I Want to Eat Steak

I Want to Eat Steak. He returned to the classroom and continued with the afternoon lessons.

After class, Arima Shizuya went to the Teacher's Office for a look—and sure enough, Aizen was no longer at his desk.

Who knew what that formidable man was plotting? Though he felt somewhat uneasy, all he could do at a time like this was wait.

No point dwelling on it. He should deal with his own business first.

Once the day's classes were over, Arima Shizuya made his usual trip to the cafeteria.

He couldn't train on an empty stomach. Proper nutrition was the foundation of exercise, after all.

With that in mind, Arima Shizuya never shortchanged himself when it came to food.

"Excuse me, a Hamburger Steak Set. Extra rice, Miso Soup, one serving of Nanban Chicken, and a small Curry."

"Oh, you're here pretty late today!"

He ordered quite a lot, and his usual order was always more or less the same.

The Cafeteria Uncle had memorized his face by now.

"Going off for special training again? Young people really are full of energy."

"Heh, you're no slouch either, Uncle. You still look pretty sturdy."

"You know your stuff! Here, here, I'll throw in these pickles for free..."

There was no harm in sweet-talking someone a little, and it could earn him a few small perks at times like this.

As long as he came out ahead, that was all that mattered.

Happily, Arima Shizuya headed over to the condiment station and sprinkled on some Chili Powder and Seaweed Flakes as usual. Just as he was about to find a quieter spot—

A familiar figure entered his sight.

That was...

Arima Shizuya lifted his tray and hesitated for a moment.

In the end, he decided to go over.

"Excuse me, one bowl of Plain White Porridge. Thank you."

"Again? Young lady, if you eat nothing but that every day, you'll end up malnourished."

"Um, no... this is fine. Ahaha, I'm actually dieting."

Kotetsu Isane lowered her head uneasily.

She raised her right hand and nervously fiddled with the ornament hanging beside her ear.

Just as Arima Shizuya had expected, Kotetsu Isane was actually quite reserved by nature.

She already found it difficult to deal with overly familiar people, and now that the conversation had drawn attention, quite a few gazes had gathered around her.

Here it comes again...

I didn't want to stand out so much...

It wasn't like she had wanted to grow this tall in the first place. She wanted to be more ordinary too, like a normal girl...

What should she say? What excuse could get her through this awkward situation?

Anxious and lost in thought, Kotetsu Isane pressed her lips tighter and tighter.

"Ah! So Kohaku-senpai was here? What a coincidence~"

It was a somewhat familiar voice.

The girl could not help but freeze for a moment before turning around.

Before her stood a rather handsome boy. His black hair was tightly tied behind his head, revealing a gentle-looking face, and he was smiling at her kindly.

She knew that face.

After all, she had just seen it that morning.

"Kohaku-senpai, there are a few things I wanted to ask you about. Would it be okay if we sat together?"

There was no reason to refuse, and besides, she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. She nodded almost reflexively.

"Mm! Th-then, let's go!"

The two quickly left the counter and headed together toward a relatively secluded corner.

They casually found a seat and sat down. Kotetsu Isane's expression visibly relaxed.

"Um..."

"No need to thank me. Consider it repayment for earlier today. It was just a small thing."

Seeing Arima Shizuya speak to her with a grin, Kotetsu Isane blinked uncertainly and curled her hands together.

"Then why did Arima-kun...?"

"Anyone could tell that you were having a hard time, couldn't they?"

Arima Shizuya smiled as he unwrapped a pair of chopsticks, held them in his left hand, and lightly tapped them against the edge of the table.

Mm, lined up perfectly! "Since I saw it, I couldn't exactly pretend not to. Besides, Kohaku-senpai looked troubled just now, didn't you?"

Of course, making assumptions about someone else's feelings was rude as well.

Considering that, Arima Shizuya pondered for a moment, then awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

He gave an embarrassed laugh.

"On the other hand, if you feel I overstepped, then I'm truly sorry... I shouldn't have acted like some know-it-all."

Kotetsu Isane hurriedly shook her head.

"No, no, I'm very grateful to you, Arima-kun. It's just... I just didn't know what I should say..."

It was as though a floodgate had opened.

Kotetsu Isane had already looked somewhat aggrieved, but now she seemed completely unable to hold it in any longer.

"It's been like this ever since I enrolled..."

"I haven't done anything, but people keep staring at me for no reason just because of my height..."

"What is this?! It's not like I wanted to end up this way... Who would have thought eating Plain White Porridge could make you taller? No matter how you look at it, that's just weird, right?!"

Whoa.

Listening to her, Arima Shizuya could not help making a toothache-like grimace.

She couldn't hold back all that resentment anymore. It was about to spill over...

