Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

up too.”

As expected, Mashiro jumped up in a panic, which made me feel very bad.
Mashiro always slept with a cute, happy face, which made me feel even more bad.

“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Ah, well.
I was planning to have it with Satou-san.”
“I-I see…”

There was food for both of us on the table, and I immediately noticed that Mashiro hadn’t eaten yet.

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Mashiro hadn’t eaten until I left, and she told me that as a matter of course.
I had assumed that she had already eaten and bathed, which made me feel even more sorry for her.

“I had to work late today, which is unusual for me.
I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Mashiro.”
“No, you can’t help it if you’re working.
I’ll reheat it a little.”

With that, Mashiro took the wrapped plate toward the kitchen.
As I watched her back, I could not help but feel guilty.

Mashiro didn’t seem to mind, but I realized again how much trouble I had caused her.
It was true that I had been working late and it was probably unavoidable.

However, that didn’t mean that I hadn’t taken Mashiro’s situation into consideration and hadn’t worried about her, which was something that I would never do if we were going to live together.
After all, Mashiro and I have been friends for almost two months now.
The more we trusted each other, the more we overlooked the care that should have been the norm.

“It’s ready.
Here you go.”
“A-Ahh.
Thank you…Itadakimasu”

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“Itadakimasu.”

It was not selfish to use your work schedule as an excuse to dodge household chores without notice.
If there was any possibility of disrupting the schedule of the other party, the least you can do was to take the appropriate action…or at least be polite as a human being.

I took a bite of the delicious rice, which was the same as always, then put my chopsticks down and bowed to her once again.

“Mashiro, I’m really sorry about today.
It won’t happen again.
I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize so much.
It’s not like you can call me in advance for an urgent job.
It’s not like you can call in advance for an urgency.
Please raise your head.”

While Mashiro was shaking my shoulder in a panic, I heard the words she said and looked up involuntarily.
While Mashiro was relieved that I had raised my head, I was turning my head around about what I had thought of.

It was a simple idea.
If I could contact her in some way, just in case, I could prevent something like this from happening.
And if something happened to her, she would be able to contact me immediately.
Such a thing that can solve everything.

I stared at the “thing” in my hand and decided on my plans for the weekend.