hat things would get out of hand if I asked. Why?

Well, I guess, since she's from a prominent family, I guess all rich ojous[2B 6]?are like this? She should more or less have a personal chef, so she probably never even tried to choose her ingredients, let alone touch a knife.

Even so, the appearance is great. She herself noted 'shouldn't it be done like how it's like on the book?'. Hm, Cecilia-san, that's not making it like 'how the book describes it', but 'how the photograph describes it'. I really think that it'll be great if you can make it as tasty as how it's described on the book.

"It's because you never said it clearly that the problem continued to persist. Id—iot."

And you dare to say that, Rin. I had the same feelings when you came up with those killer dishes for me. You even had that 'I'll kill you if you say it's not nice!' look!

Oh well, let's forget about that for now. Either way, she did personally prepare this for me, and if possible, I really don't want to say that it tastes bad. Besides, I'm really grateful for the intention. Besides, since I had to cook my own food before I entered IS Academy City, I'm already grateful that someone can cook for me. Ahh, it would be great if Chifuyu-nee had the same thoughts.

But even so, it still doesn't change the fact that I'm lying. Sigh...

"Huh? Can I really eat together with everyone?"

Sitting beside me, Charles said so. It was the same just now. I'm really bothered by the extent of politeness he's showing.

To be honest, a large number of girls gathered in front of class 1-1 in order to get the 2nd guy, but he managed to refuse them with an extremely polite attitude. Maybe Charles's polite rich boy demeanour caused the girls to feel really awkward if they push on with their self-introductions. Thus, everyone gave up with a happy yet bothered look. Besides, he said,

"I can't let you girls waste your bright sunny time for someone like me. That's because I'll get drunk from such a sweet aroma surrounding me."

And so that's the case.

What should I say? He's amazing. Really, that's what I think, because he's not even acting at all. That sincere attitude of his and the atmosphere that's shining even more brightly that the mysterious presence caused his words to seem even more shining. Besides that, he's really gentle, so it was all the more irresistible. The 3rd year sempai who shook hands with him immediately fainted!

Anyway, the girls gave up just like that, which was why I got him along to eat with us. Though Rin and Cecelia came along, I had no reason to refuse them. It's better to have more people together, right? Since they're both representative candidates, I'm sure they should be able to chat happily about it.

On a side note, strictly speaking, I'm not a representative candidate, I guess. As I'm a guy, I don't know whether this breaks the Alaska Treaty, as it looks like the international community's debating over it.

As for me, I don't really care whether I'm a representative candidate, but it's great to have a personal machine. I once accompanied Houki when she went to request one for loan, and the paperwork alone nearly made me faint. Those are like, maybe 10 or so pieces of A4 paper? What's the point of writing so much...

"Don't say that. We're guys, so let us get along well. I know there are many inconveniences, but I can help out as well! If you have any problems, just ask me...except for IS."

"You have to work hard."

"I am. There's too much to remember! You already practiced through before you enrolled in, right!?"

"That's true. Though one should have considered about the suitability test, even if there are those who start late, everyone did start studying during middle school."

That seems to be the case. On a side note, Rin started working hard after the 3rd year of Middle School before she had her own personal machine. I really can't imagine how hard she worked.

In terms of the mock battle winning percentage, Rin's 1st, Cecilia's 2nd, Houki's 3rd and I'm last.

"Thanks, Ichika's really kind."

*THOMP!* *THOMP!*

Though I know that he's a guy, I really have a strange feeling on seeing that defenseless smile of his.

"It, it's alright. Since we're roommates, that's just a formality, just a formality."

"Ichika-san, has he been assigned a room?"

"Well, no, but frankly speaking, he would definitely be assigned in my room. He's a guy anyway."

"Really? Well, I guess so, that makes sense."

We continue to eat lunch as we talk. Rin and I are eating sweet and sour pork, Charles is eating bread that he bought, and it seems like Cecilia bought her own share. This means that the sandwiches were meant to be eaten by me.

In the midst of all these, Houki, who's sitting beside me, hasn't moved her chopsticks at all, or I should say, hasn't even opened the cloth that's wrapped around the bento as she remains silent.

"What's wrong? Is your stomach feeling weird?"

"That's not it..."

"Really? Oh yeah, Houki. If you could hurry up and give me that bento, I would be really happy--"

"..."

