“Oh, Sakurazawa Moku-san, it seems your pet dog doesn’t want me to leave!”
Kinoshita Kazuya teased the red-haired soft girl, Sakurazawa Moku.
“Y-Yes, y-yes... No, ....”
A barely audible voice sounded. If it weren’t for the quietness of the empty park and Kazuya’s excellent hearing, it would have been impossible to hear.
This was beyond being shy.
“It’s alright, and I’m happy that your Shiro likes me.” Kazuya lowered his head and petted Shiro’s head. “Isn’t that right, Shiro?”
“Woof woof...”
The dog thought Kazuya was playing with it, and barked happily.
“Th-thank you!”
The red-haired girl bowed and thanked him, her voice weak. If you weren’t paying close attention, you wouldn’t have been able to hear her. She was extremely nervous. “Then, b-bye!”
Kinoshita Kazuya: “.....”
“Bye-bye.”
Instead, it was Kazuya’s companion, Sarashina Ruka, who took the initiative to say goodbye.
The red-haired girl let out a sigh of relief, then timidly looked up, using her doe-like eyes to look at Kazuya, like a primary school student waiting for their teacher to dismiss them.
Kazuya was taken aback for a moment, and smiled slightly. “Bye-bye, maybe we’ll see each other again.”
“Mhm.”
Sakurazawa Moku jogged away.
…
“This girl, like Sarashina-san, must be a high school student. But, I feel like she’s too shy.” Kinoshita Kazuya used Sakurazawa Moku as a topic to chat with Sarashina Ruka.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen someone so easily embarrassed since elementary school.” Sarashina Ruka smiled and talked to Kazuya. “But, even if she’s easily embarrassed, she’s still a beautiful beauty!”
“She is very beautiful.” Kazuya spoke according to the facts.
But, looking at Sarashina Ruka beside him, he added.
“And, Sarashina Ruka-san is also very beautiful.”
“Really?” Hearing Kazuya’s praise, Sarashina Ruka touched her short hair shyly.
…
Back home.
In the bathroom, Sakurazawa Moku took a bath while recalling her encounter that morning.
Even though they were both good people, she was still so shy. Would this make them dislike her?
However, the boy seemed very gentle. He didn’t mind that she was clumsy with her words. He seemed to understand her well. If only she could properly thank him.
Sakurazawa Moku sighed.
Ten minutes later, Sakurazawa Moku finished her shower, and water droplets still fell from the tips of her hair, but it didn’t affect her beautiful face that resembled a water lily.
Afterward, she prepared to take the 10-minute bus to her university, Sōro no Mizu Women’s University.
…
“Then, see you later, Kinoshita-san.”
After parting ways with Kazuya, Sarashina Ruka habitually looked at the phone in her hand.
“060 bpm”
The heart rate counting app she often used displayed 60 beats per minute.
“It’s a little faster than usual, but why? Is it because of exercising?”
Sarashina Ruka was a little concerned...
…
In the supermarket.
Minamoto Chizuru selected her beef.
The color was bright red and evenly distributed. It had a gloss, the meat was fine and compact, and it was elastic. It seemed like tonight’s sukiyaki would be delicious.
Currently, she was in her big-framed glasses, plain girl mode. Because she wanted to buy fresh ingredients, she headed straight to the supermarket after class. Now, she even had a little sweat on her forehead.
She purchased all the ingredients she needed.
Minamoto Chizuru hesitated for a moment, then picked up her phone next to her, slid to unlock it, and found the contact name she had been forced to add yesterday, Kinoshita Kazuya.
“Forget it, I’ll just call and ask him if he’s free.”
Minamoto Chizuru made up her mind and dialed Kinoshita Kazuya’s number.
After a short while, the phone connected.
“Hello, …”
Minamoto Chizuru took a deep breath, preparing for the serious demeanor she used when speaking to her superiors.
“Hello, Ichinose-san, is there anything you need?”
Kazuya looked at the caller ID displaying Ichinose Chizuru and thought. Although he had told her yesterday that she could contact him if she needed anything, she called him today. Was she really treating him like a tool?
“Hello, also, are you free tonight?” Minamoto Chizuru on the other end of the phone was excessively restrained.
“I’m free, do you need help with something?”
Kinoshita Kazuya intended to get straight to the point.
“No, it’s just, thank you for taking care of me yesterday. Didn’t you say you can’t cook?” Minamoto Chizuru was somewhat hesitant about her invitation. “So, I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight as a thank you.”
“Really?”
Kazuya thought for a moment. If he had been taken care of, he would probably also want to repay that favor by treating the person to a good meal.
“Okay, I’ll take you up on that, Minamoto Chizuru-san.”
“Then, how about 6 pm at my apartment?”
Minamoto Chizuru reported the time and location of their meal.
“Alright, see you at 6.” Kazuya said.
“We’re having sukiyaki tonight. Do you have any food allergies?”
Minamoto Chizuru paid attention to Kazuya’s dietary restrictions.
“I don’t have any allergies, just some foods I don’t like. Nothing I can’t eat.” Kazuya inherited the food culture of a civilized ancient country that spans 5,000 years.
…
That evening, Minamoto Chizuru’s apartment.
“Ding dong.”
The doorbell rang.
“Coming.”
Minamoto Chizuru, who was busy in the kitchen, thought it was probably her neighbor, Kinoshita, who had arrived.
“Good evening.”
Kazuya arrived with a bottle of coconut juice.
“Good evening.” Minamoto Chizuru opened the door and bent down to prepare slippers for Kinoshita Kazuya.
She used her right hand to gather her hair and bent down to grab a pair of slippers from the bottom of the shoe rack. “These are from the slipper gift pack. Nobody has worn them yet, so please wear them if you don’t mind.”
Well, Minamoto Chizuru was wearing a pink long-sleeved top and a white jacket at home, which gave her a very homey feel.
She had fair skin, a cute, innocent appearance, a curvy figure, long brown hair tied in a ponytail that hung at her waist, and a soft voice.
If there was a career called “wife,” Minamoto Chizuru would be the perfect choice for people’s hearts.
“Thank you.”
“Then, please wait on the table for a moment, the food will be ready soon.”
Even though it was a cheap student apartment, Minamoto Chizuru kept everything in order. The room had a hint of girlishness. It was like the difference between Class A and Class D in the “Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu” anime. The room, with a similar design to the former room, felt like it had something magical about it.
Kazuya had been to Minamoto Chizuru’s apartment just yesterday, and he had helped her clean the room. But, it seemed like Minamoto Chizuru had cleaned it again after that.
The room’s layout hadn’t changed, the floor was clean and spotless, the windows were bright, the coffee table was clean, the sofa was plain... and there was a faint scent of a girl in the room.
Minamoto Chizuru turned around and continued to prepare her food, and Kazuya continued to look at the S-rank beautiful girl’s room.
The small sofa that could be placed on the floor was the type of creative furniture often used by college students. There was a pink bedsheet, as well as cute fluffy cushions and stuffed toys. He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration, it was truly a girl’s room.
Seeing that Kinoshita Kazuya had finished looking around her room and was playing with his phone, Minamoto Chizuru let out a sigh of relief in the kitchen.
This was the first time she had invited someone over to her room, and it was a boy. She was still a little concerned.