Neither Megumi nor Yui had expected the other to ask exactly the same question, so before the words had even fully left their mouths, they were already looking at each other with faintly puzzled, speculative expressions.
Of course, the most confused person was still Yukino Yukinoshita. She had originally planned to wait until Kotomi finished eating before asking that question, but unexpectedly, Kotomi hadn't even finished her meal yet when Yui and Megumi beat her to it and asked exactly what she had wanted to ask.
Or rather, Yukino could understand Yui asking first. After all, she knew perfectly well that Yui and Kotomi were dating.
But why had Megumi asked first too?
Yukino Yukinoshita was deeply puzzled, yet she didn't know how to ask about it. She had this persistent feeling in her heart, though she couldn't tell whether it was intuition or merely an illusion, that the moment she asked the question aloud, peace and quiet would disappear from her life for a very long time.
Even Yukino felt that this feeling of hers was absurdly exaggerated. Could Megumi possibly be dating Kotomi too? Still, out of caution, Yukino decided not to say anything.
Yukino was puzzled inside, while Kotomi was nervous inside!
The moment she heard Megumi and Yui ask at the same time, Kotomi Izumi's heartbeat instinctively sped up.
Fortunately, Mashiro Shiina had gone to the faculty office to get lunch from her cousin Chihiro Sengoku. Otherwise, if Mashiro had joined Megumi and Yui in asking the same question, Kotomi would have been even more nervous!
Kotomi Izumi secretly took a deep breath and adjusted her emotions before deliberately putting on a smug expression and saying:
"It's pretty good. It's almost reached my level. I'm not bragging, but my cooking skills could be called the best in the world! It's just that I'm a low-key person who doesn't like showing off. Otherwise, if I casually demonstrated my skills at some cooking competition, my cooking alone would shock the entire world! From then on, I'd sit atop the throne of the world's number one chef and reign supreme through the ages!"
Kotomi Izumi's shameless boasting instantly amused Megumi and Yui, and the tiny bit of jealousy that had begun to rise in their hearts faded considerably along with it.
Kotomi Izumi had said all of that on purpose. As long as she could redirect Megumi and Yui's attention first, everything else would be much easier to handle.
There was really no helping it. Given the current situation, Kotomi Izumi couldn't think of any better method. All she could do was first shift Megumi and Yui's attention away from the bento and onto herself.
The reason she had deliberately said, "It's almost reached my level," before launching into a wild round of self-praise was also to subtly compliment Yukino on how genuinely delicious her braised eggplant was.
Originally, Kotomi Izumi had thought up a whole pile of expressions in her head to praise Yukino's braised eggplant because it truly was delicious. But with Yui and Megumi both beside her at this very moment, even if someone gave Kotomi Izumi ten times the courage, she still wouldn't dare lavishly praise another girl right in front of Megumi.
If only Yui were here, it would have been fine. Kotomi wouldn't have worried much. Even if she accidentally praised another girl too enthusiastically and made Dumpling a little unhappy, Kotomi was confident she could immediately coax Dumpling back into a good mood.
After all, coaxing Dumpling didn't require some flawless, airtight explanation. Kotomi only needed to casually say a few sweet things and she'd be able to cheer Dumpling right back up.
"All right, that's enough showing off. Hurry up and eat."
Yukino Yukinoshita said with a soft laugh. She had also understood that Kotomi was indirectly praising how good her cooking tasted. Although she hadn't gotten to hear Kotomi praise her without restraint, Yukino was still quite satisfied. She believed the reason Kotomi hadn't praised her too enthusiastically was because Yui Yuigahama was standing nearby.
Kotomi had only praised her so subtly because she didn't want Yui to get jealous.
Next time I cook for Kotomi, I absolutely have to make sure she comes to my house alone!
Yukino Yukinoshita silently made up her mind.
The dish was rich and fragrant, perfect with rice.
Paired with the omurice, Kotomi Izumi quickly finished the entire bento.
Although Yukino stubbornly insisted that she had only accidentally made an extra serving, the bento box was obviously the largest size sold at supermarkets, and both the omurice and braised eggplant were packed to the brim. If Kotomi still couldn't tell that Yukino had made it especially for her, then she really would have been hopelessly dense.
Kotomi Izumi wiped her little mouth with a tissue and said with satisfaction:
"Thanks for the meal~"
"Are you full?"
Yukino Yukinoshita asked with some concern. Even though she had specifically chosen an extra-large bento box for Kotomi and deliberately packed plenty of food into it, Yukino was still worried that Kotomi hadn't eaten enough.
Faced with Yukino's earnest gaze, Kotomi Izumi could only smile awkwardly and say sheepishly:
"My stomach is telling me I'm still just a little short of being full..."
Even though she had eaten every last grain of rice from the bento box, Kotomi still didn't feel full!
Originally, Kotomi had been too embarrassed to say so. She had planned to go mooch some snacks off Chihiro Sengoku near the end of lunch break. But with Yukino staring at her so earnestly while asking, Kotomi somehow felt too embarrassed to lie and could only tell the truth.
"Hehe... Kotomi has a really huge appetite, you know. If you actually want to fill her up with bentos, you'd need at least a dozen more boxes of the same size."
Yui Yuigahama said with a giggle, her tone carrying a faint hint of pride, almost as though she were saying, I manage to fill Kotomi up every time.
Before Yukino Yukinoshita even had time to speak, Megumi Kato was already looking at Yui with a soft smile, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"So, Yui, you know Kotomi's appetite very well?"
"Of course. I've cooked for Kotomi lots of times and made her desserts lots of times too. I know Kotomi's tastes and appetite better than anyone!" Yui Yuigahama nodded, sounding even prouder than before.
"Oh, really?"
After Megumi Kato said that evenly, she looked toward Kotomi with a faint smile, as though she were asking Yui and Kotomi at the same time:
"I had no idea you'd cooked for Kotomi so many times, Yui. How come I'm only finding out about this today?"
The smell of gunpowder was already teetering on the verge of explosion!
What was Kotomi Izumi doing?
Kotomi Izumi was about to cry from fear.
She hadn't expected something as simple as eating lunch to be this full of danger. The slightest misstep could trigger another battlefield of romance.
At the critical moment, Kotomi waited for a hero to appear!
"Kotomi, do you want pork trotter noodles?"
Mashiro Shiina walked into the classroom carrying a tray with two enormous bowls of ramen on it.
The aroma was so rich that even though Mashiro Shiina had only just stepped through the doorway and hadn't come over yet, Kotomi Izumi could already smell the pork trotter noodles from her seat.
"Yes!"
Kotomi Izumi accepted without the slightest hesitation. Setting aside the fact that one look at such a huge bowl of pork trotter noodles made it obvious Mashiro had brought it for her, there was also the fact that Kotomi had finally gotten a chance to redirect everyone's attention. How could she possibly let it slip away?
Mashiro Shiina carefully carried the tray over to her seat, then handed Kotomi the bowl with the biggest pork trotter and the most noodles.
"Mashiro, why is lunch so extravagant today?"
Kotomi Izumi asked as she took the bowl of pork trotter noodles.
"My cousin got hooked after eating pork trotter rice last Saturday, so she signed up for a membership card at that restaurant. Today, the restaurant happened to be holding a Crazy Monday event where pork trotter noodles were half price, so she bought two bowls. After I found out, I asked her to buy another one for you."
Mashiro Shiina looked at Kotomi and explained with complete seriousness.
"Thank you!"
After hearing that, Kotomi Izumi was incredibly touched. Sure enough, all the affection she'd lavished on Mashiro hadn't been wasted!
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