Chapter 5: Lunch with Snow White

4 WEEKS AGO 1 COMMENT

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

After formally agreeing to join the student council, I went through the first three periods without any hiccups. Lunchtime had finally arrived.

My annoying depressive friend sat in front of me.

“Ah, Kuzuo… I’m so damn jealous.”

“You’re still saying that, Yogiri?”

This guy sitting in front of me while spilling his grievances is my friend, Kei Yogiri. His name and the saying “as light as the night fog” go hand in hand. It actually fits him perfectly.

He’s 5’9” (TL: 178 cm), and his face was as handsome as some idols on TV, and even though he was the cliché Yankee, ergo blond guy with piercings, he was not a bad guy.

“No, you’re the vice-president of Hakuou’s student council! If you want to get into any private university, you got a hefty amount of brownie points just from that! Must be nice… I’m so damn jealous!”

“That’s if I can make it through the year as vice-president.”

“Oh… You’re talking about the ‘Impeachment Trial’, right?”

“Yeah.”

The president of the student council is decided by the entire school, so there’s rarely an objection there. Other positions, however, are decided solely by the president, so it’s easy to criticize them with the ‘aren’t those just the president’s friends?’ argument.

So in order to balance that sense of unfairness, Hakuou implanted a unique system – The Impeachment Trial. The appeal to remove someone from the student council will be accepted if more than one-third of the student body, that is, more than 100 people, and then a one-on-one competition between the object of impeachment and the student’s choice will be held.

That one-on-one is a simple contest of strength. If the incumbent wins, the status quo is preserved. If they lose, however, they are immediately dismissed from their position, and the vacant seat is taken by the student’s choice.

“The ‘Impeachment Trial’, huh… Hey, since it’s you, you’re gonna be fine. Either way, if it comes down to it, you’d win with the weirdest plan, as always.”

“You’re not listening to me…”

And don’t go digging up old memories, dude.

“Heh, heh… Well, jokes aside, the benefits of being in the student council are pretty nice. What I envy the most, though, is that you get to be with the Snow White.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said. Tohka Shirayuki is a beautiful girl, and one of the ‘Four Fairy Princesses of Hakuou’ to boot! Clear azure eyes, soft pale skin, perfect curves – a pure, innocent, dainty, and pure white princess. Some of the boys remarked, ‘aren’t her breasts too modest?’, though, if you ask me, these amateurs should just shut their traps. Although she’s the skinny type, she’s at least a D-cup. I bet she’d look great naked.”

The image of Shirayuki wearing that apple t-shirt last night flashed through my mind. Sure enough, that image was… Stunning.

“Oh yeah, Kuzuo. You and Shirayuk-san are childhood friends, right?”

“More or less.”

“… Her sudden choice to put you n the student council… Could it be?”

“Hah… I’ve definitely said this before, but Shirayuki and I are really just–”

As I was about to explain myself, someone cut me off.

“–Kuzuhara-kun.”

A beautiful voice, soothing as the ocean, said so from behind me. When I turned around, I saw Tohka Shirayuki with her bag slung over her shoulder.

“Shirayuki, what’s up?”

“We have some things to take care of about the student council, so please bring your lunch to the office.”

“Aah… Got it.”

After my reply, she turned on her heel and left the classroom.

“I’ll be off for a while.”

“Heh heh… You’re gonna have lunch with the Snow White, huh? I can’t really forgive you, man… Kuzuo, be careful when you’re out in the road at night.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

With my lunchbox in hand, I trudged in the student council office’s direction, leaving my friend’s mumbling behind.

Arriving at the office, the door rattled as I opened it.

This room is uselessly big as always. In front sat a desk for visitors, and a set of sofas. At the back, are desks and chairs, a pair for each student council officer. Filing cabinets filled the walls along with neatly organized furnishings.

Tohka Shirayuki sat by her desk, at the very end of this room.

“Yo.”

“Hi.”

Our greetings didn’t really match.

I walked to the vice-president’s desk and sat down on my own office chair.

“So, what business do we have here?”

“Just a bit of paperwork. Since the student council wasn’t working during spring break, we accumulated some papers. We’ll be sorting through these documents.”

“Roger that. But why don’t we eat something first? I’m starving…”

“All right, let’s do that then.”

We both grab our lunch boxes.

“Itadakimasu!” We say our thanks for the food simultaneously.

“…”

Since we had no common topic to start a conversation, the atmosphere was just a bit awkward…

Maybe a little too awkward. I try to break the ice with a bit of small talk.

“Oh yeah… Wasn’t there one more member of the student council?”

“Sakura-san is not working today. I received an email last night and, apparently, she was so excited for the start of her freshman year that she developed a fever.”

“Just like a child that can’t sleep right before a school trip…”

“Don’t tell her that, ok? She’s a bit conscious of her childishness.”

“Sure thing.”

The conversation died after that. Well, I think we did the bare minimum of talking.

