kscans

Chapter 287 - A Seat Beside Me

"—Thank you for waiting. Here is the swimming crab in tomato sauce."

"………………"

"And this is the spring saury and rapeseed flower aglio e olio."

"Thank you."

When five university students get together and make a ruckus, time flies by in an instant.

The afternoon soon turned to evening, and about an hour ago, I had to turn down my friends' invitation for dinner because I 'unfortunately had a prior engagement'—in just that short amount of time, 'ordinary' had transformed into 'extraordinary.'

The location was my new home, the apartment building, and its attached private restaurant. Although it was a cozy establishment, its elegant and calm atmosphere was more than enough to create a sense of being 'cut off from the world'….

Well, I'm done with the 'extraordinary' part. I've finally accepted my current situation where the ordinary has become a rarity. I'll even swallow the fact that the world's most famous person is casually sitting next to me.

However—

"…………What are you doing?"

This man, Chitose Kazuharu, who was acting as both waiter and chef with a perfectly natural expression, who on earth was he?

I sat down, rang the bell, and he was summoned from somewhere.

"What do you mean, what am I doing? It's as you see. Even with the facilities, we can't hire outsiders into this building."

"Then you shouldn't have attached a restaurant in the first place…"

"It wasn't originally a restaurant, just a large kitchen. When we were preparing for our 'residents,' we renovated it to provide meal services."

Needless to say, those residents are none other than us. I'll say it as many times as I have to, this VIP treatment is going too far, it's scary.

"Now, you can chat while you eat, can't you?"

Freshly made is the most delicious—well, that's true.

"Well then… I'll dig in."

"I'll dig in."

Together, we put our hands together before the pasta served to us and picked up our forks.

It wasn't that the restaurant specialized in Italian; we had just chosen from the 'specials of the day' he had listed—

"…W-Wait a minute. Who are you, really…?"

"Oh, and in which sense do you mean that?"

In the positive sense, you bastard… What is this, it's incredibly delicious. To the level where I'd suspect this is your actual profession.

"It's delicious."

"I am most honored, Princess."

While I was left speechless after one bite, this princess was in her own world.

Iris, who had taken the seat next to me despite it not being a counter, was munching on her pasta with a content, blank expression.

Perhaps it was her dining style, her beautiful black hair was tied up in a stunning ponytail, revealing the nape of her white neck, which was quite dazzling—but let's set that aside.

I'd never heard of spring saury before. I wonder how it differs from the autumn variety.

"…Yeah, well. It's honestly delicious."

"You're welcome. To let you in on the secret, my previous job was as a chef. I just continued to hone my skills as a hobby after being picked up by Yotsuya."

Ah, I see. So you're a former professional. Even so, I think that's some serious skill for someone so young…

"Now then… It's only been a day since yesterday, so I'm sure you still have much to talk about. Feel free to call me if you'd like to order anything else, and I'll take my leave—"

"No, stay here."

—And so, as Chitose-san was about to leave after placing the drinks we had ordered with our meal, Iris stopped him.

I was only invited last night to 'talk about what's to come' and don't know the details, but is he involved too?

…As an aside, you eat a lot, Princess.

Isn't that a large portion, or rather, a massive one? The size of the plate itself is different from mine.

"…?"

She must have noticed me glancing at her. Our eyes met for a moment, and she tilted her head slightly—

"—Want a taste?"

"W-Wait a sec…!"

With a composed expression, she offered me a fork with a neat twirl of pasta.

Seriously, I'm so sorry, but please give me a break.

I appreciate the consideration, like using a spare piece of silverware and skillfully twirling the pasta to include all the ingredients. I really do, but—

"Here."

"No, don't 'here' me, I mean…!"

That consideration was completely canceled out by this earnest 2D-world-killing move (the 'here, say aah')!

"Haha, what's the big deal? I'm not looking at anything."

"Could you say that after closing your eyes or turning away?!"

And on top of that, the princess is too strong.

When I show no sign of accepting, she doesn't do the template maidenly move of looking disappointed. It's as if she's saying 'who cares about that.'

Her demeanor, which practically says 'I'll stay like this until you eat,' exudes a will of steel, and I don't feel like I'll be allowed to 'get away.'

"Don't worry so much. It's not like you have another girlfriend yet, so you probably won't get stabbed, right? The fake engagement doesn't count."

What do you mean, 'yet'? You say it like it's someone else's problem. The fact is, I've never once retracted my 'no thank you to romance' stance…?

"No, just… fine, I get it!—Hey, you, the adult over there. I demand immediate consideration for your junior."

Giving in to Iris, who showed no intention of backing down, I shot a glare at the 100% amused Chitose-san to at least set the scene.

As he turned his back with a chuckle, I, pushed into a corner with zero resolve, faced the offered fork—

You know how in 2D, they often say they can't taste the food because they're too embarrassed or happy?

I've come to a certain truth about that—no matter how mortifyingly embarrassing it is, truly delicious food is still delicious.

I'd never had spring saury or saury pasta before, but this was exquisite.

"I'll have an extra plate of this too."

"…You're also quite thick-skinned, aren't you."

"Because it's delicious."

Of course, there's another truth I've learned that I won't say out loud—that this intense embarrassment would probably overpower any run-of-the-mill 'delicious' food.

"Haru."

"Yes."

"Your face is red."

"Thanks to you…!"

That hard-to-read expressionless face (smile), you're not naturally like that, are you…!