ODL – Chapter 11 – Looking for Ani with an A-Set Meal

“Hey, did you hear? The Shootdown King of the Engineering Department has finally been shot down!” (Keisuke)

“Hmm? Ah~ that seems to be the case.” (Souma)

As usual, I was waiting at the cafeteria for Keisuke while thinking if I should start without him. As I was wondering this, Keisuke with a tray of curry in his hands, slid into the seat across from me and began speaking enthusiastically.

The Shootdown King of the Engineering Department is the name given to the stunningly beautiful freshman girl who has been shaking up our university for the past two months (apparently). The number of people smitten by her has been reported to have reached double digits (apparently). And looks like her title was based on the fact that she’s a student in the engineering department. Quite the straightforward name.

“Yeah, that’s what they say. Doesn’t it bother you? Even the Tennis Club’s prince got turned down, you know?” (Keisuke)

“Well, not really… It’s not like it concerns us in the first place.” (Souma)

I inserted my chopsticks into the slightly elongated ramen, pretending to not be interested.

“Well, yeah, I get what you’re saying. But come on, wouldn’t you be curious about what kind of guy managed to win over such a beautiful girl?” (Keisuke)

As Keisuke spoke, he opened his mouth wide and energetically gobbled down the curry. Watching him do that, I couldn’t help but think that at the very least, Mafuyu-chan wouldn’t be swayed by a guy who’s gobbling down curry like that.

…Yep.

I recently found out that the Shootdown King of the Engineering Department, aka Minase Mafuyu, is my childhood friend.

It had been about 10 years since I have last seen her. The rumor about the Shootdown King of the Engineering Department being “shot down” is probably because of me. We were talking together during class the other day and were seen by quite a few people which led to the rumor. Just to clarify, we are not in a romantic relationship or anything like that. The Shootdown King of the Engineering Department still doesn’t have a single scratch on her body.

“Well, forget about that. Here, have some bamboo shoots.” (Souma)

“Don’t need ’em. Bamboo shoots and curry don’t really go together.” (Keisuke)

As I said this, I scooped up a piece of bamboo shoot and let it land in the sea of brown. Keisuke, with a dissatisfied expression, put it in his mouth, and then he looked surprised and said, “Hey, this is surprisingly good.” Such peaceful moments were the usual.

“── Souma-kun.” (?)

“Huh?” (Souma)

When I heard someone call my name, I turned to the side. There stood the rumored Shootdown King of the Engineering Department, a freshman who had captured the attention of male students across the campus, the confirmed winner of the upcoming Miss Contest, the Ice Queen herself, none other than Minase Mafuyu, a first-year student in the Engineering Department, holding an A-Set Meal in her hands.

“─ Mafuyu-chan. It’s unusual to see you at the cafeteria. Actually, I feel like I have never seen you here before.” (Souma)

“Souma-kun, you mentioned to me that you eat at the cafeteria last time¹, so I came to check it out… Am I bothering you?” (Mafuyu)

Mafuyu-chan glanced briefly at Keisuke. She was probably concerned about interrupting our conversation. By the way, Keisuke who was in front of the subject of the rumors herself, has become frozen with a spoon halfway to his mouth. Close your mouth; it’s unsightly.

“No, not at all. You don’t need to worry about him at all. Here, take a seat.” (Souma)

“Thank you.” (Mafuyu)

Mafuyu-chan pulled out the chair without making a sound and slipped her slender body into the gap.

“Is this your first time at the cafeteria?” (Souma)

“Yeah. I usually eat outside with Arisa.” (Mafuyu)

“Arisa?” (Souma)

“You know, the girl I was in class with the other day.” (Mafuyu)

“Ah, right, that energetic girl.” (Souma)

I recall that she was the girl with pink-beige hair who had energetically dragged Mafuyu-chan right in front of me. So, they are close enough to have lunch together too.

“Is Arisa-chan not coming today?” (Souma)

“Well, she told me to ‘go have lunch with Souma-kun this time.” (Mafuyu)

“Ahaha, I can see that happening.” (Souma)

As I continued chatting with Mafuyu-chan, I sensed an odd atmosphere and looked around. The person glaring at me had eyes that seem to say “What’s going on? Explain yourself”. And it wasn’t just Keisuke.

When I glanced around, it didn’t take long to figure out the source of the strange feeling.

All the guys around us were looking in our direction. Some were doing it blatantly, while others glanced discreetly, but it was clear that everyone was aware of us. There was even a guy looking at us with a gaze that said, “I’ll kill you”. Of course, they must be curious about the Shootdown King of the Engineering Department.

“He-he-hey, Souma-san…? What’s the meaning of this…?” (Keisuke)

Keisuke interjected into the conversation with a strange choice of words and a face that seemed to have a mix of surprise, confusion, and delight.

…If we have been found out, there is no way to avoid addressing it, I suppose. I was planning to keep things with Mafuyu-chan a secret to avoid causing a commotion.

“Minase Mafuyu, a first-year student in the Engineering Department. My childhood friend. Mafuyu-chan, this is Keisuke, a third-year student in the Economics Department. I forgot what exactly he was studying. He’s my friend… or something like that.” (Souma)

Upon hearing my words, Mafuyu-chan turned towards Keisuke and bowed as a greeting.