Houki silently passed the bento over, and I really don't know how to respond. In the end, even though we were on the same practical group, it doesn't look like the relationship improved. Or rather, it seems like she's still angry, is it...?

"Let's get to it. Oh!"

Opening the bento, I see many dishes with balanced nutrition--including salted grilled salmon, deep-fried chicken, chilli fried konjac burdock, spinach and sesame salad.

"That's amazing! Each dish looks like it took a lot of work."

"I, I just had other reasons. I spent time on it so that I could eat it myself anyway."

"Even so, I'm happy. Thank you, Houki."

"Heh, hehe..."

Even though she looks like she doesn't mind, Houki still looks rather happy as she opens her bento. Of course, her dishes are similar to mine...hold on.

"Houki, why doesn't your bento have any fried chicken?"

"That, that's because, huh..."

For some reason, her eyes seem to waver. What's wrong? Did I ask something I shouldn't have asked?"

"...It can't be helped that those are the only dishes that are nice..."

"Huh?"

"I-I'm on a diet! That's why there's a missing dish. You unhappy!?"

"Not really...but you're not fat anyway."

I don't know whether this declaration's really bad, but I got bombed by Rin and Cecilia who were glaring at me.

"Ah really--, why do people keep thinking that dieting = because she's getting fat."

"Really! That was inconsiderate of you!"

"No, it's just that she really doesn't look like she needs a diet--"

As she's just beside me, I turn to look at her--but with that action, she forcefully pushes my face aside.

"Wh-Where are you looking at!? Stop looking!?"

"What...isn't that the body?"

Obviously, I'm not looking at the face--ack!

"You're looking at a girl's breasts so brazenly!? You, bastard!"

Rin forcefully used her heel to knock onto my back, and four times at that! Stop hitting, stop hitting! It's super painful! Speaking of which, we definitely have a table between us! You're really nimble there...

"Ichika-san really lacks a gentleman's attitude."

Ahh, she's smiling and yet having veins popping out. It seems like Buddha (仏,hotoke) Cecilia's patience has a limit. That's really refreshing...however, to put the England-born her as Cecilia from France (仏,futsu), that's a little weird.

""ICHIKA!""

My two childhood friends erupted with anger again. How did they even see this little joke of mine? And why are they angry over it? Girls are really unbelievable creatures.

"?"

Unable to understand the situation, Charles reveals a puzzled look. Oh, speaking of which, Charles is born in France! Hm, that works.

"Ichika...what's with you? Your expression really looks rather weird."

"Weird? Oh, like how?"

"Even your tone changed...well, it sounds like a grandfather who's watching his married grandchildren gather for a reunion."

"Not some wise old scholar who loves coffee and history?"

"Hahaha, not like it at all! You're really interesting, Ichika."

Wah, I got denied with a smile. This is the first time I felt an angel's cruelty.

"Ahem! That's enough nonsense. Let's hurry up and eat! Lunchtime's not long enough for us to continue talking like this."

Houki sounded really serious. Hold on, what does that mean?

"Never mind,?itadakimasu"

I stuffed a piece of fried chicken into my mouth.

"Woah, it's good!"

As it's a bento, it will naturally go cold if left for a long time. Even so, the fried chicken Houki made was still delicious--the skin was crispy, not soggy at all, and I don't know if she knew that the food would get cold, as there's still the juiciness of the meat in my mouth when I bit it. Even so, what's unbelievable is that it doesn't feel oily, and it does make one want to eat more.

"This had take a lot of work to prepare, right? Let me think. There's grated ginger, soy sauce, and uhm...hmm, what's that? I definitely tasted it before."

"It's garlic. I mixed in a bit of pepper before frying and then added some grated radish to improve the taste."

As it's really good, I was shocked. I really can't tell that this person is the one who made that bland fried rice last month.

But what should I say? This should be what they say. In cooking or housework, once girls remember the basics, they will improve greatly. Guys have to use a lot of time to gain experience before being able to get to an ordinary standard, so the basic nature is different from girls. I'm really envious and yet unhappy about that.

As for me, my cooking was atrocious at the beginning...but even so, Chifuyu-nee finished off the food even though she grumbled, so that's why I worked hard to learn how to cook better before having the skills I have now.

"But it's really good! Houki, is it really okay for you not to eat it?"

"...I ate all the failures myself, so..."

"Hm?"

"Ah, ahhh? No, it's nothing, nothing at all...anyway, I'm glad that you find it good."

