Chapter 58 – Heart

Sitting down at the table, Takei noticed that most of the people here were guys.

Some of them were accompanied by their reluctant girlfriends, but a majority of them were definitely single men.

Do I belong to the group of bachelors or the group of couples? We're not dating, but I feel like I have a closer affinity to the couples for some reason...

Even though Takei didn't know which group he belonged to, it was pretty obvious to everyone else that he belonged to the latter group.

He was seated right next to a bombshell model of a girl who could steal men's hearts with a single glance.

However, there was something that was off about her at the current moment.

An aura of displeasure was surrounding Akari, which ended up making everyone in the room reel away from her.

Takei didn't know why she was in such a bad mood, but everyone else did. It was obvious to everyone that Akari was being very jealous right now.

The dense block of a person was still clueless about the situation, even though he knew about her feelings.

Truly, Takei was dense at his very core.

Once they were seated, Mai handed them a menu of all the foods and drinks the establishment had to offer.

Taking a quick glance through the menu, Takei immediately knew what he wanted to get.

"I'll get a raspberry lemonade."

Akari also looked through the menu and decided to get a drink for herself.

"I'll have a sweet tea."

Mai nodded and left the table to go get their drinks from the kitchen.

Looking up from the menu, Takei observed the situation around him.

There were many high school girls dressed up as maids serving the customers, while the boys worked in the kitchen to deliver the food.

The maid outfit was designed off a recently released anime that was popular amongst students.

It was an eye catching outfit, even though there wasn't much skin showing due to the girls' complaints when the outfits were being designed.

There was a particularly cute and innocent-looking girl who was serving customers with a shy smile on her face. She was basically the star of the place, since that appearance gave everyone an instinctual urge to protect her.

Takei liked to admire cute girls, so this place was a haven for him.

Well, that was his train of thought before he met a certain blonde haired girl.

"..."

Another part of the reason was due to the piercing stare that was aimed directly at him.

Slowly as if he was an old robot, Takei turned to face Akari head on.

As expected, she had a very annoyed expression on her face.

"Uh... Hey, Miss Akari. Is there something wrong?"

"Nope."

Takei's question was immediately met with a cold reply.

Scratching his head, Takei was confused as to how Akari got so mad.

In reality, she wasn't really that mad.

Akari was merely sulking due to Takei staring at the maids that were working.

I wish you would only look at me...

As if he heard her inside thoughts, Takei looked at her intently and placed the palm of his hand on top of her head.

"Okayyy, calm down. Everything's okay~"

Joking around, Takei took an exaggerated tone and began to pat her head.

"Don't think that head pats can solve everything..."

Even though Akari tried to downplay the head pats, she eventually caved in and enjoyed it thoroughly.

The lazy smile that showed up everytime head pats were involved, once again returned to greet its sole owner.

No longer was there a displeased expression on her face, it was replaced by the expression of a maiden-in-love.

Forgetting that they were in public, the two entered their own strawberry atmosphere that was impossible for anyone to interfere in.

"Here are your drinks... uh, should I be interfering?"

Mai returned with their drinks only to witness something incredible happening.

The oppressive sugar space was dominating the whole room. People were consistently becoming victims to the aura of passion that was constantly spreading as well.

Takei refused to take his hand off of Akari's head, as evident by the satisfied smile on his face and the deep trance that he was in.

"Should I say something?"

Mai was unsure of how to deal with the situation at hand.

***

"It could've been so different..."

Takei had to go take a restroom break, since he had drank too much water before even arriving at the festival.

Walking through one of the hallways, he reminisced about a time where his life could've gone in a different direction.

It was the day where he chose his future high school.

In the past, Takei had already taken a tour of Mitsukai High School during the future freshman night event that they had set up.

He had loved the big campus and school policies that they offered. It was beyond a shadow of a doubt that Takei would go to this high school.

All of his friends were going here, so it should've been a no brainer.

At least, it was a no brainer until that event happened.

Something, or someone, had changed his whole perspective of the world around him.

Takei became a different person on that day.

As a result, he had lazily chosen his current school through a means of random pick and draw.

He thought that any place other than Mitsukai High School was better, no matter the distance or quality.

There was no salvation for him anyways.

However, that random selection may have been the best choice of his life.

He went to a new school and met an incredible person.

Akari Akazawa became his motivation, goal, and reason for living.

She had truly saved his life.

And for that, Takei would be eternally grateful.

Even if his meaningless life meant nothing to him, it meant something to her.

That's why Takei would not ever stop moving.

He would never stay still ever again.

Slapping his cheeks, Takei got himself mentally ready.

"Let's do my best..."

He turned the corner of the hallway with a triumphant smile on his face.

"Ouch!"

Until he bumped into another person that was also turning the corner, that is.

"Are you okay?" Takei asked the person in question.

"Yeah, I'm al- eh?. You are..."

The girl was about to brush it off, until she realized who he was.

Getting a clearer look at her, Takei's face paled and a nauseous feeling began to arise from the very pits of his stomach.

He knew who this familiar girl was.

After all, she was the cause of all of his problems.

The demon queen herself, Erika Tachibana.

---

Akari's True Affection Meter: 92 -> 93%

We've reached the climax of this volume. Tomorrow's chapter will be a .5 chapter that addresses a certain someone's past...

Serious-san: MWAHAHAHAHA, I AM ALL POWERFUL!!!

Sugar-san: ...

Author-san: ...