A powerful shout echoed through the dojo. Bare feet shuffled on the wooden floor, mingling with squeaking sounds, interspersed with the heavy thud of blocked kicks and punches, and the dry crackle of strikes. Haruto desperately defended himself against the fierce onslaught of kicks and punches from his sparring partner, Ishikura. Haruto and Ishikura are equally skilled, both serving as assistant instructors at the Dojima Dojo. Normally, their sparring would involve rapid shifts between offense and defense. However, today, Haruto lacked focus and was entirely on the defensive. Seeing this, Ishikura unleashed his signature high kick from close range. The usual Haruto would have easily evaded Ishikura’s high kick by leaning back or similar moves. But today, lacking concentration, his reaction was slow, forcing him to raise his arm to guard. With a dull thud, Ishikura’s heavy kick landed squarely on Haruto’s arm. Even Haruto, guarding with only one arm due to his delayed reaction, couldn’t fully withstand Ishikura’s kick. He staggered slightly, then stumbled in place. “Hey, Haruto. You’re slow today, aren’t you?” Ishikura said, maintaining his stance after the high kick. “Sorry, Kazu-senpai. My mind was a bit distracted thinking about something.” Haruto replied with a wry smile, lightly shaking the arm that had taken the kick. “You’ll get injured if you space out too much, you know?” “Yes, sir. I’ll focus.” Haruto exhaled briefly and refocused his attention. Seeing Haruto’s serious gaze, Ishikura also reset his stance, and their sparring resumed.

After working up a sweat sparring with Ishikura, Haruto finished his practice at the dojo and sat on the floor to stretch and cool down. Ishikura approached him, wiping sweat from his neck with a towel. “Haruto, something bothering you?” Ishikura asked casually, sitting down beside Haruto. “You said your mind was thinking about something during the sparring, too.” “Ah… it’s not really a ‘bother,’ but…” Haruto stopped stretching for a moment, hesitating with a somewhat awkward tone. “It’s like… well… it’s not exactly being close friends, but… what do you think is the appropriate distance with a girl like that?”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Ishikura looked a bit taken aback by Haruto’s words, which were completely unexpected. “Is the thing you were thinking about romance-related?” “Uh… well… I guess? How should I know?” “How should I know? Don’t ask me,” Ishikura said exasperatedly. From behind him, Shizuku suddenly appeared. “What is it? Are you two having a girl talk?” “Whoa?! Hey, Shizuku! Don’t just appear from behind me! You’ll give me a heart attack!” Ishikura spun around, and Shizuku gave him a deadpan, scrutinizing look. “Kazu-senpai, this is where you should have said, ‘Don’t stand behind me. You’ll get hurt,’ with an evil grin and a whisper. What a waste.” “Who’s got an evil face?! And what do you mean ‘waste’? I don’t get it.” “It was a chance to increase Ishikura Kazuaki’s Infamy Index, that’s what I mean. More importantly, Haru-senpai, did you get a crush on someone?” Shizuku casually brushed off Ishikura, ignoring his protest, “Don’t just make up weird indexes!” and stared intently at Haruto. “Ah… well…” Haruto scratched his head with one hand, avoiding Shizuku’s gaze. Shizuku took a step closer to him. “Haru-senpai, if you need love advice, I think I can help you a billion times more than Kazu-senpai.” “Hey, that’s exaggerating, isn’t it?” “Because Kazu-senpai, can you even talk to a woman for more than three minutes without making her cry?” “I’m talking to you for more than three minutes right now!” “I know Kazu-senpai is a hidden maiden, so that doesn’t count.” At Shizuku’s words, Ishikura looked slightly fed up, saying, “Hidden maiden? Who?” “So, Haru-senpai, who do you like? Is it me? Okay, let’s date.” “Heh heh… Thanks, Shizuku. I’ll ask for your advice again sometime.” Haruto smiled at Shizuku, who was still joking around. “I should get going soon. See you.” Haruto finished his stretching and headed alone to the changing room. “Hey, Shizuku. Do you really think he’s got a crush on someone?” “I don’t know… But… I think it’s a good thing… if Haru-senpai gets a girlfriend.” Shizuku mumbled softly, and Ishikura looked at her. However, he couldn’t read any emotion from her face, which was even more expressionless than usual.

※※※

Haruto felt sweat collecting in his palms as he followed Ayaka up the stairs.

“This is my room,” Ayaka said, opening the door. “…Excuse me for intruding.” Haruto bowed slightly before entering Ayaka’s room. The room of the ‘School Idol,’ rumored to be the cutest girl at his school. Her room was just a very ordinary girl’s room. If he had to point out anything characteristic, it would be that the room was slightly larger than Haruto’s, and the wall was lined with bookshelves packed tightly with manga and novels. “It’s a very nice and clean room.” “Heh heh, thank you. I’ll get drinks now. Please wait and sit on that cushion over there.” Saying this, Ayaka left the room for a moment. Left alone in the room, Haruto looked around restlessly. A classmate’s room. That alone was enough to make him nervous. Adding to that his feelings for Ayaka and the fake relationship situation, Haruto repeatedly shifted uncomfortably on the floor cushion. Every breath he took, a gentle, pleasant scent tickled his nostrils, making his heart pound faster. Haruto’s gaze darted around the room, filled with the same fragrance that occasionally wafted from Ayaka’s hair. There, Haruto’s eyes fell on the cushion he was sitting on. He then looked at the cushion placed right next to it. Cushions lined up almost without any gap. In front of him was a table perfect for studying. The only other places he could sit in this room were probably the bed or the study desk chair. Haruto looked at the adjacent cushion, which was lined up without a gap, once more, then subtly pushed it away slightly to create some distance. Just then, Ayaka returned with drinks and cups on a tray. “Thanks for waiting, Haruto-kun. Is barley tea okay?” “Ah, yes. Excuse me, thank you.” Ayaka placed the tray on the table in front of Haruto, then naturally sat down on the cushion next to him. When she sat down, she made sure to push the cushion back into the tightly packed position, closing the small gap Haruto had made. “…” “…” Haruto and Ayaka sat side-by-side, close enough that their shoulders were touching. “Uh… well… I’ll have some tea…” “Uh, okay. Go ahead.” As Haruto reached out his arm to grab the cup on the table, he brushed against Ayaka next to him, and his heart rate increased another notch.

Haruto only intended to take a sip, but before he knew it, he had chugged more than half the cup of barley tea. “Were you thirsty? Do you want a refill?” “No, I’m fine.” Haruto waved his hand to decline Ayaka’s offer. After a brief silence, Ayaka tentatively spoke. “S-So… should we… start practicing being a couple?” Haruto felt a flutter in his chest seeing Ayaka’s cheeks flush with slight embarrassment as she spoke. “Yes… Um, what kind of things should we… start with?” Remembering that physical closeness had come up in their previous conversation, Haruto asked cautiously. “Okay. First, I was thinking we could change the way you talk, Haruto-kun. How about that?” “The way I talk? What do you mean?” Ayaka looked at Haruto, who tilted his head slightly, and said, “That, that polite way of talking.” “Your way of talking is too polite, it feels a bit distant, or rather, lonely.” “You mean you want me to talk more casually?” “Yeah. We’re classmates before we even act like a couple, so I want you to talk to me more normally.” “I see…” Haruto put a hand to his mouth and nodded. Their relationship began as customer and staff for housework, so Haruto naturally used polite language with Ayaka. However, as she said, it might be perceived as having a bit of distance. “So, should I talk to you like I would a close friend?” “Ah… um…” Haruto tilted his head again at Ayaka’s slightly hesitant reply. “Hmm? Was that wrong?” “N-No, it’s not wrong, but… well, we’re pretending to be a couple, right?” “Yes.” “That means, when we’re pretending to be a couple, I’ll be yours, right?” “Is… Is that how it works?” Haruto gave a vague answer to her words. Ayaka explained to him in a voice filled with a little warmth. “So, you shouldn’t talk to me like you would just a friend. It should be more like… a bit commanding? Something a little forceful and strong would feel more realistic… I think.” “Is… Is that your preference, Ayaka-san?” Haruto asked, slightly bewildered by Ayaka’s request. Then, with a flushed face, Ayaka desperately blurted out. “I-It’s not my preference, or anything! It’s just that generally, in the world, that’s how close couples seem to be! T-That’s all!” “I… I see…” Haruto forced a slight, strained smile at Ayaka’s explanation, which sounded a bit like an excuse. For a couple to seem close, the boyfriend has to talk in a commanding way.

Honestly, Haruto thought this was not general knowledge at all, but he felt hesitant to refuse her request. This couple’s practice was born out of Ayaka’s kindness to go along with his lie. If he refused her request now, wouldn’t he be disregarding Ayaka’s goodwill? While he was thinking this, Ayaka said, looking a little anxious. “Is it something you dislike? I won’t force you if you don’t want to, Haruto-kun.” “Ah, no… Um, what kind of talking is that ‘commanding’ way you mean, Ayaka-san?” When Haruto asked this, Ayaka’s anxious expression completely changed, and her eyes sparkled. “Well! Um, for example… ‘Come closer,’ said a bit brusquely while pulling me in by the shoulder, or ‘This is mine,’ introducing me to others—” “Whoa! Wait a minute! That’s a bit too sudden, or rather, it’s high difficulty… It’s also completely different from my personality…” “Really?” “I’m starting to worry about how you see me, Ayaka-san…” “Haruto-kun, when we’re alone, call me by my first name without honorifics, okay?” Ayaka pointed her index finger at Haruto as if saying, “No!” “Ah… that’s right.” “Then, for starters, how about we try calling me ‘Hey, Ayaka’?” It seemed decided in her mind that Haruto would adopt a commanding tone, and she was pushing the conversation forward. “Are you really going to do this?” “Yep!” Seeing Ayaka’s eyes shining with anticipation, Haruto completely missed his chance to refuse and opened his mouth hesitantly. “…Hey, Ayaka.” Haruto’s attempt at a commanding tone came out a little fast, and Ayaka tilted her head, saying, “Hmmmm.” “Maybe a little more assertive?” “…Hey, Ayaka.” “A little more.” “Hey, Ayaka.” “Just a little more.” “Hey, Ayaka.” “One more push.” “Hey! Ayaka!” “…Okay, maybe.” Ayaka’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she smiled in satisfaction. In contrast, Haruto looked exhausted. “Um, regarding this commanding tone, maybe we can practice it gradually? For now, can we start with the casual tone of close friends?” “But you sounded cool just now, Haruto-kun?”

“…No, please, let’s start with the friend’s tone.” Haruto’s heart wavered just slightly at Ayaka’s compliment. However, Haruto shook his head, thinking about the future. To him, who was bowing deeply and pleading, Ayaka accepted his request, albeit looking a little disappointed. “Okay. Then, let’s practice the commanding tone little by little, okay? Until then, we’ll use the friend’s tone.” Haruto had hoped the commanding tone would be completely forgotten, but it seemed Ayaka wasn’t giving up. Haruto felt a trace of anxiety about the upcoming ‘couple’s practice.’ But Ayaka, paying no mind to his feelings, quickly moved the practice forward. “Okay, next thing is…” “Yes…” Haruto felt a slight sense of caution towards Ayaka’s next remark, especially after her initial rather aggressive request for a “commanding tone.” “Even though we met as classmates originally, it hasn’t been that long since we started talking properly, right?” “That’s right.” “So, I think we should get to know each other better first.” Haruto breathed a sigh of relief at her surprisingly reasonable suggestion. Indeed, if they were a couple, it would be natural for them to know each other well. “Right, Ayaka, you’re right.” “See? Okay, let’s start. What kind of girls do you like, Haruto-kun?” Ayaka leaned forward slightly, looking intensely interested, and Haruto recoiled a little. “W-What kind of girls do I like?” “Yeah. Even if it’s just pretend, it’ll be easier for you to act if the girlfriend is a little closer to your ideal, right?” “No, you don’t have to go that far. As I said before, Ayaka, you are already plenty charming.” When Haruto said that, Ayaka leaned her face a little closer and whispered. “Then, is it okay to assume I’m your ideal girl, Haruto-kun?” “Ah, no… That’s, um…” Haruto stammered and his gaze wandered, flustered by Ayaka’s active expression and moist eyes. “W-Women with beautiful smiles are charming, I think.” Haruto said, looking away from her gaze and speaking desperately. Ayaka smiled faintly, saying, “Heh heh.” “I see, Haruto-kun likes smiles. By the way, do you like my smile?” “Well, yes… Ayaka’s smile is charming to any guy, not just me, I think…” “Heh heh, thank you.” Ayaka smiled happily, and Haruto somehow managed to reply, blushing. “Uh, what kind of guys do you like, Ayaka?” “Huh? Me? I…” After thinking for a moment, Ayaka looked at Haruto softly and said.

“Someone who can do housework perfectly, or cook delicious food, that’s a big plus for me.” “…I-I see, I’ll keep that in mind…” “Yeah. Also, Haruto-kun, you still haven’t changed your way of talking at all.” Ayaka pouted a little, looking slightly dissatisfied. “I’m sorry, I mean… Sorry. It’s hard to change suddenly.” “If you keep talking like this, Grandma will figure out it’s a lie, you know?” “I’m sorry… I’ll try to improve immediately.” “Ah, honorifics again.” At Ayaka’s point, Haruto closed his mouth for a moment, exhaled lightly, then spoke. “Got it. From now on, I’ll try to talk in a casual tone.” After saying that, Haruto suddenly raised his index finger and continued, “But,” “While I’m doing housework, it’s work, so I’ll talk like I always have. Is that okay?” “Yeah. That’s work, so it can’t be helped.” Ayaka nodded, then showed a very happy smile. Haruto asked her, seeing her expression. “Why are you so happy?” “Huh? Well, seeing you talk normally is kind of new.” Ayaka touched her cheek with her hand, looking a little surprised, as if she hadn’t realized she was smiling unconsciously. Seeing Ayaka’s adorable reaction, Haruto’s cheeks flushed as well. “If you grin like that every time I talk, Grandma will get suspicious.” “Am I grinning that much?” Ayaka said, patting her cheeks with both hands. Then, as if remembering something, Ayaka looked at Haruto. “After all, normal couples just casually whisper sweet nothings to each other, don’t they?” “Huh? Uh… I don’t know? Is that… normal…?” Haruto gently denied her statement, as she again brought up her non-standard idea of what’s normal for couples. However, Ayaka gracefully ignored Haruto’s denial and continued. “When a couple says ‘I love you,’ it’s weird to be embarrassed or blush, right?” “No, that’s not weird at all…” “But, but! You never know what situation might come up, so it’s better to practice, right?” Whispering sweet nothings in front of others. Haruto desperately wanted to avoid such a humiliating situation, but Ayaka was already completely geared up for practice. “S-So. I’ll say ‘I love you’ to Haruto-kun, and you reply with ‘I love you too.’ You can’t be embarrassed or blush when you do this, okay? Just say it casually, like it’s part of normal daily conversation between a couple?” He believed it was important to put your feelings into words and convey them to the other person.

Haruto had no objection to that. However, saying it as if it were normal daily conversation felt like they wouldn’t be a normal couple anymore, but just a couple of lovey-dovey idiots. These thoughts filled Haruto’s mind, but before he could convey them to Ayaka, she had already started the practice. “S-So… I-I’m going to say it, okay?” Ayaka said, looking at Haruto with moist eyes, perhaps due to embarrassment. Then, after biting her lip slightly, she slowly opened her mouth. “Haruto-kun… I love you.” “!!” A gasp escaped Haruto’s lips. Her flushed cheeks. Her moist eyes. The distance where he could touch her if he reached out. Looking straight at him from such close proximity, eyes locked. Ayaka’s expression, so beautiful and lovely it made him wonder if she was sculpted by a god. The word, like a confession, spun from her lips. The sheer intensity of it made Haruto momentarily feel as if his heart had stopped. “Ah, no, Haruto-kun! Don’t be embarrassed!” “No, no, no! That’s impossible!” Haruto wholeheartedly denied Ayaka’s protest. It would be weird not to be embarrassed by that. Ayaka’s words just now were trying to force a smile onto Haruto’s lips, like magic. “Besides, Ayaka, your face is bright red too!” “T-That’s because… it’s… it’s my first time… saying ‘I love you’ to a guy…” “Guh…!” Haruto couldn’t help but let out a strange laugh at Ayaka’s cuteness as she looked down and spoke shyly. “O-Okay, it’s your turn now, Haruto-kun!” Ayaka urged Haruto, who was desperately trying to return to a serious expression. “Do I have to?” “Y-Yes, you have to! If you don’t practice properly, the lie will be exposed!” Haruto said, clinging to a ray of hope, but Ayaka immediately denied him. Even if they didn’t do this practice, it was highly unlikely the lie about their relationship would be exposed. On the contrary, Haruto couldn’t shake the feeling that if they mastered this practice, a weird couple, specifically a couple of lovey-dovey idiots, would be born. Haruto pressed his hand against the corner of his mouth, which was still stuck in a grin, and subtly peeked at Ayaka’s expression. Saying what she did just now must have been quite embarrassing for her as well, as her face was redder than he had ever seen it. She went that far to say it; he couldn’t just not say it himself.

Resolved, Haruto took a few small, discreet breaths, then tightened his facial muscles, forcing a serious expression. Perhaps because he was suppressing a grin with all his might, his eyes naturally became intense. “…Ayaka.” When he called her name, she looked startled and stared intently into his eyes. “I like you too, Ayaka.” The moment he said it, Haruto felt his body temperature shoot up. Perhaps this was the state they called ‘feeling like your face is on fire.’ He felt like he could fry an egg on his forehead right now. Suffering from such embarrassment, Haruto felt anxious about Ayaka’s complete lack of reaction. The moment she heard Haruto’s words, Ayaka froze completely, eyes wide open. “Ayaka? Hello? Ayaka? Ayaka-san?” Haruto called her name several times. “—! Wh-What is it, Haruto-kun?” Ayaka blinked her eyes rapidly, startled back to reality by Haruto’s call. “Um, how was it? Did that sound like a normal couple to you, Ayaka?” “Ah… um… Sorry, I think I might have blacked out for a moment.” “Huh?!… Seriously?” Haruto was dumbfounded, his most embarrassing words in his entire life, uttered with immense shame, were apparently not even remembered. “I-I’m sorry… So, um… could you say it again?” “No way, no way, no way! I’d die of embarrassment if I did that!” Haruto refused, waving his hands. Ayaka put her hands together and pleaded with him. “Please! Just one more time! Please?” Ayaka tilted her clasped hands slightly, peeked her face through, and asked with an upward gaze. “…” At her adorable gesture, Haruto almost nodded, but he managed to hold back. Seeing Haruto wouldn’t nod, Ayaka made a suggestion. “Okay. If Haruto-kun says it one more time, I’ll also say ‘I love you’ one more time. It’s not fair if Haruto-kun says it twice and I only say it once, right?” “No, that’s not the issue…” “No?” “…Fine… Okay, I’ll say it one more time, but listen properly this time, okay?” “Yeah, I’m listening properly.” Ayaka nodded repeatedly, and Haruto, after taking a deep breath once more, spoke with determination. “Ayaka, I like you.” “Hah…” The moment she heard Haruto’s words, a sound like a sigh or a breath escaped Ayaka’s lips. She looked down with a bright red face, then after a while, she looked up and said to Haruto with an embarrassed smile. “I love Haruto-kun very much too!”

Haruto’s thought process completely blew away the moment Ayaka’s statement was delivered with a shy expression. In a corner of his brain, which wasn’t functioning normally, Haruto couldn’t help but think for a moment. Maybe being a couple of lovey-dovey idiots wasn’t so bad after all.

※※※

The day after Haruto and Ayaka’s ‘couple’s practice.’ The sky was still before dawn, but Haruto woke up. He glanced at the clock by his pillow and, realizing it was far too early to be awake, closed his eyelids again, attempting to fall back asleep. However, his head was completely awake, and he didn’t feel like he could sleep at all. Resigned, Haruto, who had woken up at a very early hour, sat down at his desk to do his daily early morning studying, diligently writing with his mechanical pencil in his notebook. However, the concentration he usually maintained didn’t last long today; it broke off unusually quickly. “Damn it… I can’t concentrate…” Haruto muttered, the events of yesterday replaying in his mind since he woke up. Ayaka’s words, spoken with a beaming smile. ‘I love Haruto-kun very much too!’ Just remembering it made Haruto involuntarily grin. “Damn it… She’s too cute…” Haruto scratched his head with one hand, trying to distract himself from his pounding heart. Recalling yesterday’s couple’s practice, where they each said ‘I love you’ twice, Haruto thought. That was definitely not normal. Ayaka had said that normal couples exchange expressions of love matter-of-factly, but he was sure only couples who had been together for over half a century, like lovebirds, or fictional couples, could do that. Even if they repeated the practice from yesterday every day for a year, Haruto was confident he would still grin. “Where does Ayaka’s non-standard idea of a normal couple come from?” Talking to her in a commanding tone and casually whispering sweet nothings. If that were normal for couples, wouldn’t most real-life couples appear distant and cold? “Come to think of it, the bookshelf in Ayaka’s room…” Haruto recalled the bookshelf placed against the wall in her room and the way the books were arranged.

He hadn’t taken a close look at what books were there, but he remembered many of the spines were red, pink, and pale colors. “Maybe… maybe they’re all romance novels and shojo manga…” Then Haruto remembered Ayaka saying she had never had a boyfriend before. He didn’t know if she had any romantic experience. But if she had never had a boyfriend, how was she determining what was normal for couples? “Maybe she’s basing it on romance novels and manga?” It was possible. From their interactions so far, Haruto felt that she was somewhat naive and also quite girlish. Given Ayaka’s personality, there was a high possibility she was judging what was normal for couples based on fictional works. “If that’s the case, maybe it’s not good for Ayaka to hold the initiative in the ‘couple’s practice’ from now on…” At this rate, she was highly likely to demand things like ‘wall slams’ or ‘chin lifts.’ She might even suggest doing a ‘back hug’ eventually. This couple’s practice was something Ayaka had suggested to go along with Haruto’s lie. He was very grateful and appreciative that she would go this far for his lie. He felt bad about giving instructions to Ayaka, who was trying her best to act as his girlfriend. However, a couple’s practice based on fiction was something Haruto’s heart just couldn’t handle. “In the first place, it’s too much to ask for all that from someone who isn’t my real girlfriend. And practicing being a couple with a guy you don’t like must be painful…” Then Haruto remembered Ayaka’s beaming smile from yesterday. Do women smile like that at guys they don’t like? A question suddenly arose in Haruto’s mind. During the couple’s practice, Ayaka looked embarrassed, but she didn’t seem unhappy at all. In fact, she was actively engaging in the practice. “Does someone go that far for someone they don’t like… no, maybe Ayaka would…” At school, Ayaka didn’t seem to let guys get close, but she was very popular among girls. The fact that she was always surrounded by female friends suggested her good nature. “Ayaka seems like she can’t refuse requests.” Maybe she was just seriously trying to help him with his lie. Maybe she was thinking about it in her own way and trying to tackle the couple’s practice for that reason. Thinking that way, Haruto’s chest ached from the lie he had told.

“After all, it would be better to just be honest with Grandma and stop this lie right away, wouldn’t it?” Haruto said out loud. However, he also realized that a part of his heart didn’t want to change the current relationship with Ayaka. If this lie disappeared, Ayaka wouldn’t be his girlfriend anymore… “Ah, seriously! I’m the worst… What am I thinking…” Haruto ran both hands through his hair in frustration, falling into self-loathing for his foolishness, knowing this situation with the fake relationship was wrong but still not wanting to change it. He had thought so much that his thoughts became jumbled. Haruto leaned back deeply in his chair and stared blankly out the window. The sky, which was dark when he woke up, had become quite bright without him noticing. “Haa, time to make breakfast…” It was almost time for his grandmother to wake up. Haruto closed the textbook he hadn’t made much progress on, stood up from his chair, stretched, and left his room.

After finishing breakfast with his grandmother, Haruto returned to his room to continue the studying he hadn’t been able to do that morning. However, his room’s air conditioner was still acting up, and with the sun up and the temperature rising, he found it difficult to concentrate on studying. Already feeling restless because of Ayaka, Haruto quickly gave up on studying. He picked up his smartphone, which he had tossed onto his desk, exchanged a few messages on a messaging app, and then got ready to go out.

※※※

“Man, food paid for by someone else tastes the best!” Haruto’s best friend, Tomoya Akagi, took a big bite of the large hamburger Haruto had treated him to, with a beaming smile. “It’s a thank you for picking up Grandma from the hospital. Don’t hold back, order whatever you want.” “Seriously?! Okay, can I add a big size of fries?” “Go ahead.” Haruto, unable to concentrate due to worrying about Ayaka, had come to a hamburger chain restaurant with Tomoya. Haruto was paying for everything here as a thank you to Tomoya, who had gone to pick up his grandmother when Haruto was sick in bed with a cold. “Grandma was really thankful, too. She said she wants you to come over sometime and she’ll make you your favorite ohagi.” “Whoa!! That seriously gets me hyped!! I’ll go to Haru’s place again sometime.” Tomoya said, looking genuinely happy, and took a long sip of his set drink.

After that, Haruto and Tomoya ate their orders and exchanged casual conversation. Recently, Haruto had been busy with housework at the Tojo house, going to the movies with Ayaka, and visiting the Animal Crossing park, so it had been a while since he last saw Tomoya. His best friend looked at Haruto, who was eating a cheese-filled hamburger, with a knowing grin. “Speaking of which, Haru-san. Any progress with Tojo-san since then?” At his best friend’s words, Haruto’s shoulder twitched, and he stopped eating his hamburger. “Hmm? Is that reaction a sign of progress? Hmm?” “Progress… No, this isn’t progress… Nothing in particular.”

“Yes, there is! What’s with that reaction?! It makes me super curious!” Tomoya pointed the fry he was about to eat at Haruto emphatically. In response, Haruto made a troubled expression, as if deciding whether to tell him or not. “No… Sorry, I haven’t quite sorted out my feelings yet… I can’t talk about it yet.” “Ohh, you’re one of those…” Tomoya slowly brought the fry he had pointed at Haruto to his own mouth, giving him a scrutinizing look. As if to escape his best friend’s gaze, Haruto conspicuously changed the subject. “By the way, is the band practice going well?” Seeing Haruto had completely gone into defensive mode, Tomoya sighed once with an “Haa,” then replied. “Of course it is! …Or I’d like to say that, but hey Haru, listen to this…” He sensed intuitively from Tomoya’s troubled face that this was going to be troublesome. He glanced away, realizing he had chosen the wrong topic, and reached for Tomoya’s fries. “Hey! Don’t ignore me! Your best friend is in trouble!” “Sorry, Tomoya. I can’t help you. My bad.” “No, I haven’t said anything yet!” Ignoring his protesting friend, Haruto single-mindedly brought the fries to his mouth. Seeing this, Tomoya grabbed the bag of fries and protested loudly, “You’re gonna finish my fries!!” “I went to pick up Haru’s grandma for you, didn’t I? Are you gonna ignore your best friend’s problems? You won’t, right? ‘Cause Haru is my best friend, right?” “…Alright! Alright! What’s bothering you?” Cornered by Tomoya hitting a sore spot, Haruto gave in and agreed to listen to his problem. “You know how I’m in a band with guys from other schools?” “Yeah.” “And the guy who’s our vocalist, he goes to some really amazing private school, but they seem to have really strict school rules there.” “Hmm. Is that a problem?” “Major problem, big problem. That school bans band activities like ours.” Tomoya said with a sigh, his shoulders slumping. “Apparently, if the vocalist gets caught by the school, the worst case is expulsion.” “Seriously? Expulsion just for being in a band? That’s way too strict.” Haruto looked a little surprised, and Tomoya sighed again, “Haa.” “Bands like ours, you know, are an unwelcome presence to rigid people. They have this image of us making loud, raucous noise, smoking, drinking, and acting wild.” “No, nobody thinks that way these days.”

“You’d be surprised?” Saying that, Tomoya finished the remaining drink with a wistful expression, then uttered a theatrical line like, “Our sound has always been oppressed throughout history.” “Well, it sounds tough, but hang in there.” Haruto casually offered words of encouragement, and Tomoya looked at him sharply. “This summer, our band has been working hard practicing for the school festival performance!” “Oh, uh.” Haruto replied, somewhat pushed by Tomoya’s sudden impassioned tone. “And despite all that! Don’t you think it would be pitiful if we couldn’t perform on the day of the school festival because the vocalist is absent!” “W-Well, that is…” “So, if the vocalist isn’t there, then, Haru, I’m counting on you.” Tomoya grinned brightly and gave Haruto a thumbs-up. Haruto gave his best friend a dispirited look. “…Fine, as a last resort, if there’s absolutely no other choice, then I’ll consider it.” “Heh heh, Haru, you’re so kind, aren’t you?” Tomoya smiled broadly, and Haruto briefly replied, “Shut up,” reaching for Tomoya’s fries again. Haruto slowly chewed on the fries and then casually spoke to his best friend. “Hey, Tomoya.” “Hm?” “Can I ask you for some advice too?” “Oh? What is it?” Tomoya’s eyes lit up, and he leaned forward. Haruto thought for a moment, then slowly began to speak. “Um… When you had a girlfriend… what did you guys do when you were alone together?” “Huh? What’s that? What do you mean?” Tomoya looked bewildered by Haruto’s question. “No, I mean. You had a girlfriend before, right, Tomoya?” “Yeah.” “When you did, how did you interact with your girlfriend?” “How did I interact… Like, we just went on dates?” Unable to grasp the intent of Haruto’s question, Tomoya answered hesitantly. Hearing his friend’s words, Haruto nodded slightly and said, “I see.” “Right, dates…”. Indeed, couples go on dates. Haruto, who was concerned that continuing the couple’s practice in the enclosed space of Ayaka’s room would definitely lead them straight down the path of a lovey-dovey idiot couple, decided he would ask Ayaka out on a date next. The danger lay in doing the ‘couple’s practice’ in the closed space of Ayaka’s room. However, if they practiced being a couple on a date, they would be outside and surrounded by people, so they wouldn’t be able to do anything too bold.

They should be able to practice a pure, proper, and modest couple’s relationship. “Thanks, Tomoya. That was really helpful.” “Oh, uh… You’re welcome? Wait, are you… maybe…” Tomoya looked at him with a probing gaze, and Haruto started single-mindedly shoving fries into his mouth again. “Stop! You’re gonna finish my fries!!” Tomoya’s protesting voice echoed through the busy fast-food restaurant during lunchtime.

※※※

It was a summer afternoon, and the strong sunlight streamed in through the windows of the room. However, while the windows let in the sunlight, the heat wasn’t felt much. As expected, perhaps the windows of a luxurious mansion were high-performance. Haruto thought such things, looking outside with a bit of escapism. Ayaka, with shining eyes, spoke to him. “Hey, Haruto-kun? Are you listening?” “Ah, sorry… I was thinking about something. Can you say it again?” “Normal couples often give each other lap pillows, I think.” “Is… Is that so?” Following from last time, Ayaka’s non-standard idea of what was normal for couples was once again in full swing today. Apparently, today it was lap pillows. He wasn’t saying couples who gave each other lap pillows didn’t exist. Couples probably did give each other lap pillows sometimes. However, regarding the frequency, Haruto couldn’t agree with Ayaka’s opinion. Nevertheless, it seemed Ayaka was convinced that couples in the world constantly gave each other lap pillows. “That’s right! So, let’s practice lap pillows today!” Ayaka suggested to Haruto, looking very motivated with a determined sound but also containing a lot of embarrassment. “Um… if I may be so bold as to ask… this is practice to make sure Grandma doesn’t figure out the lie, right?” “Yes, that’s right.” “Then, we won’t need to give lap pillows in front of Grandma, so I feel bad asking you to practice that far…” Haruto tried to steer the conversation subtly towards avoiding the practice. However, Ayaka, whether she understood his intention or not, tried to force through the lap pillow practice. “Even if we don’t do it in front of Grandma, I think there’s a couple’s atmosphere that can only be achieved by doing these things regularly. Having that would make it more realistic, right?” “Well… That’s… It would certainly make it more realistic.” Haruto unintentionally nodded at Ayaka’s explanation.

Was she a perfectionist? Ayaka was completely trying to embody the role of Haruto’s girlfriend. Maybe she’d be surprisingly good as an actress. Ayaka spoke to Haruto, who was thinking such things, with a little fidgeting. “S-So… which one of us will lie down first?” “Ah… okay, then I’ll be the pillow first.” Haruto, who had ended up agreeing to practice lap pillows, chose to be the pillow first. Compared to putting his head on Ayaka’s thigh, he felt he could endure being the pillow himself a little better. Eventually, they would switch, and he would have to get a lap pillow from her, but he wasn’t mentally prepared yet. “Okay, I got it. Um… Oh, it’s easier to give a lap pillow if you’re sitting on something rather than just on cushions, right?” “Indeed, but there aren’t any places where we can both sit together…” Ayaka’s room didn’t have a sofa or anything similar. Therefore, there was only one place where they could both sit together. As Haruto looked at that spot, Ayaka also looked in the same direction. “Then… should we move to the bed for a moment?” “…Right… Okay.” Haruto nodded hesitantly, then moved towards the bed. Ayaka followed him silently. “…” “…S-So, lap pillow… go ahead.” After they both sat down on the bed side-by-side, Haruto offered his thigh to Ayaka. “U-Uh… E-Excuse me…” Saying this, Ayaka slowly and hesitantly rested her head on Haruto’s thigh. “…How is it?” Since Ayaka was lying with her head facing the opposite direction, Haruto could only see the back of her head and couldn’t see her expression. “…It might be a little harder than I expected…” Ayaka murmured softly. “Sorry. I was tensing my leg…” It seemed his thigh had tensed up due to nervousness, so Haruto made a conscious effort to relax it. “Ah, it got a little softer.” Saying that, Ayaka moved her head around slightly, grinding a little, searching for a comfortable spot. Every time Ayaka’s head moved on his thigh, Haruto felt a strange ticklish sensation and looked upwards. For a while, Ayaka moved her head slightly, but eventually she seemed to find a good spot and stopped moving her head. “How is it? My lap pillow.” “…Yeah. It might be good.” He still couldn’t see Ayaka’s expression as she answered, but he could somewhat guess her feelings from the fact that her ear, visible through her hair, was bright red.

Haruto himself, for that matter, was currently in a state where his heart was pounding like a rapid bell. He slowly lowered the gaze he had consciously directed upwards. And the moment he saw Ayaka’s head resting on his thigh in his field of vision, he was driven by an urge. He wanted to stroke her head… Ayaka’s well-shaped head. Her flowing hair spread out on Haruto’s thigh, shimmering flaxen in the light filtering through the window. It would feel very pleasant to run his fingers through her hair. “…Ayaka.” “Hm?” “…No, never mind.” “Huh? What is it? If there’s something, please feel free to say it?” “Well, um… Can I… stroke your head?” After a slight pause, Ayaka replied to Haruto’s question. “…Yeah, okay.” Having gotten her permission, Haruto slowly reached out his hand towards Ayaka’s head. The moment Haruto’s hand touched her, a twitching vibration transmitted to his thigh. “If you don’t like it, tell me right away, and I’ll stop.” “…No, it’s okay. I don’t, dislike it.” Haruto’s heart fluttered at Ayaka’s reply, and he gently stroked Ayaka’s head. Ayaka’s silky smooth hair flowed softly through Haruto’s palm. The sensation was very comfortable, and Haruto gently and slowly stroked Ayaka’s head. “How is it?” “It’s a little… ticklish… but… it feels really… comfortable.” Ayaka’s ear, which was visible, had become even redder than before he started stroking her head. For the next few minutes. Haruto stroked Ayaka’s head while she rested on his lap. “Haruto-kun… should we switch… soon?” “Ah, yeah. Okay.” The sensation of stroking Ayaka’s head was so comfortable that Haruto had slightly lost track of time. Ayaka, who had risen from Haruto’s thigh, looked at Haruto while still looking slightly down. “Next, Haruto-kun, you lie down.” Ayaka, saying that, had not only her face but also her neck flushed red. It seemed that giving a lap pillow and having her head stroked had caused her considerable embarrassment. Feeling a little apologetic, Haruto bowed his head to Ayaka. “Sorry, I got carried away and even stroked your head.”

“N-No, it’s totally fine! Besides, I’ll get to stroke Haruto-kun’s head too!” Ayaka waved her hands vigorously, her face bright red. “Is… Is it okay? For me to stroke your head too?” “Well… I stroked Ayaka’s head so much, I can’t really refuse, can I?” Haruto forced a wry smile to hide his embarrassment. At his words, Ayaka smiled happily and lightly patted her thigh. “Yes, go ahead.” Invited innocently by Ayaka, Haruto glanced at her thigh. “Maybe my head is too heavy, and your legs might go numb, so maybe we should stop—” “It’s totally fine. Yes, go ahead.” Ayaka said, cutting off Haruto’s words with a bright smile. Behind her gentle smile, Haruto keenly felt the pressure that said, “You’re not getting away?” “…O-Okay… excuse me.” “Yes, welcome.” Haruto lay down beside Ayaka, then slowly lowered his head and rested it on Ayaka’s thigh. “…Is it heavy?” After resting his head to some extent, Haruto asked Ayaka. “No… it’s okay. How about you, Haruto-kun?” “Uh… It’s good.” Haruto’s first lap pillow experience in his life. Moreover, the person was Ayaka, rumored to be the cutest girl at school. Haruto, a high school boy right in the middle of puberty, felt a mixture of embarrassment, but the majority of his emotions were filled with something like happiness. However, while there was certainly a feeling of happiness, when asked if the lap pillow itself was comfortable, a slight doubt arose. “Is it really not heavy? Aren’t your legs getting numb?” “Not at all, it’s totally fine.” Haruto constantly worried about Ayaka’s legs. Ayaka’s thigh was, indeed, wonderfully soft and attractive, but when he rested his head on it, it sank in more than Haruto had imagined, making him very anxious about whether his blood flow was being cut off. He didn’t know how much weight he could put on it, and by trying to support his head awkwardly, his neck was starting to hurt a little. Just as Haruto began to think his neck might get stiff if he continued like this, Ayaka spoke to him from above. “Hey… Can I stroke your head?” “Ah, yeah… Go ahead.” When Haruto replied, Ayaka’s slightly cool fingertips gently entwined in Haruto’s hair. “Haruto-kun, your hair is quite soft, isn’t it?” “Is it?” “Yeah, I feel like stroking your head might become a habit.”

“…Getting my head stroked is embarrassing, so if possible, I’d prefer it didn’t become a habit…” “Ehh~” Haruto forced a wry smile at Ayaka’s very disappointed voice. If she stroked his head frequently, he might go bald from embarrassment. As Haruto was thinking such things, Ayaka gently placed her hand on the side of his head and said. “Haruto-kun, aren’t you a little tense?” “Huh? Oh… I was thinking my head might be a bit heavy.” “Like I said before, it’s not heavy at all, so you can relax? It’s really okay. More relaxed, please?” “I-Is that so? …Okay… then…” Told that by Ayaka, Haruto, albeit hesitantly, gradually relaxed his body. And after completely relaxing and resting the entire weight of his head on Ayaka’s thigh, Haruto confirmed again. “Is it not heavy? Are you okay?” “Yeah. I’m fine.” When Haruto said that, looking at Ayaka out of the corner of his eye, she looked down at him with a warm smile. Ayaka, seen from her thigh, somehow looked cuter than usual to Haruto, and he quickly averted his gaze. Ayaka let out a small chuckle at Haruto’s reaction. And then, she began to gently stroke his head. Ayaka stroked his head repeatedly, with gentle touches. The sensation of her hand was very comfortable, and at the same time, an equal amount of self-consciousness welled up. Haruto took slow, deep breaths, trying to maintain his composure. Then, Ayaka took an action that greatly disturbed his heart. “Oh, Haruto-kun, you have good luck ears.” Saying that, Ayaka moved the hand that was stroking his head and gently pinched Haruto’s earlobe, gently squeezing it as if enjoying the feel. “—?!” Having had almost no experience of someone touching his earlobe before, Haruto involuntarily flinched at the unfamiliar sensation. “Ah, I’m sorry. Was that ticklish?” “No… it wasn’t ticklish, but…” “Then, can I touch it a little more?” Haruto replied, slightly stumbling over his words, to Ayaka who asked as if pleading. “…It’s okay, but does it feel that good to touch?” “Yeah! It feels amazing!” Ayaka replied with a very bright smile, and Haruto, unable to say no, silently continued to have his earlobe gently squeezed. Then, Ayaka, who had been touching Haruto’s earlobe without getting bored, suddenly let slip a comment.

“Somehow… Haruto-kun’s ear… it’s starting to look delicious…” “…Don’t bite it, okay?” “Huh? U-Uh… I… I wouldn’t go that far yet…” A sense of crisis welled up in Haruto, wondering if “not yet” meant she would eventually bite it. Before that happened, he had to correct the trajectory of this couple’s practice from the lovey-dovey couple path to the pure, proper, and modest couple path. While being given a lap pillow by Ayaka, Haruto strongly etched that thought into his heart.

“Okay… I’ll do it. I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend. I’ll be your girlfriend in front of your grandmother.” At the shocking words from Ayaka, Haruto froze, mouth agape. After freezing for a few seconds, Haruto came back to his senses and shook his head. “N-No! I couldn’t ask you to do such a thing! I’m completely to blame for this lie, so you don’t need to worry about it at all, Tojo-san!” Haruto tried to frantically refuse Ayaka’s suggestion. Ayaka took a step closer to him and said, “Hey, Otsuki-kun. Do you remember what I said before?” “Huh? Before…?” Haruto, slightly flinching at Ayaka who was now within arm’s reach, let his gaze wander as he searched his memory. However, when he couldn’t answer right away, Ayaka smiled. “When we went shopping together at the supermarket, I said I’d do anything for you, didn’t I?” “Ah, ah… But, asking you to pretend to be my girlfriend is a bit…” As Haruto showed his hesitation, Ayaka closed the distance even further. She also gently placed her hand on his, just a little shyly, and said, “Or… do you dislike it, Otsuki-kun? With me…” At Ayaya’s upward glance, Haruto’s face, already red from his cold, instantly turned another shade redder. “No, it’s not that… It’s more that I’m not really in a position to refuse… Rather, is it really okay? For you to pretend to be… well, my girlfriend, for someone who told such a lie…” “Yeah, it’s okay. You’ve taken care of me, so I want to repay you.” “No, well, mine was… a part-time job, so I was properly paid, and repaying that feels a bit excessive…” Haruto said, occasionally glancing at his hand overlapping with Ayaka’s. She, in contrast, looked directly at Haruto and spoke clearly. “Besides, after seeing your grandmother’s face light up with so much joy and happiness, I can’t bring myself to tell her it was a lie and make her sad. You don’t want to make your grandmother sad either, right?” At Ayaka’s words, Haruto softly muttered, “Well, yes, that’s true…” “Then, in front of your grandmother, is it okay for me to be your girlfriend?” Ayaka asked, confirming. Haruto looked down and thought for a while, then eventually looked up as if gauging her reaction.

“It’s… not a bother?” “Nope, it’s not a bother.” “You… don’t dislike it?” “Nope, I don’t dislike it.” Haruto closed his mouth again, shut his eyes, and looked down. Ayaka spoke to him persuasively. “If the lie is revealed, I think your grandmother will be very sad. After she was so happy and smiling.” “U-Uh… But, it would be a bother to Tojo-san…” “Don’t worry about me, worry about your grandmother. After all, she’s your only precious family, right?” At her words about his only family, Haruto’s shoulders twitched. Then, he slowly lifted his eyelids and bowed his head to Ayaka. “T-Then… could I please ask? Could you go along with my lie…?” “Yes, you’ve asked.” Ayaka smiled brightly and gently placed her hands on his shoulders (where he was in a bowed position). “Now then, you’re sick, Otsuki-kun, so you should get back into bed quickly.” “Ah, yes.” Though still a little unsteady from the fever, Haruto was supported by Ayaka as he returned to bed. Ayaka covered him with a futon once he lay down. Just then, his grandmother returned to the room carrying a plate of peeled fruit. “Here, I peeled them for you.” “Thank you very much.” Ayaka bowed her head to express her thanks, and his grandmother also smiled warmly. “See, Haruto, Ayaka-san bought you lots of apples, pears, peaches, and even kiwi.” His grandmother placed the plate on the table beside the bed. Seeing the plate piled high with fruit, Haruto thanked Ayaka. “Thank you so much. So many expensive things.” “No, don’t worry about it. It’s for my important… b-boyfriend.” At Ayaka’s words, spoken with slightly flushed cheeks, his grandmother’s expression instantly brightened. “Oh my! That’s wonderful, Haruto!” “Ah, yeah…” Haruto wore a complicated expression, a mix of happiness and distress, at his grandmother’s delight. Ayaka then put into action what they had just discussed. “Um, would it be alright if I took care of Otsuki-kun for a little while?”

To Ayaka’s question, his grandmother replied with a slightly apologetic tone. “I’d feel bad if I transferred the cold to Ayaka-san…” “No, it’s alright. As Otsuki-kun’s girlfriend, I want to be by his side, even just for a little while.” At Ayaka’s words, spoken with a touch of shyness but also such devotion, his grandmother looked at Haruto with admiration. “My goodness, Haruto! What a wonderful girlfriend you have! You absolutely must cherish her!!” “U-Um. Yes, of course.” Haruto replied, stumbling slightly over his words. As for him, he was filled with the feeling of guilt for having her go along with his lie. However, his grandmother, who had no way of knowing her grandson’s feelings, bowed very happily to Ayaka. “Well then, I’ll leave Haruto to you for a little bit.” “Yes! You can count on me!” To her reply, his grandmother left the room, bowing repeatedly. In the room, now just the two of them. Haruto opened his mouth apologetically. “I’m truly sorry.” “Don’t apologize. You really don’t need to worry at all.” Ayaka, wearing a very cheerful expression, picked up the plate of fruit and moved to Haruto’s bedside. Then, she speared an apple slice with a fork and brought it to Haruto’s mouth. “Okay, Haruto-kun, open up.” “…Um, Tojo-san?” Staring at the apple slice at his mouth, Haruto wore a troubled expression. “Hmm? What’s wrong?” Ayaka tilted her head, looking puzzled. “That is… I can eat the fruit myself, so…” Saying that, Haruto reached for the fork in her hand. But Ayaka quickly pulled the apple back before his hand could reach the fork. “…Um, Tojo-san?” “No, you can’t. Otsuki-kun is sick, so you shouldn’t push yourself.” “Huh, no… I can eat fruit without any problem…” “Otsuki-kun.” “Y-Yes.” “Right now, I’m your girlfriend, right?” “Yes, that is… that is correct.” Overwhelmed by the intensity of Ayaka’s earnest gaze, Haruto replied in an overly polite manner.

Ayaka smiled with satisfaction at his reply and brought the apple back to Haruto’s mouth. “Say ‘ah~n’.” “…” “Ah~n.” For a while, Haruto stared intently at the apple at his mouth. Haruto likely realized that the only way to get rid of this apple was to take it from Ayaka’s hand. “O-Okay, I’ll have some…” Haruto made up his mind and took a bite of the apple in front of him. Seeing him do that, Ayaka smiled very happily. “Is it good?” “…It tastes very sweet, and it’s delicious.” “Really? Good.” Ayaka looked at Haruto with a beaming smile.

Feeling her gaze, Haruto chewed and swallowed the apple, and immediately, the next slice was brought to his mouth. “…………” “Okay, open wide.” “…Chomp.” “Hehehe.” Haruto was sure the heat he felt in his face wasn’t just from the cold, but there was no way he could refuse Ayaka now, so he continued to docilely accept her “ahn”. Haruto kept being fed fruit by Ayaka. “Okay, this is the last one.” Ayaka brought the final piece of peach to Haruto’s mouth. Haruto, whose senses were already becoming numb, readily took a bite of the peach. “Okay, finished.” “Thank you very much. That was delicious.” Haruto finished all the apple, pear, kiwi, and peach. Various senses had been numbed by Ayaka’s “ahn”, but eating four fruits while having a cold left him quite full. At the same time, Haruto was overcome with a strong drowsiness. “Otsuki-kun, are you okay with your medicine?” “I’ll take it. Ah, before that, can I take my temperature?” “Yeah, do you still feel feverish?” Ayaka asked worriedly. Haruto smiled and replied, trying to ease her concern. “It’s much better compared to yesterday.” “…Is that so?” Ayaka replied after thinking for a moment about Haruto’s words. Haruto felt a little puzzled by her reaction but started looking for the thermometer to take his temperature. “Um, I think I left it somewhere by the pillow…” Saying that, Haruto reached towards the pillow while lying down, rustling around to find the thermometer. Suddenly, Ayaka leaned over him, placing her hand on the pillow beside his head. “Otsuki-kun…” “…?! W-W-What, Tojo-san?!” Haruto’s eyes widened in surprise at Ayaka, who was leaning over him, her weight sinking the pillow, looking down at him. “I’ll… take your temperature…” Along with those words, Ayaka slowly brought her face closer to Haruto’s. Like curtains, Ayaka’s glossy hair hung down around Haruto’s face.

At Ayaka’s face approaching closer than ever before, Haruto was frozen as if paralyzed, unable to even move his eyes. Eventually, their foreheads touched with a soft bump. Her slightly ragged, warm breath fell upon Haruto’s mouth. Haruto’s thoughts scattered. He couldn’t think of anything. Centered on their touching foreheads, a heat he had never felt before spread throughout his body. A time like an eternity, like an instant, passed. Then, Ayaka pulled her face away from Haruto’s. “Hehe… I was trying to do something like a couple… but I guess this way doesn’t really tell if you have a fever.” Ayaka’s face, as she said that and laughed, was definitely redder than the peach she had just eaten. “Ah, uh, yeah, I… see. Maybe practice is needed.” Haruto said, his thought circuits burnt out, his mind blank. Then, Ayaka let out a small “Hehe” and smiled. “Well then, shall we… practice?” Ayaka’s expression as she said that looked incredibly alluring to Haruto. Had Ayaka cast a spell on him? He seemed to have lost his ability to speak, words not coming out even when he opened his mouth. Instead of speaking, Haruto shook his head from side to side. That was the most resistance he could muster in his current state. Seeing Haruto like that, Ayaka let out another laugh, and Haruto was simply captivated by her smile. ​ ※※※

A coffee shop nestled in a quiet residential area. Jazz music flowed softly through the sunlit interior, creating a calm atmosphere, as if disconnected from the stifling summer heat. I slowly stirred the straw in the glass in front of me. Listening to the cool clinking sound of the ice, I took a sip of the chai I had just ordered. The aroma of tea and spices spreading in my mouth made me relax my expression. Hmm, this chai is delicious too, but the one Otsuki-kun made is still a little bit better, I think? As I was killing time with such thoughts, my best friend, Saki, entered the shop. “Ah, over here.”

When I raised my hand to show her where I was, Saki came over to me, fanning her face with her hand. “Phew, it’s hot today too.” Saki said as she sat down. She looked at what I was drinking with a curious expression. “Huh? Not iced cafe au lait?” “Yeah. It’s chai today.” “Huh~ Why?” Saki tilted her head as she sat down across from me. “Otsuki-kun made it for me before, and it was really delicious.” “Ho ho, so that’s a lovey-dovey boast, is it?” “N-No! That’s not what I meant at all!” “Ah~ right, right. Thanks for the treat.” “Mph.” I puffed out my cheeks and glared at Saki, but she didn’t seem to mind at all, leisurely opening the menu and contemplating what to drink. “Is it good?” “Yeah, but…” When Saki asked me, I almost said, “The one Otsuki-kun made might be better,” and quickly shut my mouth. If I said that, she’d just say I was boasting about my love life again. “But?” “No, no, it’s good. Do you want a sip, Saki?” I managed to gloss it over with a smile and offered Saki a sip, lightly stirring the chai with the straw. “Hmm. No… I think I’ll go with almond au lait.” Saki closed the menu she had open, raised her hand, and called the master. “You’re ordering something unusual too, Saki.” “Just the mood I’m in. When your friend is drinking something different, you want to order something different yourself, right?” Saki said that as she ordered from the master. After taking a sip of cold water, she said, “Alright now,” and looked at me again. “So? What’s this serious consultation you wanted to have with me?” Saki asked me with a look of anticipation. Actually, after I returned from visiting Otsuki-kun yesterday, I had messaged Saki saying, “I have something serious to talk about, so I want to meet.” “U-Um. Well… um…” I remembered my exchange with Otsuki-kun yesterday and felt my face turn red. “Well, you see. Actually, I… ended up pretending to be Otsuki-kun’s… girlfriend.” “………Huh? What?”

