Chapter 7 First Time in the Cafeteria

First Time in the Cafeteria

After 4th period. In the middle of lunchtime.

Sou was in the cafeteria. Sou’s parents are busy at work. So they rarely come home. He practically lives alone. So Sou has to make his own lunch at school.

He rarely cooks for himself. He only occasionally goes to the supermarket to buy ingredients and does the simple cooking.

Of course, he has two options for lunch at school, either the cafeteria or the store. Getting up early to make a bento box is not an option.

He usually eats lunch in the cafeteria.

Today he decided to eat lunch in the cafeteria.

There is a long line in the cafeteria. Regardless of their grades, many students from Seidou High School line up to get food. The line is more than three meters long.

Most of the students in this long line are chatting with their friends. The cafeteria is filled with a mix of male and female voices.

The chatter hit Sou’s eardrums hard.

Despite being in such a mundane environment, Sou sits down and enjoys his curry rice. The seat in front of him is empty. In other words, no one is sitting there.

“Delicious. It tastes like curry as usual.”

He chews the curry, which is full of meat and vegetables, and enjoys the mild spiciness. He feels a slight pain in his mouth. But the moderate heat and pain are pleasant.

He has been a frequent visitor to the cafeteria since his first year, so he has tried every dish on the menu.

He knows the taste of every dish on the menu, including ramen, udon, soba, and fried rice. They all have great taste. But the one that best suits his taste buds is curry rice. So he eats curry rice most of the time.

“Excuse me. May I sit in front?”

A familiar voice caresses Sou’s eardrums.

But actually, it’s not a familiar voice. Sou’s eardrums have only recently learned this voice. And it was just this morning.

It is a dignified kind of voice. The kind that also radiates confidence.

“Yakumo-san.”

Recognizing the voice in front of him, Sou murmurs the surname of the voice.

In the seat in front of him, Haruki sits in a chair, her long silver hair swaying from side to side.

Udon noodles and a tray are on the opposite table. Warm steam rises from the udon in the bowl. The steam has such a majestic presence that it can be seen with the n🬀🬀ed eye. Waving in front of Haruki.

“Yo!”

Haruki greets him lightly, in the mood of a male member of a club. She raises her right hand above her head and strikes a pose of “Yo!”.

“Itadakimasu.”

She dutifully puts both hands together to thank for the food. After tilting her head slightly, she places her hands on the chopsticks attached to her bowl.

With practiced hands, she uses the chopsticks to pick up the udon noodles soaked in the soup. About three long pieces of noodles get tangled in the chopsticks.

“Fuu~fuu~”

She purses her lips and blows on the udon to cool it. She blows two or three times and brings the udon to her mouth. Then she takes a sip and swallows.

“Yes! It’s delicious! This is my first time eating udon in a cafeteria. It suits my taste!”

After she finishes chewing, Haruki makes a satisfied face. Her cheeks relax a little from the deliciousness.

“Has Amane tried this udon before?”

She shifts her eyes from the udon to Sou. Sou’s eyes meet Haruki’s. He has the illusion that Haruki’s light blue eyes are sparkling. They were so graceful.

“Yes. I’ve tried everything on the cafeteria menu. Udon is tasty. The broth is strong but light.”

“I see! So Amane knows the taste of the cafeteria menu quite well.”

“Well, to a certain extent.”

“Then tell me what you recommend next time. Today was my first time in the cafeteria. So there are a lot of things I don’t know. Like the taste of the curry Amane ordered.”

Haruki puts her chopsticks together on the tray and points to Sou’s curry with the index finger of her right hand.

If you follow Haruki’s finger, you will come to the curry.

“Okay, but…”

“Yey! I don’t eat much. But I prefer food with as few calories as possible.”

Haruki’s order was a feminine request.

Contrary to her tone, appearance, and attitude, she has some feminine sides.

This is Sou’s impression of Yakumo Haruki.

“Ahem. Let’s get to the point.”

Haruki deliberately clears her throat. The casual attitude of a moment ago is gone, and now she has a serious aura. Some people might find the atmosphere oppressive.

“What do you mean, the main point?”

The sudden change in attitude confused Sou.

He ended up giving a blunt response. He was a little nervous.

He’s not good at reacting quickly. He’s also not good at being flexible.

“I wanted to give Amane some advice.”

Haruki rests her chin on her hand and looks at Sou.

As if he wants to guess what’s going on in Sou’s head.