"Senpai Gotou… that bento of yours… what is it, exactly…?"
Another day of bleeding his life away to work.
When break time finally came, Gotou slipped out the back door. He pulled a book from his bag to use as a cushion on the steps, sat down, then took out a perfectly ordinary-looking bento box.
Just as he was about to lift the lid and recharge his stamina, he heard the door open behind him.
Gotou's body twitched on reflex. He swallowed, then quietly turned his head.
The person who came out was no stranger.
It was his high-school junior—someone who suffered alongside him in this place like a fellow workhorse, a comrade-in-arms of sorts—and lately, they'd even started being able to exchange a few normal sentences.
Her expression looked surprised… and for some reason, strangely grave.
Her beautiful amber eyes were locked onto the bento in his hands as if it weren't a common lunchbox at all, but a priceless treasure that would make countless heroes fight until their skulls cracked.
"Ah… this is…"
Gotou almost said that Gotou Hitori had made it for him especially today.
But then he remembered that, to the outside world, his "setting" for Gotou Hitori was that she was his little sister—so he forcibly swallowed back the name that nearly slipped out: Bocchi.
"It's… my little sister. She knew I'd be working late today… so she got up really early this morning…"
So it was his sister.
Phew…
A close call, desu wa.
Toyokawa Sakiko let out a tiny sigh of relief in her heart.
For a moment, she'd thought it was that girl—Kita—the one not to be underestimated, the one who'd brazenly snatched the initiative yesterday by asking Gotou out first, leaving Sakiko so furious she couldn't sleep all night.
As long as it wasn't her. As long as it wasn't her.
"Toyokawa, do you want some…?"
Sakiko's expression had shifted through multiple emotions in the span of an instant. Gotou remembered how happy she'd looked the last time he'd mentioned treating her to food, and assumed she must be hungry too. He pulled out an extra pair of disposable chopsticks.
"You have school in the daytime and a part-time job in the afternoon. You're working harder than most people… It's better to eat a little now and tide yourself over…"
"Ah—um, don't worry about it tasting bad! My sister is really good at cooking…! She's only been learning for a few days and she can already make all kinds of dishes. She's amazing…!"
Why did this feel like he was bragging about his kid?
Had Senpai become one of those rumored "sister fanatics"…?
Sakiko rubbed her eyes several times before she could accept what she was seeing: the man in front of her—who usually came with that near-permanent shadow effect—looked oddly… radiant.
So that runaway little sister really did have some skills, if she could make Senpai praise her like this.
But that was fine.
It meant Sakiko had gained a useful piece of intel.
If Senpai liked his sister, that meant—indirectly—that he preferred girls with a "younger" vibe.
And Sakiko happened to be younger than Senpai.
That so-called Kita didn't fit this condition.
In terms of age, Sakiko had the advantage.
When Kita turned twenty, Sakiko would only be sixteen.
And when Kita was thirty, Sakiko would still be a young twenty-six.
Hm.
There'd been a small wave of turbulence, but the advantage was still with Sakiko.
No matter how you looked at it, Senpai was the one looking after her right now—inviting her to share dinner. Could Kita do that?
She didn't have that honor.
"Then… thank you for your kindness, Senpai Gotou. I'll remember this favor."
The smug high-school junior had no idea she was already using the "mental victory" method without even realizing it.
But even if she did know, she wouldn't care much.
On one hand, she truly had strong confidence in herself. On the other, she treasured this time alone with Gotou and didn't want to waste her thoughts on anything else.
As Gotou watched Sakiko's mood visibly brighten at an alarming speed, he became even more convinced that she was usually starving.
Under Sakiko's puzzled gaze, he shared some small snacks from his bag with her.
He'd bought them on the way to work today—specifically for Sakiko.
He'd originally planned to find a chance to give them to her after his shift, but since the moment seemed perfect, he gave them to her early.
And just like that, they finished dinner together.
Then came the part of the day that sucked the light out of your eyes—work time again.
Gotou, face numb, tied his apron back on. He remembered how, when he'd first started here, he'd thought the staff uniform looked clean and classy—almost pleasing to the eye.
