CH 7

……I’m awfully nervous.

I woke up early without thinking. Five o’clock? Even on school days, I get up at six.

Well, it’s okay to get up early. I could summarize all the places I wanted to learn with Shinonome today.

But still.

“I arrived too early.”

The time is 7:30. I had already arrived at the station and was waiting for the train to take me to the station where Shinonome was waiting.

What a beautiful Fall day today. The temperature is not as high as in midsummer, but it is still warm enough to wear short sleeves. On the other hand, tomorrow, the wind will change to northerly and the temperature will be lower.

How did it come to be so early? I spent some time getting myself ready, but there was too much spare time. I thought it would be better than being late……

I’ll just wait and study when I get there.

That’s when the train came. A train came, so I got on it and spent a short time.

The next station came into view. There were fewer people than usual, so I was able to move quickly to the doorway.

The door opened. Immediately, I met an eye contact with a  girl.

“…….”

Before I could think why. I was at a loss for words.

Too much. Her appearance is too beautiful.

Her normal appearance was like a celebrity on TV,……I thought she was someone who’s far away from me.

But now it’s different.

She’s wearing a straw hat and a light sky blue dress. As for her fashion….it’s very simple.

However, her fairy-tale-like atmosphere. Her visual appeal is enhanced by the fact that she’s so beautiful–

“M-Minori kun !”

Her pure white hands grabbed mine. I was pulled away at once. That’s when I regained consciousness.

“W-what’s wrong? The door was about to close, you know?”

There again. I stopped breathing.

We’re holding hands. Our distance is surprisingly close. Her pretty face. Her open shoulders. Her sweet smell reached my brain.

No, this is normal. This is our usual distance.

“My…bad.”

I somehow managed to squeeze out my voice and apologized.

“Because….you were so pretty, Shinonome. I was fascinated.”

“Eh? I-is that so? I’m glad….to hear that.”

Shinonome cleared her throat while her face was blushing.

“Well then, Minori kun, I’ll give you a question?”

“….Question?”

“Yes, from the clerk. I was told that I should do something like this.”

I don’t understand it well. Let’s just hear it.

“Today’s me. There’s something different about me today. What is it?”

She quickly moved away from me and spun around. Her long skirt and hair swayed softly, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

“…..The difference, huh.”

“Yes. Do you know? ……I think it’s a little bit difficult.”

I looked at Shinonome again. 

….As expected. She feels different than usual.

Oh, I see.

“You’re wearing makeup?”

“……!　That’s correct. How did you know?”

“Usually……I’ve been looking at you a lot since before.”

“I-I see. …..But, how is it? I have confidence in my makeup.”

……Yeah. Come to think of it, I think she did a Japanese dance. If so, it’s no surprise that she’s good at makeup.

“I think it looks…..great, you know. It blends in with your outfit.”

“Fufu, thank you. It was worth the effort. ……There is one more thing. Do you know?”

At those words. I was a little lost.

If I make one wrong move, it could turn out to be sexual harassment.

“……Um. I’m sorry if I get it wrong.”

“That’s fine, you can say it.”

With those words,……I made up my mind and opened my mouth.

“Perfume. Are you using it?”

“…..Correct. How did you know?”

Shinonome eyes widened at my words. I said,

“Even if I said this. It’s because our distance on the tarin was always close.”

“I see. …..What do you think? Do you smell anything bad?”

“No. I like it.”

“If you said so, I’m glad.”

At my words, Shinonome let out a giggle. ……However,

“…..I’m sorry for looking like this. I’ve done nothing more than a haircut.”

“You still look great enough.”

“T-thank you,……. But, it would’ve been better if I put some perfume on.”

I didn’t think too much about it. Then…Shinonome brought her face closer.

“I don’t hate your smell, Minori kun…..it’s a smell that make me feel safe. I think it’s okay as it is, you know?”

She brought her face closer to my chest. She sniffed it.

“I-I understand. I got it already. You’re too close.”

