On the streets of the city, a thin, bespectacled middle-aged man dragged his exhausted body along after a full day of work.
"My name is Odajima Saburō. My job title is an unwilling middle manager, and my hobby is eating my way through every ramen shop I can find."
As usual, he came to this out-of-the-way ramen shop—hidden, yet exceptionally delicious.
This place was one of his favorite ramen shops. He could be considered a regular.
When he opened the door and saw a familiar interior—but an unfamiliar figure—Odajima Saburō couldn't help thinking to himself:
[A new customer who just happened to pass by?]
But after seeing where Tanaka Masao was sitting, Odajima Saburō shook his head.
[Choosing the seat right by the entrance… not a wise decision.
That spot has people constantly coming and going. It's the busiest area—definitely not a place where you can calmly enjoy a bowl of ramen.]
Shaking his head, he headed toward his favorite seat.
But after taking only two steps, he heard Tanaka Masao's order:
[Shōyu tonkotsu, light, noodles firm.]
That choice made Odajima Saburō pause. He looked toward Tanaka Masao, visibly surprised.
[He actually ordered this shop's optimal choice… That's the most "gets it" way to order here.
Is this kid a real ramen connoisseur?
Or was it just a coincidence?]
Perhaps sensing Odajima Saburō's gaze, Tanaka Masao turned his head.
The two locked eyes—but with their glasses in the way, neither could actually see the other's eyes clearly.
With perfect tacit understanding, they nodded slightly to each other, then looked away.
[My mistake. I ended up disturbing someone else.]
[Watching the owner make ramen up close is pretty immersive. Kinda enjoyable… I wonder if filming it and posting it online would go viral.]
...
Odajima Saburō sat down, loosely clasping his hands, elbows resting on the counter, and ordered the exact same "optimal choice" as Tanaka Masao.
While watching the ramen owner at work, he also kept an eye on Tanaka Masao out of the corner of his vision.
[Not killing time on his phone, but seriously watching the ramen being made… nice. He really loves ramen.]
The shop was filled only with the sounds of cooking and kitchen utensils.
That quiet didn't last long.
The door opened, and someone walked in.
The newcomer was an extremely cute young girl.
Long pink hair cascaded down her back, a black bow perched on her head. Her slightly chubby cheeks gave her an adorable charm.
A dark green, form-fitting vest outlined a figure far more mature than her cute face suggested.
A white long skirt, on the other hand, radiated youth and innocence.
The girl took a deep breath and broke into a bright, satisfied smile.
"Wow~ it smells so good!"
She skipped inside and sat down at the nearest seat, completely unconcerned that someone was already sitting next to her.
Looking at the girl beside him, Tanaka Masao formed an immediate judgment.
[She's really outgoing.]
The ramen shop wasn't large, but it still had around ten seats.
Tanaka Masao had an empty seat on both his left and right. Odajima Saburō was sitting four or five seats away from him.
Most people would choose a spot with empty seats on both sides to preserve their personal space.
Only someone outgoing—someone not afraid of strangers—would sit wherever without caring about that.
[But I feel like I've seen her somewhere before.]
Pink hair, black bow, great figure, ramen shop...
Just as Tanaka Masao was trying to recall where he'd seen the girl before, Odajima Saburō was also observing her.
His expression didn't change, but his inner thoughts were surprisingly lively.
[Oh my, what a cute little customer. Did she wander in by mistake, thinking this was a cake shop?]
Watching the girl curiously examine the shop, Odajima Saburō thought to himself.
"What would you like to order?"
The owner's calm voice rang out again.
The girl placed a finger against her lips and thought for a moment.
"Let's see… um… shōyu tonkotsu, light."
As she said it with a smile, Odajima Saburō was utterly shocked.
[No way… the shop's optimal choice coming out of a girl like this? A coincidence?
No—thinking about it carefully, judging by the shop's appearance and location, this isn't really a place a young girl would come to alone at this hour.
Could it be… that this woman is from around here?]
The composure of adulthood allowed Odajima Saburō to keep his expression unchanged, despite the turmoil inside.
