Throne of Kings (Onodera Ritsu Edition)

Chapter 1

Onodera Ritsu's POV

...How odd.

I scanned the bench once again. Confused and puzzled mixed, I turned to look at the trash can where I just came from, then turned to the bench where I just sat.

This is really strange. I swear I left the paper bag filled with some food together with my bag on this bench when I gone to throw out some rubbish. The bag is still there, but not the paper bag. I lifted my gaze and now scanned the surroundings. Not a lot of people. And, judging from their outfits, I don't think there's any homeless people here who would steal my belongings. If there were, my bag would also be stolen.

I lifted my beg when I felt somewhat anxious and rummaged inside. Good, everything is still there. My work papers, my phone, my wallet, everything is still inside the bag, yet the food is gone.

I pondered for a bit.

"I bought the food, right?"

I switched on my smartphone and checked mt transaction history. The transaction history of when I bough the food by scanning my phone is still there, which means I am not hallucinating.

Then how?

How can my food disappear?

I sat down on the bench and stared at the distance in a daze. Whatever it was, that strange thing must have happened because I am acting out of character today.

For a particularly no reason, I felt strangely serene today. I went to the office and finished some of my editing work. True enough, my crush, Takano Masamune is still as annoying and as pushy as ever, but I couldn't remember whether I ever retorted to his statements, which I would always do, or not. I went together with him to check up on one of the mangaka who was struggling to meet the deadline, yet for some reason, we managed to help the mangaka without a hitch. That made things easier for the rest of the day, and I was able to leave the office early for the first time in a long time.

Which then, constitutes to this current situation I am in. I bought some food from the nearby kiosk, and was about to eat it in this park, but yeah, the food is all gone now and I am here alone without any food.

...

Did I just call Takano Masamune my crush?

-__-

I ruffled my hair and turned my face to the right side. At a distance not too far from me, rows of a handful kiosk opened, and some of them have an ample number of customers I can see the waiting line.

"Waiting will be a pain, but I can always buy more if I want." My statement sounded when I glanced at each of the kiosks.

"Buy more of what?"

I fluttered my eyes, before turning to my left side to see Takano Masamune standing right next to me, while carrying a paper bag.

My mind went off somewhere for a bit.

"That isn't my paper bag, right?" I commented.

Judging from the twitch of his eyelids beyond that pair of glasses, I guessed that it wasn't mine.

Suddenly he smirked.

"If you want the paper bag, I can give it to you."

I narrowed my eyes. "No thank you."

Then, I glanced down to my bench, before standing up and extending my hand towards the bench. "You can sit here if you want." I think I'll just buy something and eat it at home. I didn't even know why I am here in the first place.

I saw a slight frown on his eyebrows. He sat down and placed the paper bag beside him, before grabbing my extended hand.

"Come eat with me. I bought a lot of food for us."