Is This How You Use a Self-Destruct Switch?!-Chapter 10 : What Do You Mean "A Long Time Ago"?!

"Uwaa..."
Tsuan covered her ears and looked up with watery eyes at the silver-haired girl who had just been shouting in her ear.
The other party obviously felt somewhat guilty about this and proactively took the plastic bag of ingredients from her hands.
"So, you..."
Reiko raised her arm, holding the plastic bag up to the same height as the sunset on the horizon, looking into the distance through the sunlight and the bag's surface.
"Why exactly can't you take me home?"
The black-haired girl's fingers gently poked together in front of her, then she suddenly bowed in apology.
But she didn't explain, nor did she take Reiko home... instead, she walked ahead two steps away, trying to continue leading Reiko in circles.
She still believed the delaying tactic was useful! Just, just delay a little longer and...
But she hadn't considered one problem: that was... how could Reiko, an honor student and student council president, not see through her purpose?
Moreover, she was hardly concealing it at all.
And Reiko's patience with her had already been completely worn away by these maneuvers.
Originally, she had just wanted to teach this girl the specific time for throwing out garbage, but ended up buying her dolls, having her dinner delayed by wasting time, then getting stepped on by some fool attracted by this fool for no reason.
In the end, she wouldn't even give her a single bite of hot food.
Reiko had never experienced this kind of feeling before.
Her hand not carrying the bag reached into her pocket to take out her phone, skillfully unlocking it with one hand and beginning to dial a number.
The black-haired girl still trying to buy time ahead heard Reiko's completely unguarded words, as if she were deliberately speaking for her to hear.
"I'm having dinner at a friend's house today, no need to worry about me."
Seeing Tsuan's sneakers suddenly stop seemed to make Reiko's tone somewhat rarely cheerful.
"Okay~ I know~ Don't worry~"
After hanging up, she bounced over to Tsuan's side and intimately wrapped her free arm around Tsuan.
"Did you hear that~?"
She gradually tightened her arm.
"My parents agreed~"
She spoke word by word, seeming to remind, yet also like threatening.
'Don't try any tricks with me!'
The purple eyes reflected Tsuan's somewhat fearful expression. Reiko satisfyingly pinched her soft slender waist.
"Don't worry."
She added.
"I won't tattle to your parents. Just treat it as inviting me for a meal you cooked...?"
Why would your family make you cook?
The president miss who had just been feeling triumphant suddenly noticed a problem she had never paid attention to, but Tsuan didn't give her time to continue thinking.
"Sor... sorry!"
Tsuan looked toward her house door not far away, re-weighing her actions in her heart.
To prevent Reiko from seeing that I like magical girls... to prevent Reiko from hating me, so I... knowing that Reiko hadn't eaten dinner... kept going in circles.
The doll in her arms that Reiko had given her made eye contact with those flickering red eyes for a moment.
Never mind magical girls... even as an ordinary person, treating a friend like this is too much, right?
So now I must properly make up for it!
"Please, please follow me!"
Actually, Reiko just felt she had lost too much face and needed to do something to get it back, but it didn't matter now!
She held her head high and followed Tsuan into the apartment building, even specifically looking at the nearby trash bin to confirm Tsuan hadn't gone wrong.
So this girl was indeed deliberately stalling for time! When I meet your parents later, I'll definitely complain heavily!
"Make them take away all your allowance..."
Tsuan didn't hear her muttering clearly and made a somewhat confused "eh?" sound.
"Nothing, nothing, hurry up and open the door~"
Reiko habitually arranged her clothing to make herself look as elegant and proper as in the school office~
Then the moment she entered the front door, she bowed and greeted the empty sofa.
"Uncle, Auntie~ Good evening~ I'm Tsuan's friend~ We..."
Tsuan bent down to pick up her slippers and placed them beside Reiko's feet.
Her house only had two pairs of slippers, and the other pair was obviously much larger than this one—it wouldn't be comfortable to wear.
As for other things... like what Reiko said when entering, she didn't care about that at all.
After all...
"Reiko, please rest on the sofa for a bit? I'll go cook something for you!"
After all, Reiko hasn't been able to eat properly because of me.
