“A-A-Arigatou…”
Hitori Goto hugged the bento box tightly with both hands, her little face flushing bright red as she finally managed to squeeze out a word of thanks.
Before Minoru could even respond, she fled toward the stairs like a startled rabbit.
Her speed was so fast it was truly breathtaking.
“…”
Looking at the pink afterimage that vanished at the stairwell in the blink of an eye, Minoru took off his black-framed glasses with some speechlessness and put them back into his pocket.
This level of social anxiety was not a single bit lesser than in the anime.
[Ding!
Detected that Hitori Goto has developed tremendous favorability and reliance toward the Host!]
[Interpersonal Relationship Recorded: Hitori Goto (Grateful/Views as Hero).]
Listening to the system prompt, Minoru let out a chuckle.
“I have a total of 800 Justice Points now, right?”
Minoru calculated in his mind as he walked back.
Only 200 points short of gathering enough for a Premium Draw.
Recalling the pitiful drop rates from the Standard Draw earlier, Minoru decided to save up a batch this time and fire off a big one directly once he reached 1,000 points.
*Gurgle—*
Just as he was thinking, his stomach suddenly issued a unseemly protest.
Only then did Minoru remember that because he was in a rush to go on patrol, he hadn’t eaten lunch yet.
Moreover, the bento given to him by Yumiko Miura this morning was still quietly sitting inside his desk drawer.
“I better hurry back to eat.”
Minoru quickened his pace, returning to the Class 2-F classroom.
At this time, half of the lunch break had already passed.
Students in the classroom were gathered in small groups, eating and chatting, making the atmosphere quite lively.
The moment Minoru stepped through the door, he keenly noticed a gaze landing on him.
Following the gaze, he happened to meet Yumiko Miura sitting in the front row.
Seeing Minoru look over, Yumiko violently retracted her gaze as if touching an electric shock, pretending to chat with a girl in her inner circle, though her slightly flushed earlobes betrayed the nervousness in her heart at this moment.
Minoru didn’t pay it mind; she was probably afraid her bento would be rejected, right?
He remembered seeing that kind of trope in anime before.
*Well then, I’m coming right now~ little bento~*
Minoru walked to his seat and sat down, taking out that beautifully wrapped pink bento box from the drawer.
He couldn’t wait to open the lid of the bento box.
What met his eyes was a lunch that, although somewhat crude in its presentation, was definitely prepared with care.
Golden tamagoyaki, little red sausages cut into octopus shapes, golden and crispy fried tempura, and white rice arranged with seaweed into a smiley face pattern.
Although some of the tamagoyaki edges were slightly charred, overall, the appearance was quite good.
*So this is tamagoyaki?*
Minoru picked up his chopsticks, picking up a piece of tamagoyaki and popping it into his mouth.
“Hmm?”
Minoru’s eyes lit up slightly.
It was a sweet and savory flavor, and the texture was softer and tenderer than regular scrambled eggs.
Sure enough, dishes from every country have different flavors, and one shouldn’t make crude judgments on whether it’s delicious or not.
Nor should one fall into preconceived notions due to bias.
Just like India; although that country is very poor and doesn’t pay much attention to hygiene, the flavor of Indian cuisine is quite unique.
Due to the increase in his Physique attribute, Minoru’s appetite had grown quite a bit as well.
Before long, a completely packed bento was eaten squeaky clean by him.
After eating and drinking his fill, Minoru took the washed bento box and walked over to Yumiko Miura’s desk.
“Miura-san.”
“Eek!”
Hearing Minoru’s voice, Yumiko, who was absentmindedly spacing out, was startled, almost jumping up like a startled cat.
“K-Kuroe-kun…
is there something wrong?”
She asked stammeringly, her eyes wandering, not daring to look at the bento box in Minoru’s hand at all.
Yui Yuigahama also stopped chatting, looking at the two with curiosity.
“Here, returning this to you.”
Minoru placed the washed and dried bento box gently on her desk, a sincere smile surfacing on his face.
“Thank you very much for your bento, it tasted great.”
Hearing Minoru’s compliment, Yumiko froze for a moment, and then two captivating flushes of red instantly surfaced on her pale cheeks.
“R-really?”
She looked at Minoru in somewhat disbelief.
“You’re not lying to me?
You didn’t think it tasted awful?
I woke up early this morning and made it several times, burning it over and over…”
Toward the end, her voice grew smaller and smaller, carrying a bit of bashfulness unique to teenage girls.
“Of course it’s real.”
Minoru nodded, confirming, “Although it’s my first time eating this kind of sweet and savory egg dish, I really like it.”
This phrase “I really like it” seemed to possess a certain magic, causing Yumiko’s heart to instantly skip a beat.
Therefore, the young girl naturally overlooked the first half of the sentence—the fact of why Minoru had never eaten a national-level dish like tamagoyaki before.
Yumiko lowered her head, her hands wringing together, muttering quietly.
“It’s…
it’s good as long as you like it.
If there’s an opportunity next time…
I’ll make it for you again.”
[Ding!
Detected a substantial increase in Yumiko Miura’s favorability!]
praising the food as delicious actually substantially increases favorability?*
*Speaking of which, back when Minoru praised a female classmate’s homemade cookies as delicious in his past life, she even rolled her eyes at him…*
Minoru smiled, not declining: “Sure, then thank you in advance.”
Right then, the preparatory bell rang, interrupting the somewhat subtle atmosphere between the two.
Minoru returned to his seat.
…
The afternoon classes passed in tranquility.
After school, Minoru, as a Disciplinary Committee member, dutifully conducted a patrol loop around the campus.
Regrettably, however, until he walked to the school gates, he didn’t trigger any further system alarms.
“Looks like the social atmosphere isn’t so bad that scumbags are everywhere after all.”
Minoru stretched his back, stepping out of the school gates.
[Ding!
Progress Prompt: [Non-Human & Supernatural Evil Real-Time Alert Plug-in] current installation progress: 98%.]
[Estimated completion in ten minutes, please be prepared, Host.]
The system voice in his mind made Minoru’s spirits lift.
*It’s finally almost done installing.*
He hadn’t forgotten the Black Orphnoch he encountered last night.
That guy had uttered harsh threats before leaving, meaning he definitely wouldn’t let matters rest.
Furthermore, with two defenseless women living next door in the Izumi household, if that monster went back to retaliate while he wasn’t home, the consequences would be unimaginable.
With this plug-in, he could discover it at the very first moment when it approached!
Minoru quickened his pace, walking in the direction of the train station.
When he boarded the train home, the long-awaited prompt tone finally echoed in his mind.
[Ding!
[Non-Human & Supernatural Evil Real-Time Alert Plug-in] has finished installing and successfully integrated!]
[System radar scanning range expanded!
Now capable of detecting and warning all Orphnochs, Gurongi, Worms, and other non-human evil lifeforms and supernatural malicious events within a five-kilometer radius!]
“Five kilometers?
That far?”
Minoru was secretly amazed.
This range basically covered his entire neighborhood near his house.
However, before he even had time to celebrate.
[Warning!
Warning!]
[An extremely dangerous non-human evil lifeform is approaching!]
[Target Type: Orphnoch!]
[Target Location: Less than five kilometers from the Host’s location, moving rapidly!]
[Predicted Target Destination: Chiba City, XX District, XX Chome, Izumi Residence!]