“―U-umm, Marin-chan, do you mind if I eat with you?”

As Marin waited at a table in the cafeteria for Yō, who had gone to buy a meal ticket, a strange boy spoke to Marin.

“I’m sorry, but I’m waiting for him right now.”

Marin didn’t ask who the stranger was, but instead looked at Yō in the line to buy a meal ticket.

Then, after a despairing look on his face, the boy trotted off.

(I’m sorry…)

Marin apologized to the boy only in her mind.

She wasn’t lying about the fact that she was waiting for Yō, but she had been refusing to eat with the boys who were trying to eat with her so that they would deliberately misunderstand her.

It made her feel a little guilty.

However, no matter how many times she refused, the boys kept asking her out.

Marin was aware of how the boys viewed her, but until now she had received very few invitations.

This was probably due in large part to the presence of her childhood friend, Haruki.

After all, it’s hard for them to talk with girls who have a specific partner in mind.

“…”

Marin thought that sitting in her seat would only make her tired, so she decided to walk towards Yō.

And then―

“What’s that…?”

When she saw the bowl of food that Yō had just received― a bowl full of bright red liquid, she asked in trepidation.

“Hmm? You haven’t heard of it? This is a very hot fried chicken bowl.”

“The steam coming out of the bowl alone hurts my eyes…”

“It’s delicious, you know?”

“…..*Gulp.”

Humans are curious creatures.

When they are confronted with a food that they can’t imagine, and it is said to be delicious, they can’t help but be curious about the taste.

And even if you can tell from the appearance alone that it was something spicy, you can’t really tell how spicy it really is.

For that reason, Marin wanted to try just a bite.

They sat down at a vacant seat, but Marin’s gaze never left Yō’s super-spicy chicken fried rice bowl.

No matter how you look at it, Marin’s interest is focused on the hot chicken fried rice bowl.

“一Do you want to have a bite?”

“Is it okay…?”

No matter whether it’s good or not, he can’t ignore her if she’s giving him a curious look.

Therefore, Yō placed one of the fried chicken on the lid of the bento box that Marin had placed on the table. [TLN: “bento” means lunch, basically bento box = lunch box]

He also put a little bit of the red-colored rice on top of it.

“T-thank you very much. Then, I’ll give you some of mine too―”

She put one pork roll with shiso and one egg roll on an empty plate on the table.

“You don’t mind if I have two?

“It’s an equal exchange. Well, mine are homemade, so I can’t guarantee the taste…”

As soon as they heard about Marin’s homemade food, all the men around them who had been listening closely to the exchange between Marin and Yō turned their gazes in unison.

And all of them looked at Yō with jealousy.

(This is going to tear a hole in my stomach…)

With the outrageous amount of hostility directed at him, Yō once again understood how popular Marin was with the guys.

Some of them would even pay for it, just to eat Marin’s homemade food.

If he ate something like that, jealousy from the boys would be inevitable.

“No, I’m good.”

It’s a shame because they both look very tasty, but if he had to weigh it against his own safety, the choice would be obvious.

So Yō decided to refuse.

However―

“You don’t want to eat my homemade food that badly…?”

Marin misunderstood that Yō had retreated when she heard about the home-cooked meal, and her expression became sad and sullen.

As a result, the gaze of the surrounding people changed from jealousy to those with murderous intent.

(Yeah, I think I’m incompatible with Akimi after all…)

Ever since their first year, Marin has been a difficult person for Yō to deal with.

One of the reasons is that his words and actions can make Marin sad to a pinpoint.

“No, it’s not like that, it’s the way people look at me, okay…?”

For the time being, letting Marin be sad would only increase the hostility, so Yō explained the reason in a roundabout way.

From that, she immediately understood what he was trying to say and her expression changed from sad to troubled.

“I understand. I was really proud of my work and I wanted you to eat it, but it can’t be helped now.”

“Well, if you get the chance, please do it again next time.”

“Yes…! Well then, without further ado, let’s eat.”

After nodding with a smile at Yō’s words, Marin extended her chopsticks to the fried chicken and put it in her mouth.

And then, after putting it in her mouth―.

“Tsu~~~!” [TLN: sfx for spicy I suppose lol]

She began to writhe with tears in her eyes, shouting inexpressibly.

“A-ahh, it’s delicious, but it’s a little too spicy for her.”

Looking at Marin’s condition, Yō muttered in a low voice.

In response, Marin cried and shouted in her mind, (Please hurry up and help me!)