Saki looked bewildered and asked me to repeat myself. “So, I’m pretending to be Otsuki-kun’s girlfriend.” “Hmm… Sorry, say that again?” “T-T-Therefore. I’m going to play the role of Otsuki-kun’s fake girlfriend!” I said clearly, breaking up the words. Saki, on the other hand, seemed confused by my words, resting one hand on her forehead and looking down, or looking up and thinking hard, or twisting her neck and furrowing her brow, looking rather busy. “Sorry, Ayaka, I have absolutely no idea what you mean? Huh? What does that mean?” No matter how hard she thought, she didn’t seem to understand what I had said, and Saki looked at me with a suspicious expression. “Well, you see. Otsuki-kun has various circumstances, and he currently lives with just his grandmother. And… well, Otsuki-kun told his grandmother that I was his girlfriend, and then…” “H-Hoh~” Saki’s reaction to my explanation was unclear, whether she understood or not. “Okay, I don’t really get it, but anyway, Otsuki-kun told his grandmother a lie that Ayaka is his girlfriend, is that it?” “Yeah, that’s… kind of it.” When I nodded, Saki crossed her arms and made a thinking gesture. “I see… That’s surprising. I didn’t think Otsuki-kun was the type to tell such a lie.” Saki’s words contained a slight hint of contempt, and I quickly defended him. “Otsuki-kun didn’t tell a lie with bad intentions! His grandmother is very important to him, and he just blurted out the lie thinking of his precious grandmother. But after that, he apologized to me so much, and he was going to tell his grandmother the truth properly, but then I… well…” “You stopped him from telling his grandmother?” “Yeah…” I nodded my head slightly. “It seems… there are various circumstances.” Thanks to my desperate explanation, it seemed Saki’s evaluation of Otsuki-kun hadn’t dropped. If I could explain about Otsuki-kun’s parents or the fact that his grandmother is his only family now, Saki would surely sympathize with him. But I couldn’t just talk about that without Otsuki-kun present. “That’s right. Otsuki-kun has various circumstances, so his lie was… well, a lie thinking of his grandmother, and it’s not like he forcefully wanted me to be his girlfriend or anything.”

“I see… Well, I don’t really understand those circumstances, but anyway, you don’t feel uncomfortable about the lie, Ayaka?” “Yeah.” As I nodded, Saki looked relieved for a moment, then looked at me with a curious gaze. “But you know, for Otsuki-kun to say Ayaka is his girlfriend as a lie? Doesn’t that mean he likes you?” “Y-Yeah, do you think so too, Saki?” My heart beat faster at the thought that my best friend had the same idea. “Logically speaking, isn’t that the case? Well, I don’t know the detailed circumstances, so I can’t say for sure. But you wouldn’t introduce someone you don’t feel anything for as your girlfriend, even if it’s a lie, right?” “R-Right?” I nodded in agreement with Saki’s words. Saki said to me, tilting her head. “Ayaka, when Otsuki-kun told that lie, if you had confessed and said ‘Actually, I like you, Otsuki-kun’, you could have started dating, couldn’t you?” “…I thought so too.” “Eh?! Then why didn’t you confess?? You could have had your first love come true!” At Saki’s words, I looked down. What I wanted to consult her about was exactly that. “Because, if I had confessed at that moment, I felt like my true feelings wouldn’t have been conveyed…” “Hmm? True feelings? What do you mean by that?” To Saki’s question, I explained how Otsuki-kun had looked when he apologized for the lie yesterday. “Otsuki-kun felt a lot of guilt towards me for telling the lie, and if I confessed in that state, wouldn’t Otsuki-kun probably feel like ‘she’s confessing to go along with my lie’? Even though I was confessing because I genuinely like Otsuki-kun.” At that moment, if I had confessed, Otsuki-kun surely would have made me his girlfriend. But I felt like that wouldn’t be purely based on the feeling of ‘liking’ him. Otsuki-kun would enter the relationship feeling guilty, thinking ‘I told a lie, so she’s going along with it’. And because he’s kind, he might try to act like the perfect boyfriend to me as a form of atonement. But… that’s not what I want. Purely, I want Otsuki-kun to like me. I want him to make me his girlfriend based only on the reason of ‘liking’ me, without feeling guilt or lies. That’s why I didn’t reveal my feelings to him at that moment. I didn’t want to reveal them.

Because I wanted Otsuki-kun’s pure feelings, I became greedy. Saki, who listened to my explanation, nodded with her arms crossed, saying, “Hmm hmm, I see…” “Well, it’s your first love, Ayaka. I can understand the feeling of wanting to pursue an ideal.” “Really?” “Yeah. But honestly, I also think it was a bit of a missed opportunity.” Saki leaned forward slightly and said to me. “Ayaka, you avoid guys at school, so you might not know, but surprisingly, Otsuki-kun is getting some attention from some girls! So, if you’re too greedy, there’s a chance he might be taken by someone else in the meantime!” “R-Really? But, I see… Otsuki-kun is smart and kind…” “To prevent that, there was also the option of just starting to date quickly, securing the official girlfriend position, and then slowly conquering Otsuki-kun.” Hearing Saki say that, I suddenly felt very anxious. “Besides, Ayaka, you want to start dating officially after dispelling Otsuki-kun’s guilt or feeling of debt about the lie, right?” “U-Um.” “But as long as you’re the fake girlfriend, Otsuki-kun won’t forget that lie, will he? Or rather, won’t his guilt increase every time you pretend to be his girlfriend?” Saki’s words pierced my chest. She was right. The more I acted as Otsuki-kun’s girlfriend, the more indebted he would feel towards me. If that happened, I would never be able to confess to Otsuki-kun. I realized this when I got home yesterday and thought calmly, and I quickly contacted Saki. “Saki~ Help me~ What should I do~” To my pleading, Saki sighed “Good grief” and shrugged her shoulders. “Honestly, you just fell in love the other day, and before you know it, you’re pretending to be lovers… Are you the heroine of a romantic comedy or something?” To Saki, who retorted in an exasperated tone, I kept looking at her with teary eyes. Saki sighed again, “Hah~,” and after thinking for a moment, opened her mouth. “Let me just clarify. First, there’s a high possibility that Otsuki-kun likes you, or has feelings for you.” “…I think so.” “But, he feels guilty about the lie. So right now, even if Ayaka shows affection, he might misunderstand it as you going along with the lie.” “Yeah.” “But Ayaka wants to purely convey her love to Otsuki-kun.” At Saki’s words, I felt my face flush hot.

“…U-Um.” “Stop that! Don’t be shy!” “B-But…” “No ‘buts’!” Saki was still a strict love guru… The love guru crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and pondered for a while. During that time, I waited with an anxious heart. Maybe I should have confessed at that moment after all? But, but, Otsuki-kun was so down at that time, and I also felt like I was taking advantage of his weakness, so I was still hesitant. Ugh… Saki-sama, please help me! As I was praying to my best friend sitting across from me, Saki eventually opened her eyes. “Hmm, I’ve thought of one method, but…” “There’s a method?” My lips involuntarily curved up with hope. “Well, I don’t know if this is the correct answer though.” Saki said, sounding unsure. It doesn’t have to be the correct answer! I had thought about it all day yesterday and couldn’t come up with any good ideas. But Saki would definitely give me better advice than me, who has zero romantic experience. “The method I thought of is…” “U-Um.” I focused all my senses on my ears and listened to Saki’s explanation. “We’ll set things up so that Otsuki-kun confesses to Ayaka.” “Eh? Get Otsuki-kun to confess?” Not me confessing to Otsuki-kun? Get Otsuki-kun to confess? “Ayaka, you want to start dating Otsuki-kun purely based on the feeling of ‘liking’, right?” “Yeah, but… getting Otsuki-kun to confess seems difficult…” He already had the guilt of having lied to me. Given that, I didn’t think it would be easy for him to take action like confessing. “That’s right. Otsuki-kun probably won’t confess easily. But, that’s why, a confession from Otsuki-kun has meaning!” Saki said to me with a grin. “Right now, Otsuki-kun feels guilty towards Ayaka. So he’ll probably think ‘I can’t possibly confess, it would be too rude for someone like me’ and won’t confess.” “Yeah, I think so too.”

To my agreement, Saki continued her explanation with a sly smile. “But, for him to confess to Ayaka despite that… that means he likes Ayaka so much that it surpasses even that guilt!” “He likes me so much it surpasses his guilt… B-But, how… how can I make him like me that much?” I have zero romantic experience, and I’ve avoided guys until now. Can someone like me really charm Otsuki-kun that much? I’m full of anxiety… “You’re currently Otsuki-kun’s fake girlfriend, right?” “Yeah, but…” “You have to act like his girlfriend in front of Otsuki-kun’s grandmother, right?” “U-Um.” “That’s it! Use that!” Saki pointed at me sharply and said. “Ayaka has never dated a guy before. So, you need practice to pretend to be his girlfriend in front of Otsuki-kun’s grandmother. You explain that to Otsuki-kun.” “Practice being a couple?” “Exactly! And using that practice as an excuse, you should fawn over Otsuki-kun, or let him fawn over you, and anyway, flirt with him a lot to blur his perception! The boundary between the fake girlfriend and the real girlfriend!” Saki’s smile as she said that looked a little like she was plotting something mischievous. “So, Ayaka, from now on, you’ll relentlessly push hard on Otsuki-kun during your couple practice and keep showing him how much you like him!” “Relentlessly push hard on Otsuki-kun… C-Can I do that?” To my weak stance, Saki said forcefully. “It’s not a matter of ‘can you’ or ‘can’t you’, you have to do it! If you keep pretending to be his girlfriend halfway, your relationship with Otsuki-kun will get complicated in a strange way!” “I don’t want that…” “Then! You have to go for it with enough momentum to knock Otsuki-kun over!” “K-Knock him over…” The moment Saki said that, the incident at the Animal Crossing park flashed back in my mind. Suddenly, my face became so hot it felt like steam was rising from my head. “Well, that was a joke, of course. But you might need to be a bit more proactive in how you approach him.” After saying that, Saki added, “Also, this is important too.” “To win over Otsuki-kun, it’s not just about flirting, I think it’s also important to become his ideal girlfriend. Being considerate, graceful, and so on. Well, I don’t know Otsuki-kun’s preferences at all, so I can’t say anything about that.”

Indeed, Otsuki-kun seemed a bit too serious, or had a strong tendency to try to be sincere. To overcome the guilt he carried and get him to confess to me, a considerable amount of effort would be needed. “Okay, I’ll… I’ll do my best to become Otsuki-kun’s ideal girlfriend! And… I’ll work hard to get him to confess!!” When I said it with determination, Saki also nodded and smiled at me. “It’ll be tough in many ways, but good luck achieving your ideal first love. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll lend a hand anytime.” “Okay, thank you, Saki.” I smiled at my best friend’s reassuring words. After that, we discussed our strategy to get Otsuki-kun to confess, titled the ‘Couple Practice Strategy’. It wouldn’t be easy. But… Otsuki-kun must be somewhat aware of me. So, if I keep trying hard to appeal to him, if I can get closer to Otsuki-kun’s ideal girlfriend, then… I clenched my fists tightly and braced myself. I never would have thought before summer vacation started that things would turn out like this. Having someone I cared about for the first time in my life, and falling for them. Having my first love. And then, pretending to be their lover. This is my precious first love. I want to fulfill my ideal. So, I’ll become a charming girlfriend for Otsuki-kun, not a fake one, but a real one. Someday, surely… absolutely… ※※※ Having recovered from his cold and feeling better, Haruto returned to his housekeeping help job at the Tojo household. Standing in front of the familiar mansion, Haruto showed a moment of hesitation before ringing the intercom, pulling back his finger. Ayaka’s image appeared in his mind. “…Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend. I’ll be your girlfriend in front of your grandmother.” Her words echoed in his head over and over again. “What kind of face should I make when I see her…” Haruto sighed softly, “Haa.” While feeling guilty for involving Ayaka in his lie, Haruto couldn’t help but feel a certain degree of happiness at the fact that Ayaka would be his girlfriend, even if only pretend. “Can’t just stand here forever…”

Haruto braced himself and lifted the finger he had pulled back, intending to press the intercom of the Tojo residence. Just then, he was suddenly spoken to from behind. “Oh, Otsuki-kun.” “T-Tojo-san?!” Startled by being suddenly spoken to, Haruto flinched his shoulders and turned around to see Ayaka there. “Sorry for surprising you. I was just taking Ryota to the nearby park.” “Ah, I see… Was Ryota-kun alone?” “No, he was playing with some kids from the neighborhood. Their parents always look after Ryota too, so it’s a huge help.” “I see… It’s reassuring if there are adults watching.” “Yeah. Otsuki-kun, are you okay now with your cold?” As Ayaka came closer, casting a concerned gaze at him, Haruto felt his face getting hot. “Yes, I’m completely better now. Thank you for coming to visit me. And thank you for all the fruit too.” “Don’t worry about it at all. I’m just glad you got better, Otsuki-kun.” “Thank you… Ah, also, I’m here for the housekeeping help today as well.” “Hehe, yeah. It’s hot, so let’s go inside quickly?” Haruto was slightly flustered, conscious of their previous exchange. To him, Ayaka smiled and opened the front door, inviting him inside. As they entered the living room side by side, Haruto asked Ayaka. “…Are Shuichi-san and Ikue-san home today?” “Both Papa and Mama went to work today.” “I see…” Shuichi and Ikue were both at work, and Ryota was playing with neighborhood kids at the nearby park, so he wasn’t home. In other words, it was just Haruto and Ayaka in the house right now. For some reason, Haruto felt inexplicably awkward in this situation. In the awkward silence that fell between him and Ayaka, Haruto was about to open his mouth to keep the conversation going. However, Ayaka spoke to Haruto first. “Um, Otsuki-kun… about the… the other day…” “Y-Yes. I’m truly, truly sorry about… about the other day. About pretending to be your girlfriend, you can stop immediately if you feel even slightly uncomfortable.” “Oh, no, no, I’m perfectly fine with it. Rather, well… I’ve never… well… been in a relationship before, you see? So, I don’t really have an image of how to pretend to be a girlfriend…” Ayaka, speaking a bit shyly, looked up at Haruto with slightly flushed cheeks.

“So, well? Um… I think some practice might be needed on how to act like a girlfriend… What do you… think?” “Eh? P-Practice?” “Yeah.” Ayaka nodded, her face still red. Haruto was momentarily speechless at her unexpected suggestion. “Well, no, you don’t need to practice… you’re already quite charming as a girlfriend, or rather… well, more than the real thing…” “Ah, yeah… thank you… B-But, you know. Still, if your grandmother finds out that I’m a fake girlfriend, she’ll be sad… So, I want to practice…” Ayaka looked up at Haruto again and asked, “Is that okay?” After being asked that, Haruto was in no position to refuse. “…I’m truly sorry. To have you go through so much… I don’t know how I can thank you.” “You really don’t need to worry about thanking me or anything at all.” Ayaka waved her hands at Haruto, who was bowing deeply. “Um… about that practice, well… what kind of practice…?” It was nothing to boast about, but Haruto, like Ayaka, had zero romantic experience. Therefore, he had no idea what kind of ‘practice’ she was talking about. “Yeah, well… I want to practice so that you and I look like we’re really a couple, and if it’s okay with your schedule, would it be possible for you to come to the house from around the early afternoon?” “Early afternoon, you mean around 1 PM?” “Yeah. Of course, don’t feel obligated if you have other plans.” Haruto’s contract for housekeeping help with the Tojo family was from 3 PM. This meant that the time between 1 PM and 3 PM would be what Ayaka referred to as ‘couple practice’. “No, I don’t have a problem with that, but… well, if I come early every time before housekeeping help and… practice being a couple… with Tojo-san, what should I say to Shuichi-san and Ikue-san? I mean, they might misunderstand…” “About that, I was thinking of telling Papa and Mama that we’re studying together. See, you’re good at studying, right? So, if I say we’re doing summer homework together and you’re helping me study, it should be okay?” “Ah, ah, I see…” Haruto nodded, seemingly convinced by Ayaka’s explanation. “Besides, we can actually study during that time. I actually want you to teach me some things.” Ayaka made a slightly gloomy face, saying, “My last test results were a bit…” “If I’m alright, I can teach you anytime.”

Haruto, whose air conditioner in his room was not working well, had been worried about finding a place to study during the hot part of the day. Until now, he had been moving around to places like his best friend Tomoya’s room or the library to find cool places. If he could study in Ayaka’s room every time, it would be a helpful arrangement for Haruto as well. And since he could then continue with his housekeeping help job immediately, he could also increase his study time. “Okay, then, from next time, could you come to the house in the early afternoon? Is that alright?” “Yes, um… please take care of me.” Haruto bowed his head to Ayaka. In response, Ayaka also bowed her head to Haruto. “No, please take care of me too.” They both bowed to each other. Ayaka, who raised her head first, opened her mouth again, a little hesitant. “Ah, also, I have one more request…” “What is it?” “Well. About how we call each other… Right now, we’re calling each other by our family names, right?” Ayaka called Haruto ‘Otsuki-kun’, and Haruto also called Ayaka ‘Tojo-san’. In Haruto’s case, when he was doing housekeeping help and other members of the Tojo family were present besides Ayaka, he made sure to call her by her first name, ‘Ayaka-san’, but in other situations, he generally used her family name. “I think, you know, couples usually call each other by their first names.” “Is… that so?” Haruto tilted his head slightly. Indeed, many couples might call each other by their first names, but even so, it might not be necessary to do so in all cases. There should be many couples in the world who call each other by their family names. His doubts were blown away by Ayaka’s passionate assertion. “Yeah. Couples who are close usually call each other by their first names! So, well, I’d like you to call me… by my first name, even normally.” “O-Okay… Then, should I call you ‘Ayaka-san’ from now on?” “…Just ‘Ayaka’.” “Eh?” “Without ‘san’, just ‘Ayaka’… I’d like you to call me.” Ayaka said, heavily tinged with shyness, letting her gaze drift slightly. Seeing her like that, Haruto felt his heart involuntarily pound. “…A… Ayaka.” Haruto said quietly, as if to himself. Then, Ayaka’s smile bloomed brightly. “Yeah! What is it, Haruto-kun?”

Ayaka, beaming with a full smile, took a step closer to Haruto and tilted her head slightly. It felt a little calculated, but her cuteness won out, and Haruto forgot to point out that she was still using ‘-kun’ for him. “Um… is it okay if I just call you by your first name without ‘-san’ only in front of my grandmother?” He had only called her by her first name without a title. However, Haruto felt the distance between them shrink significantly with just that. And it greatly stimulated the feelings swirling inside him for Ayaka. To Haruto’s request, Ayaka thought for a moment, saying “Hmm~,” then deliberately lifted the corners of her mouth. “Okay. Then, in front of Otsuki-kun’s grandmother and…” Ayaka looked directly into Haruto’s eyes and said with a gentle smile, “When we’re alone, please use the way you just called me.” “…Okay.” Haruto could only nod. Ayaka, on the other hand, wore a very satisfied smile. “Ah, sorry for talking for so long before work.” “No, it’s alright. Well then… I’ll start the service now, do you have any requests?” “Ah, Mama said she wanted me to clean the garden today.” The Tojo residence, being a mansion, had a spacious garden next to the living room. In the garden, there was a wooden deck, a barbecue grill, and other things. Haruto nodded at Ayaka’s request. “Understood. And regarding dinner tonight, I was planning to make chicken breast Nanbanzuke and somen noodles with tomatoes, tuna, and perilla leaves, is that alright?” “Yeah, that sounds really delicious!” “Understood. Then I’ll go and clean the garden right away.” Haruto was about to leave the living room for the garden. Ayaka called out to his back. “Oh yeah. Papa and Mama said they’d be coming home a little early today, but would you like to have dinner with us again today, Haruto-kun?” “Would that be alright?” Haruto replied, feeling a mix of ticklishness and embarrassment at being called by his first name by Ayaka. “Papa and Mama will be happier if Haruto-kun is with us. And Ryota too, of course.” Haruto couldn’t help but wryly smile at the situation where having meals with the Tojo family had become the norm recently. “In that case, I would be glad to join you.” “Yay!” Ayaka smiled happily at Haruto’s words.

Haruto, who had come to find Ayaka’s smile more appealing than before, subtly averted his gaze from her smile out of shyness. He escaped the awkward silence and went out to the garden, focusing on cleaning as if to shake off any distracting thoughts. He swept the wooden deck with a broom and washed it with a brush. Then, he mowed the overgrown lawn and removed weeds. He had been cleaning and tending the garden for about an hour. Since he focused on the cleaning, the work finished faster than he expected, and Haruto returned to the living room to prepare dinner. There, Ayaka was waiting with a glass of tea in her hand. “Haruto-kun, you must be tired. Aren’t you thirsty?” To her words of consideration, Haruto thanked her and accepted the tea. “Thank you. I was just getting thirsty, so this is a big help.” Haruto, who had been working under the blazing sun, quickly drank the tea he received. Ayaka watched him drink, looking very pleased. “Want another?” “Oh, no, I’m fine. Thank you… Um, then I’ll start preparing dinner now.” “Okay.” Haruto, feeling ticklish under Ayaka’s gaze, started preparing dinner to distract himself. Ayaka watched him cook from the dining table. Haruto tried his best to focus on cooking, but he couldn’t help but be aware of her presence. While pan-frying the chicken breast for the Nanbanzuke, he suddenly looked up and glanced towards Ayaka. Just then, she seemed to be looking at Haruto too, and their eyes met perfectly. The moment their gazes crossed, Ayaka smiled, her cheeks slightly flushed. At her gesture, Haruto’s heart pounded so hard he felt it might stop for a moment. “…Ah… That’s right, about the… couple practice.” “Yeah.” While flipping the chicken breast with his cooking chopsticks, Haruto spoke casually. “What kind of practice are we planning to do?” “Well… practice gestures and words that couples use, and also… s-skinship practice, I guess?” Ayaka’s explanation sped up in the latter half out of embarrassment. “Skinship… practice?” Haruto stopped the action of taking the pan-fried chicken breast out of the oil for a moment and looked at Ayaka with a bewildered expression. She then started explaining in a slightly louder, flustered voice. “B-Because, you know! If we’re awkward about things like that, your grandmother might suspect we’re not a real couple!”

“She’ll suspect…?” Being shy and not even holding hands… Wouldn’t that be seen as sweet and innocent for a young couple? “Well, since I told my grandmother I recently got a girlfriend, it might be unnatural if there’s… too much skinship.” “Ah… yeah, that’s… right…” Hearing Haruto’s words, Ayaka somehow lost her energy and looked down dejectedly. Witnessing her appearance, guilt slowly welled up within Haruto’s chest. In the first place, Haruto was in a situation where he had dragged Ayaka into his lie, and he reminded himself that he had no right to say this or that to her. “But indeed, a certain amount of practice might be necessary. It would be difficult to ask you to suddenly act like a couple. If Ayaka-san… Ayaka is okay with it, we can do… skinship practice too.” “…Really?” As Ayaka looked up and said that, her expression seemed to be mixed with no small amount of joy, and Haruto felt his heart stir. “Really. If you’re okay with it, though.” “Since I’m the one suggesting it, there’s no way I’m not okay with it.” Ayaka was smiling brightly and cheerfully, a complete change from her earlier dejected expression. Haruto averted his gaze from her and quickly took out the chicken breast, which he had slightly overcooked, from the frying pan. Haruto then transferred the chicken breast to a tray with onions, green peppers, and carrots he had chopped beforehand, and poured his grandmother’s secret Nanbanzuke sauce over them to marinate. After the Nanbanzuke was mostly finished, Haruto started to make the soup base for the somen noodles. Just then, Ayaka opened her mouth quietly. “Hey, Haruto-kun.” “Yes, what is it?” To Ayaka’s question, Haruto turned his face towards her. “Right now, Papa, Mama, and Ryota aren’t here…” Ayaka’s expression as she said this was slightly flushed and moist, possessing an indescribable charm. “Shall we… practice being a couple… just a little?” Standing up smoothly, Ayaka slowly circled around to the kitchen where Haruto was and said. “Ah, uh…” Haruto, holding the tomato he was going to use for the somen soup base, just stared silently at Ayaka approaching him. Ayaka stopped a few steps away from Haruto.

She paused there for a few seconds, looking down. Then, as if making up her mind, she lifted her face sharply, looked directly at Haruto, and took a step forward. “T-Tojo…-san?” “When we’re alone, it’s Ayaka, right?” Ayaka said, pouting slightly with a look of dissatisfaction, and took another step closer to Haruto. “Haruto-kun…” Ayaka was now within a distance where Haruto could reach out and touch her. Various thoughts surged in Haruto’s head. He felt that if he acted on any one of them, their relationship would change. Classmates at the same school. housekeeping help staff and client. And… fake lovers… Haruto was drawn into Ayaka’s gaze, which seemed to carry heat. Large, beautiful eyes. Looking at her eyes, which made him think so, Haruto’s thoughts gradually stopped working, and the desires deep within his heart began to surface. The rational part of Haruto warned him that this was not right, but his desires became stronger and stronger. And just as Haruto’s hand tentatively reached out towards Ayaka, a cheerful voice echoed from the entrance. “I’m hoooome!!” It was Ryota’s voice announcing his return. Haruto and Ayaka both flinched their bodies and hurriedly put distance between them. Immediately after hearing the lively thudding sound from the hallway, Gacha! the living room door was swung open, and Ryota, who had returned from the park, burst in. “Ah! Onii-chan!!” As soon as Ryota saw Haruto standing in the kitchen, he ran towards him, looking absolutely delighted. “Onii-chan, I’m home!” “Welcome back, Ryota-kun.” “Onii-chan, are you okay from your cold now? Are you all better?” To Ryota, who was looking at him worriedly, Haruto smiled brightly. “Thank you for worrying. My cold is all better now, and I’m fine.” When Haruto patted Ryota’s head, Ryota squinted his eyes as if it was ticklish. “Hey, Onii-chan, when you had a cold, an unknown lady came to help out at home instead of you.” “Oh, I see. Was her food delicious?”

“Yeah. But, I like Onii-chan’s food better! And also, it’s more fun when Onii-chan is at home!” Ryota said with an innocent smile. Haruto’s expression softened at his words. “I’ll make delicious food for you today too, Ryota-kun, so wait just a little longer. In the meantime, why don’t you go wash your hands and gargle?” “Okay!” Haruto watched Ryota’s back as he obediently nodded and ran to the sink, with a gentle gaze. Back in the living room, now just the two of them, Haruto quietly glanced towards Ayaka. “We can practice… some other time, then.” “Yes… I suppose…” To Ayaka, who smiled a little shyly, Haruto nodded awkwardly. Haruto resumed cooking dinner, reflecting on the desires that had just surged within him. When Ayaka came close, he had thought… He wanted to make her his. He wanted to hold her in his arms. However, he wasn’t allowed to do such a thing right now. Ayaka was pretending to be his girlfriend because she trusted him. It was because of that trust that Ayaka was willing to behave like a real girlfriend through things like skinship. Therefore, he couldn’t betray that trust. But, Haruto paused while cutting the tomatoes and wondered. He had felt a strong sense of apology towards Ayaka due to the guilt of involving her in his lie. Because of that, he hadn’t properly thought about Ayaka’s own feelings. Regarding the fake relationship, what did she think of him…? Haruto looked back on everything that had happened since he started working as housekeeping help at the Tojo house and met Ayaka. And he considered a certain possibility. The possibility that Ayaka had feelings for him. He wasn’t certain, but he couldn’t dismiss it entirely either. They went to see a movie together and held hands there. They frequently went grocery shopping together at the supermarket. And at the Animal Crossing park, although not intended, it resulted in something like an embrace. Looking back on those moments and her reactions, he felt like she had never shown an expression of dislike. It had only been a short time since he met Ayaka. There was still a strong possibility that it was just Haruto’s misunderstanding. However… At that moment, a scene flashed back in Haruto’s mind.

It was just the other day. The scene where Ayaka, who had come to nurse him, pressed her forehead against his to check his temperature. Would someone do something like that for someone they didn’t like? If Ayaka liked Haruto, there would be no need for her to be a fake girlfriend. Haruto was aware of the feelings at the bottom of his heart, his feelings for Ayaka. So, if her feelings were the same as his… Thinking up to that point, Haruto vigorously shook his head. “Something that convenient… couldn’t possibly be true, could it?” Through his housekeeping help job, Haruto had learned that Ayaka’s image as the ‘school idol’ at school was not her true self. However, the image of Ayaka as the ‘school idol’ still hadn’t completely disappeared from his mind. She wasn’t interested in romance and kept all boys at bay. She only had female friends around her, and she rejected every confession. Because that image remained, Haruto couldn’t feel that the possibility of Ayaka having feelings for him was realistic. He transferred the tomatoes he had finished cutting to a bowl and began to finely chop the perilla leaves. As he did so, he subtly looked up and glanced briefly at Ayaka, who was sitting at the living/dining room table again. Just like before, their eyes met perfectly. “…! It’ll be ready soon.” “U-Um.” Feeling awkward, they both averted their eyes. Haruto finely chopped the perilla leaves, trying to calm his pounding heart. From now on, before his housekeeping help job, he would be in Ayaka’s room for ‘couple practice’. Of course, he planned to study properly too. He was aware of the presence of his own feelings – whether the current pounding in his chest was from anxiety or joy – and while he could sort of tell, he also didn’t clearly want to know yet. For now, he just continued silently cooking dinner. ※※※ “Wow, Haruto-kun’s home cooking is exquisite as always!” Shuichi praised while eating the Nanbanzuke Haruto had made. “It’s not just the seasoning, the texture of the vegetables is also wonderful.” Ikue also savored Haruto’s cooking. Haruto, having finished his housekeeping help work, sat at the dining table with Shuichi, Ikue, Ayaka, and Ryota, who had returned from work. “Thank you very much. This time I might have cooked the chicken a little too long and it might be a bit tough.” “No, no! It doesn’t bother me at all. But this slightly spicy kick makes me want a drink. This calls for beer… or maybe chilled sake would be a good match?”

Saying that, Shuichi glanced towards Ikue. “Hehe, don’t drink too much.” “Of course not! I just happen to have a good bottle I received from someone at work.” Shuichi walked off with a spring in his step to get the sake. Meanwhile, Ryota looked at Ayaka’s Nanbanzuke with a curious expression. “Onee-chan, is this spicy?” To Ryota, who tilted his head in confusion, Haruto smiled. “I made a different seasoning for your portion so it wouldn’t be spicy, Ryota-kun.” “I want to eat spicy food too!” Perhaps unhappy that his portion was different, Ryota looked at the Nanbanzuke on Ayaka’s plate sitting next to him. “This is still too early for Ryota.” Ayaka said, trying to reason with her brother. But Ryota shook his head at his sister’s words. “I’m fine with spicy things!” “Really? Then want to try a little?” “Yeah!!” Ayaka shared a little of her Nanbanzuke onto Ryota’s plate as he nodded enthusiastically. Ryota’s eyes sparkled as he put it in his mouth, but his expression quickly clouded over. It seemed it was still too spicy for Ryota, but he was desperately enduring it, chewing the Nanbanzuke in his mouth. Ayaka found his reaction amusing and couldn’t help but let out a little laugh, “Hehe.” “How is it, Ryota? Is it good?” “…Yeah, it’s… good…” “Want some more?” At Ayaka’s words, Ryota shook his head vigorously from side to side. As they were watching the amusing exchange between the Tojo siblings, Shuichi returned, beaming, carrying a large bottle of sake. “Apparently, this is something you can’t easily find in stores.” In a good mood, Shuichi placed a small sake cup on the table and was about to pour himself a drink. “Ah, Shuichi-san. I’ll pour it for you.” “No, no! Don’t bother!” “Please at least let me pour the first cup.” Saying that, Haruto gently reached for the large bottle in Shuichi’s hand. “Is that so? Well then, just one cup, please.” Shuichi handed the bottle to Haruto and held out his cup. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, thank you… Whoa, thank you, thank you!” Shuichi, poured for by Haruto, quickly tilted the cup and drank. “Mmm! Delicious!” “Hehe, you look happy, dear. Having Otsuki-kun pour for you.” Ikue said to Shuichi, who was beaming. “Of course! When Otsuki-kun becomes an adult, I’d definitely like to share a drink with him!” “I look forward to that time.” Haruto bowed his head at Shuichi’s words. Then, Ikue looked at Ayaka. “If Otsuki-kun can drink alcohol, then Ayaka can drink too.” “Yeah, that’s right. Haruto-kun and I are the same age.” When Ayaka replied, Ikue made a surprised expression, saying “Oh?”. “What’s wrong, Mama?” “No, it’s nothing. But I see…” Her mother looked at her daughter with a happy expression. “Ayaka, things seem to be going well with Haruto-kun.” “U-Um… Yeah, I guess so.” Ayaka nodded slightly, blushing, but not denying Ikue’s words. Seeing her daughter’s reaction, Ikue smiled, “Hehe.” “It would be nice if you two could be together until you become adults.” “Yeah… It would be nice to be together…” Ayaka said clearly to Ikue, although she was embarrassed. Just then, Shuichi, who was getting slightly drunk and whose voice had become a little louder, looked at Haruto and Ayaka alternately. “Oh, I see! If Otsuki-kun can drink alcohol, then Ayaka can drink too!” Shuichi repeated exactly what Ikue had just said. “This is cause for celebration!” Saying that, Shuichi quickly finished the sake left in his cup. “Shuichi-san, please.” “Well, well, Otsuki-kun, sorry about that. Whoa, whoa, thank you, thank you!” As Haruto poured for him again, Shuichi happily offered his cup, immediately bringing his lips to the sake filled to the brim. “But Otsuki-kun and Ayaka, you’ll both be able to drink alcohol at the same time… Hmm? Drinking at the same time means…? Does that mean San-san-ku-do?” Perhaps getting a little drunk, Shuichi said something silly with a slightly red face. Ayaka immediately protested her father’s nonsensical remark. “Hey! Why is the first time we drink alcohol at a wedding ceremony?!” “That’s right, dear. Young people nowadays prefer holding ceremonies at chapels rather than Shinto shrines, you know?” “No, not that!! Before the wedding ceremony, there’s the coming-of-age ceremony!!”

Ayaka also retorted against Ikue’s off-topic point. However, Ikue gracefully ignored her retort and called out to Haruto. “Otsuki-kun, which do you think would suit Ayaka more, a dress or a white kimono?” “Mama?! Don’t ask Haruto-kun weird things!” “It’s not weird! It might be helpful advice for the future, you know?” At Ikue’s words, spoken with a beaming smile, Ayaka’s face turned bright red, and she fell silent. “So, what do you think, Otsuki-kun?”

Haruto, realizing there was no escape from Ikue’s question repeated again, scratched his cheek shyly and answered hesitantly. “Well, Ayaka-san is… very beautiful and lovely, so I think both a dress and a white kimono would suit her…” “Is that so? Then, what colors of colored dresses or embroidered kimonos would you like Ayaka to wear?” To Ikue, who was pressing him with great amusement, Haruto replied with a wry smile. “W-Well… I think classic pink or red would be nice… but since Ayaka-san has beautiful fair skin, I think a refreshing blue or a noble and graceful image with wisteria purple or purple would also suit her well.” To Haruto, who said this while looking a little shy, Ikue smiled with satisfaction and looked at Ayaka. “That’s what he says. Was that helpful?” “…Yes.” Ayaka nodded slightly with a voice that was about to fade away. Her ears were completely red, and she glanced at Haruto with an upward gaze. Their eyes met, and they quickly looked away from each other. Seeing their reaction, Ikue grinned, saying “That’s nice~”. “Wedding dress and colored dress. White kimono and embroidered kimono. Wearing everything would mean having both a church ceremony and a Shinto ceremony? And changing outfits at the reception… Hmm, maybe it’s better to start saving for the wedding expenses now.” Shuichi, his face flushed with drink, muttered to himself. Hearing that, Ayaka quickly tried to stop him. “Papa! It’s too early!” “No, but listen. A wedding ceremony, you see, costs a considerable amount of money! Since it’s Otsuki-kun’s and Ayaka’s wedding, I don’t want it to be a shabby ceremony! Hahahaha!” Shuichi laughed in a cheerful mood and quickly gulped down some sake. Ayaka snatched the empty sake cup from Shuichi’s hand. “Papa, you’re drinking too much! You’re drunk!” “No, no, I’m sober. More importantly, Otsuki-kun!” “Y-Yes.” Pulled along by Shuichi, who suddenly straightened his posture and faced Haruto, Haruto also straightened his back and faced him. “She is an unrefined daughter, but please take care of her for a long time.” “Ah, yes… Yes? Huh? No, well…” “Papa! Don’t bother Otsuki-kun when you’re drunk!” Despite his daughter’s attempt to stop him, Shuichi laughed happily, “Wahahahaha!”

“Um… is Shuichi-san not good with alcohol?” Haruto asked Ikue quietly. “Well, he gets cheerful like that right away after just one sip. He’s had three cups from that sake cup today, so he’s pretty much there.” Ikue added with a smile, “He can drink a lot and doesn’t get a hangover, so it’s not that he’s not good with it, but…” “I see…” Haruto looked at Shuichi with a wry smile. He was currently arguing about marriage with Ayaka. Haruto felt a complicated emotion at the fact that he was the subject of their argument, but he kept his mouth shut to avoid getting further involved. Just then, Ryota looked at the large sake bottle on the table with great curiosity. “Hey, hey, Onii-chan? Is this… delicious?” “No, Ryota-kun, you can’t drink this yet. And you probably wouldn’t think it’s delicious even if you drank it?” “Really? Dad is drinking it and he looks like he’s enjoying it a lot?” “This is a strange drink, you see, that adults find delicious.” Ryota tilted his head at Haruto’s explanation. “Hmm~? That’s weird.” “When Ryota-kun becomes an adult, let’s drink it together.” “Okay!” Ryota nodded happily at Haruto’s words, then took his eyes off the sake bottle and slurped his somen noodles. “By the way, Otsuki-kun. I have a suggestion.” “Yes, what is it?” Shuichi stopped arguing with Ayaka and called out to Haruto. From his earlier remarks, Haruto braced himself slightly for Shuichi’s words. “This weekend, we’re having a barbecue in our garden. Would you like to join us, Otsuki-kun?” “A barbecue? Oh, is that why you cleaned the garden?” “How about it? You can eat a lot of good meat?” “Um…” Haruto looked at Ikue, asking for permission with his eyes. Ikue smiled and nodded as usual, seeing Haruto hesitate, unsure whether to take Shuichi’s invitation at face value since he was in a good mood from drinking. “If it’s convenient for Otsuki-kun, let’s have a barbecue together.” At Ikue’s positive words, Haruto bowed his head. “Then, I look forward to it.” “Excellent! This weekend is going to be fun!”

The Tojo family’s dining table, with Haruto added to it, was filled with cheerful laughter. After finishing dinner, just as Haruto was about to leave, Ayaka said to Ikue. “From now on, I’ll study with Haruto-kun. On the days he’s here for housekeeping help, we’ll study together in my room in the early afternoon.” “Oh, is that so? That’s nice, isn’t it? Otsuki-kun is an excellent student, right?” “He’s number one in the grade. Right? Haruto-kun.” “Ah, yes.” Haruto nodded slightly shyly. “That’s amazing. I have high expectations for your test results after summer vacation.” “Eh? Ah~… How about that?” At Ikue’s words, Ayaka averted her gaze with an ambiguous smile. To their parent-child conversation, Haruto said with a wry smile. “I will do my best to help Ayaka-san improve her grades.” “Oh my! Otsuki-kun isn’t just doing housekeeping help, he’s tutoring as well. Ayaka, make sure you listen to what Teacher Otsuki says, okay?” When Ikue said this playfully, Ayaka also blushed a little and went along with it. “Teacher Haruto, please take care of me.” It was a somewhat deliberate, calculated upward glance, but it had enough impact on Haruto. “I’ll… I’ll do my utmost.” Haruto felt both excitement and anxiety at the thought of studying alone with Ayaka.

A room in the general hospital. Haruto faced a doctor in a white coat. “It’s heatstroke.” “…Haa, heatstroke, huh?” Hearing the diagnosis, Haruto let out a small sigh of relief. “It’s been extremely hot the past few days.” “Um… Are there any other problems?” “None in particular for now. She has already regained consciousness, so I think she’ll be alright. However, as your grandmother is elderly, to be on the safe side, let’s have her hospitalized for one day tomorrow.” “Yes, please do.” After that, Haruto received various explanations, finally bowed to the doctor, and left the consultation room. Then he headed to his grandmother’s hospital room. “Grandma, are you alright?” Haruto asked, sitting on the round chair next to the bed where his grandmother was lying. She looked at Haruto with a apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, Haruto, I made you worry.” “Really, Grandma. I honestly thought my heart was going to stop.” “I’m sorry.” After seeing Ayaka home and returning, Haruto found his grandmother collapsed in the kitchen and in a great panic called an ambulance. In the ambulance during the emergency transport, Haruto, feeling overwhelmed with anxiety, held his grandmother’s hand and desperately continued to pray for her safety. “You’re the only family I have left, Grandma.” Haruto’s eyes, saying that, were trembling with anxiety. Sensing her grandson’s feelings, his grandmother gently squeezed Haruto’s hand. “It’s okay, I’m still full of energy.” “Really?” “Absolutely. I won’t leave Haruto alone just yet.” “Okay…” At his grandmother’s words, Haruto’s expression was a mixture of happiness and sadness. “What kind of face is that?” His grandmother laughed, deepening the wrinkles on her face. “If I were to leave Haruto alone now, your father and mother, and also your grandfather, would be angry at me in the afterlife.” His grandmother placed her other hand on Haruto’s hand that she was holding and continued, gently patting it. “Besides, you said it yourself before, didn’t you? That you’d introduce me to an extremely cute girlfriend. Until I see that girl, I couldn’t rest in peace even if I died.”

“Grandma…” Haruto’s heart was greatly shaken by the sight of his grandmother, who was believing and waiting for the words he had said jokingly right after summer vacation started. For Haruto, who had lost his parents when he was young and his grandfather when he entered junior high school, his grandmother was his only family. He wanted to reassure his grandmother. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted to meet her expectations. Thinking so strongly, Haruto’s mouth opened and words spun out on their own. “Actually… I… I got a girlfriend…” Thinking too much about his grandmother, a lie escaped his lips. “Today, I was actually… out with that girlfriend.” Haruto’s lies, which he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. However, his grandmother didn’t doubt that her grandson was lying and her face instantly lit up. “Oh my! Is that so! Could it be the girl you went to see a movie with before?” “Eh? …Ah, ah, yeah. That’s… right. It’s her.” “Is that so, is that so! And? What kind of girl is Haruto’s girlfriend?” To his grandmother, who asked with great interest, the image of one girl surfaced in Haruto’s mind. “Um… well, she’s a really cute girl. Honestly, she’s too good for me. She has long hair that shines flaxen when it hits the sunlight. And her smile is really wonderful, and her personality is a little naturally charming, but she’s kind and caring towards her brother…” The girl who came to Haruto’s mind it was Ayaka Tojo. Haruto used Ayaka as a model and told his grandmother that she was his girlfriend. His grandmother, in turn, took Haruto’s words at face value and smiled warmly. “Is that so? You’ve found a wonderful girl.” Hearing his grandmother speak with such genuine happiness, Haruto, who had told a lie, felt a pain in his chest. However, at the same time, he also felt a sense of relief at having seen his grandmother’s happy face. “She’s really a girl with a lot of charm.” Those words weren’t a lie. To Haruto now, Ayaka Tojo was a very charming and cute girl. That’s precisely why he felt guilty about the current situation, having made her his fictitious girlfriend and told his grandmother. His grandmother, unaware of her grandson’s feelings, said gently with a smile. “You’ve truly found a good girlfriend, haven’t you?” “U-uh…” “Haruto, you’re truly, deeply in love with your girlfriend, aren’t you?” “Eh!?” Haruto couldn’t help but cry out in surprise at his grandmother’s words, spoken with deep feeling. His grandmother smiled warmly at Haruto’s reaction. “I can tell how much you like your girlfriend just by looking at your face.” “O-of course… I like her! We’re dating, after all.” His grandmother’s gaze felt as if she could see right through him. Unable to bear it, Haruto averted his face and said a little gruffly, scratching his cheek. Seeing Haruto’s reaction, his grandmother chuckled softly.

“That’s right. Well then, I’m looking forward to meeting your cute girlfriend.” “Ah, um… Since we just started dating, I’ll introduce her to you a little later, Grandma.” His grandmother nodded, still smiling, at Haruto, who was casting small glances around. “Alright, alright, I’ll wait patiently.” “A-also! It’s going to continue being hot, and it would be a problem if you got heatstroke again, so I’ll set the air conditioner a bit lower.” Haruto continued to speak desperately, forcibly changing the subject. “Apparently, indoor heatstroke is also increasing these days. Even with the air conditioner on, the heat from the stove in the kitchen can build up and cause heatstroke, they say. So, Grandma, please be careful too.” “Alright, alright, I understand. I’ll be careful from now on.” “Promise? You’re not young anymore, Grandma. This time we were quick, so it wasn’t serious, but the doctor said that if the treatment for heatstroke is delayed, it can be life-threatening.” This time, the cause of his grandmother’s heatstroke was the kitchen stove. Affected by its heat, his grandmother suffered heatstroke and collapsed. After she collapsed, the stove fire automatically stopped thanks to the safety device, but if by any chance the fire had remained on, Haruto and his grandmother’s house would have been on fire by now. In that case, his grandmother wouldn’t be lying in this hospital bed. Imagining that moment, Haruto’s body trembled with fear. Right now, his grandmother was safe. Let’s just be thankful for that. Haruto, shaking off unnecessary thoughts, stood up from the chair. “Well then, Grandma. Visiting hours are over, so I’m going home.” “Alright, Haruto, be careful on your way back.” “Okay, Grandma, you rest well today and tomorrow too. See you later, I’m going home.” Haruto waved to his grandmother and left the hospital room. Haruto, exiting through the hospital’s after-hours entrance, started walking home in the humid, stuffy tropical night. Under the completely dark sky, he recalled the conversation he had just had with his grandmother. “Haa~ This is bad…” Haruto let out a big sigh. “Why did I tell such a lie…” At that moment, he had been thinking so much about his grandmother that he had lost a little of his composure. However, thinking about it now, having regained his composure while walking the night streets, he had told a pretty terrible lie. “On top of that, I’ve unilaterally made Tojo-san my girlfriend…” Not only was he lying to his grandmother, but he had also unilaterally made Ayaka the model for his girlfriend. “I really should talk to Grandma properly tomorrow.” After all, lying is not good. Moreover, it was content that might cause trouble for Ayaka. It would probably be best to confess to his grandmother as soon as possible that it was a lie. And he might need to apologize to Ayaka as well. While thinking that, Haruto felt anxious about what kind of reaction he would get if he told Ayaka about this.

“Will she say I’m gross…? Well, I guess I brought this upon myself…” Although he said that, when he imagined the possibility of her genuinely disliking him, his chest ached more than he expected. Haruto remembered the words his grandmother had just spoken to him. ‘Haruto, you’re truly, deeply in love with your girlfriend, aren’t you?’ When his grandmother said that, Haruto felt his face redden with embarrassment, and at the same time, he felt as if something had clicked into place. “Am I… in love with Tojo-san…?” Haruto muttered to himself. “I… don’t want to be disliked.” A single thought flashed through Haruto’s mind as he uttered those words. It was the thought of making the lie a reality. If he confessed to Ayaka and they started dating, he could proudly tell his grandmother and introduce her as his girlfriend. However, Haruto shook his head and dispelled that thought. Confessing just to justify his own lie, before being a man, was the lowest thing a person could do. Making such a confession would be extremely rude to Ayaka. A confession should be made sincerely and wholeheartedly, not with impure ulterior motives. Haruto, who held such beliefs, even felt self-loathing for the thought that had just crossed his mind. “Maybe I’m just weird today…” During the day, he had done something borderline harassment towards Ayaka, and he had told a terrible lie to his grandmother. And now, he was even thinking about how to somehow cover up that lie. “Maybe I’m tired…” Thinking that, his body somehow felt heavy and his head felt foggy and a little painful. Today felt very long for Haruto. Eating breakfast with Ayaka’s parents at the Tojo house felt like ages ago. “I should go home and sleep quickly.” Normally, no matter how tired he was, Haruto never skipped studying before bed, but today, he simply couldn’t bring himself to study. With slightly unsteady steps, Haruto hurried home. “Hahaha, maybe… maybe I’ve caught some kind of love sickness…” With a slightly self-deprecating smile, and pressing his temples with his thumb to ease his headache, Haruto continued to walk home through the tropical night. ※※※ “What kind of love sickness… this is a real sickness…” Haruto, who had raised his upper body from his bedroom futon, felt disheartened seeing the number on the thermometer. Thirty-eight point seven degrees Celsius. He had a cold, no doubt. “Haa…” Haruto let out a hot sigh and lay down on the futon again. Even though he was lying down, he felt like his body was swaying intensely, and he had a headache and nausea. “This might be bad…” Feeling utterly exhausted, Haruto reached for the smartphone on his pillow. The time was a little past seven in the morning. He operated his smartphone while enduring the headache.

“It’s a good thing I have the day off from my part-time job today…” In this state, he couldn’t even leave the house, let alone do housekeeping help. “Ah, but I was supposed to go to the dojo today… I have to contact Kazu-senpai and Shizuku…” While feeling a weariness that made even operating his smartphone bothersome, Haruto sent messages to his dojo friends, Ishikura and Shizuku. ──Sorry. I caught a cold. Can’t make it to the dojo today. Haruto, along with Ishikura and Shizuku, his dojo friends since childhood, were in a group chat on a messaging app. About ten minutes passed, and his phone notification pinged. ──You okay? First, a message from Ishikura arrived. Immediately after, Shizuku’s message was also posted. ──A cold for Haru-senpai is rare. ──Haven’t had a cold in a while. It’s pretty rough. ──Summer cold, huh. You let your guard down, Haruto. ──Indeed. ──Want me to come visit? ──No, it’s just a cold, I’ll be fine if I sleep. No need for a visit. ──Alright, well, contact me if it gets really bad. I’ll take care of you. Haruto smiled slightly at Ishikura’s blunt but kind message. By the way, Shizuku hasn’t responded since her first message. It seems she’s seen the conversation, as the number next to “read” is two. ──Thank you, Kazu-senpai. ──Yep. There was no response from Shizuku, but having finished the exchange for the time being, Haruto then sent a message to his best friend, Tomoya. ──Tomoya, if you’re free tomorrow, I have a once-in-a-lifetime favor to ask. A few minutes after sending that message, a reply came from Tomoya. ──Oh? What is it? A stamp of a bear tilting its head with a question mark above it was also sent. ──Actually, my grandma collapsed from heatstroke and is in the hospital right now. ──Is she okay?! ──She went to the hospital right away so no problem. She’s scheduled to be discharged tomorrow. ──I see, that’s good. So? What do you need? ──Actually, I have a cold right now too. If I don’t recover by tomorrow, can I ask you to pick Grandma up from the hospital for me? Haruto, who had no reliable relatives, asked his best friend, Tomoya, for a favor. Then, Tomoya called him. Haruto tapped the phone icon displayed on his smartphone screen to answer the call.

