This is not the date I wanted.

"Well, although I personally have no intention of attacking Mr. Shidou before the winner is decided, unfortunately, my verbal promise obviously cannot reassure Ms. Tohka and Ms. Origami."

As if she understood Shidao's doubts, Kurumi explained kindly,

"Then, instead of refusing, I would like to invite you to stay with Shidou, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings about me. And--"

Having said that, Kurumi looked at Tohka and Origami with an intriguing smile on her face.

"It's hard work for you to eavesdrop behind the door like you did yesterday."

"What……"

"……Well."

After hearing what Kurumi said, Origami and Tohka were a little shaken. After all, when Shidou and Kurumi were talking yesterday, the two of them were worried and hid at the door of the rooftop to eavesdrop.

"Ha - we're finally here. Oh my god, Tohka! Origami! You two were running so fast. I told you guys it's okay!"

Just then, Meng Yue came to the door of Class 4, Grade 2 and said helplessly.

"Haha, I'm here just in time. What do you think, Miss Mengyue? Do you want us to have lunch together?"

"what?"

Meng Yue was stunned when she heard Kurumi's sudden invitation. Seeing the students in the class looking as if they wanted to cut Shidao into pieces, she immediately understood the situation and looked at Shidao with a bit of pity and sympathy.

"No, I'll forget it. I have my own plans for lunch, and you can't do anything tricky with Tohka and Origami watching anyway."

"Really? That's a shame."

Kuang San said with some regret.

"Shidou."

Mengyue turned her gaze towards Shidou.

"Ok?"

"My condolences. And do your best."

"……Yes."

Shidou couldn't help but respond weakly.

After giving Shidao some kind advice, Mengyue turned around and went to her own class.

——————————————————I am the dividing line for fast-forwarding time————————————————

As the bell rang, marking the end of the fourth class, just as they had agreed at the beginning, the three of them and Kuang San went to the rooftop together and found a clean place to sit down.

"Hmm——Shidou's lunch box smells really good today."

Looking at the bento that Shidou took out, Tohka's nose twitched slightly, revealing a surprised expression.

"Oh, as expected of Tohka, you have a really good nose."

"Compared to the lunch box that Shidao usually carries, the volume is 145.6 cubic centimeters larger. The inside of the box is a partition structure to prevent the dishes from being mixed together. It can be preliminarily judged that it is very likely an ornamental lunch box with processed and decorated dishes..."

Origami analyzed expressionlessly.

“Stop! You’re really Origami, but there’s no need to go into such detail.”

Seeing that Origami almost revealed all the strategy props he had prepared, Shidou quickly called a stop.

"Oh, Mr. Shidou, is there anything special about today's lunch?"

As if her appetite had been whetted by Tohka and Origami's words, Kurumi asked with a bit of curiosity.

"Well, you'll know when you see it."

With the intention of keeping the secret a little, Shidou opened the lunch box.

However, when he saw the food in the bento, Shidou himself showed a look of astonishment.

The reason was simple. The cat bento he had carefully prepared had become unrecognizable. The originally cute cat balls either had their eyes or noses missing, or had been broken into several pieces, completely unrecognizable from their original appearance.

(Why did it become like this?!)

As soon as this doubt arose in his mind, Shidao immediately realized that his lunch box might have been broken by the impact of falling to the ground when he was hurriedly dodging the truck in the morning.

"Wow, the bento is a mess."

"It's probably because it was shaken by something. An ornamental bento can easily become like this due to external forces."

"I see... Shidou, are you okay? Should I give you half of my lunch box?"

"Haha...thank you, Tohka. But it's okay, even though the appearance has changed like this, the taste has not been affected."

Shidou replied with a wry smile.

But having said that, after all, the lunch box he prepared early in the morning was not used as he had imagined, so Shidao couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

"Could it be... a cat?"

Looking at the food in Shidou's bento, Kurumi said hesitantly.

A hint of surprise appeared on Shidou's face.

"Hey, Kuang San, do you recognize her?"

Kurumi nodded slightly.

"Hmm, judging from the outline, it seems like that. Could it be that it was morning..."

As if she noticed the reason, Kuang San was silent for a moment and then said with a smile.

"Hey, Mr. Shidou, do you want to exchange lunch boxes with me?"

"Oh, no need. This is a failure."

"But the taste is guaranteed, right? I've long wanted to taste what Mr. Shidao's bento tastes like."

Without waiting for Shidao to refuse, Kurumi took away Shidao's lunch box and handed her own lunch box to Shidao.

"Hey, Kurumi."

"I'm gonna start now."

Ignoring Shidou's voice, Kurumi clasped her hands together, prayed, and picked up the chopsticks.

Picking up a black cat rice ball that was still in good shape - made of seaweed and rice, Kuang San admired it carefully before putting it to her mouth.

