Kazuya looked at her pitiful expression, and could only say to the ramen shop owner, "Another bowl... the largest one."
The shop owner, unafraid of hearty eaters, was both surprised and delighted, "Sure! I'll bring it right over! Here's a side dish for you. Miss, eat slowly and don't burn yourself."
Haruna slapping her chest in a hearty manner, "I'm not afraid of burns. Uncle's ramen is really delicious... Can I have an extra egg?"
"No problem!" As long as Haruna didn't reveal her retarded nature, her pure and innocent face was quite deceptive. The shop owner readily agreed.
An extra-large bowl of ramen and oden arrived together. Just as Kazuya picked up a piece of simmered radish and blew on it, he saw Haruna use her chopsticks to coil up the noodles and stuff them into her mouth. He advised, "Sakura, no one is competing with you. Take your time."
Haruna ignored him, already having stuffed the noodles into her mouth. She mumbled, "I eat like this at home. No problem, no problem... Oh, by the way, just call me Haruna, calling me Sakura makes me feel like you're calling me big sister."
"Is that okay?" Kazuya hesitated a bit. Calling each other by name in Japanese high schools had a special meaning, indicating a close relationship. If it wasn't due to a childhood friendship, it was generally understood as being in a romantic relationship.
"It's okay. You treated me to ramen, you're a good person. I agree to you calling me that. When we were in junior high, classmates in our class called my sister Sakura and call me Haruna." She was already sipping the soup, but the egg got stuck in her mouth, and she still spoke somewhat unclearly.
Chewing on a radish, Kazuya speculated that the two sisters were probably in the same class before. Classmates must have adopted this naming convention for convenience. Just giving someone food makes you a good person, how simple-minded can you be? Don't get easily deceived by others!
Watching Haruna finish all the ramen soup, Kazuya touched his wallet and quickly asked, "Saku... er, Haruna, there's something I've always been curious about. Why does your sister inexplicably target me? I don't recall ever offending her."
Haruna chewed on the side dish noisily, cheerfully saying, "It's because of me!"
"You?" Kazuya was even more puzzled. He hadn't heard of Haruna until today.
"Yes!" Haruna took the ramen bowl again, "My sister didn't want to go to Hope Peak Academy at first. But the school's affairs department people kept coming to her, offering to exempt all fees and asking her to attend. Then my sister laid out a condition... This side dish is a bit salty... She insisted on bringing me along and both of us got free tuition. Otherwise, she wouldn't go... Is there shrimp oil in this? It tastes good... I don't know how she explained it, but the affairs department people said if she got first place, both of us would get everything for free at school. Otherwise, at most, they would waive my tuition, and we still had to pay miscellaneous fees."
Haruna's words were somewhat mumbled and interspersed with unclear expressions, but Kazuya managed to understand it reluctantly. It turned out that the little radish, Haruka Sakura, had planned quite well. She wanted to bring her sister along to attend school for free but ended up getting the third position in the exam, causing the plan to be aborted halfway.
"So, your family... is not so rich?" he asked. Was the reason the little radish always making trouble because the family was in debt, a poor household?
Haruna resumed slurping the noodles, vaguely saying, "My sister has been handling the accounts, and I'm not very clear about it. It seems not great. Anyway, there never seems to be enough food. Personally, I think my sister is making unnecessary efforts. I'd rather work early and earn money. But she insisted, forcing me to go to high school. She even says she'll take me to college. Just thinking about it makes me sad. It's really distressing... Uncle, another bowl!"
After a moment of silence, Kazuya felt that Haruka had done the right thing. He chimed in, "Studying is still a good choice. While studying might not determine your life's upper limit, it does set your life's lower limit. Your sister is probably considering your future. She's in the third, and how are your grades? If they're decent, you should try your best for the future..."
Haruna waved her hand, interrupting his words. She laughed heartily and somewhat proudly said, "My grades are terrible. I'm ranked last in the year. I didn't even want to participate in the entrance exams. My sister forced me, and I filled it out randomly. My total score... I forgEt, anyway, I didn't reach 100 points in nine subjects. Chinese had the highest score, 9 points. I don't remember the rest."
Kazuya didn't know what to say. What was there to be proud of? Why did her expression look like she had achieved some world record?
Wiping her mouth, Haruna took another bowl of ramen, "Never mind. Since my sister insisted, I'll just hang around at school for three more years. My sister and Akiho are very smart. Chika and Ayaka have average grades. After graduating from high school, I'll work hard to earn money to support their university education. In the future, they'll all become scientists, renowned worldwide, breaking out into the universe!"
She finished speaking and resumed slurping the noodles, seeming carefree.
Kazuya suggested that if she had the opportunity, she should enter the univrsity. Moreover, given Haruna's abilities, she could easily excel in kendo. According to the Kendo Club's Ippei Horri, Haruka had the potential to stand out in the county competition and eventually qualify for the national competition. Haruna was better than her in kendo. There were also specialized sports universities in Japan, and a talent like her would undoubtedly be welcomed.
Although Haruka was an unreasonable radish, she seemed to have a clear understanding. No, she probably had this plan in mind. The sister's grades weren't good, but she couldn't let her sister become a bottom-tier member of society. So she forcefully pushed her into high school, hoping that through club activities, she could achieve good results and receive a recommendation for university.
Judging by the little radish's performance, she might even have ambitions to get her sister into a renowned university. In the future, having a good education would at least lead to a stable job, and even if life wasn't carefree, it wouldn't be too difficult.
What a thoughtful effort!
Kazuya fell into silence for a moment. In his previous life, being an only child, he rarely experienced the kind of sibling affection like this. Haruka was aiming to get into a prestigious school. Given her abilities, she could have easily entered a more established school rather than choosing Hope Peak Academy, a newly established school.
She had increased the difficulty for herself, all for the sake of providing another way out for her family.
Kazuya suddenly felt a slight regret. Perhaps he shouldn't have scared away the little radish at that time. It seemed inappropriate to continue mocking her. There was warmth between siblings. Despite her bad temper, she also had a good side. It couldn't be said that she was a complete toublesome.
"Uncle, another bowl!" Haruna didn't care about what he was thinking and had become addicted to the noodles. Holding the empty bowl, she pitifully patted her stomach and looked at Kazuya, "Can I eat one more?"
Kazuya couldn't help but touch his wallet again. It wouldn't hurt to have another bowl. Reluctantly, he said, "Go ahead, eat!"
Haruna blinked insurprise. "Really? You're such a great person. It's completely different from what my sister said!"