Chapter 303
303 – [Side Story] Mysterious Chocolate
Lunchtime that day.
“Here, chocolate.”
Following Ayase’s instructions her her her, I went up to her her rooftop her her her her, and the corners of her mouth her went up at the large heart-shaped chocolate she held out.
“Is it that good?”
“Of course.”
No matter how much chocolate is a lump of sugar that is almost like poison to those who exercise, receiving chocolate on Valentine’s Day still feels good.
Because I am also a man.
“I probably already got chocolate from Rika anyway. This is my second time.”
“Huh? Ayase, you’re the first.”
I immediately corrected her misunderstanding.
“Rika has been keeping an eye on me since morning and she never thought about giving it to me. So I thought I would give it to her only after school.”
“Huh… Yeah?”
Ayase muttered, trailing off her words.
I felt like my mood suddenly improved.
“Well, I prepared it especially for you, so chew it thoroughly and savor it. I thought you wouldn’t like sweets, so I made it with dark chocolate with a low sugar content.”
“Thank you, Ayase.”
“I didn’t prepare it specifically for you?! I just had some leftover ingredients from making chocolate for my younger siblings!”
Ayase said that and her face blushed.
This is a tsundere stereotype that is hard to find in today’s world.
Looking at her her appearance her her alone her, it would seem that Karen should take this position, but if we had to classify her as one of her her, she would be a hot-blooded boku-onna (ボクっ娘).
“… What is it? That happy smile?”
“No, I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve seen something good.”
“Hmph! It’s so weird!”
Ayase said that and turned her head, and then she ran down the stairs as if running away.
For a moment, she thought about grabbing Ayase, but she felt like it would only backfire, so she decided to leave it alone.
“… It’s okay to eat chocolate on an empty stomach.”
But since the person who gave it to me is sincere, I have to eat here and go down.
Thinking like that, I opened the red wrapping paper surrounding the chocolate.
Only then did I realize why Ayase had run away because she was embarrassed just now.
‘好き(I like it)’
This is because words were written on the surface of the chocolate.
‘As expected, it’s cute.’
While thinking that, I took a big bite of the chocolate.
***
After finishing the sincere chocolate that Ayase gave me on the rooftop, I came down and looked around the class, which was a bit chaotic, probably because it was still lunch time.
Regardless of whether they are women or men, everyone is gathered in small groups and talking about chocolate.
This is probably because dating is the most interesting topic for teenagers.
In particular, stories related to other people’s love affairs were one of the best gossips.
“Hey, hey, did you hear that story? Hinata from the next class confessed to Amamiya from the soccer club by giving him chocolate?”
“Really? So what was the result?”
“He’s crying in class right now because he got criticized so much.”
“Giggles, what kind of confidence did you have to confess? Amamiya from the soccer club is very popular.”
“I see. You know your subject.”
It was uncomfortable to hear information I didn’t want to know, but if I revealed it in front of the girls, I would be considered a tactless asshole, so I sat quietly at my desk.
Crash!
“Huh?”
At that moment, I realized there was something in my desk drawer.
When I took it out and looked at it, there was a box wrapped with a yellow ribbon in the drawer, and enclosed was colorful flower-patterned stationery.
When I read the contents of the letter, it was written in round letters and asked me to come to the home study room after school.
‘Who sent this?’
Honestly, because there were so many candidates, it was hard to guess where the chocolate came from.
‘First of all, it’s not Rika.’
Rika’s handwriting was definitely round, but it didn’t feel this cute.
‘But neither is Sasha.’
Even though Sasha learned Japanese through anime, she learned how to write properly through a calligraphy teacher, so she had a fairly fluid handwriting by high school standards.
A person who sees it for the first time would not even guess that it was written by a foreigner.
‘I already received the class president, so is it Karen through elimination?’
I had seen Karen’s handwriting while studying together before, but it was so long ago that I couldn’t remember it very well.
However, in romantic comedies, there are many cases where a girl in the sports world uses a strangely round handwriting as an element of the gap moe, so I guess it’s not particularly strange.
Naturally, I concluded that the chocolates were sent from Karen, so after checking the letter, I put the chocolates back in the desk drawer.
Considering the sincerity of the person who sent it, I should have eaten it all, but since I already ate all of today’s sugar, I was planning to save it and eat it later.
‘More than that, it’s rice, rice.’
I had to eat lunch by myself today because I refused other people’s invitations for lunch while returning from a trip to the rooftop to meet the class president.
Well, I already got used to it because I ate alone a lot in first grade.
