CH 6

TL: Kanenashi

ED: SevenTails

It was a while after I got out of the bath. Tojo-san, who had also finished, said, “I have something good for you,” and headed for the kitchen.

I didn’t have a change of clothes, so I borrowed a sweatshirt that Tojo-san had prepared for me.

I wasn’t sure if I should feel sorry for having to be accommodated or what.

“I’ve prepared some Häagen-Dazs for you. What flavour do you like? I’ve got the whole selection.”

“Oh, vanilla then.”

“What a coincidence. Vanilla is my favourite too.”

Tojo-san took out two vanilla Häagen-Dazs from the freezer and placed them in front of herself and me.

I haven’t been able to buy any in the past few years.

“If you marry me, you can have them every day, okay?”

“…That’s kind of tempting.”

“What? Is it possible that my body is losing out to ice cream?”

The stunned expression on Tojo-san’s face gave me a completely different impression from her usual expression at school.

Just the fact that I was able to see a side of our school idol that I didn’t know existed made it all the more interesting.

“Oh, you smiled properly for the first time, didn’t you?”

“Eh… Was it?”

“I’ve had my share of giggles and smiles, but the smile you just gave me was so natural. It was really nice.”

It was as if an unconscious part of me hit me, and it was strangely embarrassing for it to be pointed out.

I felt my face heating up again and picked up my ice cream.

“Inamori-kun, how do you like to eat ice cream from a cup like this one? I like it when the surrounding parts start to melt a little and then eat the melted parts.”

“I like—.”

It was a question I hadn’t really considered.

I had always thought that ice cream should be eaten before it melted, and I had never heard of anyone wanting to eat it otherwise.

“I would have eaten it just like that. Does it taste better if you eat it when it starts to melt?”

“The taste itself doesn’t change, but I think it becomes smoother and milkier. Now that you mention it, why don’t you give it a try?”

When someone said that much, I couldn’t help but be curious.

Tojo-san picked up the cup and began to warm it up by wrapping her palm around it.

“When you press the cup with your finger, and it starts to get a little sticky, that’s when it’s time to eat for me.”

“I see…”

I grip the cup in the same way and transfer the heat from my palm to the cup.

Within a few minutes, the surface had softened and was ready to eat, as she put it.

“When it’s melted like this, try to scrape the surface around it as you eat it. It’s a little different from eating it normally.”

I did as she said, shaved the part that was starting to melt a little along the edge, and brought the spoon to my mouth.

Sure enough, there was no noticeable change in the taste itself. However, the smoothness in my mouth felt completely different.

It was still ice cream, but it felt different.

Strangely enough, the gentle sweetness and the smoothness of the texture made me feel happy.

“Wait, please! Hold it! Hold it!”

“Huh?”

As soon as I put the second bite in my mouth, I asked to wait and had to stop moving with the spoon still in my mouth.

Tojo-san quickly took out her phone, activated the camera app, and the shutter sound clicked.

“What’s wrong…?”

“Ha!? S-Sorry… Inamori-kun looked so happy that I just wanted to save it as a photo…!”

I wonder why. 

I wasn’t able to continue because it felt too embarrassing.

“Woo! This is rare! An exclusive photo that can only be taken if you are in the same space! Can I use it as wallpaper!?”

“… I’d be embarrassed if other people saw it, so if you don’t mind, please don’t use it as one…”

“No problem! This phone is for my family and Inamori-kun, so you don’t have to worry about anyone else seeing it.”

She pointed to the two phones charging on the shelf.

“The one over there is my school phone, and the one next to it is my work phone. I take the one for school when I go to school or hang out with my friends, and I take the one for work when I go to the office.”

“What’s the point of going to the trouble of having separate ones…?”

“I don’t really like to mix public and private. When I’m working, I want to forget about school, and when I’m at school, I want to forget about work. Oh, and of course, I’ll have Inamori-kun’s contact information on all my phones, so don’t worry!”

I don’t care about that part at all, though—.

Although, by doing so, she was probably improving her work performance and recouping the profit of three smartphones.

I don’t think it’s a waste. It’s what she needs.

… I think we should brush our teeth and go to bed.

“Just so you know, we’re not going to sleep in the same bed, are we?”

“Hmm, there is only one bed, so we’ll have to sleep together.”

Why was she saying so matter-of-factly?

I don’t think that’s the case for everyone, but if a healthy high school boy were to sleep in the same bed as a girl, I’d assume that something else was going on.

“I’m not going to touch you, of course, so don’t worry. It’s not a trial run from there on out.”

“No… I think your concern is backwards.”

“As for being touched by Inamori-kun, I’m totally okay with that. I’ve already researched the fact that you are a man with a strong sense of responsibility.”

It’s true that if something went wrong, I’d take responsibility for it. By then, if she asked me to get married, I’ll be more than happy to accept.

But yeah, then there’s no way there will be a mistake between us.

(There’s no way… I can sleep in peace.)

I was already nervous at this point, but if we slept next to each other, I’d never be able to fall asleep.

“Can I sleep on the sofa?”

“No.”

“Why…?”

The landlord said no, but I wondered if I should force myself.

I thought I had no choice but to be resolute here.

“In addition, you have always been speaking using honorifics even though we are classmates. You can speak normally with me. It’s rather lonely because I feel the distance between us.”

When she pointed this out, I realized that I had been speaking in honorific terms for a while now.

The idea that Tojo-san was a great person had been so ingrained in my mind that I had unconsciously put myself in a lower position.

To put it bluntly, I was afraid.

“… But Tojo-san also speaks with honorifics, don’t you?”

“I’m fine with it because this is how I am, and I use this tone of voice with everyone I meet. It’s more like part of my personality.”

I couldn’t say anything back when she said this.

If you think about it, there was no point in resisting—.

“Then let’s talk normally, shall we?”

“Yes! Please take care of me!”

We were classmates, but using honorifics may have been too distant.

It was up to me to maintain an appropriate distance from a woman, and I was rather grateful that she corrected me more or less forcefully.

“So let’s go brush our teeth again, shall we?”

Tojo-san took my hand and made me stand up, then led me straight to the washroom.