For some reason, the saint of our school drops her façade when she's with me (GL) - Chapter 3

 

“Good morning~”

Mizuki finally arrived—well past the third period.

Honestly, I was more concerned about her attendance than her grades. At this rate, she was at risk of repeating the year. But since she always managed to calculate things just enough to get by, it only made her carelessness all the more frustrating.

I wondered what she would do if something unexpected happened and she had to miss more days than planned.

Knowing her, she probably had a backup plan. But thinking about it wouldn’t change anything.

“Morning. Though, it’s almost lunchtime.”

“Waking up early is rough, you know? Besides, you look sleepy yourself, Yukie.”

“I woke up early, that’s why.”

I had earned the right to be tired—I had woken up early, prepared the Saint’s bento, and even baked cupcakes. Honestly, I deserved some praise.

“I’ve got plans for lunch today.”

“In that case, I’ll spend mine with my girlfriend~.”

“Your girlfriend? You mean that upperclassman from before?”

“Nope, different girl. I already broke up with that senpai. My new girlfriend’s in the same grade but from another class.”

She had been dating the captain of the archery club just a short while ago. Now she had already moved on. Mizuki’s ability to switch partners so quickly never failed to amaze me.

“You should try falling in love sometime too, Yukie.”

“As if someone like me would be popular.”

“You’re not bad-looking, you know? If you put in some effort, you’d shine! Well… aside from being a little flat-chested.”

“Alright, that’s it. Let’s take this outside.”

Mizuki pressed her chest against me teasingly, and I nearly lost my temper.

But then, she suddenly averted her gaze and looked toward where the Saint was sitting.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing. Probably just my imagination.”

“Did you sense the gaze of a guy who has a crush on you?”

“If anything, I felt someone staring at you, Yukie.”

“Are you deliberately trying to make me angrier?”

“I said it was probably nothing! Anyway, do you have plans for the day after tomorrow?”

“The day after tomorrow… Saturday?”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

I didn’t have anything planned aside from cleaning. Maybe some studying for the exams, if anything.

“Why? What’s up?”

“There’s a new café near the station I want to check out.”

“That’s fine, but I thought you had a date this weekend?”

“That’s next week. I wouldn’t mess around right before exams. I’ll attack after they’re over.”

…Who even uses the word attack when talking about their partner?

I mean, I guess it was consensual, so maybe it was just their thing.

“Got it. Let’s meet at your place, then.”

“Ooh, you really get me~.”

If I just waited for Mizuki, she’d never show up on time. It was always faster to pick her up or go straight to her house.

This was the kind of trust built over years of friendship.

Though, given how flaky she was, maybe that’s why her relationships didn’t last long…

Strangely enough, she was actually quite devoted when dating.

That’s probably why she was so popular with girls.

“Ugh, fourth period is Japanese? Endo is so annoying… Maybe I’ll skip.”

“Quit complaining and just go to class. Today, Endo-sensei should be fine.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Apparently, his wife is pregnant. He’s been in a good mood all morning.”

“Ahh, that makes sense.”

As expected, our Japanese teacher, Endo-sensei, was in high spirits today. His class ended up being the easiest one of the day.

“Alright, I’m off!”

When lunchtime arrived, Mizuki left to meet her girlfriend.

After seeing her off, I headed toward the clubroom.

I figured the Saint would need time to slip away, so I expected her to be a little late.

But surprisingly, she arrived sooner than I thought.

“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

That’s the first thing she says?

“Nope. But I’m starving, so let’s eat.”

“Then, I shall indulge myself.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I handed her the spare bento box.

“What a cute wrapping cloth.”

“It’s the only one I had.”

The bunny-print design wasn’t really my taste, but I had no other options.

Just to be clear—I do not have a thing for cutesy designs.

“If you say so.”

“Stop making it sound suspicious.”

“Oh, nothing like that.”

“Then what?”

“It’s just natural for something cute to appreciate other cute things.”

For some reason, I could almost hear an unspoken “You’re finally accepting your role as my pet.” lingering at the end of her sentence.

