Chapter 411: Katou Megumi? No, No, I Was Going to Give it to Kano

Chapter 411: Katou Megumi? No, No, I Was Going to Give it to Kano

“Even though I feel like I’ve already corrected you countless times, my name is Katou.”

“Katou?”

Surprised, Himekoji checked the system screen again—

[Make a Heart-shaped Bento for Kano and give it to her.]

“Eh, is that it? Are you really Katou, not Kano?”

But there wasn’t another person in class with a similar name!

The slight puzzlement, the faint trace of disbelief, and the tinge of disappointment emanating from Himekoji were palpable.

Wait…

Why would he be disappointed that she was Katou, not Kano?

Such a thought flickered briefly through Katou Megumi’s mind.

But only for a split second.

The next moment, the girl responded to Himekoji’s question with her usual expression, her normal tone, quite ordinarily.

“Ah, hmm, yes, that’s right.”

She was Katou, even if Himekoji had mistaken her for Kano so many times.

“Oh, I see…”

Himekoji mumbled softly in reply.

So, he’d delivered the bento to the wrong person…

Which meant, giving out this bento wouldn’t complete the task at all.

Therefore—

Thinking purely about efficiency, if he wanted to shake off this annoying system sooner, then not even the tiniest bit of effort should be wasted.

Take it back and give it to someone else!

At least it would still net a “+1”.

This thought solidified his deliberately plastered-on smile—

“Then I’m really sorry, I made a mistake.”

As the words fell, the bento he had just given her was shamelessly snatched back by Himekoji.

“Eh?”

Katou Megumi clearly hadn’t anticipated such a brazen act from Himekoji.

Is there really such a thing as taking back a bento you’ve already given away?!

So, were you giving it to the person, or just to the name?!

Even if you got the name wrong, you couldn’t possibly mistake who you were supposed to be giving it to, right?!

The girl blinked, stunned for a brief moment.

“Hmm, so… only Nanami in Class B is left.”

He’d already handed out bento to everyone else on the system’s list within the class. Saving Nanami for last wasn’t intentional; it was simply because she wasn’t in the classroom right now.

Even though he’d said such terrible things yesterday and gotten slapped, meeting her today was bound to be awkward…

Clutching the retrieved bento, Himekoji muttered to himself and started walking.

“Wa…”

Suddenly, he heard a voice, barely uttering a single syllable before cutting off abruptly, like a slammed brake.

Kano…

Oh, wait—Katou.

Himekoji followed the sound, looking towards Katou sitting at her desk beside him.

“What was that? Something else? If it’s about getting your name wrong and delivering the bento by mistake, I apologize.”

“…No, nothing. Please don’t mind it.”

Whether it was his imagination or not, the girl’s already plain, toneless voice seemed to grow even colder.

“Oh.”

Himekoji replied, not really understanding, and his forward step landed with its natural momentum.

“EHHH?!…”

Suddenly, he lost his balance.

He stepped on—

Stepped on an empty soda can?!

No way, who would throw a soda can down in the classroom?!

Who was the jerk?!

Didn’t they know it was dangerous and totally disrespectful?!

“PONG!”

Before his mental complaint finished, Himekoji faceplanted unceremoniously onto the floor.

The bento clutched in his hands slammed down ruinously. Thanks to the container, it was probably still edible, but the carefully arranged, beautiful appearance he had crafted beforehand was utterly destroyed, mangled and pathetic.

In this state, it was probably impossible to gift it to anyone now…

“Are you okay?”

Then, a voice filled with concern reached him from above.

Well, concerned words at least. The tone held absolutely no trace of actual concern.

To describe it harshly, it might be closer to something like lifelessly reading lines?

Like reciting dialogue without any emotion.

Katou, still sitting at her desk, leaned slightly to look at him. Since Himekoji had fallen right next to her seat, her gaze naturally looked down at him from above.

Feeling humiliated by his fall, Himekoji was instantly provoked.

“You did that on purpose, right?! You totally meant for that to happen! Ka… Kato!”

She had clearly been about to warn him, getting as far as “Wa…” which would have become “Watch out!”, before suddenly swallowing the words.

So, how could she just give up halfway?!

If you’re going to warn someone, warn them properly!

“I did not.”

Katou gave a tiny shake of her head, her tone flat as she casually denied it.

“Yes, you did!”

It was revenge, pure revenge!

Who would have guessed? She looked like the kind of sweet, gentle girl who played by the rules, yet her vengeful streak was unexpectedly strong.

Is this a gap moe thing?