Just now, her words did sound somewhat inaudible. Why did Houki try to cover her volume? Is she saying something that's meant to be left just as it is?

"It's really good. You should eat it, Houki! Here."

Then, I cut the fried chicken till it's large enough to feed a girl and grab it with my chopsticks. Of course, I placed my left hand underneath to prevent it from dropping.

"Wh-What?"

"Here, eat it."

"No, it's not, that, but..."

For some reason, Houki's stuttering. I don't know if I'm thinking too much, but her face does look like she's blushing.

"..."

Her normally razor sharp personality seem to have disappeared out of nowhere, and right now, Houki's just showing a puzzled look as she looks at her bento and my chopsticks.

"..."

"..."

On a side note, two glares are aimed here from beside Houki. It's Rin and Cecilia. What now? Why are you two glaring at me like that--ha! You want to have a piece of the chicken as well?

"Let me explain that. You're definitely thinking about the wrong thing."

"You're thinking about something a posh lady wouldn't do, and that's too rude."

I seem to have guessed wrong. Oh well, whatever.

"Hurry up, Houki! Have some."

"No, it's not, that...yeah, erm...ahem."

Just when I find her smile extremely mysterious, she suddenly clears her throat and frowns. What's with her psychological state?

"Oh, could this be considered what they call 'here, say ah`n' that couples do in Japan? You two are really on such good terms with each other."

The moment Charles finished saying, his face shows a smile that's easy to understand--that smile definitely belongs to an outstanding blond rich prince.

However, once the prince finished, Rin and Cecilia immediately become an immortal tiger and a war goddess.

"Wh-Who said so? How can you say that they're friendly!?"

"That, that's right! I request the right to correct that!"

Both of them continue to pester at Charles, but even in such a situation, his smile still hasn't disappeared. Is this the so-called 'duty of nobility'[2B 7]? Really amazing, France's really amazing.

"Hm, then how about this? Everyone, let's exchange food! If everyone feeds each other, there should be no problems, right?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm okay."

"I, I guess. Since Ichika said that it's alright, I can go along with you people."

"I wasn't intending on taking part in such a crude eating etiquette, but since today's a normal day and we're in Japan, I supposed this should be called 'going along'."

Thus, it seems like everyone's participating.

"Then, I'm starting now!"

After Rin said that, she quickly snatched the piece of fried chicken off my chopsticks.

"Hey, return it now!"

"Um, hm...o! I-It-It's good, it sure is decent."

"Ho, I can do it if I follow the customs."

Even though her fried chicken got taken away, Houki's still looking rather carefree, and Rin looks like she's fighting for something. Really, I don't know what they're thinking.

"Ah-...sorry Houki, but the only piece of chicken left is the one I ate."

"Is, is that so?"

"Yeah. I don't think you want to eat what a guy bit before, right? But if that's the case, I have nothing to give you now, since our other dishes are all the same."

"--It's okay even if it's bitten..."

"Houki?"

"Eve-Even if you...took a bite out of it, I don't mind."

"Hm? Is that so? Then here, ah--"

It seems like we are normally able to say 'here, ah--". Is this a right exclusive to Japanese?"

"Ah, ahh---umph..."

Even though it's somewhat unnaturally, Houki still opened her mouth after saying that as she ate the chicken. Seeing her face, I find that maybe she's somewhat embarrassed. Hm, is it really weird to be fed after becoming a high school student?

"It, it's good..."

"Isn't it? This chicken's delicious."

"Though I'm not referring to that...but, it's good."

I don't know what the reasons are, but it seems like she became happy. That's good.

"Here, Ichika! Have some of my sweet and sour pork. Hurry up and eat it!"

"Ichika-san! Please have some sandwiches! I'll give you all of it!"

Rin and Cecilia immediately squeezed over. What's going on!?

""HERE!!""

Both of them squeezed their food over that me, and they seem to have giving a similar 'here, ah--' action.

"Hold, hold on a minute. I have sweet and sour pork here, and it's weird to have it go along with sandwiches, so I think I'll have it--"

""...""

Ahh, what the heck, using silence to make me unable to make a comeback (or rather, ending up causing a breakdown in the dialogue). If these two are to live in the?Three Kingdoms, they should be able to become military strategists, and then there'll be a fantasy Five Kingdoms...or maybe not.

"I-Itadakimasu..."

