Chapter 408: Chapter 406: The Shura Field Caused by Bento
"Um, excuse me, is Sui-kun here?"
A soft voice echoed from the doorway, where a sweet-looking girl with blue hair tied in two braids stood nervously, glancing inside.
"Huh? Aren't you Megumi?"
Alice turned to look at her in surprise. "Why are you here?"
"Eh? Miss... Alice?"
Seeing Alice, a hint of panic flashed across Megumi's face. She quickly hid the lunch box behind her back, clearly not expecting Alice to be there.
"Hey, Megumi? Sorry about the smell here, it's a bit fishy."
Sui, too, was surprised by Megumi's unexpected visit. Though the location wasn't far from Totsuki, it still required a train ride to reach.
"What brings you here, Megumi?" Sui asked.
"Ah, it's nothing."
Megumi's eyes darted towards the lavish bento in front of Sui, guilt creeping in as she tried to hide her own lunch box.
"Wait, Megumi, did you bring a bento too?" Alice asked, sharp-eyed and quick to notice.
Caught, Megumi's face flushed a deep red. She hesitantly brought the lunch box forward and said timidly, "I was worried you didn't have a bento, Sui-kun, so I asked Hisako for advice and... well... I made one for you."
"Really? Thank you, Megumi. You're so thoughtful." Sui felt a surge of warmth. She had even sent him a text earlier, asking where he was. It seemed she had secretly consulted Hisako before bringing the bento over at lunchtime.
"I didn't expect you'd be so popular with the ladies!" Uncle Takeda laughed, clapping Sui on the shoulder.
The others joined in, chuckling.
"So envious."
"Yeah, getting two handmade bentos from such cute girls... lucky bastard."
Amidst the playful teasing, Megumi's face grew even redder, feeling terribly shy.
"This girl is really sweet and cute. So, Sui, which one is your girlfriend?" Atong teased.
Sui coughed awkwardly and lightly smacked him.
Meanwhile, Alice puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased at seeing another girl bringing Sui lunch.
"Well, Sui, if you don't mind, please have some of mine," Megumi gathered her courage and placed her bento on the table.
Alice's bento was elegant, crafted from mahogany with high-end delicacies like tuna sushi and caviar. In contrast, Megumi's was a simple supermarket box. Inside were no luxury ingredients, but rather everyday items prepared with great care: snow-white rice balls shaped like pandas, sausages cut to resemble octopuses, and boiled egg tumblers. They were charming and meticulously arranged.
"Thanks," Sui said with a smile.
"Wait, that means you both go to Totsuki? And these bentos are amazing!" Atong marveled, practically drooling.
Megumi shyly nodded, her face still pink.
Alice, meanwhile, hooked her arm through Sui's and said, "Here, Sui, try the tuna sushi I made."
She carefully fed him a piece, watching his face intently.
"How is it?" she asked eagerly.
"It's delicious," Sui nodded. It truly was.
"Um, Sui, please try my panda rice balls next," Megumi offered, her voice soft but determined.
"Oh, sure."
Sui picked up a panda rice ball and popped it into his mouth. "Wow, this is really good!"
"Really?" Megumi's face glowed with happiness.
Alice, however, puffed out her cheeks again. Without a word, she grabbed a slice of puffer fish sashimi, dipped it in wasabi, and quickly fed it to Sui. "Here, how's this?"
"Sui, try my octopus balls," Megumi said, gently pushing her bento closer.
Feeling the tension rising between them, Sui had no choice but to keep eating. He sampled an octopus ball and smiled. "It's delicious too."
"Here, Sui, have some sea bream sashimi." Alice presented him with another delicacy.
The two girls were locked in a quiet competition. Their smiles were sweet and their voices kind, but the tension was palpable.
Onlookers couldn't help but feel sorry for Sui as they watched the subtle standoff unfold.
"Come on, Sui, open wide," Alice said sweetly, though there was an edge to her tone that made it clear refusal wasn't an option.
"Sui, please taste this," Megumi chimed in, equally gentle yet equally insistent.
Their eyes met, and for a brief moment, a spark of rivalry crackled between them before they looked away.
Sui felt his scalp tingle with unease, but there was no way to refuse either of them. He resigned himself to eating everything they offered, despite feeling full.
After what felt like an eternity of eating, Sui's stomach was so bloated he could barely move.
"Can I have a taste too?" Atong asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Of course," Alice responded politely.
"Please help yourself," Megumi added with a gentle smile.
"This is caviar, right? It's my first time tasting it!" Atong exclaimed, savoring the high-end delicacy.
Asong ate a piece of caviar and seaweed sushi and exclaimed that it was the first time he tasted such high-end food.
"Miss, I want to eat too."
"Out of the way!" Alice said, pushing him aside with a hint of irritation.
——
With both girls "kindly" offering their food, Sui gritted his teeth and somehow managed to finish both bentos. By the end, he felt like he couldn't possibly eat another bite.
But Alice, clearly pleased with herself, patted him on the shoulder and grinned. "Great! I'll bring you another bento tomorrow."