It was easy to see that she had built up a great deal of pressure over time. Still, given their current relationship, he couldn't really offer any concrete or effective comfort.

They had only known each other for a day, after all.

Was it really okay for her to tell me all this?

Seemingly realizing she had lost her composure, Kotetsu Isane sniffed hard and softly muttered, "Sorry."

"...Could you pretend you didn't hear what I just said?"

Was there even another answer to that question? Arima Shizuya smiled and nodded.

The atmosphere relaxed, and after venting just now, Kotetsu Isane's mood seemed to improve noticeably as well.

She took a long breath, reached out, and patted her cheeks, seemingly trying to encourage herself.

Pull yourself together, Kotetsu Isane!

Since when had she become so fragile that she needed to complain to a younger underclassman?!

"Sorry for making a fool of myself."

"It's fine. If anything, you seem more normal like this, Kohaku-senpai."

Arima Shizuya did not hold back. While she had been agonizing over things, he had already finished his entire plate of Curry.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Kotetsu Isane looked confused. The boy swallowed his food, wiped his mouth, and adjusted his posture slightly before speaking.

"I mean exactly what I said. Kohaku-senpai usually acts rather cold... but that isn't really who you are, is it?"

There was nothing to be done about it. With her somewhat androgynous face, whenever she did not make an expression, anyone would see her as looking quite stern.

"You give people the impression that you're hard to approach, Kohaku-senpai."

Kotetsu Isane belatedly stroked her cheek and blinked in confusion.

"I-is that so?"

No one had ever told her that before.

"It is!"

Striking while the iron was hot, Arima Shizuya continued.

"If Kohaku-senpai smiled more, you'd definitely look cuter."

"Eek!!!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

This woman, nearly six feet three inches tall, let out an incredibly coy squeak.

He just casually called her cute...

Ah! Aside from her family, this was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to her.

That was so unfair.

That was way too frivolous! Did he talk to other girls like that too?!

Kotetsu Isane's mind began spinning wildly. She felt her face heat up and could not help gently covering it with both hands.

But no matter what, she had to keep her expression tightly controlled.

As for Arima Shizuya, one of the Parties involved? He simply thought that compliments like that would make women happier—calling someone pretty was too presumptuous, but cute was more neutral.

This kind of compliment was basically a social template or something... there was nothing unusual about it.

It was also something he had learned from Aizen!

Learning from the Prison Master, whose social skills were maxed out, couldn't go wrong.

The atmosphere between them became a little strange, but Kotetsu Isane was the first to break the silence.

—Not wanting him to notice her abnormality, the girl took a deep breath.

Then she chose to take the initiative.

"Arima-kun! You—you have quite an appetite!"

Did that even count as making conversation?

The other Party did not notice anything odd, and could only give an awkward laugh.

"I need to train every day, so I can't skimp on food."

"I-is that so..."

Remembering how he had come to ask for help earlier that day, Kotetsu Isane blinked and could not help saying,

"Training that intensely is still too dangerous, isn't it? If possible, Arima-kun, you should take better care of your body."

No matter what, she was concerned about him. Arima Shizuya smiled and nodded.

"Mm, thanks for your concern! I'll be more careful from now on."

That was way too perfunctory! If she could, Kotetsu Isane would have liked to say something more serious.

But then she remembered what he had said earlier.

If you smiled more, you'd look cuter.

All she could do was twitch her face and force out a rather strained smile.

"Arima-kun, you're very diligent..."

She saw the boy nod heavily.

"Mm. Time spent studying is precious, after all. I want to work harder while I'm still in school, so I can have a good place to go in the future."

No one would mock someone so serious.

Kotetsu Isane certainly would not. She only sighed inwardly at how hard this guy worked.

By now, Arima Shizuya had already cleaned his plate.

He really did have a good appetite. I wish I could eat as freely as that too... but I can't. It would be troubling if I kept growing taller.

Her peripheral vision fell upon his tray, and Kotetsu Isane's heart stirred.

"Then do you have enough money?"

"I did some manual labor in Slum Street before, so I saved up a bit... at least enough to get through this year."

Once he had learned enough, he could take on jobs and support himself, keeping his income and expenses balanced.

He had planned all of this before enrolling, so there was naturally no room for surprises.

"A job..."

Kotetsu Isane seemed to think of something.

After hesitating for a moment, she clasped her hands before her and rubbed them together for a while before quietly saying,

"There happens to be a Student Council part-time position looking for someone. I was wondering if Arima-kun might want..."

Before she could finish, Arima Shizuya's eyes lit up.

"I want to do it!"

If he could start earning money early, his financial situation would be much less tight...

Why would he eat Hamburger Steak then?

Bring on the Steak!