“You made me brace myself for nothing, saying it was a once-in-a-lifetime favor.” “No, picking Grandma up from the hospital is a once-in-a-lifetime favor level, isn’t it?” “For my best friend, I’ll go to the hospital as many times as it takes.” “That would worry me, thinking Grandma is getting hospitalized too often.” When Haruto replied that, he could hear Tomoya’s laughter over the phone. “And, how’s your cold?” “Ah, it’s rough because I haven’t had one in a while, but I’ll recover if I sleep.” “Okay, then tell me the hospital Grandma is in and her room number. Will picking her up be around noon?” “Yeah, thanks.” “No problem.” Haruto thanked Tomoya from the bottom of his heart for readily agreeing to pick up his grandmother and told him the hospital name, room number, and other details. “Well then, I’m counting on you. I’ll make it up to you.” “Alright! I’m expecting a super amazing reward!!” Haruto felt grateful for his best friend’s exaggeration and ended the call. If his cold didn’t recover by tomorrow, he would have to contact his grandmother and inform her that Tomoya would be picking her up instead of him. But for today, he would refrain from telling his grandmother that he had caught a cold and let her rest peacefully. If Haruto’s cold didn’t recover by tomorrow, another problem would arise. That was the problem of not being able to go to the Tojo residence for housekeeping help. He didn’t know what caused his cold. Was it due to accumulated fatigue from the consecutive hot days, or was it caused by the extreme mental stress of his grandmother collapsing? However, if Haruto were to tell Ayaka he had a cold now, she would probably think the cause of the cold was changing clothes after playing in the water yesterday. “To offer my change of clothes myself and then catch a cold because of it… that’s so embarrassingly uncool…” Haruto looked down, covering his face with one hand. Being the kind person she is, she might feel a sense of self-blame, thinking it was her fault he caught a cold. However, it would be rude to simply skip the housekeeping help at the Tojo residence without any contact. “Well, if I recover by tomorrow, there’s no problem, and for now, let’s stop thinking about unnecessary things…” Muttering that, Haruto tossed his smartphone onto the pillow and collapsed onto the bed with a thud. Perhaps due to the cold, he had no appetite at all and decided to close his eyelids and sleep. The next time Haruto woke up was past noon. At the sound of the intercom ringing from the entrance, he slowly lifted his eyelids, which felt as heavy as lead. Was there something supposed to be delivered today? Haruto thought, his head still throbbing with a terrible headache. He was so tired that even getting out of bed was a chore, and for a moment, he considered pretending not to be home. However, the feeling of being sorry

towards the delivery person won out, and he slowly got up and out of bed. Then, somehow managing to reach the entrance with unsteady steps, Haruto unlocked the door and opened it. Seeing the person standing beyond the door, Haruto was surprised. “Huh? Shizuku? What’s wrong?” Haruto, who had thought it was a postal worker or a delivery person, widened his eyes slightly at the unexpected visitor. “I came to attack Haru-senpai while he’s weak with a cold.” She said indifferently as usual, thrusting her hands forward and saying “Gao~” without much enthusiasm. “Ah, you came to visit? Thanks, Shizuku.” Haruto, used to dealing with Shizuku, skillfully ignored her joke. “Haru-senpai, you look really rough. What’s your temperature?” “Uh, it was thirty-eight point seven this morning.” “Hmm~ You definitely shouldn’t be up and about like that. Go to bed quickly.” Shizuku promptly entered the house and pushed Haruto’s back, sending him towards his room. Shizuku, having known Haruto since childhood, had been to his house many times and naturally knew where his room was. Pushed by Shizuku, Haruto lay down on his futon again. “Speaking of which, what happened to your grandmother?” Shizuku, who knew about Haruto’s family situation, tilted her head, wondering why his grandmother wasn’t home. “Ah, about that, Grandma collapsed from heatstroke yesterday and is hospitalized now.” “Eh?! Is that true? Is she alright?” Even the usually expressionless Shizuku showed a surprised look. “She’s alright. She’s only hospitalized today as a precaution, so she’ll be discharged tomorrow.” “Is that so? That’s good.” Shizuku let out a sigh of relief and then looked at Haruto’s face. “So, that means only Haru-senpai is in this house right now?” “Well, yeah.” “And you’ve caught a bad cold.” “Calling it bad is an exaggeration, but that’s the gist of it.” “Meaning, my, Shizuku-sama’s, nursing is needed.” Shizuku said, nodding to herself with a “Hmm hmm,” while Haruto lay on his futon and lightly shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll probably recover if I sleep.” Shizuku gave an expressionless look to Haruto, who was gently refusing her offer of nursing. “Haru-senpai, did you eat anything today?” “Eh? Oh~ no, I haven’t eaten anything.” Haruto, whose body felt heavy and throat had started to hurt, didn’t feel like eating anything right now. “I don’t have any appetite. When I feel a bit better and can eat, I’ll make something myself.”

“That won’t do. Even if you don’t have an appetite, you need to eat something nutritious.” Saying that, Shizuku stood up quickly. “I’ll make you some rice porridge. I’ll borrow the kitchen.” “No, it’s okay. I’ll do it myself.” “Haru-senpai, just shut up and lie there rotting.” Shizuku stopped Haruto, who was trying to get up. “If you don’t rest properly, you won’t recover even from something curable. Or are you dissatisfied with the rice porridge I make?” Haruto gave up trying to get up when Shizuku glared at him with squinted eyes. “Alright. Thank you, Shizuku.” “Leave it to me. Haru-senpai, just be quiet and look forward to Shizuku’s Special Rice Porridge.” Saying that, Shizuku left Haruto’s room. After that, while feeling a sluggishness as if the Earth’s gravity had tripled and dozing off slightly, Shizuku returned with a small earthenware pot on a tray. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Shizuku’s Special Rice Porridge is complete.” Saying that, she took off the lid of the earthenware pot. Then, the aroma of rice porridge spread with the steam, tickling Haruto’s nostrils. “Egg porridge, looks delicious.” “Can you eat it by yourself? Shall I feed you? I’ll feed you, okay?” “No, I’m fine with that.” Haruto refused Shizuku’s offer and accepted the porridge, then scooped up the porridge with the ladle provided, blew on it lightly, and brought it to his mouth. The porridge, with just the right amount of salt, was smooth and could be eaten without trouble even with his sore throat. As the warm porridge entered his stomach, Haruto finally felt a slight hunger. “This porridge is really delicious. Thank you.” When Haruto praised her from the bottom of his heart and thanked her, Shizuku showed a slightly proud expression. “It’s Shizuku’s Special, you see. I even put in an aphrodisiac as a secret ingredient.” “Oh~ what kind of aphrodisiac is that?” Haruto, feeling much better after the delicious porridge, had the leisure to play along with Shizuku’s joke. “I put in three drops of my saliva.” “Bleh?! You!!” Haruto was about to spit out the porridge he had in his mouth but managed to hold it in at the last moment. At his reaction, Shizuku had an expressionless face, but somehow exuded an air of satisfaction. “Just kidding. I would never do such a thing to a sick person.” “…Really?” “Really. Or did you want it to be in there? My saliva.” “No, I’m fine.” “Mmm, it’s somehow annoying when you give such an immediate answer.” Haruto made a dejected face at Shizuku, who skillfully puffed out only her cheeks while keeping an expressionless face.

“Putting saliva in food is just generally wrong, isn’t it?” “Not even a beautiful girl’s saliva?” “No, it’s wrong.” “Haru-senpai, you’re as stiff as ever.” “No, this is just normal.” While having such a conversation as usual, Haruto finished the porridge Shizuku made. “That was delicious, thank you.” “You’re welcome. Was it enough?” “Yeah, I’m pretty full.” “Is that so? That’s good.” Shizuku left the room for a moment to put away the empty earthenware pot. And when she returned, she brought a glass and some medicine in her hand. “Here, Haru-senpai, drink this and go to sleep.” “Thank you, you’re a real help.” Haruto accepted the cold medicine from Shizuku and swallowed it with the water in the glass. “Phew.” Shizuku asked Haruto, who was relaxing after his stomach was full. “Are you in pain?” “Yeah, still a bit…” “Do you need more to drink?” “No, I’m fine for now.” “Is that so?” “Ah…” “Shall I give you a kiss?” “……Why?” At Shizuku’s abrupt statement, Haruto’s half-closed eyelids popped wide open. “They say you can get rid of a cold by passing it on, right? So, the plan is that if I kiss you, the cold will transfer to me and Haru-senpai will get better.” “A cold doesn’t necessarily transfer through kissing, you know?” “Then shall we make it a French kiss to increase the chances?” Haruto showed a dumbfounded expression at Shizuku, who was saying such a joke with a straight face. “That’s not the point, is it?” “Is that not the point?” “It wouldn’t make sense if Shizuku caught a cold just to cure mine, would it?” At Haruto’s words, Shizuku put her hand on her chin and seemed to ponder something, then nodded to herself in understanding and said. “I see, Haru-senpai, you’re trying to pick me up.” “No, how did you even interpret what I just said like that?” Shizuku sensed a slight weariness in Haruto as he replied that. “Senpai, stop fooling around and go to sleep quickly.”

“You’re one to talk, you are.” Haruto, who made a slightly weak retort to Shizuku, began to breathe peacefully soon after. The cold medicine had probably started to work. Haruto’s complexion, as he slept soundly, had improved ever so slightly compared to earlier. “Exposing such an unguarded sleeping face, I might actually attack you in your sleep, Haru-senpai?” Shizuku crossed her arms by Haruto’s pillow and rested her head there, gazing at his sleeping face. “Gao~,” she whispered. Shizuku’s expression as she said that was not her usual blank face, but a gentle, soft smile. ※※※ From the morning, I had been troubled and staring at my smartphone. Today was the day Ootsuki-kun was supposed to come for housekeeping help. But he had just sent a message saying he wasn’t feeling well.

Should I go visit him, or would it be better not to go? For my part, I wanted to rush out of the house right away and go to Ootsuki-kun to nurse him. I was so worried about

Ootsuki-kun’s health that I couldn’t sit still. But looking back at the messages I just exchanged with Ootsuki-kun, I hesitated whether I should really go visit him. ──I’m sorry. I’m feeling a little unwell, so I’d like to take a day off from housekeeping help today. I apologize. ──Are you okay?! A cold? Do you have a fever? ──I’m fine. I think I’ll recover soon if I get some sleep. ──Did you take medicine? ──No, I’m going to take it now. ──Are you staying hydrated? ──Yes, I’m fine. ──Shall I come visit? ──No, no, it’s nothing serious, I’ll be fine. ──Really? ──Yes, thank you for your concern. ──If anything happens, contact me right away. ──Understood. Thank you. ──Okay. I reread the chat screen with Ootsuki-kun, which I had looked over dozens of times already. “Haa~” And again, a big sigh escaped me. “I should have said clearly that I wanted to go visit.” Knowing Ootsuki-kun’s personality, even if I said “Shall I come visit?”, he would definitely reply with “I’m fine”… Still in my sleepwear, I slumped down heavily on my bed. If only I had clearly said “I’m coming to visit, please give me your address” instead of “Shall I come visit?”… I sent my gaze to Ootsuki-kun’s shirt, which was neatly folded on my desk.Two days ago, when I wore the shirt I borrowed from him, I was enveloped in a different scent than usual, and it felt like Ootsuki-kun was hugging me, which made my heart pound. Speaking of which, Ootsuki-kun also hugged me when I fell after bumping into that boy… Just remembering that moment makes my face热 up even now. Ootsuki-kun’s body, held tightly and pressed against me, felt muscular and very strong. “Haa~…” I sighed again. That day was so much fun. That’s why I feel even more lonely today, not being able to see Ootsuki-kun. Moreover, I think the reason he fell ill was probably because he gave me his change of clothes. He must have caught a cold because he kept wearing the wet shirt. Guilt is added to my heart, which is filled with loneliness and worry for his health. Is it okay to send Ootsuki-kun a message now? Would it be a bother if I asked, “Can I really come visit after all?” But, Ootsuki-kun’s illness… was it my fault? If so, wouldn’t it be more rude not to go visit him? “Th-that’s right. It’s my fault, after all, I have to go visit him!” It’s my responsibility for taking his change of clothes. Rather, I should be the one taking care of him constantly!

I’m going to visit Ootsuki-kun! Having made up my mind, I got out of bed, washed my face to get motivated, and changed clothes. Then, I sat seiza on my bed and placed my smartphone in front of me. I exhaled a little breath with a “Hoo~” to calm myself down, then typed out the message to Ootsuki-kun. ──Can I really come visit after all? Ootsuki-kun, your cold is my fault, isn’t it? After rereading the sentences a few times, I made up my mind and sent the message. Then, after a little while, a reply came. ──It’s not Tojo-san’s fault. I just couldn’t manage my own health. Tojo-san didn’t do anything wrong. Just as I expected, Ootsuki-kun sent me a kind message, showing his concern for me. To avoid making the same mistake as before, I carefully considered the message content before sending it to Ootsuki-kun. ──But, I’m worried about Ootsuki-kun’s health. If it’s a bother or anything, I won’t go, but if it’s not, can I come visit? Unlike before, I clearly expressed my intention to visit. There was a part of me that felt a bit like I was forcing my good intentions on him, but… After sending the message, I waited for his reply, my heart pounding. It was about a minute later. A reply came from Ootsuki-kun. After waiting for what felt like a very long time, I checked the content of the reply from Ootsuki-kun. ──I’m sorry. Well then, please. I’ll send you my home address. After the message, Ootsuki-kun’s address was also sent. The moment I saw it, I dashed out of the room and headed for the living room. I burst into the living room with considerable force, which made Mama, who was teleworking on her computer, look surprised. “What’s wrong, Ayaka? Why are you in such a hurry?” “Um, Mama. Ootsuki-kun caught a cold, and he asked to take a day off from housekeeping help today. And well, I’m going to visit him now.” “Oh my! Is Ootsuki-kun alright?” Mama asked with a worried expression. “He said it’s just a cold, but I thought I’d buy him some fruit or something as a get-well gift.” Even as I was talking like this, Ootsuki-kun might be feverish and in pain. Thinking that, my body felt restless, wanting to go to him quickly. As if sensing my feelings, Mama opened her mouth with a smile. “Alright. Tell Ootsuki-kun to take care.” “Okay! Got it!” I replied to Mama while hurrying to the entrance. I thought I heard Mama’s smiling laughter from behind me, but I didn’t have time to worry about such things now! After leaving the house, I hurried, almost running, towards the supermarket. I had to buy fruit to take to Ootsuki-kun! Upon arriving at the supermarket, I immediately started examining the fruit. They say an apple a day keeps

the doctor away, so I definitely have to buy apples. And maybe I should buy some peaches too? Oh, grapes or pineapples might be good too. I wonder if Ootsuki-kun likes kiwis? After buying several kinds of fruit like that, I paid and bagged them. Then, an onion rolled to my feet. “Huh? An onion??” I tilted my head and picked up the onion, and an elderly woman who was bagging her groceries a little distance away came rushing over, bowing to me. “I’m so sorry, the netting broke.” When I looked around at the elderly woman’s words, I saw several onions scattered on the floor. “Oh no! Are you alright?” I picked up the onions scattered on the floor and handed them to the elderly woman. “Oh my, thank you so much for your kindness.” The elderly woman bowed politely while packing the onions into her eco-bag. Looking at that eco-bag, I tilted my head. Somehow, I felt like I had seen the elderly woman’s eco-bag somewhere before… It was an eco-bag with a pale pink fabric and a very cute bear embroidery. It was quite a rare design, so I don’t think I would easily forget it once I saw it… My mind, trying to recall the elderly woman’s eco-bag, suddenly brought back a certain scene. It was the memory of buying discounted sesame oil with Ootsuki-kun a few days ago. “Ah! That’s Ootsuki-kun’s eco-bag!” When I said that, the elderly woman reacted with an “Oh?” “Perhaps you are one of Haruto’s friends?” “Ah, um, friends… well, I’m a classmate.” Is it okay for me to say I’m Ootsuki-kun’s friend? But I’ve gone to the movies and Animal Crossing Park with him, so maybe it’s okay to say I’m his friend now? While I was contemplating, the elderly woman bowed very politely. “Is that so? My grandson Haruto is always in your care. I am Haruto’s grandmother.” “Ah, no, no! I’m the one who is always in his care! My name is Ayaka Tojo.” Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother, no way?! I was surprised but also quickly bowed and introduced myself. When I lowered my head, I was a little dazzled by the sunlight streaming in from the supermarket window. Ugh, it’s bright… I looked up, narrowing my eyes against the sunlight, and Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother’s face was somehow surprised, yet very happy. “Um, Ayaka-san, did you recently go to see a movie with Haruto?” “Eh? Ah, yes. We went.” The moment I replied that, Grandma’s face burst into a smile as if a flower had bloomed. Wow, Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother’s smile is so cute! Just then, a shocking statement jumped into my ear. “Could it be that you are dating Haruto?” “Eh? Um… yes.” Ah… I answered ‘yes’ reflexively… M-my desire! My feelings for Ootsuki-kun leaked out…

B-b-but, but, but, but he comes to my house frequently for housekeeping help, so in that sense, in the meaning of client and staff, we are “seeing each other,” so it’s not a lie, right? While thinking up such excuses in my head, Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother said with a very lively voice, sounding extremely happy. “Oh my! Oh my! So it was true after all!! The description matches what Haruto told me!” “Eh? Description? Heard from Ootsuki-kun? Eh?” “Haruto! To find such a lovely girlfriend!” “Um, um… I’m sorry. Actually, I… Huh? Girlfriend??” “Ah, I’m sorry, I got a little too excited. I just heard from Haruto that he got a girlfriend recently, so I got carried away.” “Ah, is that so…? Wait?!!” Wh-wh-wh-what does this mean?! Ootsuki-kun got a girlfriend?! No way… Ootsuki-kun has a girlfriend… Then, did I… get dumped before we even started…? Suddenly, I was hit by a strong sense of emptiness, like a big hole had opened up in my heart, a feeling I had never felt before. My chest ached so much, it was hard to even stand. Ootsuki-kun got a girlfriend… And she’s someone who looks just like me… Huh? Hmm? Someone who looks just like me…? Huh?? “Thank you for spending time with Haruto the day before yesterday.” “Ah… yes… yes?” Huh? The day before yesterday? The day before yesterday was the day we went to Animal Crossing Park, right? Ootsuki-kun was with me the whole time, right? …Eh?? What does this mean? Huh? No way… Could it be that Ootsuki-kun’s girlfriend… is me? Eh? Eh?! Eeeehhh?! To me, who was in a state of panic, Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother bowed politely again. “Once again, thank you for always taking care of Haruto.” “Ah, um… It’s I who should be saying that, in your care…?” “You really are as beautiful and cute as a doll.” “Ah, ahaha…” Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother had been smiling happily the whole time. I just laughed along for the time being. …Somehow, I’ve become Ootsuki-kun’s girlfriend? Y-yay~! My first love came true~? Is it okay for me to just be happy about this…? Or rather, huh? What does this really mean? Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother, isn’t she mistaking me for someone else? But she doesn’t seem like that, does she? …I don’t know!! I don’t understand the current situation at all!! What does it mean that I’m his girlfriend?! Hey!! What does this mean, Ootsuki-kun!! My head is in the biggest state of panic it’s ever been in my life. In that state, we left the supermarket and walked side by side down a narrow residential street. When I told her I was on my way to visit Ootsuki-kun, she said, “Well then, let’s go together. I’ll guide you to the house.”

Under the refreshing summer sky in the morning, Grandma walked beside me, constantly wearing a smiling and very happy expression. Influenced by her, I was smiling too, but inwardly, I was in the biggest panic of my life. Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother, why does she think I’m his girlfriend? Seriously, why? That question has been swirling around in my head ever since. “Um, um… What did Ootsuki-kun say about me?” From Grandma’s previous stories, it seems Ootsuki-kun told her I was his girlfriend… Ootsuki-kun, did he think of me as his girlfriend? If that’s the case, what should I do…? Oh, I can’t help but smile uncontrollably. But, it’s strange, isn’t it? It’s not like Ootsuki-kun. Telling his grandmother I was his girlfriend without saying anything to me about it, considering his personality so far, is a little weird, isn’t it? Well, it is something I’m very happy about though. While I was thinking such things, Grandma spoke very happily about how Ootsuki-kun had told her about me. “Haruto said that Ayaka-san is very cute. He said her smile is especially wonderful and that you’re a good Onee-chan who cares for your younger brother.” Wow~!! H-h-h-h-how embarrassing!! I feel like my face is on fire!! …But, but I see, Ootsuki-kun likes my smile… Is that so… Ufufu. “Fufufu…” “Ayaka-san?” “Ah, n-no. I’m just really happy that Ootsuki-kun said that.” Ah, that was close. If I let my guard down, my face would loosen up and an unbecoming smile would spill out. I can’t be so sloppy in front of Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother. I need to get a grip! So, after walking for several minutes, occasionally chatting with Grandma, I finally arrived at Ootsuki-kun’s house. From the outside, it looked like a typical detached house, although it seemed a bit old. But to my eyes, just because it was Ootsuki-kun’s house, it looked like a very special building. “Please, come in.” Grandma, who opened the front door first, brought out slippers for me. “Ah, thank you. Excuse me for intruding.” I slipped my feet into the slippers and entered Ootsuki-kun’s house. Ah, I can smell Ootsuki-kun. I took a small deep breath, trying not to let Grandma notice. “Haruto’s room is on the second floor, this way.” “Ah, yes. Excuse me.” Grandma led the way and guided me to Ootsuki-kun’s room. I followed her up the stairs. With every step I took up the stairs, I felt my heart beating faster. The combination of entering Ootsuki-kun’s room and the possibility of hearing the reason why Ootsuki-kun had told his grandmother I was his girlfriend made my heart pound wildly. ※※※

Haruto lay alone on his futon, letting out a sigh. “Haa, I wonder if Grandma is okay.” In the end, Haruto’s cold didn’t get better the next day, so he had to ask Tomoya to pick his grandmother up from the hospital. And as soon as his grandmother came home and saw her grandson in bed with a cold, she went out to buy ingredients to make him something good for his body. Haruto, concerned about his grandmother’s health right after being discharged, tried to stop her from going out, but she logically refuted him by saying, “Don’t worry about me, worry about your own health first,” and he couldn’t say a word in return. He stared blankly at the ceiling of his room, feeling the languor all over his body from the fever. Later today, Ayaka was coming to visit him. It seemed she thought it was her fault that Haruto had caught a cold. While he felt sorry for making her think that, at the same time, a feeling of happiness also welled up within him. But there was something he had to do before she came to visit. That was the lie he had told the day before yesterday. He had to properly explain to his grandmother the lie that he had gotten a girlfriend. If he didn’t do that, when Ayaka came to the house, his grandmother might mistake her for his real girlfriend when she saw her. If that happened, it would cause a great deal of trouble for Ayaka. Haruto braced himself, feeling a chill different from his cold at the thought of telling his grandmother the truth, but knowing this was a bed he had made. Just then, he heard a noise from the entrance. “Grandma, you’re back…” Haruto felt relieved that his grandmother had returned safely without incident. And he also felt a sense of tension. The sound from the entrance moved to the hallway, and soon he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. “Hmm? Why are there so many footsteps? Is Tomoya here too? I hear talking too.” His best friend, Tomoya, was supposed to have gone home immediately after picking up his grandmother, saying he had plans in the afternoon. Haruto thought he needed to properly thank his best friend for helping him despite being busy. While he was thinking about such things, there was a knock on Haruto’s room door, and his grandmother’s voice could be heard. “Haruto, may I come in?” “Yeah, it’s fine.” When Haruto replied, his grandmother opened the door and came in. Haruto tilted his head slightly, wondering why his grandmother seemed much more cheerful than before she went shopping. “Haruto, I just happened to run into your girlfriend at the supermarket.” “…Eh? Girlfriend?” “She bought a lot of fruit to visit Haruto. She’s really a good girlfriend.” “Eh? Visit? Eh?” Haruto couldn’t hide his agitation at his grandmother’s words. The worst possible scenario came to his mind. And it turned out to be true. Following his grandmother, a girl appeared, looking bewildered. “O-Ootsuki-kun. Um… are you feeling okay?”

“—! T-Tojo-san.” Haruto felt all the blood drain from his body. “Haruto, you really did have such a cute girlfriend, didn’t you?” “Ah, ah… no, um, Grandma, about that…” He was in a hurry to clear up his grandmother’s misunderstanding as quickly as possible. However, caught off guard by the sudden situation, his thoughts weren’t coming together well, and his mouth wasn’t moving as he wanted it to. Just then, Ayaka tentatively offered the bag she was holding. “Ootsuki-kun, here. I bought some fruit, can you eat any?” “Eh? Ah, um, I’m sorry. Thank you for coming all this way.” Haruto turned towards Ayaka, thinking he had to apologize to her as well. The biggest victim of this lie was Ayaka. She must be feeling uncomfortable. Thinking that, Haruto started to open his mouth, but his grandmother began speaking before he could. “Ayaka-san bought you a lot for Haruto. You really got a good girlfriend.” “U-uh… ah, no, that’s not right, um…” Haruto turned back to his grandmother again, trying to clear up the misunderstanding. But still, the words wouldn’t come out properly. An apology to Ayaka, and an explanation to his grandmother. Thinking about these two things simultaneously was confusing his thoughts. Ignoring Haruto, who was in such a state of confusion, his grandmother looked at the fruit in Ayaka’s hand and said. “Well, since you went to the trouble of bringing it, shall I peel it for you?” “No, that would be too much trouble, if you would lend me the kitchen, I will do it.” “It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Since you came all this way, Ayaka-san, please relax.” “Um, well then, I’ll take you up on your kind offer.” Ayaka glanced at Haruto, then handed the shopping bag with the fruit to his grandmother. His grandmother, still wearing a pleasant smile, accepted the fruit from her and went downstairs to peel it. “……” “……” Ayaka, who seemed somewhat restless and fidgety, and Haruto, who was slumped over in dejection. An extremely awkward silence flowed in the room where they were now alone. “Um, Ootsuki-kun? So, how is your cold?” “…Yes, it’s getting better.” Haruto said weakly in a dispirited voice. “……Ah, um, well. So… just now, I ran into Ootsuki-kun’s grandmother at the supermarket, and… um, how should I say it… I, well, um… that, that I was his, um… g-girlfriend—” “I’m sorry!” In the middle of Ayaka’s words, Haruto got out of bed and bowed his head to the floor, performing a dogeza. Ayaka’s eyes widened in surprise at Haruto’s sudden action. He continued to apologize while in the dogeza position.

“I’m really sorry for lying without permission and making Tojo-san feel uncomfortable! I don’t know how to apologize… I’ll tell my grandmother it was a lie myself, so Tojo-san—” “Wait! Hold on a second!!” Ayaka interrupted Haruto’s apology. “I’m not angry, and I don’t feel uncomfortable. I’m just curious about the reason why Ootsuki-kun, well… told a lie that I was his girlfriend.” Ayaka said with a serious gaze. Haruto, whose eyes met hers for a moment, suddenly looked down and averted his gaze. “That is…” “There must be a reason, right? Because Ootsuki-kun, you’re not usually someone who would tell such a lie.” “……” Ayaka patiently continued to stare at Haruto, who was looking down and keeping quiet. Then, in a small voice, he began to speak hesitantly. ※※※ “Actually, when I was little… I lost both of my parents in a car accident.” “Eh?! You… you did…” Faced with the unexpected shocking truth, I involuntarily covered my mouth with both hands. Ootsuki-kun continued speaking in a dispirited voice. “Then, I was taken in and raised by my maternal grandparents, but around the time I entered junior high, my grandfather also passed away… Now I live with just my grandmother.” Listening to Ootsuki-kun’s story, which he told sadly with his head bowed, I felt an urge to hug him tightly. I can’t even imagine. I have a Papa and a Mama as if it’s a given, I have my brother Ryota, and I’m surrounded by family. To think that Ootsuki-kun only has his grandmother as family… Then I suddenly remembered something. Before, when Mama teased me and I complained about it, Ootsuki-kun spoke about how grateful he was to have a mother, tinged with melancholy. Perhaps I was insensitive in front of Ootsuki-kun, who doesn’t have his parents… Ootsuki-kun lifted his gaze, which had been lowered until now, and continued speaking while looking at me. “And then, my grandmother collapsed from heatstroke the day before yesterday.” “Eh?! W-was she alright?” “Ah, yes. Fortunately, we were able to get to the hospital right away, so it wasn’t serious.” “I-I see.” It was certainly very hot the day before yesterday. But I had no idea something like that happened that day. “But I was really shaken by the fact that my grandmother collapsed and was taken to the hospital…” Ootsuki-kun said weakly. That’s right, if the only family member I have were to collapse, I might panic too. I can’t even imagine losing someone so close.

“As soon as we got to the hospital, my grandmother regained consciousness, but in the flow of the conversation at that time, the topic of my girlfriend came up…” Ootsuki-kun paused awkwardly, then started speaking again. “My grandmother had been asking me if I had a girlfriend for a while now, and usually I would just brush it off, but at that time, the feeling of wanting to reassure my grandmother became strong…” “And so, you… um, said I was your girlfriend?” “Yes, at that moment, your face came to mind, and I just… did.” Ootsuki-kun spoke with the same dejected tone as before. While feeling sympathy for his upbringing and circumstances, a feeling of joy also sprouted from the words I had just heard. When he thought about a girlfriend, my face came to his mind, that means… In my head, Ootsuki-kun’s words were interpreted in a very favorable way. But if he didn’t at least have some affection for me, that wouldn’t happen, right? Desperately trying to suppress the corners of my mouth that were naturally turning up, I nodded slightly as if to affirm my interpretation. In contrast to me, whose heart was pounding so much it felt like it was going to fly away, Ootsuki-kun continued to apologize from the bottom of his heart, looking truly sorry. “I’m truly sorry. Even if it was to reassure my grandmother, I told a terrible lie, the lowest thing a person could do, and caused trouble for Tojo-san too…” Ootsuki-kun shrank, looking disheartened. Seeing him like that, I couldn’t help but feel a pang in my heart. The usually mature and reliable Ootsuki-kun was now dejected like Ryota being scolded by Papa and Mama. The gap between that and his usual self was so big that I felt like hugging Ootsuki-kun to my chest, stroking his head, and telling him “It’s okay.” “I’ll properly tell my grandmother that I was lying. So—” “Wait!!” I interrupted Ootsuki-kun’s words with a slightly louder voice. At the same time, my heart started pounding faster, and my chest felt tight with tension. Now that I had seen a glimpse of Ootsuki-kun’s feelings, his affection for me, I felt sure that if I wished it… Ootsuki-kun would accept me. I felt like the relationship I had longed for ever since I became aware of my feelings for him was right in front of me. But… I… Precisely because I had learned his feelings, his emotions, I wanted more. I wanted his pure feelings, free from any sense of inferiority or guilt. I had become greedy in this love. So… I deliberately looked away from the ‘relationship’ that was right before my eyes, that I might have been able to grasp if I reached out. And then, I slowly opened my mouth. Seeking his pure feelings. “…Okay. I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend. In front of your grandmother, I’ll be Ootsuki-kun’s girlfriend.” At my words, Ootsuki-kun opened his mouth in surprise and froze. That expression was so unlike him, and yet I felt a fondness for that too, and a small smile escaped me.

“U-uh… I’m fine…” Ayaka’s eyes widened in surprise, and she stared intently back at Haruto, who was looking at her with concern. The two, who had ended up at a similar distance as when she was on the unicycle some time ago, were surprised by the sudden event and remained in close proximity in silence for a while. Oblivious to Haruto and Ayaka, the seemingly satisfied goat left with a “Mee-ee~.” “Onee-chan, your clothes got all wet.” “…Huh? Ah, ah… Y-yes.” Ayaka, told that by Ryota, snapped back to reality and quickly moved away from Haruto, whom she had been clinging to. “It looks like you should change clothes,” Haruto said, looking slightly awkward as he glanced at the hem of Ayaka’s shirt. The part that the goat had eaten was covered in sticky slobber and was wrinkled. “I think there was a changing room near the lawn area, so maybe we should change there?” “Yeah, maybe we should.” She had brought a change of clothes anyway, since they were planning to play in the water. Ayaka looked at the hem of her clothes that the goat had eaten, then looked up at Haruto with a slightly upward glance. “Um… thank you. For, um, c-catching me…” “Eh, y-yes, um… I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.” “…Yeah.” Ryota headed energetically towards the lawn area. Haruto and Ayaka followed him, carrying both embarrassment and awkwardness, and glancing at each other while averting their gazes, they headed for the lawn area.

Chapter 3: Captivated by Her Having arrived at the lawn area, Haruto and the others immediately began to play with a borrowed ball. “The weather’s nice, and it’s so spacious. It feels great, doesn’t it?” Ayaka, who had changed, said, looking at the lawn spreading out before them. In the lawn area, many people, including families and groups, were playing with balls or relaxing on picnic sheets and in small tents. However, because the area was vast, it

didn’t feel overly crowded, and one could enjoy a sufficient feeling of openness under the clear sky. The three of them played a mini-game with the soccer ball they had borrowed. “Come on, Ryota-kun, over here.” “Urgh! Hah! Aww.” It was a simple mini-game where one person kept the ball, and the other two tried to take it. Haruto was currently holding the ball, and Ryota was desperately trying to take it. However, he couldn’t quite take it, foiled by the movement of the ball being skillfully manipulated at Haruto’s feet. “Onee-chan, that way! Stop Onii-chan!” Ryota cooperated with Ayaka to surround Haruto, trying to stop his movement. “Heup!” But Haruto slipped through their encirclement with a quick spin. “Ootsuki-kun, you’re too good,” Ayaka said with a laugh, seeing him. “Are you in the soccer club, Ootsuki-kun?” “No, I’m not. I’ve just played games like this with my friends since I was little, so I’m just a bit used to it.” “Doesn’t feel like ‘just a bit’, though.” Ryota was being thoroughly run ragged by Haruto’s footwork as he moved the ball left and right. Ayaka gave a wry smile watching the scene. With no sign of them being able to take the ball, Ayaka smiled as if she’d just had an idea. “So, in other words, since you’re experienced, Ootsuki-kun, it’s okay if we have a handicap, right?” “That’s true. What kind of handicap should we set? Wait, Huh?!” “Gotcha!” Along with that cute-sounding cry, Ayaka clung onto Haruto’s arm. Haruto, who hadn’t expected her to openly use her hands in soccer, was surprised by her action, and at the same time, his body stiffened at the incredibly attractive softness transmitted through the arm she was holding onto. “Now’s your chance, Ryota.” “Okay! Hah… Yay~!!” Ryota, who had skillfully taken the ball from the immobilized Haruto, excitedly cheered with joy. “Ufufu, we won, didn’t we?” “No, that was a bit…” “Is it not allowed? Was that a foul?” Ayaka asked, letting go of Haruto’s arm slightly and tilting her head, looking up at him. From Haruto’s perspective, that gesture was a foul worthy of a red card.

“No… it’s not… not allowed,” Haruto said under his breath, glancing briefly at the arm she had been holding onto before averting his gaze. Seeing his reaction, Ayaka also blushed shyly and laughed happily, “Fufufu.” “Onii-chan! Change sides!” “R-right. Alright! I’ll steal the ball back right away!” Matching Ryota’s energetic voice, Haruto also spoke a little louder to cover up his embarrassment. The subsequent mini-game became a close match due to Haruto’s movements being significantly impaired by Ayaka clinging to him. After that, Haruto and the others played other games besides soccer. And as the sun climbed to its highest point, Ayaka said, narrowing her eyes against the strong sunlight. “Shall we have lunch soon?” “That sounds good. Shall we spread the picnic sheet in the shade over there?” Haruto said, pointing to a suitable spot of shade nearby. “You’re hungry too, right, Ryota?” “Yeah! I’m eating the bento!” “I made your favorite fried chicken and rolled omelets, Ryota-kun.” “Yay~!” Ryota shouted with joy at Haruto’s words and ran towards the shade at full speed. “Children’s stamina is terrifying, isn’t it?” “No, I think you’re amazing for keeping up with Ryota the whole time,” Ayaka, who had been watching from the sidelines for a while, said, looking at Haruto admiringly. “No, I was pretty much at my limit too,” he replied. “Really? You looked like you had plenty of energy. You weren’t out of breath at all.” Ayaka peered into Haruto’s face, giving him a suspicious look. “I certainly can’t match a kindergartener’s stamina.” Haruto slightly averted his gaze from her, who was close by. “There’s still the afternoon, are you going to be okay?” “I’ll recover once I eat my bento.” “That’s a quick recovery.” After exchanging such words, they smiled at each other faintly. “Onii-chan! Onee-chan! Hurry!” Ryota, who was already in the shade, bounced impatiently towards them. “Yes, yes, we’re coming now.” After replying to her brother, Ayaka smiled at Haruto. “Let’s go, Ootsuki-kun.” “Okay.” Haruto and Ayaka walked side by side towards Ryota. ※※※ After finishing their bento, the three of them relaxed on the picnic sheet. The sun was strong, and the heat felt like it was burning their skin. However, in the shade of the trees, the heat eased a little, and in the carpet of grass that swayed in the occasional breeze, they felt the summer and their hearts became open and free.

“Shall we go to the water play area in the afternoon?” Haruto suggested as he put the finished bento box back into his backpack. “That’s a good idea. The temperature has gotten pretty high, too.” The heat pouring down from the sun had reached its peak, and it was simply too hot to keep moving around outside the shade as they had been doing earlier. “Ah, but I don’t have a change of clothes…” Ayaka suddenly remembered and said. “Ah, yes, your t-shirt was eaten by the goat,” he replied. Her t-shirt, whose hem had been eaten by the goat, had become soaked with drool, so she had already changed into the shirt she had brought for playing in the water. “I have clothes for my lower body, so maybe I’ll just put my feet in the water.” “Okay. We’ll have to be careful not to fall.” “Right.” After exchanging such remarks, Haruto and the others immediately headed for the water play area. “Wow… there are so many people…” Ayaka said, surprised at the crowd in the water play area. Haruto responded to her with a wry smile. “Well, given this heat, everyone’s thinking the same thing.” The water play area had various large and small pools scattered around, designed to resemble ponds with water depths around adult calves, and fountains were placed here and there. The pools were mainly filled with children around Ryota’s age playing and having fun, but there were also accompanying parents and couples playing by splashing in the fountain water. “Onii-chan, that spot looks empty?” Ryota pulled Haruto’s arm and pointed to a place with relatively few people. “You’re right. Well then, let’s play there.” “Okay!” At the same time as he nodded, Ryota dashed to the pool and entered the water with the same momentum. Ryota, who had splashed water everywhere, turned back to Haruto and Ayaka with a big smile. “Onii-chan! Onee-chan! It feels so good!!” Seeing Ryota happily splashing water from his hair, Haruto and Ayaka also entered the pool with smiles on their faces. “It’s cold and feels nice.” “Splashing in the water in the middle of summer is the best.” In the scorching heat, the cool coldness of the water made both Haruto and Ayaka’s faces soften into smiles. Just then, Ryota ran up and splashed water he scooped up with his hands at Haruto. “Onii-chan! Take that!” “Whoa, you got me, Ryota-kun. Time for revenge!” “Whoa! Hahahaha!”

Ryota, who had been splashed with water by Haruto, splashed water back with great enjoyment. Haruto and Ryota splashed water at each other, playing happily. Ayaka watched the two of them with a happy smile, sitting on the edge of the pool with only her feet in the water. “Ryota, be careful not to bother other people.” “Okay! I know!” Besides Ryota and the others, many other children were also playing intently in the pool. “It looks cool, that’s nice.” Ayaka rested her chin on her hands, regretting a little that she didn’t have a change of clothes, and watched the happy Haruto and Ryota. Then, suddenly, Ryota waved his hand vigorously and called out to his sister. “Onee-chan! The water here is really cold and feels good!” “Is that so?” Ayaka tilted her head, and Haruto nodded in agreement. “It’s very cold and feels really nice, so would you like to dip just your feet in?” “Is it? Then I might go try it.” Ayaka rolled up the hems of her pants a little more and then went over to Haruto and the others. “Wow, you’re right! It’s cool and feels nice.” “This seems to be where the water supply is.” While Ayaka and the others were distracted by the cold, fresh water, another child running nearby bumped into Ayaka. “Kya?!” With a thud, the boy who bumped into her fell on his bottom, and Ayaka’s body was greatly thrown off balance. “Watch out!” Instinctively, Haruto reached out his hand to support her. However, since they were in the water, Haruto himself lost his balance while holding Ayaka’s hand, unable to brace himself. Deciding that falling was unavoidable, Haruto strongly pulled Ayaka’s hand, drawing her close and holding her body. Then, he changed their positions so that he would be underneath and fell into the pool. With a loud splash, the two of them fell. Although the water wasn’t very deep, if they lay down, their faces would be submerged. Haruto, who had fallen in a way that put Ayaka on top of him, quickly lifted his head, only his face out of the water. “Ootsuki-kun! Are you okay?!” “Yes, I’m fine…” Right in front of Haruto’s eyes and nose, who had lifted his face, was Ayaka’s face, her eyes wide with surprise and worry. Haruto was momentarily speechless, seeing her on top of him, looking down with a worried expression.

Why? He wasn’t sure exactly why. But Haruto was more captivated by the girl named Ayaka Tojo in this moment than ever before. Was it the expression of concern with which she was looking at him? Or perhaps her wet hair, glistening in the sunlight with water dripping from it, was enchanting? Or maybe it was the softness and weight of her body held in his arms that was so appealing? Or perhaps it was the combination of all of it? Haruto lost his words and simply continued to stare blankly at Ayaka. “…Ootsuki-kun?” Haruto had suddenly fallen silent after falling and was staring at Ayaka. Seeing his reaction, Ayaka looked worried, wondering if he had injured himself somewhere. “…………” Haruto doesn’t respond to her call. Instead, he puts a little more strength into the arms embracing Ayaka. “Eh!? O-, Ootsuki-kun?”

Ayaka shows a surprised expression at being hugged so tightly. Haruto can feel her body stiffening and tensing in his arms. However, a few seconds later. The strength suddenly leaves her body, and the weight on Haruto increases. He becomes unable to look away from Ayaka’s wet eyes, as if he’s been put under a spell. Their gazes intertwine and gradually draw closer. Without either of them initiating, their eyelids slowly begin to lower, at that moment. “Excuse me!!” It must be the mother of the child who bumped into Ayaka. A middle-aged woman rushes over in a fluster and bows her head deeply to apologize to the two of them who have fallen and are overlapping. “!” “Huh?!” Suddenly, Haruto and Ayaka sprang apart as if they had been released, and quickly stood up. “Look! You apologize properly too!” “S-sorry…” The boy, told strongly by his mother, bowed his head to Haruto and Ayaka dejectedly. “Ah, n-no… I didn’t get hurt or anything.” “Are you alright?” Ayaka smiled faintly, and Haruto gently spoke to the boy who had bumped into Ayaka and fallen on his bottom. “Y-yeah. I’m fine…” “Okay. Next time, let’s play while watching our surroundings carefully, okay?” “Okay, I’m sorry.” “We are truly sorry.” The mother and son left, bowing their heads repeatedly, as they walked away from Haruto and Ayaka. Once the mother and son were far away, Haruto spoke to Ayaka hesitantly. “Um… just now, well… I’m sorry.” “U-uh. If Ootsuki-kun hadn’t pulled me close, I might have fallen and hit my head… Are you okay, Ootsuki-kun?” “I’m… yes. I’m fine.” “I see, that’s good…” The two of them, in an awkward atmosphere, exchanged glances for a moment before immediately looking away. Haruto’s heart was still pounding as if in the lingering effect of the recent event. Just then, Ryota ran up and looked up at them. “Onee-chan, Onii-chan, are you okay?” “Yeah, we’re fine.” “We’re fine, Ryota-kun, thank you.” Ryota, looking relieved after hearing their replies, looked at his sister’s clothes and said.

“Onee-chan, your clothes got wet.” “Ah, that’s right…” Ayaka looked down at her clothes and thought for a moment, then resigned herself and smiled. “Well, since they’re already wet, I might as well just go all out and play in the water.” “Yay! Let’s play together, Onee-chan!” Ryota’s excitement instantly surged at his sister’s words. Ayaka also happily scooped up water with her hands and began splashing water back and forth with Ryota. “Onii-chan, play with us too!” “Okay, I understand.” Haruto also smiled at Ryota’s innocent smile and ran over. While feeling a surge of excitement in his chest that he had never felt before, at Ayaka’s innocent expression and radiant smile sparkling in the summer sun. ※※※ Haruto and the others play while soaked from head to toe. Ayaka, who had refrained from playing because she had no change of clothes, has now decided to get completely soaked. While glancing at Ayaka, who is having a great time frolicking with her brother, Haruto reflects on his actions from earlier. He had no ulterior motives when he instinctively hugged Ayaka to help her when she was about to fall. To save her. That was all he was thinking about. But then, after Ayaka had fallen and they were pressed together, Haruto unconsciously hugged her tightly. If he’d been careless, or even if he hadn’t been careless, his actions from earlier would have been considered sexual harassment. He wouldn’t have been able to complain if Ayaka had screamed and slapped him on the cheek at that moment. Did the summer heat make him go crazy? Haruto asks himself. The scene is still burned into his mind clearly and strongly. She didn’t seem angry at that time. Rather, he felt like he had relaxed his body, somewhere accepting, that sort of atmosphere. Thinking that, his heart couldn’t help but beat faster. Ayaka’s somewhat fantastical appearance, which stirred Haruto’s chest. From her lustrous flaxen hair, shimmering in the sunlight, drops of water dripped like pearls. A blush on her flushed cheeks, a sigh escaping from her soft-looking lips. Her moist eyes, like a magical charm, drew and held his gaze, seemingly swaying between expectation and anxiety. The sight of those eyes slowly approaching him. If no one had been around at that moment. If it had just been the two of them. Maybe… Suddenly, water splashed on Haruto’s face, just as he was about to think about what might have happened next. “—Whoa!”

“Fufufu, Ootsuki-kun, caught you off guard.” Haruto blinked his eyes, shaking his head. In front of him was Ayaka, smiling happily. After his gaze fell on her, Haruto suddenly looked away. He couldn’t quite explain why, even to himself. However, in that moment, she appeared even more attractive to Haruto than ever before. Haruto was already aware that Ayaka Tojo was a very cute girl. From his perspective, Ayaka’s appearance was exceptionally beautiful, and he understood why she captivated the gazes of the boys at school and the men they passed on the street. However, that was merely the recognition that “Ayaka Tojo is a cute girl,” perhaps the same feeling as admiring a work of high art. And Haruto was a man. He liked looking at cute girls, and talking to and interacting with them made him feel happy. Yes, until now, it had stopped at “feeling happy.” Or rather, concerning Ayaka Tojo, perhaps “trying to stop” was more accurate. As a housekeeping help part-time job during summer vacation. To provide proper service to the Tojo family, who had signed a regular contract. To avoid bringing in impure feelings, he had tried not to harbor special feelings for Ayaka, turning a blind eye to the core of his heart. However, Haruto was now feeling that this was becoming very difficult. He felt that a feeling he couldn’t control, a feeling other than the ‘happy feeling’ he had been trying to suppress, an emotion he himself couldn’t quite understand, was swirling within his chest. “Alright! Got you, Ryota!” “Hahahaha! Onii-chan, help!” Ayaka and Ryota playing together. Haruto joined them, feigning ‘as usual’ while hiding his inner emotions. “Take this! Eat that!” Spreading his hands wide, Haruto splashed water generously on both Ayaka and Ryota. “Whoa! You got us, Ootsuki-kun!” “I asked for help! That’s mean, Onii-chan!” The two, thoroughly soaked by Haruto, laughed happily while protesting. “Ryota, let’s work together and take down Ootsuki-kun!” “Okay! We’ll defeat Onii-chan!!” The Tojo siblings, burning with determination to defeat Haruto, slowly closed the distance. “You won’t catch me that easily.” Haruto smiles fearlessly and quickly takes off running away from the two. “Ah! Wait! You’re running away, Onii-chan!” “I’m going after you, Ryota!” Haruto runs away, occasionally looking back at the two who are chasing him in a panic. After running for a while, he slows down his speed so that he will be caught. “I got you, Onii-chan!”

“You got me. Ryota, you’re fast.” Haruto gently strokes the head of Ryota, who clings to his waist. Then, not only Ryota but Ayaka joins in as well. “I caught you too, Ootsuki-kun!” “Eh?! Wait?!” From a different direction than Ryota, Ayaka hugged Haruto’s arm tightly. Haruto cried out in surprise at her action. Seeing her hug his arm and show an innocent smile, the emotions swirling inside Haruto’s chest surfaced. Cute. Haruto purely thought of Ayaka as cute. That feeling wasn’t just about her appearance. Her figure playing cheerfully with her young brother. The dazzling smile she wore right now. Her attitude of trying to close the distance with him, even while blushing shyly. All of it stirred Haruto’s heart and feelings. “Now you’re the tagger, Ootsuki-kun?” “Yay! Run away!” At his sister’s words, Ryota quickly let go of Haruto and ran away cheering happily. Without even having time to wonder when it had turned into a game of tag, Ayaka whispered into Haruto’s ear. “Catch me?” At those words, Haruto quickly turned his face towards her, but Ayaka immediately let go of his arm and ran away. Just before running away, her sideways glance met his eyes, and Haruto’s heart was greatly stirred. He felt an impulse to run at full speed and catch Ayaka right away. However, unable to honestly follow that desire, Haruto chased after Ryota, who was running away with all his might. As if to escape Ayaka’s gaze, which seemed slightly dissatisfied, Haruto desperately chased after Ryota. After that, Haruto continued to enjoy playing in the water to his fullest, as if to deceive the conflict within his heart. And then, the three of them, having enjoyed playing in the water longer than they had expected, got out of the pool as the sun began to set. “That was fun~!!” Ryota shouted, soaking wet. “Here, dry your head with the towel.” To her brother, Ayaka took a bath towel out of her backpack and put it over Ryota’s head, and Haruto rubbed his head dry for him. “Tojo-san, if you don’t mind, please use this.” While drying Ryota’s head, Haruto offered Ayaka the spare shirt he had brought. “Eh? But this is Ootsuki-kun’s change of clothes…” Ayaka looked a little hesitant. “It’s not good for women to get cold.” “But… my shirt was eaten by the goat, but I have a change for my camisole, so I thought I might be able to manage.” “Even if you change your camisole, if your shirt is wet, the new camisole will also get wet, you know?”

“Mm…” Haruto made a slightly sad expression at Ayaka, who wasn’t nodding easily. “Does my shirt feel gross? If so… I guess it can’t be helped…” “Ah, n-no! That’s not it!” Seeing Haruto look clearly dejected, Ayaka hurriedly made an excuse. “See, if I wear Ootsuki-kun’s shirt, Ootsuki-kun will have to wear his wet shirt, right? I feel bad about that.” “You don’t have to worry about it. With this weather, if I wring it out firmly by hand and wear it, it will surely dry quickly.” “Really? Are you sure?” Haruto nodded strongly at Ayaka, who was looking up at him tentatively. “I’m fine. On the contrary, if Tojo-san continues to wear a wet shirt, it would bother me and I wouldn’t be able to relax.” According to Haruto’s standards of chivalry, it felt very wrong for him to wear dry clothes while a woman wore cold, wet clothes. “Please use it, for my sake.” “…Okay, thank you, Ootsuki-kun.” Ayaka accepted the change of clothes from Haruto. “Well then, Ryota-kun, let’s go to the changing room together and change clothes.” “Okay.” Haruto holds Ryota’s hand and heads to the changing room in the water play area. Ayaka follows him, heading to the women’s changing room. After helping Ryota get changed in the changing room, Haruto wrings out his shirt with his hands to get as much water out as possible before putting it back on. The feeling of the wet shirt clinging to his skin makes Haruto instinctively frown, but he thinks of Ayaka and quickly changes his expression to normal. Having finished changing, Haruto and Ryota waited for Ayaka to finish in front of the women’s changing room entrance, holding hands. Ryota, perhaps tired from playing all morning, had heavy eyelids and occasionally his head would nod. Just as Haruto was thinking about carrying him on his back, Ayaka emerged from the changing room entrance. “Sorry, did I keep you waiting?” “……Ah, no. Not at all, it’s fine.” Haruto’s reaction was slightly delayed. He was momentarily captivated by the sight of Ayaka wearing his shirt. It was an oversized shirt for Ayaka, giving her a loose, baggy look. The neckline was quite loose, and the hem length reached just above her knees. “Ootsuki-kun, this is a little too big, so can I tie the hem?” “Eh? Ah, yes, you can.” After getting Haruto’s permission, Ayaka tied the excess fabric of the shirt around her waist. “How do I look? Does it suit me?” To Ayaka, who smiled a little shyly, Haruto replied with some hesitation.

