The Breakup
I woke up a bit earlier than usual to make tamagoyaki. I heated up some lettuce and frozen broccoli and packed it into a bento box with nikujaga. Done.
Misato had said she wanted to try some too, but I told her, “You have school lunch,” and convinced her to give up. Instead, I promised to make her the best curry doria tonight.
I still wasn’t sure if that dream was truly about the world after my death in my previous life. But it had felt real. That’s why I owed Misato a debt I could never repay. I swore to be as kind to her as I could in this life.
Then came lunchtime.
We met in an empty classroom to eat. Rika exclaimed, “Did you really make this, Senpai!?” in astonishment.
“Surprisingly colorful, isn’t it?”
The nikujaga was brown, but the tamagoyaki was yellow, the lettuce and broccoli were green, and I’d added cherry tomatoes for a pop of red. I’d tried to make it visually appealing, aiming for something that would please both Kaede-san and Rika. Not that I’d admit it out loud.
“It looks great!”
“Go ahead and try it. Kaede-san and Misato said it was delicious, but I hope it suits your taste too.”
On the second day, the potatoes in the nikujaga had broken down a bit, making the texture thicker and the flavor richer. Stewed dishes really came into their own on the second day.
For someone like me, cooking simple stews was a surprisingly good fit. Dishes like simmered daikon, for example, were easy—just chop it up and simmer it in mentsuyu. Adding chicken wings could even turn it into a feast.
“This is incredibly delicious. The flavors have soaked in so well…”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“It’s honestly so good that I’m shocked.”
Now that I thought about it, this was the first time in my second life that I’d cooked a homemade meal for Rika.
It made me genuinely happy. Cooking for someone important and seeing them enjoy it was a special kind of joy.
“Come on, admit it—you were a little suspicious at first, weren’t you?”
“Well, maybe a bit.”
We laughed together.
“Senpai, are we going to the computer club after school today?”
Rika seemed eager again today, which was nice, but…
“Apparently, the president is still out sick. I checked in advance. So, why don’t we work at my house instead?”
“Wow, Senpai. Always so prepared. Sure, it’s been a while since I visited. I’m looking forward to it. But, um…”
Rika hesitated, lowering her eyes and speaking softly.
“Aren’t you worried about your girlfriend? Spending so much time with me, just the two of us—it might be inappropriate, even if we are childhood friends.”
She had a point, but I smiled and reassured her, “Don’t worry about that.”
“I’ve decided to end things with Miyabi properly. Turns out, she’s been cheating on me. I think she’s just been toying with me this whole time.”
Hearing this, Rika’s expression turned unusually cold, and she froze for a moment. I realized I’d dampened the mood after we’d been having such a good time.
“It’s okay. I’ve made my peace with it. I think the best revenge against her is for me to be as happy as I can. That’s why I’m moving on and forgetting about someone who didn’t value me.”
“That’s amazing…”
“Not really. I just finally realized it. Anyway, let’s meet at my place after school. We’ll probably wrap up in about an hour, so come over whenever you like.”
“Okay.”
And with that, we agreed to meet again after everything was resolved.
After school, I waited for Miyabi behind the gym. Eventually, she arrived.
“What’s this about? Why did you want to talk?”
For some reason, her face was pale. Maybe she wasn’t feeling well. But I couldn’t afford to show her any pity. This was the same girl who had cheated on me after just one month of dating. She’d admitted to it in my previous life, so I knew it was true.
We had been dating for six months now. Which meant she had been seeing that guy for the past five months.
“Miyabi, is there something you’re hiding from me?”
“Huh? Of course not! What are you talking about?”
I didn’t miss the flicker of panic that crossed her face, though she quickly tried to mask it.
“I know, Miyabi. I know you’ve been secretly seeing a third-year Senpai. You’ve been going to that café in the next town, haven’t you? And after that… love hotels.”
Her eyes widened in shock, and she collapsed to the ground as if her legs had given out.
“No… How do you know? No, you can’t know. If you leave me, I’ll be finished. Please, no. Don’t leave me. I’ll break it off with him right away. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me!”
“Why should I forgive a woman who betrayed me? You can cling to that guy instead.”
Her excessive pleas reminded me of what happened in my first life when I’d tried to reconcile with her. But…
“No, that won’t work. I know it won’t work. Please, let’s start over. I’ll do anything you say. Just don’t leave me!”
