ãHazuki, are you not tired of hamburgers? Youâve been eating them all the time lately.ã
The words I just heard yesterday come out of Mioâs mouth.
So I utter the same lines as yesterday.
ãIâm not tired of it, though.ã
We are having the same conversation as yesterday, we are in the same café space at the university as we were yesterday. It is no different with a half gone hamburger steak and a two-thirds gone taco rice on the table, which Mio and I are eating.
The only difference is the time of day. Yesterday, it was the busiest time of the day at noon, and today, people are eating with Mio at a sparse time after lunch.
ãPerhaps hamburgers again tomorrow?ã
ãI might eat them.ã
Demi-glace, cheese and mushrooms.
Grated hamburger steak today.
There are many kinds of hamburgers in a mouthful, so I will never get bored if I eat them in rotation. April is coming to an end, but I donât think I will get bored even if I order the same menu every day until Golden Week.
In fact, Mio, who has been nagging me about my lunch, has been eating taco rice for three days in a row, so she canât say anything about other people.
ãIf you eat that many hamburgers, your brain will turn into hamburgers.ã
ãThen, Mioâs brain would be taco rice, wouldnât it?ã
ãSounds good, it looks delicious. If I run out of food, I will share Mioâs special taco rice with Hazuki.ã
After saying so, Mio tucked into the taco rice in front of her with relish.
I think it was really like her.
If it were Mio, she wouldnât mind at all if her head was full of taco rice, and she would share the taco rice in her head with me.
ãIâll pass on that.ã
The taco rice created in Mioâs head seems to change the personality of those who eat it to be just like her. Mioâs rough and generous personality is desirable, but if you ask me if I want to be like her, I will answer that I am not.
ãThatâs unfortunate, even though itâs delicious.ã
When I said this in a tone of voice that did not seem to express regret, Mio continued,ãI mean, itâs just thatâ¦ã
ãWhy do you suddenly like hamburgers? You didnât eat that much before.ã
ãI was trying to make a delicious hamburger.ã
I mouth an answer that is neither right nor wrong, and eat the hamburger in a snap.
The hamburgers here are not bad tasting, and they are reasonably priced and fill me up. But I feel like there is not enough grated daikon on top, so if I make this for Miyagi, I would like to increase the amount of grated daikon.
ãWhatâs that? Did you have someone you wanted to feed?ã
ãOnly Miyagi, though.ã
I answer honestly because it is not something to hide.
Itâs just not accurate.
There is no doubt that there is someone I want to feed and that it is Miyagi, but that is not the root of why I am particular about hamburgers.
It is because Miyagi said hamburgers are important.
Thatâs the main reason.
What is important to her is important to me.
So since I made hamburgers for Miyagi that day, I have been eating only hamburgers. And I have made hamburgers many times for her who hasnât asked me to make hamburgers since then.
ãI got a very boring answer. I thought you were going to say boyfriend.ã
ãMio, you know youâre not going to get that kind of answer from me, and youâre asking me that.ã
ãWell, yeah. About Shiori-chan, does she like hamburgers?ã
ãSuddenly, sheâs so excited that she start asking me to make her a hamburger because she wants to eat it.ã
ãThat means, she likes it very much!ã
ãSo I thought, if Iâm going to cook and eat it anyway, it better taste good.ã
What is important to me and Miyagi does not overlap.
I am sometimes discouraged by this, but I accept the situation as it is. If Miyagi and the place where we live continue to be protected and Miyagi continues to be there, that is all that matters. I donât want much, and I donât think there is any point in wishing for more.
Still, Miyagiâs words about the importance of hamburgers and her act of asking me to make them carry a certain weight, and her words and act make me continue the act of eating hamburgers.
We are not progressing, instead we are not regressing.
We are stepping back all the time.
If that place is that house, I can keep stepping on it.
I can continue to compromise on a relationship that will never turn around.