He simply continued to observe in silence.
[Today's ramen is turning out to be quite interesting.]
With his back to them, the ramen shop owner revealed nothing of his expression. His steady, concise voice sounded as usual.
"How firm would you like the noodles?"
"Hmm… extra-hard."
Odajima Saburō smiled, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
[Extra-hard? Choosing that trendy, almost joking level of firmness? Noodles that hard won't taste very good.
So she's just a normal girl after all—I overestimated her.]
...
[Likes them extra-hard...]
At that moment, Tanaka Masao finally remembered who the girl sitting beside him was.
Fujiwara Chika—from Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.
The series' second female lead.
Codename: [Secretary], member of the Shuchiin Academy Student Council.
Also known as [The Cancer of the Earth].
Her family background was exceptionally powerful—one of her relatives had even served as Prime Minister. In Japan's political world, the Fujiwara family sat firmly at the very top.
Compared to them, Yukinoshita Yukino's father's position as a prefectural assemblyman barely even counted.
As Tanaka Masao recalled the plot of his previous life, the passage of time made his thoughts drift.
Fujiwara Chika, who was tying her hair into a high ponytail, noticed Tanaka Masao staring. She tilted her head and asked, puzzled:
"Um… you've been staring at me. Is something wrong?"
The unfamiliar boy was spacing out while looking at her, but she didn't sense any malice from him—which only made her more curious about what he was thinking.
[Is there something on my face? That can't be it…]
Hearing her voice, Tanaka Masao snapped back to his senses, realizing he'd gotten lost in thought and acted rudely.
[I need to be more careful next time. I can't just instinctively recall info and plot details whenever I run into a character from my past life's anime… or I'll definitely be taken for a weirdo.]
After warning himself internally, Tanaka Masao spoke up to explain.
"Sorry. I just thought you looked kind of familiar—like I'd heard of you somewhere before."
Fujiwara Chika's interest was immediately piqued. Coming from a political family, her intuition was sharp—and she could tell Tanaka Masao wasn't lying.
She asked excitedly,
"Familiar? Does that mean I'm famous? You know me?"
Her eyes widened, brimming with anticipation.
Seeing her reaction, Tanaka Masao knew exactly what he needed to do next.
"Fujiwara Chika—Shuchiin Academy Student Council Secretary. A perfect woman who combines beauty, talent, and intelligence."
"Even as a student from another school, I've heard your name."
Tanaka Masao unleashed a full barrage of shameless praise.
Sure enough, the moment she heard that, Fujiwara Chika's expression visibly filled with satisfaction and happiness.
She stared at Tanaka Masao with eager eyes, as if saying:
[Praise me more.]
"Uh…"
Tanaka Masao broke into a sweat. Left with no choice, he racked his brain and poured out compliments like they were free.
Just as his supply of flattering words was about to run dry, Fujiwara Chika finally seemed satisfied.
She patted Tanaka Masao on the shoulder, propped her face in her hands, swaying back and forth as she said cheerfully,
"Oh my, I'm not that amazing… eheh~"
Tanaka Masao wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh. Looking at her, he couldn't help but complain internally.
[Hah. You say that, but you're clearly loving it, woman.]
He picked up the cup of water beside him and took a sip.
Keeping her satisfied had taken more effort than he'd expected.
Perhaps because his praise hit all the right notes, Fujiwara Chika had already accepted him as a friend.
Snapping out of her smug daze, she asked,
"Oh, right—what's your name?"
"Tanaka Masao."
"Oh, Tanaka-kun! Are you a university student too, Tanaka-kun?"
"Yeah. I go to school over in Chiba."
"Chiba, huh? I've been there lots of times—it's a really nice place."
Chiba was close to Tokyo, and Shuchiin was one of Japan's most famous schools, so Fujiwara Chika didn't question how Tanaka Masao knew who she was.
After all, she was a widely known celebrity—someone from Chiba knowing her was hardly strange.
…Well, at this point, this woman was completely lost in a haze of sweet words.