“I don’t think it looks strange.” “I see, that’s good.” Even though he had dressed her in his clothes, Haruto simply couldn’t bring himself to say that it suited her right now, unable to express a direct compliment. Despite that, Ayaka wore a shy, happy expression. “Well then, shall we go home?” “…Yes, let’s go home.” Haruto felt his heart rate quicken and replied, slightly stumbling over his words. On the way back from Animal Crossing Park, Haruto found himself stealing glances at Ayaka next to him many times. Seeing Ayaka in what is commonly known as a “boyfriend shirt” look, Haruto felt some kind of possessiveness being stimulated. Ayaka was wearing clothes that he usually wore. This made him feel as if she had become his girlfriend, and he became strangely conscious. Furthermore, because Ayaka had tied the hem of the shirt around her waist, her stomach was visible. He shouldn’t look. But his gaze was drawn there. Haruto desperately struggled with this conflict. Just then, Ryota’s sleepiness seemed to have reached its limit, and on the way back to the Tojo residence from the station, Haruto placed a bath towel on his back and carried Ryota piggyback. Thanks to that, Haruto was able to distract himself somewhat from his inner turmoil. And by the time they arrived at the Tojo residence, the sky was painted in a vivid sunset. “Ryota-kun, we’re home.” Haruto gently called out to Ryota on his back and lightly shook him awake. “Mmm… Huh? Where are we?” Ayaka replied to Ryota, who was speaking vaguely with his eyes half-closed. “We’re home. Come on, get off Ootsuki-kun’s back.” “…Okay.” Ryota nodded weakly and then busied himself getting off Haruto’s back. “Look, Ryota, Ootsuki-kun is leaving, so say thank you and goodbye.” “…Okay, Onii-chan, thank you… Bye-bye…” Ayaka gave a wry smile at Ryota, who was speaking indistinctly while rubbing his sleepy eyes. “Ootsuki-kun, thank you for carrying Ryota on your back.” “Not at all.” “And I’ll wash your change of clothes and return them next time.” Ayaka said, slightly pinching the collar of the shirt she was wearing. “Today was so much fun. Thank you, truly.” “I had fun too.” They exchanged smiles. After that, they looked at each other in silence for a little while. “…Um, well then, see you at the next part-time job.” “…Okay, see you.” They exchanged words containing a little awkwardness.

It felt comfortable, yet also a little embarrassing. Like he wanted to leave quickly, but also wanted to stay like this forever. In such a complicated atmosphere, Haruto opened his mouth. “Well then.” “…Okay.” Raising one hand lightly, Haruto turned his back to Ayaka. As he turned, he thought for a moment that she had worn a sad expression, but unable to turn back to confirm it, Haruto headed straight for home. It should have taken about thirty minutes to walk from the Tojo residence to the Ootsuki residence, but he found himself at the entrance of his house without even realizing it. On the way, he had been absentminded, thinking about Ayaka all day, so Haruto felt as if he had teleported. He slowly opened the front door and entered the house. “I’m home.” Haruto called out to his grandmother in the dark house. And then, just as he sat down in the entrance to take off his shoes, he felt something was off and stopped moving completely. It’s strange, something’s wrong. The sun had already almost set, and the house was completely dark. Yet, none of the lights inside the house were on. His grandmother wasn’t supposed to go out today. She should be at home, but the lights aren’t on… In Haruto’s mind, which had been preoccupied with thoughts of Ayaka, various thoughts flashed through in an instant. All of them were bad predictions, ones he wanted to avert his eyes from. “Grandma!!” Haruto called out to his grandmother as if shouting, threw off his shoes, and ran in a great hurry. She wasn’t in the corridor. She wasn’t in the Japanese-style room! She wasn’t in the living room either!! Haruto desperately tried to suppress his焦る feelings and searched the house. His heart had been pounding rapidly, to the point of being painful, since a while ago. “Haa… haa… Grandma!!” Amidst his ragged breathing, Haruto entered the kitchen, which was at the back of the living room. There, he finally managed to confirm his grandmother’s presence. However, his grandmother was collapsed on the kitchen floor. Haruto felt all the blood drain from his body. He rushed over to his grandmother in a panic. “Grandma!!” His desperate cry echoed through the house where only his grandmother and he lived.

The day before heading to ‘Animal Crossing Park’, Haruto was diligently working at his housekeeping help part-time job at the Tojo residence, as usual. He was proceeding with the cleaning of the kitchen area, which was today’s request. There, Ikue, who was teleworking, spoke to him. “Speaking of which, you’re going shopping with Ayaka for tomorrow’s bento ingredients today, aren’t you?” “Ah, yes.” “In that case, you don’t need to do too much house cleaning today, so please spend plenty of time shopping with Ayaka, just the two of you. Here, this is the money for shopping.” “Oh no! I couldn’t possibly accept this much!” Haruto waved his hand, refusing the bills Ikue held out. “Tomorrow I’ll be going as Ayaka-san’s friend, not for housekeeping help, so I was planning to split the cost of the bento ingredients…” “Don’t worry about it. You’re taking Ryota out to play, after all. Please let us, as parents, do at least this much.” Saying that, Ikue took Haruto’s hand, which was holding back, and pressed the money into his palm. “Please, Ootsuki-kun?” Tilting her head cutely and looking up at him. Although a mature woman, her slightly childish, adorable gesture, combined with Ikue’s own beauty, made Haruto blush involuntarily and avert his gaze. “Um… yes. Understood.” “Ufu, thank you, Ootsuki-kun.” Haruto nodded, unable to look directly at Ikue, his gaze still averted. Seeing his reaction, she wore a warm, amused expression. Just then, Ayaka, who was doing her summer homework in her room, came into the living room. “Hey Mama, where is the lead for my mechanical pencil… wait, Mama?!” The daughter, who had come to ask her mother something, rushed in between Haruto and Ikue in a flustered state. “Why are you holding hands with Ootsuki-kun?!” Seeing her daughter’s somewhat panicked and anxious state, Ikue grinned mischievously.

“Oh dear, what’s with all the fuss? I was just giving Ootsuki-kun the money for shopping.” “Then you should just hand it to him normally! Honestly! Ootsuki-kun looks troubled, let go of his hand quickly!” “Oh? Was it unpleasant to have this old lady hold your hand? I’m sorry.” Saying that, Ikue released Haruto’s hand she had been holding. He, in turn, replied briefly, lowering his head slightly with “No… it’s alright.” Seeing Haruto’s reaction, Ayaka glared sharply at her mother. “Mama, you have a remote meeting now, don’t you? If you don’t get ready quickly, you’ll be late for the meeting!” Saying that, Ayaka pushed Ikue’s back, trying to distance her from Haruto. “There’s still thirty minutes until the meeting, so you don’t have to rush so much.” “Mama is the president, so you absolutely can’t be late, right? Come on, hurry, hurry!” “Oh dear, alright. Well then, Ootsuki-kun, I’ll leave things to you.” Ikue, being pushed forward by Ayaka, turned back slightly and waved to Haruto. Then she was pushed even harder by Ayaka. Ikue smiled kindly, noticing how her daughter’s reaction was subtly changing compared to when Haruto first started the housekeeping help job, and whispered something in a small voice that Haruto couldn’t hear. Perhaps due to that whisper, Ayaka’s ears turned red, but she continued pushing her mother’s back with all her might. ※※※ As Ikue had instructed earlier, Haruto quickly finished a light cleaning of the Tojo residence and got ready to go shopping. Ayaka also started preparing to go out. Ryota, who was watching a Super Sentai video on the living room TV, came up to Haruto as usual, saying he wanted to go shopping with them. “Shopping? I’m going too!” Haruto had no reason to refuse, so he smiled and was about to nod at Ryota. However, Ayaka spoke first. “Not this time. Ryota, you stay home.” “Huh? Why not?” Ryota pouted his lips and looked dissatisfied at his sister’s words. “We might be buying a lot of things this time, and i’ll be discussing various things with Ootsuki-kun while shopping, so Ryota will stay home. Understand?” “No way! I want to go too!” “No, you can’t. Please listen to your Onee-chan this time? Okay?” Ayaka knelt down in front of Ryota, matching his eye level, and pleaded with him. Despite his sister’s plea, Ryota’s dissatisfied expression didn’t change. “You’re just saying that because you want to have Onii-chan all to yourself!” “Th-that’s not true? It’s not like that. This time we need to discuss the bento while we–”

“You like Onii-chan, so you want to be with him, right! I’m in the way!” “Th-that’s not it! Ryota, listen? I’m not specifically…” “But I like Onii-chan too…” Saying that, Ryota pouted and looked down. “Um, Tojo-san.” Unable to watch any longer, Haruto spoke to Ayaka, and she began speaking in a rush. “Ah, Ootsuki-kun, um! N-no, I don’t particularly want to have Ootsuki-kun all to myself, or anything like that, a-and Ryota is just saying ‘like’ arbitrarily…” “No, I’m happy that Ryota-kun likes me too,” Haruto said with a wry smile, which made Ayaka look troubled. Regardless of Ayaka’s true feelings, the shopping trip this time was likely to involve buying many things, as she had just said, and they planned to discuss the contents of the bento while shopping. Therefore, it was certainly true that shopping would be smoother without Ryota. However, seeing Ryota’s sulking face made a sense of guilt well up inside both Haruto and Ayaka. Just as the atmosphere was becoming like they should probably take him along after all, Ikue, who had finished her remote meeting, appeared in the living room. “Ryota. While Onee-chan and Onii-chan are out shopping, let’s have some ice cream together and wait.” In both of Ikue’s hands, containers of expensive cup ice cream were held. The moment he saw them, Ryota’s face instantly lit up. “Ice cream!!” On the other hand, Ayaka groaned sadly when she saw the ice cream in Ikue’s hands. “That’s the ice cream I was saving…” Joy and despair. The siblings, displaying conflicting emotions, were smiled upon warmly by their mother. “What will you do? Go shopping? Or eat ice cream?” “…Ryota, you can eat my ice cream, so will you stay home?” “Hmm… Okay. I’ll stay home.” To Ayaka, who had made the decision with a heavy heart, Ryota, after some hesitation, chose the ice cream. “Well then, have a good trip!” “Yes, we’re leaving now.” “Ugh… It was a limited edition flavor… We’re leaving now.” Seen off by Ikue, Haruto and Ayaka went out alone to shop for the bento side dishes. ※※※ Walking side by side with Ootsuki-kun on the road leading to the supermarket, I let go of my lingering regret for the limited edition ice cream. It was the limited summer Apple

Pie flavor. It had been a topic on social media and was the ultimate ice cream I had finally managed to get after going around many convenience stores and supermarkets nearby. I had carefully stored it at the very back of the freezer as a special treat for summer vacation… B-but! Thanks to the ice cream, I was able to get some alone time with Ootsuki-kun, so I have to think positively! For the sake of the ice cream that sacrificed itself! “Speaking of which, the ice cream Ikue-san had earlier, wasn’t it the one that’s been popular lately?” “Ah, yes. Ootsuki-kun knows about it too?” “Yes, I happened to see it at a convenience store the other day, bought it, and tried it. It was very delicious.” “Eh…? You’ve eaten that ice cream, Ootsuki-kun?” “Yes. Oh? Tojo-san, haven’t you had it yet?” Oh, Ootsuki-kun, you traitor~! I went around convenience stores and supermarkets all over town in the scorching heat and finally managed to buy it… “I haven’t eaten it yet… I wanted to… I really wanted to…” “Ahahaha… Well then, if I see it again, I’ll make sure to get it for Tojo-san.” Perhaps I looked really down, as Ootsuki-kun said this out of concern. Maybe it feels good to be treated so kindly by Ootsuki-kun…? Should I act a little more dejected? “I was really looking forward to that ice cream… I was so looking forward to eating it, I even dreamt about it…” “Um… It seems the convenience store near my house is quite a hidden spot, they might still have it, so I’ll check next time?” “But… I looked it up online, and it said it’s sold out everywhere…” “Well then, shall we go on an ice cream hunting trip together sometime?” At Ootsuki-kun’s suggestion, made with a slightly wry smile like he was joking, I couldn’t help myself and stopped pretending to be dejected, breaking into a full smile. “Really?!” “Eh? Ah, yes. I want to eat that ice cream again too.” Yes!! I got another excuse to go on a date with Ootsuki-kun! I feel a little bad for Ootsuki-kun for pretending to be dejected and lying a little… But this is part of the tactics of love! To make this love blossom, I have to do my best! “I wonder if that ice cream is still being sold?” “If we search all over town and can’t find it, we can go to the next town over. If we search all day, we’re bound to find it, right?” “Yeah, that’s right. If we search all day, we’ll definitely find it! All day…” I can be with Ootsuki-kun all day. What should I do…? I want to eat the ice cream, but I also want to keep searching with Ootsuki-kun forever, without finding it. Ugh… Love is a series of hardships, isn’t it? But I never thought that a limited edition ice cream would

be the reason I could make a date promise with Ootsuki-kun. Maybe my lucky item today was the limited edition ice cream. I should have checked my morning horoscope properly. “Thank you, Ootsuki-kun.” “Not at all. I want Tojo-san to taste the deliciousness of that ice cream too.” Ootsuki-kun said that with a gentle smile. Ah, he’s so kind. Just seeing his smile makes me feel a warmth in my heart. “I have to thank Ootsuki-kun. Especially with tomorrow coming up.” I’m getting spoiled by his kindness, so I want to give something back. “Is there anything you want, Ootsuki-kun? Anything you want me to do, or anything you want?” “You don’t have to worry so much.” “I’m worrying, so please tell me anything? If it’s Ootsuki-kun’s request, um… I’ll do anything?” What if Ootsuki-kun, who always has a mature aura and seems like he would never be selfish, started telling me, “Do this, do that”… What would I do! Just imagining it is so cute! If he said something like that, I’d do everything he asked. I’d devote myself completely! “Well, um… I can’t think of anything right now, so I’ll think about it a bit.” “I see… Okay. Don’t hold back, alright?” “Yes, understood.” Ootsuki-kun nodded with a laugh. I see… he doesn’t have anything specific he wants… I have so many things I want, things I want Ootsuki-kun to do for me, things I want to do with Ootsuki-kun. Even now, I want to walk hand in hand with Ootsuki-kun like before… I subtly glanced at his hand. There, I remembered what my best friend, Saki, had told me. That in love, it’s not just about pushing, but sometimes pulling is also important. Saki had said that if I could use this pushing and pulling skillfully, Ootsuki-kun would become crazy about me. But what should I do to ‘pull’? I can somehow imagine pushing as doing things to show that I like him, but what is pulling? Since it’s the opposite of pushing, should I be cold towards Ootsuki-kun? Like, ‘I’m not happy about going ice cream hunting with you at all!!’ or something? …Hmm, that doesn’t seem quite right. Pull… Pull Ootsuki-kun… Try pulling him… I stared at Ootsuki-kun’s hand, deep in thought about ‘pulling’. Pushing and pulling, making Ootsuki-kun’s heart flutter… Flutter? Pulling to make him flutter? Just then, an image suddenly popped into my mind. Following that image, I grabbed Ootsuki-kun’s arm and gave it a quick tug. “Whoa!?” Ootsuki-kun, whose arm was suddenly pulled by me while we were walking, let out a surprised sound, then stopped and looked at me with a puzzled face. …Wait, what am I doing pulling him physically?! That’s not what pulling means, is it?!

“Tojo-san?” “Ah, um! That! Well, um, well… A bug!! There was a bug! A big bug like this at Ootsuki-kun’s feet!” I quickly came up with an excuse. He, in turn, looked startled when he saw me spread my arms wide. “Gross! Seriously? I didn’t notice at all.” “Y-yeah. But it might be gone already, it was really fast. Maybe it was a cockroach?” To my desperate excuse, Ootsuki-kun made a strained face and said, “That sounds scary… maybe it was better if I didn’t see it.” Th-that was close… I managed to fool him somehow… The moment I breathed a sigh of relief, Ootsuki-kun’s left arm suddenly shot out and gently pulled me closer by the shoulder. “!?” Huh?! What, what?! What just happened?! My heart hammered rapidly at the sudden event. Just then, a light truck going at a considerable speed whizzed past very close to me, who was still confused and unable to grasp the situation. That’s when I finally realized. Ootsuki-kun had changed his position to protect me from the truck. “Ah, thank you.” “No, please don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for not noticing either.” After saying that, Ootsuki-kun subtly guided me so that he was on the road side. S-somehow, feeling protected by Ootsuki-kun makes my heart pound so much… I walked quietly next to him, looking down so that Ootsuki-kun wouldn’t see my face, which was probably red. I was trying to push, pull, and make Haruto-kun’s heart flutter, but instead, my heart was getting all flustered by his thoughtfulness. I took small, repeated deep breaths, trying to calm my heart that was pounding wildly in my chest, without Ootsuki-kun noticing. In the end, without being able to do anything, we simply walked side by side until we reached the destination supermarket. “For the bento side dishes, I guess we should get the ingredients to make the rolled omelets and fried chicken?” “Yeah, that sounds good.” Ootsuki-kun said, confirming, as he picked up a basket near the entrance. We had discussed the bento contents to some extent at the cafe we stopped at after the movie date the other day. We put the ingredients for the bento into the basket while examining the food items lined up in the supermarket. “Oh? Mini tomatoes are ninety-eight yen a pack!! How about these for the bento? They’ll add some color!” “Fufu, yeah. I think that’s a good idea.”

I couldn’t help but reply with a laugh to Ootsuki-kun, who was getting excited. I thought this before when he bought sesame oil, but Ootsuki-kun’s eyes sparkle innocently when he sees something cheap. That expression is so cute, and the gap between that and his usual mature atmosphere makes my heart skip a beat. While thinking that, he made a dejected face in the vegetable section because the price of cabbage was higher than yesterday. But then he discovered a sale on perilla leaves and his face lit up again. I couldn’t help but stare at his constantly changing expressions. Shopping together is so much fun. Feeling better, I started to want to tease Ootsuki-kun a little. I gathered my courage and smoothly closed the distance between us, then spoke in a slightly exaggerated voice. “Somehow, shopping together at the supermarket like this, it feels like we’re living together.” When I said that jokingly, Ootsuki-kun, who had been examining the ingredients with serious eyes, suddenly looked up and at me. “If I were living with Tojo-san, I’d work incredibly hard on the daily cooking.” “Is that so? But that would cause trouble for me. Ootsuki-kun’s cooking is delicious, so I’d eat too much and get fat.” “If you gained weight because you ate the food so deliciously, I’d be happy,” he said. Ah, he’s a devil!! Ootsuki-kun is a kind devil!! Just a moment ago, he had such a serious expression, but suddenly he smiled and said such sweet things, of course my heart would flutter! If… if I were to live with Ootsuki-kun, I’m confident I’d reach my highest weight in life within a week. “Besides, Tojo-san’s charm isn’t something that would be diminished by her figure alone.” “!” O-Ootsuki-kun is! Ootsuki-kun is scary!! Huh?! Did Ootsuki-kun just call me charming?! Why? What’s wrong? Is it because he’s high on finding cheap things at the supermarket? Is that it? Is that what’s going on?! As I froze upon hearing Ootsuki-kun’s words, he also looked startled, then averted his gaze awkwardly. “Ah, no, um, I’m sorry. I got a little carried away.” “U-uh, not at all… it’s fine…” An awkward silence lingered for a while. What should I do? I have to change the mood by bringing up a topic! While thinking that, Ootsuki-kun tentatively started talking. “Um, we’ve bought enough ingredients for the bento, so shall we go look at snacks to take with us next?” “Ah… U-uh, yeah. That’s… right…” Ootsuki-kun sometimes just casually says things like “cute.” And it’s always out of the blue… He’s a natural charmer. If I’m not careful, my heart won’t be able to handle it…

※※※ It was a little past six in the morning. Haruto got ready and finished preparing to leave, then sent a message to Ayaka. ──Good morning. I’m heading over now. ──Good morning! Okay, I’ll be waiting! A reply came back immediately. Haruto smiled slightly at that and headed towards the entrance. “Grandma, I’m heading out.” When he called out towards the living room, his grandmother, with her hands clasped behind her back, appeared. “Yes, yes, off you go. Have a good time.” “Yeah, I’m off.” Seen off by his grandmother, Haruto put on his slightly large backpack containing his things and stepped outside. “Looks like a good day for playing in the water.” Although it was only a little past six in the morning, the air outside already felt somewhat humid and hot. Haruto looked up at the sky, where the same clear blue sky stretched out. Surely by the time the sun reached its peak, it would be so hot he’d want to pour cold water over his head. Thinking such things, Haruto headed for the Tojo residence. And then, just before seven o’clock. Haruto arrived in front of the mansion he had become accustomed to and took out his smartphone. ──I’ve arrived in front of the house. It wasn’t exactly early morning, but Haruto felt a little hesitant to ring the intercom in the morning, so he sent a message to Ayaka. Immediately, a stamp of a rabbit giving an “OK!” sign was sent back. Immediately after, the door opened with a click, and Ayaka herself appeared. “Good morning. Ootsuki-kun.” Ayaka greeted him with a shy smile. Perhaps because she was about to make bentos, her hair, which was usually down to the middle of her back, was now tied up in a ponytail. “…Good morning.” Haruto, a little mesmerized by her different hairstyle, paused for a moment before replying. Ayaka said “Come on in,” opening the door wide and inviting Haruto into the house. Perhaps the rest of the family wasn’t awake yet, as the house was quiet. “I think Papa and Mama will wake up soon. Ryota probably won’t wake up for quite a while,” Ayaka said as she headed towards the kitchen. For most ordinary salarymen, this would be the time they were rushing to get ready for work, but since both Mr. and Mrs. Tojo were company executives, there must be

days when they go to work later. On the other hand, there were also days, she said, when they went to work while it was still dark. “In that case, while I’m making the bentos, I’ll make everyone’s breakfast too.”

“What? No, no! Ootsuki-kun, you’re not working today, you don’t have to do that much!” Ayaka waved her hands at Haruto’s suggestion. In response, he said with a gentle smile. “Actually, I thought it might be difficult to make breakfast while also making the bento, so I prepared a little yesterday.” “Oh? Is that so? Then… maybe I should ask you to. Papa and Mama would be very happy with breakfast made by Ootsuki-kun.” “Understood. I’ll make it quickly.” Saying that, Haruto took the French bread, which he had soaked in egg mixture the day before, out of the refrigerator and started cooking it in a frying pan. “Wow! French toast!” Ayaka’s face lit up at the sweet aroma of egg and sugar. “You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you, Tojo-san?” “No. What about you, Ootsuki-kun? Did you already eat? If not, why don’t we eat breakfast together?” “Is that alright? Then I’ll take you up on that offer and join you.” “Okay!” Haruto’s lips naturally curved upwards at Ayaka’s happy nod. He then took out the chicken ham from the refrigerator, which he had cooked and cooled yesterday, thinly sliced it, and arranged it on a plate. “Is there anything I can help with?” “Ah, in that case, could you cut the tomatoes and lettuce and arrange them next to the chicken ham?” “Got it.” While taking out yogurt from the refrigerator, Haruto also picked up the tomatoes and lettuce and handed them to Ayaka. Standing side by side in the kitchen, Haruto added sugar to the yogurt and made a sauce for the chicken ham next to Ayaka, who was cutting and arranging the vegetables. “After you finish cutting the vegetables, could you boil these in a pot?” Saying that, Haruto handed Ayaka three kinds of spices: cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. “Hmm? What are you making?” “I thought I’d make chai.” “Oh, you can make chai at home?” “Since I had the spices, I thought Assam tea would be just right.” “Ah, Mama often drinks milk tea, so we have Assam instead of Darjeeling at home.” “I see.”

Conversing in such a manner, they cooked side by side in the kitchen. Just then, Shuichi, who had woken up and came into the living room, was excited to see Haruto standing in the kitchen. “Oh! Good morning, Ootsuki-kun!” “Good morning, Shuichi-san. Breakfast will be ready in just a moment, so please wait a bit.” “What! You’re making breakfast!? I’m sorry, it’s not even your housekeeping help day.” “No, it’s not much trouble, please don’t worry about it.” “It’s amazing that you can say that.” Shuichi said admiringly and sat down at the dining table. Then he smiled at his daughter standing next to Haruto. “Good morning, Ayaka.” “Good morning, Papa.” “Hmm. I thought this when you made the chilled oden the other day too, but seeing the two of you standing side by side in the kitchen, you really look like a newlywed couple.” “Papa, why do you always say such strange things right away!!” Ayaka protested against her father, who seemed to be in a good mood. Just then, Ikue also entered the living room. “Oh? Something smells nice?” “Good morning, Ikue-san. Breakfast is ready, please help yourself.” Saying that, Haruto arranged the finished dishes on the dining table. “Oh my! You made breakfast? That’s such a help! I’m sorry, you’re not even working part-time today.” Haruto gave a wry smile, having been told the same thing by everyone in the Tojo family. “I’m going to occupy the kitchen to make the bento from now on, so…” “Oh dear, you don’t have to worry about that.” Saying that, Ikue sat down at the dining table and her face lit up at the dishes arranged before her. “Oh my! What a delicious and wonderful breakfast. Right? Dear.” “Yes. Eating Ootsuki-kun’s breakfast makes me feel like my work efficiency will increase for the whole day.” The breakfast menu Haruto made today consisted of French toast, chicken ham with yogurt sauce, and a fresh vegetable salad. “What would you like to drink? I made some chai, but would you prefer coffee?” “Oh, well, since it’s made, I’ll have the chai then. What about you? Coffee?” “No, I’ll have the chai too.” Both Mr. and Mrs. Tojo chose chai. Haruto also asked Ayaka next to him.

“How about you, Ayaka-san?” “I’d like chai too. It’s smelled nice since a little while ago.” Just as she said, in addition to the smell of the French toast he had just cooked, the aroma of the spices from the chai being heated now and the elegant fragrance of the tea wafted through the kitchen. “Understood.” Haruto added milk to the chai, which had turned a nice color, and then poured the chai into cups while removing the spices and tea leaves with a strainer. “Here you are, sorry to keep you waiting.” “Mmm~ It smells wonderful.” “It’s a luxury in the morning.” Mr. and Mrs. Tojo wore satisfied expressions. There, Ayaka said. “It’s okay if Ootsuki-kun eats breakfast with us, right?” “Of course!” “Yes, please eat with us.” Shuichi and Ikue readily agreed to have Haruto join them for breakfast. He said, “Thank you for having me,” and placed his and Ayaka’s portions of breakfast on the dining table as well. With everyone seated, Shuichi put his hands together. “Well then, let’s eat.” Following him, everyone else also put their hands together and said, “Itadakimasu.” “Hmm~ This French toast is exquisite. The outside is crispy, but the inside is soft and the flavor is well-infused.” “The chicken ham is also moist and delicious. The acidity and sweetness of the yogurt are perfect, too. Hey, Ootsuki-kun, could you teach me this recipe sometime?” “Yes, it’s simple. I’ll teach you sometime.” Haruto, the cook, smiled happily at Shuichi and Ikue, who were praising the breakfast. Next to him, Ayaka took a sip of chai and let out a sigh, “Hoh~.” “Delicious…” After muttering a single word, she took another sip of the chai. “Well, seeing you like this, Ootsuki-kun, it really feels like you’ve become a member of our family.” Saying that, Shuichi wore a cheerful expression. “That’s certainly true, isn’t it?” After Ikue agreed with Shuichi’s words, she smiled warmly at Haruto. “Why don’t you just become a real family member? Ootsuki-kun?” At Ikue’s remark, Ayaka blushed and protested. “Mama! Stop it! Why are you talking about me and Ootsuki-kun getting married?!” “Oh? Even if you don’t marry Ayaka, Ootsuki-kun can become our family, you know? Like getting adopted or something.” “Adop… ted…”

Her mother smiled at her daughter, who had frozen with a small murmur. “But if Ayaka can win Ootsuki-kun’s heart, we would be very welcoming. Right? Dear.” “That’s right. In that case, we’d be delighted to welcome Ootsuki-kun as our son-in-law! Hahahaha.” Haruto wore a wry smile and Ayaka blushed at the cheerful conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Tojo. “Honestly! You don’t have such a conversation in front of the person!” Despite their daughter’s desperate protest, her parents brushed it off lightly and continued to enjoy their breakfast. After such a lively breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Tojo left for work. In the kitchen, where they were alone again, Ayaka apologized to Haruto while washing the breakfast dishes. “I’m sorry. Papa and Mama always say strange things.” “Ahaha, well, it’s much better than being disliked, isn’t it?” Haruto said that while making the rolled omelets. “That’s true, but… Papa and Mama really have taken a liking to Ootsuki-kun.” “I’m grateful for that. Truly.” Haruto replied, skillfully flipping the omelet with a spatula. Ayaka, next to him, blushed slightly and spoke in a small voice. “If we let those two have their way like this, we might actually end up getting married… Just kidding!” Ayaka ended with an extremely bright voice, as if to cover up her own words. In response, Haruto looked slightly upwards and muttered to himself. “If I invited my grandma to the wedding, she’d be really happy, wouldn’t she…” “Eh!? Your g-grandma?” Ayaka was flustered by Haruto’s unexpected remark, which could be interpreted positively. Seeing her reaction, Haruto snapped back to reality and gave a wry smile. “Well, marriage is still a long way off for us, something we can’t even imagine.” “Th-that’s right! We’re still high school students, aren’t we!” Ayaka replied, nodding repeatedly at Haruto’s words. However, she still seemed bothered by his earlier remark and her face was flushed. She peeked at Haruto’s expression next to her while making the bento side dishes. After that, Haruto and Ayaka continued making the bento while exchanging trivial conversations. As they finished most of the side dishes, Ryota came into the living room, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “Good morning, Ryota-kun.” “…Huh? Onii-chan…?” Ryota looked at Haruto standing in the kitchen with puzzled eyes.

“Come on, Ryota, don’t just stand there. Hurry and eat breakfast and get ready to go out.” Ryota was still half-asleep. However, his sister’s words suddenly made him fully awake. “Animal Park!” “That’s right. So if you don’t get ready quickly, we’ll be late.” “Okay!” Ryota nodded energetically, rushed to the dining table, and started eating the breakfast that was already served. “Sweet and delicious!” Ryota said while munching on the French toast. Haruto watched Ryota quickly eat his breakfast with a warm smile, and Ayaka, standing next to him, told him in a small voice. “Ryota was so excited about ‘Animal Park with Onii-chan!’ yesterday, he didn’t sleep at all last night.” “Ah, so that’s why he looked so sleepy when he woke up.” “He seemed really looking forward to going to Animal Crossing Park with Ootsuki-kun.” “Fufu, I’m honored.” Ryota, having no idea that they were talking about him, continued to eat the breakfast made by Haruto with relish. After Ryota finished eating, they packed the finished bentos into a cooler bag and stuffed a picnic sheet, changes of clothes, etc., into their backpacks. “Ah, Tojo-san. I brought a slightly larger backpack, so the bento and Ryota-kun’s change of clothes can fit in here.” “Okay, got it. Then I’ll put the picnic sheet in my backpack.” “Yes, please do.” Haruto and Ayaka worked together, splitting the items to take. Since Animal Crossing Park has a water play area in addition to the lawn area and animal interaction area, a change of clothes was essential. “Okay! Are we ready?” “It doesn’t seem like we forgot anything.” Next to them, where the two were doing their final check of belongings, Ryota was restlessly twitching, unable to wait. “Onii-chan, Onee-chan! Let’s go quickly!” “Yes, yes, I know. Okay, the belongings seem fine. Let’s go then.” Ayaka casually brushed off her brother and spoke to Haruto after finishing checking their belongings. “Right. Ryota-kun, shall we go?” “Okay!!” When Haruto called out to Ryota, he dashed to the entrance like an arrow shot from a bow. “Ryota, slow down a bit.” Ayaka warned him with a wry smile, but it probably didn’t reach Ryota’s ears.

Ryota quickly changed into his outdoor shoes and then energetically jumped outside. “Goodness, Ryota.” Following the energetic brother, Haruto and Ayaka also went outside. The heat outside had increased another notch compared to when Haruto arrived, and Haruto narrowed his eyes against the dazzling sun overhead. “Ryota, come here and put on your hat.” Ayaka beckoned to Ryota, who was running around energetically despite the humid heat, and told him. Haruto smiled gently at the exchange between the Tojo siblings. Leaving the Tojo residence, Haruto and the others walked towards the nearest station. Animal Crossing Park, their destination, was located in the suburbs of the town, and after traveling by train, they would take a free shuttle bus. As it was summer vacation, the shuttle bus was packed with many families and couples. Upon arriving at their destination, they immediately headed to the ticket counter at the entrance gate. “Two adults and one child, please.” “Alright, that will be two thousand yen for two adults and one child.” The friendly elderly woman behind the counter responded with a warm smile. Haruto handed the money through the gap under the counter. “Yes, exactly two thousand yen. Here are your tickets.” “Thank you.” Haruto handed the tickets he received to Ayaka and Ryota. Ryota then bowed to the elderly woman at the counter to express his thanks. “Thank you!” “Oh, what a well-mannered child.” The woman, pleased with being thanked, said, and leaned out of the counter a little to smile at Ryota. “Boy, it’s crowded today, so make sure to hold your mommy and daddy’s hands so you don’t get lost, okay?” “!” Ayaka twitched in response to the woman’s remark and glanced at Haruto. “You’re wrong, Auntie! Onii-chan and Onee-chan aren’t my mommy and daddy!” “Oh! I’m sorry, I misunderstood. That’s right, you’re both so young, aren’t you?” The elderly woman at the counter apologized to Haruto and Ayaka, bowing slightly. “No, it’s alright.” Haruto replied with a wry smile, and Ayaka looked down, her cheeks faintly flushed. There, Ryota approached the counter to clear up the woman’s misunderstanding. “Um, Onee-chan is my real Onee-chan, but Onii-chan isn’t my real Onii-chan yet. Onii-chan is… um… well…” Here, Ryota struggled to find the words to explain. It was difficult for Ryota, who was still a kindergartener, to fully understand that Haruto came to their house for a housekeeping help part-time job and the relationship between Ayaka and Haruto. So, he explained within the scope of what he understood. “Onii-chan is Onee-chan’s boyfriend! And when Onee-chan and Onii-chan get married, Onii-chan will become my real Onii-chan!!”

“Wh-what!! Don’t say strange things!!” Ryota was earnestly explaining to the elderly woman at the counter. Hearing his brother’s explanation, Ayaka’s face turned bright red and she rushed to stop him. “H-hey! You’re bothering the people behind us, let’s go quickly!” Ayaka hugged Ryota from behind and lifted him up, quickly moving away from the counter. As she did so, she heard the woman say, “Ah, to be young and in love~,” which made her face even redder. After putting Ryota down away from the crowd, Ayaka immediately cautioned her brother. “Listen, Ryota? Ootsuki-kun is not my boyfriend! And you shouldn’t talk about marriage or things like that to other people! Understand?” “Huh~, but you marry someone you like, right?” “Th-that’s true, but…” “Then aren’t you going to marry Onii-chan?” “Wha-what?! Why would you say that?!” “Because Onee-chan likes Onii-chan’s…” “Listen, Ryota!! Marriage isn’t that simple!” Ryota, with pure eyes, was about to say something, but Ayaka stopped him, raising her voice in embarrassment. Ryota seemed unable to fully understand his sister’s words and looked at Haruto next to him. “Onii-chan, you don’t want to marry Onee-chan?” After thinking for a moment about Ryota’s question, Haruto spoke slowly. “…That’s right. If I could get married… I’d want to?” “Eh!?” Ayaka couldn’t help but let out a voice at the surprising content of his remark. Haruto squatted down to meet Ryota’s gaze and began speaking with a warm smile. “But you see, Ryota-kun. Getting married isn’t something you can do easily, you know?” “Is that so?” “That’s right. Getting married means becoming a family.” “I want to become a family with Onii-chan!” Ryota replied immediately, and Haruto also smiled happily and patted his head. “Thank you, Ryota-kun, I’m very happy to hear that.” “Hey, hey, Onii-chan, you like Onee-chan, right?” “Eh, ah… yes, I do.” Faced with Ryota, Haruto, having no other choice, replied, hesitating slightly. Hearing that, Ayaka averted her gaze from Haruto and looked down. “Then you’ll get married, right?” “Marriage, you see, it’s not enough just to like someone.” “Why?” To Ryota, who tilted his head cutely, Haruto gently explained. “You and Onee-chan are family, right?” “Yeah.”

“Do you like Onee-chan?” “Yeah, I like her.” “But sometimes you fight, right?” “…Sometimes we fight.” “When that happens, what do you think of Onee-chan?” Ryota thought for a moment about Haruto’s question, saying “Hmm~.” “Just a little bit… I dislike her…” Haruto smiled gently at Ryota, who said this somewhat hesitantly, glancing at his sister. “When you fight, that happens, doesn’t it? But you don’t dislike her forever, right?” “Yeah.” “In other words, that’s what family is.” “…?” Ryota tilted his head again. Haruto said, stroking his head. “A presence you can be with even when you dislike them. Someone who is always by your side. That’s what family is. And that’s something you can’t do just by liking someone.” “Liking isn’t enough?” “Yes, it’s not just liking… you have to love them.” Ryota looked at Haruto, who spoke clearly despite being a little embarrassed, with innocent eyes. “Then, Onii-chan, you don’t love Onee-chan?” “It takes time for a person to love someone. I still need a lot of time to love your Onee-chan. Conversely, even if Onee-chan were to love me, there wouldn’t be enough time yet.” “Hmm~, I see.” Ryota finally seemed to understand with Haruto’s explanation, and looked at his sister with a beaming smile. “Onee-chan! I hope you and Onii-chan can love each other quickly!!” His sister replied to her innocent brother with a voice so faint it was almost disappearing, her ears turning red. “Y-yes…” Ayaka nodded awkwardly at Ryota’s pure words, but her body was trembling slightly from embarrassment.

​

※※※ Haruto hadn’t expected to talk about love so soon after arriving at Animal Crossing Park. He recalled his earlier statement and inwardly writhed in shame. The thought, “Marriage requires love,” a somewhat dramatic phrase, was swirling around in his head. Haruto maintained a calm exterior while inwardly squirming with extreme embarrassment. Even though it was to convince Ryota, talking about love as a high school boy in the middle of adolescence was a bit of a mental blow. What’s more, this conversation had been overheard by a girl who was his classmate. What did Ayaka think about his earlier statement? Haruto glanced sideways at her walking right beside him. From a quick look, she didn’t seem upset. If anything, she had been smiling and looking happy since a while ago. Her inner thoughts were unfathomable, but at least on the surface, she didn’t seem to be thinking anything particularly negative. Haruto breathed a sigh of relief at that. Then, Ayaka, with a slightly mischievous expression, smiled and said to Haruto. “Ootsuki-kun… you want to get married to me, huh?” “Ah, no, um… that was… to convince Ryota-kun…” Even though he knew Ayaka was joking, Haruto still found himself speechless. Seeing his reaction, Ayaka laughed happily. “Fufu, yeah. I know.” Saying that, Ayaka again wore a mischievous smile. She laughed happily, though her cheeks were slightly flushed with embarrassment. Haruto couldn’t help but find her genuinely cute. Ayaka today, as always, exuded the charm of a beautiful girl, drawing the attention of passersby. Unlike the girly outfit she wore on their previous movie date, today she was dressed for ease of movement in jeans and a t-shirt. This outfit also suited her very well, to the point where he wondered if there was any fashion that wouldn’t suit her. Haruto averted his gaze slightly from the lovely Ayaka, who was as radiant as the summer sun, and gave a wry smile. “Well, I’m not exactly a match for Tojo-san.” Haruto said, trying to play it off a bit to cover up the embarrassment of having talked about love. Then, an unexpectedly strong reaction came back from Ayaka. “That’s not true! Ootsuki-kun can clean and cook really delicious food! And you’re kind and considerate, so much so that I think you’re attractive enough to want as a husband!!” “…Um… thank you.” Haruto was bewildered by Ayaka’s sudden emphatic statement and thanked her hesitantly. Then, her face flushed bright red, she averted her gaze and mumbled awkwardly and disjointedly.

“Um… when I said ‘want as a husband’, I didn’t mean me specifically, it’s more like… generally speaking, or rather, it’s the result of analyzing Ootsuki-kun objectively from a female perspective…” Ayaka’s voice became fainter and fainter. Haruto smiled gently at her. “Thank you. Hearing you say that, Tojo-san, somehow gives me confidence.” “Yeah… Ugh…” At Haruto’s words, Ayaka’s face turned even redder and she looked down. Then, Ryota, worried about his sister, peered up at her face from below. “Are you okay, Onee-chan? Your face is red, you know? Here, have some water from the bottle.” Ryota held the water bottle with both hands and offered it to Ayaka. “Ah, thank you…” Ayaka accepted the water bottle from her brother and drank it down quickly. “It’s hot today, isn’t it? Shall we buy some more drinks later?” Haruto said, watching the heartwarming interaction between the Tojo siblings. To his suggestion, Ayaka replied shyly, “U-uh… yeah…” While exchanging such remarks, Haruto and the others first headed to the animal interaction area. “Look, Onii-chan! Rabbits!” Ryota’s eyes sparkled as he saw the rabbits hopping around inside the fenced area. Next to him, Ayaka, also with sparkling eyes, was excitedly holding rabbit food in her hand. “Ah! One came over here! Wow! This white one is so cute!” “They’re certainly fluffy and soothing, aren’t they?” Haruto said, nodding greatly at the ultimate combination of a beautiful girl and small animals, while Ayaka wore a melting smile as she stroked the back of a white rabbit that was munching on hand-fed food. “Onii-chan! Look at this! It’s twitching its nose all the time!” If he shifted his gaze, he would see Ryota surrounded by several rabbits, begging for food. An innocent child and small animals. That scene was also a heartwarming and precious sight. “Here, Ryota-kun. They’re asking for food, so give them this.” Haruto gave Ryota the food he was holding. “Look, look, Ootsuki-kun! This one is following me! So cute~! I want to take it home!” The white rabbit she had been stroking earlier was hopping after the moving Ayaka. She was completely smitten by its appearance and once again crouched down to give it food while stroking its back. That white rabbit is good at getting by in life, Haruto thought, but even so, he was truly soothed by the Tojo siblings playing with the rabbits. In the animal interaction area, besides rabbits, visitors could also interact with ponies, mini pigs, chickens, guinea pigs, and goats. In the guinea pig area, Ayaka held a fluffy white and brown guinea pig and was completely smitten, and during the interaction with the chickens, Ryota was chased around by a rooster and was on the verge of tears.

Having enjoyed interacting with the animals to his heart’s content, Haruto felt greatly satisfied. “We’ve looked around quite a bit.” Ayaka said while giving carrots to a pony over the fence. “Right. Did you have fun, Ryota-kun?” “Yeah, it was fun.” While replying to Haruto, Ryota kept casting wary glances at a nearby rooster that was wandering around. When the rooster crowed, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!!” Ryota immediately hid behind Haruto. “Shall we go to the lawn area and play next?” “Yeah, that sounds good.” Haruto said while stroking the head of Ryota, who was holding onto the hem of his pants. Ayaka nodded at his suggestion, finished feeding the pony, and took out a pamphlet from the backpack she was carrying. “Um, this is the interaction area, so the lawn area is…” She checked the direction they needed to go while looking at the map. Just then, a goat that mistook the pamphlet for food approached with a “Mee~.” “Whoa, this isn’t food.” Ayaka quickly turned her back to the goat. “After we play in the lawn area, let’s eat our bento there as well.” “That’s a good idea. It seems they also rent out balls and stuff in the lawn area.” “They also rent out badminton rackets and shuttlecocks. There are various other things too.” Haruto also peered into the pamphlet Ayaka was holding open. “Right? Is the lawn area okay with you next, Ryota?” “Okay! Let’s go quickly!” Ryota’s interest seemed to have already shifted to playing in the lawn area, and he grabbed Haruto’s and Ayaka’s hands and lightly pulled. “Yes, yes, I get it.” Ayaka closed the pamphlet she had opened with a wry smile. Just then, she heard a “Mee~” sound again from behind her. When Haruto looked towards the sound, he saw a goat happily eating the hem of Ayaka’s t-shirt. “Ah! Tojo-san! Your clothes are being eaten!” “Eh? Ah!” Ayaka also turned around at Haruto’s words and realized that the goat was eating her clothes. “Wh-what should I do?” Ayaka tried pulling her clothes gently, but the goat showed no sign of letting go and continued to munch on the hem of her shirt as before. There, Ryota approached the goat to help his sister. “Hey! Onee-chan’s clothes aren’t food!” Saying that, Ryota gave a firm tug on the clothes in the goat’s mouth. The goat, perhaps finding Ryota annoying, sharply turned its head while still holding Ayaka’s shirt. “Kya!” Pulled sharply by her clothes, she lost her balance greatly and stumbled towards Haruto. “Whoa… Are you alright?” Haruto quickly reached out to catch Ayaka, who was about to fall.

Under a piercingly clear blue sky, an endless chorus of cicadas buzzed. During the summer vacation, which grew hotter by the day, Haruto stood before a certain mansion under the scorching sun that seemed to burn his skin. With hands that were becoming a little more accustomed, he pressed the intercom. “Ootsuki-kun?” Hearing the voice, Haruto smiled slightly. “Yes, I’m here for the housekeeping work today.” “I was waiting! I’ll open the door now.” Immediately after the slightly happy voice came from the intercom, the front door of the Tojo residence opened, and a girl appeared from within. Beautiful flaxen hair shimmering in the summer sun. Slender, long limbs and a charming figure that one couldn’t help but stare at. The girl, perhaps shielding her eyes from the dazzling sun, slightly narrowed her large, beautiful double-lidded eyes as she welcomed Haruto. This was Ayaka Tojo, rumored to be the cutest girl at Haruto’s school and known as the “school idol.” She was also a client of the houskeeeping part-time job he had started this summer. “Welcome, Ootsuki-kun. It’s hot outside, please come in.” “Thank you. I look forward to working today as well.” As Ayaka invited him in with a beaming smile, Haruto, too, couldn’t help but smile back as he stepped into the Tojo residence. Entering the spacious entrance hall befitting a mansion, a door at the end of the corridor burst open, and a boy rushed out. “Onii-chan!!” Ryota, Ayaka’s younger brother, a cheerful kindergartener, flashed a radiant smile all over his face and charged towards Haruto with a pattering sound. “Hello, Ryota-kun. You’re full of energy today too!” “Hello! What are you going to do today, Onii-chan?” Haruto knelt down to receive the charging Ryota. Ryota, with sparkling eyes, asked him. “Hmm, let’s see… today…”

Haruto turned his gaze towards Ayaka. Receiving his look, she told him the requests for today’s housekeeping work. “Today, there’s the living room cleaning, and Papa also asked for the garage to be cleaned.” “Living room and garage cleaning, understood.” “Yes, and as usual, please prepare dinner.” “Understood.” Haruto nodded slightly and accepted Ayaka’s requests for the housekeeping help. There, Ryota, with an expectant look, pulled Haruto’s arm. “Onii-chan, what’s for dinner tonight? Hamburgers!?” Ryota seemed to have completely fallen for the hamburgers Haruto made. Haruto smiled and answered Ryota, who was looking at him excitedly. “Haha, today I’m thinking of making gyoza instead of hamburgers. Do you like gyoza, Ryota-kun?” “Gyoza?! I love gyoza!!” Answering that way, the excited Ryota grabbed Haruto’s arm and swung it vigorously up and down. “Ryota, stop that. Don’t pull Ootsuki-kun like that! You’ll pull his arm off!” Ayaka immediately warned her brother about his actions. Ryota stopped swinging Haruto’s arm at his sister’s warning, but didn’t let go of his arm, looking cheerful and happy. “Hey Onii-chan, can I help you clean too?” “Of course, it would help finish the cleaning faster if Ryota-kun helps.” Haruto smiled gently and patted Ryota’s head. Ayaka gave a wry smile at her brother, who looked happy, saying “Ehehe~”. “Thank you, Ootsuki-kun, for always keeping Ryota company too.” “Not at all. By the way, are Shuichi-san and Ikue-san working today?” “Yes, they both went to the company today. I think they’ll probably be back by dinner time.” Both of her parents were company executives. Because of that, while they had flexibility in their work style with things like remote work, they were also quite busy, sometimes going to work early in the morning, coming home late, or having sudden business trips. “It reminds me of when I first came here for housekeeping help.” “That’s right. Papa and Mama were on a business trip back then too, weren’t they?” At the start of summer vacation, Ayaka had been looking after the house and Ryota by herself while her parents were away on a business trip. However, due to a public confession she received from an upperclassman on the last day of school, she was emotionally exhausted and decided to rely on a housekeeping help service. That’s how she met Haruto, with whom she’d had almost no interaction at school before.

Remembering his first time coming to the Tojo house for housekeeping help, Haruto said reflectively. “It feels a little nostalgic, even though it wasn’t that long ago.” “Yeah. I wish I could go back in time and praise myself for deciding to ask for housekeeping help then.” To Ayaka, who said that, Haruto smiled cheerfully. “Are you praising yourself?” “Yes, because…” Ayaka gave a small nod, then her cheeks flushed slightly, and she said in a tiny, shy voice. “If I hadn’t asked for housekeeping help back then, I wouldn’t have met Ootsuki-kun…” “!” After casting a quick upward glance, Ayaka immediately looked away. At her gesture, Haruto’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster. “Um… I also think it was good that my first job was at the Tojo house…” “Really? Fufu… I’m happy.” Seeing her genuinely beaming with joy from the bottom of her heart, Haruto couldn’t help but avert his gaze, desperately trying to suppress the corners of his mouth that were automatically turning up. The scene from their recent movie date flashed into his mind. Recalling the movie they watched while holding hands, just like real lovers, Haruto’s face gradually turned red. Similarly, Ayaka’s face was also red as she wore a happy expression. “…” “…” Haruto’s mind raced, trying to think of something clever to say, but the more he thought, the blanker his mind became, and words escaped his thoughts. An awkward silence fell between Haruto and Ayaka. However, that silence didn’t last long. For the two who were standing and talking at the entrance, little Ryota, having lost patience, pulled Haruto’s arm. “Onii-chan! Let’s start cleaning the living room quickly!” “Ah, sorry, Ryota-kun. Well then, I will begin the service now.” “U-uh, thank you for your work.” Haruto felt a little relieved to be freed from the awkwardness by Ryota’s energy. However, in a corner of his heart, he also felt a sense of reluctance at the same time. But, deliberately not dwelling on that feeling, Haruto carried out the Tojo family’s housekeeping tasks today as well. ※※※

As requested by Ayaka, after finishing the living room cleaning, Haruto moved on to cleaning the garage. Since both parents were at the company, there were no cars in the garage, making it easy to clean. “Ryota-kun, could you spray water over here?” “Okay! Got it!” Ryota held the hose and sprayed water where Haruto indicated. “Thank you, Ryota-kun.” While saying thank you, Haruto scrubbed the concrete floor with a deck brush. “Onii-chan! Where should I spray water next?” Ryota was holding the garden hose happily, partly feeling like he was playing with water. Haruto smiled gently at his appearance. “Okay, please spray water over there next.” “Got it!” With Ryota’s lively reply, Haruto was also drawn into a cheerful mood and proceeded with cleaning the garage. And as the cleaning was about to finish, Ayaka, who had returned to her room, came to check on Haruto and Ryota. “Thank you, Ootsuki-kun. The garage is really clean. Papa will be happy, I think.” “That’s good to hear.” “Oh, about the gyoza for dinner, we’re going shopping, right?” “Yes, the cleaning is almost finished, so I was thinking of going shopping now.” Ryota reacted to Haruto’s word “shopping” and turned his sparkling eyes towards him. “Shopping?! I’m going too!” “Okay, then let’s go shopping together, Ryota-kun.” “Oh, in that case, I’ll come along too.” To Haruto, who smiled at Ryota, Ayaka said she would also come shopping. At his sister’s words, Ryota became even more excitedly cheerful. “We’re all going shopping!” “That’s right. Well, the garage cleaning is almost finished, so let’s finish it quickly.” “Okay!!” After that, they tidied up the garage cleaning, and the three of them – Haruto, Ayaka, and Ryota – headed to the supermarket. Haruto, immediately with a shopping basket in hand, began examining the ground pork in the meat section. “Hmm, domestic ground pork economy pack 100 grams for 118 yen, that’s cheap… but I don’t need this much… or rather, the regular size is 128 yen per 100 grams…” Haruto, with his hand on his chin, stared intently at the large economy pack and the regular size ground pork. Ayaka glanced at his profile, pondering with a serious expression, before asking a question. “Ground pork has various uses besides gyoza, right?”

