"Please, pretty please~"
With her palms pressed together, Ryo looked over with pitiful puppy-dog eyes.
"If I could eat cup noodles made by Kitahara's own hands, I would have zero regrets left in life."
Kitahara: "..."
It's just a bowl of cup noodles; isn't that way too dramatic?!
Faced with Ryo acting spoiled, Kitahara was indeed somewhat defenseless, standing up expressionlessly to walk toward the kitchen.
Ryo's crisp voice echoed behind him:
"I want Ippei-chan Night Market Yakisoba; no mayonnaise, but all the other seasoning packets."
Pausing slightly, Kitahara turned his head back:
"How do you know what kind of cup noodles are in the kitchen?"
The cup noodles were stored inside the cupboards; Kitahara remembered distinctly that aside from opening the fridge for milk, Ryo had never touched the cupboards.
"Well..."
Tilting her head toward him, the corners of Ryo's lips curled upward slightly, her tone delighted:
"Guess?"
Kitahara: "..."
"There's a reward if you guess right, you know."
Like I'd believe you!
Kitahara had no interest in humoring her, turning expressionlessly to walk into the kitchen.
Though they had known each other for less than an hour, Kitahara had already figured out Ryo's personality—she was pure and simply a hedonist who loved messing with people. Getting led around by the nose would only make her all the more amused.
Moments later.
Carrying the cup noodles out, Kitahara saw that Ryo had somehow sprawled across the sofa, swinging a pair of snow-white legs while happily browsing her phone, her feet gently swaying without a trace of restraint or tension... truly treating the place as her own home.
"...Get up and eat."
Kitahara handed the prepared noodles over.
"Thank you, Kitahara."
Ryo thanked him happily, sitting up and slurping down the cup noodles noisily.
"Mmh, cup noodles prepared by someone else really do taste better after all."
"..."
Sitting quietly beside her, Kitahara waited until Ryo finished her noodles before asking softly:
"Do we know each other?"
Kitahara suspected something had gone wrong with his memories.
His character status panel showed that he had acquired numerous abilities, but the problem was that he couldn't recall when he had obtained them in the slightest.
Furthermore, this Ryo before him clearly met him for the first time, yet held zero guard against him; no matter how he looked at it, this wasn't normal.
Thinking it through, Kitahara finally deduced an answer.
Could he... perhaps, maybe, possibly... have amnesia?
Looking up, the corners of Ryo's soft lips curled upward:
"We don't know each other, you know."
Frowning slightly, Kitahara asked:
"Since we don't know each other, why would you enter a stranger's home with such bold confidence?"
"Because Kitahara gave me an umbrella," Ryo stated with righteous justification. "Anyone willing to lend an umbrella to a stranger on the road must be a good person."
Kitahara was not satisfied with this response:
"It was just an old umbrella; your standard for judging a good person is far too simplistic... If someone else gave you an umbrella, would you follow them home too?"
Ryo shook her head flatly:
"Of course not."
Kitahara pressed further: "Then why choose me?"
"Because..."
Her eyes sparkling, Ryo smiled, closing her right eye:
"Because Kitahara is that one-and-only, irreplaceable person."
Helpless, Kitahara sighed:
"I really hate riddlers the most after all."
Hearing those words, the corners of Ryo's lips tilted upward once more, her doll-like feet swaying gently, visibly in high spirits.
(As expected...)
(Even after rewinding time and restarting life, Kitahara's personality and preferences haven't changed in the slightest...)
"By the way, you've taken a shower and finished your cup noodles; shouldn't you be leaving now?"
Kitahara's voice rang out faintly.
"Hah..."
Covering her mouth with a hand, Ryo let out an exaggerated yawn, then flopped down onto the sofa with a thud:
"Sorry, I fell asleep; I can't hear a thing."
"..."
Nothing more was said that night.
The next day.
Kitahara opened his eyes punctually, got dressed, pushed open the door to head downstairs, and saw a figure bustling inside the kitchen.
"Kitahara, good morning."
With an apron tied around her waist, Ryo turned her head:
"Go wash your face and brush your teeth; breakfast will be ready shortly."
"...Good morning."
Kitahara replied softly, turning into the bathroom.
Last night he had wanted her to leave, but Ryo played dumb with all sorts of antics and refused to budge; in the end, he had no choice but to let her sleep in the guest room. He never expected she would wake up early to cook.
After washing up.
Stepping out of the bathroom and coming to the kitchen doorway, Kitahara caught a familiar aroma in the air, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"It's actually egg fried rice?"
"That's right," Ryo prepared the meal methodically. "After all, a certain someone happens to love egg fried rice."
