Chapter 33 – Not as Normal

After daydreaming his morning away, Takei noticed that the teacher had just entered the classroom.

Takei's homeroom teacher was a burly old man who looked like his side job was being a lumberjack.

Inwardly, Takei believed that the man had accidentally gotten a teaching license instead of a woodcutting license.

"I hope everyone had a good winter break..." the teacher began to say. "Since everyone's back and refreshed now, let's get started on some learning again."

Many students in the class groaned at the teacher's indelicacy.

"However... there's two new people I want you guys to meet."

The teacher raised a hand and motioned for the people outside of the classroom to come in.

A pair of very familiar siblings promptly walked into the classroom. The male sibling winked at him while the female sibling eyed him with excitement.

"Alright, please introduce yourselves," the teacher requested.

They both nodded in response.

"I'm Eiji Hosegawa, nice to meet you all."

"I'm Rikka Hosegawa, let's get along, everyone."

Indeed, the two siblings were the Hosegawa siblings that Takei had known for a long time.

Why did they transfer here? Especially near the end of the year?

"Alright, there's an open seat next to and behind Tanaka. Just sit down at your own discretion."

Eiji and Rikka nodded to the teacher's statement and began to move to the seats specified.

Before they could get there though, Rikka whispered something into Eiji's ear.

He looked back at her with amazement in his eyes. Eiji smiled and then nodded his head in agreement.

Then, they both sat down in their respective chairs. Rikka sat down at the chair next to him, while Eiji sat down at the chair behind him.

Takei leaned over and whispered to Rikka. "What's up with this? Why did you guys transfer?"

In response, Rikka shrugged. "Our old school was boring, so we convinced our parents that the curriculum was better here."

"..." Takei could not believe they moved over here for such a reason.

He leaned back to Eiji and asked him the same question.

"Why? Our cover story is that this school gives a superior education and that it would be more beneficial to us, but the real reason is mostly because Rikka wants to be with someone," Eiji explained.

She wants to be with someone? Does she have a boy she likes? Well, whatever. I'll cheer her on no matter what.

Takei turned to the both of them. "I hope we can get along for the foreseeable future."

Surprised by Takei's honest and good willed statement, they both smiled at him.

""Let's get along as well,"" they both said in unison.

***

Takei somehow managed to stay awake until it was lunchtime. He wasn't a bad student at all, just a lazy one. Everyone knew he slept during classes, but no one interfered since Takei was known for getting good grades.

When the lunch bell rang however, Takei was out of the classroom before anyone could say a word to him.

As he was heading towards the cafeteria, Takei heard a voice from behind him.

"Wait up!"

He turned around to see the goddess rushing towards him.

Takei waved his hands in a panic. "Whoa, calm down."

Akari stopped her sprint just before she reached Takei.

"Let's go up to the roof!"

She grabbed his arm and dragged him along before he could even respond.

Luckily for Takei, the halls were vacant due to everyone hurriedly rushing to the cafeteria. There was not a soul there to witness the goddess's facade crumbling. Also, no one was able to see the embarrassing sight of him being dragged along by Akari.

He mentally thanked God for letting his dignity survive.

Putting aside Takei's weird praying, Akari pushed forward without a care in the world. It seemed like she had remained a constant that also hasn't changed in his life.

They reached the roof in no time, which of course was empty.

Akari laid out the picnic sheet that she had brought with her. Takei wondered where she had even hidden it, but he decided not to press the matter. She motioned for him to sit down, in which he abided.

"I made you a bento today as a welcome back-to-school gift," Akari gently smiled.

She lifted the lid of the bento to reveal a gorgeous plethora of food. Hamburger steak over steamed rice, along with pickled vegetables on the side was the glorious food that blessed his eyes.

Takei seemed surprised she would put in all of this effort for him. "Wow, this looks amazing..."

"Thanks, it was no problem," Akari gently smiled.

As a response to Akari's spectacular looking food, Takei could hear his stomach growling.

Akari looked happy about the stomach growl. "Fufufu, you can dig in whenever you want."

Takei nodded in response. "Thanks for the food."

He grabbed the disposable chopsticks and opened the pack. Then, Takei proceeded to dig into the food. Several moments of silence ensued as he was savoring the multitude of flavors that he was experiencing.

"How is it?" Akari shyly asked.

She hadn't even touched a single piece of her food yet. It seemed like she was waiting for Takei to finish and give his rating before she would start eating.

Takei finished chewing and gave her a big smile. "It was amazing, I almost want to ask you to make me food everyday."

"E-everyday?!" Akari blushed.

The dense Takei hadn't noticed it yet, but it was clearly a marriage proposal. This phrase left the goddess in such a weak state, that she looked almost like a statue if it weren't for her vermillion red cheeks.

Takei kept on eating the food without even noticing Akari's plight. After seeing his intense focus on the food, Akari whispered at an incredibly low volume so that even Takei wouldn't hear.

"I wouldn't mind making you food everyday though..."

---

Akari's True Affection Meter: 7 -> 15%

An indirect marriage proposal did an unexpected amount of damage to Akari's hitpoints.

She is slowly inching towards the realm of wanting more physical intimacy with him.