Ranobe Mo Ore Mo Sukina Gyaru - Volume 1 Chapter 4.2

Gal and Cooking 2

While I was hesitating in various ways, she continued with a bright voice.

“You know, I’ve been getting into cooking lately. So, if you can eat it, it might be a good opportunity for me. It’s not so motivating to cook just for myself, you know? I want to cook for someone else! ——hey, of course you’ll eat my bento, right?”

“Having you go to such lengths is a bit…”

“But, Nezumayo-kun, you don’t have money now, right? What about tomorrow’s lunch? More tap water? Aren’t you going to die soon?”

“No-no, there’s no way I’m going to die… cough cough”

“You don’t think I’m joking, do you?—Go ahead and be spoiled by me from the get-go. Why not let yourself be pampered by Miona, a gal with a motherly vibe!”

While patting her chest, Tsumakawa said that.

Honestly, her frankness towards me or rather, her friendliness, was starting to become quite bewildering for me.

With those thoughts in mind, I turned to her again and, despite my hesitation, spoke.

“…No, Tsumakawa-san. I think I’ll decline the bento offer…”

“Huh? Why? Even though I straight up told you I’d make it for you? Huh?”

“Hey, could you not get all annoyed like some delinquent? …Because, you know, there’s no reason for you to be so nice to me. It’s not like we’re in that kind of relationship, Tsumakawa and I. And yet, having you make a bento for me… I just don’t know how I should take it.”

“…Huh?”

In response to my words, Tsumakawa made a face as if to say, ‘What are you talking about?’

Taking her reaction into account, I repeated my words to accurately convey the emotions I was experiencing.

“I don’t really know why Tsumakawa-san would make a bento for me…I don’t know if it’s a volunteering spirit or if there’s some ulterior motive, but it’s scary, or rather, I feel uncomfortable… “

“Uncomfortable!? Even though I’m giving you a homemade bento? Aren’t you too cheeky?”

“But, it’s actually like that… Lately, you know, Tsumakawa-san has been talking to me a lot. Each time you do, I’m left wondering, ‘Why?’ And like, you even blessed me with a good snack earlier. Personally, I really appreciated it, but deep down, there’s still that question of ‘Why?’ — Anyway, right now, I’m bewildered being approached by you, a gal.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah… but, because the one doing the approaching is Minacho-san, I don’t really dislike it to that extent… well, the fact that I don’t dislike it, in itself, makes me feel conflicted as an otaku——but in any case, I’m just utterly confused by being approached so strongly by this cheerful gal. That’s why, when you said you would make me a bento, I honestly felt happy about it, but I can’t accept it straightforwardly… and I feel like I shouldn’t accept it, that’s my true feeling——”

“Hehe——you’re getting all tangled up.”

As I poured out my feelings, Tsumakawa cut me off with that remark and playfully punched my chest.

…I feel like I’m saying too many unnecessary things right now!

While I was feeling flustered about that, she laughed cheerfully and continued.

“Aren’t you a bit too serious, Nezumayo? Take it easy. How about just thinking, ‘…I’ve been hanging around with gals lately. Gals are cute, I really like gals.’ In a relaxed way?”

“Uh, aren’t you casually trying to manipulate my impression?”

“You’re overthinking each of my actions, looking for reasons or causes. —I mean, I’m not a very smart girl, am I?”

“Well, saying that makes you not a smart girl anymore”

“Ahaha. But seriously, it’s true. Earlier, you were saying you’re scared because you don’t know why I’m making you a bento, but didn’t I mention something like that before? Like——simply because I want to get along with Nezumayo, obviously.”

” …… “

“Don’t be too overwhelmed by the third dimension, otaku-kun. Sure, the idea that every gal is nice to Otakus is an illusion—but for that reason alone, Miona will be nice to you. Because you’re the only one for whom such a reason exists. You’re just scared of being treated kindly by me, aren’t you?”

…To those straightforward words filled with goodwill, I widened my eyes. The uneasiness I had towards Tsumakawa was gradually unraveling just a little bit.

Even though I thought gals were an existence beyond my understanding, I see… she’s treating me well because she’s following her own selfish feelings.

Of course, I still hadn’t figured out why she would want to befriend someone like me, but at least now that I knew why she was being kind to me, I felt a bit relieved.

“So, what about the homemade lunch by Miona? Are you really going to refuse?”

” ….. “

As a self-conscious otaku, it might be the right thing to refuse.

However, now that I understood that the kindness she was offering had nothing I couldn’t comprehend—if that was the case—my petty desire to experience a cultural meal overwhelmed me.

So, I said to her,

“It’s quite cheeky of me, but could I ask for it?”

“Heheh, of course leave it to me! I’ll make an awesome bento that looks like it’s ready for a festival and tastes out of this world!”

“It would be great if you didn’t put any weird substances in it!”

When I thought about it calmly, could I really eat a bento made by a girl from the third dimension?

I was acting stubborn like a typical otaku, refusing to eat it.

But in the end… I’m basically saying, ‘Could you make me a bento, please?’—In this debate, I was completely defeated by this gal…?

Just as I started realizing this terrifying fact, Tsumakawa suddenly took out her smartphone from her school bag.

“By the way, there’s a video that inspired me to want to cook. Wanna watch it?”

“…Come to think of it, you said you’ve been getting into cooking recently… Did you watch some videos and get inspired to start cooking?”

“Nah, it’s not like that… for now, let’s watch this video together!”

Without even asking if I wanted to watch it, Tsumakawa took my hand and pulled me closer, our bodies pressing together.

Then, with our cheeks almost touching, we peered into the phone’s screen… Wait, isn’t this way too close!?

No, what, the distance is clearly too close! And there’s some strange, nice smell… Isn’t this gal a bit too inconsiderate toward an introverted guy!?

While thinking that inwardly, I still felt that since I was going to have her make a bento for me tomorrow, I should endure and watch a cooking video or two.

Thus, I focused on the video playing on the smartphone that Tsumakawa had started with a lower volume. And then, there it was…

『Here we are! It’s Nacho’s Homemade Cooking time! Yay!』

On the screen…I saw Tsumakawa-san dressed in a ponytail and a cat-patterned apron, standing in a kitchen set in a house studio.

“Um… Tsumakawa-san, what’s this…?”

“Hehehe. This is my modeling magazine 『leg』’s official YouTube channel! Look, don’t I look cute? Doesn’t it give off an energetic vibe?”

“It’s quite something to watch a video of yourself and say ‘Doesn’t it give off an energetic vibe?’—your self-praise and wordplay are impressive…”

“Anyway, watch it properly! This video is seriously hilarious! You’ll definitely burst into laughter and die laughing!”

“Maybe it’s better not to set the bar too high for yourself?”

As I retorted like that, I looked at her in the smartphone screen.

The video titled ‘A Gal Tried Making Nikujaga!’ seemed to be about whether ‘leg’ exclusive models could cook without following recipes.

In this video, Tsumakawa was given the mission to make nikujaga (a Japanese meat and potato stew) within an hour without relying on her smartphone or any other resources.