Sigh, really, why can't guys lift their heads in front of girls? Ever since year 2000, it's been the same, so it's mostly due to history? I guess that's right.

Anyway, let's start from Rin's sweet and sour pork.

"Hm, it's nice...but Rin, why's your food warm?"

"I used a microwave to heat it up when I bought rice."

Couldn't you have heated up mine...but anyway, it's still nice even when it's cold.

"Ahem! Then, please try my hand-made sandwiches."

"Um...I-itadakimasu."

I really can't say no to Cecilia when she's showing me a shy look of friendship, and can only take a bite off her sandwich.

WAHH...it's ridiculously sweet! What the heck? What's in there? She definitely put vanilla extract inside. That's right. I can't even taste anything else. But it's abnormally sweet. Why is a tomato and bacon sandwich so sweet? I could think of 120 explanations if it were just an egg sandwich...

"How is it?"

Ugh, it's best that I answer...

"It's better if you say the truth earlier."

Rin said so casually and continues to eat her own sweet and sour pork. What she said does make sense, and it's correct after all. But, that, what should I say? Doesn't she feel that it's hard to tell a girl that her cooking's lousy?

"Oh, ohh yeah, it's good...I, I kind of liked it."

Sigh--I just chose to say something nice. Really, I'm really sad that I don't have the guts to say my true thoughts.

"Is that so! Then, please have the rest!"

Cecilia's eyes immediately brightened as she quickly passes the entire basket to me. Well, if I treat it as dessert, I should be able to eat it down.

"Id--iot."

Rin continues to drink the packaged?oolong tea?that she most likely bought together with the white rice as she criticized me. Ah, whatever, I'm just an idiot, I'm an idiot...

"But, really, I feel similar to that. Like a growing bird."

Good thing there's no other students on the roof other than us--speaking of which, if there were other people around, I definitely wouldn't do this. Besides, it's really embarrassing to be fed like this when I'm so old.

But Houki doesn't look like she minds. Perhaps it's just a guy's thing?

"Ya, yeah, I guess, but it's not bad to be like this once in a while."

"That, that's right. Hm, that's not bad at all."

Rin and Cecilia nod their heads. Maybe I'm thinking too much, but both of them are blushing somewhat. Hey, don't tell me now that you find it embarrassing! I'll feel even worse as I was the one being fed!

"I-Ichika, is there anything you like to eat?"

Houki suddenly said such a thing.

"I-It can't be helped. Let me feed you something."

"Th-There's no need. Besides, we have similar dishes other than the fried chicken. If you give your share to me, Houki, wouldn't you have none left?"

"Mu...you're right..."

"Speaking of which, everyone, hurry up and finish eating! I don't want to run after eating, since Charles and I still have to head to the changing room at the arena."

Though the hangar's closer to the arena, I remember we can use the changing room of the first arena, and the hangar's at the 4th arena, so in the end, we have to run twice. So if we end up spending too much time eating, we have to run quite some distance after that. Please spare me the agony.

"Hm, Ichika? Don't tell me you take off your IS suit after a practical?"

"What? Can't I?"

Hearing Rin say that, I asked back. Don't tell me--

"Half of the girls keep them on, you know? It's really troublesome."

Che, I see...well, it's sweat-absorbent and doesn't obstruct movement, so it's okay to wear it.

"If that's the case."

Not just Rin, even Houki and Cecilia are wearing it? I can't really tell with their clothes on. Hm, I really feel that the girls have it easy. My IS suit will wrap my ankles, so I really don't want to have another pair of pants over it. It'll feel stiff...I don't think that will happen, but it'll be hot.

"Di-Didn't I tell you not to continue staring at a girl's body like that!? You pervert!!"

"Huh? No, I don't mean that--"

"Who, who cares about what you mean, that's not gentlemanly at all!"

"I was just observing--"

"Wh-What's with you saying that you're 'observing' a girl's body? That's inconsiderate!"

...What's inconsiderate about it here...

Speaking of which, why I am ganged up by them?

Sigh...after sighing, I gave up on trying to make a comeback. Anyway, right now, I just want to focus on eating the bento. As every dish's delicious (my bad, except for Cecilia's), once I start tucking in, I would naturally continue to eat.

"............"

"What's wrong, Ichika?"

Without any reason at all, I turn to look at Charles, who's sitting opposite the girls.

Of course, Charles didn't lecture me. Even when I'm staring at him, he's not angry at me. He's even concerned about me.