ãYou two are so close, it doesnât even make sense.ã
Mio said sincerely and brought the taco rice to her mouth. Then, after chewing it, she continued,ãBut if you eat a hamburger steak every day so much, you will get fat.ã
ãIâm working on it rather hard, so itâs okay.ã
ãIs that so.ã
ãIn a manner of speaking.ã
After smiling, I put my chopsticks on the hamburger steak. The chatty Mio also put the taco rice in her mouth, and the conversation was interrupted. However, the silence does not last long.
ãWhat is Hazuki, a hamburger enthusiast, doing for the holidays?ã
Golden Week is near.
The words that follow the questions posed at these times of the year can be predicted without asking. So I tell her the schedule that I can never move.
ãTutoring job.ã
ãThatâs a boring answer, too. Itâs your day off, so why donât you go have fun? Iâve been requested to bring you, Hazuki.ã
Mio continues to speak, not forgetting to bring the taco rice to her mouth with a spoon.
ãIâm busy at my part-time job.ã
Some teachers and students say that tutors are also closed during Golden Week, but my students and I will not be absent. I intend to study during Golden Week as well.
When I told Miyagi about this story, she balked, but didnât tell me not to go.
That is a good thing, but also a bad thing. She wants me to go to work part-time, but she wants me to stop telling Miyagi not to go. I know itâs selfish, but Miyagi not interfering with me is not enough and makes me uneasy.
ãLetâs take this opportunity to expand our friendships.ã
ãI donât have to be quick about it. I only need Mio.ã
I smile at Mio, whose face is so wide.
There is no lie in the words I said.
If someone talks to me at the university, I answer with a smile, and I sometimes go out with other girls besides Mio. But I donât intend to expand my friendships here that much, I want to stay within a limited scope.
ãYou say things like that right away. Iâm glad you say that, butâ¦ã
Unusually, Mio said shyly and clapped her hands,ãOh yeah,ãshe said. Then, she turned her eyes full of curiosity toward me.
ãArenât you going out with Shiori-chan for the holidays? Letâs go somewhere.ã
ãThe way you said that, it sounded like youâre coming too, Mio.ã
ãOf course Iâm going. Where are you going?ã
/p>
ãI have a part-time job and Miyagi doesnât leave the house, so I donât think weâre going anywhere, or rather, I donât think we can go anywhere.ã
To be precise, I donât want Miyagi to go anywhere.
She should have plans to go out with Utsunomiya, but I even want her to cancel those plans. I know that Utsunomiya will have a part-time job during the vacations, so the number of times we can see each other during the break should be small, but I still donât want them to see each other.
Last year, Miyagi put a mark on me that prevented me from going outside and locked me up at home. Then I would be allowed to keep Miyagi at home this year. I want to watch movies together like we did last year, do makeup, and fill in the gaps between holidays at that house.
Miyagi can stay home all the time eating hamburgers I made.
ãEven Hazukiâs part-time job wonât be there all the time. Pull Shiori-chan yourself out of the sun.ã
ãMiyagi will turn to ash if she force herself out.ã
ãSheâs not a vampire. Tell Shiori weâre going out.ã
ãWell, just to let you knowâ¦ã
ãConvince her.ã
ãDonât expect a good response.ã
If the command persuasion could be used on Miyagi, I would have used it already. But it doesnât work. If she is the kind of person who listens to me, then we are something other than roommates.
ãArenât Shiori-chan being too salty? She needs to be more sociable to become an idol.ã
ãSheâs not the type of person who aspires to be an idol.ã
Miyagi is cute.
I like to make her even cuter.
And I like going out with her like that, and I want everyone to know how cute she is, but I also want to keep it to myself. So I donât want her to try to be an idol.
I eat the hamburger steak, which Miyagi loves to eat.
ãHazuki, what do you really do on consecutive holidays?ã
ãIâll call you when I have some free time.ã
ãThatâs coming from the person I never hear from!ã
When I said that, Mio sighed one deliberate sigh.