“Yes. You can stir-fry it with green onions and eggs to make sweet and savory soboro, or you can make keema curry with it.” “Both sound delicious.” “Shall we make them sometime?” “Yes! I want to try them.” “Understood. Then let’s buy the economy pack this time.” Haruto said that and took the larger pack, putting it in the shopping basket. After that, they continued putting the necessary ingredients for gyoza into the shopping basket, and finally, he came to the baking ingredients section. Seeing the bags of sugar, pancake mix, cocoa, etc., lined up on the shelves, Ryota looked up at Haruto with an excited expression. “Onii-chan, are you making sweets?” “No, rather than sweets, I was thinking of making something like a dessert to go with the gyoza after dinner.” Haruto smiled and replied to Ryota, whose eyes were sparkling with anticipation, then picked up two bags of anko1 displayed on a lower shelf. “By the way, Tojo-san, are you a koshi-an2 person or a tsubu-an3 person?” “Eh? Um, I think I’m a koshi-an person?” “I see.” At Ayaka’s reply, Haruto nodded with a “hmm” and looked down at the bag of koshi-an he held in his left hand. “What are you making with anko? Oshiruko?” “No, I was thinking of mixing anko with cream cheese and wrapping it in gyoza skins.” “What?! That sounds really delicious!” “It’s anko pie with gyoza skins.” Seeing Ayaka’s reaction, her eyes sparkling at the mention of something sweet, Haruto’s expression also softened. “By the way, Ootsuki-kun, are you a koshi-an person?” “No, I’m a tsubu-an person.” “Eh? Really? Koshi-an is more delicious though.” “You can’t say that for sure, can you? Isn’t tsubu-an better because you can feel the texture of the beans?” To Haruto, who asserted the merits of tsubu-an, Ayaka also argued for the merits of koshi-an, not to be outdone. “Isn’t the smooth texture of koshi-an also good? It feels elegant.” “Tsubu-an has more polyphenols, so it has higher beauty benefits!” 3 Tsubu-an: chunky bean paste 2 Koshi-an: Smooth bean paste​

1 Anko: sweet bean paste​

“Really?” At Haruto’s words, which targeted a woman’s weakness, beauty benefits, Ayaka’s love for koshi-an wavered slightly. “Yes, and polyphenols are said to suppress sugar absorption, so there’s the advantage that even if you eat sweet anko, tsubu-an is less likely to make you gain weight than koshi-an.” “B-but, but!! I think I saw something online before that said koshi-an has fewer calories!” “Koshi-an has the skin removed, after all. But if a lot of sugar is added to compensate for that, then koshi-an will have higher calories.” “Th-that’s… that’s true, but.” “Tsubu-an is delicious, you know?” “Ugh… indeed. It might be appealing.” To Ayaka, who acknowledged the appeal of tsubu-an despite looking frustrated, Haruto smiled broadly. “Welcome to the world of tsubu-an.” Haruto, having increased the number of fellow tsubu-an enthusiasts by one, nodded with great satisfaction, put the koshi-an back on the shelf, and placed the tsubu-an in the shopping basket. “Is tsubu-an okay with you too, Ryota-kun?” “Yeah! I love anko!!” With Ryota’s beaming smile in response, Haruto felt greatly healed as he headed for the register. ※※※ Upon returning to the Tojo residence, Haruto immediately began making gyoza. After coarsely mincing the napa cabbage and sprinkling it with salt, he measured the all-purpose flour, bread flour, and salt with a scale and transferred them to a large bowl. As usual, the Tojo siblings sat on the counter seats in front of the kitchen and watched Haruto cook. Ayaka said admiringly to Haruto, who poured hot water into the bowl and kneaded the gyoza dough. “As expected of Ootsuki-kun, you even make the gyoza skins yourself.” “Store-bought skins are convenient, but you can make them chewier when you make them yourself.” Haruto replied while kneading the dough that was coming together, putting more weight into it. After kneading the dough for about five minutes, Haruto shaped it into a ball, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and then started making the gyoza filling. He added granulated chicken stock dissolved in hot water and sesame oil to the ground meat and mixed them. Then, he squeezed the water well out of the salted and wilted napa cabbage, added it, and mixed again. “Ootsuki-kun’s family gyoza uses napa cabbage, huh?”

Ayaka said to Haruto, who was adding garlic and ginger after the napa cabbage. “That’s right. Does the Tojo family’s gyoza use cabbage?” “Yeah. I think our family’s gyoza uses cabbage.” “Cabbage is also good because you can feel the texture and sweet flavor, right?” While having such a conversation, Haruto finished making the gyoza filling. While letting the bowl of filling rest in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap, he resumed making the gyoza skins. He divided the rested gyoza dough into several portions and rolled them into logs. Then, he divided the logs into small equal pieces and used his palms and a rolling pin to roll them into circles. “Ootsuki-kun is skillful, isn’t he?” “Is that so?” Haruto smiled modestly at Ayaka’s praise. Just then, Ryota, who had been quietly watching the gyoza making until now, suddenly got down from the counter seat and rushed over to Haruto. “Onii-chan, I want to help make gyoza too! I want to wrap gyoza!” “Oh, you’ll help? Thank you. Well then, maybe I can ask you to.” Haruto smiled at the highly motivated Ryota while taking the rested filling out of the refrigerator. “Oh, in that case, I’ll help too.” Following her brother, Ayaka also got up from her chair and came over to Haruto’s side. “Thank you. Well then, I’ll roll out the skins, so would you mind wrapping the filling with Ryota-kun?” “Understood.” After that, Haruto made the gyoza skins, and the Tojo siblings wrapped them. “The skins Ootsuki-kun made stretch really well, so they’re easy to wrap,” Ayaka said, sounding a little impressed as she wrapped a gyoza by wetting the edge of the skin and making pleats. “I made them a little thicker than store-bought skins, so I think you’ll enjoy the chewy texture when you eat them.” “I’m looking forward to it. Hey Ryota, you’re putting in too much filling!” Ayaka hurriedly stopped her brother, who was busily putting filling onto the skins next to her. “If you put in that much filling, you won’t be able to wrap it, right?” “But Onii-chan’s skins stretch a lot, so it’s okay!” Saying that, Ryota pulled the skin and forcibly wrapped the filling. “Look, Onee-chan! I wrapped it!” Ayaka gave a wry smile at Ryota, who said that with a full-on smug face. “You did wrap it, but… that doesn’t look like gyoza anymore, it’s a meat bun.”

What was in Ryota’s palm was indeed far from a typical gyoza, just as she said. “Well, as long as they’re cooked through, it’s fine. Having various shapes makes them look homemade, so isn’t that good?” “That’s true too, I guess.” Haruto said while rolling out a skin with a rolling pin. In response, Ayaka also nodded with a wry smile at her brother, who was mass-producing gyoza that looked like meat buns. After that, as they continued making gyoza lively together, Shuichi and Ikue returned home at the same time. “We’re home. Ootsuki-kun, thank you for the housekeeping help today too.” Shuichi came into the living room and greeted Haruto, who was standing in the kitchen. Ikue, who entered the living room after him, her face lit up at the sight of the three of them cooking together. “Oh my! Tonight’s dinner is gyoza, isn’t it? They look so delicious.” “Mom, I helped a lot too!” “Really? You’re amazing.” After smiling warmly at Ryota, Ikue looked at Haruto. “Thank you, Ootsuki-kun.” “Not at all, Ryota-kun and Ayaka-san helped a lot, so it was a great help.” “Oh, really. Fufu, that’s good, Ayaka.” Saying that, Ikue smiled towards her daughter, who was standing next to Haruto. “U-uh… Papa and Mama, hurry up and change. The gyoza are ready to be cooked.” Ayaka’s cheeks flushed slightly at her mother’s gaze, and as if to hide it, she hurried her parents. “Let’s do that. I’m looking forward to Ootsuki-kun’s handmade gyoza!” Shuichi, who nodded in good spirits, suddenly asked Haruto. “How about it, Ootsuki-kun? Why don’t you stay and have dinner with us today too?” “Eh? Is that alright?” “Of course! You are always welcome in our home, Ootsuki-kun.” “Thank you. Then, I will join you.” “Hmm. Tonight’s dinner seems like it’s going to be fun. Well then, Mother, shall we go change?” “Yes.” Shuichi and Ikue left the living room looking cheerful at Haruto’s reply. “Seriously, Papa likes Ootsuki-kun too much,” Ayaka said, giving a wry smile after seeing Shuichi’s earlier demeanor. In response, Haruto replied while placing the hot plate in the center of the dining table. “Being liked is something I truly appreciate.” “Really? If you ever feel annoyed or anything, tell me right away, okay?” “Annoyed? I don’t feel that way in the slightest.”

While stroking the head of Ryota, who had carried over the wrapped gyoza on a tray, Haruto replied with a smile. While Shuichi and Ikue were changing, Haruto arranged the wrapped gyoza on the hot plate and started cooking them. “Oh, right. I’m thinking of telling Papa and Mama today that we’re going to Animal Crossing Park with Ootsuki-kun.” At Ayaka’s words, Haruto, who was mixing soy sauce and chili oil to make dipping sauce for the gyoza, looked up. “Okay.” At their movie date the other day, they had promised to go to “Animal Crossing Park” the following week when Haruto had a day off from his part-time job, including Ryota. That park, with a vast site based on the theme of nature, had animal interaction areas, water play areas, and lawn areas, and they planned to bring bentos and play there all day. “Is it okay if I tell them during dinner?” “Yes, it’s fine?” To Ayaka, who asked somewhat tentatively, Haruto tilted his head slightly. “Mama will probably tease me, and Papa might go overboard…” “Ah… well, it’s alright. I don’t dislike lively atmospheres.” Haruto, sensing what she was concerned about, nodded with a wry smile. Eventually, Shuichi and Ikue, having finished changing, returned to the living room, and the five of them, including Haruto, gathered around the dining table at the Tojo residence. “I think they’re looking good, so I’ll take the lid off.” Saying that, Haruto removed the lid from the hot plate, and a large puff of steam rose, spreading the aroma of gyoza. At the crackling, popping sound that suggested crispiness, Shuichi smiled. “Oh! Don’t they look delicious?” “You made meat buns along with the gyoza?” Ikue said with a smile, noticing the occasional gigantic, meat bun-like shapes mixed in with the neatly arranged gyoza. “Those are the gyoza I made!!” To Ryota, who made a triumphant face towards his mother, Ikue let out a laugh, “Fufu.” “Oh, is that so? They’re magnificent gyoza that look very satisfying to eat.” At the conversation between the Tojo parents and child, Haruto’s mouth corners lifted, and holding a spatula in hand, he flipped the cooked gyoza. Seeing the gyoza that were perfectly golden brown, Shuichi put his hands together as if he couldn’t wait. “Well then, let’s eat!”

Starting with his words, everyone put their hands together in unison, saying “Itadakimasu,” and reached for the gyoza with their chopsticks. Ayaka, taking a bite of the hot gyoza, widened her eyes slightly and covered her mouth with her left hand. “It’s true. It’s chewier and more delicious than store-bought gyoza skins.” “Oh? Did Ootsuki-kun make the skins himself too?” Ikue, following Ayaka, also looked slightly surprised after taking a bite and asked Haruto. “Yes, I added a little more bread flour to make the skins more substantial.” “Delicious! These are exquisite, Ootsuki-kun! No, they’re truly delicious!” Shuichi took a bite of a freshly cooked gyoza, then praised Haruto’s gyoza while huffing and puffing. “Dad, the gyoza I made are delicious too! Eat one!” “Okay, okay. The one Ryota made is this one, right? …Mm! This is delicious too! You made it well.” “Hehe~” Praised by Shuichi, Ryota’s face broke into a beaming smile, and he diligently blew on the gyoza to cool it before eating it with relish. After that, they continued to enjoy dinner while happily savoring the gyoza. “Um, I have something to tell you, Papa and Mama.” Ayaka, who had been glancing at her parents every now and then, broached the topic abruptly. “Hmm? What is it?” Shuichi, who was very satisfied with Haruto’s cooking again today, turned towards his daughter in high spirits. “Well, next week, um… I’m going to Animal Crossing Park with Ootsuki-kun, taking Ryota with us.” The moment Ayaka said that, Shuichi’s face instantly lit up. “So you’re going on a date!” “D-d-, Ry-Ryota is with us too!” “Oh my, oh my! Ayaka, oh my, goodness gracious!” “S-since it’s summer vacation, Ryota wants to go out and play too, right?” As if to escape from Shuichi, who was already starting to go overboard, and Ikue, who was giving her a smug look that seemed to say “I told you so,” she turned the conversation to her brother. Ryota, being addressed, exploded with joy and looked at Haruto. “Really?! Onii-chan is taking me out to play!?” “Yes, it’s true.” “Yayyyyy!!”

Ryota raised both hands in the air and shouted with joy. Seeing their son like that, Shuichi turned his gaze towards Haruto. “Ootsuki-kun, thank you. Actually, since summer vacation started, we haven’t been able to take him anywhere yet. I was feeling guilty about that. So it’s really a great help that you’re going out to play with Ryota.” Shuichi bowed his head along with his thanks. Following him, Ikue also thanked Haruto. “Thank you, Ootsuki-kun. You’re helping us with housekeeping chores, and now this too.” “Not at all. I plan to enjoy myself on the day too.” “It helps to hear you say that.” Shuichi and Ikue, who had felt a sense of obligation because they hadn’t been able to take Ryota anywhere due to their busy work, thanked Haruto from the bottom of their hearts. There, Ayaka spoke to her parents again. “And then, on the day we go to Animal Crossing Park, we’re planning to bring bentos. So, is it okay if Ootsuki-kun and I make the bentos in our kitchen that morning?” “Of course! Feel free to use it!” Ikue immediately replied to Ayaka’s words. There, Shuichi, who was in an even better mood than before, said as he took a bite of a gyoza. “Today’s dinner is delicious, and it’s very cheerful!” After that, dinner at the Tojo household, including Haruto, continued happily and lively.

The sun had hidden more than half of its figure, burning the sky crimson. If you look at the distant sky, it is dyed purple, and the curtain of night is about to fall. In the time between day and night, Haruto walks alone through a quiet residential area. “Tōjō-san’s hand, it was soft…” Haruto naturally relaxes his mouth at the warmth of her hand he felt just moments ago. Haruto brings his left hand, which she had been holding the entire time while watching the movie and while walking Ayaka home, before his eyes. Then, along with the joy of the fact that they were holding hands like lovers, embarrassment also wells up, dyeing his face red. “If Tōjō-san was my girlfriend, it would be the best…” A beauty that makes everyone turn around, and outstanding style. If he could make such a girl his girlfriend, the sense of superiority would be immeasurable. However, regarding Ayaka’s appearance, Haruto didn’t have that much of a special feeling. Of course, there is no doubt that her appearance is very attractive, but what Haruto found most appealing about Ayaka was the atmosphere she possessed. The feminine gentle atmosphere he came to know through housekeeping, the maidenly Ayaka that couldn’t be imagined from her appearance at school. Haruto was beginning to be slightly drawn to that gap. “But well, getting into a relationship… that’s not happening… I guess.” Having spent the whole day with Ayaka, Haruto was certain that he had made a good impression on her. However, he honestly didn’t know whether that was romantic affection or not. Although their acquaintance is still short, through their interactions so far, Haruto anticipates that there’s a high possibility that Ayaka is a naturalairheaded type of girl. The good impression Ayaka has of Haruto is likely as a friend, and she might not see him as a member of the opposite sex. Yet, the possibility of

mistaking ‘love’ and ‘like’, confessing, and being shot down is certainly conceivable. “If that happens, the housekeeping part-time job after that will become hell…” Haruto’s back, imagining that moment, became chilly cold despite it being midsummer. “Tōjō-san, what does she… think of me, I wonder…” Just as Haruto muttered that quietly, the smartphone in his pocket vibrated with a buzz. Thinking it might be Ayaka, he hurriedly took out his smartphone from his pocket and checked the caller. Then, his tension dropped all at once at the name Akagi Tomoya displayed on the screen. Haruto tapped the screen with a slightly careless gesture to connect the call with Tomoya. “Stop messing around, Tomoya.” —“Huh!? An insult out of the blue!? Are you in love with me!?” To Haruto, who was taking it out on him, Tomoya also gave a rather nonsensical reply. “Calling me out of the blue, do you have some business?” —“No, it’s not business. Actually, there’s something I really wanted to tell Haru.” “Something you wanted to tell me?” Hearing Tomoya’s uncharacteristically serious tone over the phone, Haruto frowned. “What is it that you wanted to tell me?” —“Actually… today, at my house…” Haruto felt uneasy at his serious-sounding best friend’s voice, wondering if something had happened at Tomoya’s house. As if to fuel that feeling, Tomoya continued to speak in a slow tone. —“Dinner is… Sukiyaki!!” At Tomoya’s words, which changed abruptly from a serious atmosphere to a bright tone, Haruto almost slammed his smartphone onto the ground. “You bastard!! Give back my worry!!” Haruto somehow managed to resist slamming his smartphone and instead shouted at it with anger. —“What’s more! The beef we’re using is A5 rank!!” “Shut up!!” Haruto vehemently retorted to his best friend’s mysterious dinner introduction.

—“Well, my mom won it as a prize at the department store today. It’s Japan’s finest black wagyu, you know? I just had to brag about it to Haru, that’s what I thought.” TL/N: Wagyu (和牛) literally means “Japanese beef” and refers to highly marbled, tender, and flavorful beef from specific breeds raised in Japan under strict regulations. It’s prized for its rich taste and melt-in-the-mouth texture! “Oh, is that so. Good for you. See ya.” —“Hold on, hold on! You’re too blunt, aren’t you? Be more envious!” “What kind of request is that…” Haruto made a stunned face at his best friend’s words. —“You’re envious, right? It’s A5 rank, you know? Isn’t that amazing?” “Yeah yeah, amazing amazing, ah, I’m really envious~” To Haruto, who said it in a complete monotone, Tomoya still spoke as if he was in a good mood. —“Right, right? You’re envious, right?” Tomoya continued to speak as if teasing Haruto. —“You’ve probably been staring at your textbooks all day today, right? While you’re having such a boring day, I’m having black wagyu. Life is unfair, isn’t it?” Haruto slightly flinched his temple in annoyance at his best friend, who said that and laughed. “Life really is unfair, isn’t it? Maybe I got punished because I went to see a movie with Tōjō-san.” —“Yeah, you probably got puni… Huh? A movie with Tōjō-san? Hey, what’s that!? I didn’t hear about this! Tell me the details!!” “You’ve got high-grade black wagyu waiting for you, right? It’d be bad to talk for too long, so I’m gonna hang up now. See ya.” —“H- hey! Hold on a sec! Huh? Did you go on a date?” “Well, yeah.” —“Are you dating?” “That’s not the case.” —“Why not!!?” Haruto unconsciously moved the smartphone slightly away from his ear at Tomoya’s loud voice, which was half a scream. —“That’s a date with that Tōjō-san!! Why didn’t you confess!? You’re wasting a chance!!” “Wasting a chance, you say… It hurts my ears, so don’t shout too much.” —“Of course I’d shout!! The other person is that school idol!!”

Haruto forced a smile at his best friend, who was extremely excited. “Right, she’s that school idol who never said yes no matter which guy confessed. So even if I confessed after just one date, I’d just be crushed.” —“Then invite her on dates many times! Besides, Haru, you’re going to Tōjō-san’s place for your part-time job, right? Isn’t this a chance?” “I’m not doing the part-time job for that reason. Work is work, after all.” Tomoya sighed at Haruto, who gave such a serious reply. —“Anyways, hey. Did Haru invite her to that movie?” “No, Tōjō-san invited me.” When Haruto replied that, Tomoya, who had been silent for a while, spoke in a serious voice. —“About that, isn’t there a possibility that Tōjō-san likes you?” “…………That can’t be.” Haruto’s heart pounded as Tomoya put into words the slight hope he had held in a corner of his heart. —“Is that so? But suppose Tōjō-san really does like Haru, wouldn’t it be rude not to confess after even inviting you to a movie?” “You’re saying that, but you just want me to confess, right?” —“Well, yeah.” This time, Haruto let out a grand sigh at Tomoya, who gave such a carefree reply. “You just shut up and eat your sukiyaki.” —“Okay! I’ll eat heartily! If anything develops with Tōjō-san, let me know!” “I’ll never tell you.” Haruto threw a parting remark at his best friend and then hung up the call. He walked along the narrow path in the darkening residential area, looking at his left hand again. In his head, the words he had just heard were swirling around. “Isn’t there a possibility that Tōjō-san likes you?” He remembers Ayaka walking beside him with a seemingly happy expression on her face all day today. Forcing his mouth corners, which were rising on their own against his will, back to their original position with his index finger and thumb, Haruto muttered to himself. “Somehow, Tōjō-san seems likely to appear in my dream tonight…”

After letting out that mutter, Haruto’s face turned even redder at the content of his own words. ※※※ Tōjō Ayaka That night, the day after watching a movie with Ōtsuki-kun. Before going to bed, I lay on the bed and opened my smartphone. ──Today, I went to see a movie with Ōtsuki-kun!! I immediately sent a report message to Saki, who is both my best friend and my master of romance. As an extra, I also sent a bear sticker giving a brave salute with a crisp “zubishi”. Then, a call came from Saki immediately. I tapped the smartphone screen to connect the call, and Saki’s cheerful voice jumped out. —“Congratulations! How was your date with Ōtsuki-kun?” “Yeah, a success… I think.” We even held hands, so it’s okay to say it was a success, right? —“Oh! You did it!” “Yeah, thank you!” —“So? With today’s date, has your distance with Ōtsuki-kun shrunk a little?” “Probably… it shrunk to the point where we held hands?” —“Huh!? Eh? Hands? Eh? Eeeeh!!?” It’s like Saki got a disease where she can’t speak more than one character. —“Wait a minute? Eh? You went on a date holding hands with Ōtsukikun?” “Yeah, we were holding hands even while watching the movie?” —“Hold on, hold on, hold on! What’s that? Eh? Could it be that you’ve already started dating?” I also get confused by Saki’s confused voice. “Eh? No, not yet? Because Saki said not to confess yet.” —“O- okay… Is that so… You’re not dating yet…” I feel a little uneasy at Saki’s bewildered reaction. “C-could it be that holding hands on the first date was bad?”

For me, who has absolutely no dating experience, dates are an unknown thing and I don’t know the common standards. Saki even told me not to use manga or novels as reference the other day. —“No, it’s not bad… or rather, it’s good… well, how should I say it, your sense of distance is a bit bugged?” “My sense of distance is bugged…” As expected, maybe suddenly holding hands on the first date was weird? Wh- what should I do… If Ōtsuki-kun thinks I’m a weird person… “S- Saki… did I… screw up?” —“Well, um… I wonder? For now, what was the sequence of events that led to you holding hands?” When Saki asked me, I spilled everything, from holding hands after getting hit on to holding hands like lovers at the end of the movie. —“Hmm, I see, I see…” “Wh-what do you think?” As Saki seemed to be thinking deeply, my anxiety grew more and more. —“Ayaka-san, you went quite on the offensive, didn’t you?” “…Di- did I go too far?” —“Well, yeah, you went too far. This isn’t the world of manga, so suddenly holding hands like lovers, it makes people think, ‘Just hurry up and date already!’ you know.” “Eh? Can we… start dating already?” Going on dates to various places, holding hands like lovers with Ōtsukikun every time we go out, like today… Just imagining it makes me feel happy. —“Ōtsuki-kun’s reaction when you held hands wasn’t bad, right? Then, well, the possibility of success if you confess is probably high, isn’t it?” “Th-then! I’ll confess tomorrow──” —“Hold it!!” Saki sharply stopped me. —“The possibility of the confession succeeding is high, but it’s not one hundred percent. Is that still okay with Ayaka?” “Eh, but… if the possibility is high──” —“If you get rejected, that’s the end of Ayaka’s first love, you know?” At Saki’s words, I felt my chest become heavy with a dull thud. Love ending. That means, no more dates with Ōtsuki-kun, no getting closer, no deepening the relationship. No holding hands with him like today… None.

Just imagining such a future makes tears well up in my eyes. “No way… I definitely don’t want that.” —“Right? Then you want to increase the possibility even a little, right?” “Yeah, but… what should I do?” In my mind, the only method I can think of is honestly conveying these feelings to Ōtsuki-kun. —“Listen, Ayaka. When it comes to romance. Going on the offensive is important, but sometimes it’s important to not just push, but also pull, you know?” “Not just pushing, but pulling?” Pulling, does that mean suppressing my feelings for Ōtsuki-kun? —“With this date, Ōtsuki-kun must have become conscious of Ayaka.” “I-is that so?” —“Of course it is. It was holding hands after you declared him your boyfriend, right?” “Ah, that was because the people hitting on us were persistent…” Somehow, thinking back on that moment now makes me incredibly embarrassed… While I was agonizing with a red face, Saki spoke with certainty. —“But you held hands even after watching the movie, right? And with the lovers’ hold at that. This is basically stating clearly to Ōtsuki-kun, ‘I like you very much!’ isn’t it?” “Th-that’s too much, saying ‘like you very much’… Well, it is true… but ‘like you very much’…” Having it put into words again is really embarrassing. Well, I admit I like him, but “like you very much” is still a little… Hehe… —“Honestly, you held hands like lovers on the very first date, yet you’re getting shy about this.” “B- but~” —“Yes yes, and so. Ōtsuki-kun must have thought that Ayaka has feelings for him.” Saki gave a stunned reply and continued the conversation plainly. Ugh… my romance master is strict… —“But he couldn’t have been certain about Ayaka’s feelings. After all, it was nominally just to ward off men.” “Hmm. Is there a connection between that and ‘it’s important to not just push, but also pull’?”

—“Absolutely. If you can’t be certain, you get curious, right? Like, ‘Does she like me? No, but…’ And if you pull back a little there, it makes them even more curious. ‘Huh? Was I mistaken after all?’ you see.” “Isn’t that counterproductive? Ōtsuki-kun will lose interest in me.” Besides, now that I’ve realized I like Ōtsuki-kun, acting so indifferent towards him seems like it would be quite painful. —“Well, going too far will be counterproductive as Ayaka says. But if this goes well, Ōtsuki-kun will keep thinking about Ayaka and become endlessly preoccupied with her.” “Ōtsuki-kun thinking about me… endlessly…” —“Right! And before you know it, Ōtsuki-kun’s head will be filled with Ayaka!” “Ōtsuki-kun’s head is filled with me… filled with me…” —“And before he realizes it, Ōtsuki-kun will also become very fond of Ayaka!!” “Ōtsuki-kun… me… l- li-… Ugh~…” What should I do! Just imagining being confessed to by Ōtsuki-kun makes my body wiggle on its own! —“So, from now on, keep actively appealing to Ōtsuki-kun. But, occasionally, pull back a little. Keep constantly swaying Ōtsuki-kun’s heart! Got it?” “Yeah! Got it! If I do that, Ōtsuki-kun will come to like me, right?” —“Well, it’s not a certainty, though.” Maybe, even now, Ōtsuki-kun is thinking about me? If so, I’d be very happy. “I’ll do my best! I’ll push and pull Ōtsuki-kun and sway him!!” —“Right. Well, since Ayaka is currently in ‘Ōtsuki-kun Love Mode’, she might think she’s pulling when she’s actually pushing, but that might be okay too.” “Ō- Ōtsuki-kun Love Mode… I’m a woman, you know?” —“…Right. Well, if anything else comes up, I’ll give you advice.” “Yeah, thank you.” —“You’re welcome. Well then, good night.” “Good night.” After exchanging goodnight greetings, I ended the call with Saki. Not just pushing, but pulling is also important, huh… Romance is difficult, isn’t it? But…

If that goes well and this love is fulfilled, I can go on a date holding hands with Ōtsuki-kun again. At that time, as real lovers. If that happens, I want to go to various places. Shopping together, going to the beach… I want to see a movie together again. Holding hands, of course. Ōtsuki-kun’s hand, it was big and warm… Lying on the bed, I recall the sensation of Ōtsuki-kun’s hand. A hand that gently wraps around. The hand of someone I like, someone I have feelings for. Just holding hands makes my heart pound so much, yet I also feel a sense of security and happiness. Through our joined hands, my whole body is filled with joy. In the deepening drowsiness, I pulled my right hand, which I had held with Ōtsuki-kun, to my chest and wrapped it with my left hand. By doing so, I felt like I could meet him even in my dream… Today might have been the happiest day of my life. But, if I could date him, if we could become lovers, I bet that happiness would easily surpass today’s. Dreaming of such a future, I slowly closed my eyelids, believing in the amulet of my right hand held against my chest, and entrusted the continuation of this happy day to my dream. ──If only I could meet you, even in a dream…

The day after filleting the fish at the Tōjō residence, Haruto was at the karate dōjō he attended. After changing into his dōgi, Haruto felt a slight heaviness in his shoulders and kept rolling his neck. Seeing this, Ishigura, who was also changing into his dōgi, called out to him. “What’s up, Haruto? Your shoulders stiff or something?” “A little. I filleted some fish yesterday, three pretty big ones.” If it had just been the sea bream, it would have been fine, but the yellowtail and sawara were quite large, so even Haruto felt a bit fatigued. The yellowtail, in particular, had thick, sturdy bones, making it rather hard work. If it hadn’t been for the Tōjō family’s exceptionally sharp, high-end deba knife, he would have been even more tired. “What kind of giant fish did you buy that you’re still tired the next day?” Haruto gave a wry smile at Ishigura’s slightly exasperated tone. “No, I didn’t buy them. I filleted them at my part-time job.” “Oh yeah? What kind of part-time job do you have, Haruto? A fish market or something?” “No, it’s a housekeeping service.” As Haruto answered Ishigura’s question, a voice suddenly spoke from behind him. “I’ll hire Haru-senpai for life. Please do my housework forever.” “Whoa!? You scared me… Don’t just talk to me from behind like that, Shizuku.” When Haruto turned around in surprise, he saw the dōjō’s only daughter, Shizuku, standing there in her dōgi with an expressionless face. “If you can’t even sense my presence, you’ll never reach the pinnacle of karate, Haru-senpai.” “Nah, I don’t have such grand ambitions.” “It saddens me as a member of the Dōjima Dōjō that Haru-senpai’s ambition is so low.”

Though her face was blank, Shizuku, ever the smooth talker, put on a rather clumsy crying act, saying “Oyoyoyo.” “Why don’t you try to be a little more like Kazu-senpai, Haru-senpai? Kazu-senpai has perfected his fiendish face so much that he’s emitting an evil aura from his whole body.” “Hey, Shizuku, stop talking about me like I’m some kind of demon king.” “Kazu-senpai is actually from a demon clan, so he’s an opponent I, a pure human, can’t possibly beat.” Haruto played along with Shizuku’s joke. She, in turn, nodded with a blank expression as if to say, “I see, that makes sense.” “Oi, Haruto. You better be ready for today’s sparring session, you hear? And Shizuku, stop agreeing with him!” “Yes, yes, that’s not important right now.” Shizuku casually brushed off the menacing Ishigura and turned her expressionless face to Haruto. “Haru-senpai, are your shoulders stiff?” “Huh? Oh, yeah, just a little.” “Then I’ll massage them for you.” Shizuku thrust both hands out in front of Haruto, opening and closing her palms. Next to them, Ishigura grumbled, “Saying it’s not important is so mean,” but she completely ignored him. “It’s not that bad, so I’m fine.” “No, with these hands of God Hand Shizuku, Haru-senpai is guaranteed to feel good in an instant.” Shizuku said confidently, continuing to speak while wiggling her palms. “And then, Haru-senpai will become unable to live without me, and by the time the shoulder rub is over, he should be clinging to me and screaming of his eternal love.” “No, that’s scary! What kind of shoulder rub is that! That’s hypnotism!” As Haruto couldn’t help but retort, Shizuku said, “Now, now, just for a bit,” and moved behind him, starting the shoulder rub without his consent. “How is it? Feels good, right?” “Well… it does feel good.” “Fufun.” At Haruto’s words, Shizuku snorted proudly. “How about it? Can you no longer live without me?” “Ah, you’re right. I’m done for without you, Shizuku.” Haruto replied casually to Shizuku’s words.

Her shoulder rub was better than he had expected, and Haruto closed his eyes slightly, enjoying the pleasant sensation. “Haru-senpai.” “Hm?” “You let your guard down!!” Shizuku suddenly moved both hands from his shoulders to his sides and began to tickle him. “Wha-!? Eek, Shi-Shizuku! Stop, hyahyahya, stop it!!” “Oryah-oryah-oryah-oryah-oryah.” As it turned out, Haruto was extremely weak to tickling. Shizuku, who was well aware of this fact, accurately and fiercely attacked his weak points. Haruto struggled to push Shizuku away, but since she was holding him firmly from behind, he couldn’t get her off. “Hahahaha, Ka-Kazu-senpai! Eek, he-hel, help me, hahahahahaha!” “Sorya-sorya-sorya-sorya-soryaaa.” “You guys really get along, don’t you?” Ishigura watched the two frolicking with an exasperated look. Shizuku’s tickle attack continued for a while longer, and eventually, Haruto collapsed on the spot. “Have you learned the power of my God Hand, Haru-senpai?” Shizuku looked down at the breathless, collapsed Haruto and made a gesture of wiping sweat from her brow with a “phew.” Her expression, despite being blank, looked as satisfied as if she had just finished a big job. “Hah… hah… what was that all of a sudden…” Haruto, on the other hand, was completely out of breath from being forced to laugh for several minutes. “It’s punishment for toying with a maiden’s pure heart.” “Huh? A maiden’s pure heart? What’s that about?” Haruto glared lightly at Shizuku as he staggered to his feet. “Hmph.” However, Shizuku just turned her face away. “What’s with her, seriously?”

Haruto tilted his head at her sudden, mysterious behavior. Next to him, Ishigura spoke with deep feeling. “Still, that must be tough.” “You’re telling me. And Kazu-senpai, you should have stopped Shizuku sooner.” Haruto turned a slightly disgruntled expression towards Ishigura. “No, not that, the housekeeping service. Isn’t it annoying to be saddled with difficult chores every time?” “Eh? Ah, no. It’s not that I dislike it or anything. It’s the part-time job I chose for myself.” At Ishigura’s words, Haruto shook his head. Haruto had never once thought of his housekeeping work at the Tōjō residence as a chore. On the contrary, he felt a great sense of satisfaction from the smiles of the Tōjō family as they ate the food he had prepared for them. In addition to that, there was another factor that made him enjoy his housekeeping part-time job. That was the existence of the girl known at his school as the “School Idol.” Before he started the housekeeping service, he had no particular contact with her, no way of knowing what kind of person she was, and he himself hadn’t been that interested. However, as he got to know her through the housekeeping service, he learned a side of her different from the “School Idol” he saw at school, and he began to feel a kind of fondness for her cuteness and, in a good way, her normal-girl-like qualities. “I think taking this housekeeping job was the right decision.” “Oh, is that so? Good for you for finding a good job.” Haruto felt that he had been able to build a good relationship with the Tōjō family. Being teased about his relationship with Ayaka, like yesterday, was a little awkward and embarrassing, but it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, there were even moments when his heart fluttered a little. “I really did find a good job.” As Haruto answered with a natural smile, Shizuku, who had been looking away, approached him again. “Haru-senpai, can I tickle you one more time?” “Of course not!!” Wary of Shizuku, who was raising her hands to attack, Haruto took some distance from her. “Why do you want to tickle me!”

“Because I felt vaguely irritated. Haru-senpai, you must accept your fate of being defeated by me in silence.” “Don’t be ridiculous! Is there any reason as irrational as that!” Until practice started, Haruto had to be on guard against Shizuku, who was trying to get behind him at every opportunity. ※※※ The regular contract for housekeeping services that Haruto signed with the Tōjō family. The terms were three times a week for three hours a day. This summer vacation, Haruto, who wanted to earn money while also progressing with his studies, was quite satisfied with this well-balanced contract. “Phew, bathroom cleaning, complete.” Today, at Ikue’s request, he was cleaning the bathroom. From mold, of course, to water stains, slime in the drain, and dust on the door’s weatherstripping. Having thoroughly cleaned every last bit of it, Haruto wore a satisfied expression at the sight of the bathroom, which was now shining with what could be called cleanliness. “Alright then, next is cleaning the sink—whoa!?” “Kya! Ah… I-I’m sorry!” Having finished cleaning the bathroom, Haruto turned to move on to the next task of cleaning the sink, only to recoil in a slightly exaggerated way, surprised by Ayaka, who had been standing right behind him at some point. Having had a terrible experience with Shizuku the other day, the scene flashed back in his mind, causing Haruto to have a slightly more over-thetop reaction than usual. Ayaka, in turn, seemed to have been surprised by the startled Haruto, and her body flinched. “…Um, is there something you need?” Haruto asked, thinking she had come to make a request regarding the housekeeping. However, Ayaka’s eyes darted around as she mumbled, not speaking clearly. “Ah, um… you see? There’s something I want to tell you, Ōtsuki-kun, or rather, ask you… if it’s okay… um… you see? Mo…mo…mo…” “Mo?” “Mo…mo…movie…Type A!?” “Huh?”

Haruto stared blankly at her, not understanding the meaning of the sudden, disconnected word she had uttered. In response, Ayaka began to explain frantically. “R-Right! I was wondering if your blood type was A, Ōtsuki-kun. You know, since you’re so clean and meticulous with your cleaning and all…” “Oh, my blood type?” Haruto nodded, finally understanding Ayaka’s rapid-fire explanation. She, in turn, nodded her head repeatedly, saying “Uh-huh, uh-huh.” “No, my blood type is O. I’m doing a thorough job now because I’m cleaning for work, but when it comes to cleaning my own room, I’m pretty careless.” “Oh, I see. So you’re Type O, Ōtsuki-kun.” Ayaka smiled with a somewhat happy, bashful expression at Haruto, who said with a smile, “I can be pretty rough around the edges, you know.” “What about Tōjō-san?” “Eh?” “What’s your blood type, Tōjō-san?” “Oh, me? I’m Type B.” “Oh, really? That’s a little surprising.” Haruto looked slightly surprised by Ayaka’s blood type. “You think so? What blood type did you think I was, Ōtsuki-kun?” “Let’s see… we didn’t interact much before, and you had a mysterious air about you, Tōjō-san, so I just assumed you were AB. Well, it’s a complete stereotype, though.” “Do I really seem that mysterious?” Ayaka asked, tilting her head at Haruto’s words. “Before we started interacting like this, you did seem a little… mysterious, or rather, a bit like… a flower on a high peak.” “Is that so… Um, what about now? Do I still seem like that now?” Ayaka asked with a slight upward glance, as if to gauge Haruto’s reaction. Finding her expression adorable, Haruto looked away slightly as he answered. “It’s a little different now, it’s more like… in a good way, you’re a normal girl. I feel a greater sense of familiarity with you than before.” “Really!?” “Y-Yes.” Ayaka smiled happily. To hide his own face, which was probably turning a little red, Haruto looked to the side and scratched his cheek.

Seeing her cheerful demeanor, Haruto decided to bring up the topic he had been looking for the right timing to mention ever since he arrived at the Tōjō house today. “By the way, um… about the zoo trip we talked about at the home center before.” “Ah! Y-Yes!” At the word “zoo,” Ayaka reacted excessively, leaning forward slightly as she nodded at Haruto. With her leaning forward, the distance between them shortened a bit. Trying not to be too conscious of this distance, Haruto continued to speak, maintaining his composure as much as possible. “About the schedule, next week’s—” “About that! If it’s okay with you, Ōtsuki-kun—” “Ōtsuki-kun, are you done with the bathroom cleaning? Oh? Ayaka?” As if to cut Haruto off, Ayaka tried to say something. However, she was interrupted by Ikue, who had come to check on Haruto, before she could finish. Seeing the two of them with slightly flushed faces, exuding an awkward atmosphere, Ikue’s face spread into a wide grin. “Oh? Oh my, oh my? Looks like I was interrupting? I’m so sorry~” With a grinning smile plastered on her face, Ikue said, “Don’t mind me, please enjoy yourselves, you young people~” as she tried to slide the door that served as a partition for the sink area closed. Her daughter swiftly put a stop to her mother’s actions. “Hey, Mom! Don’t say weird things!” Ayaka slid the door, which was being closed by Ikue’s hand, back to its fully open position. “Oh? Weren’t you two having a secret meeting?” “Of course we weren’t!?” “That’s true. If you were having a secret meeting, you’d do it outside, not at home.” “That’s not what I meant!!” “Um… I’ve finished cleaning the bathroom and was about to start on the sink.” Haruto shyly interjected into the somewhat familiar mother-daughter communication. “Thank you, Ōtsuki-kun. You’re a lifesaver. Also, I’m sorry to ask, but when you’re done with that, could you clean the toilet as well?” “Yes, understood.”

“Thanks. Well then, Ayaka, I’ll be leaving, so you can resume your secret meeting with Ōtsuki-kun~” “I told you! That’s not what it is!” Ayaka retorted, but Ikue brushed her off with a light “Yes, yes” and left. After glaring resentfully at her mother’s back for a while, Ayaka turned to face Haruto once Ikue was completely gone. “Sorry, Ōtsuki-kun. My mom always says weird things.” “Not at all, you have a very fun mother. I’m envious of you, Ayaka-san.” “Eeh, you think so?” “I do… Just having a mother is something special.” “…Ōtsuki-kun?” Haruto spoke about mothers. His expression was fleeting, with a somewhat sorrowful air. Seeing him like that, Ayaka couldn’t help but call his name. Haruto then seemed to snap back to reality and smiled as if to cover it up. “Besides, watching you get embarrassed by Ikue-san’s teasing, Tōjō-san, is very cute.” “Cu-!?” Caught off guard by the sudden comment, Ayaka’s face turned red all the way to her ears as she flusteredly averted her gaze, looking flustered. “To think that my embarrassed face is cute… You’re so mean, Ōtsukikun…” “No, ah… I’m sorry.” Ayaka protested, fidgeting shyly with her lips slightly pouted. For a moment, Haruto felt a charm in her cute gesture that seemed to draw him in. “Um… so, about the schedule for the zoo.” Haruto tried to maintain his composure by returning to the topic. At his words, Ayaka once again cut him off in a flustered manner. “Ah, r-right, about that! Are you free tomorrow, Ōtsuki-kun?” “Eh? Tomorrow? Let’s see, I was planning to study all day tomorrow, so I don’t have any particular plans to go out.” “I see, studying… Um, you know. Could we meet outside tomorrow? We could discuss the zoo schedule then? And… while we’re at it, um, w-we could see a movie or something… I was thinking, w-what do you think?” Tomorrow was a day when housekeeping was not scheduled, and Haruto had planned to spend the entire day studying. Hearing this, Ayaka invited Haruto with a lack of confidence.

“A movie?” “Y-Yes… Yesterday, completely by chance, I got some discount tickets from a friend…” “I see. Hmm.” As Haruto thought for a moment, Ayaka began to string words together quickly. “Ah! But studying is important too! You don’t have to force yourself! It’s just that, you know… if my mom or dad heard us talking about going to the zoo at home, it would turn into a big deal. So, I thought it would be nice if we could talk at a cafe or something. But it’s not right to make you come out just for that, so since I have these discount tickets from a friend, I thought it would be nice if we could go to a movie together… But if you’re busy with studying… you don’t have to… um…” Ayaka’s voice gradually became smaller, losing its momentum. Eventually, she looked down completely. In response to her, Haruto answered in a cheerful tone. “No, I want to go too. To the movies.” As soon as Haruto said that, Ayaka’s downcast face lifted up. “…Really?” “Yes, I was just wondering what movies are showing right now.” “So, we can… go to the movies together tomorrow?” “Yes, let’s go.” At those words, Ayaka’s previously anxious expression transformed into a very bright one. Seeing her expression, Haruto was momentarily captivated, thinking that this was exactly what ‘smiling like a blooming flower’ meant. “Alright then, um, is there a movie you want to see, Ōtsuki-kun?” “Let’s see… can I check for a moment?” Haruto asked Ayaka’s permission before taking out his smartphone to look up the movies currently showing. Then, looking at the lineup, he groaned inwardly, ‘Nghh.’ To be honest, there were no films currently showing that made him think, “I want to see this!” But Haruto, unable to say that directly, asked for Ayaka’s opinion as well. “There are a lot of movies showing, it’s hard to decide. Is there anything you want to see, Tōjō-san?” When Haruto asked, Ayaka replied with great excitement. “I know! It’s so hard to choose! But, I’m a little interested in this one.”

So saying, Ayaka operated her own smartphone and showed him the screen. Displayed there was the promotional page for a certain movie. “…Summer Sky and Love.” Haruto muttered the movie title. It was a double-lead film starring a currently popular handsome young actor and a rapidly rising idol, what is commonly called a “youthful heartthrobbing movie.” The movie, popular mainly among young women and nicknamed “Natsukoi,” was ranking high in the summer Japanese film charts. “Do you like this kind of thing, Tōjō-san?” Having seen her demeanor at school, Haruto had assumed she wasn’t interested in things like romance and had a dry attitude towards such matters. But perhaps Ayaka was also a normal high school girl who dreamed of a romantic love. “I wonder? Are you not interested in this kind of thing, Ōtsuki-kun?” Haruto smiled softly at Ayaka, who looked at him with a mix of hope and anxiety. “No, I want to see this movie too. So, shall we go see ‘Natsukoi’ tomorrow?” “Really? Are you sure about this movie?” “Yes, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” As Haruto smiled back at Ayaka, who was confirming as if to make sure, she also broke into a dazzling, overflowing smile. “Yeah! I’m so excited!!” At her overly excited smile, Haruto’s own heart began to feel cheerful and excited as well. “Alright then, shall we meet at the station building at ten o’clock tomorrow?” “Uh-huh! That sounds good!” Ayaka, who was nodding happily, remembered something as if with a start and turned her smartphone towards Haruto. “Um… our contact info… want to exchange it?” “Oh, you’re right.” If they were going to meet up, it would be smoother if they knew each other’s contact information. “Then, could you scan my screen?” “Okay.”

Haruto displayed a QR code with his chat app information on his smartphone and showed it to Ayaka. “I got it. I’ll send you a message then.” “Yes, please.” Immediately after her words, a ‘shupo’ sound effect came from Haruto’s smartphone. When he checked his phone, he saw that Ayaka had sent him a sticker of a rabbit with both hands raised in a ‘banzai’ pose, along with the message ‘Looking forward to it!’ “I was able to register you on my end too.” “Yeah… Looking forward to talking with you from now on.” “Ah, yes. Likewise, please take care of me.” “…Well then, sorry for interrupting your cleaning.” After a brief, awkward silence, Ayaka shyly yet happily gave a small wave and left. Left alone in the sink area after Ayaka was gone, Haruto had a thought. “Hm? If we exchanged contact info, couldn’t we just discuss the zoo schedule with that?” According to Ayaka’s story, she wanted to meet outside because she didn’t want her family to overhear their conversation, but if they communicated via smartphone, there would be no need to go out. And yet, Ayaka had invited him to a movie. “Is this because Tōjō-san is a bit of a klutz, or is it…” A single possibility welled up inside Haruto. The moment he thought of it, his heartbeat naturally quickened. ※※※ After finishing his housekeeping job at the Tōjō residence and returning home, Haruto spread his reference books on the living room table and devoted himself to studying. “Haruto dear, are you still studying?” His grandmother, dressed in her nightclothes, asked as she placed a teacup filled with tea in front of Haruto. “Thanks, Grandma. I’ll go to bed soon too. I have to go out tomorrow.” “Oh? Is that so?” His grandmother’s face lit up with a slight smile at the news that her grandson was going out for a change. “Yeah, I’m going to see a movie.”

“A movie, that’s rare. Are you going with Tomoya-kun?” Haruto’s best friend, Tomoya, was also his childhood friend, so his grandmother knew him well. “No, not with Tomoya. Um, I’m going with a classmate.” “Oh my, oh my, could it be a girl?” “Ah, yeah, it is.” Haruto said with a slight hint of embarrassment, bringing the teacup to his lips as if to hide his shyness. “I see, I see. Then, it’s a date tomorrow.” “Bfft! A-A date?” At his grandmother’s words, Haruto inadvertently spat out the tea he was about to drink. “Grandma, you’re wrong. It’s not a date. I just have something I need to talk to her about, and we decided to see a movie on the side—” “Haruto.” “Y-Yes.” His grandmother called his name, interrupting him mid-sentence. It was a habit of hers since he was little, and Haruto reflexively straightened his back and replied. “Listen here, Haruto. When you go out with a woman, just the two of you, it’s a date. Even if the woman doesn’t think of it that way, a man should treat it as a date and escort her with all his might. That’s proper etiquette, the behavior of a gentleman. Understood?” “Yes.” When Haruto replied obediently, his grandmother nodded in satisfaction. “You see, women put in a considerable amount of time and effort when they go out with a man. That’s why, a man must appreciate that effort, praise her, take care of her, and be gentle. And you should do it nonchalantly, without boasting or showing off.” “Yeah, I understand, Grandma. Tomorrow, I’ll do my best to not be rude to her… on our date.” “Yes, yes, do your best.” His grandmother smiled gently and said, “Good night,” before leaving the living room. Left alone, Haruto thought about the words his grandmother had just said to him. “It’s true, as a matter of courtesy towards women, escorting her properly is a given for a man.”