“Ah, I-I’m sorry. …I was a little excited. This is my experience like this.”

And finally, Shinonome moved away from me. I tried to calm my heart that was beating fast. I let out a sigh.

“No. Don’t worry about it. More importantly, why are you here so early?”

“That’s my line. I just finished my preparations early. So I’m here.”

“……I see. I’m the same. I thought I’d come ahead and do a quick review.”

“Ah, me too, me too.”

Apparently, we were both thinking the same thing. My cheeks unintentionally relaxed.

“Fufu. We’re two of a kind, don’t we?”

“I guess so. …What do we do now? We still have time. Shall we study here?”

“Yes, let’s do that. Fortunately, there are almost no people here on holiday mornings.”

With that……we spent some time there for a while.

◆◆◆

…..After all. The thought that it might not be a good idea is lodged in my brain.

“The problem over there is,…..Minori kun?Are you listening?”

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t really get it. Can I ask you to explain one more time?”

“I understand. I’ll try to explain it more clearly next time.”

We are now on the train to our destination. Of course, during that time, I was being taught by her.

The distance between us is very close. Usually, there are so many people on the train, so I didn’t notice….no, I just didn’t really care.

Today, there are hardly any people on the train. We’re  so close that our shoulders touch, and our hands are usually touching each other as we hold the textbook.

Not good. I’m too conscious. I have to contact Eiji later.

“Like I said, this is—ah, the next station is our destination. Shall we get ready to get off?”

“Y-yeah. Got it.”

I put away my textbooks and we both headed for the door.

And then. We left the station and took the bus to our destination.

◆◆◆

“W-what an amazing lineup. It’s still morning, right?”

“You’re right……. I’ve heard it’s popular, But I didn’t expect it to be this popular.”

Even though it’s still morning, There were many people who looked like high school students waiting in line.

“I-I had already made a reservation. It’s all right, right? ……It’s only been five minutes, but let’s ask. There’s a waitress there.”

“I guess so.”

It must be because of the line up. But there was a high school girl who looked like a part-time worker at the entrance.

“Excuse me. This is Shinonome, who had a reservation for 9:00.”

When Shinonome said so, the high school girl’s shoulders jumped.

Then she looked at me and smiled. Then she looked at this way and smiled.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Shinonome sama. Your seats are ready.”

That’s a very polite way of putting it. I wonder if the manager taught her that.

She’s quite beautiful. She looks like she could be an idol or actress. That’s the level.

…… Well. I personally prefer Shinonome.

We entered the store. Then the waitress made eye contact with the male waiter.

Perhaps he understood the intention, so he headed out of the store to organize the line. He’s quite a manly man too. Could he possibly be her boyfriend? No, it would be a bad idea to pry too much into their life.

We were shown to a table at the back……It was a little wide, and there was a working space.

“This is the table you have reserved. Please ring the bell when you have decided on the menu.”

“Thank you very much.”

“No, thank you very much. ….Then, excuse me.”

The waitress bowed politely and left.

Shinonome sat down. I sat across from her.

“…..Perhaps. Maybe one of the staff knew my father. She seemed awfully nervous.”

“……Your parents must be pretty amazing people.”

“Well, yeah. …..Let’s not talk about it.  What would you like to……order?”

While looking at the menu. Shinonome froze.

“W-what’s wrong?”

I unintentionally became anxious. I called out to her.

“……Look.”

“look?”

“Look at this ! It looks soooo delicious ! ……Ah, it’s hard to see it that way ! I’m going there !”

As soon as she said that, Shinonome came around. She sat right next to me.

I purposely sat on the opposite side of her. She didn’t care about that. She put the menu up so that I could see it easily.

“This ! They all look so delicious !”

“……Yeah. T-they certainly look delicious. U-um. The distance again.”

“Actually, I’ve never been to a place like this before ! There’s so much I want to eat !”

At those words. The expression on my face. I realized that my cheeks had loosened up.

The nickname [Ice Princess] didn’t suit her. She was smiling like a child.