On the way back, we dispersed in small groups, and Ichikawa and I got off at Kichijoji together.
Ichikawa was heading straight home, while I had a midnight lesson with Kanno-san tonight.
Through the train window, I waved at Sako. After waving back, she pointed at the bag I was carrying and mimed blowing air into it with her index finger in her mouth.
“What is Sako-san doing?”
“Who knows...”
Well, she probably meant ‘use the air mattress,’ but I couldn't help but think that doing something so unladylike wasn't right.
The train departed, carrying away her 0.something-millimeter mischievous smile.
As we left Kichijoji Station through the park exit, Ichikawa spoke up.
“Still, regarding IRIA-san’s talk, it’s not just a matter of whether you and Sako-san want to or can do it anymore, is it?”
“Yeah...”
I understood exactly what Ichikawa wanted to say.
Hirosue came to Japan to grasp ‘youth,’ and she’s currently feeling dejected.
If we don't accept this offer, Hirosue might fail to experience that youth.
If it has no bad influence on amane—or rather, if it even has a good effect—then the reasons to refuse are finally becoming fewer.
“You don’t seem very convinced?”
“It’s not about being convinced, it’s more like...”
For some reason, I felt a sense of wrongness in the back of my mind. I wonder why...?
“...Well, since she gave us some time, I’ll think about it.”
“Right. Make sure to consult with me too, okay?”
“Of course. Ah... well then, I’ll stop here.”
I stopped at the base of the building where Octa Studio was located.
“By the way, sorry for having you walk me here.”
“N-no. It’s just that I wanted to stay with you a little longer, Konuma-kun...”
“O-oh...!”
While I felt a tingling sensation throughout my body from her killing blow of a line, the natural angel herself seemed to have no intention of saying anything grand and was just fidgeting.
“U-um, Konuma-kun...?”
“Yeah?”
“I have to eat dinner at home, so I can’t eat with you...”
“Ah, yeah...?”
I had intended that from the start...?
“But if you’re eating dinner on your own, you’ll probably eat something with poor nutrition, right?”
“Well, rather than it being nutritionally unbalanced, I don’t have the money to go to a proper restaurant, so it would probably be a beef bowl place or a convenience store...”
“Do you eat salad at the beef bowl place?”
“No, I don't.”
For a high schooler, paying for vegetables isn't an option. Also, did she just add ‘-san’ to the beef bowl place?
“See...? That’s why, um... this.”
She timidly held out a large drawstring bag.
“Is this, perhaps...”
Judging from the flow of the conversation and the shape, it was definitely a bento box.
“I-it’s okay!”
“W-what is...?”
“T-that! I researched bentos that keep their freshness, the ingredients and cooling, until night! See, apparently there’s quite a demand for making bentos that last until night for kids going to cram school. And since it’s autumn now, it’s gotten quite cold...”
“No, it’s not that I’m worried about that, I’m not worried about anything at all, but...”
“I’m the one who’s worried!”
Ichikawa suddenly looked up from her downcast posture.
“I’m worried you’ll get sick, or what if you collapse, or what if you think it’s not tasty...!”
“Ah, yeah... no, there’s no way that would happen...”
I was so happy and she was so cute that I didn't know what to say, but I managed to voice the one thing I absolutely had to say.
“Um... thank you.”
“Y-you’re welcome... Well then, good luck.”
Ichikawa gently gripped the tips of my right fingers.
“Take care, Konuma-kun.”
“O-oh...”
After letting me take the bento that had been hanging in the air, Ichikawa gave a shy smile, waved slightly, and walked away.
I stood there for two or three seconds from the sheer destructive power of it. While feeling embarrassed, I put it in my bag and was about to head up the stairs to the studio when—
“Ugh...!”
...A few steps up, there stood a brown-haired ponytail-senpai, looking very awkward.
“...I-it’s not what you think, okay?! It’s your fault for doing that kind of thing while I was trying to go to the convenience store!”
“Yes, you’re absolutely right...”
“M-more importantly, are you guys... like that?!”
Kanno-san was blushing so hard I could tell even in the dark.
“Um, really, I’m sorry...”
...I’m sure I was even redder than she was.