Lunch break.

It was when I was eating behind the school building, like usual.

“Lately, you’ve started coming along quietly with me. I have a feeling you’ll soon bow your head and ask me to become your lover. What do you think?”

“No matter how you put it, that future isn’t happening…”

“Fufufu. That’s unfortunate, still stubborn as ever. You’re tougher than I expected. I thought you’d fall sooner.”

Looking unconcerned, Takatsuka-san pulled out CalorieMate from her pocket as always.

“Wait. Um, today…”

“What’s with the fidgeting? What, can’t bring yourself to ask me for a kiss?”

“I’ve never once given off that vibe.”

“But it’s rare for you to fidget this much.”

She’s annoyingly perceptive…

“Well, it might be meddling but I keep worrying about your eating habits.”

“Eating habits? I’d rather you worry about my sex life.”

“I don’t want to hear that!”

“Isn’t it important? A partner’s sex life affects satisfaction once we officially become lovers. Very well, I’ll enlighten you. I happen to need frequent release. Just yesterday in the shower—”

“H-here!”

Before she could continue, I shoved another lunchbox taken from my tote bag toward her.

A small rectangular plastic one.

“What’s this?”

“…Y-yours.”

“Mine?”

“Yeah. I’ve never seen you eat a proper meal. I wondered if you get hungry. And… there were leftovers yesterday, so I made extra.”

“How surprising. You found me troublesome, didn’t you? If you do this, I’ll only pursue you more persistently.”

She peered into my face smugly.

“T-that’s true but… you helped me yesterday, so doing nothing felt rude…”

Without teasing, she stared down at the box on her knees.

“…You really are interesting. Excessively kind.”

“If there were reasons you couldn’t eat much, that’d be different but…”

“No. I simply don’t care about food. As long as I get minimal nutrition, lunch is enough.”

She opened the lid.

Her expression barely changed, yet her eyes seemed to glimmer faintly.

“Since it’s your kindness, rejecting it would invite punishment.”

“It’s just leftovers from dinner.”

“I like that sort of thing.”

She uses words like “like” as casually as a greeting, or at least that’s what I thought.

But seeing her soften when looking at the leftovers made me think this “like” carried a different nuance.

“So? Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes, it’s delicious. Being able to make something this good makes me want to claim you even more.”

Since she ate without issue, I relaxed and started eating too.

“…Something similar happened before. Do you remember?”

“Giving you a lunchbox?”

My connection with her only began recently.

Regardless of personality, she’s unforgettable at a glance, so I shouldn’t forget…

“No, my mistake. Forget I said anything.”

“Sorry, I can’t recall…”

Feeling slightly guilty, I went back to quietly eating.

She’s always surrounded by admirers, so maybe something similar happened elsewhere.

Since the lunchbox was small, she finished quickly.

“Thanks for the meal. It was good.”

“…If you want, I can make one from tomorrow. I cook daily anyway, so it’s not extra effort.”

“Yes. If you don’t mind, I’ll accept.”

“Okay. Then give me the box back, I’ll wash and refill it. Was that enough? I checked our shelves and the only suitable one was Mitsuki’s old one.”

“That’s fine. It’s sufficient.”

“Alright. I’ll bring it again tomorrow.”

I stuffed the returned lunchbox back into my tote bag.

“…You’re excessively kind.”

“Huh? Did you say something?”

“No, nothing. It’s almost time for afternoon classes.”

Takatsuka-san stood up from the bench-like rock.

Standing beside her, I found myself thinking about what kind of lunch I should make tomorrow.