“Minase Mafuyu desu. Thank you for taking care of Souma-kun.” (Mafuyu)

“No, he hasn’t really done anything for me. If anything, I have been the one taking care of him.” (Souma)

“Is that so?” (Mafuyu)

“Yeah, that’s right. Just earlier, he gave me some bamboo shoots.” (Souma)

“Oh… uh…?” (Keisuke)

Keisuke responded to Mafuyu-chan’s greeting with a subtle, perplexed tone.

“Eh, the Engineering Department’s… Shootdown King…?” (Keisuke)

Saying this, he pointed at Mafuyu-chan with trembling fingers.

“Ah, it seems that that nickname is quite popular. Did you know?” (Souma)

“Sort of… I don’t really like it that much, though.” (Mafuyu)

“Yeah, I get what you mean. It’s weird to be called something without your consent. So, Keisuke, from now on, that nickname is banned.” (Souma)

“Uh, yeah… uh, sure… um, can I call you Minase-san then?” (Keisuke)

“Yes, that’s fine. Nice to meet you.” (Souma)

And so, we had lunch amidst the strangely awkward atmosphere (though it was mostly just Keisuke feeling awkward). Just then, a notification sounded from my smartphone.

“(I might not be home until around 8 PM today. If it’s too late, go ahead and eat without me.)” (Hiyori)

“(I’m fine with anytime. I’ll be streaming at 10 PM though.)” (Shizuka)

“(You’re streaming today? Looking forward to it~!)” (Hiyori)

Upon receiving Hiyorin’s message about her return time, Shizuka promptly replied.

The name of the chat room was ‘Souma-kai²‘.

Initially, I had chosen a random name, but Shizuka ended up changing it. Just based on the appearance of the name, it looked like the name of some ominous office.

While I gazed at the conversation between my two Oshi, I typed out my reply with a relaxed smile on my face.

“(Alright, let’s start at 8 PM today then. Any requests? If not, I saw an ad for chicken leg meat, so I’m planning to make fried chicken.)” (Souma)

“(Fried chicken sounds amazing! I also like lemon juice!)” (Shizuka)

“(Lemon juice might be a great snack with some alcohol. Fried chicken sounds good to me too.)” (Hiyori)

“(Sure thing. I’ll go get some lemon juice.)” (Souma)

Since I have been entrusted with some money from both of them for food expenses, I want to try my best to fulfill their requests.

With that in mind, today’s menu for the Souma-kai was decided: fried chicken.

“Souma-kun, what’s wrong?” (Mafuyu)

“Hm?” (Souma)

When I looked up after being called, I saw Mafuyu-chan sitting next to me, leaning in to peek at my expression.

Her perfectly sculpted face came unexpectedly close, causing my heart to skip a beat.

“Ah, yeah, there’s a chat room on Rime that was created by some neighbors in my apartment. I was just looking at that.” (Souma)

“And you were looking so engrossed in it… perhaps a girl?” (Mafuyu)

“…..Well, yeah. Sort of.” (Souma)

“…..Hmm.” (Mafuyu)

After that, Mafuyu-chan returned to eating her A-Set Meal.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Souma? Are you fooling around with other girls even though you have someone like Minase-san around?” (Keisuke)

“I’m not fooling around. Also, Mafuyu-chan is like a little sister to me.” (Souma)

“Like a little sister? She’s not actually your sister, right? Weren’t you saying before that you’re all lonely in your apartment?” (Keisuke)

“Yeah, well, two people recently moved in next door. And somehow, I ended up being in charge of making dinner.” (Souma)

“In charge of dinner?” (Keisuke)

“Yeah, they come over to my place for dinner every day. Since neither of them cooks for themselves, well, I guess you could say I’m like their substitute mother? I don’t really understand our relationship.” (Souma)

I’m not entirely sure about Hiyorin’s lifestyle, but judging from the convenience store bags I saw the other day, she didn’t seem to have the healthiest eating habits. She even mentioned alcohol earlier when talking in Rime.

“What’s up with that? It’s practically cohabitation³. Furthermore, with two girls? You sly dog.” (Keisuke)

“It’s not like that at all. We’re just having dinner together. Plus, I just met both of them last week.” (Souma)

“Come on, there’s definitely something going on between you guys. What kind of girls are they? Do you have any photos?” (Keisuke)

Keisuke seemed to become highly intrigued by my neighbor situation, that he stopped eating his curry.

Meanwhile, Mafuyu-chan who seems to be focused on her A Set Meal, was stealing glances in my direction. Despite appearing disinterested, she might be listening to the conversation.

“I don’t have any photos. Besides, there’s no interest from both sides. Both of them don’t seem like the type to date someone like me. They are like the riajuu⁴ type.” (Souma)

For Hiyorin, you can find plenty of photos of her with a simple online search, and as for Shizuka, if you open MeTube, there are plenty of videos of her 3D model “Ettte-sama”. But of course, I couldn’t say something like that, so I could only answer as I did.

“Hmm… Maybe I should come over to your place for dinner, Souma.” (Keisuke)

“Even if you come, I won’t feed you. Why do I have to make a meal for a man──” (Souma)

“──Then what about me?” (Mafuyu)

“Eh?” (Souma)

I accidentally let out a dumbfounded voice in response to this unexpected request.

“I mean… I would also like to try your cooking, Souma-kun.” (Mafuyu)

Mafuyu-chan gazed straight at me with her delicate, glass-like beautiful eyes.

TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

Wow, it’s already about to happen huh? But there is no way MC will actually invite her right? I mean Hiyori is a literal celebrity, wouldn’t it be problematic if Mafuyu saw her, even if she doesn’t recognize her.