She clung to me, begging desperately, but I gently pulled her hands away.
“I’m sorry. I can’t do that. I can’t trust someone who’s betrayed me over and over again. Please, don’t ever speak to me again. I have no time to waste on you anymore. Goodbye. For what it’s worth, thank you for everything so far.”
She tried to chase after me, but tripped and fell. Normally, I would’ve extended a hand to help her up, but now, the very thought of touching Miyabi repulsed me. Without looking back, I walked away.
“Wait! Please!”
For my own protection, I had recorded the entire conversation. Knowing her and that guy, I couldn’t predict what underhanded tricks they might try. In my previous life, they’d even stolen my client contacts to destroy my company.
Now that she had admitted to cheating, there was no way for her to deny it. If they tried to harass me, I’d use this recording as evidence. As an extra precaution, I quickly emailed a copy of the audio to my home computer. Even if they stole or destroyed my phone, I’d have backups. Later, I’d save the file to a USB drive. There was no way they could erase all copies. My self-defense was airtight.
“What am I supposed to do? How did it come to this…? If it’s like this, I might as well just…”
After shaking off Miyabi’s pursuit, I left the school. I couldn’t understand why she had clung to me so desperately. Was her pride hurt? Or was she shaken because someone she looked down on had defied her? Maybe that guy had ordered her to keep dating me for some reason.
“Well, whatever.”
I decided to cut all ties with them. Dwelling on it was a waste of time, and the thought alone made my stomach turn.
Instead, I focused on heading home to work with Rika on our plans. Last night, I’d brainstormed several project ideas on my computer.
I had already printed them out, so I wanted Rika’s feedback. If things went well, we might even start working on them tonight.
I also stopped by the supermarket to buy snacks and some cheese for the curry doria.
“I wonder if Rika will stay for dinner?”
I’d made plenty of curry, enough for four servings of doria. If needed, I could make extra white sauce and reduce the curry portions per serving. Tonight’s doria would be simple.
Just place rice in an oven-safe dish, pour over the curry and white sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and bake. The only real task was making the white sauce, and once you got the hang of it, it took less than ten minutes.
“Senpai! Great work today!”
Startled, I turned to see Rika behind me.
“Why are you so surprised? Are you done with your errands?”
“Yeah, I even picked up some snacks. I know you like Jagabee.”
“I love it!”
I also grabbed my favorite Choco Pies. Honestly, I firmly believe Choco Pies are the best snack in the world—the ultimate combo of chocolate and cream.
“So, are you staying for dinner? I’m making curry doria with the leftover curry.”
“Really? Can I?”
“Of course. I even bought extra pizza cheese for it.”
“Yay!”
Rika beamed with joy and quickly pulled out her phone to message her parents for permission. Her quick actions made me chuckle.
“What’s so funny, Senpai? We don’t have much time in life, you know. If you slack off, your youth will slip away in no time!”
“Hey now, you sound like me yesterday. Did you read some self-help book?”
A gentle, warm breeze passed between us.
“Nope. I was inspired by you, Senpai. So, what’s the plan for today?”
“I prepared some project proposals and collected videos of free game playthroughs. Let’s watch a few short ones so you can get a sense of what’s out there.”
I’d figured it would be easier to understand by watching examples, so I’d compiled them last night.
“Thanks! I tried looking things up too, but it was overwhelming and gave me a headache.”
That made sense. It was hard to know where to start with things like this. I’d felt the same way in the beginning.
“Let’s start slow and have fun with it. If you develop a mental block early on, it’ll just get harder.”
Games are meant to be enjoyed. If the creators aren’t having fun, the end product won’t be enjoyable either. You don’t have to be perfect from the start. Just take it step by step, figuring out what you can and can’t do along the way.
“Good. I was worried you’d throw something too challenging at me right away. By the way, is Misato-chan home already?”
“Ah—”
I hadn’t mentioned it yet.
“Actually, she has club activities today, so she’ll be home late.”
“I see…”
Rika seemed a little tense. Understandable, given that she’d be alone with a guy, and Misato wouldn’t be around.
But I had genuinely invited her over to work on club activities. These things had to follow proper steps. In my previous life, Rika had told me I was her first boyfriend.
I wanted to treasure her. Even as she mumbled anxiously to herself about whether her underwear matched today, I stayed resolute.
Somehow, I knew this would be a fun and productive session. With a mix of excitement and anticipation, we quickened our pace toward my house.