"I am not your mother, you know," MEI said with a slight smile. "If it's just an invitation, though, I'm quite happy to go eat together."
"Besides, I happen to be heading to the cafeteria."
"I know," Mei relaxed, her mind at ease.
Being called out on such a tiny little ulterior motive wasn't a big deal, even if she had felt nervous just moments ago. Now, however, her emotional state had steadied considerably since she had already been seen right through.
She even felt a bit reckless, like a broken jar that could no longer be smashed.
She was not her own mother.
Mei naturally understood that no matter how much she resembled her own mother, she simply wasn't. This was already a predetermined outcome, and she was merely being reminded of it once again.
Her mood grew a great deal more peaceful, too.
"Is this your bento?" Mei asked curiously.
"This?" MEI looked down at her own bento box, wondering how she was supposed to explain the existence of this thing. But if you asked whether this item belonged to her...
"Of course," MEI said with a smile. "What else?"
"Are you planning to eat it in the cafeteria?" Mei asked again.
"Of course," MEI said. "And see if there's anything else edible while I'm at it."
This bento was much too small...
It wasn't enough to eat at all!
Whether a bento was too small also depended on who was eating it. For MEI, this was definitely not enough food—and she didn't even need any title stat bonuses for that. Measured by a normal appetite, this bento was only enough to keep MEI half full.
Maybe even less than that.
Upon reaching the cafeteria, MEI had originally wanted to see if there was a microwave to heat