Shinchan: The Cooking God in here!

The rich aroma of food exploded in the office like fireworks.

Almost instantly, the employees who had yet to leave turned their hungry gazes toward Nohara Hiroshi's desk.

Kawaguchi, oblivious to the trouble he had stirred, remained immersed in the enticing scent of the bento.

"It smells so good!"

Two small tomatoes rested atop a tender, butter-fried steak, alongside a crispy, rich, milky bread slice also toasted in butter. Beneath the steak lay a bed of sweet and sour pineapple fried rice. This time, Asuka had made a slight improvement to the dish by adding tuna cubes marinated in soy sauce and black pepper.

The combination of these flavorful ingredients created an irresistible fragrance.

Kawaguchi closed his eyes, savoring the lingering aroma with an intoxicated expression.

Seeing his teammate's helpless look, Nohara Hiroshi couldn't help but tease, "Kawaguchi, stop drooling, or it's going to drip."

"Huh? Ah!" Snapping back to reality at his team leader's playful tone, Kawaguchi hastily wiped at his mouth—only to realize there was no drool to clean.

Realizing he had been tricked, he put on a mock-offended expression, staring at Hiroshi. "Team Leader, that was too much! I wasn't drooling..."

Hiroshi chuckled but knew when to stop. After all, resisting the urge to eat while surrounded by such an enticing aroma took considerable restraint!

Waving his hand dismissively, Hiroshi signaled that he was ready to enjoy his lunch and shooed Kawaguchi away. "Alright, alright, lunch breaks aren't long anyway. Go eat."

Unexpectedly, Kawaguchi remained rooted to the spot, his eyes locked onto the bento box on the desk.

A bad feeling crept up Hiroshi's spine.

He quickly clutched the lunch box to his chest, eyeing Kawaguchi warily. "Listen, Kawaguchi, there's not much in here to begin with. I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely won't share any with you!"

"Team Leader~" Kawaguchi had anticipated Hiroshi's stinginess. Putting on an exaggeratedly pitiful expression, he whined dramatically, "How could you say that to me? I... I don't have the face to keep working here!"

Hiroshi stared at him in shock. He never realized his teammate had such a talent for theatrics!

As the office's attention shifted toward them, Hiroshi quickly surrendered. "Alright, alright, Kawaguchi, stop. I'll give you a spoonful of rice, okay?"

"Only one spoonful?" Kawaguchi's expression was akin to that of a heartbroken woman glaring at a callous lover.

Gritting his teeth, Hiroshi insisted, "One spoonful is enough!"

With a dramatic collapse to the floor, Kawaguchi sobbed, "Oh~ I've worked like a slave for you all this time, only to be teased like this..."

Panicked, Hiroshi covered his face. "Fine, fine! I'll give you a piece of tuna, too! But that's it!"

Instantly, Kawaguchi sprang up and bowed. "I knew you were the best team leader who cares for his subordinates!"

Hiroshi groaned. "You little...! Fine, just grab a plate, and I'll give you some."

"Thank you, Team Leader!" Kawaguchi dashed toward the tea room.

Hiroshi sighed, poking at his bento and calculating how much rice and tuna he could spare.

Just then, the room darkened slightly. Thinking some newcomer had pulled the curtains for a nap, he glanced up, prepared to reprimand them—only to realize he was surrounded.

Nohara Hiroshi: ∑(´△｀)?!

"W-What's going on? What are you all doing?!"

Hiroshi backed away frantically, clutching his lunch box protectively.

The employees' eyes sparkled as they fixated on the enticing bento.

Their smiles were warm and friendly, but to Hiroshi, they seemed menacing.

"Team Leader~ Can we have a taste of your lunch?"

Forced to retreat step by step, Hiroshi was weak, pitiful, and helpless...

"No, no, don't!!!"

Meanwhile, at Futaba Kindergarten, where Shin-chan was.

The children's lunch area had been moved closer to their teacher, Midori Yoshinaga.

After witnessing the sensation Shin-chan's bento had caused several times, Yoshinaga—who had only managed to sneak a taste once—decided to use her "authority."

To make food exchanges with Shin-chan easier, she had rearranged the seating, positioning Shin-chan and his four friends directly across from her.

Today, her persistence paid off. She had successfully traded an octopus sausage for a spoonful of Shin-chan's rice with tuna.

"Shin-chan, did your family adopt the puppy?" Nene asked between bites of rice she had swiped from Shin-chan's lunch.

Shin-chan nodded. "Yep! We named him Shiro. At first, Mom didn't agree to keep him."

"Then what happened?" Masao asked. "Why did your mom let you keep Shiro?"

Munching on another spoonful of rice, Shin-chan replied, "It was all thanks to big sister Asuka. She convinced Mitsy to let me keep him."

"So it was all thanks to big sister Asuka..." Masao mused.

Suddenly, Shin-chan perked up. "By the way, do you guys want to come over this afternoon to play with Shiro?"

Nene hesitated. "Hmm... My favorite TV show is on this afternoon..."

Masao added, "Our family has watermelon at home today..."

Boo: "I was going to catch cicadas..."

Kazama: "I have to attend..."

Shin-chan grinned mischievously. "Oh, and Asuka-sama is making a new dish tonight~"

Nene: ! ! !

Masao: ! ! !

Boo: ! ! !

Kazama: ! ! !

Midori Yoshinaga, who had been eavesdropping: ? ! ! !

Nene laughed awkwardly. "Haha, you know, I suddenly don't care much about that TV show. Shin-chan, can I come over this afternoon?"

Masao jumped in. "Yeah, yeah! We haven't played together in so long. And watermelon is kinda boring anyway. Playing with friends is more important!"

Boo: "Cicada hunting? Who cares! Friends come first!"

Kazama, ever the direct one, simply stated, "I'm free this afternoon. Let's go to Shin-chan's house to play with Shiro."

Only Yoshinaga stood there, craving Asuka's new dish but struggling to come up with an excuse to invite herself...

...

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