Ranobe Mo Ore Mo Sukina Gyaru - Volume 1 Chapter 4.1

Gal and Cooking 1

“Danger, I’m so hungry… I feel like I’m going to die…”

On a certain Thursday during lunch break, I visited the school library alone.

I walked between the bookshelves like a sleepwalker, feeling dizzy.

By the way, the reason I ended up like this is quite simple— I usually receive 2500 yen from my mother as a week’s worth of food money, but this week, I spent it on a new light novel, leaving me with no money to buy lunch.

“Currently, it’s 12:50 PM… Since we have an early dinner at home and I can eat dinner at around 6:30 PM, let’s see… Five hours and forty minutes left… Five hours and forty minutes!?”

As I shuddered at the fact that there was still quite a bit of time left, my stomach let out a loud growl.

While I don’t regret my decision, I couldn’t help but feel anxious about my stomach growling during class.

As I roamed around the library with these thoughts, I heard a faint chuckle from somewhere, so I directed my gaze toward the source of the sound.

And there, sitting at a corner of a square table, reading a book with ‘Light Novel Club’ written on its cover, was Tsumakawa-san.

There is a gal reading a novel in the library during her lunch break. Is she really a gal?

Thinking this, I observed Tsumakawa from a distance.

‘Hehe… hehehe…’ While reading the light novel, Tsumakawa-san couldn’t hold back her laughter.

I get it, I totally get it. When you come across an enjoyable story, your face naturally lights up, right?

“Hehe…”

Feeling empathetic towards her, I couldn’t help but smile.

But wait, isn’t it too creepy for me to be smiling while watching Tsumakawa-san read her light novel with a grin on her face?

While I was observing Tsumakawa-san, who seemed to be having a great time reading, suddenly, she noticed my gaze.

She lifted her head and then started fidgeting around.

Before I knew it, Tsumakawa, upon noticing my presence, exclaimed, ‘Hey!’

She put away the light novel she was holding in her bag and rushed over to me with her bag in tow.

“Wow, it’s Nezumayo! Yahoo——What are you up to?”

“W-Well, I’m not doing anything… I just had some free time, so I was just wandering around here…”

“Wandering around the school aimlessly, aren’t you acting like an old man?”

After teasing me like that, Tsumakawa smiled innocently.

While I was thinking about how she’s so easygoing with even someone like me, even though I hadn’t asked anything, she started talking on her own.

“By the way, I came to the library to borrow an interesting book. And then, I stumbled upon this ‘Light Novel Club’ story… Hehe, I got so absorbed in reading it! Light novels are so entertaining!”

“I see… that’s seems good—cough, cough…”

“…Hey, Nezumayo, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Huh? No… I’m not feeling bad or anything… I’m fine——cough, cough…”

“Wait, seriously, what’s wrong? You look paler than usual, and you seem weak! Are you eating properly?”

“Ah, of course… Just a while ago, I had about 400cc of tap water…”

“That’s not a meal…what? Is it because you’re hungry? Wait a second!”

Tsumakawa-san said to me and then lowered her school bag from her shoulder to the floor.

She rummaged through the contents of her bag and exclaimed, ‘Ah, found it!’.

Then, in a tone similar to that of a certain well-known character she pulled something out and said:

“Ta-daa♪. Pocky Ultra Slim♪”

“Cut it out with the needlessly high-quality voice imitation. I can see the effort you’ve put into practicing.”

Having done that, she seemed to have taken out what looked like a box of snacks— Tsumakawa opened it and handed me one of the two bags.

Huh… Could it be?

“Th-This, you’re giving it to me?”

“Yeah. You’re hungry, right? Eat it!”

“B-but, I can’t pay for it…”

“In a situation like this, there’s no way I’d take money from you. Don’t underestimate Miona too much, okay?”

Saying that, Tsumakawa gently squeezed my shoulder with her fist.

Feeling touched, I stared at her directly.

——The white gal who had blessed me with a box of pocky with a beaming smile looked like a goddess to me now.

“…Could it be that Tsumakawa-san is the kind of gal we otaku have dreamed about——Are you an otaku-friendly gal?”

“Hahaha, don’t get ahead of yourself. It’s not like all gals are kind to otaku, it’s just that I’m a gal who’s kind to otaku. Don’t get carried away, okay?”

After receiving the bag of snacks from her with those words, I tore it open with trembling hands.

Without hesitation, I put an ultra-slim snack stick into my mouth… and I couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Wowww! Delicious!”

“You’re really overflowing with simple impressions.”

And so, for about a dozen seconds, I voraciously consumed the snacks Tsumakawa gave me.

While savoring the chocolate’s sweetness and the fermented-butter pretzel’s crunchiness, I quickly devoured them.

After finishing them in an instant, I deeply bowed my head to her and expressed my gratitude.

“Seriously, thank you so much, Tsumakawa-san… I was incredibly hungry, so this helped me out a lot! I’ll never forget this kindness!”

“Hey, you’re really grateful. Just how hungry were you?”

“Well, the thing is, I’m really tight on money… I was in such a tight spot that I couldn’t even afford a single piece of bread for lunch. So, receiving solid food from Tsumakawa-san is genuinely appreciated… Thank you!”

“Don’t call the sweets someone gave you a ‘solid food.’ Anyway, Nezumayo, are you really that short on money? If that’s the case, how about this: should I make you a bento for tomorrow?”

“Huh…?”

Once again, I was taken aback by Tsumakawa’s statement.

On the other hand, Tsumakawa gazed at me with a genuinely cheerful expression.

…A homemade bento from Tsumakawa?

Well, for someone like me who doesn’t have plans to prepare lunch again tomorrow, it’s an unexpectedly good offer…