"It's great to have guys."

I'm dead serious. From today onwards, I will have a strong partner of the same gender! That's awesome. Maybe the school will even give us time to let us use the giant bath.

Right now, it seems that due to several reasons, as a guy, I can't use the giant?onsen. Even though the school mentioned that I can use it as long as they separate the bathroom, this seemed to have caused a large number of protests from the students. They said 'if there's a guy who'll come in after we go out, we wouldn't know how to go in anymore!' or something like that...huh, can't you just do it like in a normal giant bath?

On a side note, if I'm to start before the girls, it seems like there will be a lot more problems, and there's even more protests. 'if we're to bath after a guy, how are we going to use it!' or at least that's what they said...like bathing in a large onsen, I'll omit the rest. Please read the above.

Anyway, it's really too wasteful to come up with a divide just for one person, so I never had a chance to use the dorm's onsen. To a person who likes to take baths, it's not much different from being interrogated.

"Is, is that so? I don't know what you mean, but it's great that Ichika feels that it's alright."

Maybe he's just shy, as Charles just sounded really stiff.

"...What's good about having guys..."

"...How unhealthy..."

"...An idiot who hasn't even realised what's going on..."

The three girls seem to mutter softly. I don't know what's going on, but I guess it's best not to ask.

After that, for some reason, I got blank white eyes from this trio of girls. Why's that? I really don't understand how girls think.

◇

"Then, please let me repeat this again. It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Ichika."

It's night. After finishing dinner, Charles and I return back to our room. As he's the second boy, while we were in the cafeteria, we were surrounded and assaulted with questions. It looked like it was going to continue on like that, but luckily it ended just in time.

And I really don't know whether it's obvious, but Charles and I are in the same room. As we're resting after dinner, we're drinking the Japanese tea I just brewed.

"This tastes really different from?red tea. It's weird, but nice."

"It's great that you like it. If we have a chance next time, let's go drink some?matcha."

On a side note, it seems that Cecilia can't take?Japanese tea, so she doesn't drink it at all. It seems like she's repulsed by the color. Is green really that strange?

"Matcha's the thing that's to be drunk on?tatami mats, right? I heard that it needs a special skill. Do you know how to brew it, Ichika?"

"Matcha has to be 'set up', not brewed. But I've only drunk a simple sample of it. Right now, they're selling some matcha coffee in front of a station, and it does taste like coffee."

"Oh I see. I want to go along next time to try it once."

"Alright, I'll bring you along then. Besides, it's a rare chance, so let's go out for a Sunday trip, okay?"

"Really? I'm really excited. Thank you Ichika."

I know that this gentle smiling Charles is a guy, but my heart started to pound. Maybe it is because he feels so mature? I don't really know how to respond once he shows a straightforward smile.

"It, it's nothing. I haven't drunk matcha for a long time, so I'll bring you along."

"Oh ho, thank you."

Maybe he's seeing me blush now? There's a gentle presence in Charles's smile. As my impression of a family was always living together with Chifuyu-nee, I don't really know how it feels, but perhaps this is what they call 'a family-style smile'.

Normally speaking, that smile can calm anyone down, but it's making me jumpy for some reason. Anyway, let's talk about something else.

"Yeah--then how should we shower? We can go by how the day proceeds."

"Ah? I'll shower later. You can use it first, Ichika."

"U? Huh, now that you mention it, I'll feel rather apologetic...after a practical, you would most likely have a day when you want to rush to the shower, right Charles?"

"No, I'm okay, I don't really sweat, so I don't really mind even if I don't get to rush into the shower."

"Really? Then I'll accept that then. But you don't really have to worry too much about me. We're both guys anyway."

"Erm, thanks."

After saying that, he smiles again. Ahh I get it. As Charles's method of thanking is too natural, anyone's heart will race on seeing that smile.

"Speaking of which, I heard that Ichika always has special IS training after school. Is that true?"

"Yeah, I started off later than the rest, so I can only train to make up for it."

As Charles is moving in today (but he didn't bring his luggage), I stopped training for one day. However, I have to start training from tomorrow onwards, since there's still the indiviudal division tournament this month.

"Can I join in? I want to thank you, and I have my personal machine, so I should be able to help out."

"Oh, that'll be great! Sorry to bother you then."

"Mn, leave it to me."

Just like that, having obtained a partner in public and in private, I managed to sleep comfortably with a sense of relaxation.