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There's an old saying in the anime world: beautiful girls don't go to the bathroom.
But in Akira's view, no matter how beautiful a person is, they're ultimately an ordinary person. Occasionally having an upset stomach and needing to go to the bathroom is perfectly normal.
Take Horikita and Sakura next to him, for example. During breaks, they'd occasionally get up and walk towards the restroom at the end of the corridor.
Of course, when they returned, they always carried a faint fragrance, presumably from using hand soap.
So, saying beautiful girls always carry a pleasant scent isn't without reason.
However, at the moment, Akira had a more practical question on his mind. How to kindly remind the girl who'd just returned to her seat: "Your lunch bento is problematic; eating it will give you a stomach ache."
After all, he didn't want to be glared at five times by her for no reason.
If he made the reminder too light, he was afraid she wouldn't take it seriously. If he made it too strong, it'd seem intentional. He glanced at Horikita to his left.
He couldn't possibly wait for her to finish eating and get a stomach ache, and then silently endure those glares, could he?
"Um... have you been going to the cafeteria less often lately? Why are you still using free ingredients to cook?" Akira asked, feigning nonchalance.
Horikita turned her face to look at him, her tone even. "Because I have to pay off a debt next month."
Five simple words, yet they clearly explained the reason for "saving money."
Only then did Akira belatedly remember. Next month, everyone in Class D had to repay him a considerable amount of points.
Horikita probably didn't know that he was the one behind this, did she?
He composed himself, trying to make his tone sound natural. "I went to the convenience store yesterday and saw some free ingredients that were past their expiration date. Seeing that you brought a bento, if you used those ingredients, it's best not to eat it."
She turned her head, her eyebrow slightly raised, her eyes filled with undisguised suspicion. "? With your personality, would you just leave expired free ingredients like that? Wouldn't you inform the staff to deal with them on the spot?"
"..." Akira raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected her to be so accurate about his way of doing things.
Horikita, however, seemed to have seen through something, and inexplicably sighed softly. "...I understand. At noon, I'll share some of my bento with you, and I won't charge you points this time."
"That's not what I meant at all!" Akira was stunned and immediately speechless.
"...Still stubborn."
"You really misunderstood."
"...Hmph." Horikita scoffed softly, the breathy sound containing a hint of "I've seen through you long ago" understanding. After saying that, she turned back to continue reading, clearly not intending to argue with him further.
"Fine, you won't listen, right? Don't blame me if you get a stomach ache later." Seeing her like this, Akira immediately gave up the idea of continuing to persuade her.
He genuinely wanted to remind her, but why was he treated as a "greedy little cat craving bento"?
This person was just like her brother. Sometimes, her stubbornness was truly baffling.
...
When it was lunchtime, Akira got up and went to the cafeteria, ordered a tomato and egg rice bowl, and had just sat down when he saw Horikita approaching with a tray. She seemed even more decisive than him, walking straight to the opposite side and openly pulling out a chair.
Then, she took out her bento box and gently placed it on the table to open it.
Akira couldn't help but glance at it.
To be fair, Horikita's bento was very neatly prepared. The left half was perfectly separated white rice, and the right side was neatly arranged with sausage slices, stir-fried cabbage, and chicken pieces. In the corner, there were also a few bright red cherry tomatoes, looking fresh and crisp.
"Push your rice over a bit." Horikita noticed his gaze, and when she looked up, her chopsticks were already tightly clasped in her hand, her tone not exactly gentle.
Akira withdrew his gaze and took a bite of his own tomato and egg rice. "No, thank you."
But he was secretly pondering. The ingredients in the bento looked fresh, the rice grains were separate, and the color of the sausage and chicken pieces was normal, but after all, it was information, and it had never lied to him before.
"Why are you so wishy-washy today?" Horikita frowned, a clear hint of displeasure in her eyes. "It's not like I'm not giving it to you."
In her impression, Akira had always been straightforward and had never beaten around the bush like this.
It was the same at the barbecue restaurant last time. Almost all the meat she grilled ended up in his stomach.
Akira was startled, and seeing the persistence in her eyes, he suddenly changed his mind.
True, a bento delivered to his doorstep, he might as well eat it. Anyway, he was in great health and had no need to worry about an upset stomach.
"Okay." He pushed his tray towards the middle. "Then you can share some with me. But fair warning: I have a good physique, so even if I eat something not fresh, I can handle it. You, however... might not be so lucky."
This was half teasing, half warning. He stared at Horikita's open bento box, waiting to see if she'd pay more attention because of this "warning."
Horikita's fingertips, holding the chopsticks, paused for a moment. Her glance at him was like looking at someone who was being tsundere. "You mean you want me to give you more?"
Despite her words, she still scooped a few chicken pieces, cherry tomatoes, and some cabbage with a spoon, steadily placing them on his rice.
She divided a full one-third of her portion.
The oily aroma of the chicken pieces mixed with the steam from the rice wafted over. Akira looked at the plump cherry tomatoes. Their skins were smooth, and their stems still had fresh green, truly not looking problematic.
"All the ingredients in your bento, they're all from the free section of the convenience store, right?" he asked, stirring his rice, feigning nonchalance.
"Otherwise?" Horikita picked up some cabbage from her bowl. "It's better than you eating at the cafeteria every meal."
"Oh?" Akira looked up, meeting her averted gaze. "Then the sausages in your bento, were they also freebies from yesterday?"
She didn't answer, just stuffed a large mouthful of rice into her mouth.
Akira didn't press further, lowering his head to finish the chicken, tomatoes, and cabbage in his bowl, thinking that if he really heard something amiss in the afternoon, at least he could confirm it wasn't his imagination.
As lunch break neared its end, Horikita packed her unfinished bento into its container. Her steps seemed to falter for a moment as she stood up, but she quickly straightened her back and walked out, her silhouette looking no different from usual.
Akira watched her retreating figure, couldn't help but narrow his eyes, and quickly caught up, walking alongside her.
"Is your stomach feeling a bit uncomfortable?"
"...You're mistaken." Horikita's tone was very steady, and she indeed seemed fine.
"Really? If you need to go to the restroom, hurry up and go." He pressed again.
"My bento absolutely cannot have a problem! I won't go to the restroom for such a small matter." She raised her voice slightly, as if emphasizing, or perhaps cheering herself on, but her steps unconsciously quickened a bit.