I chose to ignore it.

“Oh my, such a colorful bento.”

While I was overthinking things, she opened the lid and admired the contents.

“Octopus-shaped sausages? This is my first time seeing them in real life.”

“They’re cute and delicious.”

They were easy to make too—just a few cuts, and they curled up when cooked, looking just like tiny octopuses. I personally liked them, and it seemed the Saint did too.

“I have tea as well if you want.”

“Then, I’ll have some.”

“It’s not anything fancy, though.”

“Price isn’t everything, you know.”

Fair enough.

If she was fine with it, then I wouldn’t overthink it.

Today’s bento included octopus-shaped sausages, simmered pumpkin, spinach ohitashi, sweet tamagoyaki, grilled salmon, kinpira gobo, and cherry tomatoes.

For the rice, I added my favorite furikake.

I had cupcakes as dessert, but I’d save those for later.

“Well then, I’ll begin.”

“Go ahead.”

Even though I told her that, I was a little nervous.

Maybe my bento was too plain and unexciting?

As I worried, the Saint picked up an octopus sausage first.

I expected her to bite into the head, but instead, she took one of the legs first.

For some reason, the way she did it seemed oddly sensual.

…No, I was probably overthinking things.

This wasn’t like the taiyaki debate about which part to eat first.

Rather, it felt like she was savoring it deliberately—like she had a particular preference in how she enjoyed things.

…No, seriously, I needed to stop overanalyzing things.

“It’s delicious.”

“Glad to hear that.”

“This is my first time seeing red sausages.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And, come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve ever eaten a homemade bento made by someone else.”

“Huh? But don’t you always have a bento for lunch?”

I Wouldn’t Call It a Multi-Tiered Bento, but It Looked Fancy Enough.

I had always thought the Saint’s lunches looked quite elegant and well-balanced.

“Oh, that? Those are made by my family’s chef. That’s entirely different from homemade cooking.”

According to her, they were in completely different categories.

“When I was a child, I used to envy the homemade bentos other kids had.”

The Saint spoke nostalgically.

I guess even she had things she longed for in her own way.

“I see. Well, as long as you liked it, that’s what matters.”

“Yes, it was very delicious. Especially this tamagoyaki. I didn’t know there was such a thing as sweet tamagoyaki.”

“It has sugar in it. This is my favorite type of tamagoyaki.”

I liked dashi-maki tamago and other variations as well, but sweet tamagoyaki had a special kind of appeal.

“Did you learn how to cook from your family?”

“Huh? You didn’t get that information from Mizuki?”

“No, she didn’t tell me anything about that.”

So Mizuki had been tactful about some things?

Though, considering how much of my personal information she had already spilled, I wasn’t entirely convinced…

But I guess there was no need to hide anything from the Saint.

“Mostly self-taught. The only thing my mom ever taught me was how to make tamagoyaki… and that’s about it.”

“I see.”

“I don’t know how much you heard from Mizuki—uh, I mean, your ‘source’—but my family situation was kind of a mess. In the end, both my parents died.”

The Saint abruptly stopped eating.

“…That’s a pretty unfair topic to bring up at this moment.”

“Did it ruin your appetite?”

“Unfortunately, no. I already finished everything.”

Looking over, I saw that she had indeed cleaned her plate.

“Well then, time for dessert—cupcakes.”

“Before that, I want to hear more about you, Suzuki.”

“I don’t have any interesting stories, you know.”

“Even if they’re not pleasant, I still want to know more about you.”

“You’re a strange one.”

Normally, I wouldn’t talk about this kind of thing.

But for some reason, with the Saint, I felt like it was okay.

“To put it simply, I wasn’t exactly wanted when I was born.”

“That’s quite the heavy opening.”

“It’s just the truth.”

My parents hadn’t planned for me.

They did the deed, I happened, and since they couldn’t afford an abortion, I was born.

“I was sent to an orphanage early on. I grew up without knowing my parents’ faces, but then, when I was around five, my mother came to pick me up.”