Now, all he felt was disgust. The moment it was on his body, it steadily drained his life away—as if it weren't fabric at all, but a huge leech latched to him.
I want to get off work early…
Gotou carried plates and delivered dishes with a straight face while screaming internally.
Just then, a few more customers walked in.
As a server, Gotou reflexively lowered his head, bowed, and greeted them from muscle memory.
"Welcome."
And in the very next second—
He heard a voice that turned him to stone on the spot.
"Huh? Isn't this Gotou? No way, running into you the moment we walk in—so lucky!"
A demonic whisper from chaos hovered above his head.
Before Gotou could escape or pretend he didn't know her, the flushed-faced devil holding a bottle slung an arm around his shoulder and pressed her drunk, warm cheek right against him.
Under Toyokawa Sakiko's silent stare—so intense she nearly crushed the tray in her hands—
The demon clung to Gotou like a sloth on a tree, utterly ignoring the stares from other tables, and drawled lazily into his ear.
"Pleeease, Gotou~ I'm broke again, so, all things considered, you should treat your big sister to a meal, okay? I'm begging you—this is the one request of my life—pleaseee—"
"Hiroi-san! I can treat you too! You don't have to keep bothering Gotou!"
Needless to say—
That chaotic demon was Hiroi Kikuri.
And behind her was another girl—pretty and delicate-looking, wearing a beret, sporting twin-tails that were rare these days, her eyes a bit sharp. From the moment she entered, she'd been glaring hard at Gotou.
She clearly hated how Hiroi Kikuri was hanging all over him and kept trying to pull Kikuri back to her side.
"Senpai Gotou, do you need me to… handle this for you?"
At some point, Toyokawa Sakiko had appeared beside Gotou.
Her smile was still polite, but her eyes were ice-cold—like she was looking at corpses—as she looked down at Kikuri and the twin-tailed girl.
She had a worthless adult at home who was basically human sludge, so she instinctively despised all drunkards.
That was why she absolutely couldn't stand Hiroi Kikuri—drunk as a skunk, and hugging Gotou the moment she walked in.
As for the twin-tailed girl—
Just her aggressive attitude toward Gotou was enough for Sakiko to blacklist her instantly.
"I-It's fine…"
Gotou gently shook his head.
These two were old acquaintances. He still got nervous around them, but it was better than serving total strangers.
"Um… Big Sis, and… Ms. Otsuki—(pronounced 'Gui,' first tone)… are there only two of you?"
"Yeah. Just me and Hiroi-san."
The twin-tailed girl—called Otsuki—folded her arms and nodded. Then she looked at Sakiko, who was standing there smiling gently, and turned back to Gotou.
"Who's that?"
"I'm Senpai Gotou's junior."
Before Gotou could answer, Sakiko smoothly stepped in first, placing a hand to her chest and smiling at Otsuki.
"And you, ma'am? Since you know Senpai Gotou, you must be an excellent senior yourself."
Otsuki blinked, completely missing that Sakiko wasn't praising her at all. Her cheeks reddened, and she spoke shyly.
"W-Well… I mean, I'm not bad. If you insist on 'excellent,' I guess it's not wrong…"
Then she shot Gotou a resentful glance, huffed softly, and muttered, "Still not as good as your Senpai Gotou, though."
After that—
Otsuki marched forward on her own.
A moment later, she realized no one was following her. When she turned around, she saw Gotou had already led Hiroi Kikuri to another table, while she was left standing there alone like an idiot, still searching for seats.
So she pretended she'd been heading for the restroom, washed her hands with exaggerated seriousness, and checked herself in the mirror.
Once she confirmed her outfit was flawless—and that she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of her detestable rival, Gotou—
She walked back out, acting calm, ignoring everyone's stares, and headed toward Kikuri, who was already sitting and ordering.
Sakiko quietly watched her pass.
She looked a bit airheaded… but between her outfit and her features, she was undeniably the "strong" type.
A faint sense of danger rose in Sakiko's chest.
Where did this girl even come from?
It sounded like she and Senpai had once competed over something…
In other words—
She was one of Senpai's "old acquaintances," too.
…How unpleasant, desu wa.
Why were there so many old acquaintances?
Was everyone in the world acquainted with Senpai before Sakiko was?