Moe nothing, damn it!

“Himekoji-kun, please stop thinking others are as bad as you.”

“Cough, cough!”

Just after getting up from the ground, he got another sarcastic remark.

Himekoji figured it out: he really shouldn’t have thought Katou was as bad as him, because…

Their “bad” was different kinds of bad!

Facing Katou, who had been in the same class but he hadn’t really noticed before, Himekoji couldn’t even get angry.

After all, if he had to blame someone, it really couldn’t be Katou.

It was his own fault for not paying attention while walking, and who could have expected someone to throw an empty can carelessly in the classroom?

The culprit should definitely be the one who had thrown the can away.

He had to just swallow the unfairness, feeling annoyed, and let it go.

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to let the can roll here, but thanks to you, Himekoji, for finding it!”

But just as Himekoji was about to let it go, the culprit actually appeared.

It was Miura!

And Miura Queen’s fake smile didn’t look at all like she “didn’t mean to” let the can roll right under Himekoji’s foot.

That story was just too unbelievable!

Because Miura’s seat was way over there!

Was this can Magellan of the can world or something?

Did it sail across an ocean and go all the way around the classroom to roll here, waiting for him to step on it?

“Ahh, no need to thank me…”

Though he had loads of complaints inside, Himekoji held back.

He was generous and wouldn’t make a big deal out of it!

After saying this, Miura stood right in front of Himekoji, not leaving or starting a new conversation.

She just stared at him with those powerful big eyes.

It made Himekoji feel awkward and flustered.

What was going on?

Did they have their roles mixed up?

It almost felt like he had played a prank on Miura…

Without realizing it, they ended up in a staring contest. To distract himself from the embarrassment, Himekoji, out of boredom, even counted Miura’s eyelashes.

And to his surprise, when he looked closer, he realized Miura’s eyelashes were really beautiful.

Thick, long, and black, like butterfly wings fluttering lightly.

But no matter how beautiful, it was still super awkward staring at each other like this!

Plus, he still had Bentos to hand out!

His path to gathering energy was a long and heavy one.

“Hey! Akio! Where’s my Bento?”

At times like this, a third person was really needed to break the tension.

Tobe jumped in right on time, helping Himekoji out big time.

He really wanted to thank him, but—

“Sorry, I didn’t prepare one for you, haha.”

Himekoji let out an awkward laugh.

“Huh? Why? How? You’re joking! Akio! We’re best buddies!”

First confusion, then shock, but finally all turning into careless relief, Tobe threw an arm around Himekoji’s shoulder, waving his hand and laughing like it was nothing.

“You even prepared one for a minor character like Kaito, so why wouldn’t you prepare one for a best friend like me?”

The words “best buddies” and “best friend,” made-up terms by Tobe, definitely raised a question mark in Himekoji’s mind.

But what Himekoji said about “not preparing” needed no question mark.

Because he really didn’t prepare one.

In the System’s available tasks, there was nothing about Tobe…

“Well, if you don’t mind…”

Himekoji glanced at the Bento in his hand, which had fallen on the ground during his ordeal.

Hmm, it looked a bit messy…

“Ah, don’t mind, no way would I mind! A Heart-shaped Bento made by Akio for me? How could I mind? Even if it was drugged or had crap in it…”

“Ugh—!!”

“Cough! Cough!”

“Water! Bring me water! I’m choking!”

Tobe’s loud voice echoed clearly throughout the classroom as soon as he spoke.

Everyone had been gobbling down Himekoji’s Bento with great pleasure. After all, under the “Housekeeping Gigolo” effect, the taste of the Bento was top-notch, but suddenly hearing words like “drugged or had crap in it” made it feel sickening no matter how good it tasted!

“Um… everyone is eating.”

Himekoji decided it was best to remind Tobe.

“Ahh, sorry, I forgot, haha. What I mean is, Akio, my life is yours, so… Wow! So delicious! Awesome!”

Stumbling over his words, this guy had already started eating greedily on his own.

Himekoji shook his head, feeling speechless but somehow in a surprisingly good mood. Or actually, the opposite was true.

“You really… I told you, you don’t need to feel grateful for the School Trip thing.”

“But… but how could I not? Wow! So… so tasty!”

With his mouth stuffed full, Tobe’s words came out all muffled.

…

After most of the Bentos had been handed out.

The ones left were: Nanami, Mashiro, Eriri, Kasumigaoka, Yukinoshita…

Oh right, Hiratsuka-sensei hadn’t gotten hers yet either.

…

…