On the city streets, a thin, middle-aged man wearing glasses walked, dragging his tired body after a day of work.
"My name is Ota Jima Saburo, my job is an unwilling middle manager, and my hobby is eating at every ramen shop."
As usual, he came to this secluded, yet incredibly delicious ramen shop.
This shop was one of his favorite ramen shops, and he was quite a regular.
Opening the door, Ota Jima Saburo saw an unfamiliar figure and couldn't help but think to himself.
"Is it a new customer who just happened to pass by?"
However, looking at the seat Tanaka Masao was in, Ota Jima Saburo shook his head.
"Choosing the seat by the door, how unwise.
This spot is where customers come and go, the place with the most foot traffic, and not a good place to enjoy ramen in peace."
He shook his head and walked towards his favorite seat.
He had only taken two steps when he heard Tanaka Masao order, "Soy sauce tonkotsu, light, with firm noodles."
This choice made Ota Jima Saburo pause, and he looked at Tanaka Masao, a little surprised.
"He actually ordered the optimal solution for this shop. This is the most understanding way to order. Could this kid be a ramen connoisseur?
Or is it just a coincidence?"
Perhaps sensing Ota Jima Saburo's gaze, Tanaka Masao turned his head and looked over.
Their eyes met, but due to their glasses, neither could see the other's eyes.
They nodded in tacit agreement and then looked away.
Ota Jima Saburo: "My mistake, I actually disturbed someone else."
Tanaka Masao: "It's quite enjoyable to immerse myself in watching the boss make ramen. I wonder if a video of this would go viral online."
...
Ota Jima Saburo sat down, his hands loosely clasped, elbows on the table, and ordered the exact same optimal solution as Tanaka Masao.
While observing the ramen boss making ramen, his peripheral vision was on Tanaka Masao.
"He's not playing on his phone to pass the time, but intently watching the boss make ramen. Not bad, he's someone who loves ramen."
Only the sounds of the boss making ramen and the kitchen utensils remained in the ramen shop.
This tranquility did not last long before it was broken.
The shop door opened, and a figure walked in.
The newcomer was a very cute young girl.
Her long pink hair cascaded down, a black bow adorned her head, and her slightly chubby cheeks exuded cuteness.
A dark green fitted vest outlined a mature figure that didn't match her cute face.
Her white long skirt, however, revealed youth and beauty.
The girl took a deep breath, a satisfied, bright smile on her face.
"Wow~, it smells so good."
She skipped in, sitting directly in the closest seat, completely oblivious to the person next to her.
Looking at the girl sitting next to him, Tanaka Masao made an assessment.
"She's a very outgoing girl."
Although the ramen shop wasn't large, there were about ten seats.
Tanaka Masao had an empty seat on either side, while Ota Jima Saburo was seated four or five seats away from Tanaka Masao.
A normal person would definitely choose a spot with empty seats on both sides to ensure their personal space.
Only outgoing, unafraid people would sit anywhere, not caring about such things.
"But I feel like I've seen her somewhere."
Pink hair, black bow, good figure, ramen shop...
Just as Tanaka Masao was pondering where he had seen the girl next to him.
Ota Jima Saburo was also observing the arriving girl.
His expression remained unchanged, but his internal thoughts were quite rich.
"Oh dear, what a cute little customer. Perhaps she meant to go into a cake shop and got the wrong place."
Watching the girl curiously look around the shop, Ota Jima Saburo thought to himself.
"What would you like to order?"
The boss's steady voice rang out again.
The girl put her finger to her lips, thinking.
"For this, um… soy sauce tonkotsu, light."
As the girl smiled and gave her answer, Ota Jima Saburo was stunned.
"How is this possible? The shop's optimal solution actually came out of such a young girl's mouth. Is it a coincidence?
No, if I think about it, given this shop's appearance and location, it's not the kind of place a young girl would come to alone at this time.
Could this woman be from around here?"
The maturity of an adult meant that even though Ota Jima Saburo was shocked internally, his expression didn't change much.
He just quietly paid attention to the situation.
