Chapter 151: The Girl with an Overflowing Sense of Justice
As they headed towards the supermarket, Eriri said unceremoniously, "Let me tell you, I've been learning to cook from my mom for a long time. Kaede-kun has tasted it several times, so you can't question it!"
"...Is that really true?"
Utaha still seemed unconvinced and looked at Kaede, who was walking on Eriri's other side.
Kaede said with a smile, "It's true. I was also surprised when I found out; I didn't expect Eriri to start learning to cook. Although she doesn't know many dishes yet, what she makes is really delicious."
"Hmph hmph! Do you believe me now?"
Eriri proudly lifted her little head, counting on her fingers, "Let me see, I can cook about ten dishes, and I'll continue to research more in the future. So, don't always question me. If you can't cook yourself, don't assume everyone else is like you!"
"..."
Utaha's mouth twitched, but she couldn't find an angle to retort, because she really couldn't cook at all.
The few times she had eaten lunch with Eriri at school, she had thought they were equally bad, but who knew this girl had secretly learned to cook.
Should she go back and learn a few tricks from her mom too?
Wait, no, that's not right. I don't have a boyfriend, so why should I waste time learning these things?
Ugh... the more she thought about it, the more it stung.
Watching the silent Utaha, Eriri looked at Kaede with a beaming smile, giving him a victory sign, which made Kaede shake his head helplessly.
Soon, the three arrived at the large supermarket Utaha had mentioned and went directly to the vegetable and meat sections.
Pushing the cart, Kaede said to Eriri with a smile, "Eriri, you said you'd cook lunch today, so you pick the ingredients."
"I'll take care of the bill."
"Hehe, I already have some ideas!"
Saying that, she looked around the rows of packaged meats, picked a few boxes of not-so-cheap beef, and put them into the shopping cart. "Beef, then some chicken and pork. Chicken wings and ribs, all of these need to be bought. Anyway, meat can be kept in the freezer, so let's buy enough for several days."
Beside them, watching Eriri, who was muttering to herself and discussing ingredient selection with Kaede, Utaha felt like she was getting to know this girl all over again.
This wasn't her first time at this supermarket, but every time she came, it was with her mother to buy groceries. She never understood how to choose good meats or fresh vegetables, nor did she ever think of learning.
And Eriri? She was clearly a rich young lady from a wealthier family than hers, yet her current appearance truly resembled a caring little woman managing her household.
Could it be that love truly could cause such a big change in a person?
Involuntarily, Utaha took out a small notebook from her shoulder bag and began to write.
There were plenty of snacks at home, so they didn't need to buy any more. This time, they only needed to buy ingredients. After selecting nearly a cartful of ingredients and a few seasonings they didn't have at home, the three headed to the checkout area.
On the way, they saw some commotion ahead, with many customers gathered around.
The three looked at each other, and with curiosity, they also walked over.
As they got closer, they heard arguing voices coming from the crowd, and one girl's voice conveyed an unwavering determination.
"I said, apologize!"
Then a ruffian man's voice came out: "Ha? Are you sick? You tell me to apologize and I just apologize?"
Then there was another round of arguing.
Eriri stood on her tiptoes, finding she still couldn't see clearly, so she tugged on Kaede's arm. "Kaede-kun, what exactly is going on in there?"
Before Kaede could take a closer look, a middle-aged woman in front of them turned around and said in a low voice, "Just now, a hooligan from around here bumped into an old lady, and a little girl saw it and stopped the hooligan who wanted to just walk away, insisting that he apologize. Sigh, I don't know where this little girl gets her courage from; she's so small, but her sense of justice is so strong. No one around here dares to provoke that hooligan; they say he knows a lot of powerful people."
After hearing the aunt's explanation, Kaede looked at Utaha.
Utaha spread her hands and said, "Don't look at me like that. Although my house is close by, it's not right next door. It still takes seven or eight minutes to walk here, and I haven't seen any hooligans. Maybe their active times are different, and today just happened to be a collision. But where are the supermarket's security guards? Is no one managing this?"
Kaede nodded, handed the shopping cart to Eriri to watch, then squeezed forward a bit and saw the situation in the middle of the crowd.
Indeed, there was a male who looked like a hooligan, and a petite girl supporting an old lady.
Cute features, low twin-tails, a serious and solemn expression, but most importantly, Kaede saw her Shuchiin uniform.
A Shuchiin student?
He had originally thought of just watching the commotion and waiting for the supermarket staff to handle it, but since it was a Shuchiin student, and seemingly a middle schooler, there was nothing he could do but intervene.
He turned back to Eriri and Utaha and said, "It's a Shuchiin student. I'm going to help."
Eriri heard him and said nervously, "Eh? Kaede-kun, you're going? But..."
Waving his hand, Kaede said with a smile, "Don't worry. If it were somewhere else, I wouldn't go to such lengths, but given the location today, there's nothing to worry about."
Under Eriri and Utaha's puzzled expressions, Kaede squeezed into the crowd.
Rubbing her chin, Utaha said playfully to Eriri, "What do you think? Could it be that Asakura-kun found the girl inside very cute, so he wants to be a hero saving a beauty? Although I only heard her voice, just that voice alone is enough to roughly guess that the girl inside wouldn't be bad-looking."
However, the expression Utaha expected from Eriri did not appear. Instead, Eriri looked at Utaha as if she were an idiot and said, "You really can imagine things. I'm still here, so how could Kaede-kun do something like that? And besides, couldn't we just follow him?"
Saying that, she directly pushed the shopping cart and squeezed forward.
Utaha chuckled, saying in a low voice, "She really has grown a lot."
Kaede didn't know about the conversation between the two behind him. After squeezing in, under everyone's gaze, he went directly to the hooligan who was forcefully shaking off the girl's hand and preparing to leave, grabbing him.
"My friend, I suggest you apologize. You're a grown man, don't be so unreasonable."
Suddenly, another person appeared. The twenty-something hooligan glared at Kaede with extreme displeasure. "Kid, you want to be a hero too?"
"A hero? Not really." Kaede said with a smile, "I just happened to see a junior of an acquaintance, so I came to lend a hand. Also, let me ask you a question, you probably don't know whose property this is, do you? You've got quite some guts."