Watching Shin-chan taste the bento made by his mother, Kazama was still very much looking forward to it.
Kazama Mineko was very enthusiastic and fond of Shin-chan. Maybe it was because she saw that Shin-chan and Kazama were truly close friends, and at the same time felt that Shin-chan's passionate, cheerful, and quirky personality could bring more happiness to her son, that she treated Shin-chan so well.
This bento was very delicate. One glance and you could tell it was carefully and lovingly prepared. Kazama Mineko also knew Shin-chan's preferences, there wasn't a single trace of green peppers to be seen.
Among the girls who had prepared bentos, perhaps only Kato Megumi didn't understand Shin-chan's preferences.
Ai-chan and Eriri both knew very well what Shin-chan liked to eat.
"Wow! Little sausages, tempura, and hamburger steak! Kazama, today's menu is a bit luxurious, huh? Did you benefit from being with me?"
"You bastard, don't act all innocent after taking advantage!"
Kazama picked up a little sausage and put it into his mouth, clearly dissatisfied with Shin-chan's words. What did he mean by "benefiting from him"? Today was the first day of school, what's wrong with his mom making a fancier bento for him?
"Next…"
Shin-chan quickly took two bites and looked toward the other three bentos.
"Let's eat Riri's."
Seeing Shin-chan pick up her own bento, Eriri couldn't help but giggle twice and even secretly glanced at Ai-chan.
'A woman who has nothing going for her except her body, didn't expect this, did you? I, Eriri, made the first move! Once I'm with Shin-chan, I'll definitely let you witness me and Shin-chan…'
Maybe it was because in her memories from her past life, the Ai-chan from another world had a bit of dissatisfaction toward Eriri, who often clung to Shin-chan like a little dog. She liked to show her some restricted-rated scenes.
At the time, Eriri was just a little puppy, incapable of doing anything, a perfect embodiment of the word "loser dog."
However, Ai-chan didn't care at all about Eriri's provocative look.
It was just a bento, after all. So what? Eriri's smug expression actually confirmed that there was nothing between her and Shin-chan.
Eriri didn't realize that just one simple action and glance had already exposed her loser-dog traits once again.
The bento prepared with Sayuri's help was clearly more luxurious, seafood paired with fruit, all expensive ingredients.
"This one's even more lavish, though it feels like it's not as heartfelt as Kazama's."
Shin-chan tasted it and gave his evaluation.
"Well, that couldn't be helped. This was made by the family maids. But I'll learn properly! Soon, Shin-chan will be able to eat a bento handmade by me!"
Eriri didn't think much of it. She did indeed ask Sayuri to help with the bento, but it wasn't even made by Sayuri herself, just by the maids at home. It was normal for there to be no special sentiment; they were just doing their job.
"No need to go to that much trouble. I'll make my own bentos from now on."
Shin-chan didn't want to eat so many bentos every day. It would be much less hassle to prepare his own.
"Hmph, Shin-chan should at least try my bento."
Ai-chan pushed her bento box over. "This is a love-filled bento handmade by me, full of all my love for Shin-chan."
Eriri looked at Ai-chan in shock. Was it okay to say things like that so directly? She'd wanted to say something earlier too, but her tsundere nature and desire to hide her intentions made her hold back temporarily.
'Who could have expected Ai-chan to go straight for the fastball...'
Even Shinomiya Kaguya, who was secretly watching from the side, was shocked. 'Was it really okay to say something like that out loud?'
She didn't expect this Ai-chan person, 'Not only is she lewd in appearance, but also so shameless with her words. Saying such things to a commoner as lowly as a bug, won't her family punish her?'
Since childhood, her own behavior and manners had been strictly regulated by the family. She couldn't do anything that would disgrace the Shinomiya name. In front of others, she was always the perfect noble lady, and simply couldn't understand how Ai-chan could express her feelings so openly.
"it's still hot even now."
One major reason Shin-chan didn't prepare a bento was because no matter how delicious, bentos were cold, the texture and flavor suffered a lot.
Ai-chan's bento was two-tiered, and most importantly, every single dish was still hot.
"Of course, this is the latest product from the Suotome family, it has automatic heat preservation."
Ai-chan elegantly opened her bento, picked up a lobster tail, and put it in her mouth.
"Miss Sawamura, aren't you going to eat more? If you eat too little, you'll become malnourished and it'll affect your development."
"I'm not malnourished! Nor will my development be affected, it's just that the people in my family develop slowly, that's all."
Being mocked so openly, Eriri couldn't care less that Ai-chan was the daughter of the Suotome family. She immediately shot back without hesitation.
Ai-chan wasn't angry either. Looking at the furious Eriri, she felt a bit amused in her heart.
'Eriri really is kind of cute, like a little dog. Keeping her around might be pretty fun.'
The two-layer bento, the top was full of seafood and rare mountain delicacies, the bottom was grilled eel rice. From every angle, it was an extremely luxurious meal.
And this bento was made personally by Ai-chan. She'd prepared bentos for Shin-chan even back in kindergarten. Ai-chan had been looking forward to today for a long time. Although Shin-chan had also tasted others' bentos, when she saw the happy look on his face while eating the one she made, she felt deeply satisfied.
The happiness of this moment, only Ai-chan herself knew.
"Next is Megumi's."
Hearing Shin-chan mention her, Kato Megumi couldn't help but feel anticipation rise. Her bento was much simpler than those of Eriri and Ai-chan, there weren't many high-end ingredients.
Two small rice balls, beef slices, and perfectly balanced vegetables, just looking at it made people feel at ease.
"This one looks comforting, and the taste is great too." After tasting all the bentos, Shin-chan nodded in satisfaction and looked at the girls.
Even a five-year-old child could sense the sincerity hidden in these bentos. How could Shin-chan not feel it?
"They're all delicious, I'll finish every single one of them."
Kazama, Eriri, and Ai-chan preparing bentos for him wasn't surprising to Shin-chan, but he hadn't expected Megumi to prepare one too.
Maybe it was to thank him for picking up that beret. If it had ended up in Aki Tomoya's hands, maybe things would have gotten messy?
Anyway, Megumi had a hunch, if that beret had fallen into Aki Tomoya's hands, her entire life might have changed completely, and happiness would be forever out of reach.
Hayasaka Ai looked completely stunned, 'It just ended like that? Where's the battlefield of carnage? I wanted to see rivers of blood! How could it end just like that?'
Ai-chan and Eriri were long-time friends with Shin-chan. Kato Megumi was just expressing gratitude and hadn't even confirmed her own feelings.
This so-called carnage never existed to begin with.
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