Chapter 20: Delinquent Interruption
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20: Delinquent Interruption
April 22nd (Sat) [11:58 AM]
If the first floor was themed around marine life, the second floor was dedicated to aquatic creatures living in rivers and streams.
Beavers, freshwater crayfish, frogs, salamanders—the variety was a bit less than the first floor, but a good number of creatures still lived inside the tanks.
"Wow! So cute!"
Tojo exclaimed repeatedly, watching a beaver build a dam with branches.
Sakamoto, with his hands in his pockets, also seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit.
"Ryu-chan! Ryu-chan! Look at this! This frog looks so weird, right?"
"Yeah, it does."
Forgetting we were even supposed to be tailing them, I played along with Kishimoto, who was captivated by a mottled frog, and scanned our surroundings.
Unlike the first floor, the lighting on the second floor was relatively bright.
It seemed to be because many river creatures move between land and water, so they had created artificial groves.
The bright lights made it impossible to get as close as before, so we had no choice but to watch from a distance.
About fifteen minutes passed as Tojo and Sakamoto explored the second floor.
Having seen everything there was to see, the two took the spiral staircase at the end of the floor back down to the first.
It looked like they had spent about forty minutes in the aquarium.
It was about time for lunch anyway, so we decided to leave as well.
"Rika, let's go now."
"Ah… wait, just let me see this."
"We don't have time."
"Noooooo~!"
As I forcibly dragged her away, Kishimoto reached out with a pitiful cry toward a beaver that was in the middle of its meal.
*
April 22nd (Sat) [12:20 PM]
After leaving the aquarium, Tojo and Sakamoto walked to Minami-Ikebukuro Park, about a ten-minute walk away.
"Wow, there are so many people out for a picnic."
"You're right."
It was like looking at Central Park in New York or Hangang Riverside Park.
Families and couples were spread out on blankets across the wide lawn, chatting and laughing.
If this were Korea, we would have just ordered delivery with a single phone call instead of packing a lunch, but since this was Japan, I had woken up at dawn to prepare one.
When I took the three-tiered, black-lacquered lunch box out of the bag I’d been carrying all morning, Kishimoto’s eyes lit up.
"Wow! You packed a lunch!"
"You have to eat well if you're going to tail someone."
I said, opening the first tier of the lunch box.
"Wow! Gimbap and fried tofu sushi!"
"I put a little extra effort in today."
It was gimbap and yubuchobap, the classic menu for a Korean picnic.
It wasn't just regular gimbap, either; this one had pork cutlet and tuna inside. The yubuchobap was filled with furikake and beef.
I'd packed a generous amount since it was for the two of us. If there were any leftovers, they'd be going into my stomach for dinner.
Next, I opened the lid of the second tier.
"Fried food! Rolled omelets! Meat and potato stew!"
"The staples of a picnic."
If the first tier was Korean-style, the second was filled with Japanese-style lunch side dishes.
I had brought karaage and shrimp tempura, tamagoyaki, nikujaga, and various pickled vegetables, or tsukemono.
Protein and carbs are important, but you can't have a balanced meal without vitamins and fiber.
There was no need to open it yet, but for Kishimoto, who was staring with expectant eyes, I opened the lid of the final, third tier.
"Amazing! Even dessert is perfect!"
Kishimoto was genuinely delighted.
Inside were various fruits like cherry tomatoes, oranges, melon, and watermelon.
I had just bought a small fruit cup from a convenience store and repackaged it.
It was much more cost-effective to buy a small assortment like this than to buy all the different kinds of fruit separately.
Instead of a blanket, we sat on a wooden park bench, sharing the three-tiered lunch I had packed while watching the couple on their date.
*
Gulp.
Tojo Karen was more nervous now than she had been all day.
It was, after all, the very first time she had ever cooked for someone.
This was the best lunch box she could make, the result of practicing day and night for three days straight, following the recipe Kim Yoo-Sung had given her.
And now, the fruits of her labor were about to enter the mouth of the person she liked.
"Wow, did you make all this yourself, Tojo-san? Thanks for the food."
She nodded in response to Sakamoto's question and said, "You can eat as much as you want. I made a lot."
"Then… I'll start with a rice ball."
With Tojo watching, the first thing Sakamoto picked up was a triangular rice ball.
The fillings were umeboshi, pickled salmon, and mentaiko mayo—three kinds.
She hadn't gotten this recipe from Kim Yoo-Sung, but from the head chef at her mansion.
Even with side dishes, she figured it was better than just bringing plain rice.