His grandmother’s way of thinking might be a bit old-fashioned in this day and age. But Haruto, who had been told since he was a child to ‘be kind to women,’ decided he needed to escort Ayaka properly tomorrow and put a temporary stop to his studying. “I should look up some cafes for after the movie…” When he went out with friends like Tomoya, he usually just wandered around without any particular plan, but he couldn’t do that with Ayaka. He needed to research shops and other places beforehand. As Haruto was researching various things for tomorrow, a notification from a messaging app appeared at the top of his smartphone screen. “Oh, it’s from Tōjō-san.” Haruto opened the app and checked the chat. —Are you still awake? Along with that message, a sticker of a rabbit peeking out from behind a wall was sent. The time was just before 9 p.m. His grandmother had already gone to bed, but for the young Haruto, it was still too early to sleep. —Yes, I’m awake. Along with his reply, Haruto sent a sticker of a bear burning with fighting spirit. —I’m so excited for tomorrow! I’m worried I won’t be able to sleep tonight… —I’m excited too, I can only sleep at night. —That’s just normal sleeping!! When Haruto sent a joke, Ayaka sent back a retort along with a sticker of a rabbit delivering a fierce comeback to a bear, saying ‘Why, I oughta!’ Seeing that, Haruto let out a small laugh, “Fufu.” —Please take care of me tomorrow. —Yeah! I should be the one saying that!! From the content of the messages she sent, he felt as if Ayaka was smiling from ear to ear on the other side of the screen, and Haruto found himself smiling naturally as well. —I absolutely can’t be late tomorrow, so let’s go to bed early. —Yeah, you’re right. —Think you can sleep? —I’ll do my best!! —Well then, good night. —Good night. See you tomorrow.

Ayaka’s reply. At the end of her final message, ‘See you tomorrow,’ there was a heart mark, and Haruto’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. “Calm down, me. This doesn’t have any deep meaning.” He had heard that some women frequently use heart marks just because they’re cute. Of course, the mark itself has no meaning. They just use it because it’s cute. Surely, the heart mark in the message from Ayaka had a similar meaning. It shouldn’t have any special significance. Haruto gently placed a hand on his chest, as if to calm the pounding in his heart that didn’t seem likely to subside for a while. ※※※ The next day, after finishing his early morning studies, which had progressed less than usual, Haruto took a shower, got dressed, and styled his hair with a product he rarely used. Finally, he checked his whole body in a full-length mirror. “Yep, nothing out of place.” Haruto nodded after checking his appearance. As someone who was escorting a woman, a clean and neat appearance was the bare minimum of etiquette. Haruto, faithfully following his grandmother’s teachings, got ready and headed for the entrance. “Grandma, I’m heading out.” “Alright, be careful.” “Yeah.” Seen off by his grandmother, Haruto headed to the station building, the meeting place with Ayaka. It took about a twenty-minute train ride from the town where Haruto lived to the station building. For the past few days, it had been continuously clear, as if any weather other than sunny had been forgotten. Fed up with the relentless heat wave, Haruto stepped out of the air-conditioned train and headed to the meeting place with Ayaka. “Hmm, I’m about twenty minutes early for our meeting.” He had left home with plenty of time to spare, but it seemed he had left with too much. Thinking that, Haruto headed for the plaza in front of the station building. The plaza had benches and large art installations, and it was often used as a meeting spot. Today too, several people were waiting for someone, sitting on benches or leaning against the art while fiddling with their smartphones.

Haruto noticed that a corner of the plaza was somewhat buzzing. “Hm? Is something going on?” Sometimes, street performers would put on shows in this plaza. Since he had time to kill until the meeting time, Haruto approached the buzzing area to watch some street performance and kill time. As he got closer, he could hear the voices of the people around, especially the men. “Hey, isn’t that girl insane? She’s gotta be a celebrity.” “Think she’s waiting for her boyfriend? Should we take a shot and talk to her?” “There’s no way she’s a normal person, right? A model? An idol?” “And her figure is insane, isn’t it?” Haruto tilted his head at the content of the chattering conversations. It didn’t seem like they were watching a street performance. Perhaps there was a model or an idol-type person for a drama or magazine shoot, and a crowd of onlookers had gathered. Deciding he might as well take a quick look himself, Haruto also gave in to his curiosity and lightly parted the crowd to see the idol or model everyone was focused on. And then, the person at the center of attention came into Haruto’s view. Instantly, the summer heat he had been feeling was blown away in a flash. “Tōjō-san!?” Haruto let the name slip out. Several people nearby looked at him with puzzled expressions. Ayaka, perhaps aware that all eyes were on her, stood still, looking down uncomfortably. Her outfit consisted of a black flared skirt on the bottom and a white offthe-shoulder top, over which she wore a thin cardigan. The off-the-shoulder top was not very revealing, with a rather modest design, and since she was also wearing a cardigan, her appearance was elegant. However, her good figure still managed to attract male gazes, and combined with her beauty, even passing men would glance at her once or twice. Once again, Haruto was made keenly aware of the sheer power of Tōjō Ayaka, the “School Idol.” Haruto felt a slight fear that if he were to call out to her now, he would be beaten to a pulp by a crowd burning with jealousy. But he couldn’t just not talk to Ayaka. He had to brace himself and go for it. Just as he steeled himself, Ayaka happened to look up, and their eyes met.

In that instant, her uncomfortable and anxious expression changed to a radiant smile. “Ōtsuki-kun!” At Ayaka’s smile, which was like the sun itself, sighs escaped from several men, and a few stood with their mouths agape in a daze. And a considerable number of people stared intently at Haruto, the recipient of her smile. Receiving all those gazes, Haruto smiled at Ayaka, who was approaching him at a half-running quick walk. “I’m sorry, Tōjō-san. Did I make you wait?” “No, not at all! I just got here too, so it’s okay!”

Given the crowd that had formed around her, “just got here” was probably a lie, but he wouldn’t do something as boorish as to point that out. Haruto said with a smile still on his face. “Well then, shall we go?” “Yeah!” Ayaka replied so cheerfully. Walking beside her, Haruto felt various gazes of jealousy, envy, and more, and had a premonition that today would be a very tough day. But even as he thought that, Haruto’s heart was pounding a little. However, trying not to let that excitement show on his face, he maintained his composure and headed for the station building. “I’m excited for the movie today.” Beside him, Ayaka walked with a spring in her step, smiling at him. “Yes, I’m looking forward to it too.” Haruto, feeling dazzled by her charming, beaming smile, opened his mouth to speak after a short pause, having made up his mind. “You look… very lovely today, Tōjō-san.” “Huh!? Y-You think so?” Ayaka was clearly dressed in her “going-out” clothes today. As a matter of courtesy to her, who had clearly dressed up for today, Haruto had been thinking he had to compliment her, but for an adolescent boy, saying it out loud was quite embarrassing, and he was only just now able to say it. At Haruto’s words, Ayaka’s shoulders twitched as she looked at him shyly. “Yes, today Tōjō-san has an air of a mature woman, yet also a sense of cuteness, and, um… I think you’re very… charming.” As Haruto said this, he felt his own face turning red. If possible, he would have liked to compliment Ayaka more smoothly and casually, but his shyness won out, and he couldn’t say it as he wanted, his words getting a little stuck. “Y-Yeah… thanks…” Ayaka, on the other hand, thanked him in a small voice while looking down. From her reaction, Haruto started to worry, wondering if his words just now were too cheesy. Maybe they were creepy. This anxious feeling slowly spread in his heart, wondering if he was properly executing the gentlemanly conduct his grandmother had told him about last night. Just then, Ayaka, who had been looking down, abruptly lifted her face to look at Haruto.

“Um… you look cool today, too, Ōtsuki-kun.” Ayaka said with a shy, upward glance. Its destructive power blew away Haruto’s gloomy thoughts in an instant. “You always are, Ōtsuki-kun, but today you seem more, um… mature…” Haruto felt his heart pound as Ayaka told him this, even while blushing. At the same time, he understood why the boys at school were all confessing to her. He felt he had caught a glimpse of the reason why Ayaka was so popular as to be called the “School Idol.” Haruto and Ayaka complimented each other, both blushing, and arrived at the movie floor on the top level of the station building. The lighting, a little dimmer than on the other floors, and the unique caramel-like scent of the movie theater tickled their nostrils. After purchasing the tickets they had reserved in advance from the vending machine, the two of them looked towards the popcorn counter, which was wafting an enticingly sweet aroma. “When you watch movies, Tōjō-san, are you the type to buy popcorn and drinks?” “It depends on the time, I guess? I can’t eat that much, so I often share with friends.” “Then, shall we do that this time as well?” “Yeah, let’s do that.” “Understood. Then, I’ll go buy it, so please wait a moment.” Since the order counter area was crowded with people, Haruto had Ayaka wait while he went to line up by himself. Perhaps because it was the summer vacation season, there were quite a lot of people, and three lines had formed in front of the counter waiting to order. “This is going to take a while.” Muttering that, Haruto got in at the back of the middle line. “Well, we have plenty of time.” Since they had met earlier than their scheduled time, there was plenty of time until the movie started. Haruto let out a small sigh as he stood in the slowly moving line. Being away from Ayaka, he was finally able to take a breather, no longer feeling the gazes that had been constantly on him until just a moment ago. “Does Tōjō-san get exposed to these kinds of looks every time she goes out? This must be tough.” Feeling sorry for Ayaka, Haruto casually glanced over to where she was waiting. There, he saw Ayaka with a troubled expression on her face, being

approached by three college-aged men. Spotting that scene, Haruto, who was just about to be able to place his order, left the line and hurried back to Ayaka’s side. “Um, excuse me.” When Haruto called out in a slightly loud voice, the three men noticed his presence and turned their faces towards him. “Oh? Did she have a boyfriend?” A man with light brown hair and many piercings looked at Haruto with a slightly surprised expression. “I see, you were on a date. Our bad. Sorry about that~” Another man, also with brown hair and piercings, lightly raised his hand to Ayaka in apology. “Ah, no. Um, it’s okay.” Ayaka said this as she sidled closer to Haruto, who had returned. Watching this, the third man, a man with flashy red hair and piercings in his eyelids and lips, grinned and said in a high-energy tone. “Eh!? Is he really your boyfriend!? You’re just friends, right!? If that’s the case, why don’t the five of us hang out? Let’s go do some karaoke or darts!” “No, we’re planning to see a movie now.” Haruto showed a resolute attitude towards the slightly pushy red-haired man. However, the red-haired man showed no signs of backing down and remained smiling. “Is that so? Nah, we’ll totally wait, totally! In fact, why don’t we watch the movie with you! Right?” When the red-haired man said this to the other two, the brown-haired man who had apologized to Ayaka earlier gave a wry smile. “Dude, stop being so annoying. It’s not fair to them. They’re on a date.” “Eh? Are they really on a date? No way, right? They’re just friends, right? Hey?” The red-haired man asked, peeking at Ayaka, who was half-hiding behind Haruto. Annoyed by the man’s actions, Haruto was about to open his mouth to retort when Ayaka, who was behind him, spoke before he could. “He is my boyfriend!! W-We’re dating! A-And… um, we’re on a d-date, so! Um, if you could please leave…” Haruto took over after Ayaka, whose voice trailed off at the end. “…So as she said, could you please stop interfering with our date?” For a moment, Haruto’s thoughts froze at her statement. However, he quickly recovered and spoke in a way that warned off the red-haired man.

“Is that so? Seriously? Then, let me apologize, okay? A real apology. Hey? An apology is fine, right?” Even after being told this much, the red-haired man tried to persist and reached out his hand towards Ayaka, who was behind Haruto. In that instant, Haruto took a half-step to the side to block the man’s arm, completely hiding Ayaka behind his back. At the same time, he glared at the red-haired man with sharp eyes. “You’re being a nuisance. Please stop.” Haruto quietly stated in a lower voice, his eyes filled with the kind of fighting spirit one would see in a karate match as he looked at the redhaired man. “W-What’s your problem? I just invited her, that’s all.” The red-haired man finally flinched at Haruto’s aura. At that point, the other two brown-haired men stepped in to stop him. “Dude, seriously stop! It’s not fair to them! Come on, let’s go!” “Yeah, really sorry about that~ Enjoy your date~” “Hey, hey! Stop it! Don’t pull me!” Saying such things, the three men boisterously left Haruto and Ayaka. Seeing them go, Haruto also exhaled, releasing the slight karate-mode tension he had been in. “Phew… he was a rather pushy person, wasn’t he?” “Y-Yeah. It was a little scary. I’m glad you came back, Ōtsuki-kun…” “No, it was my mistake for leaving you alone, Tōjō-san. I should have predicted that you would get hit on. I’m sorry.” Haruto bowed his head, and Ayaka hurriedly shook her head. “No! It’s not your fault, Ōtsuki-kun! And, I’m sorry. For… um… saying you were my… boyfriend.” Ayaka said, looking down apologetically. Haruto smiled and replied. “No, that guy was pretty pushy, so he wouldn’t have backed down unless you said something like that.” With a person like that red-haired man, you have to be a little exaggerated and clear to get your point across. “Yeah, um… you didn’t mind, did you, Ōtsuki-kun? Being told that you’re dating me…” “Of course I don’t mind. I’m actually happy about it.” “Really!?” At Haruto’s words, Ayaka’s previously anxious expression transformed into a bright one.

“It’s true. Feel free to use me as a man-repellent to your heart’s content.” “Th-Then… um… well… no, never mind.” Ayaka started to say something but stopped midway, and Haruto tilted his head. “What is it? If there’s something, please don’t hesitate to say it.” “…Is it okay?” “Of course.” “…Then. Um… hold… hands?” Ayaka said in a voice so quiet it could barely be heard, her face turning red all the way to her ears. “Hands?” Haruto couldn’t help but ask again, and Ayaka gave a small nod. “If you don’t mind, Ōtsuki-kun… I thought we’d look more like a couple that way. And then, something like what just happened probably won’t happen again…” “Oh… I-I see.” What she said had a point. If they were walking around holding hands, it would be obvious to any onlooker that they were a couple. No one would dare try to hit on them like before. “Are you okay with it, Tōjō-san?” “Me… yeah.” After nodding, Ayaka added in an extremely small voice, like a tiny drop of water falling into a puddle, “If it’s with you, Ōtsuki-kun.” “I see… Then, shall we hold hands?” “Y-Yeah.” Hearing Ayaka’s reply, Haruto somewhat awkwardly held out one hand. Ayaka, in turn, held out her hand. Haruto carefully extended his hand towards Ayaka’s slender white hand. When their hands finally made a light chon contact, both of them flinched with a jolt of their shoulders and pulled their hands apart, even though they had just brought them close. “…” “…” The two of them silently met each other’s gaze, then silently averted their eyes again. Haruto steeled himself, quickly reached out, and took Ayaka’s hand. The moment he did, Ayaka’s shoulder twitched just like before, but this time she

didn’t pull her hand away and lightly squeezed Haruto’s hand back. “…Ah, the popcorn, should we buy some?” Right after taking Ayaka’s hand, Haruto remembered he was in the middle of buying popcorn. Haruto said, looking at their joined hands. The area around the order counter was still crowded, and it seemed like it would be a nuisance to others to stand in line holding hands. “…It’s okay. I… don’t want… to let go… of your hand.” Ayaka replied in her still barely audible voice. Her face was now redder than it had ever been. “I… see.” Thinking that his own face was probably red too, Haruto gently pulled on their joined hands. “Well then… shall we go see the movie?” “…Yeah.” Ayaka obediently let Haruto lead her by the hand. To Haruto, her adorable demeanor made the jealous gazes from those around them seem completely irrelevant. The two of them entered the theater, still holding hands. Haruto checked the seat numbers written on the ticket with his free hand and made his way to their seats. Since they entered the theater quite a bit before the start time, there were few other people, and the two were able to reach their two adjacent seats without letting go of their hands. “These are our seats.” “Yeah.” Ever since they had started holding hands, Ayaka had been very demure, and the words she spoke were short and her voice small. “Well then, shall we sit?” “Yeah.” To fold down the seat, which was currently upright, Haruto tried to let go of Ayaka’s hand for a moment. As he did, she squeezed his hand tightly, as if reluctant to let go. As if to say, ‘Don’t let go.’ However, it was only for a moment, so Haruto let go of her hand anyway. The two of them sat down in their chairs in silence. Her action just before letting go of her hand made Haruto feel somewhat restless, and he placed his hand on the armrest.

Then, the back of his hand was enveloped in a soft, warm sensation. Haruto instinctively looked down at his own hand. There, he saw Ayaka’s small white hand, shyly placed on top of his. When he looked up, he saw her looking down, as if to avoid his gaze. So, does this mean she wants to hold hands again? Haruto guessed Ayaka’s intention and, as a test, turned his hand over to meet her palm to palm. Immediately, Ayaka squeezed Haruto’s hand tightly. Haruto, very curious about Ayaka’s expression now, stealthily glanced at her face. Then, he met the eyes of Ayaka, who was smiling small and happily, though shyly. Her expression was so lovely that Haruto was overcome with the urge to keep looking at her forever. However, embarrassed by their eyes meeting, Ayaka quickly turned her face towards the screen. The large screen in front of them was still blank. But Ayaka was staring intently at the blank white screen as if a movie were already playing. “We still have quite a bit of time.” “…Yeah.” “The trailers haven’t even started yet.” “…Yeah.” “The number of people is starting to increase a little.” “…Yeah.” “…” “…” The conversation went nowhere, and Haruto looked around, trying to find something to talk about. Then, Ayaka spoke in her usual small voice. “…T-Today’s weather is really nice, isn’t it?” “Eh? Ah, ah, yes. It was a clear day, wasn’t it?” “Yeah… a clear day.” “Yes… um…” The conversation stopped. In the first place, talking about the weather in a dimly lit, windowless theater was proof that they were out of topics. “…Do you think the trailers will start soon?” “…They look like they’re about to start…” The number of people in the theater had increased compared to before. Haruto, feeling slightly anxious about the stalled conversation, decided to take a firm stance and try to get through it with a relaxed attitude.

“…” “…” A silent moment passed between the two of them. Because of the silence, Haruto became even more conscious of his hand holding Ayaka’s. Her slender white palm, which had been a little cool when he first held it, was now faintly warm. Tōjō Ayaka, reputed to be the cutest girl in Haruto’s school, the “School Idol.” The situation of sitting next to her in a movie theater, holding hands, made Haruto feel his heart beat uncontrollably faster. In his mind, which was about to be overwhelmed by the warmth transmitted from his left hand, Haruto thought. He could understand holding hands to ward off men. But wasn’t it unnecessary to hold hands while watching a movie? However, in the current situation where it felt like Ayaka had no intention of letting go, a convenient interpretation popped into Haruto’s mind. He peeked at Ayaka’s condition out of the corner of his eye. As always, she was staring at the screen with her cheeks flushed. Looking at Ayaka’s side profile, Haruto reconsidered his thoughts. Haruto had only recently started interacting with Ayaka. In that time, he hadn’t done anything that would make her develop feelings for him, he thought, shaking his head slightly. She didn’t dislike him, but there was nothing that would make her like him either. Haruto tried to think as calmly as possible, dispelling the convenient interpretation for himself. As he was thinking this while looking at her out of the corner of his eye, Ayaka’s gaze, which had been on the screen, suddenly turned towards Haruto, and their eyes met squarely. “!?” “Huh!?” Haruto hastily turned his gaze forward, and Ayaka looked down. Just as an awkward atmosphere was about to settle between them again, the lights in the theater dimmed a notch at just the right moment, and advertisements appeared on the screen. “The ads have started.” “Yeah, they’ve started.” The conversation was still short, but with the images flowing in front of them, the awkwardness was somewhat alleviated.

Haruto absentmindedly watched the camera that urged against movie piracy with sharp dance moves, thinking about Ayaka’s reaction. Looking at her reaction just now, he couldn’t help but have some expectations. However, he also had a strong feeling that it might be a misunderstanding. Haruto, who still had a strong impression of the Ayaka from school, had a strong image of her as someone who had no connection to things like love at first sight. After the ads finished, he was vaguely watching the trailers for upcoming movies and worrying about such things, when the theater finally went completely dark. On the screen, the triangular logo of a movie production company jumped out from the crashing waves against the rocks. “It’s starting.” “Yeah… I’m excited.” “Me too.” After that short conversation, the movie began. The movie starts with a depiction of a male high school student played by a handsome young actor and a female high school student played by a rapidly rising idol, living out their everyday lives at school before summer vacation. Haruto was relieved to be freed from the stalled conversation and awkward silence. But that was short-lived. Another problem began to trouble Haruto. The movie they were watching was what is commonly called a “youthful heart-throbbing movie.” Therefore, the movie was filled with heartthrobbing gestures such as “head pats,” “back hugs,” “arm grabs,” and “chin lifts.” Every time such a scene appeared, Ayaka would let out a sigh like “haa” or “hou” and stare at the screen with sparkling eyes. If that was all, it would have been no problem for Haruto. He would have just thought to himself, ‘Tōjō-san is quite, no, very much a maiden at heart,’ and that would have been the end of it. However, they were currently holding hands. And, probably unconsciously, she would let out a sigh and at the same time lightly squeeze Haruto’s palm. Every time Ayaka squeezed his palm, Haruto’s heart would pound, and he would glance at her expression out of the corner of his eye, captivated by her face, which was shining with fascination for the movie.

If this kept happening, the content of the movie would not enter his head at all. As time passed like this, and the movie was about to reach its midpoint, Ayaka continued to unconsciously squeeze his hand without mercy, putting a strain on Haruto’s heart. In response to her, Haruto began to feel a sense of rivalry. Having a somewhat competitive nature, he did not take kindly to being the only one feeling flustered by Ayaka. It wasn’t that he disliked the current situation, but being on the receiving end of it all the time didn’t suit Haruto’s disposition. Haruto waited intently for the right moment. He shook off the distracting thoughts from his mind and desperately tried to calm his pounding heart. He focused his gaze on the screen and timed his move. Eventually, the scene where the protagonist and heroine, alone in a classroom, kiss while wrapped in a curtain, arrived. The moment he saw that scene, Haruto braced himself, thinking, ‘Now’s my chance!’ As he expected, at this scene, he heard a sigh of “aa” from next to him, and at the same time, his palm was squeezed tightly. In that instant, Haruto also squeezed Ayaka’s palm back tightly. “Huh!?” At the same time, a small, voiceless cry was heard from beside him. Haruto turned his gaze to the side to check on Ayaka’s condition. She had her round, double-lidded eyes wide open in surprise and was staring at the screen in a frozen state. Perhaps she was just overly moved by the previous scene. Thinking that, Haruto tried squeezing Ayaka’s palm a few more times, ‘gyu, gyu.’ Then, as if a sound effect of ‘pshuu~’ could be heard, Ayaka averted her gaze from the screen and looked down. The fact that Ayaka’s reaction was bigger than expected made Haruto a little bewildered, thinking, ‘Huh? Did I go a little too far?’ and he temporarily stopped squeezing her palm. Then, Ayaka, who had been looking down, looked up at Haruto with an upward glance. “…Uuu…” As if protesting something. And yet, as if asking for something.

With only the light from the screen faintly illuminating her, Ayaka’s expression was somewhat fantastical and captivating, and Haruto found himself staring at her expression. Then, with a force clearly stronger than when he had been unconsciously squeezed before, Haruto’s hand was squeezed tightly. With Ayaka looking up at him with an upward glance and her palm squeezed tightly, this time it was Haruto’s turn to blush with a force that seemed to make a ‘bofun!’ sound effect. To prevent his expression from being seen, Haruto hurriedly turned his face towards the screen. Haruto was splendidly counter-attacked. In his ear, he faintly heard Ayaka’s smile, “fufu.” At her declaration of victory, Haruto honestly admitted defeat. Although he was competitive, this defeat strangely did not feel unpleasant at all. After that, the two of them quietly watched the movie while holding hands. Haruto was already completely unable to follow the plot of this movie. However, to avoid being counter-attacked by Ayaka again, Haruto silently stared at the screen. Eventually, the movie reached its final scene. Though he had no idea how it happened, the protagonist and heroine, who had happily ended up together, walked slowly along a riverbank illuminated by the setting sun. The movie concluded with a close-up camera angle of their joined hands, their fingers intertwined in a ‘lovers’ hold.’ The ending began to play, and the end credits, along with the movie’s theme song, were displayed on the screen. Among the audience, some people had already stood up and were heading for the exit. Is Ayaka the type to watch until the very end? Haruto thought and turned his gaze towards her. Then, he saw her, still looking at the screen where the end credits were rolling, start to fidget with her palm. Haruto thought she wanted to let go of his hand and opened his own palm. They had been holding hands since before the movie started. That meant they had been holding hands for over two hours. Haruto, who was also concerned about his own hand sweat, tried to pull back his palm to wipe his hand in this opportunity. But, it was not to be. Ayaka did not pull her palm away from Haruto’s, but instead intertwined her fingers and squeezed his hand again. Haruto and Ayaka’s palms met again. This time, it wasn’t the handshakelike hold from before, but an upgraded version with their fingers intertwined in a ‘lovers’ hold.’

“Um… Tōjō-san?” Haruto couldn’t help but call her name. “…Ōtsuki-kun, are you the type to watch the end credits all the way through?” “Eh? Ah, yes.” Ayaka, who didn’t touch on the topic of the lovers’ hold at all, made Haruto feel bewildered. To him, Ayaka said shyly, still averting her gaze. “Then… until the end… shall we watch together?” To the adorably asking Ayaka, Haruto had only one answer. “Yes, of course.” The movie he watched today would likely be a movie that Haruto would never forget for the rest of his life, even though he had no idea what it was about. ※※※ After watching the movie, the two of them came to a cafe on the floor below the movie theater. It was a cafe that Haruto had looked up the night before, a stylish place with a panoramic view of the city from the window. They were guided to a window seat, and Haruto smiled naturally at Ayaka, who was delighted by the view from the high floor. “Wow, the view is beautiful!” “I’m glad you like it.” Haruto was relieved that his choice of shop was not a mistake. “Thank you for looking up the shop.” “Not at all…” Ayaka gave him a charming smile without reservation. Haruto, feeling shy, spread the menu in front of his face to hide it. “Um, I think I’ll have an iced coffee. What about you, Tōjō-san?” “I think I’ll have an iced cafe au lait.” “Understood. Will you order anything else?” “No, I’m fine.” “Understood.” Once their orders were decided, Haruto called the waitress. After telling her his and Ayaka’s orders, Haruto took a light sip of water. Ayaka then said to him.

“How was the movie, Ōtsuki-kun? Was it interesting?” “Eh? Ah, well… yes. I think it became a movie that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.” Unable to say that he couldn’t get the content into his head at all because he was holding hands with Ayaka, Haruto answered with a slightly ambiguous expression. “How about you, Tōjō-san?” “It was really interesting! But…” “But?” “Um… from the middle, I couldn’t really… understand the content, I guess.” That middle part was probably around when Haruto launched his counterattack. “I… see.” “Yeah… but, I think I’ll never forget this movie for the rest of my life either.” Ayaka said, blushing. At her smile, Haruto felt his heart pound. “…Same here.” “Yeah… same here.” After they both said it shyly, a brief silence fell. “Um, by the way, about the zoo schedule.” “Ah, yeah! That’s right. We need to decide that.” At Haruto’s words, Ayaka nodded as if she had just remembered. The movie was more of an afterthought, and this was the main topic, but it seemed she had forgotten about it until now. Haruto gave a wry smile at such an Ayaka. “Is there a specific zoo you want to go to, Tōjō-san?” “I think I’d like to go somewhere where we can interact with animals.” “I agree.” Haruto also nodded at Ayaka’s opinion. In the first place, the talk of going to the zoo started because of how Ayaka was excitedly looking at a puppy at the home center. “Um, it’s a little different from a zoo, but how about going to ‘Animal Forest Park’?” “Oh, that sounds good.” Ayaka also agreed with Haruto’s proposal.

‘Animal Forest Park’ is a vast park with a nature theme, and within it, besides an animal interaction area, there is an athletic area with many play equipment, and a water play area that is a blessing in the continuing heatwave. “Since Ryōta-kun will be with us this time, I thought it would be more fun for him if he could play in various ways so he doesn’t get bored.” “Uh-huh! You’re right!” “And, there’s also a lawn area here, so I thought it would be nice to bring a bento and eat it on a sheet on the grass.” “Yes! That’s a great idea!” Ayaka agreed with a shining expression. “Then, is it decided that we’ll go to ‘Animal Forest Park’?” “Yeah! It’s decided! As for the date, when are you free, Ōtsuki-kun?” “Let’s see. I don’t have any particular plans other than my part-time job, so any day I have off from work is fine.” “Oh, right.” At the mention of Haruto’s part-time job, Ayaka made a slightly apologetic expression. “Is it okay for you to come to my house on your day off?” Haruto’s part-time job was housekeeping for the Tōjō family. So, Ayaka might feel a little guilty about having him come to the Tōjō house on his day off. “No, no, it’s no problem at all.” “Really? If you don’t want to, please don’t hesitate to say so.” “Not at all! I’m looking forward to playing with Ryōta-kun too.” “I’m sure Ryōta will be really happy if I tell him you said that.” Imagining Ryōta’s reaction at that time, the two of them laughed, “fufu.” “Then, is it okay if we go to ‘Animal Forest Park’ next week, on my day off from my part-time job?” “Yeah, that’s fine.” “Then, on that day, I’ll make a bento and pick you up at your house in the morning.” Haruto said, and Ayaka shook her head. “It’s not right to have you make the bento. You’re not doing housekeeping that day, Ōtsuki-kun, so I’ll make the bento.” “No, it’s okay. I don’t dislike cooking.” “But…”

Ayaka looked apologetic. After thinking for a moment, she had a flash of inspiration. “Then, how about we make the bento together in the morning?” “Oh, that’s a good idea. Shall we do that?” “Yeah!” Ayaka nodded happily. And so, the two of them decided to make a bento together in the morning and go to ‘Animal Forest Park’ with Ryōta. After that, the two of them happily discussed what to put in the bento. And, when they had roughly finished their discussion and their drinks were gone, they left the cafe. “Well then… shall we go home?” “Yeah… let’s.” After leaving the cafe, the two of them stopped for a moment. “…Um…” Ayaka seemed to want to say something to Haruto, opening and closing her hands. Seeing her like this, Haruto tilted his head and looked at her. Receiving his gaze, Ayaka blushed shyly. “Is something wrong?” “You know… um…” Ayaka started to say something, but then closed her mouth again as if the words were stuck. Her right palm, while she was fidgeting and looking down, had been repeatedly opening and closing. Noticing this, Haruto guessed Ayaka’s wish and gently held out his own left hand. “Shall we hold hands?” “Eh!?” At Haruto’s words, Ayaka stared at his face with a surprised expression. “Um… it would be troublesome if you got hit on again… if you don’t mind, Tōjō-san.” Haruto averted his gaze from Ayaka slightly and held out his left hand modestly, his ears turning red with shyness. Seeing this, Ayaka smiled from ear to ear and, as if jumping at the chance, intertwined her right hand with his left. “I don’t mind! I don’t mind at all!” She said, squeezing Haruto’s palm tightly. “W-Well then, I’ll walk you home.”

“Yeah, please do!” Ayaka said to Haruto with a beaming smile. The two of them set off for home, holding hands. To the people passing by, they looked so much like a close-knit couple that the thought of hitting on her would not even cross their minds.

Even in the morning, it was the middle of a summer vacation where a fierce heat assaulted them. As usual, Haruto was in his best friend’s fully air-conditioned room, occupying the owner’s desk, where he was studying with a reference book spread open. “Hey, Haru. If you do nothing but study, you’ll become an idiot, you know?” Tomoya, whose desk and chair had been commandeered by Haruto, said this while sitting on the bed practicing his guitar. “You’re one to talk. If you do nothing but practice guitar, you’ll get worse at it.” As Haruto retorted without taking his eyes off the reference book, Tomoya laughed, “What stupid thing are you saying?” “I’m practicing to get better, there’s no way I’ll get worse, right?” To Tomoya, who said this as if it were a perfectly sound argument, Haruto stopped the pen he was moving and turned an exasperated expression toward his best friend. “…Tomoya, why don’t you try studying a little too? About the laws of nature.” “I firmly refuse! There’s no way I’m studying. I’m busy mastering the guitar.” After stating this clearly, Tomoya began to strum his guitar noisily. Haruto, shrugging at his best friend’s remark, resumed his studies. From then on, they concentrated on their own things without interfering with each other, but after a while, Tomoya stopped practicing his guitar and called out to Haruto. “Hey, Haru? By the way, how’s the housekeeping part-time job?” “Even if you ask me how it is, I can only say it’s normal.” “Has nothing happened with Tōjō-san since then? Was it just that one time?” “…”

At Tomoya’s question, Haruto couldn’t help but stop his studies. Tomoya, keenly noticing this change in his demeanor, grinned. “Hey, hey! No way, no way? You’ve been going to Tōjō-san’s house since then?” “…It’s work. I’m only going to Tōjō-san’s house purely as a housekeeping job.” At Haruto’s mumbled words, Tomoya’s excitement shot up as if it were his own affair. “Seriously!? You’re really going to Tōjō-san’s place!?” “It’s not that I’m ‘going,’ but… well, I’ve signed a regular contract with them.” “Huh? Isn’t that amazing? That means the Tōjō family likes you, right?” “They just liked the quality of my work.” In contrast to his excited best friend, Haruto replied with utter calmness. “No, but still, isn’t that amazing? This is your chance to get closer and closer to Tōjō-san! And if things go well, you might even end up dating, right?” “That’s not happening. Absolutely not.” Haruto completely denied Tomoya’s words. “How can you be so sure? If you keep meeting her over and over, you’ll probably get along, won’t you?” “Well, we might get along a little, but it won’t go any further than that.” If he kept going there as a housekeeping staff member, he might become closer with Ayaka than before summer vacation. They would probably reach a point where they’d exchange light greetings when they saw each other in the morning. However, the expectation of becoming closer than that, and perhaps even becoming her boyfriend, did not well up inside Haruto. “Besides, there’s no way Tōjō-san, who’s rejected every single guy who’s confessed to her, would fall for me.” “You think so? You’re good at cooking, Haru, so you might unexpectedly capture her heart through her stomach and make her fall for you, you know?” “If Tōjō-san fell for someone that easily, it’d be weird if she didn’t already have a boyfriend from all the guys before, right?” Saying so, Haruto once again faced the desk and resumed his studies. “Besides, even if, hypothetically, something good started between me and Tōjō-san, dating her is out of the question.” “Why not?”

To Tomoya, who tilted his head in genuine confusion, Haruto answered while looking at his reference book. “Why, you ask? It’s that Tōjō-san, you know? The school’s idol, you know? If we were dating, just try to imagine us walking to school holding hands in the morning. I’d get beaten to a pulp by every guy in school and never be seen again.” Haruto’s face soured as he recalled the jealous stares directed at him when he went shopping at the supermarket with Ayaka and Ryōta. “You do karate, so just beat them all up. That’s what karate’s for, right?” “You’re wrong. I do karate to train my etiquette and spirit. Violence is unforgivable, no matter what.” “You’re so rigid.” “That’s normal, isn’t it?” Haruto replied curtly while writing in his notebook. “So, even if Tōjō-san shows interest in you, you won’t do anything, Haru?” “Because I want to lead a peaceful high school life. A student’s main duty is to study.” “Coward.” “Say what you want.” As if to end the conversation, Haruto began to focus on his studies. Seeing his best friend like this, Tomoya muttered, “What a waste,” and started practicing his guitar again. Haruto, who had been facing his desk until just before noon, looked at the wall clock and then stretched widely. “Allright. I’m heading home soon.” “Oh? Is it noon already?” Tomoya also stopped practicing his guitar and looked up at the clock. “Thanks for letting me use the desk.” “Sure, the usage fee is ten million.” “I see. Then my cleaning your room is one hundred million per session.” Haruto said casually while packing up his study materials. “Alright. Please feel free to use the desk anytime.” “Heh, thanks.” Haruto gave a small laugh and raised a hand to Tomoya, who was bowing obsequiously. “You have your part-time job after this, Haru?” “Yeah, from three o’clock, after I do some shopping for my house.”

“At Tōjō-san’s place?” “Yeah.” Answering Tomoya’s question curtly, Haruto stuffed his reference books and other things into his bag. “I’m so jealous, man.” “I’m going there for work, you know. I don’t get to interact with Tōjō-san as much as you think.” “But you get to see Tōjō-san’s face, right?” “See, huh…” With an exasperated look, Haruto was about to leave his friend’s room. Tomoya followed after him. “Hm? Are you going out too?” “Yeah, I’m meeting up with my bandmates for a joint practice at the studio today.” Tomoya replied, patting the guitar case slung over his shoulder. “I see, good luck with practice.” “You too, do your best to make Tōjō-san like you.” “That’s not where I should be putting my effort.” “No, I’m saying you should try a little.” To his best friend’s words, spoken with a wry smile, Haruto replied while scratching his head with one hand. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, I get it. See ya.” Giving a half-hearted reply, Haruto parted ways with Tomoya. ※※※ After parting with Tomoya, Haruto headed to the supermarket before his part-time job. He needed to buy more miso, as he’d noticed they were running low when he and his grandmother were making breakfast that morning. “Come to think of it, we’re almost out of natto, so I should probably buy some.” As Haruto walked, recalling the contents of their refrigerator, the relentless summer sun continued to beat down on him. By the time he reached the supermarket, he was drenched in sweat. He grabbed a shopping basket at the entrance and stepped inside, where he was enveloped in refreshingly cool air, and let out a sigh of relief.

“Hm? It’s surprisingly crowded.” Haruto had the impression that supermarkets were less crowded after lunchtime, but perhaps because it was summer vacation, there were a surprising number of people. As Haruto made his way through the store to buy his target, miso, an advertisement suddenly caught his eye. “Oh? They’re having a time sale. That’s why it’s so crowded.” It was likely the supermarket’s strategy to increase customer traffic during off-peak hours by holding a time sale. “Let’s see, is there anything good?” Haruto approached the advertisement to check. It seemed the biggest feature of this time sale was meat. “Sliced beef trimmings for one 128 yen per hundred grams… hmm… it’s cheap, but not cheap enough to jump at.” Haruto didn’t find the advertised item very appealing. Perhaps because his appetite had diminished from walking in the intense heat just moments ago, the meat itself didn’t seem attractive. “Anything else… ooh, seasonings are on sale too. I should have checked our stock of seasonings at home… huh? Hngh!?” Mid-sentence, Haruto’s eyes flew open as he stared intently at one spot on the advertisement. “A bottle of sesame oil for 78 yen… you’ve got to be kidding me.” Cheap. Too cheap. In Haruto’s mind, sesame oil was classified as a luxury item. Even the cheap store-brand products cost between 200 and 300 yen. If you were to buy a well-known, famous brand, a 500 yen coin would vanish in an instant. But this sesame oil was incredibly versatile. The fragrant aroma of sesame oil had the power to forcibly revive one’s appetite even during the summer when it tended to wane, and just a quick drizzle over stir-fried vegetables or fried rice would make them several times more delicious. If you added garlic to that, it would not be an exaggeration to call it invincible. On a humid, tropical night, drizzling it over cold tofu topped with kimchi was also exquisite. “I have to buy this!!” Haruto rushed to the aisle where the sesame oil was. Panting, Haruto stood before the sesame oil displayed on the shelf. Reflected in his eyes was a large number written on yellow paper. It was, without a doubt, 78. “What… what in the world is going on?”

Haruto couldn’t help but be flustered by the astounding price. “For sesame oil to be this cheap… hah! This must be another world! Is this that ‘reincarnated in another world’ thing I’ve heard about!?” Muttering something so ridiculous, Haruto reached for the displayed product, but stopped short when he noticed something. His gaze was fixed on a certain sentence written below the price on the ad. “One item per customer… damn it, you again!” Haruto glared at the sentence with a hateful look, like a hero facing a demon king. This “One item per customer” rule is the enemy of all housewives. To defeat this formidable foe, the housewives of the world summon their friends and relatives to face it. Haruto also quickly pulled his smartphone from his pocket and, tapping at an extraordinary speed, attempted to summon reinforcements. A carefree ringtone echoed from the phone pressed to his ear, a stark contrast to Haruto’s own feelings. Right now, his rivals were probably engrossed in the main feature item, the sliced beef trimmings. He wanted to secure this sesame oil by any means necessary in the meantime. Somehow suppressing his impatience, Haruto waited for the other party to answer the call. A few seconds later, it finally connected, and his best friend’s carefree voice reached his ear. “Yo~, what’s up? Forget something?” “Can you come to the supermarket right now!?” “Whoa, you sound intense. Is it that thing again?” “That’s right! I absolutely can’t miss today’s!!” Haruto had summoned Tomoya countless times before to overcome the formidable enemy that was “One item per customer.” In other words, he was not just a best friend, but a comrade in arms. But now, an unfavorable reply came back from that very comrade. “Ah… sorry, I’m already at the studio, and our practice session is about to start…” “…I see, right. No, sorry for bothering you. Don’t mind me and do your best at practice.” “Oh, uh. I’m… uh… sorry.” His voice must have sounded incredibly dejected, as Tomoya apologized with sincere regret. “No, it’s fine. It’s not your fault. See ya.”

Haruto tapped his phone screen to end the call, then attempted to summon his next ally. He placed a call to another person from his chat app’s history. After a few seconds, a voice came through the phone. “What is it, Haruto?” “Kazu-senpai! Are you free right now!?” “What’s wrong? You sound pretty frantic.” The person Haruto relied on after Tomoya was his reliable big-brother figure from the same dojo, a year his senior: Ishigura Kazuaki. “I’m at the supermarket right now, and there’s a special sale item that’s one per customer, so I was hoping you could help me out.” “I see. Hmm, does it have to be right now?” “…Yeah. I think it’ll probably sell out soon if I don’t hurry.” From Ishigura’s reaction, Haruto felt that this might not work out. “I see… Sorry, but I’m baking a cake right now. I can’t get my hands free. My bad.” “Oh, is that so… then it can’t be helped.” “Sorry about that.” “No, no.” Haruto ended the call with Ishigura and, clinging to a sliver of hope, placed a call to one more person. The call with this person connected almost instantly, before the ringing tone could even sound. “Haru-senpai, how many children do you want?” “Sorry, Shizuku. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The expressionless voice of his kohai came through the phone. A fellow dojo member with Ishigura and a kohai one year below him at the same high school. Haruto felt as if his strength had drained away at Dōjima Shizuku’s incomprehensible statement. “Isn’t this a call about our future family planning, Haru-senpai and me?” “Sorry, but I don’t think I have any plans to make a call like that, now or ever.” “Gabeen.” Haruto replied calmly to Shizuku’s words, and she responded with a rather old-fashioned reaction. However, the monotonous way she said it without any emotion was strangely funny, and Haruto couldn’t help but let out a “Pfft” of laughter. “’Gabeen’? What era is that from?”

“I’m a modern high school girl, you know? More importantly, what did you need, Haru-senpai? If it’s not about family planning, is it to discuss our honeymoon destination? I think Santorini would be nice.” “Where’s that? It’s not about that, I need your help with a supermarket sale.” It felt like the sun would set if he kept indulging Shizuku’s jokes, so Haruto concisely stated his business. “Hoho, I see. So I’m just a convenient woman you call only when you need me, is that it, Haru-senpai?” “…If you help me, I plan to give you a suitable reward.” “A kiss, right?” “I’ll give you a more proper reward.” “S-something even more amazing… Senpai, you’re so naughty.” Haruto let out a tired sigh, “Haaah,” at Shizuku’s jokes that twisted the content of their conversation at every turn. “So, will you help me?” “Of course. Is what I’d like to say, but… I’m sorry, Senpai. My mom actually told me to pull weeds, and I’ve skipped it four times in a row, so she finally blew up at me…” Shizuku’s voice was unusually dejected as she told him, “Haru-senpai, I am filled with regret.” “I-I see. Make sure you listen to what your mother says, okay?” “Yes…” “See you then. Good luck with the weeding.” “Haru-senpai… I love… you-ish.” “Yeah, yeah.” After hanging up with Shizuku, who was joking to the very end, Haruto let out a big sigh. Having failed to get help from all his reinforcements, Haruto bit down on the frustration of his defeat against “One item per customer.” “Haaah, well, I can at least buy one bottle, so I’ll just have to be satisfied with that.” Haruto picked up a single bottle of sesame oil from the shelf and dropped it listlessly into his shopping basket. “…I’ll just buy the miso and go home.” Haruto started walking with a dejected gait. A voice called out to him from behind. “Ōtsuki-kun?”

At that voice, Haruto turned around, and he remembered. There’s something that almost always appears in stories about being reincarnated in another world. That is, a goddess. A goddess who grants the hero powerful abilities and sometimes saves him from a pinch. And now, a goddess had appeared before Haruto’s eyes. Before Haruto, who had challenged the demon king known as “One item per customer” but was defeated, his strength exhausted. A goddess who would give him the strength to stand up again. “Ah! Tōjō-san! You are a goddess!!” “Fuehh!?”

A strange sound escaped Ayaka in response to Haruto’s mysteriously high tension and words. ※※※ Tōjō Ayaka When I went to the supermarket near my house after my mom asked me to go shopping, I happened to run into Ōtsuki-kun. Seeing Ōtsuki-kun outside of his housekeeping service job, my heart pounded and I instinctively hid behind a product shelf. Wh-what should I do… Should I call out to him? He’s come to our house three times now, so I think… we’ve probably become close enough to exchange casual greetings when we meet by chance, right? But what if… what if Ōtsuki-kun doesn’t think of me that way at all yet, and thinks something like, “Who’s this? What a pushy girl.” Ugh… I wouldn’t like that. But, Ōtsuki-kun isn’t that kind of person, right? He’s kind, so he’d surely smile and greet me back. I cautiously peeked my head out from behind the shelf to check on Ōtsuki-kun. For a while now, he’s been staring intently at the products on display with a difficult expression. Maybe, just maybe, Ōtsuki-kun would notice me first and call out to me. I had that thought, but seeing him like that, it seemed unlikely. …So Ōtsuki-kun can make a face like that. The Ōtsuki-kun who comes to our house for the housekeeping service always has a calm expression. But right now, he’s staring at one spot with a stern gaze. Somehow, getting to see a side of Ōtsuki-kun I didn’t know… makes me a little happy. As I was thinking that and secretly watching him from behind the shelf, he suddenly pulled out his phone and started contacting someone with incredible speed. After calling about three different people in a row, he ended the calls looking extremely dejected and picked up a product. Is that… sesame oil? Why would he pick up sesame oil with such a sad expression?

While I was wondering, Ōtsuki-kun started trudging away, his back radiating sorrow. What happened? Why does he look so sad? Is it because of the sesame oil? Questions popped into my head one after another. I’m so curious. “Ōtsuki-kun?” I was so curious that before I knew it, I had come out from behind the product shelf where I was hiding and had unconsciously called out to him. Ah! What should I do! I called out to him! I’m not mentally prepared yet… While panicking, I tried to think of various potential greetings so I could have a natural conversation with Ōtsuki-kun. “It’s nice weather today, isn’t it?”… that’s not quite right. “Hello, Ōtsukikun.”… is that too plain? “What are you doing in a place like this?”… he’s at a supermarket, so of course he’s shopping. Then how about… “Meeting you in a place like this, it feels like fate!”… That’s definitely wrong!! What’s gotten into me!? As I was lost in a whirlwind of confused thoughts, Ōtsuki-kun said something that confused me even more. “Ah! Tōjō-san! You are a goddess!!” “Fueeh!?” I let out a weird sound! Wait, huh? A goddess? Me? His? I don’t get it. What’s a goddess? Is it the person standing in a seashell in old paintings, or the one leading the masses with a flag at the front? “Tōjō-san! There’s something I need to ask you!” “Y-Yes.” Ōtsuki-kun is looking at me with such a serious gaze. What should I do, when you look at me like that my heart starts beating faster and faster… Hah!! Wait a minute! Is this… could this be a confession!? Wait, wait, wait! Here? In the supermarket’s condiment aisle? A confession while holding sesame oil!? Wh-what should I do… It’s so unconventional my thoughts won’t come together. B-b-b-but, if he does confess, I’ll turn him down for now. Yes, I’ll turn him down. And then, I’ll ask him if we can start as friends. “Tōjō-san! Please help me buy sesame oil!!” “Ah, yes! The pleasure is all mine!!”

I’m such an idiot!! I had just decided to turn him down once!! …Wait, huh? Sesame oil? What does that mean? “Really!? Wow, thank you so much. That’s a huge help.” “Ah, yes. You’re welcome?” Huh? Huuuh? What? What’s going on? Help him buy sesame oil? Is this like a married couple’s first joint task? A surprise sesame oil proposal? As I reached the peak of my confusion, Ōtsuki-kun, with a delighted face, pointed to a line on the advertisement attached to the sesame oil shelf and said: “This sesame oil is limited to one per customer, and I tried asking my friends to come buy a second bottle, but no one could make it, so I was about to give up and settle for just one.” “Oh! So that’s what it was! …Right. One item per customer… yeah, that’s right. I should just buy your share for you, right?” “Yes, I’ll pay you back later.” “Okay, I get it. I’ll buy this then.” With that, I picked up the on-sale sesame oil and put it in my basket. …………..So embarrassing!! I was completely misunderstanding things!! What sesame oil proposal!! There’s no way that would happen!! I’m such an idiot! An idiot! An idiot!! Ah… I feel like sesame oil is going to become a trauma for me. I have a feeling it’s going to show up as a nightmare in my dreams tonight. My face must be flushed bright red all the way to my ears with shame right now. If possible, I don’t want Ōtsuki-kun to see my face like this. I averted my face so Ōtsuki-kun couldn’t see my expression. “Wow, to be able to buy sesame oil for 78 yen, how many more times will I have an experience like this in my life? The next time I can buy it at this price might be in eighty years.” “78 yen for sesame oil is that cheap, huh.” So a sesame oil sale has the same frequency as a comet’s cycle. …Really? TL/N: Ayaka is referencing Halley’s Comet, which has a cycle of approximately 76 years. Pretending to look at the sesame oil on the shelf, I talked with Ōtsuki-kun while keeping my face turned away from him. “This price is a miracle. It’s guaranteed to win this year’s Good-ofSesame-Oil Award.” “Good-of-Sesame… hehe, what’s that, it makes no sense.” At his joke, I couldn’t hold it in and let out a laugh. So Ōtsuki-kun makes jokes like this too.

Thinking that, I got curious about what kind of expression he was making and stole a sideways glance at him. Right now, Ōtsuki-kun has a huge, beaming smile, an explosion of happiness on his face. For some reason, it overlapped with the image of Ryōta rejoicing innocently. Cute… Seeing the usually mature Ōtsuki-kun’s innocent smile, I couldn’t help but let my own expression soften. …But wait, calling a male classmate cute is rude, isn’t it? Ōtsuki-kun would probably be uncomfortable if a girl his age thought he was “cute.” I pushed down the feeling that had welled up inside me. “By the way, what did you come here to buy, Tōjō-san?” “Eh? Ah, my mom asked me to buy some wasabi.” “Just wasabi?” “Yeah.” “In that case, if you had told me when I came over for the housekeeping service, I would have come to buy it.” Ōtsuki-kun said that, but I shook my head. “My dad said he wants you to focus on making dinner today.” “…? Does that mean you have a request for tonight’s dinner?” “Yeah, actually, my dad went fishing today, and he wants you to clean the fish he caught.” My dad sometimes brings home fish from his fishing hobby. But apparently, he always used to give them to his other fishing buddies, saying it was too much trouble to clean them at home. This time, though, he’s all fired up because Ōtsuki-kun is here, and it seems he’s bringing home all the fish he caught. “Can you clean fish, Ōtsuki-kun?” My dad got so excited he forgot to check, but if by some chance Ōtsukikun can’t clean fish, it’s going to be a major disaster. Well, I’m sure Ōtsuki-kun would be fine, but some people can’t even touch fish. Ōtsuki-kun might be that type. Ōtsuki-kun flustered by a fish flopping around on the cutting board… yeah, that’s cute. I’d kind of like to see that. “Let’s see. It depends on the type of fish, but I believe I know the basic preparation methods, so I think it’ll probably be fine. By the way, have you heard what kind of fish he caught?” “Ah, yeah. Hold on, it should be in my chat with my dad.”

