The next day’s lunch break.
「Good work, Sasaki-san.」
「Nnn, good work.」
When I arrived at the rooftop, Sasaki-san was waiting for me as usual. So I greeted her and sat down next to her.
「Then, here you go.」
「Thank you, Sasaki-san!」
As I sat down next to her, Sasaki-san handed me a bento. It was the same black bento box as yesterday.
I expressed my gratitude and immediately opened the lid of the bento. Inside were stuffed green peppers, salad, and tamagoyaki. Just like yesterday, it was a beautifully colorful and wonderful bento.
「It looks really delicious today too. Then, itadakimasu!」
「Yeah, go ahead.」
So, as usual, I put my hands together properly and said so. Then I immediately took a bite of the stuffed green peppers.
「Mogu mogu… Yeah, these stuffed green peppers are really delicious! The meat inside is so juicy, and the sauce goes perfectly with the peppers and meat, it’s really tasty!」
「I see, I’m glad to hear that.」
When I said that, Sasaki-san smiled a little happily. I continued to eat the stuffed green peppers.
「Yeah, this is really delicious! And I always thought green peppers were bitter, but the ones you made aren’t bitter at all, they actually have more umami! This really goes well with rice─!」
「Indeed, green peppers have that image. But if you properly remove the seeds and pith and cook them carefully, you can really reduce the bitterness.」
「Hee, I see. Cooking is pretty deep, isn’t it?」
「Fufu, that’s right. That’s why I find cooking fun.」
Sasaki-san happily shared her knowledge about cooking with me. I continued to eat the bento while listening carefully to her informative talk about cooking.
(Mmm, still, if it’s this delicious stuffed green peppers, Mai might be able to eat them too…)
At that moment, I suddenly thought of my sister Mai, who doesn’t like green peppers.
Yesterday, she ate them because they were chopped very finely, but from yesterday’s reaction, she probably still wouldn’t eat green peppers if she could recognize their shape.
But these stuffed green peppers that Sasaki-san made have no bitterness at all, so I feel like Mai could eat these.
Hmm, should I ask Sasaki-san for the recipe for these stuffed green peppers next time? Although even if I learn it, I can’t cook…
「Ah, by the way. There’s something I want to ask you, Yamada.」
「Hmm? What’s up?」
As I was thinking about Mai, Sasaki-san suddenly said she had something to ask me. So I asked back, wondering what it could be.
「Well, you know, yesterday after school, you were looking at the ground from the classroom window, right?」
「Eh!? Y-Yeah… you mean when you guys were having club activities?」
「That’s right. That’s what I’m talking about. And you… were staring at the girls, weren’t you? Peeking at the girls, how naughty.」
「Eh… Eh!? N-No, that’s…!!」
I panicked for a moment when she said peeking, but thinking about it, I was peeking yesterday after school. Yesterday, I was with Natsue watching the joint practice of the girls’ volleyball and basketball clubs…
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But I absolutely don’t want Sasaki-san to think I’m a perverted guy, so I desperately tried to come up with a good excuse to clear up the misunderstanding.
「…Fufu, I’m just kidding. I don’t think you’re a peeping tom or a perverted guy.」
「Eh? Eh?」
But then, Sasaki-san told me that with a smile.
「You were just invited by Natsue-kun, right? He asked you to come and support Haruka, didn’t he?」
「Eh? …Ahh! Yeah, that’s right! Actually, Natsue asked me to come and support Sakurai-san with him─! Ahaha!」
「Fufun, I thought so. Well, I figured it was something like that.」
It seemed that Sakurai-san had misunderstood, so I decided to keep throwing my best friend under the bus. Sorry, Natsue.
「A-Ahaha, that’s how it is─. Ah, by the way, I heard that Natsue and Sakurai-san started dating just about last week. They really just started dating recently.」
「Yeah, that seems to be. Fufu, but even yesterday during club activities, I thought Haruka and Natsue-kun seemed really close, it’s enviable.」
「Ahh, I thought the same thing. Those two make a pretty good couple.」
「Yeah, they do. I think so too.」
So, while saying that, we congratulated our friends on their relationship.
「Ah, but by the way… Yamada, aren’t you thinking of getting a girlfriend like Natsue-kun?」
「Eh? Me? U-Um, well, I’d like to have a girlfriend if I could, but…」
Then Sasaki-san suddenly brought up that topic with me.
Of course, I want a girlfriend too, but I have no idea how to get one, so it’s too high a hurdle for me…
(No, but I never thought I’d end up talking about this with Sasaki-san.)
I feel like I had a similar conversation with Natsue yesterday… but I never thought I’d talk about this with Sasaki-san too.
Well, since it’s a good opportunity, I decided to ask Sasaki-san the same question.
「Um, what about you, Sasaki-san? Aren’t you thinking of getting a boyfriend?」
「Eh? Me? U-Um…」
So I asked her, but Sasaki-san started to show a somewhat reluctant expression.
「Hmm? You’re not really interested in that kind of thing? Ah, maybe it’s because you’re busy with club activities, so you don’t need a boyfriend right now?」
「Y-Yeah, well, it’s true that I’m busy with club activities every day, so I might not be very interested in that right now. But more than that…」
「But?」
I thought maybe she didn’t have time to get a boyfriend because she was busy with the volleyball club, but from Sasaki-san’s atmosphere, that doesn’t seem to be the case. But then, what is it…?
「U-Um, well, to begin with… there’s no guy who would want to date someone like me, right?」
「…Eh??」
Unable to understand the meaning of Sasaki-san’s sudden words, I let out a bewildered voice.
“There’s no guy who would want to date someone like me, right?”
N-No… What is this person even saying??