v01_c12_The_Rules_of_Set_Meals

GJ-Bu

Volume 01

Chapter 12

The Rules of Set Meals

[TN: In japan a set meal (teishoku) is a common convention for meals that consists of a main dish and a side dish, always accompanied by rice and miso soup.]

On the path to the station from school, there was a ramen shop that didn’t look too popular.

After idly chatting in the clubroom until the announcement that they had to go home, on their way back, if somebody said “I’m hungry.”, they’d all end up going to that place.

It was usually Kirara, even though she’d always continue to eat her fried chicken or spare ribs or whatever.

“Sup, pops! Let’s eat on the tatami seats?”

Mao stepped in as if it was her own house.

The table over the tatami seats was filled with things. It didn’t look like it was set there for customers at all.

Mao swoop the table clean with her elbow, roughly clearing it up from needless things and carelessly throwing them onto the floor. Apparently, she knew the owner since she was a little kid.

“Wow, sonny, you’re surrounded by beauties. Wanna trade places with gramps?”

The old man made a strange hand sign.

Kyouya only cast his eyes down fixedly. He was surrounded by Mao, Megumi, Shion and Kirara,  4 beautiful girls and women. He had absolutely no objections on that part. He only wished the man would stop making that obscene sign with his thumb in front of him.

[TN: He’s probably doing the fig sign, which is offensive in Japan and carries sexual connotations.]

Megumi didn’t understand what it meant, so she just looked in puzzlement. Shion turned her face slightly to the side and watched the framed celebrity signatures that were hanging on the wall.  Mao sported a wide grin. As for Kirara, she didn’t seem to show any reaction.

The girl had her eyes fixed on an old, stained menu that looked as if it hadn’t changed in ten years until Mao took it from her hands.

“Let’s all order accordingly then. We can split the portions.”

And so it was decided that they'd all ordered in accordance.

The first to open her mouth was Mao.

“Pops! First, we’ll have the fried rice set meal with a large serving of rice.”

“Right away!”

Kyouya had his mouth half open with a “Huh?”

What’s a fried rice set meal?

He’d never heard of it before. Surely it had to be something like a ramen and fried rice set, he tried to assure himself. But if that was the case, what did she mean with a large serving of rice? Why was there rice?

After the wait, the real thing came out.

“There you go! Fried rice set meal with a large serving of rice!”

He put the fried rice on the table and beside it a bowl with a mountain of white rice. It really was a fried rice set meal. Not just a set meal with fried rice, but an honest to God fried rice set meal.

Kyouya turned his face to the side and gazed sideways at the fried rice. It was ordinary fried rice, no matter from what angle or how you looked at it, it was fried rice, nothing else.

“Let’s dig in!”

“Eating living beings. Show gratitude.”

“Oh, God in heaven that grants us life...”

After making each their own prayers or greetings, they split the food and started to eat.

The mountain of fried rice that Kyouya was observing with the side of his eyes was steadily cut down. Without saying a word, as if it were perfectly normal, everybody ate their fried rice with white rice on the side.

“You’re not eating, Shinomiya-kun?”

“Hey, Kyoro, if you don’t eat it it’s going to be over before you know it.”

Being told that by Megumi and Mao, Kyouya split his disposable chopsticks.

The fried rice really was genuine fried rice. He tried taking the just the fried rice, without the side dish, but Mao got mad at him and Megumi kindly warned him that he should eat the white rice too.

Kyouya went quiet, served himself of the side dish and ate the white rice too.

“Pops! Next is a yakisoba set meal with a large serving of rice!”

Another order came from Mao.

What came next was a large portion of yakisoba with another mountain of rice. Kyouya observed it with the corner of his eyes again. As expected, no matter how he looked at it, it was simply Yakisoba.

Through Kyouya’s eyes, that could barely be called said to exist. It was akin to the “Okonomiaki set meal” they said Kansai people ate.

The mountain of Yakisoba gradually disappeared.

What kind of strange order would come next? Kyouya had expectations of seeing something scary.

“Pops! Next is a Gyoza set meal. With extra rice.”

The Gyoza set meal came out. It was served in portions for two.

“This isn’t normal at all!”

Kyouya shouted abruptly, unable to keep it inside any further.

“What are you getting so mad about?”

“I’m not mad!”

Thinking that nobody there would understand his plea, Kyouya went silently back to eating.

Everybody was already starting to eat their Gyoza set meal, but Kyouya’s plate still had plenty of the fried rice left.