Chapter 9: To You, As a Friend...

"H-H-Hi there! I-I’m Shizue Yui, n-nice to meet you!"

“Nice to meet you! I’m Yuino Yūki!”

"Why the broken speech? Ah well, now that introductions are over, let’s eat!"

A little time passed, and it was lunch break. Though I’d been looking forward to the rare treat of school lunch, the cafeteria wasn’t open yet today, so it was bento time.

"Alright then—ugh, broccoli in mine…"

"Mine’s got asparagus…"

"B-But the rest looks super tasty!"

"Lucky you, not being picky. Life must be easy for you."

"Totally, totally."

"You guys are brutal… And we just met Shizue-san, you know…"

"Oh, my apologies."

"Nah, don’t bother with manners around this guy."

"Ah, really? Then I won’t hold back!"

"Hold back…?"

For a first meeting, the conversation was going surprisingly well—though, admittedly, they were diving in a little… no, way too deep.

"Man, Towa’s bento looks delicious, though."

Yūki peered into my bento as he spoke.

"Seriously, did your mom make it?"

"Nah, it was Papi… If you let Mām make something… shudder."

"Oh dear… Is it that bad…?"

Yui held her chopsticks with her thumb, resting her hand against her mouth. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Ah… Speaking of recent disasters, there was the joint Towa-Edogawa family takoyaki explosion incident… That was… rough."

"Ugh… Don’t remind me… It was a full-blown incident…"

"What is this wildly chaotic and absurdly entertaining-sounding event?!"

The more she listened, the more her imagination ran wild—precisely because she couldn’t fathom what had actually happened.

"And get this—Towa’s mom’s ‘takoyaki’ (?)… Papi ate all of it."

"WHAAAT?! THOSE ‘takoyaki’ (?)?! The ones where if you bit into them, molten magma would erupt in your mouth?!"

"Yep. The ones where the filling and octopus would explode and wreak havoc the second your teeth touched ’em."

"At that point, isn’t it just a grenade?"

The conversation had taken a turn into inedible horror territory, and her face twisted in dismay.

"No clue what a ‘grenade’ is, but… yeah. Makes you think… Is this the power of love?"

"Ahhh… Love, huh…"

As we stared off into the distance with hollow eyes, Yui watched us with a gaze that was equal parts pity and silent mockery. Oh, we are absolutely inviting her to our next cursed takoyaki party (?).

"Uh, no thanks."

"C’mon, don’t say that!"

"No need to hold back!"

"Wait, seriously, I don’t—"

""What are friends for if not to be sacrificial offerings?!""

"H-Hey?!"

Alright! Time to explain the rules of this deadly party game to our brave (foolish) sacrificial friend!

Each of us brings an ingredient to stuff into the takoyaki, and we randomly replace the octopus with it.

The actual octopus-filled ones are cooked separately, while the rest are mixed into one batch.

My pick was mochi cheese, Yuuki went with sausage, and Mām’s choice was… chocolate marshmallows? Why?!

And get this—even the octopus ones she made were a disaster. I swear, she has a supernatural talent for charring the outside into dark matter while leaving the inside half-raw. It’s practically god-tier skill.

"So? Gettin’ used to it yet?"

"How could I?! My oshi’s crush is standing right in front of me!"

"W-Well… yeah, fair point."

I’ve known Yūki since before I even realized he was "Yūki," so it’s different for me.

…I don’t want her stuck with a half-baked substitute like this. I want her to have real friends.

That’s why I’ve been running myself ragged trying to bridge the gap between her and Yūki.

"C’mon, he’s just some ordinary elementary schooler like the rest of ’em."

"Aha! There it is—the ‘I know him better than you’ flex!"

"Wasn’t my intent…"

"The lack of self-awareness makes it worse."

"…Oh."

Hearing it put like that… stings a little.

"Ah, sorry, that was too harsh. My bad."

"Nah… I get it."

I shove the hurt deep into the recesses of my memory. The fact that this is all I recall from my past life just makes it more pathetic.

"…Well, ’til the other heroines show up, I’ll back you up."

"Thanks. But hey, could you drop the ‘oi, thing and just call me Yui?"

"Hrmph."

"…What’s that face for?"

I avert my eyes slightly before muttering:

"I-I mean… a guy callin’ a girl by her first name like it’s nothing… that’s… not exactly normal for me…"

"You…………………"

She turns her face away slightly too before dropping the bomb:

"You really were a guy, huh…"

"I’VE BEEN SAYING THAT FROM THE START?!"

"And such a normie one too."

"THE HELL I AM?!"

"Lies. Total lies."

"I’m serious! I even had a girlfriend in my past life, y’know?!"

"…………………Sure."

"QUIT LOOKIN’ AT ME LIKE I’M SOME STRAY PUPPY?!"

Maybe I should just stop helping her?!