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

r miso soup let out a satisfied sigh and smiled.

“I haven't had such a warm meal in a long time!”

“Eh? You’re exaggerating…isn't a bento from the convenience store similar if you just heat it up?”

“Hmm~ that’s right, but…it gets a little cold by the time you bring it home from there…”

“….Ha?”

No way, I thought, and I continued to ask.

“Don’t tell me…Not only you don’t have a rice cooker in your apartment, but a microwave as well?”

“Yes, I don’t.”

“Seriously!?”

I shouted out in surprise.
Wait no…there are people in college who don't have a rice cooker at home, but there aren't many who don't even have a microwave….

“When you decided to live on your own, didn't you ask your parents to buy one for you?”

“No, I had one at first, but it broke…and I haven't bought a new one since then.”

“Why?”

I was about to say, “Just buy a new one.” But I was interrupted by her subsequent words.

“…I don't want to cause too much trouble for my parents, even though I'm forced to live alone…”

“………”

I understand what she feels a little bit.

Living alone costs a lot of money.
If you are a single working adult, the burden on your parents is probably huge, especially if you are a student living off of their money.
This girl understands that, and that's why she hasn't even bought a new microwave oven.

Even though her attitude is childish, she is trying to reduce the burden on her parents in her own way.
I think that a high school student is still a child and they should be bothering their parents.…but she is much more independent than a brash middle or high school student whose body and attitude have only grown bigger.

“Do you want another serving?”

“Eh? Is it all right!?”

“Yeah.”

I think such children, including myself, are rare nowadays.

So, at least for today, I wanted to feed her a warm meal as much as I could.

“…Feel free to eat as much as you want.”

“Uwaah! Thank you very much!”

When I saw the smile of a high school girl who innocently thanked me, I felt—for the first time today—glad that I was cooking for myself.