajime-kun... Hajime-kun, please hang in there!
Hajime: ...Guh—
Tsukasa: A–are you okay? Can you hear my voice?
Hajime: S–sorry. I think the taste made me pass out.
This is a hamburg steak? It’s so much different from what I usually eat. Your family chef is incredible, Suou-kun ♪
Tsukasa: On the contrary, I think you are the incredible one, Hajime-kun, to be able to make delicious lunches all while juggling your studies and idol work.
...Surely, this is “the taste of home.” Thank you for giving me this invaluable experience ♪
Hajime: Ehehe. I’m glad I asked you to eat lunch with me ♪
Tsukasa: Oh, that reminds me. Why did you invite Nagumo-kun to eat with us as well?
Um, but please don’t misunderstand. It’s certainly not that I don’t want to; I’d only like to know the reason.
Hajime: Umm, this morning, I overheard Tetora-kun saying something about a Red Rose in the classroom. I thought it might be about the game you had mentioned, so I asked him about it.
He wanted to know if I knew your username, and since we were already meeting up for lunch, I figured he could ask you himself.
Tsukasa: I see. Thank you for explaining.
(So he was talking about the Red Roses this morning. And now he wants to know my username...)
(All of my equipment is rare, and I’m a high level. I’m confident that my username is fairly well-known in this area.)
(Perhaps Nagumo-kun is trying to feel me out...?)
Tetora: Hey guys! Sorry to keep you waiting!
Hajime: Oh, Tetora-kun, welcome back ♪
Tsukasa: You took quite a while. Was the cafeteria crowded?
Tetora: Mm, I guess a little bit? I got the barbecued kalbi set, and then I added this to my order!
Hajime: A giant pile of French fries!
Tetora: I thought it’d be a good snack for all three of us while we ate, so I asked them to fry some up ♪
Tsukasa: ......
Tetora: Something wrong, Suou-kun? You’re just kinda staring at the fries.
Tsukasa: Ah, I’m sorry. That was rude of me. It’s not often you see a plate piled high with just French fries...
Tetora: Huh, well I guess so. You should try the mentaiko mayo they’re having as a limited lunch special. They also recommended this butter shoyu.
Tsukasa: Then, I’ll try the mentaiko mayo... munch ♪
Marvelous...☆ What a rich flavor, how wonderful!
Tetora: Haha, glad you liked it! Lemme try too... munch munch... ♪
Oh yeah, this is the first time we’ve eaten lunch all together...
And the first time we properly introduced ourselves to each other was here at the garden terrace, too.[2]
Hajime: Oh, really?
Tetora: Yep. Pretty sure I was... with Tomoya-kun, and we ended up coming here.
We just happened to call out to Suou-kun while he was playing Idobato.
Ah, right, I heard about it from Hajime-kun, but you’re playing RoseKnights, Suou-kun?
Tsukasa: Y–yeah.
(As I thought, he’s trying to feel me out. Could it really be true then...)
Um... Nagumo-kun, are you by any chance lonely_wolf?
- A rolled, Japanese-style omelette.
- Also a reference to Card Battler.