Tsuan picked up the plastic bag that had somehow fallen to the floor, smiled at Reiko, then walked step by step toward the kitchen wearing the ill-fitting slippers.
She completely didn't notice that Reiko's gaze had become somewhat dazed and... self-reproachful.
The president miss bent down to check the shoe cabinet, confirming there wasn't a single pair of slippers inside, only a few pairs of shoes Tsuan wore daily.
Because their sizes were almost identical... so...
Where did this girl's guardians go?
How long have they left this fool alone at home?!
Reiko maintained her bending posture and gradually put on the slippers, took a deep breath, then carefully stepped onto the floor that was somewhat old but still clean.
The sofa... she told me to sit on the sofa for a while...
Reiko's gaze naturally swept across the living room and paused for a moment on the sofa facing the TV.
The TV seemed to still be playing something, but Reiko didn't have the mind to distinguish what it was.
She only wanted to know one thing now, which was...
"Tsuan...? Can I look around your house?"
Tsuan's answer was almost drowned out by the sound of her opening cans. To Reiko, it seemed to carry a bit of reluctance.
"Of course... after all, it's Reiko."
Having received the owner's permission, Reiko immediately walked toward the bathroom without hesitation.
There would usually be some important clues there... like shampoo and such things, which could often be used to judge through quantity and variety...
Reiko slid open the bathroom's glass door.
Thank goodness...
Judging by quantity... if there wasn't a situation of sharing toothbrushes, then probably two people lived here...
But...
Reiko gently poked the dusty toothbrush.
The person living with her, that is, Tsuan's guardian, probably left a long time ago!
What reason, what purpose, where did they go, when will they return?
These weren't that important to Reiko.
The only two pairs of slippers in the shoe cabinet and the two toothbrushes here... mutually proved one thing.
Two people had once lived here together.
Only two.
Reiko gently bit her lip...
-I definitely won't tattle to your parents~
No...
-My parents agreed to let me eat at your house~
Don't...
-Uncle, Auntie~
Reiko gently slid the glass door shut and returned to sit properly on the sofa Tsuan had designated for her.
Sorry... I...
Not taking me home, were you afraid I would... know about this?
Various clues rapidly connected in the president miss's brain, ultimately fusing into a somewhat sad story.
However... there was still one thing: why did Tsuan act so abnormally after discovering I could see her?
'The urgent matter should be confirming... what exactly happened to Tsuan's guardian.'
Maybe they went on a business trip, maybe they...
But no matter what, leaving Tsuan to live alone was really too terrible!
Reiko glanced through the door crack at the black-haired girl who was cooking noodles.
This behavior was even more disgusting than that magical girl!
The girl still thinking about how she should help Tsuan heard the sound of a bowl touching the table surface, along with Tsuan's somewhat excited voice.
"Reiko~ Dinner is ready!"
Dinner is ready...
"Mm! I'll go wash my hands first~"
No matter whether the bit of cheerfulness in her words was real or fake, to Tsuan's ears it was tremendous encouragement. After all... this was much better than Reiko's terrifying voice along the way.
Tsuan had been somewhat worried about whether Reiko would get angry because she liked magical girls, but now...
'Hmm~ The feeling of personally making delicious food for a good friend to taste... is really wonderful.'
Tsuan looked at the super large portion of tomato egg noodles with three whole eggs that she had added, and happily clapped her hands.
In the bright red soup base, bits of green would occasionally surface—those were the freshly bought vegetables that she normally wouldn't add for herself.
Because vegetables were still too expensive compared to canned vegetables.
Although simple, she still gave everything she could to her new friend as much as possible.
And this directly led to...
Reiko gently swallowed the somewhat sticky noodles in her mouth, forcibly holding back the tears that were about to burst from her moist eyes, and lightly shrugged her shoulders.
"It's delicious! Thank you... Tsuan!"
The forced cheerfulness became listless under the rising steam, and anyone could hear that the emotion within had already changed.
But Tsuan couldn't tell.
But she could see.
The president miss, still trying hard to hold back tears and choking, felt several fingers brush across her eye corners, just like she had done at that doll shop before... wiping away those tears that couldn't help but fall.