"Who is that certain someone?"
"Well, I can't quite remember."
"..."
Helpless, Kitahara said:
"Do you want me to help?"
"I want help." Without a shred of hesitation, Ryo looked over with sparkling eyes, as if she had been waiting for that exact line. "Hurry up and praise me."
"What?"
Kitahara looked over in bewilderment, wondering if he had misheard.
"I woke up at 6:30 in the morning and made a special trip to the convenience store to buy ingredients," Ryo rested her left hand on her hip, lifting her chin with total confidence. "So hurry up and praise me."
Kitahara: "..."
A moment later.
Two servings of egg fried rice were served.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Bending down, Ryo peered over. "Would you like some magic to make it delicious?"
Kitahara was speechless: "No need."
"Yes, yes~"
Making a heart gesture with both hands, a brilliant smile bloomed across her usually cool, aloof face:
"Fluffy-fluffy, savory-savory~ Omurice, become delicious!"
Ba-dump, ba-dump.
Watching Ryo suddenly act cute, Kitahara distinctly heard his own heart beat faster.
"Wait," Kitahara couldn't resist calling her out. "You just said omurice, but this dish is clearly egg fried rice."
"Well, don't sweat the small details," Ryo sat down by the table. "Time to dig in."
"..."
After finishing breakfast, Kitahara packed his backpack, preparing to head out for school.
"Hey, hey~"
A small hand reached out; Ryo showed zero courtesy:
"Lend me some money; I have to go to school too."
Kitahara looked at her flatly:
"Didn't I lend you a thousand yen last night?"
"Spent it on groceries this morning," Ryo stated matter-of-factly. "Lend me another thousand yen."
Resigned, Kitahara produced a thousand-yen bill: "When will you pay me back?"
"What?" Swiftly snatching the bill away, Ryo covered her chest with both hands and stepped back half a pace. "Money borrowed by my own ability—you actually expect me to pay it back?"
Good grief, you had no intention of paying it back from the start, did you!
"Ah, slip of the tongue just now." Ryo quickly covered her mouth with her hand. "Can you pretend you didn't hear that?"
"Of course not," Kitahara put on a stern face. "Give the money back; I'm not lending it."
"Money that's been borrowed definitely can't be returned," Ryo lowered her voice, whispering into his ear. "However... I can repay the debt with my body, you know."
Taking half a step forward, Kitahara spoke in a low tone: "What if I take that seriously?"
"Mmh~"
Lifting her delicate chin, Ryo showed no fear whatsoever, stepping forward half a pace herself until only a fist's distance remained between them:
"If it's Kitahara, it's totally fine with me."
Kitahara: "..."
It's just a measly two thousand yen; there's no reason to make someone pay with their body—I'll just treat it as a good deed.
Turning around, Kitahara pushed open the door: "I'm heading to school."
The sun outside shone brilliantly.
The breeze felt crisp and refreshing.
Stepping out behind him, Ryo waved gently, the corners of her lips tilting upward:
"See you tonight."
Kitahara's steps paused:
"What do you mean, see you tonight?"
Tilting her head, Ryo's smile grew even more amused:
"Literally what it means, you know."
"..."
Arriving at the train station, Kitahara took out his phone to kill time while waiting for the train.
Staaare—
Before long, Kitahara noticed someone sneaking peeks at him.
Turning his head, he saw a pink-haired girl with an ahoge atop her head duck back into a corner, clutching the shopping bag in her arms and hurriedly staring down at the tips of her shoes in a panic.
(Ah... I was spotted!)
Hitori's heart pounded relentlessly; she wanted to go up and strike up a conversation, but with so many passing commuters around the station platform, she hesitated in place.
(There are so many people at the station; it would be so nice if there weren't so many...)
(I really miss riding the scooter to school together with Kitahara-san; I don't want to squeeze onto the train at all...)
(But I don't have a driver's license right now; once Kitahara-san gets his memories back, I'll go retake the license exam.)
While lost in wild thoughts, Hitori suddenly felt someone step up in front of her; cautiously raising her small face, her peach-blossom eyes peeked through her bangs, only to see Kitahara standing right before her:
"Gotoh-san, good morning."
Hitori's eyes brightened up instantly as she hurriedly replied in a tiny voice:
"G-good morning..."
(He remembers...)
(We already met outside the café the evening before yesterday...)
"Um, has Kitahara-san eaten breakfast yet?"
Tilting her face up, Hitori's azure eyes brimmed with eager anticipation.
Kitahara originally intended to say he had eaten, but quickly catching on to the longing look on Hitori's face, he cooperated by shaking his head:
"Not yet."
