[Yare yare, I didn't expect that after sleeping, it's already dusk.]
Looking at the sun having set behind the mountains, turning everything to twilight, Saiki Kusuo sat up from the sofa.
[Seriously, I haven't even bought ingredients yet.]
Since he had just moved into this apartment and fell asleep right after putting things away, he had not bought any food. The refrigerator was completely empty.
Moreover, he had just discovered that the supermarket downstairs had a special sale on coffee jelly. The sale was about to end soon, so he needed to hurry and buy some.
Saiki Kusuo stood up, his mind completely filled with thoughts of coffee jelly. He quickly went to the entrance, put on his shoes, and rushed out the door.
At the stairwell, a girl with flaxen-colored hair was happily turning the corner while carrying groceries and daily necessities.
The next second, she saw Saiki Kusuo about to collide with her. In a panic, her left foot tripped, and her right foot lunged forward as she began to fall.
[Oh no.]
Seeing that he was about to crash into the girl, Saiki Kusuo forcibly changed his trajectory. He jumped with both feet, spun two full circles in the air, glanced backward with a flash in his eyes. The girl suddenly felt as if someone had tugged on the back collar of her clothes from behind. She steadied herself and stood safely. Saiki successfully leaped over the girl and landed at the stairwell entrance on both feet.
"Huh?" The flaxen-haired girl, after feeling the tug, had an expression that said "what just happened?" (*°▽°)ﾉ
Just as Saiki Kusuo was getting up, the flaxen-haired girl stood and walked over to him with concern.
"Um... are you okay? I'm really sorry. It happened so suddenly earlier, and I got nervous and accidentally..."
[It's fine. This isn't your fault. I was running too fast.]
(Even though I was the one rushing down the hallway too fast and almost hit someone, why are you the one apologizing?)
After saying that, Saiki Kusuo turned and left. Now was not the time for this kind of thing.
"What a strange person." With that, the girl turned around, carrying her daily necessities and groceries, and headed back toward her own home.
(I'm not the strange one.)
...
Twenty minutes later, Saiki Kusuo returned home carrying two bags of coffee jelly and two bags of groceries.
[Yare yare, I almost missed it. Good thing I made it in time. Sure, I could eat convenience store bentos, but home-cooked is healthier. And the coffee jelly is the main priority anyway.]
Saiki Kusuo held the coffee jelly with a blissful smile on his face as he walked to the refrigerator and put it inside.
[Although I want to eat it right now, it's better to wait until after dinner. After all, it's a dessert for after the meal.]
He turned, grabbed an apron and headscarf, picked up the groceries, and headed to the kitchen.
A while later, Saiki Kusuo came out carrying three dishes and one soup.
[Itadakimasu!] Saiki Kusuo put his hands together and began to eat slowly, savoring each bite.
Since it was just something casual, and the ingredients were nothing special, it was probably at the level of a four-star chef.
Though star ratings are usually only for restaurants...
After all, his cooking skills had reached max level just from casually making meals. Even at the Saiki household or when eating at Grandpa's, the top chefs' dishes were not as good as his, though he himself thought they were about the same.
But usually at home, he did not cook himself because he was lazy. He only cooked when he was in a good mood.
He had even won first place in a cooking contest before (one held at home). If he went all out at 100% strength, he could make dishes that glowed like in anime. It looked a bit weird, though in the past he had only seen that effect in Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma.
(When I first started making glowing food, it shocked people quite a bit. In the end, I used my powers to make everyone think it was completely normal, which made things better.)
He had checked around online and found no Totsuki Academy or Nakiri Erina, so he figured he was not in that "clothes-exploding from delicious food" world. He was not sure which anime world this was.
A long time ago, Saiki was only a half-otaku anime viewer. He had not watched many shows. He mostly liked scrolling through videos, watching cosplays or cute girl edits, and joining in calling them "waifu." He basically only looked at the characters and not the plot.
Thinking about it now, the girl he just ran into earlier looked a little familiar, like he had seen her somewhere before.
He tried to recall for a while, then lay back on the sofa and closed his eyes.
(Whatever, I can't remember, so I won't think about it. Tomorrow school starts, and a new life begins.)
————
In the morning, after finishing breakfast, Saiki Kusuo quickly changed into his school uniform and stood in front of the mirror to fix his appearance.
[Hm, perfect. This should do.]
Looking at his still fairly "normal" self in the mirror, he let out a sigh.
Was Saiki Kusuo ugly? Definitely not. Was he good-looking? Definitely yes, though his unusual outfit probably lowered his attractiveness a bit.
But this red-and-green combination could only look this ordinary when worn by him.
Pink hair paired with green glasses, plus two antenna-like things stuck on his head. Anyone walking down the street like this would definitely be seen as weird.
But it was fine. This was a normal outfit. Very reasonable.
What, you think it's unreasonable? No problem. Saiki Kusuo could make you think it was reasonable using his powers.
After locking the doors and windows, Saiki left. Outside, he saw the girl from yesterday. (Hm? It's that girl from yesterday. She's wearing the same school uniform as me. Same school? That's way too much of a coincidence.)
He remembered there were many schools in the area. He never expected the girl he bumped into yesterday to be from the same one.
Then Saiki Kusuo headed out to school without thinking much more about it. After all, the school was quite large with lots of students. It was impossible they would be in the same class.
"No!!" A girl with pink hair that barely reached her shoulders, tied into a cute bun, shouted.
She was holding her dog's leash as they stepped onto the road. A car was coming from the opposite direction. Nearby, a boy wearing the Sobu High uniform was about to rush out for a heroic dog rescue.
(Yare yare, even with a kind heart, you can't throw away your own safety like that.)
Suddenly, the boy froze in place, unable to move. Then the dog leaped into a backflip, spinning two full circles in the air, dodging the car. Under everyone's shocked gazes, it landed safely and returned to the girl's side.
"Ah!"
While everyone was still stunned, Saiki lowered his hand, quietly stepped back behind the crowd.
Or rather, he positioned himself to shield the crowd from behind and then vanished.
——————
"Cats are so cute, I'm totally obsessed. You love cats too, right? They feel so nice to pet."
On the road, he saw several female high school students playing with a cat. They were gently stroking its fur in a very heartwarming scene, but in reality [Stop touching me, you human female creatures.]
That's right, that was the cat's inner voice.
Saiki Kusuo looked over at a dog being walked nearby. The dog looked happy, wagging its tail energetically, but [Kill, kill, kill everyone around, won't spare any, release me from this restraint.]
Okay, fine. Even though dogs looked smart and cats seemed affectionate, in Saiki Kusuo's eyes, this was how they really were.
Because of telepathy, he could hear animals' inner voices, so he could not like cats and dogs the way normal people did. Not to mention with clairvoyance on, if he wanted to see their normal appearance, he had to keep blinking constantly. Otherwise, he would only see skeletons.
His impression of cats and dogs was too vague. He could not even answer what his favorite animal was.
Meow meow meow!
While walking, he suddenly heard a cat cry from above his head. Saiki Kusuo looked up.