"Wow, this is delicious!"
Fortunately, her choice was the right one.
She had succeeded in drawing a "delicious" from Sakamoto's lips.
Gaining confidence from this, Tojo was able to boldly recommend the next item.
"Try this next."
What she offered him with her chopsticks was a piece of golden-brown karaage.
Her masterpiece, a fried dish she had finally managed to make edible after dozens of practice runs.
Sakamoto, who had been gobbling down the rice ball while muttering how delicious it was, hesitated for a moment at the unexpected gesture. But when Tojo's gaze sharpened, he quickly opened his mouth and accepted the karaage.
Chew, chew.
"I-It's delicious."
"Right? Have some of the rolled omelet and Vienna sausage, too."
From then on, it was smooth sailing.
She sat beside Sakamoto, feeding him this and that, waiting on him as he ate.
Sakamoto, who had looked uncomfortable at first, seemed to give up at some point and began to readily accept the side dishes she offered.
By the time the lunch box Tojo had prepared was about half-empty, Sakamoto must have decided this couldn't go on, and offered her some food in return.
"Don't just feed me. You should eat too, Tojo-san."
Tojo blinked, her chopsticks still in hand.
"I'm fine. Just watching you enjoy your food is enough to make me full."
"It's making me uncomfortable. Here!"
Tojo stared blankly at the rice ball Sakamoto offered her, then finally nodded and took a large bite.
As if that broke the ice, she grabbed the rice ball with both hands and began to eat ravenously.
Sakamoto Ryuji watched her with a pleased smile before pouring some oolong tea from a thermos and handing it to her.
As if she had been choking, Tojo hastily took the cup of oolong tea and gulped it down.
"Phew~!"
Forgetting to act coy for even a moment, Sakamoto grinned at her hearty way of eating and asked, "See? Eating together is better than eating alone, right?"
Realizing too late that she had shown an unladylike side of herself, Tojo's face turned red as a tomato as she nodded.
"Yeah."
And so, their private mealtime passed in a warm atmosphere.
*
After finishing their lunch in Minami-Ikebukuro Park, Tojo and Sakamoto took a slow walk along the park's tree-lined path.
Watching them from afar while sipping on green tea from a vending machine, Kishimoto muttered.
"I want to go on a date like that someday…"
Hearing that, I felt something was off.
"Rika, didn't you call yourself a love expert last time?"
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Rika quickly covered her mouth.
But knowing she couldn't take back words already spoken, she giggled and confessed.
"Actually, I've never done it myself. I learned it all from manga."
"…"
So you've been acting all high and mighty with knowledge you got from manga?
"Ah, but I've seriously given my friends a lot of relationship advice! For real!"
I had a lot to say, but since that wasn't the important thing right now, I decided to let it go.
More importantly, that Tojo… the mood between them is great. Isn't it about time she confessed?
Just as I thought that and turned my head back forward.
"Well, well~ what a nice picture."
Something completely unexpected happened.
"We've been looking all over for you, you pretty boy bastard."
"Last time you stole a girl we were hitting on, and now you're with a new one?"
"Isn't he quite the player?"
In the brief moment I'd looked away, a group of delinquents who looked like they'd jumped straight out of a manga had appeared and surrounded the strolling couple.
"Should I call the police?"
"No, wait. Even if you report it now, it'll take them a while to get here. If things get dicey, I'll step in."
I stopped a panicked Kishimoto and watched to see how Tojo and Sakamoto would handle being surrounded by the punks.
If this was one of the events from the original story, it might be better for us not to interfere.
Immediately after, Sakamoto, who seemed to know them, stepped forward and shouted.
"You guys! How dare you show your faces!"
"Ooh, scary. You gonna hit us again? This time, I think we'll need to be hospitalized for a whole month."
The delinquents said this while pretending to clutch their necks and arms, which were in casts.
"Grr… you cowards."
It was a short exchange, but it was enough to figure out their relationship.
These were the first-year freshmen from the kendo club I'd only heard about in passing.
Apparently, these two were the ones who had ganged up on Sakamoto 2-on-1 and gotten their asses kicked.
"Because we fought you and got caught lying about it, we got kicked out of the kendo club we barely managed to get into!"
"Do you have any idea the pain we're in, now that we can't see Fuma-senpai's amazing chest anymore!"
It was at that moment.
"You idiots!"
Tojo, who had been listening quietly from the back, shouted in an enraged voice.
"Don't you realize you were kicked out of the kendo club because you keep acting like this?!"