“After all that time?”

“Yeah. And for purely selfish reasons.”

She had taken me back not because she wanted me, but as a tool to attract the attention of my so-called father.

What followed was neglect, abuse—whatever you could think of.

But as long as I played the role of a servant, I was spared from the worst of it.

I did what I could, despite my young age.

“Of course, using a child as bait wasn’t exactly a foolproof plan. My father wasn’t the type of man who would take responsibility just because of that. So, in the end, nothing changed.”

“…And the tamagoyaki?”

“Ah, right. One day, for some reason, my mother was in an unusually good mood. That was the first and only time she ever taught me how to cook something.”

It was one of the few clear memories I had of her.

She was always screaming, crying, or lashing out, but that day, she was calm.

She had patiently shown me how to make sweet tamagoyaki.

That was the first time I had felt something that vaguely resembled love.

“And then, a few days later, she found my father, straddled him, and stabbed him to death. After that, she hung herself.”

“Aren’t you skipping a few steps?”

“It’s just the facts.”

It had all been building up long before I was even born.

In the end, my mother had snapped, and everything had unraveled.

“After that, I was sent back to the orphanage. But then, my mother’s younger brother—my uncle—took me in. Thanks to him, I finally experienced real kindness and was able to grow up into a relatively normal high school student. And that’s my happy ending.”

“You’re skipping again.”

“Not denying it.”

I didn’t mind talking about my parents, but there was no need to go into every painful detail of my life.

The only person at this school who knew about all of this was Mizuki.

And while I hoped she hadn’t blabbed about it, I couldn’t exactly trust her not to.

“Did your uncle only learn about you after the incident?”

“Yeah. My mom and uncle had been estranged from their family, so they weren’t on speaking terms. He didn’t even know I existed.”

I still remembered how he had cried when he found me.

A man as large and imposing as a sumo wrestler, openly weeping and apologizing to me over and over.

It should have been an awkward sight, but somehow, that was just the kind of person he was.

“Anyway, that’s enough of the past. You want that cupcake now, don’t you?”

“…I’ll have one, then.”

I handed her my best batch.

She took a bite—

“…You’re really strong, Suzuki.”

—And said something unexpected.

“I’m not strong. If anything, I’m just dull.”

Even after being adopted, I had my struggles.

But in the end, I never truly hated my parents.

I couldn’t bring myself to.

Thanks to my uncle, I had a new life. The past was just that—the past.

Dwelling on it wouldn’t change anything.

“That moment when my mother taught me how to make tamagoyaki? That was probably the only time I ever saw her true self. I learned that love and hatred can completely change a person.”

I wasn’t strong—I had just stopped caring.

“You are strong. At the very least, you don’t waste time on trivial worries like I do.”

“Oh, I have my own petty concerns.”

“Such as?”

“Like how the princess in front of me hasn’t given me her thoughts on the cupcake yet.”

She blinked, then chuckled softly.

“It’s delicious. I could eat this every day.”

“You’d get fat.”

“Then my chest would become even heavier.”

She said that proudly, emphasizing her already impressive figure.

I didn’t even hate my parents, but for some reason, I did resent the existence of big br3asts.

My mom had been well-endowed too.

So why was I as flat as a pancake?

It had to be my father’s genes.

Men really couldn’t be trusted.

…Except for my uncle.

“Thank you for the meal. Both the bento and the cupcakes were wonderful.”

“Glad you liked them.”

“By the way… Suzuki, are you looking for a part-time job?”

“If it pays well, then yeah.”

Living costs weren’t cheap, and I couldn’t rely on my uncle forever.

Back in middle school, I had managed to get an exception to do newspaper delivery, and in high school, I took on various side jobs when time allowed.

Balancing school and work was tough, and finding a good paying job wasn’t easy.

As I was considering that, the Saint gave me a smile—a very suspicious smile.

“I happen to know of a high-paying job that would be perfect for you, Suzuki. Would you care to hear about it?”