"Chirp~"

Like a dragonfly touching the water, Kuang San's cherry lips kissed Kuroneko Onigiri's face lightly, and then put it into her mouth very elegantly.

Because the scene was inexplicably erotic, Shidao secretly swallowed his saliva.

"Hmm... Shidou, keep your eyes on Kurumi."

"The breathing rate went up two percent, and the heart rate increased by six beats per minute."

"Forehead."

After sensing Tohka and Origami's dissatisfied gazes, Shidou quickly turned his head away.

[Shidao... Let me remind you, don't let Kurumi conquer you instead of you failing to conquer Kurumi.]

Kotori's silent complaints came through the headphones.

"Ha ha……"

"Well... not only is the seaweed refreshing, the meatballs inside the rice balls are also tender and juicy, and the teriyaki sauce keeps the three elements in perfect balance... It's really worthy of Mr. Shidao to be able to achieve such an exquisite design with just one bite."

Making the comment like a gourmet, Kurumi couldn't help but hold her cheeks with a satisfied smile on her face.

Not sure if it was an illusion, but Shidao even saw a special effect similar to flowers appearing behind Kurumi.

"Well, I'm glad you're satisfied."

Seeing how intoxicated Kurumi was, Shidao's originally depressed mood was slightly relieved.

"Then, Mr. Shidou, please try my bento."

"Well, I'll start eating without hesitation."

Shidou nodded and began to taste Kurumi's food.

"how?"

Kurumi asked curiously.

"Mm, it's delicious."

Shidou nodded in appreciation.

"This fried chicken nuggets uses high-quality meat, and it is processed very carefully. The seasoning is not just the usual garlic, but also ginger, which is used to drive away the cold. It's amazing that it can be used as a seasoning."

Now is the season transition from winter to spring. Although the temperature is slightly warmer than in January, people don't have to wear thick coats to keep warm like in winter. It is easy to catch a cold if you are not careful. Therefore, Shidao and Mengyue often use ginger for seasoning when cooking.

It was also because of this that he understood how much effort it took for Kurumi to prepare this bento.

"I see... Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Shidou."

Kurumi replied with a smile. I don't know if it's an illusion, but Shidou always feels that Kurumi seems a little regretful.

"Gurgle... Is it that delicious, Shidou?"

Looking at Shidou's comments, Tohka asked greedily.

"How is your health, Shidao? Are you feeling unwell?"

Origami looked at Shidou and asked, secretly preparing herself to perform artificial respiration at any time.

"Don't worry. I won't add weird things to the food. If you don't believe me, Miss Tohka and Miss Origami will try it and you will know."

After hearing Kurumi's proposal, Tohka and Origami looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and picked up a piece of food from Kurumi's lunch box.

The moment they put it in their mouths, Tohka and Origami's eyes widened at the same time.

"how?"

Kuang San asked the two of them with a smile on her face.

"It tastes pretty good. It's quite good, Kurumi, but, but, Shidou's food is still more delicious!"

As if to convince herself, Tohka answered loudly. Although the reaction was a bit exaggerated, in Shidao's opinion, this was also a kind of affirmation of Tohka's cooking.

"Tokisaki Kurumi. Can you tell me how to make this omelette?"

Origami directly asked Kurumi for advice.

Shidou and the others' lunch time ended with this feeling.

"Kyousan, are you free after school?"

Before going back to the classroom, Shidou asked Kurumi.

"Well, I don't have anything else to do after school." Nodding slightly, Kurumi smiled, "Why, Mr. Shidao, are you going to invite me on a date?"

"Well, that's true."

Shidao did not deny it. Since it was Kurumi who first proposed going to school and having lunch together today, he was in a very passive position when it came to the strategy. If he wanted to change the situation, Shidao had to take the initiative.

"Can I——"

In that instant, the world where Gokawa Shidao existed suddenly stopped as if it was frozen.

Fear, coldness, powerlessness - the familiar yet unfamiliar pain eroded Shidao's consciousness, causing everything in front of him to be gradually swallowed by darkness.

No, to be precise, it was not that the world disappeared from Shidao's eyes, but that his own existence - consciousness and body - were disappearing bit by bit, returning to the nothingness called "death".

"Mr. Shidou?"

"——!?"

Kurumi's voice suddenly woke Shidou up.

He looked around hurriedly, but neither the scenery nor the people were any different from what he remembered a second ago, which made Shidao a little confused.

"Didn't that just happen?"

"Ok?"

Kurumi showed a puzzled expression.

“…No, it seems I was distracted.”

Maybe it's because of the lack of sleep caused by staying up late in the morning. After convincing himself with this explanation, Shidao took a deep breath, regrouped, looked at Kurumi and said.