A Man Who Cooks For Himself And A High School Girl (WN)

20th Meal

Asahi Mahiru and Onii-san

Tired: Mahiru’s POV in this chapter.

“I’m home…”

After muttering this to the doorway of a single-person apartment.
living alone with no family or even pets, Mahiru, who was on her way home from school, slumped down on her while still in her school uniform.

The room was dark, with curtains blocking out the sunlight and not a single light on, and piles of school textbooks and reference materials were piled on a table off to the side.
Bottles of natural water for regular drinking were lined up in the corner of the room, and a large number of clothes were scattered on the floor, leaving no room to step on them.

The owner of this room, who can't decide whether to be like an active high school girl or not—at least not in this case—buries her face in the pillow and moaned, “Uwoogh~~”

“…Onii-san…”

All she can think about is her next-door neighbor, a college student who has been looking after her for quite some time.

More precisely, it was about the fact that her relationship with him was suspected by two people: her best friend and a female college student she knew.

“…We’re not like that…” (Tired: Not yet*)

Yamori Yuu, her next-door neighbor.
The person with whom she had shared breakfast and dinner almost every day since that day when I was locked out of my home.

Until then, Mahiru had only eaten cold convenience store lunches at this table, but since meeting him and learning to cook from him, her opportunities to eat freshly prepared meals have greatly increased.

Mahiru felt sorry about it, but he has continued to take care of her until today because Yuu himself said, “Don't worry about it,” and above all, the temptation of having a delicious meal was too much for her to resist…

“…I wonder if I'm bothering him…”

Of course, there is embarrassment at being suspected of having a relationship with him, but there is also a strong fear that it will cause Yu problems.

The other day, the first time she met with Aoba Aoi, he seemed to have turned down her invitation, prioritizing his own appointment with her.

Looking back, he has never once said “I can't make it today” for his own reasons since he began teaching her how to cook, except on days when he has a part-time job.

Could it be that he was trying to make time for Mahiru…?

“!!!”

Just then, the intercom in her room rang loudly, causing Mahiru to jump involuntarily.

She stopped thinking about it and went to the door, and peeked through the door scope while wondering who it might be.

“Mahiru–! Are you there–!

“Wha!? O-Onii-san!?”

She hurriedly unlocked the door and opened it to find Yuu standing there, dressed as if he was on his way home from college.

“D-D-D-Do you need something Onii-san…!?”

When Mahiru was surprised by the appearance of the person she had been thinking about until just before, Yuu offered something to her, saying, “No, I found this on the floor.”

It was the same wallet that Mahiru was using—or rather, it was her wallet.

“Uweh!? Wait, no way!?”

“I found it in front of the door, is it yours?”

When Mahiru examined the contents of her bag, she was certain that it was hers.
Perhaps she had dropped it when she was taking out her house key.

“T-Thank you very much, and sorry for the trouble!”

“Don’t worry, just be careful next time, okay?”

“Well then, see you later,” Yuu said so and turned his back to leave.
But then Mahiru, who was looking at his back, reflexively said, “P-Please wait!”

“U-Uhm…Onii-san…Don’t you find me annoying…?”

“Eh?”

As the neighbor looked at her as if saying, “What’s this girl suddenly talking about?” Mahiru continues—

“If so, please tell me right…I…don’t want to be a bother to Onii-san…”

“…? I’ve never found you annoying, you know?”

“I-Is that so? B-But you couldn’t go with Aoba-san because of me…”

“Aoba? Oh, you mean the other day? Ahh no, that was more like thanks to Mahiru, I was able to have an excuse to say no.
I don't really like going out for drinks with that guy because she has bad drinking habits.”

Yuu then added, “Well, he did come with me, in the end,” and laughed at Mahiru, who looked so anxious.

“I think I've told you before, but it helps me a lot when you come over.
I can learn new dishes, and I can snack on them too.”

“B-But…Isn’t that taking up a lot of your time…?”

“No way, I'm going to have to cook for myself whether you come or not, so I think the time it will take will be similar in the end.”

“I-Is that so…?”

“Yeah, also you said that food tastes better when you eat it with someone else than when you eat it alone, right? That goes the same for me.”

“…!”

“T-Then—” Mahiru, whose eyes widened at those words, confirmed in a slightly hushed voice.

“Can I still go to Onii-san’s place…?”

“Yeah, just come anytime you want to.
I still have a lot of dishes I want to make with you.”

“…! Y-Yes!!”

When a smile blossomed on Mahiru's face, Yuu chuckled and said, “What are you so happy about?” But even so, Mahiru felt her heart instantly lighten.