Chapter 14
Lunch
The fourth period ended, and it was lunchtime. At this school, we’re free to eat wherever we like.
Some eat in the classroom, some in clubrooms, and some in the cafeteria.
I usually push my desk together with Seiya Kaminagi and eat my lunch.
Since we’re in different courses, we usually end up eating with people from the same course.
One class has forty students total, a mix of the Advanced Course, the General Course, and the Athletics Course, but the classes differ by course. So even if you’re in the same homeroom, unless it’s for things like start/end of the day or school events, there’s little interaction if your courses are different.
That’s why I spend most of my time with Seiya, who’s in the same class, the same course, and the same gender as me. Also, the rest of the Advanced Course students are girls.
As Seiya and I spread out our lunch boxes… I noticed a girl approaching timidly from afar.
“Um… excuse me…”
“Kana.”
“Yumisaki-san.”
Kana Yumisaki was hiding something behind her back, fidgeting as if embarrassed. Maybe because of her neat features, the gesture came across as cute.
Her bangs were neatly trimmed, and her straight black hair, cut to shoulder length, gave off an impression of honesty.
But… honesty doesn’t always serve well, depending on the situation. Standing at about 150 centimeters, her small frame sometimes made her seem terribly fragile.
Like… when she had to eat with a group made up entirely of boys.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh, well…”
Seiya wasn’t the type to notice such things… so I had to step in.
“Ah, right—those two are absent today. If you like, why don’t you join us?”
“Th-thank you, Yamada-san.”
“So that’s what it was.”
Yumisaki-san is in the same class and Advanced Course as me and Seiya. There are usually three Advanced Course girls in our class, but both of the other two are absent today.
Normally, the five of us from the same class eat together, so with just us two boys left, it must’ve been hard for her to approach. For the record, if Seiya weren’t here, I’d definitely bail—eating with three girls is impossible for me.
Yumisaki-san pulled her desk over and joined us. The three of us opened our lunch boxes.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Seiya doesn’t talk much. Yumisaki-san is also on the quieter side. At times like this, the absence of those two chatterboxes really stands out.
Well, guess I’ll have to start the conversation.
“So, Yumisaki-san, how was your summer break? Did you go anywhere?”
“I studied in my room.”
Yep. Conversation over.
That’s how it usually goes when I talk to girls—unless it’s Tsukuyo.
“How about you, Kaminagi-san? Ready for next month’s proficiency test?”
“As usual. Nothing special.”
“This time, I won’t lose… um, well…”
Yumisaki-san set her chopsticks down, hesitating as her cheeks flushed. Her words came out awkwardly, like she was trying to test the waters.
“Hm?”
“If… if I win this time… No, never mind.”
She had started to direct her words at Seiya, but when their eyes met, she quickly looked away.
These two have held the number one and two spots in the Advanced Course since our first year. Yumisaki-san, ranked second, has always seen Seiya as her rival.
With summer classes over, the September proficiency test is just around the corner. Their relationship really revolves around academics.
Hah… for me, a regular in the twenties, that whole world feels light-years away.
And to add more context—Yumisaki-san likes Seiya. A lot happened at the end of our first year, but… I’ll leave it at that for now.
At that moment, the classroom stirred with excitement. All three of us—me, Seiya, and Yumisaki—turned our eyes toward the entrance, where the voice came from.
A girl with chestnut-colored hair walked in holding a lunch box. It was none other than the school’s number one beauty, the academy’s own Princess Kaguya—Tsukuyo Kaminagi.
“It’s Princess Kaguya!”
“She’s so cute!”
“I want to marry her!”
Even from where we sat, we could hear the boys swooning over Tsukuyo’s charm.
Traditionally, the top student at entrance exams gives the incoming class address. Tsukuyo delivered it with her enchanting smile, instantly capturing the hearts of the second- and third-year boys.
And the fact that she’s the younger sister of Seiya—the most popular boy in school—only fueled the fire.
“Hello, Kana-san!”
“Yes, and you look well too, Tsukuyo-san.”
Tsukuyo fetched a chair from an empty desk and set it beside the cluster of our joined desks.
Then she sat down right next to me. Why here? Why not by Seiya’s or Yumisaki’s desk?
“My friends are absent today, so it felt awkward… so I came here.”
She usually eats lunch with her childhood friends from the same grade, but since they’re in different courses, they weren’t at school today.
So she made the special effort to join us instead. Still, the stares we were getting were intense. Well, it’s no wonder—Tsukuyo really is cute.
“Eating with Taiyō~ Eating together~”
Smiling brightly, Tsukuyo opened her lunch box beside me while softly singing. And I couldn’t help thinking—if every day’s lunch were like this, it’d be a lot more fun.
