Golden-fried shrimp;
Crispy, refreshing tempura;
Tender-looking tamagoyaki;
Plus fresh fruits and vegetables—little tomatoes and the like;
And the seaweed and pickled plums that went so well with rice;
Finally,
The dipping sauce...
The ingredients weren't particularly luxurious, but they made you want to eat—really, really want to eat. That was the skill of one of Totsuki's Elite Ten!
Utaha Kasumigaoka looked at Sogo Doma's lunchbox.
Then she glanced at the pineapple bun in her hand. She wanted to die. She wanted to die. She wanted to die...
"Life is short, so we should enjoy ourselves while we can, Teacher Utako Kasumi." Sogo Doma didn't pay much attention to the ever-changing expressions on Utaha Kasumigaoka's face. He took a deep breath and sighed contentedly.
Utaha Kasumigaoka looked at the pineapple bun in her hand, then at Sogo Doma's lunchbox...
In an instant, the pineapple buns she usually loved suddenly didn't seem so appealing.
"Look, it's lunchtime. Is Teacher Utako Kasumi really just going to eat bread?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."
"Mm, all right. I'll dig in first." Sogo Doma reached behind him and pulled out a pair of disposable chopsticks.
"Look, a UFO."
Maybe that wouldn't work on anyone else, but it worked on Sogo Doma every single time. This damn world had turned into a two-dimensional one!
Maybe it was instinct, but Utaha Kasumigaoka inexplicably snatched the chopsticks from him.
Sogo Doma: "..."
"I heard that people have been putting poison in other people's lunches lately..." Utaha Kasumigaoka explained as she ate.
Sogo Doma: "..."
So I should be thanking you?
Keep making things up. Go on!
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Don't worry, I'm just testing it for poison. I won't eat much."
That was true. With her usual appetite, about a third of a serving would probably have been enough to make her feel full.
And yet...
She'd only taken one bite of the fried shrimp.
"Kimochi!"
In her mouth was the taste of the sea. Before her eyes stood a gigantic lobster, glaring at her as if it were about to eat her alive.
"No, no..." In the world of her hallucination, Utaha Kasumigaoka ran in every direction.
In reality, she kept stuffing food into her mouth.
Watching her, Sogo Doma smiled. Teacher Utako Kasumi's expression really was a delight to behold.
Still in the hallucination.
"Clang!"
A figure dropped from the sky.
"That's enough, Shrimp Monster! I'll protect this place..."
"Who are you?"
"I am the Tamagoyaki Hero!"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "W-what? A hero?"
"O noble taster, this time I shall defeat that Fried Shrimp Monster." The Tamagoyaki Hero bowed his head.
"W-wait!" Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't know why she said it, but looking at the Tamagoyaki Hero's resolute face, she couldn't help asking:
"What if you fail?"
"Then I shall never return."
The tomatoes were the vanguard, the tempura stood to the left, and Utaha Kasumigaoka was the commander. However... even the most brilliant commander suffered defeat. The Fried Shrimp Monster charged forward relentlessly, wielding its unmatched power.
The Tamagoyaki Hero fell.
The Tempura Strategist perished.
The little tomato cannon fodder was even more helpless.
"Enough, enough! No, don't fight anymore..." Tears streamed down Utaha Kasumigaoka's face.
Then.
She awoke from the hallucination. Just as she was about to lift her head, she heard Sogo Doma say:
"I added onions. I didn't know Teacher Utako Kasumi was so sentimental, too."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Huh?"
Her cheeks flushed bright red. When she looked again, Sogo Doma's lunchbox was completely empty.
"You... You tested it for poison, and ate my entire lunch..."
"Mm!" Utaha Kasumigaoka widened her wine-red eyes, then shoved the bread into Sogo Doma's mouth.
Sogo Doma: "..."
Still, she was quite an interesting person.
As he thought this, Utaha Kasumigaoka turned around.
"Eat your bread."
"Uh." Sogo Doma.
"Two!" Utaha Kasumigaoka added. There was no helping it. Sogo Doma's specially made lunch portions were large to begin with. She'd eaten it all without realizing, so there was no way she could still have room for anything else.
Sogo Doma rubbed his chin. She really didn't treat him like a stranger!
And in fact, that was exactly the case.
Since she hadn't made any friends in so long, Utaha Kasumigaoka had always been lonely. That was only natural. In Japan's cliquish culture, if you weren't someone's friend, people couldn't be bothered to pay you any attention.
It was a peculiar kind of bullying.
Only the person experiencing it understood how cruel it was. It was as if the world had no need for you to exist.
Meanwhile.
In the classroom where Umaru was, many people were astonished when they saw the lunchbox she took out.
"Wow, i-isn't that the lunchbox you have to pay ninety-nine thousand nine hundred yen to buy?"
Umaru smiled gently. "It's not that expensive. My Onii-chan saved up and bought it for me. It shouldn't have cost that much."
In her heart: Heh. Onii-chan saved up for ten minutes to buy that lunchbox. It probably cost around a hundred thousand yen.
"Huh? Umaru's Onii-chan? He must be a really nice person."
Umaru nodded firmly. "Of course."
"Umaru, let's eat lunch together..." a group of girls said.
Umaru Doma nodded. "Sure, I was hoping to get to know everyone, too. Oh, right..."
As if remembering something, Umaru Doma turned to look at someone in the corner. "Megumi, come eat lunch with us."
Megumi Kato glanced around, then looked at Umaru again. "Um, are you talking to me?"
Umaru Doma nodded. "Megumi, hurry over..."
At that moment, Megumi Kato didn't know what she was thinking. She simply nodded quietly. "Okay!"
To be honest, even she had forgotten how long it had been since she'd eaten lunch with her classmates—or her friends.
For some reason, or perhaps simply by nature, Megumi Kato had always had a very faint presence. Even when she graduated from middle school, people would often ask, "Who's Megumi Kato? Is she our classmate?"
It was as if she'd never been there at all.
Things were still the same in high school.
Megumi Kato had assumed she would go on being unnoticed for the rest of her life, with no one even knowing who she was.
And yet...
Today.
Umaru Doma, who had just transferred to the school, remembered her.
And all Megumi had done was show Umaru to her seat when she entered the classroom.
Umaru Doma...
What kind of person was she? She seemed to be smiling all the time, and both her looks and bearing were like those of a young lady.
She was different from Sawamura Eriri in the next class. Eriri was a legendary young lady, too, but compared with Umaru, her bearing fell far short.
And as far as Megumi Kato knew, although Sawamura Eriri was a young lady... her every move was quite different from those of the newly transferred student, Umaru.
Perhaps.
Real nobles were all supposed to be like Umaru.
Thinking this, she took her lunchbox and walked over to Umaru.
"Clang!"
Just as expected!
The moment Umaru opened her lunchbox, an unfamiliar fragrance wafted out.
The dishes weren't luxurious, but just looking at them made everyone want to keep swallowing.
The true art of appearing foolish while being wise, and of achieving great things through subtle means...
Before you continue