"Breakfast is very important; you can't skip eating..."
Muttering under her breath, Hitori hastily opened the shopping bag in her arms, taking out a loaf of bread and handing it over happily into Kitahara's hands:
"There's milk too; you have to drink milk in the morning..."
"Have another piece of chocolate..."
"..."
Looking at the assortment of food in his hands, an odd look surfaced on Kitahara's face.
Was he just being hand-fed?
"Um..." Hitori's small face flushed red instantly, stammering out a quiet explanation, "T-These are foods close to their expiration dates; they'll go bad if they aren't eaten, and since Kitahara-san hasn't eaten, I gave them all to you."
Kitahara looked down silently at the label on the bread package; the date stamped on it was clearly this morning, with a shelf life of forty-eight hours.
A pastry freshly baked this morning is going to expire an hour later?
Your excuse is completely full of holes!
"Ah... the train is here!"
Hastily changing the topic, Hitori darted away in a puff of smoke.
Kitahara had no choice but to pack the bread and milk into his bag and line up to board the train.
Nothing more happened along the way.
Lazing along for half an hour to reach school, Kitahara entered the school building, changed into his indoor shoes, and prepared to head to the classroom.
Reaching the corner of the hallway, a red-haired girl suddenly stopped him, pressing her palms together and looking over pleadingly:
"Excuse me, could you please do me a favor?"
Kitahara paused: "What's wrong?"
"Just now when I was buying a drink, my coin dropped under the vending machine," the red-haired girl looked over hopefully. "Could you please help me pick up the coin? I can't reach it."
"...No problem."
Kitahara agreed softly.
For a trivial favor that took almost no effort, he naturally wouldn't withhold his help.
Crouching down, Kitahara located the coin's position and quickly retrieved it from beneath the vending machine.
"Thank you so much!"
The red-haired girl cheered, a radiant smile blooming across her face that rivaled the sunshine streaming outside the window.
"I'm Kita Ikuyo from Class 1-C; you seem to be from the class next door, right?"
Kitahara nodded: "I'm Kitahara."
Kita smiled brightly: "Let me buy Kitahara-san a drink, okay?"
"No need to be so polite," Kitahara shook his head in refusal. "It was just a small favor."
"No way!" With hands on her hips, Kita raised her chin. "My mom taught me since I was little to repay kindness with gratitude; Kitahara-san helped so much just now, so of course I have to repay it."
Kitahara was utterly speechless: "Picking up a coin hardly counts as helping that much, right?"
"To me, it's a huge help." Kita swiftly purchased two cans of red bean soup, thrusting one into Kitahara's hand. "Kitahara-san, you must accept it."
"..."
Stowing the red bean soup into his bag, Kitahara continued toward his classroom.
Standing in the hallway, Kita held the red bean soup with both hands, muttering softly under her breath:
"Ryo-senpai actually stole a march; no way, I have to go on the offensive too!"
"..."
"Kitahara-san, good morning."
The moment Kitahara entered the classroom, a cool, pleasant voice rang out.
"Good morning."
Kitahara nodded politely, placed his backpack on his desk, and picked up cleaning supplies to sweep the classroom.
Just as he began, a figure suddenly approached his side, holding a broom as well.
"If I remember correctly, Togawa-san isn't on cleaning duty today, right?"
Kitahara looked over in confusion.
"That's right," Sakiko replied gently with a composed expression. "Kobayashi-san had an errand this morning, so she asked me to help cover cleaning duty."
This was a lie.
The truth was that after school yesterday afternoon, Sakiko had actively sought her out, offering to cover cleaning duty for free today.
"I see."
Kitahara withheld judgment, continuing to sweep the floor with his head down.
Time passed quietly.
With the two of them cleaning together, the classroom was soon spotless.
"Mmh..."
A distressed, soft whimper suddenly reached his ears.
"What's wrong?"
Following the sound, Kitahara turned to look at the blue-haired girl standing on the teacher's podium.
"Just now when wiping the blackboard, chalk dust got into my eye; it hurts so much..." Closing her right eye, Sakiko looked over pitifully. "Kitahara-san, could you please blow into my eye?"
Kitahara: "..."
Isn't blowing into someone's eye a bit too intimate?
You can totally go rinse it yourself!
"Please, it really hurts," Sakiko bowed at a ninety-degree angle, her voice sounding miserable. "Kitahara-san, please help me."
"..."
Kitahara remained silent, merely looking toward the glass window beside them.
In the window's reflection, the lips of the supposedly distressed girl were curved upward slightly—clearly suppressing a giggle.
Chalk dust in her eye?
She was blatantly luring her prey into a trap!