"This ramen meal today is very interesting."
The ramen shop boss had his back to the few people, making his expression unreadable, and his usual steady, concise voice rang out.
"And the firmness of the noodles?"
"Well, super firm."
Ota Jima Saburo smiled and at the same time breathed a sigh of relief.
"Super firm? To choose such a trendy, playful firmness. Noodles that firm won't taste very good. Sure enough, she's just an ordinary young girl. I overestimated her."
...
"Likes super firm..."
At this moment, on the other side, Tanaka Masao finally remembered who the girl sitting next to him was.
Fujiwara Chika, the second female lead from "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – The Geniuses' War of Love and Brains."
Code-named "Secretary," a member of the Shuchiin student council.
Known as "Earth's Cancer."
Her family background was quite prominent, having produced a prime minister, placing them at the top tier of the Japanese political world.
Yukinoshita Yukino's father, a prefectural assembly member, was nothing compared to the Fujiwara family.
Tanaka Masao recalled the plot from his previous life, and because it had been a long time, he was a bit lost in thought.
Fujiwara Chika, who was tying her hair into a high ponytail, noticed Tanaka Masao, tilted her head, and asked with some confusion.
"Um, are you looking at me for something?"
This unfamiliar boy in front of her was staring at her blankly, but she didn't feel any malice from him, which made Fujiwara Chika a little curious about what he was thinking.
"Do I have something dirty on my face? No way."
Hearing Fujiwara Chika's words, Tanaka Masao snapped back to reality, realizing he had been too lost in thought and was being a bit rude.
"I need to be careful next time. I can't just instinctively recall information and plot details about characters from anime in my previous life when I meet them, or I might be seen as a weirdo."
After a mental warning to himself, Tanaka Masao began to explain.
"Sorry, I just thought you looked a bit familiar, like I'd heard of you somewhere."
Fujiwara Chika became interested upon hearing this. As someone from a political family, her intuition was always sharp, and she could tell that Tanaka Masao wasn't lying.
Fujiwara Chika asked with some excitement.
"Familiar? Am I famous? Do you know me?"
She widened her eyes, full of anticipation.
Looking at Fujiwara Chika, Tanaka Masao knew what he should do next.
"Fujiwara Chika, the Shuchiin student council secretary, a perfect woman who combines beauty, talent, and wisdom.
Even though I'm a student from another school, I've heard of your name."
Tanaka Masao showered her with compliments.
Sure enough, upon hearing Tanaka Masao's words, Fujiwara Chika's expression visibly showed satisfaction and happiness.
She looked at Tanaka Masao with anticipation, as if saying.
"Praise me more."
"Uh…"
Tanaka Masao was a bit embarrassed and could only rack his brains, spewing out flattering words as if they were free.
Just as Tanaka Masao's mind was almost drained of all the nice things he could think of, Fujiwara Chika was finally satisfied.
She patted Tanaka Masao's shoulder, cupped her cheeks with her hands, swaying back and forth, and said with a satisfied expression.
"Oh, I'm not as good as you say, hehe~"
Tanaka Masao wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath. Looking at Fujiwara Chika's expression, he couldn't help but inwardly complain.
"Heh, saying that, but she's still very pleased, women."
Tanaka Masao picked up the water glass next to him and took a sip.
He had worked quite hard to satisfy her.
Perhaps Tanaka Masao's compliments resonated with Fujiwara Chika, as she had already accepted him as a friend.
Snapping out of her smugness, she asked.
"By the way, I haven't asked for your name yet."
"Tanaka Masao."
"Oh, it's Tanaka-kun. Is Tanaka-kun also a university student?"
"That's right, I study in Chiba."
"Chiba, I've been there many times, it's a very nice place."
Chiba is very close to Tokyo, and since Shuchiin is one of Japan's most famous architectural schools, Fujiwara Chika wasn't surprised how Tanaka Masao knew her.
After all, she was a well-known public figure, so it wasn't strange for people in Chiba to recognize her.
Well, this woman had already been so charmed by the sweet talk that she was completely disoriented.