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After tidying up the bedroom, Asakura lazily sprawled on the bed.
Perhaps because he had drunk juice at STARRY earlier, now a taste of cheap orange powder was coming back up, leaving him with no appetite for dinner at all.
Today's homework had been completed during his free time in the Service Club room.
Although Japan hasn't fully adopted America's relaxed education system, even for a college-preparatory high school like Soubu High School, the homework wasn't much if one didn't attend cram school. For Asakura, who had gone through the rigorous college entrance exam battle in a certain mysterious Eastern country, it was simply too easy.
There was nothing else to do today. The television had been sold long ago, and there was no Wi-Fi—when Asakura came to this world and found that even survival was an issue, things like memberships and plans were mostly canceled by him.
Even later, when he had some money, Asakura had no intention of renewing them due to the hassle.
Maybe he should just take a bath and go to sleep.
As Asakura was scrolling through messages on the app developed by Ryunosuke on his phone and contemplating this, there was a knock at the door.
Probably a salesperson or something.
Asakura buried his head under the pillow, intending to ignore it, but the knocking persisted, showing no signs of stopping.
Finally, he could only sigh and go to open the door.
However, he found Asagumo Chihaya standing gracefully outside the door.
"Chihaya-san… Is something wrong?"
Asakura froze for a moment, then asked suspiciously, "How do you know where I live?"
"Didn't Takuma-kun rent this place to me before?"
Asagumo Chihaya was holding a plastic bag, which, judging by the logo, was from a nearby supermarket: "So now this is also the Asagumo family's place… You said it yourself, you know."
Was it when Yuigahama Yui and the others were having their study session…? But Asakura remembered that he didn't seem to have revealed his address to her then, did he? Did Yuigahama and the others tell Asagumo Chihaya?
"I'm afraid the lease has ended, after all, the rent was only 1 yen."
Asakura said, spreading his hands.
"Then let's have another 5 yen's worth," the girl mischievously winked at Asakura. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Asakura moved aside, "There's nothing fun at my place, not even chairs. If you want to sit, you can only sit on the tatami."
"This is that… minimalist decor that's very popular these days, right?"
The girl commented seriously.
"I don't think it's quite the same…"
Asakura mumbled.
In a sense, his place was indeed minimalist; if you didn't count the bedroom, to be more minimalist, you'd have to live in a completely unfurnished shell of a house.
"Takuma-kun, have you had dinner yet?"
Asagumo Chihaya placed the plastic bag on the shoe rack in the entryway, asking as she changed her shoes.
By the way, even the slippers the girl was now changing into were the pink fluffy rabbit slippers Asakura had specially bought for the study session last time.
"Not yet, but I don't have much of an appetite anyway. I'll just grab an apple or instant noodles from the convenience store later to make do."
Asakura said indifferently.
He glanced at the plastic bag the girl brought: "If you bought a bento or something, Chihaya, you can just eat it yourself. Don't mind me."
"Hehe, although I initially wanted to just buy a bento, but ta-da~"
The girl opened the plastic bag, revealing its contents, which were fresh vegetables and packaged meat: "It's ingredients, actually!"
"Aieeee! Ingredients?! Why are there ingredients here?!"
"Why are you acting so surprised…?"
Asagumo Chihaya looked at the shocked Asakura and asked with a helpless smile.
"Because Chihaya seems to be really looking forward to my reaction."
Asakura scratched his face, "But I'm genuinely curious why you brought ingredients…"
It's not just a casual visit to a friend's house; even for a sick visit, one usually wouldn't bring ingredients directly.
"Because I noticed Takuma-kun doesn't seem to like raw or cold foods," the girl said. "Not to mention sashimi, he doesn't seem to care much for even homemade bento."
"It's just that I'm not very good with those things personally," Asakura said, feigning composure, having not expected his preferences to be noticed by the other party. "But I'm very confident in Splatoon!"
Asagumo Chihaya asked in confusion, "Isn't that game called Splatoon? Why would you suddenly bring up that game?"
Asakura: Smiles.
Chihaya: "You're talking about Splatoon, right?"
"By the way, even if you bring ingredients, it's useless. My house only has sugar, salt, and soy sauce left for seasonings."
Asakura spread his hands.
Originally, Asakura's house even had its gas supply cut off. It was only later, after Asakura barely earned enough for living expenses, that he realized eating out frequently was more expensive than paying the gas bill and cooking at home, so he paid to have the gas reconnected.
"I also bought some vinegar, dashi powder, miso, and mirin," Asagumo Chihaya said, completely unconcerned. "I even bought a mini bottle of olive oil!"
Asakura watched Asagumo Chihaya, who was like Doraemon showing off new gadgets, taking items out of a plastic bag one by one, feeling a mix of emotions.
Setting aside whether she put effort into it, why does she know so much about my kitchen? Shouldn't this be her first time at my house?
"Oh, right, do you prefer sweet or savory tamagoyaki?" Asagumo Chihaya suddenly asked.
"Savory," Asakura answered instinctively.
"That's great! I like savory tamagoyaki too," the girl said happily. "It's good that our tastes align; otherwise, it would be too troublesome to make two portions of the same tamagoyaki."
Asakura immediately came to his senses and wanted to say there was no need for such trouble, but by then, Asagumo Chihaya had already followed his answer, tied on an apron, cracked a few eggs, and started whisking.
"Chihaya, you... although you appear gentle and kind on the surface, you're actually quite strong-willed." Seeing that the other party had already started, Asakura could only sigh and went over to help. "It's a bit unfair for you to only make it for me. Is there anything you'd like to eat, Chihaya? I'll make it for you."
"Lettuce salad."
"...How little trust do you have in my cooking skills?"
The girl didn't speak; she just looked at the cabbage that Asakura had chopped into a messy, unidentifiable shape with two loud cuts.
Asakura was silent for a moment, then stiffened his neck and stubbornly retorted, "Bad knife skills don't mean the food tastes bad!"
"Takuma-kun," the girl's smile was as pure and gentle as cherry blossoms in early spring. "I haven't said anything yet."
"Ugh..."
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