OtaPon 71-73 (Final) (Patreon)

Chapter 71

RAW

　When they got close to the apartment, Saki looked at Osamu.

“Osamu-san, are you going to go back home and pick up your things?”
“...Yeah, but there are also things we bought. Can’t we carry this to Saki's room first?”

　Osamu said, lifting the bag in his right hand. Inside it were the things they bought at the supermarket.
　Saki glanced at the bag, then stretched out her hand.

“That would be a double effort, so I’ll carry it.”
“...Is that okay?”

　Osamu accepted Saki's statement and handed her the bag. When she grabbed it, her expression tightened slightly.
　Then, she lifted the bag. Saki, holding a bag in each hand, nodded her head.

“If it’s just this, I can carry it all the way to my room somehow...!”

　Although trembling, Saki moved lightly on the spot to show that she could carry it.
　Osamu smiled wryly, and left them to Saki.

“Got it. Then I leave it to you. For now, I'll go back to my house, change my clothes and prepare, and then come back.”
“I understand. I'll be waiting for you.”
“Yeah.”

　Osamu parted ways with Saki and headed to his apartment.
　Returning to his room, Osamu packed his bag with clothes. His hands were shaking slightly.

(...Seriously, am I going to stay the night there? No, no, don't think about anything weird... She only said that out of her kindness, and besides, if I do something weird there, she might hate me. I’ve got to be careful...)

　Osamu told himself over and over again, nodded, and prepared what he needed for the overnight stay.

　〇

　Osamu went up to the tenth floor and rang the doorbell to Saki's room.
　After a delay, Saki showed up, and Osamu started preparing to make curry with her in the room.

“...Saki, I want to ask you something. How much curry do you usually eat?”
“...Let me think. Around 3 to 5 servings I guess?”
“...I see, I don't think we’ll be able to pre-make it.”

　Osamu glanced at the pot. As far as the amount that can be made in that pot, it should be enough to last for one day.

“H-how much do you eat, Osamu-san?”
“...When I'm hungry, I eat around 3 servings. Usually, I eat about 2 servings.”
“...I see. But it'll be okay. Once I see how it's made, I can make it too... Afterwards, I'll prepare it for you, so Osamu-san, please concentrate on writing.”
“...Re-really?”
“Yes.”

　Osamu thought that she didn't have to go that far, but he decided to gratefully accept her kindness.
　They stand up side by side in the kitchen and begin preparing the ingredients.

“Speaking of which, Saki... have you ever made curry?”
“I-I've made it before. It was when I was in elementary school though...”
“That’s during a home economics class, right?”
“...Yes.”
“But well, as long as you have some experience, I guess it’s fine... then, can I have you peel and cut the carrots?”

　Osamu handed the carrots he had finished washing to Saki.
　Saki nodded her head, took out a peeler, and used it on the carrot.
　After confirming that everything was progressing without problems, Osamu also began preparing the onions and potatoes.

“You're doing better than I thought you would.”
“What kind of person did you imagine me to be, Osamu-san?”

　As Saki sullenly puffed out her cheeks, Osamu averted his gaze from her.

“We-well... um. In any case, I'm glad you were able to do it well.”
“...Geez, please don't make fun of me.”

　Saki continued to cut the carrots, still sullen.

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Chapter 72

RAW

　All the preparations had been completed, the food was now simmering in the pot.
　He stirred it occasionally to make sure it didn't get burned and stuck on the pot.
　Just as it started bubbling, Osamu turned off the induction heater.

“Now we just have to wait for the rice to finish cooking.” (Osamu)
“...Yes.”

　Saki glanced at the rice cooker and stretched lightly.

“How is it? Do you think you can make curry?”
“How should I put it, curry isn't as hard to make as I thought it would be, I see.”

　Saki seemed to be impressed by that and said that.
　Osamu and Saki moved to the living room to take a break and sat down on the sofa facing each other.

“That's right. Besides, it's delicious even if you randomly add some vegetables, so I make it every once in a while to get some nutrition. After that, I guess it’d be the hot pot.”
“...What’s this? I thought you were the same as me, but you cook quite a lot.”
"Just every once in a while though... there are times when I think it would be bad if I didn't eat vegetables after all.”
“I do too, but in those cases I just end up going with some salad from a convenience store.”
“Well, that happens to me too.”

　As they were having such a conversation, the rice cooker made a noise and he knew that the rice was cooked.

“Then, shall we eat?”
“Yes.”

　The two got up from the sofa and then headed to the kitchen.

“I'll eat with this.” (Saki)
“...Huge.”
“I-it’s not huge!”

　Saki's cheeks turned red as she served the rice onto the plate. Osamu borrowed another smaller plate.

