I Told You, It Wasn't Like That

"These dishes must have been a lot of trouble to make! What time did you get up?"

Watanabe Mari had stood up at some point and walked over beside Saegusa Mayumi.

"Well, I slept pretty well last night, so I happened to get up early today."

"Please, everyone, help yourselves! I made a little too much without realizing it, and I can't eat all of this."

Kudo Mitsunobu generously invited everyone to try some. In fact, that had been his intention all along; he was simply taking the opportunity to offer.

"Is that so? Then I won't hold back!"

Watanabe Mari's eyes lit up. She returned to her seat to get her chopsticks, picked up a piece of rolled omelet, and popped it into her mouth.

"Mmm! Delicious."

After taking a bite, Watanabe Mari's eyes narrowed slightly, and her face took on a blissful expression.

Seeing that Watanabe Mari had already started eating, everyone present succumbed to the temptation of the delicious food and dug in—including the Shiba siblings.

"Delicious!"

"Unbelievable!"

"Incredible!"

A string of exclamations came from the mouths of these usually poised and courteous young ladies. After all, everyone enjoyed good food. No matter how they usually acted, they all wore happy expressions when savoring a meal.

"Thank you for the food!"

Saegusa Mayumi took out her handkerchief and wiped the sauce from the corners of her mouth.

After everyone had descended on it, the lunchbox, which had originally been packed to the brim, was now only about half full.

"Sorry! I guess I got a little carried away. Koushu, do you have enough food left? Would you like some of mine?"

"No, no need."

Kudo Mitsunobu shook his head and pulled the lunchbox back in front of himself.

"I don't usually eat that much, so this is plenty."

"But your cooking is really astonishingly good!"

Watanabe Mari chewed her sushi a few extra times, then took a sip of canned green tea she had bought from the vending machine.

"I quite enjoy the process of cooking. Besides, I don't think food made by an automatic meal machine tastes very good."

Kudo Mitsunobu clasped his hands together and prepared to eat. The lunch break wasn't all that long, and he wanted to keep using the Student Council's equipment to make some adjustments to his CAD after dinner.

He had finished setting it up last night and had already programmed the Magic Formula into the CAD. Now all he had to do was make some fine adjustments.

"What's the matter, Mayumi? Can't eat?"

Watanabe Mari noticed that Saegusa Mayumi was poking at the food in front of her with her chopsticks. She had barely touched it.

"Yeah. It's the same food I always eat, but after having Koushu's lunch, this just doesn't taste like anything!"

Saegusa Mayumi pouted, her gaze drifting toward Kudo Mitsunobu's lunchbox from time to time.

"Now that you mention it, that's true!"

Ichihara Suzune, who had been quiet until then, spoke up. Even she could feel the stark difference.

The Shiba siblings didn't react in any particular way. After all, it was unthinkable that Shiba Tatsuya—a sister-obsessed brother who only had feelings for his sister—would act strange over good food.

Besides, in Shiba Tatsuya's eyes, Kudo Mitsunobu's cooking probably couldn't compare to the lunch his sister made for him herself.

Shiba Miyuki was surprised by Kudo Mitsunobu's lunch, but she wasn't the kind of woman who would become curious about any man other than her brother.

After all, he could only cook a few dishes. That was nothing compared to her flawless elder brother, Tatsuya.

Saegusa Mayumi and Nakajo Azusa nodded repeatedly, seeming to agree wholeheartedly with Ichihara Suzune.

"In that case, Koushu, how about making an extra lunch for Mayumi next time?"

Watanabe Mari abruptly changed the subject and started teasing Saegusa Mayumi and Kudo Mitsunobu.

Lately, she had become more and more fond of teasing the two of them. Never mind Kudo Mitsunobu; Saegusa Mayumi's reactions were endlessly entertaining to her.

"Mari! What are you saying?" Saegusa Mayumi's face instantly flushed, a rosy hue spreading across her fair cheeks.

Having Kudo Mitsunobu bring her lunch? Wouldn't that be just like the two of them were dating? And even if they were dating, shouldn't she be the one bringing lunch for Kudo Mitsunobu?

No, no, no. Why was she thinking about that? It was almost as if she were imagining the two of them dating!

Saegusa Mayumi's face grew redder and redder, the heat rising until she looked like a steam engine about to start smoking.

"I wouldn't mind! Making an extra portion for my upperclassman wouldn't be any trouble."

Chapter 20: I Told You, It Wasn't Like That

After lunch, everyone got busy with their own tasks in the limited time they had. After all, the Student Council room wasn't a place for eating and fooling around.

Everyone had their own duties. Shiba Miyuki was learning from Nakajo Azusa about what accounting involved.

Ichihara Suzune and Saegusa Mayumi were busy with their own work, too.

As for Shiba Tatsuya, he had no Public Morals Committee duties that afternoon, so he was tinkering with his CAD in the Student Council room.

"Tatsuya, is that a Silver Cluster? I didn't expect you to be able to get such a rare CAD!"

"I heard they only released a small number."

Shiba Tatsuya paused in the middle of polishing the Silver Cluster. "I was pretty lucky, I suppose. I managed to get one just by placing a reservation."