Realizing I’d been grinning at my own fantasy, I hastily straightened my expression, operated my phone, and opened the chat screen with my dad. “Um, let’s see, he caught yellowtail and sea bream, and also… how do you read this?” I tilted my head at the unfamiliar kanji. Fish and spring… hmm, have I seen it before, or not? As I was struggling to read the kanji, Ōtsuki-kun called out to me from next to me. “Could I see the screen for a moment?” “Sure.” When I nodded, Ōtsuki-kun came right next to me, craned his neck a little, and peeked at my phone. “Ah, this is sawara.” “Wow, ‘fish’ and ‘spring’ is read as sawara.” “In the spring, this fish comes close to the shore to spawn, so they’re seen more often. That’s why people in the old days started calling sawara the ‘fish that heralds spring,’ and the kanji became ‘sawara’ (鰆).” “I see. ‘The fish that heralds spring’ sounds lovely.” In my mind, an image of a fancy, stylized fish swimming elegantly in a sea of fluttering cherry blossoms appeared. “But this fish has incredibly sharp teeth and chews through fishing tackle right away, so fishermen call it the ‘Sawara-cutter,’ though,” Ōtsuki-kun said with a laugh. Hearing his words, my image of the sawara transformed from a cute little fish into a ferocious, piranha-like monster fish. “Is sawara maybe a scary fish?” “Well, it is a large carnivorous fish. But it tastes exceptionally delicious. Sashimi is great, of course, but Saikyō-yaki is also fantastic. It’s a softfleshed fish, so it has a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a rich flavor, you’ll definitely get hooked.” TL/N: “Saikyō-yaki” is a traditional Japanese dish where fish is marinated in Saikyō miso (a sweet, mild miso) and then grilled. “Wow, you know a lot, Ōtsuki-kun.” As I said that, I turned my face toward Ōtsuki-kun beside me. And then, I hurriedly returned my gaze to my phone screen. S-so close! Ōtsuki-kun’s face is right next to me!! Because we were both looking at the same phone screen, our faces were extremely close. Wh-wh-what should I do…

But if I panic and move away here, it might make him think I’m conscious of him… I wonder if Ōtsuki-kun doesn’t think anything of this distance? Right now, Ōtsuki-kun and I are so close our shoulders are about to touch. We’ve completely entered each other’s personal space. This time, I slowly turned my eyes toward Ōtsuki-kun, trying not to let him notice I was looking. Ah, Ōtsuki-kun’s eyelashes are pretty long. I wonder what it is, when I look at Ōtsuki-kun’s face, I feel a strange sensation, like I’m being drawn in… “By the way, do you have a gas burner at your house, Tōjō-san?” “!? Ah, huh? A gas burner? I-I wonder? I don’t think we have one.” Th-that scared me! Just as I was gazing at Ōtsuki-kun’s profile, he suddenly turned toward me and spoke, and I thought my heart was going to stop. “Do you need a gas torch to prepare fish?” He didn’t notice I was staring at his profile, did he? I asked Ōtsuki-kun, feeling a little anxious. “Seared sawara is exquisite.” “O-oh, I see.” Looks like I’m okay. He doesn’t seem to have noticed I was stealing glances at his profile. “The home center is right next to this supermarket, so I’ll go buy a gas burner there.” “Ah, that. Can I come with you?” Crap! I just reflexively said I wanted to go with him. “To the home center?” “Yeah, I’ve never really been to a store like that…” That’s what I said, but my true feelings were different. I wanted to be with Ōtsuki-kun a little longer. I found myself wanting to know more about the him that wasn’t on the job. To feel this way, does that mean I really… like Ōtsuki-kun? No, wait! I think it’s too early to draw a conclusion. Maybe I just want to be good friends with Ōtsuki-kun, or maybe I’m just getting carried away because he’s the first guy I can interact with normally. It’s true that when I think back on my interactions with Ōtsuki-kun so far, there have been moments that made my heart pound, but there still hasn’t been anything that makes me sure I’ve fallen in love… hmm?

Come to think of it, a little while ago, when I mistakenly thought Ōtsukikun was about to confess, when he said, “Please help me buy sesame oil,” I answered, “Yes, the pleasure is all mine,” didn’t I? …Does this mean that if Ōtsuki-kun had really been confessing at that moment, I would have accepted? Huh? That’s what this means, right? Huh? What should I do? Huh!? What should I do!? I really do… about Ōtsuki-kun… I don’t know! I don’t know anymore!! I don’t understand my own feelings!! My heart is a complete mess like a typhoon, yet Ōtsuki-kun mercilessly smiles at me. “Well then, shall we go to the home center together?” “Y-yes. The pleasure is all mine.” With my feelings still a mess, I couldn’t look at Ōtsuki-kun’s face and replied in a small voice while looking down. ※※※ Thanks to Ayaka, Haruto succeeded in getting two bottles of sesame oil. After buying the miso and natto that were their original objective, and the wasabi that Ayaka was shopping for, the two of them paid and bagged their purchased items. “Here, Ōtsuki-kun, the sesame oil.” “Thank you. You were a real help.” Haruto bowed his head as he took the sesame oil from Ayaka, then put the received bottles into his eco-bag. “Ōtsuki-kun, that eco-bag… it’s really cute.” “Eh? Ah… actually, this is one my grandmother usually uses.” Haruto said, looking a little embarrassed. “Oh, I see. That makes sense, it’s a little too cute for you to be using, Ōtsuki-kun.” Saying so, Ayaka looked at Haruto’s eco-bag once more. The eco-bag he was holding was made of a pale pink fabric with a very cute bear embroidery on it. For a high school boy to carry, it was a bit childish, or perhaps too girly; in any case, it was a design that looked out of place for Haruto to be carrying. “Well, I think it’s a little too cute of a design even for my grandmother to carry. She really likes this kind of thing, though.” Ayaka smiled at Haruto, who spoke with a hint of a wry smile.

“I think it’s nice, you know? Your grandma is cute, Ōtsuki-kun.” “Ahaha, thank you.” When they both finished bagging, they headed to the home center adjacent to the supermarket to buy a gas torch. “Wow, home centers have a lot more different things than I thought.” At the home center, which she said she’d hardly ever been to, Ayaka looked around curiously, her head swiveling back and forth. “I had the image they sold things for gardening and DIY, but they sell home appliances and groceries, too.” “Today’s home centers have a great selection. They have kitchenware, and you can even get your kitchen renovated if you want.” “Is that so? Ah! It’s the pet corner.” Spotting a puppy in a glass cage in the distance, Ayaka started to trot towards it. But she stopped right away and turned back to Haruto with a slightly bashful expression. “We came to buy a gas torch, didn’t we?” “Yes, well… shall we take a little look?” “Is that okay?” “Yes, it’s fine.” “Yay!” Ayaka happily ran up to the puppy. Seeing her retreating figure, Haruto gave a wry smile. “Something like that, there’s no way I can refuse…” Haruto muttered in a low voice that those around him couldn’t hear. He took his phone out of his pocket just enough to check the time. He didn’t have a ton of time before his part-time job, but there was still enough for a small detour. From behind Ayaka, who was crouching in front of the cage and staring at the puppy, Haruto observed the same puppy. “So cute~ Ah! It’s coming this way!” “That’s a Pomeranian puppy.” Haruto said, looking at the puppy’s information posted on the cage. “Its body is so fluffy and tiny and cute!” Ayaka brought her face so close to the glass her nose nearly touched it, her eyes sparkling. Seeing her like this, Haruto also smiled naturally, then casually checked the puppy’s price. After counting the number of zeroes, he slowly averted his gaze. “Ōtsuki-kun! Look, look! Its paw pads are so cute~! Fwaaah!”

The Pomeranian puppy was putting its front paws on the glass of the cage, then spinning around in place, and then putting its front paws on the glass again, repeating the action. At the puppy’s adorable antics, Ayaka seemed to have become completely smitten, letting out a voice as if overcome with emotion. It was true that the Pomeranian puppy was small, its body fluffy, with a cuteness like a furball bouncing around. However, in Haruto’s eyes, the girl in front of him couldn’t help but look far cuter than any puppy. “Tōjō-san, you like dogs, don’t you?” “Yeah! It’d be stranger to find someone who dislikes something this cute.” Ayaka replied, continuing to gaze, without tiring, at the puppy that had been repeating the same action for a while. Haruto also found himself unable to look away from her. The offensive power of the combination of a beautiful girl and a small animal was a critical hit for a high school boy—no, for all men in the world. “It seems like it would be fun to go to a petting zoo or something with you, Tōjō-san.” ‘If I watched Ayaka interacting with animals all day, it would be such a feast for the eyes that my vision might become as good as the Maasai people’s.’ As Haruto was thinking such things, Ayaka, who had been plastered to the glass until now, suddenly looked away from the puppy and up at him. “I want to go to a petting zoo too!” “…Eh?” “……Ah, no, um…” Haruto let out a sound of confusion at Ayaka’s words. Seeing his reaction, Ayaka’s expression became startled, and her face quickly turned red. Seeing her like that, Haruto also recalled his own words, and a wave of awkwardness washed over him. The way he had said it earlier could, depending on how you took it, sound like he was asking her on a zoo date. Haruto had absolutely no intention of that, but he had unintentionally invited her on a date. Moreover, and this was also unexpected, she had accepted. As Haruto searched for words, desperately trying to calm his frantic heart and wondering what to do about this situation, Ayaka hesitantly opened her mouth. “Y-You see. The zoo… Ryōta likes it… Yes! Ryōta likes it! Um… but my parents are busy with work and can’t really take him. But for me to take

Ryōta by myself is, um, worrying… or rather, I think Ryōta would be happy… if you were there too, Ōtsuki-kun…” Ayaka said in a very excuse-like way, her gaze darting around. But Haruto also hurriedly jumped on the convenient excuse of ‘Ryōta’. “Ah, ah! You’re right. Ryōta-kun does seem like he’d like the zoo.” “Y-Yes, that’s right. So, um…” Ayaka trailed off mid-sentence and fell silent. After a slightly awkward pause, Haruto slowly opened his mouth. “Then… shall we go sometime? To the zoo… with Ryōta-kun, the three of us.” “Y-Yeah! With Ryōta… the three of us.” Looking embarrassed, happy, and just a little bit disappointed. Unable to look directly at Ayaka’s indescribably complex and captivating expression, Haruto averted his gaze from her. “Um, r-right. We need to buy the gas torch.” “Y-Yeah, that’s right. We need to buy the gas torch.” Ayaka nodded repeatedly at Haruto’s tacked-on-sounding words. After that, the two of them remained silent the entire time until they bought the gas torch and left the home center. Their eyes met a few times along the way, but each time, they both blushed and looked away. After leaving the home center grounds, before heading on their separate ways home, the two faced each other once more, and then looked away. “Um, well then. I’m going home for a bit, so I’ll be over at your house later.” “Y-Yeah.” “And… about the zoo trip.” “Ah! Yes!” Ayaka reacted excessively to Haruto’s word, ‘zoo’. “Let’s discuss it… you know, the schedule and things, at a later date?” “Right… yeah. Yes, let’s do that.” “Well then… for now, goodbye, see you later.” “Yeah, goodbye. See you later.” After exchanging words, Haruto and Ayaka turned their backs to each other and started walking toward their respective homes. After walking for a while, Haruto hesitated for a moment, then looked back. As he did, his gaze met Ayaka’s, who had turned around at the same time. “—!?”

Startled, Haruto gave a slight nod. In return, she gave a small, shy wave. Haruto felt his face flush and quickly turned forward. “…That was unfair.” Haruto started walking, desperately trying to suppress the grin that was threatening to spread across his face. “…Did I just make a promise for a date with Tōjō-san?” Haruto muttered to himself. But then, he shook his head from side to side, denying the thought. “But Ryōta-kun will be with us, so it’s a little different from a date, I guess.” Haruto chided his own feelings, thinking, ‘If I get the wrong idea, it’ll be a disaster,’ as he recalled his conversations with her up to now. Ayaka’s face lighting up at the puppy. Ayaka saying she wanted to go to the zoo with anticipation. Ayaka looking shyly embarrassed when their eyes met. Every single one of them had been reflected as incredibly captivating in Haruto’s eyes. “There’s a limit to how cute someone can be…” Before he met her through his housekeeping part-time job, in Haruto’s mind, the girl named Tōjō Ayaka was someone who was always surrounded by girls and showed absolutely no interest in boys. That a girl he had thought of in that way was now smiling and getting embarrassed in front of him. And, even if her little brother was coming along, they had even promised to go to the zoo. “From now on, am I going to be okay at my part-time job…” Until now, for Haruto, the girl Tōjō Ayaka had been nothing more than the ‘School Idol’. But now that he had actually interacted with her, he had learned that she was a surprisingly normal girl with a very cute side. In his mind, Tomoya’s words from that morning resurfaced. “’So, Haru, even if Tōjō-san showed interest in you, you wouldn’t do anything?’” Haruto went to the Tōjō residence strictly for work. He couldn’t bring any ulterior motives into it. Even though he thought that in his head, Ayaka’s smile was stirring up his mind. “I’m going to… be conscious of her, aren’t I?” While aware that his heart was wavering due to the gap between the Tōjō Ayaka as the ‘School Idol’ at school and the ‘normal’ Tōjō Ayaka he interacted with at his housekeeping job, Haruto deliberately tried not to think too deeply about it.

“For now, today, I’ll just focus on filleting the fish.” Haruto headed home, thinking about how he would prepare the fish that Ayaka’s father, Shūichi, had caught. ※※※ Once back home and ready, Haruto visited the Tōjō residence, a place he was slowly getting used to. In front of the entrance of the still magnificent mansion, Haruto pressed the intercom button. An answer came back immediately. “Yes, yes. Ōtsuki-kun?” “Yes, it’s Ōtsuki. I’m here for the housekeeping service.” “I’ve been waiting for you! Ryōta, Onii-chan is here! Go open the door for him! Oh, Ōtsuki-kun, Ryōta is unlocking the door now, so please wait a moment.” “Yes, thank you.” Just as Haruto finished saying his thanks, the front door was flung open with great force. “Onii-chan!” “Hey, Ryōta-kun. Hello.” “Hello! Onii-chan, hurry! The fish are amazing!” Ryōta, his excitement through the roof, said in an agitated voice. He took Haruto’s hand and pulled him forcefully into the living room. “Welcome, Ōtsuki-kun.” Upon entering the living room, the first person to greet Haruto was Tōjō’s mother, Ikue, who stood up from the sofa and smiled at him. “Excuse me for intruding.” “Hey! Ōtsuki-kun! I’m so glad you could make it!” Next, Tōjō’s father, Shūichi, welcomed Haruto. At his feet was a rather large cooler box. Haruto looked at the large cooler box and spoke. “I heard from Tōjō-sa… Ayaka-san. Shūichi-san caught a yellowtail, a sea bream and a sawara.” When Haruto said that, Shūichi, with an expression that seemed to say, “I’m so glad you asked!”, began to speak excitedly. “That’s right! I have a client who’s into fishing from a charter boat. I often go out with him, and boy, today was a lucky day! When this yellowtail hit, I thought I was snagged on the bottom at first! No matter how hard I reeled, it wouldn’t budge! When I finally got it to within twenty meters, it started

fighting again, and the drag was screaming. It was a real life-or-death struggle! It took me fifteen minutes, no, maybe thirty minutes to land this yellowtail—” “Dear? If you talk too long, the freshness of these wonderful fish will be lost, you know?” With his eyes gleaming, Shūichi passionately recounted the story of catching the yellowtail to Haruto. However, he was interrupted midway by Ikue. “Hmm, you’re right. These are wonderfully fresh fish. We need Ōtsukikun to prepare them quickly.” “Yes, leave it to me.” Haruto nodded with a slight wry smile at Shūichi, who seemed a bit reluctant. “Still, these are all impressively sized fish. This sea bream is just the perfect size for the best flavor, isn’t it?” As Haruto peered into the cooler box at Shūichi’s feet, Shūichi immediately began to speak. “That sea bream, too! At first, the reel felt light, and I thought the line went slack! I thought, ‘What’s this?’ and set the hook quickly! It was hooked beautifully, and it fought hard, but I managed to land it without—” “Dear?” “Ah, well… um. Ōtsuki-kun, could you please handle the cooking?” Interrupted by Ikue again, Shūichi looked slightly dejected. “Well then, shall we take this cooler box to the kitchen?” Haruto felt a little sympathy for Shūichi, who was itching to talk about the excitement of his catch, but decided to prioritize the freshness of the fish and reached for the cooler box handle. However, the unexpected weight made Haruto grimace. “I’ll take the other side.” “Oh, I’m sorry. That’s a great help.” The yellowtail was just under seventy centimeters, and the sawara was around sixty centimeters. The sea bream was also about forty to fifty centimeters, and with the added ice, the cooler box wasn’t impossible for one person to carry, but it wasn’t light enough to be casually lifted. Haruto and Shūichi carried the cooler box to the kitchen together. “Thank you. That was a big help. I’m ready to start preparing them now, but do you have any requests for the dishes?” Just as Haruto asked that, the living room door opened, and Ayaka came in.

“Oh, Ōtsuki-kun. You’re here. Um… welcome.” “Ah, yes. Well… excuse me for intruding.” The two, with the recent incident at the home center still fresh in their minds, exchanged a slightly awkward greeting. Ikue keenly noticed this change in their demeanor and looked at her daughter with amusement. “Wh-what?” The daughter, feeling her mother’s gaze, asked with a slight agitation. “Ōtsuki-kun is about to make us a meal filled with love. What would you like, Ayaka?” “L-love? H-how would I know something like that?” Ayaka frowned at her mother’s words and replied. In contrast, Ikue, looking highly amused, turned to Haruto. “Of course I know! Right, Ōtsuki-kun? The reason your cooking is so delicious is because, in addition to being a skilled cook, you put a lot of love into it, right?” “Eh, ah, yes. Well… I put my heart and soul into making it.” “See! Ōtsuki-kun is cooking with all his heart for Ayaka, you know?” “No, um… not just for Ayaka-san, but for everyone, with all my heart…” “Oh my! Ōtsuki-kun, you’re so kind.” “No…” Haruto, recognizing that Ikue was the most formidable person in the Tōjō family, managed a wry smile. “Hey, hey, Onii-chan. I want to eat sashimi.” As Haruto was being toyed with by Ikue’s words, which were hard to judge as either a joke or serious, Ryōta made a request. Seeing this as a chance to escape from Ikue, Haruto crouched down to meet Ryōta’s eyes and answered. “Got it. For now, I’ll make sashimi from all three types of fish.” “Yay!” Ryōta rejoiced innocently at Haruto’s words. Shūichi also nodded and said. “Fresh fish is best eaten as sashimi. After all, we’re Japanese.” “Understood. Then, for tonight’s dinner, let’s have an assortment of yellowtail, sea bream, and sawara sashimi. Is that alright with you, Ikue-san and Ayaka-san?” “Yes, of course!” “I want to eat sashimi too.”

With everyone in the Tōjō family in agreement, Haruto immediately began cooking. Just then, Shūichi came into the kitchen holding a plastic bag in one hand. “By the way, Ōtsuki-kun. I was planning on having you make sashimi anyway, so I bought some tools and vegetables that might be useful.” “Oh, is that so? May I see what’s inside?” Haruto took the plastic bag from Shūichi and checked its contents. Inside were a fish scaler, a julienne peeler convenient for making daikon radish threads, and vegetables for garnish like carrots, daikon radish, cucumbers, and perilla leaves. “Thank you very much, Shūichi-san. With all this, the sashimi platter will look much more colorful.” When Haruto thanked him, Ikue smiled as if to tease Shūichi a little. “This man, he buys all these things, but he forgets to buy the most important thing, the wasabi.” “Ahahaha, well… my apologies.” At Ikue’s words, Shūichi scratched the back of his head with one hand, looking embarrassed. Haruto felt a little relieved to finally understand why Ayaka had gone all the way to the supermarket just to buy wasabi. “Alright, I’ll start preparing them now.” Haruto first took the yellowtail by the tail, placed it on the cutting board, and began to scale it while lightly rinsing it with water. Once all the scales were removed, he cut off the head, removed the gills, opened the belly, took out the internal organs, and then filleted the body into three pieces. Seeing the yellowtail filleted in the blink of an eye, Shūichi voiced his admiration. “You’re really skillful. It’s satisfying to watch.” “Thank you. I haven’t had many chances to handle such a magnificent fish, so I was a bit worried if I could do it properly, but thanks to this, it’s very easy to prepare.” Saying so, Haruto slightly lifted the deba knife he was holding. He was using the Tōjō family’s deba knife, but it had a name engraved near the base of the blade, giving it a very high-class feel. Its sharpness was outstanding, allowing him to handle the large and bony yellowtail without any trouble. For the time being, Haruto filleted all the fish into three pieces, then proceeded to remove the pin bones and belly bones to make them easier to eat.

“That’s amazing. Maybe I should learn how to fillet fish from you, Ōtsukikun.” Ikue said as she sat at the dining table, peering into the kitchen. “If you don’t mind me, I’d be happy to teach you.” Haruto replied while skinning the filleted fish. “Oh, really? Then maybe you can teach me sometime? How about you, Ayaka? It’ll be useful when you want to serve fish to your future husband, you know?” “Eh? No, I…” Seeing Ayaka’s hesitation, Ikue gave a knowing “ufufufu” smile. “You don’t want to? Oh, but if you marry someone like Ōtsuki-kun, it won’t be a problem, will it?” “Hey! Mom! What are you saying in front of Ōtsuki-kun!?” At her mother’s outrageous comment, Ayaka’s face instantly turned red. In response to her daughter’s reaction, Ikue said calmly. “Oh, I just said someone like Ōtsuki-kun, you know?” “…I hate you, Mom.” At Ikue’s teasing, Ayaka pouted and sulked. However, Ikue cheerfully spoke to Haruto. “Ōtsuki-kun. I’m sorry my daughter misunderstood. Ayaka can be a bit naive, but please continue to get along with her.” “Ahaha, the pleasure is all mine.” Haruto, while filleting the fish into blocks and noticing Ayaka protesting to her mother with a ‘I’m in a bad mood’ aura, just laughed and gave a noncommittal reply. For now, there was no sign that the daughter’s protest was reaching the mother. At that moment, Shūichi, with his hand on his chin and a serious expression, opened his mouth. “I see, if Ayaka marries Ōtsuki-kun, he becomes my son-in-law. So, he would be my son… Hmm, it’s a possibility. But then again, to give my cute daughter away in marriage… ” Muttering to himself, Shūichi got lost in his own world of anguish. At her father’s shocking mumble, Ayaka’s protest to her mother was completely blown away, and she whipped her head towards Shūichi. “Hey, Dad!? Stop having weird fantasies on your own!!” Unlike Ikue’s teasing and jokes, Shūichi’s comment seemed quite serious, and Ayaka looked very flustered. She hurriedly tried to pull her thoughtful

father back from the sea of his thoughts. But then, an even more troublesome entity, pure and innocent, attacked. “Onii-chan, are you going to marry Onee-chan?” “Wha-!? Huh? No, that’s not…” “Hey, Ryōta!! Ōtsuki-kun is holding a knife right now, so don’t say things that will distract him! It’s dangerous!!” Ayaka took her brother’s hand, who had been watching Haruto’s decorative cutting next to him, and pulled him away. “But if Onee-chan and Onii-chan get married, Onii-chan will be my real big brother, right?” Ryōta looked at Haruto with a thrilled expression, as if imagining what it would be like if Haruto became his real brother, and Ayaka couldn’t help but look away. “W-we’re not getting married!! We’re still in high school!” “Oh my, so you’ll get married after you graduate from high school?” “Enough! Mom, be quiet!!” From then on, a debate about getting married or not erupted in the Tōjō household. Haruto, sensing that getting involved in this chaotic conversation would be like stirring up a hornet’s nest, decided to focus on preparing the fish in front of him and ride out the storm. And so, after finishing all the preparations, Haruto picked up the large platter of sashimi. “Umm, the sashimi is ready…” Haruto hesitantly carried the platter of sashimi to the dining table. While he was concentrating on cooking, the Tōjō household had become quite chaotic. Shūichi was deep in thought with a serious face, while Ryōta was innocently questioning his sister about marriage. Ayaka was denying it with a red face. And Ikue was watching the whole situation with amusement, occasionally chiming in. Haruto hesitantly called out to the Tōjō family. “Um… I also made yellowtail bone soup, so please have some with your meal.” ※※※ Tōjō Ayaka

When I got back to my room, I dived straight onto my bed. “Aah, I’m so tired…” Limp on the bed, I let out a huge sigh. “It was Ōtsuki-kun’s cooking, too, but I didn’t have any time to savor it at all…” He made a beautiful platter of sashimi from the fish Dad caught, but Dad, Mom, and Ryōta were so out of control that I didn’t have a chance to enjoy the meal. He even used the gas torch we bought at the home center to make seared sawara, but I couldn’t taste it at all. “Right, my promise to go to the zoo with Ōtsuki-kun… what should I do?” The promise we made at the home center. I was actually planning to talk to Ōtsuki-kun about it today while he was here for the housekeeping service, but things got way out of hand. I was so busy trying to stop my family from running wild that before I knew it, his contract time was up, and he ended up going home before we could talk properly. “But, if I had brought up going to the zoo together then, my family would have gone even more out of control, wouldn’t they…” Mom would probably be teasing me with a huge grin on her face. But that’s still okay. Well, it’s not okay, but it’s okay. Ryōta would be really happy too, but that’s also no problem. The biggest problem is Dad. Dad has completely taken a liking to Ōtsuki-kun. Mom likes him too, but Dad seems to be seriously thinking about making Ōtsuki-kun his son-inlaw. Just now during dinner, he was enthusiastically inviting Ōtsuki-kun to go fishing with him next time. “Aah! Geez! I’m still in high school!!” I bury my face in my pillow and scream. It’s still way too early to be thinking about marriage or sons-in-law! Well, sure, having a kind person who can handle housework perfectly like Ōtsuki-kun as a husband might be ideal, but… “Wait, that’s not it, me!” I shake my head vigorously to reset my thoughts. My family’s opinion of Ōtsuki-kun just keeps getting higher and higher, and it feels like the walls are closing in on me. But that’s not the only problem.

In fact, the more serious one might be this one. Before summer vacation started. I’ve already forgotten his name, but when that one senpai called me over the school broadcast and proposed to me. At that time, I was just plain embarrassed. I wanted to escape that place as fast as I could. I couldn’t even imagine marriage, and I even thought that senpai wasn’t in his right mind, getting engaged while still in high school. But… if it were Ōtsuki-kun… When Dad called Ōtsuki-kun his potential son-in-law, and Ryōta asked me, “Are you getting married?”, I imagined it for a moment. I could form an image. A life living with Ōtsuki-kun, under the same roof. Yes, the most serious problem isn’t my family’s wildness, but my own feelings. Mom teasing me about Ōtsuki-kun, Ryōta wanting Ōtsuki-kun to be his real big brother, Dad taking a genuine liking to Ōtsuki-kun… none of it…… is unpleasant. Somewhere in my heart, I feel happy seeing Ōtsuki-kun being accepted by my family. “…I’ll talk to Saki.” I pick up my smartphone and open the chat screen with my best friend. It’s just a little past ten at night now, so Saki should definitely be awake. I press the call button and gaze at the name Aizawa Saki displayed on the screen. The call connected within just a few seconds. “Meow?” “Saki, uhm… I have something I want to talk to you about…” “Oh? What’s up, what’s up? Love troubles?” I felt my heart beat a little faster at Saki’s joking words. “…………Maybe.” “…Huh? Eh? No way!? Huh!? For real!?” Along with Saki’s extremely flustered voice, a loud CLATTER-CRASH! sound came from the other side of the phone. “Eh? Hey, Saki? Are you okay?” “How could I be okay!! What’s this all about! Ayaka asking for love advice!” “Calm down, okay? Let’s just calm down for a second?” “I can’t calm down! I can’t calm down at all!! Could it be, that? The Kaitō- senpai thing? You were actually still worrying about it after all this time?”

Even though it’s nighttime, Saki’s voice is slightly high-pitched with excitement. And what’s this about Kaitō-senpai? Who’s Kaitō-senpai? Hmm… oh, maybe she means the senpai from the school broadcast before summer vacation? “No, that’s not related at all.” “Is that so? Then who? Who is it that’s managed to capture Ayaka’s heart!?” “Well, it hasn’t been captured yet, but…” That’s right, I shouldn’t have fallen in love yet… probably. “You know… you said it before, Saki, right?” “Hmm? Me? Did I say something?” “You did, you know… about me and him being a good match or something.” I’m too embarrassed to say his name, fidgeting and blushing all by myself. “Hmm? A good match… Ah, you mean Ōtsuki-kun?” My heart thumped at his name coming from the phone. “…………Yeah.” “Whoa! Seriously!? …Huh? Wait a minute? …But it’s summer vacation right now, isn’t it? How did things end up like that with Ōtsuki-kun?” “Well, that’s… a lot of things happened.” “Eh? I’m curious! I’m super curious about those ‘lot of things’!!” As Saki latched on with incredible interest, I explained my encounter with Ōtsuki-kun. Instantly, Saki’s excited voice echoed through my room, so loud it seemed like it would cause the phone’s speaker to crackle. “What is that, that’s the best!! A real-life romance manga! Does a coincidence like that even happen!? No, it doesn’t! That’s gotta be fate!! And Ōtsuki-kun’s stats are way too high! That’s hilarious!” “Ōtsuki-kun’s cooking is really delicious.” “Oh-ho, what’s this? Are you already gushing about him?” “N-No, that’s not it! I want your advice, Saki!” “Advice? On how to confess?” At my best friend’s words, my face must have turned red all the way to my ears. The reason my body feels so hot surely has nothing to do with just getting out of the bath. “No, before confessing or anything, what’s going on with my feelings… uhm, about Ōtsuki-kun, whether I… like… him or not, I just can’t tell by myself anymore… and that’s why I want to ask for your advice.” “………………”

After I said that, Saki fell silent. There was no response at all. Eh? Did she fall asleep? The silence continued for so long that I seriously thought so, before Saki finally started talking. I’m glad she wasn’t asleep. “Well, I guess that makes sense. You’ve been avoiding guys all this time, Ayaka. You couldn’t fall in love even if you wanted to. It’s only natural that you wouldn’t understand those kinds of feelings.” Saki said, as if she’d come to an understanding on her own. Is it just my imagination, or do I feel like I’m being pitied immensely? I ask with a sense of frustration. “What do you mean? What are ‘those kinds of feelings’?” “You see, it’d be a waste to talk about that over the phone. Wanna meet up tomorrow?” “Eh? It’d be a waste? I can totally meet tomorrow, but… eh? You’re not going to tell me now?” I feel like Saki is stringing me along. “I’ll give you plenty of time for advice tomorrow. So, tomorrow at eleven at our usual cafe, sound good?” “Y-Yeah. That’s fine, but… hey, tell me now? What is it that I don’t understand?” “Now, now, see you tomorrow then.” “Eh, hey, Saki? …She hung up.” I stared at the phone, which had returned to the chat screen, and debated whether to call my best friend back. But knowing Saki, she’d probably just beat around the bush and dodge the question. Considering the personality of my best friend, whom I’ve known since we were little, I gave up and placed my phone on the bedside table. “What is it… that I don’t understand?” Staring up at the ceiling of my room, I continued to ponder what my best friend had said to me over and over. ※※※ Unable to bear the morning sun streaming through the curtains, I scowled and turned my head to the side. “Ugh… I’m so sleepy…” I check the current time on the smartphone by my pillow. “Seven o’clock… I have to get up…”

Last night, after my call with Saki, I was thinking about all sorts of things and my mind became wide awake. It was already starting to get light out by the time I fell asleep, so I barely got any sleep at all. But I have plans to meet Saki today, so I need to get up and start getting ready to go out. When I forced my upper body out of bed, a huge yawn escaped me, as if my body was protesting. The bed was pulling my body back with such an incredible force, it was as if it were a magnet. With sheer willpower, I peeled myself away from it, left my room, and headed for the sink. After washing my face with cold water, I felt my sleepiness recede just a little. I wiped my face with the towel hanging next to the sink and stared at my reflection in the mirror. “My eyes are puffy from lack of sleep… I don’t want Ōtsuki-kun to see my face like this…” After muttering that absentmindedly with my sleep-deprived, slowfunctioning brain, I belatedly realized what I’d said and blushed. Averting my gaze from the mirror reflecting my reddened face, I headed to the living room on the first floor. “Oh? Good morning, Ayaka. You’re up early today.” “Good morning, Mom.” Mom was already in the living room, preparing breakfast in the kitchen. “I have plans to meet Saki today, so I have to leave the house by ten.” “Oh, with Saki-chan? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Saki-chan recently.” “That’s because her house is far away now.” Before Saki moved, she used to visit our house frequently, so of course Mom knows her. “Please say hello to Saki-chan for me.” “Yeah, I will.” I replied to Mom while sitting down at the dining table. “Are you heading to work soon, Mom?” Mom was already dressed sharply in a suit, in full work mode. By the way, it seems Dad has already gone to work. “That’s right. I have work early today. Could you take Ryōta to his kindergarten before you meet with Saki-chan?” “Sure, I can do that.” Ryōta’s kindergarten is also on summer vacation right now, but when both our parents have to go to work early in the morning like this, they use

the daycare service if it’s available. “Are you going to eat breakfast now?” “Mmm, I think so.” “Alright. I’ll have it out right away, so just wait a moment.” About ten minutes after Mom said that, breakfast was served on the table. I was a little surprised when I saw the breakfast laid out before me. “Huh? This is quite a luxurious breakfast today. It’s like a breakfast at a traditional Japanese restaurant.” “Right? Ōtsuki-kun prepared this for us yesterday. Since I had to go to work early this morning, it’s a real lifesaver.” Mom said cheerfully to a surprised me. Huh? When did Ōtsuki-kun had time to prepare all this? I didn’t notice at all. As I stared at the breakfast in a daze, Mom explained each dish to me. “This is sea bream rice. And over here is sawara grilled with Saikyō miso and simmered yellowtail. Then, there’s a mashed tofu salad with spinach and carrots, and this is a clear soup with sea bream.” “Amazing…” What is this breakfast? Huh? Is this a restaurant? My sleepiness has completely vanished. Unable to hide my surprise, I said “Itadakimasu,” and reached for the breakfast with my chopsticks. “…It’s delicious.” The sea bream rice was made with a rich dashi stock, and the aroma of soy sauce and ginger wafted through my nose, while the subtle sweetness of the sea bream spread over my tongue. The sawara grilled with Saikyō miso also had a melt-in-your-mouth texture, and the slightly sweet and savory seasoning combined exquisitely with the umami of the fish’s fat, making me smile without even realizing it. What should I do? My hand, bringing food to my mouth with my chopsticks, won’t stop. “Hehe, Ayaka, you look so happy.” “Well, that’s because it’s so delicious.” “You’re right. We should be grateful to Ōtsuki-kun.” Hearing Mom’s words, I instinctively braced myself. But she didn’t tease me like she did yesterday. She was looking at me with a very gentle gaze. What is this? I feel a little awkward. “Ayaka.” “…What is it?”

“You know, youth… it’s just a fleeting moment in your life, something that passes by in an instant, but it’s also the most fun, most painful, most worrisome, most joyful, and most precious time of your life. So, you must live ‘now’ to the fullest. The things you’re feeling now will surely become your precious treasures one day.” “…………Yeah.” Mom is so unfair. She usually teases me with a smirk, but sometimes, she becomes a ‘Mother’ like this. When she does that, the ‘Daughter’ in me can’t help but feel happy. “This clear soup is delicious, isn’t it?” “It is, isn’t it? It’s incredibly delicious.” Together with Mama, I enjoyed the gentle-tasting meal that Ōtsuki-kun had made. ※※※ After taking Ryōta to daycare, I head to the cafe where I’m meeting Saki. A cafe with a calm atmosphere, quietly nestled in a serene residential area off the main street. When I open the door, the pleasant sound of a bell chimes. “Welcome.” The master, who was wiping a glass at the counter, brings a glass of cold water to me after I take a seat. “Are you ready to order?” “Yes, an iced café au lait, please.” “Certainly.” The master bows politely and returns to the counter. A calm interior and a gentlemanly, polite master. Perhaps because it’s off the main street, there are few customers; besides me, there are only two other people. Hmm, Saki isn’t here yet. In the comfortable silence, jazzy background music plays softly. Since this is my favorite cafe, I’d like to wait for Saki in a relaxed mood, but today of all days, I just can’t feel that way. I repeatedly glance at the wall clock inside, fidgeting while I wait for my best friend. My head is filled with what she said last night. I need to hear what she has to say soon.

…Gosh! Time isn’t moving at all! When I looked at the clock a moment ago it was ten-forty, but now that I look again it’s still ten-forty-one? Is that clock broken? I check the time on my own smartphone. Ten-forty-one… oh, forty-two. Ugh, for one minute to feel this long… I wish Saki would get here soon. After that, I spend what feels like the longest few minutes of my life. And then, finally, my best friend appears at the cafe’s entrance. “Ah, hey Ayaka. Did I keep you waiting?” “I waited like crazy. I waited for over ten minutes.” “Okay, okay, then that’s within the acceptable range~” Saki casually brushes off my complaint and sits in the seat across from me. The current time is ten-fifty. Since she’s here ten minutes before our meeting time, I can’t complain any more strongly. Unable to wait, I ask Saki. “Hey, Saki. About what we talked about yesterday, I–” “Whoa, whoa! Hold your horses, my little lost lamb. First, let me order, please.” “Oh, right. Sorry.” “Let’s see, what did you order, Ayaka?” “An iced café au lait.” “Then I’ll have the same thing~” Just then, the master came to take her order with perfect timing. After ordering an iced café au lait, Saki takes a sip of the cold water she was given. Ugh~! I want to hear what she has to say so badly~! Is Saki doing this on purpose to make me antsy? After drinking the water and saying something like “Phwee~ I’m alive again,” Saki’s eyes meet mine, and she covers her mouth with her hand, holding back a “Fufu” laugh. “Hey now, Ayaka. What’s with that face?” “Because… you’re teasing me, Saki.” When you do that, it’s only natural for my cheeks to puff out and my lips to pout. “You’re so cute~, alright! In that case, the great Saki-san will hear your troubles right away!” “What did you mean yesterday by ‘that kind of feeling’? What is it that I don’t understand?”

I immediately throw out the question that’s been spinning in my head since last night. In response, Saki laughs, looking very amused. I’m agonizing over this so seriously… honestly… “Ahahaha! Right to the point, huh. I bet you didn’t get any sleep last night, did you, Ayaka?” “Of course I didn’t! It’s only natural to be curious after you ended the call like that!” “Sorry, sorry. But you want to talk about important things in person, right?” “Well… I guess that’s true, but…” I reluctantly nod at Saki’s words. “Well then, onto the main topic.” Her expression turning a little more serious than before, Saki looks me in the eye and speaks. Wh-what should I do? I’ve been wanting to ask this whole time, but now that the moment’s here, I kind of want to cover my ears, or maybe run away… “First, just to confirm, Ōtsuki-kun started visiting your house as a housekeeping agent.” “Yeah.” “And, he’s been well-liked by Ryōta, Ikue-mama, and Shūichi-san.” “Yeah.” “And, recently, you’ve become interested in this Ōtsuki-kun.” “U-uhm… yeah…” Having it put into words like this is so embarrassing. My face is probably turning red again. “And so, you’re interested in Ōtsuki-kun, but you want to know if that’s a romantic feeling, or perhaps something else entirely.” “Love… well, I guess… so.” Love… right. If I’ve fallen for Ōtsuki-kun, then that means… I’m in love, doesn’t it? What do I do? My heart’s beating faster and my chest feels a little tight… Watching me like this, Saki asks in a slow tone. “Ayaka, what do you think about your own feelings?” “That’s what I don’t know, which is why I’m talking to you about it, Saki…” “I see, that makes sense. Hmm, well then…”

Saki looks up for a moment as if in thought, then looks at me with a slightly mischievous expression. “Hey… how about you introduce me to Ōtsuki-kun?” The moment I heard Saki’s words, my heart was thrown into turmoil. “Huh!? … Wh-why?” Huh? No way? Why? How come? Saki, do you… like Ōtsuki-kun too? “I-It’s a joke, right? It has to be, right? Hey, Saki?” “Nope, nope, I’m serious. So, next time Ōtsuki-kun comes to your house, Ayaka, is it okay if I come over to hang out too?” “…No.” The word came out before I could even think. When I imagined Saki happily chatting with Ōtsuki-kun, a pain I’ve never experienced before welled up tightly in my chest. This feeling… I’ve never felt anything like it before… But Ōtsuki-kun during his housekeeping job is an Ōtsuki-kun that only I know, and having someone else find out about that, even my best friend Saki… I really hate the idea. “I can’t?” Saki asks relentlessly. “Yeah… no… you can’t.” Saki’s cute, after all. Unlike me, she gets along well with boys, and she’s a good, interesting conversationalist. If she became friends with Ōtsuki-kun, he would definitely be drawn to her. And then… and then, Ōtsuki-kun would be… “’Stolen away.’” “Huh!?” My eyes flew open at the words Saki uttered. “Just now, you thought that, didn’t you, Ayaka? That Ōtsuki-kun would be stolen away by me.” “N-no… that’s not… well, yeah… I guess I… might have…” Saki shows a satisfied expression at my response. “You felt really awful, didn’t you?” “Ugh… I did…” “And why is that?” Saki questions me, just like a teacher asking a student a question.

Why? Why did I feel so awful? Was it… because I didn’t want Ōtsuki-kun and Saki to get along? Because I didn’t want anyone else to know the Ōtsuki-kun that only I know? In other words, I want to… monopolize Ōtsuki-kun? Why is that? Why do I want to have Ōtsuki-kun all to myself? That’s… the reason for that is… in other words, it means I really… about Ōtsuki-kun… “Because… I like him…” I said it… I finally said it out loud. My feelings for Ōtsuki-kun. Hearing my answer, Saki gives me a gentle smile. “Well done. You get a gold star.” “…I… like Ōtsuki-kun? Is this what it feels like to be in love?” “Well, yeah.” I place my hand on my chest. My heart is beating a little faster than usual, and I look down. “You don’t seem very convinced, do you? Ayaka, what are you unhappy about?” “Me… What do I like about Ōtsuki-kun? Since when have I liked him? That’s… I don’t know.” My contact with Ōtsuki-kun only started a few days ago, after summer vacation began. He’s only come for housekeeping four times. In such a short period, why did I fall for Ōtsuki-kun? “I don’t know the moment I fell in love. In a normal romance, you’re supposed to know that moment, right?” I started becoming conscious of Ōtsuki-kun after he hugged me when I almost fell off the unicycle, but now that I think about it, I feel like I was interested in him even before that… “…Ayaka, when you say ‘normal,’ what standard are you using for ‘normal’?” “Huh? That’s, of course, romance manga and romance novels, right?” The moment I said that, Saki looked up at the sky, saying, “Oh boy.” “Listen, Ayaka, okay? Your standard isn’t normal. In fact, it’s the complete opposite of normal.” “Huh? That’s not true! Because no matter which romance manga I read, the moment the heroine falls in love is crystal clear, isn’t it? Some manga even use a full two-page spread to express it!” “Stop talking about real-life romance based on manga standards!! It’s embarrassing!!”

Saki, who stopped me with an embarrassed look, now gave me a gaze as if looking at someone pitiful. “You see? Manga have readers, right? They have to entertain those readers, so they deliberately make it easy to understand. Got it?” “But, but! Not just manga, romance novels too—” “That’s fiction too!! All fantasy! If I had to say, it’s the author’s delusion! It’s not possible in reality!” “Ehh!? Th-that can’t be…” My romantic values were shattered by Saki’s words. Then, does that mean the “love” I’ve been dreaming of all this time was all an illusion…? While I was severely shocked, Saki let out a huge sigh, “Haaah~.” “Manga and novels are probably based on real experiences, so I won’t completely deny them, but. I still think real-life romance is a completely different thing, you know?” “…Is that so? Then, in reality, you don’t know the moment you fall in love?” “Well, there are probably times you do know, but I think in most cases, you realize you’ve already fallen for them.” “You realize you’ve fallen for them…” That’s exactly me right now. “B-but, okay? Even in real-life romance, your heart skips a beat when you make eye contact with someone you like, right?” “Well, yeah, that’s true.” “Then I… there might still be a possibility that I haven’t fallen in love yet.” Since the unicycle incident, I’ve been intentionally trying to make eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun as a way to confirm my feelings. When our eyes met while shopping at the supermarket, it’s true my heart did skip a beat a little… just a bit… somewhat, but at that time, it might have been more like I was just startled and flustered because our eyes met so suddenly… And after that, when I stood next to him in the kitchen, my heart wasn’t pounding that much… I think. When I told Saki about that, she let out another big sigh. “You know? Like I said earlier, fictional works can’t be your standard for judgment, okay? And also, you say your heart didn’t pound that much when you made eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun, but…” Saki paused for a moment, then confronted me with a shocking fact.

“You were already flustered before you even made eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun, weren’t you?” “—!?” My eyes widened in astonishment. Th-that’s true… now that she mentions it, that might be the case… Saki gave a wry smile as I froze with my mouth agape. “If you were already super flustered by Ōtsuki-kun from the start, and then your heart skipped another beat when your eyes met, your heart wouldn’t be able to take it. Heart attack from a love seizure, off to the afterlife with you.” “A love seizure sending me to the afterlife…” Actually, at that time, I might have been in mortal danger… “Th-then… does that mean I had already fallen for Ōtsuki-kun at that time?” Unable to hide my agitation, I asked Saki, who was sitting across from me, my voice trembling slightly. “Wouldn’t that be the case?” As my best friend answered as if it were obvious, I took a small sip of water to try and calm myself down. “But… I hardly know anything about Ōtsuki-kun, so why did I fall for him?” We had absolutely no interaction at school before, and then as soon as he came to my house for housekeeping, I suddenly fell for him. Can something like that really happen? “Isn’t it because you don’t know him that you fell for him?” “Huh? What do you mean?” “Because you don’t know him, you want to know more. And then, you discover a new side to him, and you like him even more. Then, you want to know even more and more. Isn’t that what love is like?” Discovering an unknown side and liking him even more… Saki’s words made me suddenly recall yesterday’s events. It’s true, when I bumped into Ōtsuki-kun at the supermarket, I felt incredibly drawn to his innocent smile. I was very attracted to the side of Ōtsuki-kun that wasn’t just his housekeeping persona. “So that’s what love is like, huh…” “Oh? Does something already come to mind?” “Y-yeah…” “Fufufu~ Nice~ So youthful~”

As Saki teased me with a smirk, I couldn’t bear it and averted my gaze. “Thank you for waiting. Here is your iced café au lait.” Just then, the manager brought over what we ordered. I immediately started drinking the iced café au lait with a straw. The slightly bitter and cold iced café au lait seemed to cool down my flushed, hot body a little and calm me. With a slightly calmer head, I tried to organize my conversation with Saki so far. First, I… like Ōtsuki-kun. This is a fact I can no longer look away from. I feel like I have to face these feelings properly. But there’s something about it that leaves me a little dissatisfied. It’s the catalyst for falling in love with Ōtsuki-kun. Saki says I shouldn’t rely on manga or novels, but I still can’t easily give up on my ideals. If asked whether the unicycle incident was the trigger, I feel it’s a bit dubious. And from talking with Saki, it seems like I had already started liking Ōtsuki-kun even before that… My ideal catalysts for falling in love would be things like someone offering me an umbrella when I’m caught in a sudden rain, or someone gallantly coming to my rescue when I’m being hassled by delinquents, or the boy I’m interested in turning out to be a childhood friend I used to like… though I don’t have any male childhood friends, so that one’s impossible. But still, I think it’s natural for a girl to yearn for those kinds of situations. Because… I’m a girl. “Saki, you had a boyfriend before, right?” “Yeah.” “What was the catalyst? What was it like?” “Hmm, the catalyst, huh… What was it again? I think…” “You think?” I stared intently at Saki, waiting for her answer. “Just ’cause?” “J-just ’cause…” Saki gave a wry smile as I was a little disheartened at not getting the answer I expected. “Reality is like that, you know? You think, ‘Oh, they’re kind of nice,’ and before you know it, you find yourself following them with your eyes, and then you realize you’re thinking about them all the time, and then you fall for them. Something like that. I don’t really know what the specific trigger was.”

“I see… so that’s how it is.” But that’s right, reality is different from manga and novels. Not everyone experiences a dramatic and romantic love story. As I tried to convince myself of that, Saki said with a slightly exasperated look. “You know? Ayaka, you’re so hung up on the catalyst for liking Ōtsukikun, right? But you already have one, don’t you?” “Huh?” I already have a catalyst? Was there something? A catalyst for me to fall in love with Ōtsuki-kun? “Huh? Oh… honestly. Ayaka, you can be a bit of an airhead sometimes, can’t you? Well, that’s what’s cute about you, or rather, what makes me unable to leave you alone.” “A-airhead, isn’t that mean!?” I’m not that much of an airhead! Or so I’d like to think. Mom and other friends sometimes tell me I’m “naturally ditzy,” but an airhead… I’m not! “You are an airhead. Because, you know, you have this amazing catalyst with Ōtsuki-kun, and you’ve forgotten about it.” “There’s no particular catalyst like that, is there?” “There is. ‘I requested a housekeeping service, and a hidden high-spec guy from my class showed up.’ That kind of miraculous catalyst.” A shock ran through me. “Just looking at the words, that’s practically a rom-com title itself, isn’t it?” Th-that’s true! Even if books with titles like that were lined up on my bookshelf in my room, it wouldn’t feel out of place at all. “Have you finally realized, Ayaka-san? Or do you need an even more intense catalyst than this?” “N-no… it’s very much… enough.” Ah, I can’t make any more excuses… I am completely in love with Ōtsuki-kun. “I… I’ve fallen in love, haven’t I?” “You’ve finally accepted it, huh?” “Because… there’s nothing left to make excuses about.” Maybe I was interested in Ōtsuki-kun from the very beginning. It might have been love at first sight. I, who had been told by so many boys that it was love at first sight for them, and had turned down their confessions every time.

I, who thought I couldn’t understand something like love at first sight. “Hey, Saki. What should I do from now on?” This is my first love. First love. I don’t know what to do, or how to do anything. “Sh-should I… confess?” If I imagine that moment, my heart feels like it’s going to leap out of my mouth from nervousness. I feel like I’m going to go into cardiac arrest from a love attack. I wonder if the boys who confessed to me before were this nervous too? If so, maybe I should feel a little bad for turning them down so quickly without giving it much thought. And just as I was thinking about confessing to Ōtsuki-kun, Saki put a stop to it. “Don’t be hasty, Ayaka. It’s not time to confess yet.” “Eh? I can’t…?” Now that I’ve realized my feelings for Ōtsuki-kun, isn’t confessing the only option? To me, who was convinced of this, Saki gave her advice in a chiding manner. “A confession is the provisional goal. First, you have to take it step by step to get there.” “Steps? What kind?” “For now, to close the distance between you more than it is now, you invite him on a date.” A date, with Ōtsuki-kun… That means going to an amusement park together, going shopping at a mall, or going to the beach. …Am I going to show Ōtsuki-kun my swimsuit figure? What should I do, it’s so embarrassing just imagining it! But, I’d like to see Ōtsuki-kun in a swimsuit too… “Heyyy, Ayaka. Your sloppy smile is showing all over your face~” “Hau!… Th-this is, well…” “What, what~? Could it be you were imagining something dirty?” “Th-there’s no way!!” I deny Saki’s words with all my might. It’s not like that, I was just thinking I wanted to go to the beach with Ōtsuki-kun, there was nothing improper about it, because if you go to the

beach, of course you wear a swimsuit, and it’s unavoidable if it enters your line of sight… “Hrmmm? I see~” “Wh-what? I really wasn’t thinking about anything weird.” Saki keeps looking at me with suspicious eyes. I have to change the subject somehow. “Th-that reminds me. About the date, I actually promised to go to the zoo with Ōtsuki-kun.” When I said that, Saki showed a surprised expression, slightly lifting herself from her seat with a jolt. “Eh!? What!? You’ve already slyly managed to arrange a date?” “Um… to be precise, rather than a date, it’s nominally to chaperone Ryōta, or well… something like that…” “I see, so Ryōta’s going with you…” Saki places a hand on her chin as if deep in thought about something. “In that case, the hurdle is lower, but there’s a chance Ōtsuki-kun won’t recognize it as a date. Have you decided when you’re going to the zoo?” “No, not yet. We said we’d discuss the schedule later.” “I see, I see… then, you can probably use discussing that schedule as a pretext…” Saki gets lost in her own thoughts again. Unlike me, Saki has experienced romance several times before. It seems best to stay quiet and wait for my senpai’s instructions. After waiting quietly and patiently for a few dozen seconds, Saki, having collected her thoughts, takes out a piece of paper that looks like a coupon from her bag and looks at me. “From me, your best friend, to you, Ayaka, I shall bestow upon you a secret love tool.” “A secret love tool?” What Saki gave me were two ticket-like things. What are these? Movie discount coupons? “Use these to invite Ōtsuki-kun to the movies.” “Eh? A-a movie date, just like that?” “What do you mean ‘just like that’? You already have the promise to go to the zoo, right?” “Y-yeah.” “Then, while you’re at it discussing the schedule, you should just invite him by saying, ‘Why don’t we see a movie together?’”

