Chapter 2: Nothing like A Free Meal

"Hiratsuka-Sensei, I think it's best if you leave it at that." The poor dude whose appearance wasn't really worth mentioning had a face that was black and blue. I don't know what he did, but he should be good to go now...

"Huh?! Who do y—Oh, Amane." Shizuka turned around quickly, clearly not expecting me or any student, for that matter. I thought adding "-sensei" would have made it clear enough, but she still didn't hide how pissed she was. If this were a genuine anime, she would definitely have a red tick mark on her forehead!

I met her after I transmigrated; the next day I had school and went to tell them that I needed a day off. Blah blah blah, and basically, Shizuka was the person I talked to, allowing her to handle everything with the school. I talked to her for a little bit, and I guess now she felt comfortable with me, but probably not as much as she did with Hikigaya from the same series. I wonder if he is present in this world?

The original Amane and Hikigaya never crossed paths as far as I can remember. Heck, were Yukino and Yui present? Come on, Amane, why didn't you pay attention?!

"Hello, Sensei." I gave a light bow of respect, which seemed to calm her down, albeit slightly.

"Came for dinner or perhaps a date? Never mind that last part; you couldn't do it if you tried!" Shizuka went for a gut punch. She had no reason to say that?!

"I'd say I have a better chance of finding someone before certain people," I responded coolly and vaguely.

"Say that again, brat?!"

"Huh? I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"

"Tch! One time. I'll let you off one time."

"?"

"Stop that!"

Heh. Nothing better than acting clueless, however, I needed to calm her down, not make her even more mad.

I pointed at the table to the left of Shizuka. "Is this your table?"

"Yeah, go ahead and take a seat. I'll let you eat with me and spare you the shame of eating alone!"

'...'

I didn't say a word and just sat. It was booth-type seating, and each side was big enough for two people. Needless to say, I sat across from her so I still had plenty of room. After sitting down, she sighed, and more of the frustration seemed to be leaving her.

"Have you ordered yet?"

"Nah. You can go first."

"Noted." I looked at the menu, and it was quite expansive, but I wanted something with eggs. Eggs were speaking to me! I looked at the menu for my heavenly eggs, and there were thankfully a lot of options, one stood out most to me though. The Tonkatsu Set with, you guessed it, eggs!

"Can I get you guys anything to drink? Or are you ready to order?" Taneshima came to take our order. I took a quick glance behind her, and at the front counter was that one girl who carried a katana around when she worked! I forgot her name, though.

I focused back on Taneshima, "I'll have the Tonkatsu Set with eggs, along with water."

"Seriously? You didn't want anything else?" Shizuka had something to say about my order, but she didn't understand it. Eggs were the creation of heaven...that and chickens.

The love of eggs was something the original Amane and I had in common. Fuse us together, and you have an egg fiend...a little cringe, but the point still stands!

I shrugged, "Does it matter?"

"Nope. I'll have the same thing as him."

Taneshima nodded and wrote down our orders! Finishing up, she went to the back quite lively, almost as if Shizuka beating a dude didn't bother her. Speaking of said dude, he scrambled at some point, and no, that wasn't a pun.

"If you were just going to get the same thing, why did you ask that?"

Shizuka shrugged her shoulders, "Does it matter?"

"..."

"Heh. I can do the same, brat."

"Tch." I playfully clicked my tongue, but I was anything but annoyed. Eating with someone was quite fun, especially someone I only used to know in a show was very fun!

"But you know, I don't see why it's so hard for me to find someone!" She slammed her hands on the table, causing a little scene but nothing like before.

Probably because you act like—?!

"You were thinking something rude?" She squinted her eyes, and I felt a sharp pain rise from my foot! She stomped on my poor foot! WHY?! He was innocent!

I raised my hands while shaking my head, "No no no. I was thinking about the food, I swear!"

"Uh-huh. Anyway, every single bastard I've gone out with has just been a disaster, and then there are dudes who won't leave me alone! Just like that douche that got his ass beat."

"Um, Hiratsuka-Sensei..."

"What now?"

"This is a FAMILY diner, so you should watch your language."

"I don't care. I'm giving them money!"

"But still, think about the kids. As a teacher, shouldn't you understand that?"

She raised her fist once more. That was enough said.

"So you were saying?" I closed my eyes, and magically the last few seconds were a blur.

"That's what I thought."

Half an hour passed, and our food arrived, but it honestly only felt like a few seconds had passed talking to Shizuka. We talked about school and other stuff; we really got closer in a student-teacher kind of way, of course.

"Here you go~!" The girl with the Katana had brought our food out, I guess Taneshima went on break? Not that it really mattered.

Yachiyo Todoroki, I looked at her name tag, and then it came back to me. A closer look at her and the mid-back length golden-brown hair, brown eyes that she somehow has closed, a warm smile that is always on her face, and an average body figure. Again, not that the figure was important, but it was just an important detail...

"Thanks!" I thanked her rather enthusiastically, the food smelt great, and it was free, so my mood was sky-high. Although, I didn't let it show too much, just with a smile.

"No problem. You two enjoy!" She walked away, and I tore into my food.

As I took my first bite of the Tonkatsu Set with eggs, my eyes lit up. The crunchy exterior of the tonkatsu gave way to the tender, juicy pork inside, seasoned perfectly to complement its rich flavor. The eggs, soft and buttery, melded seamlessly with the meat, enhancing each mouthful with their creamy texture. Truly a masterpiece! A perfect tasting of how eggs should be!

"Pfft!" I heard Shizuka trying to cover her laughter, but I didn't care. The food in front of me was most important.

[Side-Quest complete: A free meal and Relationship improved with Shizuka.]

My food just got ten times better!

[New tab unlocked: Relationship ratings]

[Rated 1 through 5. 1 being an acquaintance and 5 being either brothers/sisters or lovers.]

Noted, but that's something for later. In no time, I finished my food and put down my chopsticks.

"Hah~" A sigh of relief escaped me, and I slouched down into the booth.

"Glad it was good. I'll say this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Shizuka was still eating her food, but her mood was considerably better, hence why I completed the quest.

"Eggs are heavenly after all." I quipped with a smile on my face and relished in the feeling of fullness that I was currently experiencing.