After a bit, while I silently devoured my lunch, Shirayuki called out to me.

“Um… Could I talk to you for a bit?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve heard the rumors… Do you really? Every day?”

“The food may look like this, but it tastes good.”

Today’s lunch was stuffed bread crusts with ketchup and mayo.

Actually, that’s the menu for tomorrow as well. The day after tomorrow, too… All year round, frankly. The lady that works at the bakery I frequently go to donates the bread crusts that are to be discarded every week to us. That’s why I have this for lunch every day.

Honestly, I want Yui, who’s growing up, to have a decent meal every day. That’s why my father and I eat very poorly.

“… If you’d like, here you go.”

Shirayuki pulled a second lunchbox from her bag.

“Um, is that?”

“I happen to have made too much today, and since it’s a waste to throw it away, I made a second lunchbox. Please have it.”

Not wasting food is a good thing.

“Well then, I’ll take what I can get.”

I took the lunchbox and immediately opened it with a click.

This… This is incredible…

The white rice seemed to sparkle, with pickled plums adorning it. Fried eggs and stir-fried beef, along with some vegetables, completed the dish. It’s been years since I’ve had any healthy and delicious food – proper food.

Is this what she eats every day?

By the way, when it’s my birthday they serve a palm-sized ‘black-chocolate with vanilla toppings’ little cake.

This is fine… Isn’t it?

“Did you cook all of this, Shirayuki?”

“Yes… Is there something wrong with it?”

“No. I’m just surprised.”

I took the chopsticks from the little compartment on the lid and clasped my hands together.

“Itadakimasu,” I said my thanks for the food.

I then grabbed a neatly-placed omelet from the lunchbox with my chopsticks.

“… How’s the taste–”

“–Delicious! As expected, you’re an amazing cook!”

It’s not too sweet and it also has some dashi on it, my favorite kind of seasoning.

“Of… Of course! What kind of Shirayuki would I be if I didn’t know how to cook?” She said that and turned around with a little pout. The tips of her ears turned beet-red.

Maybe my excessiveness put her in a bad mood.

“Sorry, but this is extremely good.”

“… Is it that good?”

“I can’t stop eating. It’s one of the three best things I’ve ever tasted.”

“Fufu, You’re exaggerating,” she smiled happily.

“–Thank you for the meal!” We both said.

After we finished with our lunch, it was time for business.

“Without any further ado, let’s get these documents sorted,” she said while piling a bunch of prints on her desk.

There were many kinds of documents – students’ opinions, proposals from the committee, supplementary budget applications from the clubs, etc.

“… That’s a lot of stuff. I mean, isn’t this usually the job for a treasurer or a scribe?”

“You’re right. However, since neither position has been filled yet, you can let me take care of it this time.”

“And why are you leaving that position empty? I’m sure it’d be way easier to get work done if we had someone appropriate for the job…”

“I don’t want untrustworthy people around me.”

“Oh… I see.”

She implied that she trusts me, which made me feel a bit awkward.

“Ah… So is Hinako Sakura a person you trust?”

“Yes. She’s a bit of an oddball, but… She’s trustworthy.”

“An oddball, huh?”

“Yeah, indeed.”

So you don’t deny it, huh? I mean, Hakuou students usually have a few quirks. Most of them really, so I guess that’s the norm.

Then, after thirty minutes of working silently–

“–Whew… I’m finally done.”

I managed to organize the mountain of documents, sorting by type and requirement.

“Good work. Since lunch break is almost over, we’ll wrap things up after school.”

“… We’ll have to go through all of that?”

“Yes. But, I mean, it’s an impossible amount of work to complete in a day, so I plan on finishing it by the weekend.”

“I see… Got it.”

I’ve always imagined student council work to be more… Flashy? It’s actually very boring and extensive.

Oh well, time to go back to class.

As soon as I stood up from my chair, Shirayuki called out to me.

“Um, Kuzuhara-kun.”

“What is it?”

“Um… I’ll cook your lunchbox from now on, so I was wondering if you happen to have any allergies or things you don’t like?”

“No, not really… Though, a lunchbox every day is a bit…”

If you think about the extra cost of ingredients, plus all the time and effort that goes into making a lunchbox, it’s not something I could eat daily.

I gently tried to refuse her offer, but she adamantly denied my denial.

“This is for you putting up with my selfish request to join the student council, is that alright? In fact, whether I make lunch for one or two, it doesn’t make that big a difference.”

“But even then, there’s the extra cost of ingredients…”

“In the Shirayuki household, a large amount of food is discarded daily. You don’t need to worry about the costs.”

“Oh, I see…”

Her eccentric old man is a combination of arrogance, perfectionism, and meticulousness. Of course, he’d throw away the leftover ingredients after making his lunch.

“Well then, can I take your word for it?”

“Yes, of course.”

And that’s how I got my daily dose of healthy, proper food.