After today, I have realized that Maki-chan might be smarter than I am. Or else, how would she have deadlocked me in this school solely with wordplay and my love for her? Its ridiculousness has no bounds. It is like being an ant surrounded by dried paint and not being able to get out.
And, even so, all I can feel towards her is affection and pride. She is cute and far surpasses me in intelligence.
Thinking these things, I realize I should try to get some sleep. So, I go for a jog at around 7 pm, come back by 8, and cook myself dinner, eat, take a bath, and lie down on my bed to go to sleep.
Tomorrow is a holiday. So, I might as well spend it at my home, coding...
x-x-x
After i woke up, I followed my simple routine of waking up, exercising, coming back to my dorm to cook for myself, eat, then take a bath, then decide what to do next.
Luckily for me, today is programming.
There is something awesome about coding. And, it is that the computer's honesty knows no bounds.
But then, as that thought crosses my mind, I think of people creating AI. Of course, the one thing I thought was honest is no longer perfectly trustworthy.
Are humans the enemy of trust or something?
I mean, if everyone told the truth, there would be no lies, and if they were all lies, then it would be known that what they are saying is false. But! Humans always choose the balance; you will never know what they say is true or not with 100% certainty.
The worst thing is, they have tainted the computers I so love.
Well, no point in thinking too much. Or, I might as well become a genocide specialist.
First of all, I would like to thank myself for thinking of the council thing. Though it led to a troublesome confrontation with Horikita-senpai, on the contrary, I do not have to deal with the shields around Ichinose. She would be grateful and come to thank me on her own. Then, talking with her in private would not be so difficult as before.
I will definitely take that as a win.
Also, I vow not to mock the boys who literally cry with joy when a popular girl talks to them in private.
Make no mistake, I would still mock the unbearable simps, but I understand that... Wait a second, am I becoming a high-school boy through and through?
No way, right! ARGHH!
Calm down, Souta, calm down. (Breathes in slowly, breathes out slowly). I do not even know why I almost got lost in that dangerous territory. High-school girls are scary!
As I spent the day doing what I love. I got up at 1 pm to make myself lunch. After I just finished making it, the doorbell rang.
I went to open the door and saw...
"Ichinose-san?!"
"Shikakoi-kun. Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon. Wait! That is not the key concern. Why are you here?"
"Am I not welcome?"
"No, no, no, that is not what I meant. (Breathe in, breathe out) Sorry, please come in!"
"Sorry for the intrusion!"
As she settled herself inside, I brought the food I had cooked. I guess sharing it now is common courtesy.
"So, I have just finished cooking, would you like to eat together?"
"So you really cook your bento." She said as if amazed.
"Who do you think cooked them?"
"I thought you paid a girl to cook them for you."
"A reasonable guess, I suppose. But, I was the one cooking them, you see."
I said as I pushed a plate towards her.
"What is this?"
"Chicken gravy. The gravy is inspired by North Indian cuisine, but it's less spicy. And you can tell that there is rice..."
"I can tell for sure..."
"Well, then..." she said, watching me closely... Am I going to have to do this too... Urgh! The only person I would like to do this with is my sister.
"Let's dig in! (unison)."
"So, may I ask you why you are here, Ichinose-san?"
"Well, I came here to apologize." She said, a little downcast.
"Apologize, for what?" I asked, a little dazed. Did she do something?
"I caused a lot of trouble for you yesterday."
"Me bringing you to the nurse's office was on my own accord, though. Nothing to worry about!"
"You say that, but if I had never fallen unconscious, then you would not need to."
"Ichinose-san. If I were to fall unconscious, and you were to carry me. Would my apology afterwards gratify you, or make you feel bad?"
"I get that, but still..."
"Why do you think that causing others trouble is extremely bad?"
"What do you mean? Isn't it obvious that we should not cause trouble to others?"
"You see, the lesson is called, 'not causing unnecessary trouble'. Causing trouble, making mistakes are all part of human nature."
"Even so, the trouble I caused you could have been avoided."
"You are the one who pulled an all-nighter."
"And it caused you trouble." She said, with a downcast expression. I am so sad that the food I cooked is getting cold. About her, I do not know whether I feel frustrated or sad.
I would rather avoid her getting dependent on me. What do I do?
"Ichinose-san. You are thinking too deeply."
"Huh?!" Her reaction was a little shocked. Perhaps she expected me to remain gentle; she did not expect my tone to change so much.
I picked up my spoon, tapped it lightly against the plate, and said, "The food is getting cold. So listen while eating."
She blinked once, then quietly picked up her spoon too.
"Tell me something," I continued. "What do you think kindness is?"
"That is sudden..."
She thought for a moment. Then said, "Helping others. Not causing them trouble. Being considerate."
"(Sighs deeply) The moment kindness becomes 'not causing trouble,' people start mistaking existence for inconvenience. (I waited for a second before continuing,) Tell me, do you think humans are perfect?"
"No, not at all."
"Exactly, if humans were perfect, then there would be no need to change. But humans are still the most developed species on Earth. The reason is adaptability, or the willingness to change."
"What does that have to do with our discussion?"
"It means that the concepts humans make are not absolute. What is absolute, however, is reality. So the ideas that survive reality are the ones worth keeping."
"You mean to say that I should stop being kind because reality will not allow it?" She said, her tone was downcast. I felt like she was going to say something like 'I will not give up on being kind' or something. Better to to fix the misunderstanding...
So, I continued, making my tone somewhat softer, "I am not asking you to stop being kind. I am asking you not to burn yourself for it. You think that it only hurts you, but the truth is, when you sacrifice yourself, you hurt every person who trusts you with themselves."
I continued, as if to signal the end of the conversation, "If it becomes too complicated, just try paying attention to 'respect' and 'fairness'. When respect and fairness can no longer stay together, that is usually where self-sacrifice begins. Of course, that is just my thinking."
I said, after my speech, "Well, since we're done eating, I'll clean up."
"I can help you."
"Thank you, Ichinose-san. (As I went to the sink, I said) I have something else I wanted to talk about."
She asked, as she started cleaning the table, whilst I washed the dishes, "Wasn't this what you wanted to talk about?"
"It was not. What I wanted to talk about was the class atmosphere."
"What about it?"
"Well, I think that the points we receive next month will be based on how ideal students we are without punishment."
"Then why didn't you tell this to me in front of everyone? It is not like we should hide this."
"Well, it is because if we know this, then we hold an advantage over other classes."