"Reiko...?"
The rising steam carried the fragrance of tomatoes, and the tender, soft eggs lay quietly in the soup.
To Tsuan, this food was very delicious... it definitely couldn't be because it tasted too bad...
"Ah, it's okay! It's delicious... really delicious!"
The president miss put down her chopsticks and openly displayed her slightly red eyes.
"It's just too hot, the steam got in my eyes... so I feel like crying a bit. Tsuan doesn't need to worry about this~"
Reiko slightly turned to the side, using her hair as cover so Tsuan couldn't see her expression and judge whether she was... crying.
Because she was about to break down.
She chewed Tsuan's somewhat sticky noodles from her rough cooking skills, occasionally drinking a sip of the sweet and sour soup.
Mm, as expected.
She tried hard to control her somewhat heated eye corners.
Dad's company's canned products were still so awful.
Hunger really was the best seasoning; otherwise, she couldn't possibly force herself to eat all the noodles in the bowl—just the noodles.
"I'm full~ Thank you for the meal~"
She suppressed her twitching throat and used chopsticks to pick up an egg glowing with tomato red, bringing it to Tsuan's lips.
"Although it's indeed delicious, I don't really like eating eggs~"
Reiko's movements trembled slightly.
"So please help me eat it, Tsuan~"
She looked at the black-haired girl in front of her who showed a happy expression while chewing the egg, and couldn't help but reach out to touch Tsuan's wonderfully textured hair.
There were three eggs total; she might as well give them all to Tsuan for nutrition.
And also...
Does this stuff really have nutrition?
The purple eyes reflected the thick red soup at the bottom of the bowl... it looked a bit like...
Red... sticky liquid, tomatoes... tender, juicy tomatoes...?!
No, it couldn't be... don't think like that!
Before the terrible thought could form, Reiko cut off her thoughts.
But that terrible scene still flashed before her eyes for an instant.
Although it was only for an instant, although she knew perfectly well it was just a terrible prank, but...
Warm liquid adhering to the body surface, soft and elastic tissue surrounding the body, angular limbs dripping with 'tomato juice' twitching slightly before her eyes...
"Ah!"
Her wrist feeding Tsuan suddenly shook, and half an egg fell back into the bowl, splashing soup.
Although she immediately covered it up by saying she was a bit tired, and Tsuan, who wouldn't suspect her friend, didn't pursue it, she was still somewhat worried about this fool.
After all, Tsuan's situation had only appeared in textbooks...
Current social consensus and laws clearly stipulated that this kind of situation was not allowed and should not happen.
So after finishing the meal, while naturally taking the bowls and chopsticks from Tsuan to wash them, Reiko casually extracted information from the unsuspecting black-haired girl while pretending to be casual.
Tsuan, bringing a friend home for the first time, naturally didn't understand guest etiquette either, and was fooled by Reiko's casually made-up reason of "needing to help wash dishes when eating at a friend's house." She quietly stood beside her watching her wash dishes.
"Speaking of which, Tsuan~"
Reiko put down the chopsticks and turned around, using fingertips still carrying water droplets to poke her cheek.
"Have you always lived alone?"
Her tone was very relaxed, as if it really was a casually raised question.
Tsuan's answer was also very relaxed in tone.
"Mm! I can't remember how long it's been like this... anyway, it's been a very long time!"
Can't remember how long... anyway, it's been a very long time?!
Then, then her guardian left a very long time ago?!
Her fingers gripping the ceramic bowl suddenly applied force, and the bowl bottom knocked against the iron sink with a crisp sound, reminding her to control her emotions and not scare the small animal.
"I see... mm, then where does the money Tsuan uses for daily life come from?"
Rather than wanting to know if Tsuan had any financial difficulties, she just wanted to know if Tsuan couldn't buy the dolls she wanted because of lack of money, and... could only buy these cheap canned goods as food.
This kind of thing absolutely could not be allowed.
"Umm..."
Don't want to answer? It's okay... I can...
"There's a bank card at home... before, money would often be transferred into it..."
Reiko caught the key word: before.
"What about now?"
Tsuan smiled embarrassedly.
"The last time was already a long time ago..."