Chapter 72: Lunch!
There were fewer people coming and going in the Special Building at noon, so less damp air was carried inside by the rain. The whole building felt drier and cleaner, especially the Service Club room tucked away in a remote corner.
Looking through the window, raindrops struck the glass like arrows, gathered into beads of water, then were dragged downward by gravity.
The clubroom was cold.
He hated the heat, but this chilly weather that lasted from morning to night was not exactly lovable either.
Luke ate what could genuinely be called delicious food while watching the water trickle down the window. Both his mouth and heart were tasting the lunch Yuigahama's mother had carefully prepared.
It did not have the kind of power shown on TV, where one bite could send someone straight to heaven and make them hallucinate, but it was still excellent. The dishes were filled with both skill and patience, and the thought put into them made every bite satisfying… though the food was still cold.
Eating like this, bringing a bento himself did not seem like a bad idea.
The thought had only just appeared before he decisively threw it away.
Once the weather cleared up, he planned to climb over the wall every day. Hotpot today, yakiniku tomorrow…
Through action, he would confess the truth to this prison-like cluster of buildings—some birds were simply not meant to be kept in cages.
"Luke-kun, there's still plenty of food, so you don't have to make that savage beast-like expression to sharpen your appetite."
Yukinoshita Yukino finally swallowed the food in her mouth and reminded him in a clear voice.
"Besides, that's just food. It isn't an enemy fighting you for territory."
"Sorry. Because of the rain, I ended up thinking about some unpleasant things."
He apologized directly and explained the reason.
He was a generous man, capable of tolerating her subtle jabs, and he certainly wouldn't harbor any resentment toward someone as straightforward as Yukino.
"Phew~ I thought the food didn't suit your taste."
Yuigahama said that with relief.
"The food is delicious."
He said it sincerely.
Unfortunately, a certain daughter had not inherited that cooking skill…
"Yeah! Mom's cooking is amazing!"
Yuigahama seemed as if she had been praised too. She happily put a piece of tamagoyaki into her mouth and narrowed her eyes as she enjoyed the taste.
After sharing part of her food, Yukinoshita quickly finished the small portion she had brought and began tidying up her small bento box.
Luke and Yuigahama continued dividing up the very generous lunch Yuigahama's mother had prepared.
"By the way, do you think chicken cutlet tastes better, or pork cutlet?"
He swallowed a piece of tonkatsu.
Personally, he leaned more toward chicken cutlet.
"Tonkatsu!"
Yuigahama made her choice instantly, without the slightest hesitation.
"The main thing with chicken cutlet is… little chicks… sigh."
The moment she brought that up, Yuigahama deflated. The hand that had picked up a pickled plum drooped together with her head.
Luke glanced at her. That dejected, gloomy look… was this because of what happened at the pet café before?
If so, she really got hurt too easily.
Since he had no idea how to comfort her anyway, he decided to let her adjust by herself.
"It's all because you told me such scary things before~!"
Then Yuigahama glared fiercely at him, like a puppy guarding its food.
Fine. So that was how she adjusted herself.
"Didn't Yukinoshita talk about it too?"
He immediately added that, dragging Yukinoshita into the water with him.
"You're both the same! Yukinon too!"
Yuigahama looked at Yukinoshita with a sulky pout.
"Sigh… Yuigahama-san, that was only a reality-based deduction. It doesn't count as a scary story. You're paying a little too much attention to it."
"Fair-minded Yuigahama has the potential to become a judge."
Yukinoshita defended herself, while Luke praised her.
"You can't change the subject, Yukinon! And you, don't bribe the judge!"
Yuigahama picked up her spoon like a gavel of law and lightly tapped it against the bento box, beginning her roleplay.
Yukinoshita said calmly, "Then I request a lawyer to defend me."
You really do spoil her, Yukinoshita.
He could already see the day Hiratsuka-sensei's request would be completed…
Having resolved the food crisis, Luke casually wiped his hands with a tissue.
"Fine. As payment for getting a pretty good lunch, what do you want to drink? I'm going to buy drinks."
Lunch had been great this time. An excellent meal paired with a fresh and pleasant drink would make it perfect.
Yuigahama put down her spoon and looked at the now-empty bento box, then glanced out the window where rain was still falling.
"It's still raining, so isn't that kind of bad? Though I do want something to drink too~"
"It should be fine…"
Luke opened the window, and the cold wind and rain instantly blew in, tossing all three of their hair.
"Hissss—!"
Yuigahama shivered.
Yukinoshita also stiffened slightly without realizing it.
"There's only a little drizzle left. It won't matter."
He closed the window, blocking the clear, chilly wind and rain once more.
He had decided. Sprite it was.
At that moment, Yukinoshita-emon spoke.
"I have a habit of keeping an umbrella in the clubroom at all times."
Then she added, "Also, I want peach juice."
"Hehe, it's a little embarrassing, but I'll have peach juice too~"
Yuigahama said that.
Luke opened his wallet and checked inside.
Crap. He had no coins.
Before Miko gave him this wallet, coins were the kind of thing he used whenever he had them.
So he took out a paper bill.
"Change this for some coins. I don't have any."
Paper bills could be used too, but he did not want the vending machine to spit out a pile of coins on a rainy day. Just imagining it was annoying.
"Eh? Fine, fine. You don't need to give me the bill. I'll pay this time…"
Yuigahama took out several hundred-yen coins.
"Fine. Next time, I definitely will."
Luke took Yukinoshita's umbrella and stabbed it through the air a few times. Too light. It definitely would not be useful as a weapon.
Watching him play around with her umbrella, Yukinoshita could not help speaking.
"If you absolutely insist on displaying your childishness, I suggest choosing a place where no one can see you."
Luke glanced at her.
"What's wrong with being childish? It means my soul is pure."
"Oh."
Yukinoshita nodded.
"In that case, please stand in the rain a little longer. Additional condition: don't use the umbrella."
"Why?"
"To let the rainwater cleanse your pure soul, of course."
"Rainwater definitely won't work. Only education can cleanse the soul. Don't tell me you don't even know that, Yukinoshita?"
Luke shot back.
"Ah?!"
Yukinoshita looked slightly "surprised."
"So you actually knew that kind of truth. It seems your level of education has clearly improved."
"After tutoring other students before, I had thought I wasn't suited for the education industry."
How did buying drinks turn into another argument?
Yuigahama helplessly interrupted them.
"Yukinon tutors other people too?"
"Of course… though at the time, Hiratsuka-sensei forced me to do it."
Remembering it, Yukinoshita sighed helplessly.
She simply could not understand what was so difficult about memorizing fifty English words a day. She had clearly already lowered the standard.
"Then Yukinon can tutor me too! It'll be perfect preparation for the regular exams!"
Yuigahama said excitedly.
Luke gave her a pitying look and walked out of the clubroom.
Asking a perfectionist like Yukinoshita to tutor you… isn't that just asking to suffer?
…
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