But fine.
This girl didn't seem impressive at all. Compared to Kita—swift and skilled—she was far worse. Her danger level was about… 0.01 Kita, maybe.
Still, Sakiko couldn't let her guard down.
Sakiko didn't fully understand it, but she'd heard stories: sometimes characters who start out as "rivals" or "enemies" end up becoming heroines.
Sakiko needed to confirm whether this woman named Otsuki had such an unforgivable intention.
"Um… Big Sis, and Ms. Otsuki…"
Elsewhere, Gotou—forced into becoming their chatty table-side server—stood by the table with his notepad. Under his heavy bangs, his signature shadow effect had returned.
"If you've finished ordering, then unless you need anything else, I'll—"
"Wait a second, Gotou," Kikuri said with a grin. "You're a server here—don't you have any recommended dishes?"
"…I recommend you go home and eat, Big Sis," Gotou muttered. "Most of what we sell here is just home cooking, but expensive and small portions. I honestly don't recommend spending money here…"
"Oh! There it is—employees trash-talking their own restaurant!" Kikuri laughed, lifting her bottle.
"That's why I said we shouldn't come to a place like this. The food's whatever, and it's far from the live house."
Otsuki glared at Gotou and huffed again, sounding like she was annoyed at him for wasting his potential.
"And there's someone here I don't want to see."
"Ehh? That's so harsh. Look, you totally crushed Gotou," Kikuri said, lowering her gaze to the puddle of misery that was Gotou, seemingly melting on the spot.
Otsuki choked.
All the frustration she'd been piling up inside her disappeared instantly. She could only sit there helplessly, watching Gotou dissolve right in front of her… and she had no idea how to stop it.
"H-Hiroi-san…!! What am I supposed to do now…?!"
"Hm? Just apologize to Gotou like a normal person."
Kikuri pulled out a boxed alcoholic drink from her coat pocket—packaging boldly labeled [Japanese Sake]—poked in a straw with practiced ease, and sipped as she spoke.
"Besides, it's not like you hate Gotou, right?"
"I-I… I don't— I'm not—"
Otsuki froze again.
One sentence from Kikuri wiped out her entire HP bar.
She went rigid in her seat, elbows on the table, hands gripping her forehead, repeating the same line over and over like self-hypnosis.
"I just can't stand how this guy wastes his talent… I just can't stand how this guy wastes his talent… I just can't stand how this guy wastes his talent…"
"Did you hear that, Gotou? Little Otsuki is just worried about you~"
Kikuri grinned wickedly, delighted by the chaos.
Otsuki was about to blurt out something straight from the classic tsundere textbook—Who's worried about this guy?!—
But then she turned her head and saw that Gotou had revived.
He was looking straight at her with those blue eyes she'd never been able to deal with, ever since back then.
"Um… thank you very much for worrying about me… Ms. Otsuki."
"..."
Otsuki hesitated.
Her thin pink lips opened and closed a few times, but in the end she turned her face away, clinging to her pride, and muttered stubbornly under her breath.
"…Hmph. I just think someone like you shouldn't be stuck in a place like this. Don't get the wrong idea."
"But… I do… kind of understand why you lost heart about being in a band… so I won't really say anything…"
Even though I made you my rival.
Even though I risked everything just to beat you once, so Hiroi-san would look at me the way she looks at you.
But when you left the band, I never came to find you even once. I didn't even say a couple words to comfort you…
It feels…
Like I owe you an apology… or something.
"Little Otsuki, you're talking so quietly. Gotou and I can't hear you at all," Kikuri teased.
"…!?"
Otsuki snapped back to her senses a beat too late.
With Kikuri and Gotou both looking at her, her cheeks flared red, and she launched into a reflexive triple-denial.
"I didn't say anything! And I don't have anything to say! If you didn't hear it, then forget it!"
Heh.
No threat at all, after all.
From a distance, Toyokawa Sakiko—who had been secretly observing the entire time—satisfiedly withdrew her gaze.
I worried for nothing.
Japan isn't that big. There can't be that many once-in-a-generation monsters competing with me for Senpai Gotou.
Relax.
Relax, desu wa.
-------
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