“Surprisingly, there are quite a few plates here.”
“...Yes, that's right. I was originally going to cook.”
“But you didn't.”
“Because, how should I put it, it’s quite troublesome, I guess...”
“...Certainly, if you live alone, you think cooking for yourself is unexpectedly expensive.”
“Yes. Generally speaking, vegetables are expensive. They are cheap if they are packaged in bags so it’s okay, but if you do that, you may not be able to eat all of it by yourself. ...And cooking takes time, so if you want more time, it's often cheaper in many ways to buy a bento than to cook yourself.”
“I guess so.”

　Smiling wryly at Saki’s enthusiasm, Osamu finished preparing the curry and placed it down at the table.
　Then they face each other and put their hands together.

“Itadakimasu.”
“...Itadakimasu.”

　Then he scooped up a mouthful of curry with his spoon and brought it to his mouth.
　It’s good. The flavor of curry is soaked into the meat and vegetables. He ate the vegetables that had become soft.

“It’s delicious, isn't it?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”

　Osamu was a little moved at the same time. This was something he had made with Saki, but it was also handmade by her.
　Saki ate the curry, and Osamu, not to be outdone, took another helping.
　But, as expected, Saki had a bigger appetite.

“Y-you can still go on?”
“Fufun, of course.”

　Saki smiled happily and headed to the kitchen.
　As he watched her back, Osamu took a small breath.

　He rested in his seat and watched Saki eat happily.
　At that moment, his eyes met Saki's, and Saki looked down in embarrassment.

“...U-um, please don't look at me too much. It's embarrassing.”
“M-my bad...”

　And, Osamu, who was looking at her in fascination, became embarrassed and looked away.

“...Do I really eat that much?”
“N-no that’s not it.”
“Then why were you staring at me so intently?”

　As Saki glared at him, Osamu returned a wry smile.
　Osamu was lost whether to say it or not, but before he knew it, he opened his mouth.

“...No, I just thought ‘how cute’.”
“C-cute!?”

　Just as she was about to put the curry in her mouth, she choked on it as hard as she could.

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Chapter 73

RAW

“O-Osamu-san is so quick to make fun of people like that.”
“I-I’m not making fun of you though...”
“...Y-y-you’re not making fun of me?”
“...”

　Osamu kept digging his own grave.
　Normally, he would have cut it off halfway.
　However, Saki looked at him with red cheeks.

“...Does that mean you really think I'm cute?”
“...I guess, so.”
“I-I see... that makes me happy, thank you very much.”

　Saki, who was so red that she was about to smoke, smiled happily. Seeing her like that, Osamu let out a wry smile.

“...You are, happy?”

　Not wanting to be done in just like that, Osamu asked.

“...Y-yeah I am. Because Osamu-san said that to me.”
“...S-so that’s how it is. ...You don’t think it's disgusting or something?”
“O-of course I don’t! H-how could you think that!”
“N-no, but... Um, Saki has been approached by many men before, right? So I thought you’d be fed up with that kind of thing.”
“I-It’s true that I’m fed up... But, it’s different with... Osamu-san.”

　Why did she say it like that?
　Osamu bit his lip. The sight of Saki smiling modestly, smiling happily somehow, made it impossible for Osamu to hold back the feelings he had inside.
　Osamu was watching Saki intently eating curry──but before he knew it, he asked her a question.

“Saki, can I have a moment?”
“Eh? What is it?”

　The feelings he hesitated to tell her. Considering what he was going to do, it was clearly a bad idea to tell her here.
　But, Osamu couldn’t suppress his greatly growing feelings.

“...Saki, I love you.”

　As Osamu said that, he thought that he had finally done it after all this time. Seeing Saki's eyes widened in surprise, Osamu wanted to take back what he had said, but he will never do that.
　Saki's eyes widened when she heard Osamu's words. The spoon that was in her mouth fell off, echoing in the quiet room.

“...O-Osamu-san... that ‘love’... does it really mean that ‘love’...?”
“...Y-yeah. I love you... as a person, and as the opposite sex.”
“...”

　Saki's cheeks were dyed red once again.
　Then, she glanced to the side.

“...Osamu-san, you're unfair. Why are you saying this at this time all of a sudden?”
“...S-sorry. Saki right now... is so cute that I can't stand it, and──”
“Th-there's no need to say anything more... ...Osamu-san, can I, um, reply now?”
“...Y-yeah.”

　Osamu got nervous and looked at Saki again.

“I love you too.”
“...Eh?”
“What do you mean ‘eh’...? The reason why I invite you to my house like this and go out with you is because, I... love Osamu-san.”
“R-really?”
“...G-geez. I thought you confessed to me because you noticed my feelings. W-was I wrong?”
“...Y-yeah. Me too, ever since we met and been together all that time, I guess you could say I was attracted to you.”

　They looked away from each other once. Then they looked at each other.
　Then, Osamu, once again, told Saki.

“I love you, Saki.”
“...I love you too, Osamu-san.”

　They looked at each other’s faces.
　Embarrassed, both of them laughed shyly at each other.

────

(T/N: That’s the end. Still, what a liar this novel is. They didn’t go to each other’s houses, and their surroundings didn’t get jealous. Well, I still liked it though. See you in the next series I translate.)

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