A blessing from a so-called heaven
Going to the convenience store would be a bother, and so Amane reclined on the balcony fence while sipping on a jelly drink from inside the house. It just so happened that Mahiru came out to her veranda.
Mahiru conspicuously brought herself outside and stared at Amane drinking, appearing fascinated.
Amane didn’t jump to the conclusion that she was there to talk, so he continued on as if nobody was watching for a while.
“You see this, right? Jelly that energizes you in just a few seconds.”
“…isn’t it dinner time right now?”
“Yeah, and this is dinner.”
“…is this the best a high schooler can afford to eat?”
“None of your business.”
Normally Amane ate convenience store meals and supermarket specialties for lunch and dinner. It was only today that he decided to eat snacks in lieu. He couldn’t buy dinner today and he wasn’t in the mood for cup ramen, so he decided to stick with jelly.
Maybe this still wouldn’t be enough, so he considered picking up more snacks later.
“…how about cooking?”
“I can’t and I won’t. I have no idea how to.”
“…so you live alone but can’t actually live alone, huh…”
“Shut up. Aren’t we not supposed to be interacting?”
Mahiru couldn’t argue against that fact, so Amane continued to slurp up the remaining jelly.
Amane was considering cleaning up after the reminder yesterday, but after this exchange, he somehow felt less motivated.
It’s no wonder that he’d say “shut up” to a statement that embarrassing. Mahiru looked at Amane and sighed softly.
“…Hold on a second.”
As soon as she said that, Mahiru returned to her room from her veranda.
“What the hell was all that?” Amane spoke to himself, with the sound of the window closing ringing out.
Hold on a second? What did he need to hold on for?
Of course, even if he looked towards Mahiru’s room, he had no idea.
(it’s getting cold. i wanna go inside)
He was told to wait, but the autumn night was colder than expected. His sweat became chilly.
And anyway, he didn’t know why he was waiting in the first place.
While taking breaths that were almost foggy (tl note: lit. white), Amane heard a buzzing sound from his door.
Seems he had a visitor.
There was only one possible person.
Without knowing why she came over, Amane went to answer the door while navigating through stacks of scattered clothes and magazines.
He could see who it was through the peephole, and so he opened the door, and as expected, light blonde hair swayed below Amane’s line of sight.
“…the hell are you doing?”
“I kind of feel sorry for you. Please let me handle the rest of whatever you’re doing.”
Tsun. With a cold voice, Mahiru put her hand out. (tl note: tsun as in tsundere, but without the dere. abrasive.)
In her extended hand was a box, filled with simmered food that you could barely make out through the translucent lid.
It’s slightly warm and steamy so it couldn’t quite be made out, but you’d definitely know it was simmered just by the looks of it.
While Amane repeatedly blinked, Mahiru sighed, seemingly understanding what he was going to ask.
“It’s because you aren’t eating well. Dietary supplements are just supplements and nothing more, so you shouldn’t be relying on them as a staple food.”
“Are you my mom?”
“What I said just now was common sense. Anyway, did you even organize your room? I found it only slightly easier to navigate.”
Mahiru glared behind Amane and from that it was easy to understand what she meant.
“…a little.”
“Obviously not. Normally you don’t find clothes scattered on the floor.”
“Why wouldn’t they be?”
“They have to be washed, dried, and folded. Also, bundle up any magazines you’re done reading, so they won’t get in the way and you won’t slip on them by accident later on.”
Those words stung a little, but Amane knew that Mahiru had good intentions anyway, so he let it slide.
In the first place, the room was exactly the same as it had been during the nursing incident.
Unable to refute, Amane shuts up and Mahiru hands him a Tupperware.
The warmth now in his hand was a godsend in this cold weather.
“…hey, is it fine if I eat this?”
“I’ll throw it away if you don’t want it.”
“Wait, thanks for this. I’m just not sure if I’m worthy of eating an angel’s handmade cooking.”
“…seriously, stop that.”
In a comical way, being called exactly what people called her at school caused Mahiru’s white cheeks to blush deep red.
As a matter of fact, it seemed that Mahiru got embarrassed whenever someone called her an angel. Amane would react the same way if it happened, so he concluded that it was probably a natural reaction.
Amane grinned at Mahiru, whose cheeks were flushed and as she was on the verge of tears.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help but say it.”
Any more than this would be a bad move, so it’d be best not to overdo it. Besides, it’s in bad taste to tease someone you’ve just met.
It seemed that Mahiru didn’t want to hear any more of this, so the situation was cleared up through a couple of convenient coughs.
Her cheeks were now a more subtle shade of red, so the mood wasn’t as awkward as before.
“Well, I’m thankful for this. Anyway, you don’t need to worry about me getting sick like last time.”
“The nursing wasn’t that big of a deal. It was mostly for myself… Anyway, I just happened to notice that your living conditions weren’t all that good.”
“Okay then.”
Since Amane did look like a degenerate just by the looks of his room, it’s only natural that Mahiru would come to that conclusion.
Even now, behind Amane was a sprawling collection of junk, and it’s not like he could hide that fact, especially after the nursing incident.
“Eating healthy is the start to living a regular life, okay?”
“Are you seriously my mom?” (tl note: the raw was おかんか, exactly the same as last time, but I added in the “seriously” for emphasis that’d otherwise be lost)
Amane eventually got tired of Mahiru’s nagging in the end.
Having returned indoors with meal in tow, Amane prepared disposable chopsticks from the supermarket and sat on a sofa in the living room.
Mahiru was the one who gave this to him, but in the end, what would it actually taste like?
The porridge she made was delicious. Amane was sick and his tongue was dull at the time, but even then it left a good mark on his stomach.
He guessed Mahiru’s cooking was good visually, but how about the actual taste?
While withholding his expectations, he opened the lid of the Tupperware, and was accosted by the soft and fluffy smell of the simmering food.
The vegetables and chicken inside were gently cooked. The colour of the soup within was light, and the carrots and peas with them were in great shape.
They were cut into bite-sized pieces, and they were colourful, appealing to the appetite of Amane, who had only eaten jelly prior.
He quickly split his chopsticks and picked up a radish.
“Yum.”
The taste immediately burst out.
Being health-conscious, Mahiru used her own soup stock as seasoning. She didn’t resort to using commercially available soup stock, but rather she made her own from bonito and kelp. The taste was completely different.
When chewing, the juice and seasoning burst out and spread throughout the mouth, along with the taste of vegetables.
The simmered vegetables were soft yet firm in the middle, and had a great taste even for people who wouldn’t consider themselves fans of vegetables.
The vegetables were mainly consumed, and the chicken was left as a fulfilling ending to the meal. The only point of complaint was that there should have been way more.
For Mahiru to have made this while only being in high school shows her skill.
There’s no way this could have been cooked by an amateur.
It would’ve been way better if there was rice and miso soup along with the meal, but he was fine with curbing his hopes.
He probably should have went out and bought instant rice.
“What an amazing angel.”
Whether it was studying, exercise, or housework, the angel in question would probably come to nag him again about it, he thought, but for now he put the thought away and focused on his vegetables.