So, as usual, I took out my lunch box to eat Chinese fried rice with a perfectly calculated burn rate and opened the lid of the lunch box with a solemn expression.
Puhwaak!
Because the lunch box contained a thermal pack, the dizzying oily smell of the still-warm Chinese fried rice wafted out, naturally stimulating the appetite.
Now that I see it, some of my classmates are glancing at it, but this is something I made solely to eat.
I had no intention of sharing it with others.
I firmly guarded the lunch box with one arm and muttered, “I will eat well,” And then began eating in earnest…
“Ah! As expected, he’s eating alone!”
I was about to do it, but I raised my head when I suddenly heard Rika’s voice
“How did you find out?”
When I asked with a puzzled expression, Rika hummed and said with a meaningful smile.
“I know everything~”
While saying that, Rika sat upside down on the chair in front of her, which was originally Satoru’s seat her her, and looked at me trying to eat my lunch with a smile.
When I hesitated to eat her food because of Rika, she tilted her head and asked.
“Why aren’t you eating, Ryu-chan?”
“No, it bothers me if someone is staring at me while I’m eating.”
“Ah~ Something new between us~”
Rika said that with a cheeky smile and tapped my shoulder.
“…”
Well, I guess it doesn’t matter since it’s Rika.
It’s already been 3 months since I started dating her after receiving permission from her chairman.
I was close to her before, but now that my relationship with Rika has grown so close that I know everything from Rika’s her little habits her to the number of moles on her her body her her, I feel like anything is okay with her.
As I began to forget my lunch box out of desperation, Rika, who was watching me eating with her palm cupped with a flower, asked.
“So, Ryu-chan, what do you want to receive as a Valentine’s Day gift?”
Cough!
I started without realizing it by Rika’s sudden question
Fortunately, she was prevented from having a grain of rice fly out of her mouth, but for an instant, the tip of her nose became wrinkled and tears came to her eyes.
“Gwae, are you okay? Here’s the water!”
When Rika, who was embarrassed, hurriedly handed me her water bottle, I immediately drank the entire contents.
“Whoa-“
Only then did the pain go away and I asked Rika with bloodshot eyes.
“Why did you suddenly ask that?”
Then Rika replied, hehe” And avoiding her gaze with the expression she makes when something pricks her.
“Have you actually tried making chocolate over the weekend?”
“… But?”
“No matter what I did, I couldn’t get enough chocolate for people to eat, so my mom told me to stop dirtying the kitchen and go out and buy it because she would pay me.”
“Yes, yes.”
The image of Maria getting angry at Rika naturally appeared in her head.
“But anyway, there would be no point in giving it as a gift unless it was my girlfriend’s handmade chocolate, so I thought it would be better to buy the gift Ryu-chan wants with that money rather than buying expensive chocolate.”
Rika, who obediently realized her situation, looked at me with her anxious expression.
“So, what do you think, Ryu-chan?”
I looked at Rika with an indifferent expression and struck her forehead with the blade of her hand.
“Are you stupid?”
“Ah! I’ve never even been hit by my father!”
Rika, who said that and held her forehead, looked aggrieved.
I sighed and gave a sermon to this foolish sentient being who had not yet achieved enlightenment.
“No, well- it’s nice to think of me and buy me things I need, but is this your original intention?”
“… Heart?”
I nodded and said.
“Rika, I like anything you give me. Even if it’s just a 100 yen chocolate cookie from her store.”
Then Rika looked at me with an incredibly touched expression.
“Ryu-chanaaang~~”
Immediately, I suddenly grabbed her head and hugged her to my chest.
“Ryu-chan, why are you so deep in thought~ I’ve fallen in love with you again~”
“Now, just a moment!”
Since I am also a man, it is definitely a pleasant reward, but I wish we could distinguish between time and place.
There are too many eyes around us!
“Wow, I’m jealous of dogs.”
“I wish I could bury my face in that voluptuous cleavage just once.”
“After all, aren’t those two really hot?”
“Leave it alone, it’s the best time.”
“Well, hasn’t it only been 100 days?”
Because Rika’s breasts blocked my view, I couldn’t tell who she was saying, but I felt like I could vaguely see how the class was looking at us.
They probably look like a couple who openly salts chicken during lunch time.
I wanted to say, ‘It’s all a misunderstanding!’, But I knew Rika would be sad if I did so, so I couldn’t bear to say it. It was a series of dilemmas.
Still, the soft touch on my face made her feel good, so I decided to give up thinking quietly.
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