“Eh, ehhh…” Isn’t that a pretty high hurdle? I wonder if I can really invite him… To me, who was hesitating a little, Saki says in a warning tone. “Ayaka. You’re still at the starting line of love, you know? No, perhaps you aren’t even standing there yet.” “Eh? I-is that so?” “That’s right. Love is a competition. A very, very harsh competition. So harsh that you might even regret ever taking part in it.” “Somehow… that’s scary.” “It is. But, once you fall for someone, you can’t do anything about it yourself anymore. Before you know it, you’re automatically following the person you like with your eyes, just a single word exchanged in the morning makes your whole day shine, and on days you can’t meet them, you think about them constantly. It’s impossible to stop it with your own will. It just happens on its own.” Saki’s words resonate heavily within me. What about me? I like Ōtsuki-kun, but maybe… I’m not that far gone yet? But, I wonder if I’ll get there eventually? Saki did say I’m not even at the starting line yet… Love is scary… but, just a little, no, actually quite a lot… I might be feeling excited too. “I’ll try inviting him to the movies.” I say, staring at the discount coupons I got from Saki. “Yeah, do your best.” After those short words, Saki gives me a broad grin. “Hey, you’ll… let me consult you again, right?” “Of course! To be honest, I’m super happy that I get to have this kind of love talk with you, Ayaka.” My expression softens at my best friend’s reassuring reply. “You know Ayaka, well, for various reasons you were avoiding boys, right? But now that someone you’re interested in, someone you can think ‘I like him’ about, has appeared, I’m truly glad from the bottom of my heart.” “…Yeah. Thank you.” As I thought, Saki is an irreplaceable best friend to me. I’m so glad I have a friend like Saki. “I’ll do my best!” “Uh-huh, go for it!! I’ll cheer you on with all my might!” As I declare this with fighting spirit, Saki responds with a huge smile. “So, so, what parts of Ōtsuki-kun do you like, Ayaka?”

“W-well, you see—” After that, forgetting the time, I bloomed in my first-ever love talk with my best friend. ※※※ On the way home from the cafe. While walking on the path leading home, I suddenly looked up at the sky. I tried to superimpose my own feelings onto the summer sky, which was cloudless and stretched out endlessly blue. I… have fallen in love! Ever since I realized it, it felt as if the world had completely changed. Everything that entered my sight seemed to sparkle, and my heart felt as if it were filled with vibrant colors, so much so that my life up until now felt faded in comparison. This pounding in my chest, these welling emotions, they feel like they’re stretching out endlessly, just like the summer sky spreading above me. I look at the two discount coupons I’m holding carefully. The secret love tool Saki gave me. First, I’ll use this to invite Ōtsuki-kun on a date! Summer vacation has only just begun. With a sense of elation I’ve never felt before, and an equal amount of anxiety in my chest, I start walking with a spring in my step. “Love is amazing!!”

The day after signing the regular housekeeping service contract with the Tōjō family. An early midsummer morning, when the sky had just begun to lighten. Haruto, feeling the soft breeze blowing in through the window, spread a reference book on his desk and ran his pen across a notebook. Even during the midsummer days when the sun beat down mercilessly, this early morning time was still somewhat cool, and Haruto, whose room air conditioner was malfunctioning, often studied at this time. He was diligently studying under the dawning sky enveloped in silence, with a serious gaze, but the sudden chirping of a single bird made him turn his gaze outside the window. “I ended up signing a regular contract, huh…” What suddenly crossed his mind were the events at the Tōjō house yesterday. Ikue, delighted to see the house clean after the tidying. Shūichi and Ryōta, eating the food with enjoyment. And Ayaka, saying, “Nice to work with you, Ōtsuki-kun,” shyly, yet with a slightly happy look, her expression softening. Remembering the Tōjō family members looking satisfied with his housework, Haruto’s expression naturally softened into a smile. “Housekeeping service… it’s quite rewarding.” Looking up from the window at the sky where the curtain of night was being pushed up by the light of the horizon, Haruto murmured to himself. After that, Haruto, who had been diligently studying for a while, sensed movement from downstairs, stopped his pen, and closed his reference book. “I wonder if Grandma’s awake too? Guess I’ll start preparing breakfast.” Putting down the pen he was holding, he stretched greatly with a “Uuugh~,” then Haruto left his room and headed to the kitchen on the first floor. “Good morning, Haruto.” “Good morning, Grandma.”

In the kitchen, his grandmother was already making tamagoyaki. Haruto stood next to her and heated the dashi stock he had prepared yesterday. “Were you studying again this morning?” his grandmother said, while transferring the finished tamagoyaki to a plate. “Yeah, a student’s main duty is to study, after all.” “Don’t push yourself too hard.” “I’m alright,” replied Haruto as he added chopped green onions to the dashi. After that, he opened the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. “Grandma, can I use this spinach?” “Go ahead.” Having received his grandmother’s permission, Haruto took out two bunches of spinach from the vegetable compartment and also took out some tofu. While boiling water in the electric kettle, Haruto cut the tofu, added it to the dashi, and once it came to a light boil, he turned off the heat and dissolved miso into it. “By the way, Haruto, how’s your part-time job going? Are you doing well?” “It’s going perfectly. Thanks to all your teachings, Grandma.” “Oh, is that so? That’s wonderful.” His grandmother, smiling brightly, transferred the boiled water from the kettle to a pot, placed it on the stove, and lightly blanched the spinach. “On my first day at the part-time job, I made Grandma’s secret recipe hamburg steak, and they raved about it, saying it was like something from a high-class restaurant.” Haruto said, a little proudly, while serving freshly cooked rice from the rice cooker into bowls. “Oh my, that’s wonderful.” “It’s all thanks to you, Grandma. Oh, I’ll cool the spinach.” Haruto transferred the nicely colored spinach from the pot to a colander and cooled it with cold water. Meanwhile, his grandmother poured the finished miso soup into bowls and carried the rice and side dishes on a tray to the living room table. Haruto also squeezed the water out of the spinach well, cut it with a knife, quickly poured white dashi over it, and topped it with bonito flakes and ground sesame seeds. “Alright, breakfast is ready.” Haruto transferred the ohitashi to a small plate, carried it to the living room table, and sat down.

“Well then, shall we eat?” “Yes, itadakimasu.” The two of them put their hands together and began to eat breakfast. Haruto first reached for the tamagoyaki his grandmother had made. “Grandma’s tamagoyaki is so delicious. Why is it this good? What’s different from mine?” “Yours is plenty delicious too, Haruto.” “No, my tamagoyaki is still far from reaching Grandma’s level…” Haruto pondered, staring intently at the tamagoyaki after taking a bite. Seeing her grandson like this, his grandmother’s eyes softened, and a gentle expression appeared on her face. “Speaking of which, Haruto, you still don’t have a girlfriend?” “Wh-!? Ah, um… that’s right.” At his grandmother’s sudden question, Haruto momentarily almost dropped the tamagoyaki he was holding with his chopsticks. “Is that so… Haruto, you’re already a second-year in high school, aren’t you? Isn’t it normal to have a girlfriend or something by now?” “No, no, no! That’s not normal, okay? At my school, there are much more guys without girlfriends than with them, you know?” “Is that how it is?” At Haruto’s words, his grandmother showed a slightly worried expression. Seeing that expression, Haruto felt a sadness that seemed to press on his chest. Lately, his grandmother’s back has been getting worse. And that grandmother is concerned about whether Haruto has a girlfriend. Haruto, guessing the reason why, suppressed the feeling of being at a loss and forced a smile. “That’s how it is! Grandma’s time and now are completely different, you know.” Consciously trying to maintain a cheerful tone, Haruto continued speaking. “Besides, even if I got a girlfriend now, it’s not like I’d definitely marry her. I’m still only seventeen, you know?” “Well, that’s true…” “That’s right! …So, don’t worry, Grandma. I’ll definitely introduce you to an incredibly cute girlfriend someday!” Haruto declared to his grandmother, his only family member, with an air of complete confidence.

“Oh, is that so? Then, I’ll be looking forward to it.” At her grandson’s declaration, his grandmother smiled gently. ※※※ The sun had begun to rise a little, and while it hinted at another scorching day, it was a summer morning with still comfortable temperatures. While watching people dedicated to maintaining their health go out for morning runs, Haruto walked with slow steps through a quiet residential area. “A girlfriend, huh…” Haruto recalled the conversation he had with his grandmother at breakfast. Considering his grandmother’s age and the length of her life ahead, it was natural for her to worry about various things concerning the grandchild she would leave behind. Understanding this, Haruto let out a short sigh, “Fuu.” If he could introduce a girlfriend to her, his grandmother would surely be very happy. Haruto himself wanted to see his grandmother’s happy face and give her peace of mind. “But still…” Right now, Haruto couldn’t quite imagine a daily life with a girlfriend. Besides, his current situation involved studying, his housekeeping part-time job, and attending the karate dojo, leading to a fairly busy and fulfilling life. “I don’t have time to get a girlfriend, do I…” As Haruto muttered such things, the smile of a certain girl suddenly came to mind. The smile of the girl reputed to be the cutest at the school Haruto attended. “No, no, impossible, impossible. I don’t want to join the ranks of the guys who went down in flames like Kaitō-senpai.” Haruto shook his head, erasing the girl smiling at him in his mind. While doing so, Haruto arrived at his destination. On the gate in front of him, a glossy, thick wooden sign read, “Dōjima Dōjō – Kyokushin Karate.” Haruto passed through the Japanese-style gate where the sign was displayed and entered the dojo. The floor was wooden, and on the walls hung scrolls inscribed with principles like ‘Shin-Gi-Tai’ (Mind-Technique-Body) and ‘Rei ni hajimari rei ni owaru’ (Begin with respect, end with respect). Taking a deep breath, the scent of wood faintly mixed with the smell of sweat made Haruto’s expression soften. For Haruto, who had been attending this dojo since

childhood due to his grandfather’s educational policy, this place was like a second home. “Good morning!” Haruto stepped into the dojo and bowed. A tall, large man then called out to him. “Hey Haruto, good morning! So you showed your face today. It’s boring when you’re not around, there’s no one to spar with!” “Good morning, Kazu-senpai.” The man Haruto greeted was large, nearly two meters tall, with closely cropped hair and three shaved lines on the side. His gaze was sharp, and his thin eyebrows further accentuated the sharpness of his eyes. And the finishing touch was a cut running from around his temple to his mouth. If someone who didn’t know him saw this man, ten out of ten would think he was part of the underworld. Moreover, seeing the scar running across his face, they would shudder, thinking he was a formidable warrior who had survived numerous desperate situations, and would unconsciously check if his pinky finger was still attached. However, Haruto knew. He knew that his hobby was baking sweets, and the vicious-looking scar on his face was actually from playing with a stray cat. And that his recent worry was that even though he loved children, they would burst into tears just by making eye contact with him. Haruto had once spent about an hour comforting and encouraging him when he was thoroughly depressed by that worry. “When it comes to Kumite, everyone avoids me.” TL/N: “Kumite” refers to the sparring or fighting component in karate training. It can range from predetermined exercises to free sparring matches. “Well, Ishigura Kazuaki’s notoriety is renowned throughout this town, after all.” “You bastard, hey! Don’t go around turning people’s names into notorious ones!” Haruto, caught in a headlock by Ishigura, repeated apologies like “I’m sorry, my apologies,” but a smile played on his lips. Ishigura, applying the headlock, also looked like he was having fun, grinding his fist into Haruto’s head. Ishigura, who was one year older and had attended the same dojo with him since childhood, was a reliable big-brother figure to Haruto, and Haruto was a dear younger-brother figure to Ishigura. The two of them served as assistant instructors at this dojo and were also rivals who pushed each other to improve, their skills being evenly matched.

As Ishigura and Haruto were playfully roughhousing at the dojo entrance, a monotone voice called out from behind them. “Kazu-senpai, Haru-senpai. Please don’t flirt at the entrance. You’re in the way.” When the two turned their faces towards the voice, a girl with a blank expression was standing at the dojo entrance. “Hey, hey, what’s up, Shizuku? Are you jealous that your beloved Harusenpai is being taken away?” Ishigura said to the girl in a teasing, provocative manner. “That’s right, it’s jealousy. So, please separate quickly.” The girl, still expressionless, stated this in a flat tone while glaring at Ishigura. Glared at, Ishigura moved away from Haruto, raised both hands, and deliberately shivered. “Ooh, scary. As expected of the Dōjima Dōjō’s only daughter. You have quite the presence.” “Saying I have presence sounds old-fashioned, so I don’t like it. I’m a vibrant and bubbly female high school student, you know.”

Haruto spoke to the girl, who was saying such playful things with a expressionless face, sounding exasperated. “What’s with saying you’re ‘fresh and bubbly’ yourself?” Haruto couldn’t help but retort. The girl turned her gaze towards him. “Well then, Haru-senpai, how would you describe this flawless beauty of mine?” “No, I think saying ‘flawless beauty’ yourself is also a bit much… Well, let’s see. Shizuku’s cuteness is, if anything, more Japanese-style, so if I had to put it into words, maybe ‘Yamato Nadeshiko’?” TL/N: “Yamato Nadeshiko” refers to the idealized image of a traditional Japanese woman— graceful, modest, and strong-willed beneath a gentle exterior. The term embodies both elegance and quiet resilience. Haruto said, after quickly looking over the girl’s appearance. The name of the girl who had been saying playful things with a scarce expression until a moment ago was Dōjima Shizuku. She was the only daughter of this dojo’s master. Ishigura, Haruto, and Shizuku had been dojo companions since childhood, and Shizuku is also Haruto’s junior, attending the same high school. At the high school Haruto attended, the one who boasted overwhelming and absolute popularity among the boys was Haruto’s classmate, Tōjō Ayaka, with whom he had recently become involved through his part-time job. However, this girl before him, Dōjima Shizuku, also boasted high popularity among boys, especially among her peers in the first year. Shizuku, a beautiful girl with short black hair, twitched an eyebrow at Haruto’s words, “Yamato Nadeshiko.” “By saying something like that, Haru-senpai, are you trying to hit on me? Haa… I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll reluctantly let you hit on me. You should be grateful.” “No, I wasn’t hitting on you even one millimeter, you know? And hey, when you tell jokes like that, at least stop being expressionless.” Haruto said with a sigh to his junior, who continued to say playful things with an unchanging expressionless face. Then, Shizuku, still expressionless, pouted her lips. “Haru-senpai, you’re so mean~” “I told you, stop being expressionless.” “Hahahaha! Shizuku, that weird face is the best!” Haruto held his head in his hands at his junior who had always been telling jokes, and Ishigura laughed loudly at their exchange.

Thanks to their unchanging relationship from long ago, the slight sense of tragedy that had surfaced in Haruto’s heart in the morning had completely vanished. After that, Haruto, who had sweated it out at the dojo until nearly noon, changed from his dōgi into his casual clothes to prepare to go home. There, he was stopped by Ishigura, who had also finished changing into his casual clothes, “Haruto, there’s something I want to ask you.” In his hand as he said that, there was a white cardboard box, the kind used for cakes. “Hmm? What is it?” “Well, it’s about this. Ah, Shizuku! You come here too.” Ishigura also stopped Shizuku, who was passing by. “What is it, Kazu-senpai? A love confession? I’m sorry, I’m devoted to Haru-senpai.” Haruto gave a wry smile to his junior, who said this with a nonchalant expression. “If you said it with a bit more bashfulness, I might feel something, but when you say it so plainly with a straight face…” When Haruto said this with a sigh, Shizuku twisted her waist slightly, tilted her head, struck a pose, and looked up at Haruto. “How is it? Does it get to you? Are you captivated?” “…Shizuku, before posing, you should first train your facial muscles.” “Haru-senpai, you just can’t be satisfied unless you mold women to your liking, can you? How troublesome.” “Hey, you two. Stop with the comedy sketch and listen to my request.” Ishigura interjected into Haruto and Shizuku’s conversation with an exasperated look. Haruto turned a serious face towards him. “If it’s a request from Kazu-senpai, I’ll do anything. So, which gang are we crushing this time?” “Please command us as you wish, Boss.” Shizuku enthusiastically joined in on Haruto’s mischievous joke. Usually, she’s often misunderstood because of her expressionless face, but she actually has quite an easy-going personality and often plays along with Haruto’s jokes like this. “You guys… Seriously, knock it off, okay?” Ishigura glared intimidatingly at his two teasing juniors. If someone didn’t know his stern face, it had enough force to make not just children, but even adults burst into tears. However, Haruto and Shizuku, who had

known him for a long time, calmly deflected Ishigura’s glare with unruffled expressions. In fact, Shizuku went even further and said something to tease Ishigura more. “Yo, Kazu-senpai, number one in Japan for scary glares!” “Who are you calling stern-faced! Haa… Oh well. Anyway, I want you two to eat this.” Saying that, Ishigura took out mini-sized fruit tarts from the box he was holding. “Eh? Can we eat this?” “Kazu-senpai, I’m not some cheap woman who can be lured by something like this, you know?” “Yeah, go ahead and try it. Wait, Shizuku, you’re already eating it! You cheap woman!” While glancing at Shizuku next to him, whose eyes were sparkling as she stuffed her cheeks with the fruit tart, Haruto also picked one up and tried it. “Huh?! Isn’t this incredibly delicious! What store did you buy it from?” said Haruto as his eyes widened at the deliciousness. The custard cream, with its solid sweetness, released a rich, fluffy egg flavor that spread through his nose when he put it in his mouth. After that, the moderate acidity of the fruit washed away the sweetness of the cream, leaving a refreshing aftertaste. The crispy texture of the tart crust was also a very good accent, and Haruto finished one in no time. Looking next to him, Shizuku was already about to finish her second one. “Is there a cake shop around here that sells fruit tarts like this?” “Ah, no, actually this… I made it.” “Eh?” “Guh!!” At Ishigura’s shocking statement, Haruto’s mouth fell open, and Shizuku choked on her third fruit tart. “Eh!? Seriously!? This? Kazu-senpai did?” “Kazu-senpai, with his menacing face that looks like it could turn even sugar into salt, made something like this. Like this…” “I don’t have a menacing face, and I don’t have such special powers!!” Ishigura raised his voice at the incredibly rude reactions of his juniors. “But still, Kazu-senpai, this is really delicious. It’s a quality that wouldn’t be out of place in a store.” “Oh, yeah. Is that so?” At Haruto’s words, Ishigura’s anger quickly subsided.

“Indeed, this is at a level where you could open a shop right away. The store name is decided: ‘Gap of Lightning 893’.” “Alright Shizuku, how about a round of kumite with me?” “Ah actually, I have to help out at home.” As if escaping from the approaching Ishigura, Shizuku quickly scurried off and fled into her home, which was adjacent to the dōjō. “Honestly, that girl, she’s cute when she’s quiet, what a waste.” “Well, that’s just Shizuku. Conversely, if she became quiet and stopped telling jokes, that would be a bit scary in its own way.” “That’s true.” Ishigura also agreed with Haruto’s opinion. “Still, Kazu-senpai’s fruit tart was exquisite. When did you get so good at making sweets?” Haruto, who knew that Ishigura’s hobby was making sweets, already knew that the sweets he made were originally delicious. However, he felt that what he ate today was several steps up in quality compared to before. “Well, nowadays, if you search online, you can find countless recipes and watch videos, right? So I tried to seriously study sweet-making for a bit.” “Wow, that’s amazing. Please teach me how to make sweets next time. I don’t have much experience making Western-style sweets.” “Yeah, sure. Want to try making a cake together next time?” “That sounds great. Ah, I should be heading home soon too. I have to go to my part-time job.” Haruto said, looking at the clock hanging on the dōjō wall. Starting today, he had to go do the housekeeping service for the Tōjō family, with whom he had signed a regular contract. “Oh right, Haruto, you started a part-time job during summer vacation, didn’t you?” “That’s right. Well then, Kazu-senpai, see you next time.” “Yeah, work hard at your job.” Haruto said goodbye to Ishigura and then left the dōjō. After returning home from the dōjō for a bit, Haruto prepared for his housekeeping job and headed to the Tōjō residence. On the way, Haruto was recalling the fruit tart made by Ishigura that he had eaten earlier. “Ryōta-kun would probably be happy if I made him a tart or something.” Haruto’s lips curved upwards as he imagined Ryōta’s innocent smiling face.

“I’m confident I can make delicious chawanmushi or ohagi, but Western sweets are still a bit…” He knew the basic methods for making things like cakes, but Haruto knew that ‘Sweet Making’ wasn’t so ‘sweet’ that you could make them deliciously with just that. “Even though they’re so sweet when you eat them.” Haruto muttered such a trivial thing as he headed towards the Tōjō residence. ※※※ When Haruto arrived in front of the Tōjō house, he took a light, deep breath before pressing the intercom. This would be his third visit as a housekeeper, but he still felt a little nervous at the beginning. A cheerful voice, powerful enough to blow away Haruto’s nervousness to the far corners of the earth, echoed from the intercom. “Onii-chan!?” After Ryōta’s bouncy voice was heard, his older sister Ayaka’s cautionary words followed. “Hey, Ryōta! What if it’s someone else? First, you ask ‘Who is it?’ and then, ‘What can I do for you?’ Ask properly.” “But I can tell it’s Onii-chan on the screen, you know?” “Even if you know, you do it that way.” “Okay~” Haruto, standing in front of the entrance, couldn’t help but let out a “hehe” smile at the Tōjō siblings’ conversation coming from the intercom. Then, Ryōta’s voice, who had obediently accepted his sister’s warning, reached his ears. “Onii-chan, who might you be?” “Hehe… Ahem… It’s Ōtsuki.” Ryōta’s way of asking tickled Haruto’s funny bone in just the right way, and he disguised his laughter with a cough. “Onii-chan’s housekeeping, is that your business?” “Phew… Yes, I’ve come for housekeeping again today.” Ryōta tried to accept Ayaka’s instruction, but his Japanese ended up sounding strange, causing Haruto to once again suppress his laughter with a soft exhale. “Sorry, Ōtsuki-kun, I’ll have Ryōta open the door now.”

Ayaka was probably also trying to hold back laughter; her slightly trembling voice came through the intercom. Immediately after that, a thud-thud-thud sound came from behind the front door, and the door was thrown open with force. “Onii-chan!!” “Hey, Ryōta-kun. Hello.” Haruto returned a gentle smile to Ryōta, who greeted him with a beaming smile. Ryōta seemed to have been eagerly waiting for Haruto to arrive; he grabbed Haruto’s arm and pulled him insistently into the house. “Onii-chan, you have a regular contract, right? You’re going to come to our house all the time from now on, right?” “Um, not all the time, but I’ll be able to see Ryōta-kun during summer vacation.” “Is the regular contract for the whole summer vacation?” “Ahaha, that’s right.” Ryōta also seemed to somewhat understand about the regular contract, repeatedly exclaiming “regular contract” excitedly. The regular housekeeping contract Haruto signed with the Tōjō family. The terms of the contract were three days a week, for three hours a day. As Haruto was pulled into the living room by Ryōta’s arm, he saw Ikuesan working remotely on her laptop at the dining table in the back, and Ayaka sitting on the sofa. “Welcome, Ōtsuki-kun. Thanks for your help again today.” Ikue-san greeted him, looking up from her computer. “Yes, please let me assist you.” Haruto bowed deeply once, then straightened his posture and faced Ikuesan. “Thank you for signing the regular contract yesterday. I will continue to do my utmost to provide satisfactory housekeeping services, so I look forward to working with you.” Ikue-san showed a delighted expression, saying “Oh my,” as Haruto bowed deeply again. “You can be more casual, you know? It’s easier for us that way. Right, Ayaka, you think so too?” “Eh? Ah, yeah. If Ōtsuki-kun is that formal, it might be a little unsettling.” “See! Ayaka says so too.”

Ikue-san, having gained her daughter’s agreement, smiled brightly at Haruto. “Um… I will do my best to accommodate.” Haruto gave a wry smile at Ikue-san’s request. He was at the Tōjō house strictly for work. For Haruto, who tried to keep that in mind, the request to act more casually was quite a difficult one. This was because, being at the house of “the school idol,” Tōjō Ayaka, and moreover, being liked by her family, Haruto, an adolescent boy, felt he might misunderstand things. To prevent that, he wanted to clearly define the relationship as that of a housekeeping client and staff. However, the Tōjō family members seemed to want to interact with Haruto in a friendly manner. Ryōta, the foremost proponent of this friendly interaction, pulled Haruto’s arm again. “Hey, hey, Onii-chan. Are you going to clean the windows again?” “We did that last time, so probably not today, okay?” Ryōta looked at him with eyes full of expectation. Haruto, looking slightly troubled, glanced towards Ikue-san. Ikue-san, seeing Ryōta clinging tightly to Haruto, let out an “ufufu” smile and conveyed today’s housekeeping requests. “Today, I want you to organize the storage shed outside. After that, could you look after Ryōta until it’s time to start making dinner?” “Understood.” Haruto bowed to Ikue-san, accepting the request, then crouched down to meet Ryōta’s eyes. “Ryōta-kun, after I finish cleaning, let’s play together, okay?” “Really!?” Ryōta, whose spirits soared at Haruto’s words, jumped up and down with joy. Ayaka gave a wry smile at her brother’s antics. “Come on, Ryōta. While Ōtsuki-kun is cleaning, let’s play together.” “Okay!” Ayaka took Ryōta’s hand and pulled him away from Haruto. “Ikue-san. Where is the storage shed that needs organizing?” When Haruto asked, Ikue-san closed her laptop and stood up. “I’ll show you. Could you come with me?” Ikue-san said that and went out through the front door for a moment. As the Tōjō residence was a mansion, its grounds were also quite spacious. In

one corner of the property, there was a slightly larger storage shed. “I want to organize the inside of this storage shed. I’ve been meaning to ask Shūichi-san for a while, but he’s been quite busy with work.” Saying that, Ikue-san opened the door of the storage shed. “It’s quite packed with things, isn’t it?” Haruto said, peering into the storage shed from behind Ikue-san. “That’s right. I kept putting things I don’t use in here for the time being, and before I knew it, it was completely full.” Ikue-san placed her hand on her chin, looking troubled. Inside the storage shed, there was a stroller that was probably no longer used, and play equipment like an old unicycle that Ayaka might have ridden in the past. And along the wall, clothing storage cases were piled up nearly to the ceiling. “How should I organize the storage shed?” “Let’s see. Could you take everything out for now? Then later, I’ll sort out what we need and what we don’t.” “Understood. In that case, I’ll start by taking everything out and lining it up in front of the shed.” “Okay, please do, Ōtsuki-kun.” Ikue-san smiled cheerfully, entrusted the organization of the storage shed to Haruto, and went back inside the house. After seeing her off, Haruto rolled up his shirt sleeves and psyched himself up. “Alright, let’s do this.” Haruto started taking items out of the storage shed one by one, beginning with those in the front, and arranging them outside. He grouped items by category to some extent as he placed them, to make sorting easier later. Carrying out an old rice cooker, Haruto muttered to himself. “Keeping something like this without throwing it away, I wonder if the Tōjō family is surprisingly frugal?” Both Shūichi-san and Ikue-san were company executives and probably belonged to the wealthy category, but he didn’t sense any arrogant atmosphere from either of them. Of course, their children, Ayaka and Ryōta, also showed no signs of being spoiled brats, such as being selfish or arrogant. In fact, until Haruto started coming to the Tōjō house for this housekeeping part-time job, he had no idea that Ayaka was a rich young lady. “I’d kind of like to see Tōjō-san as a rich young lady character, though.”

Haruto internally imagined Ayaka laughing haughtily, “Ohohoho,” and grinned to himself. From behind him, a voice suddenly called out. “Ōtsuki-kun.” “Huh!? T-Tōjō-san, uh, um, is something wrong?” Haruto, who had been imagining her character just moments before, felt a little guilty at Ayaka’s sudden appearance behind him and replied in a flustered manner. “Ah, sorry. For suddenly speaking to you from behind.” “No, it’s totally fine.” Haruto waved his hand as if it were nothing, to Ayaka who apologized looking sorry. “Um, you know. Mom said if it’s too much to do all at once, just doing half today is fine.” “Ah, but just taking everything out won’t take that long, so I’ll finish it all today.” Ayaka looked at Haruto with an impressed gaze as he said that. “Ōtsuki-kun, you’re strong and have a lot of stamina, huh? Maybe you do strength training regularly or something?” “No, no, any ordinary guy would be like this.” “Is that so?” Ayaka tilted her head slightly and stared at him, making Haruto feel selfconscious. He replied with a small “Yes, it is,” and averted his gaze from her. “Ah! This unicycle, it was stored here.” Ayaka spotted the unicycle in the storage shed, passed by Haruto, and went inside. Then, she placed her hand on the unicycle and smiled, as if reminiscing about the past. “Did you play with that a lot when you were little?” “Yeah, I think Dad bought it for me as a birthday present when I was in first or second grade of elementary school.” Ayaka said this, stroking the unicycle and muttering, “How nostalgic.” “I wonder if I can still ride a unicycle? Hey, Ōtsuki-kun. Can I try riding it for a bit?” Haruto, seeing Ayaka ask with a slightly excited expression, also naturally smiled and nodded. Having obtained his consent, Ayaka immediately took the unicycle out of the storage shed and straddled it. “Wow, is this what a unicycle felt like?”

“Are you okay? You won’t fall over?” “Ah! Ōtsuki-kun, you just made fun of me, didn’t you?” Ayaka puffed out her cheeks at Haruto’s words. Haruto laughed at her adorable reaction and replied, “I’m sorry.” “I was actually pretty good at riding a unicycle. Just watch.” Ayaka said that and quickly started pedaling the unicycle. Spreading her arms out to the sides, she skillfully balanced herself and circled around Haruto. “Wow, you’re really good.” “Hmph, right?” Ayaka continued to circle around Haruto with a proud look on her face. Just then, probably because it had been left unused for many years, the bearings in the unicycle’s wheel must have become stiff. With a creaking sound, the wheel’s movement suddenly became poor. Ayaka, who unintentionally had the brakes applied, completely lost her balance and started to fall. “Kya!?” “Watch out!!” Ayaka let out a short scream. Haruto instantly extended his arm and caught Ayaka from the side, preventing her from hitting the ground. “Are you okay?” Haruto, relieved that he had somehow managed to prevent Ayaka from getting injured, spoke to her while patting his chest in relief. Ayaka, on the other hand, looked up at Haruto who was holding her, with a surprised expression. “Y-yeah. Haa—that scared me. Thank you, Ōtsuki-ku… Huh!?” Ayaka’s words caught in her throat. At the same time, she froze, staring intently at Haruto’s face.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?” “…No. I’m okay…” “Um… Oh! I’m sorry!” Haruto tilted his head at Ayaka’s somewhat absentminded reply, but he quickly realized he was holding her close and hurriedly moved away from her. “I’m sorry. For, um, hugging you without permission.” “Y-You don’t have to apologize, Ōtsuki-kun! If you hadn’t caught me, I might have gotten hurt, and, um… thank you, Ōtsuki-kun.” “No, um… you’re welcome.” “Yeah…” A somewhat awkward atmosphere flowed between the two of them. Amidst that, Ayaka began to speak stiffly. “Um… I-I just came to deliver Mom’s message! So… G-good luck with your work!” Ayaka forced the conversation to an end, then abruptly turned on her heel and somewhat hastily went back into the house. Haruto watched her retreating figure and muttered a single word. “She was soft…” It took him several minutes to resume organizing the storage shed. ※※※ Tōjō Ayaka I press my hand against my chest, trying to calm my loud, racing heartbeat, while leaning my back against the front door. “Wh-why? Why is my heart pounding so hard!?” Ōtsuki-kun caught me and saved me when I almost fell off my unicycle. At that moment, the strength transmitted from his sturdy arms. And, so close, his expression as he looked at me with concern. Just remembering that makes my heart ache as if it’s being churned by something. As I was trying to calm myself down by taking several deep breaths at the entrance, I heard Mom’s voice from the living room. “Ayaka? Did you tell Ōtsuki-kun?” “Ah, yeah.” I took one more deep breath before heading to the living room.

It’s okay, my heartbeat has calmed down a little. It must have just quickened because I was startled when I almost fell, right? Yes, that must be it. It has to be. “What did Ōtsuki-kun say?” When I entered the living room, Mom asked me while working on her laptop. “He said it won’t take that long, so he’ll finish everything today.” “Oh, really? As expected, young boys have a lot of stamina.” Mom praised Ōtsuki-kun admiringly. It seems Mom has completely taken a liking to Ōtsuki-kun. She completely trusts him, who handles both cleaning and cooking perfectly. Mom has only met Ōtsuki-kun twice, yet she likes him this much… She has seen and interacted with many people as a company manager, and is actually quite strict in her judgment of people, but even she acknowledges Ōtsuki-kun. Does that mean Ōtsuki-kun is quite an exceptional person? But right, I think he’s also number one in our grade for studies. On top of that, he’s perfect at housework, liked by children like Ryōta, and kind… Huh? Isn’t Ōtsuki-kun’s skillset a bit too high? “Ayaka?” “What is it, Mom?” “Your face, isn’t it a bit red? Could it be that something happened with Ōtsuki-kun? Hmm?” “Wh-!? N-nothing happened at all!” Mom’s probing gaze was scary, and I couldn’t help but look away. Mom had teased me about Ōtsuki-kun before, but I wished she would stop now. If she teased me about Ōtsuki-kun right now, I felt like my heart would become a complete mess. “Hey, hey, Sis. Isn’t Onii-chan done with the cleaning yet?” “Huh? Yeah, I think it’ll probably take a little longer.” “I wanna play with Onii-chan soon~” Ryōta is completely charmed by Ōtsuki-kun. Since they cleaned together yesterday, Ryōta has completely opened up his heart and grown attached to him. Well, I guess it’s true? Ōtsuki-kun has such a gentle demeanor, a calm presence, and is so kind, so I can understand why Ryōta has grown attached to him. When Ōtsuki-kun is interacting with Ryōta, he has this air of a kind older brother, and it was a little… charming…

…Somehow, just remembering it made my face feel a little hot. Why? What could it be… Ever since a little while ago, whenever I think about Ōtsuki-kun, my chest tightens and my face gets hot. Huh? Could this be… that I… about Ōtsuki-kun… “No way, no way, no way! Absolutely not! That can’t be it!!” The one answer that pops into my head. I deny that answer with all my might. “Big sis? What’s wrong?” “N-Nothing! Ah! That’s right! I was planning to do a ton of summer homework today, so I have to go back to my room! That’s okay, right, Mom?” “Oh, is that so? Then Ryōta, shall we play together, just the two of us?” “Yeah!” I leave Ryōta in Mom’s care. Then, I hurriedly left the living room, went into my room on the second floor, and dived straight onto the bed. “Ughh…” I bury my face in my pillow and let out a meaningless groan. Why am I so flustered? No way, right? This can’t be, can it? Do I… like Ōtsuki-kun? “Wait! Just a minute! Calm down, me. Let’s calm down for now.” I take a deep breath on my bed to calm my heart. “Think calmly, me.” Yes, think with a calm heart, Ayaka. Certainly, Ōtsuki-kun might have some charming aspects. He has a calm demeanor, is polite, isn’t aggressive, doesn’t seem to judge me solely on my appearance, Ryōta is incredibly fond of him, he’s caring and gentle, he’s good at cooking and cleans perfectly, and it looks like he works out, as his muscles are surprisingly firm, oh, and Mom and Dad both like Ōtsuki-kun too………Hmm? Huh? Rather than saying Ōtsuki-kun has charming aspects… is he a bundle of charm? “Stop! Stooop!! Don’t jump to conclusions! Yes, I need to think calmly, carefully!” Ōtsuki-kun is packed with charm. I admit that. Yes, I have to admit it, right? The problem is whether I like such an Ōtsuki-kun or not. I place a hand on my chest and think. How about it… about Ōtsuki-kun… I can’t say I like him yet, can I?

Because, it’s too short a time to fall in love, right? This way, it’ll be the same as the love-at-first-sight I’ve said I couldn’t understand all this time. Me, falling in love with Ōtsuki-kun at first sight? No way, that’s not it! Absolutely not!! “…It’s not… right?” Aah! Good grief!! I don’t know! I don’t understand my own feelings! I feel so restless!! Why? Why am I feeling this way? Is it because of the unicycle earlier? Did I fall for Ōtsuki-kun because he held me? “Could that be it? But he just held me for a little bit, you know? Besides, Ōtsuki-kun was just trying to help me.” My ideal way of falling in love is to gradually become closer from a relationship where we exchange greetings, become friends who hang out together, get to know each other, and then start to become conscious of each other. Instead, falling in love because he hugged and saved me when I was about to fall off the unicycle, isn’t that like being in a traffic accident! “If I’m going to fall for Ōtsuki-kun, first we have to become friends. And then, after getting close, become lovers. Yes, that’s what a healthy romance is.” I cross my arms and nod to myself, yes, yes. Wait, huh? Aren’t I somehow thinking about things on the premise that I’ll become Ōtsuki-kun’s girlfriend all on my own? This really means… I… Ōtsuki-kun is… “Auwahhh~~!! No! That’s not it~!” Not yet! It’s not time yet! It’s still too early to fall for Ōtsuki-kun, and I know too little about him. That’s right! I still don’t know anything about Ōtsuki-kun! So there’s no way I could like him! It’s impossible! Because, you know? Liking Ōtsuki-kun means I want to be his girlfriend, right? If Ōtsuki-kun were my boyfriend, my boyfriend… “…My family likes him too, and unexpectedly… it might… be okay?” Imagining it makes my face burn red hot. Embarrassed, I cover my face with both hands and shake my head from side to side to distract myself. Just then, I hear Ryōta’s gleeful laughter coming from the living room.

Ōtsuki-kun must have finished organizing the storage room already. He’s probably keeping Ryōta company now. Ryōta’s so lucky, being able to be honest with his feelings. He can just say things like ‘I like you, Onii-chan!’ just as he thinks them… Wait! What am I thinking!? E-even if I were honest with my feelings, I would never say ‘I like you, Ōtsuki-kun!’ And in the first place, I don’t even like him yet! …Probably… Aaargh, honestly! In the first place, the reason I’m so conscious of Ōtsukikun is because Saki says things like “Ayaka and Ōtsuki-kun are compatible,” or Mom asks me things like “Were you smitten by Ōtsuki-kun?”! That’s why I’ve become so aware of Ōtsuki-kun! As I’m thinking such things, the romance manga crammed into my bookshelf suddenly catches my eye. Instantly, an idea flashes into my mind. “That’s it! I just need to actually test my own feelings!” In romance stories, the heroine who falls in love gets her heart pounding just from making eye contact with the man she loves, and feels fluffy and happy just from exchanging a few words. If I make eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun now, or exchange words with him, will my heart pound or will I feel fluffy like the heroines in manga? If there’s no change in my heart then, it means I don’t like Ōtsuki-kun yet, right? On the other hand, if I find myself swooning over Ōtsuki-kun, then… that means… that’s what it is, right? “If that happens, I… what should I…” I’ve never liked anyone before, so I don’t know what to do. “…Well, I can think about that when the time comes, right? First, I need to confirm my own feelings.” What do I think of Ōtsuki-kun? Just as I resolved to find that out, I hear Mom’s voice from the bottom of the stairs. “Ayaka~. Ryōta says he wants to go shopping with Ōtsuki-kun again, so could you please accompany them today too?” “Okay, got it! I’m coming now!” Perfect timing, I got an excuse to go out with Ōtsuki-kun, and there I’ll make eye contact with him and confirm my feelings! With determination in my heart, I get ready to go out, leave my room, and head to the entrance. Ōtsuki-kun and Ryōta are already there waiting for me. “Onee-chan, you’re late!” “It’s Ryōta who’s impatient.”

I give a casual reply to my brother, who says almost the same thing as yesterday, while I change into my outdoor shoes. “Hey, Onii-chan. What’s ‘impatient’?” “Impatient, you see. It refers to someone who tries to do everything in a hurry.” Ōtsuki-kun is politely answering Ryōta’s question with a soft smile. My gaze can’t help but drift to their hands. Today, they’re holding hands even before going outside. I’m sure Ōtsuki-kun is just holding Ryōta’s hand so he doesn’t suddenly run off and get hit by a car or something. But still, I don’t know, my heart feels a bit… unsettled. “Well then, shall we go?” Ōtsuki-kun says so, takes Ryōta’s hand, and steps outside. I follow behind them. As I feel anxiety, anticipation, fear, and no small amount of excitement about confirming my own feelings, I intently watch Ōtsuki-kun’s back as he walks side-by-side with Ryōta. On the way to the supermarket, I ask Ōtsuki-kun about today’s dinner. “Ōtsuki-kun, what are you planning to make for dinner today?” “I’m thinking of making chilled oden today.” Ōtsuki-kun answers while carrying Ryōta on his shoulders, and I can’t help but show a surprised expression. “Oden can be eaten like that?” I thought oden was usually eaten piping hot on a cold day. I can’t quite imagine eating it chilled in the middle of this hot summer. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious, so I think you’ll be satisfied.” Ōtsuki-kun gives me a smile. Mixed in with his gentle, calm smile is a slightly confident, proud expression, and when our eyes meet, my heart gives a huge thump. Wha-!? Wait a minute!? Did my heart just flutter!? Was that what they call a ‘heart-pounding’ moment!? In other words, I… about Ōtsuki-kun… No, no, no, no! Wait, I still don’t know! It wasn’t Ōtsuki-kun’s expression that made my heart flutter just now, maybe it was just the unexpected dish name ‘chilled oden’ that made me excited! No, it must be. Yes, this fluttering is for ‘chilled oden.’ Phew~, I almost misunderstood. “Onii-chan, are there eggs in that oden too?”

“Yes, there are. Do you like eggs, Ryōta-kun?” “Yeah! I love eggs!” Ryōta says happily from atop Ōtsuki-kun’s head. The fun atmosphere flowing between them gives me a somehow vague image. Ōtsuki-kun seems like he’d be a good dad in the future… “Onee-chan? Why are you making a weird face?” “Huh!? I-I’m not making a weird face! It’s normal, normal!” “It’s not normal! Onee-chan was making a weird face! It was like a ‘dehehe~’ face!” “What kind of face is ‘dehehe~’? Really Ryōta, if you keep saying such strange things, your Onee-chan will get angry, you know?” “I’m not strange! The strange one is Onee-chan! Onii-chan, you saw it too, right? Onee-chan’s weird face. That ‘dehehe~’ face.” Hey! Don’t drag Ōtsuki-kun into this! “I might have missed it. We’re about to reach the supermarket, so shall we get down for a bit, Ryōta-kun?” Ōtsuki-kun, having the conversation thrown to him, takes Ryōta down from his shoulders as if to change the subject. Good, Ōtsuki-kun didn’t see it… B-but I should make sure, just in case. “Ōtsuki-kun. I wasn’t making a weird face or anything, okay?” “That’s right. Tōjō-san has well-proportioned features, so I can’t really imagine you making a funny face or anything.” “Huh!?” Isn’t that too sudden of a surprise attack!? Come to think of it, Ōtsukikun casually called me cute yesterday too, didn’t he? Could Ōtsuki-kun be naturally dense? This needs attention, I have to be wary! “What ingredients are you planning to buy today, Ōtsuki-kun?” I ask him, feigning composure while desperately hiding my inner turmoil. “Let’s see. We had eggs in the fridge, so we’ll buy daikon radish, tomatoes… we bought a whole pumpkin last time, and then maybe we should buy some processed fish cakes like satsuma-age if they have them.” “Tomatoes in oden?” “Yes, and maybe we could add corn too.” The ingredients Ōtsuki-kun lists are so unexpected that I can’t get an image of chilled oden at all. “Is that chilled oden an original Ōtsuki-kun recipe or something?” “No, no, of course not. If you search for it normally, lots of recipes will come up, you know?”

At his words, I search on my smartphone, and indeed, several recipes immediately pop up. “You’re right. It certainly says ‘tomatoes’ in the ingredients section.” “See? Surprisingly, oden broth and tomatoes go well together, you know?” “O-oh, is that so?” Ōtsuki-kun smiles at me again. For some reason, I can’t look directly at his expression, and I quickly turn my face away. Hey, why am I looking away! I need to make proper eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun and confirm my feelings, right! “Onii-chan! There’s daikon radish!” “It’s 158 yen today, huh…” “Is that cheap? Expensive?” “Hmm, it’s cheap for this time of year, but there are probably days when it’s even cheaper.” Ōtsuki-kun stares intently at the price tag of the daikon radish. While his gaze is on the daikon, I, too, feeling my heart pound at the thought of discovering my own feelings, stare fixedly at Ōtsuki-kun’s profile. Hmm, how is it? Is my chest fluttering? I place my hand on my chest to check my heartbeat. It’s a little faster than usual… maybe? But… it doesn’t quite feel like I’m falling in love… I don’t know. Maybe I should try observing Ōtsuki-kun from a little closer. As I’m thinking that, Ōtsuki-kun’s gaze suddenly slides from the daikon’s price tag to me. Instantly, I, who had been staring intently at his profile, make perfect eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun. “–!!” The moment our eyes met, my chest pounded so hard, THUMP!!, I thought my heart might stop. “Tōjō-san.” “Hya-yes!” Aah! I made some weird reply! I’m so embarrassed I could die… “Do you think this daikon is a buy?” “Ah, um… I think it’s a buy. Daikon is essential for oden, so…” “Right?” Ōtsuki-kun nods once at my opinion, takes a daikon radish from the display, and puts it in the shopping basket.

Phew~… That surprised me. And that reply earlier… “Hya-yes!” What was that, me…? I feel like I want to go back to my room right now and dive onto my bed. Huh? Wait a minute? Just now, when my eyes met Ōtsuki-kun’s, did my heart go ‘thump’? Did I become like a manga heroine? Which means… I really have fallen in love… Wait, wait, wait! I still don’t know! Just now, it might have been because our eyes met suddenly, and that just startled me. No, it must be. My heart just went ‘thump’ because I was surprised. That’s all. Next time. If our eyes meet next time, and my heart pounds then too, then… then I’ll properly judge my own feelings. Yes, let’s do that. I let out a “phew” and calm my heart. Just then, I feel Ryōta’s gaze and turn my face, and Ryōta, next to Ōtsuki-kun, was staring intently at me. “W-what is it, Ryōta?” “Nothin’. Nothing at all~” Ryōta says that and quickly looks away from me. W-was I acting strange? Was I so suspicious that Ryōta noticed? Or rather, I’m really worried Ryōta might say something unnecessary to Ōtsuki-kun… “Tōjō-san. Shall we go look at the fish paste products next?” “Ah, u-uhm.” Ōtsuki-kun, who had just put the tomatoes in the shopping basket, calls out to me while looking my way. In response, I hurriedly avert my gaze. That was close… I almost made eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun. I’m not mentally prepared yet, so I can’t make eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun right now. Because I can’t make a calm judgment when my heart and feelings are in such disarray. I need to properly judge my feelings in a calm state. First, I need to calm this pounding, noisy heartbeat. Thinking that, I followed Ōtsuki-kun and shopped, but in the end, my heart kept pounding the whole time I was with him, and I came home without being able to confirm my feelings. “Well then, I’ll start preparing dinner right away.” “Ah… okay. Please do.” Ōtsuki-kun says so and carries the groceries he bought to the kitchen. What should I do? At this rate, I’ll never be able to confirm my feelings.

I press my hand against my chest, which has been pounding since earlier. Just then, Mom, who is working on her laptop at the dining table, thanks me. “Thank you, Ayaka. For accompanying them shopping yesterday and today.” “No, it’s totally fine. Don’t worry about it.” “Speaking of which, you have a ton of homework to do today, right? I’ll watch Ryōta, so you can go back to your room.” “Eh? Ah… I made quite a bit of progress on my homework earlier, so I’m good for today.” “Oh, is that so?” If I go back to my room now, I won’t be able to achieve the important goal of making eye contact with Ōtsuki-kun and confirming my feelings. If that happens, I won’t be able to sleep tonight wondering whether I like Ōtsukikun or not. I guess I really have to steel myself and make eye contact with Ōtsukikun. O-okay! I’ll do it! I slowly approach Ōtsuki-kun, who is standing in the kitchen. With every step I take towards him, I feel like my heartbeat is getting one stage faster. But, if I run away now, I’ll never be able to confirm my feelings! Do your best, me! Don’t run away, me! Psyching myself up like that, I finally arrive next to Ōtsuki-kun, who is standing in the kitchen. Ōtsuki-kun currently has a knife in his hand, his gaze fixed on the cutting board. Ah, his serious expression while cooking might be kind of nice… Wait, don’t misunderstand, okay? Thinking something is nice and liking someone are two different things, right? I have to judge that carefully. Just then, Ōtsuki-kun seems to have noticed me coming next to him, and his eyes, which were focused on his hands, suddenly lift and meet my gaze. “…!” “Hmm? Is something wrong?” “Ah, um… I was thinking maybe I could help with something.” “No, this is my job, so Ayaka-san, please relax and rest.” Ōtsuki-kun gently declines my offer. But, to confirm my own feelings, I can’t back down either. “Um, you know. I got curious about how to make chilled oden, would it be a bother if I stayed with you?” “Is that so? It’s not a bother at all. In that case, could you blanch the tomatoes for a moment to peel them?”

“Okay.” I somehow managed to secure a reason to be next to Ōtsuki-kun! And I was able to make eye contact and talk with Ōtsuki-kun too! And, my current heartbeat is… maybe a little fluttery? B-but it’s not like the manga heroines’ “THROB!!” feeling, so it means I haven’t fallen in love yet, right? Right? That’s it, right? Having confirmed my feelings, I feel relieved for the time being. As I blanch the tomatoes, which have shallow cuts on their surface, according to Ōtsuki-kun’s instructions, I let out a “phew” and calm my heart. Just then, I casually look up and see Mom, who was playing with Ryōta in the living room, looking at me with a smirking expression. Feeling that she misunderstood something, I tried to speak to Mom, but she returned to playing with Ryōta before I could. Aah, this is a pattern where I’ll be teased later. As I’m thinking that, I hear a voice from the entrance. “I’m home~” It seems Dad has come home from work. The living room door opens immediately, and as expected, Dad comes in. “Well now, just thinking that Ōtsuki-kun’s home cooking is waiting for me today made me hurry home from work.” Saying so, Dad turns his face towards us. Then, seeing Ōtsuki-kun and me standing side-by-side in the kitchen, he smiled happily and said, “Oh?” “Somehow, seeing you two like that, you look like a newlywed couple! Hahaha!” “Hey!! Dad, don’t say such weird things!!” At Dad’s single remark, my heart started beating faster than ever before, and my face flushed beet red.