CH 25

―It’s not that I can’t cook.

After being reminded of this many times, Fuyuka finally told me in detail that she wanted to become a good cook.

“I don’t feel comfortable about making you worry any longer, so…”

Apparently, she was aware of Asahi’s various worries.

“True,  if you start cooking for yourself, then I won’t have to worry about you.”

“I didn’t have to be taken care of, in the first place.”

“That’s- my bad.”

“I’m just kidding. I’ve said it many times, but I appreciate your help.”

When she dropped me down for a moment, my mind and body involuntarily recoiled, but Fuyuka immediately put on a soft expression.

I couldn’t say it was a smile, but it seemed much more gentle than usual.

Her appearance which you would never see at school, seemed so fresh, and a sudden question came to my mind.

“I know it’s late to ask, but you don’t have any resistance coming to my house, right?”

“What do you mean ‘resistance’?”

“Uh, danger to watch out for or something..?”

“Do you feel that way about me?”

“I don’t think so. I can say that for sure.”

If he were to attack Fuyuka here, it was easy to imagine that his life would be dark for a long time to come.

As for Asahi, he had no intention of taking such a risk, and first of all, he didn’t even have the slightest ulterior motive.

“Look, I didn’t put my hands on you when I nursed it back to health.

“When you carried me to bed, and when I almost fell.”

“Tha-that was just an accident.” 

“I know that I don’t need to be wary of you. I wouldn’t be here right now if I had any resistance to begin with.”

“It’s really too late for that,” she said with a small sigh.

To this day, Fuyuka has been up to Asahi’s house many times, even if it was often unwillingly.

As a man, I had mixed feelings about the trust she had placed in me, but it was a blessing in disguise because I get to learn from the top scorer of our grade in the school.

“So, basically, it’ll go like today, right? Cook and eat dinner, then study.”

“Yes, I’m fine with that.”

“Am I correct to assume that you mean…every day?”

“Yes, if we have nothing in particular to do. Whether it’s cooking or studying, the faster you progress, the better, right?”

“Well, that’s true.”

What she was saying was correct, but I couldn’t seem to process it that easily.

In contrast to Fuyuka, who still wore a cool expression, Asahi felt a mixture of emotions in his heart as the short, thin thread that had almost been severed was firmly tied again.

Fuyuka would teach Asahi how to study, and in return, Asahi would teach Fuyuka how to cook.

After a few dozen minutes of discussion, Asahi and Fuyuka made a detailed agreement to form a mutually supportive relationship in which they would help each other in their areas of expertise.

・Ingredients costs would be split.

・Asahi was in charge of shopping and Fuyuka was in charge of washing the dishes.

・If you are not able to join the meal, contact in advance.

・The study session would be for an hour after cleaning up the dishes.

Once again, Fuyuka offered to pay for all the materials, but unlike the week leading up to the ball game, Asahi had to teach cooking and Fuyuka had to teach how to study.

Therefore, instead of making a compromise like last time, I kept trying to persuade Fuyuka, and we finally settled on a 50-50 split.

The rest of the conversation went smoothly without any conflict, and all we had to do was to make sure that there were no discrepancies between us.

“In the meantime, I can be in your care until finals are over, right?”

“I’ll be one in your care, though. I think it’s a good for us to set a deadline for each other.”

“…Yeah.”

“What’s with that tone?”

“No, it’s a good period of time for me. As for you, Himuro. it’s a little…”

“A little…?”

“I may or may not…think there’s not enough time.”

When Fuyuka’s gaze sharpened when she asked me, I couldn’t help but blurt out the end of the sentence, but I honestly wanted to say that, I think.

Although I had never actually seen Fuyuka cook, the way she handled the knife was quite something, which made me worry about her future.

“You mean to tell me that my sense of cooking is hopeless?”

“I didn’t say that much. However, I’m just saying that it’s harder than studying.”

Depending on how much you wanted to improve your cooking skills, there was only so much you could do with less than a month left before the final exam.

Fortunately, Fuyuka didn’t have high hopes. “I hope I can learn the basics,” she said in a small voice, and Asahi felt relieved.

“Well, I guess we’ll call it a day then. I’ll let you know later when to meet tomorrow.”

“Ah, please wait a moment.”

“Hmm? Is there more?”

As I stood up to walk Fuyuka to the door as usual, I was stopped by a faint voice from the seat across from me.

Naturally, I couldn’t exactly ignore her, so I looked at her and saw that Fuyuka had taken a palm-sized cube out of her bag and placed it on the table.

I couldn’t guess what was inside from the plain white box on the front, but for some reason, the plain and simple design gave me a sense of déjà vu.

“…What’s this?”

“I want to thank you for everything. You don’t accept money, so I thought this would be a good idea.”

“You don’t have to. I did it because I wanted to, you shouldn’t worry about it.”

“I can’t have that. I’ve been indebted to you, especially for the past week. It’s not much, but please accept it as my thanks.”

I thought to myself, “How disciplined can you be?” but I was not surprised since I already knew her well enough.

And I know that she won’t back down easily.

It would be awkward to turn down a gift without looking at the contents, so Asahi reached for the gift offered by Fuyuka.

Whether you wanted to accept it or not, it was important to understand the content first.

I don’t think it was possible, but if the rumor that she was quite the “Lady” was true, and I find jewelry, I will return it without hesitation.

Deciding to do so, Asahi carefully opened the box, which was heavy despite its size, and peeked inside.

“…No way. This is…”

A brooch decorated with three red roses caught Asahi’s eye.

He had seen this somewhere, or rather he had heard about it.

“Isn’t this the prize that goes to the MVP?”

“Yes, It is.”

“What do you mean, it’s not a big deal? It’s a big deal!”

Surprisingly, the idea of jewels was not far off the mark, and the three beautiful flowers in full bloom were radiating a ruby-like glow.

I didn’t know the details, but at least it was clear to the untrained eye that it was not a cheap product.

Hesitant to even pick it up and put his fingerprints on it, Asahi gently closed the box and pushed it back in front of Fuyuka.

“Will you not be receiving it…?”

“Of course not, This is something you’ve won. I’m not entitled to it. Besides…”

“Besides…?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

From the looks of it, Fuyuka didn’t know the legend behind the three-rose brooch.

There was a lot of gossip going on around the school, especially among the girls, but I guess it didn’t reach the ears of the inhospitable “Ice Lady”.

Then, the story about the legend could get complicated.

He was about to say something, but he chose to feign and start over.

However, he did not anticipate that this consciousness would backfire on him.

“I thought this brooch would be the most appropriate gift for you.”

“…Eh? Is…is it about the legend…”

“…What do you mean by legend?”

By the time I covered my mouth in panic, it was too late.

Fuyuka’s face turned red when I told her the truth, since I couldn’t fool her into thinking it was nothing.　

In comparison, her cheeks were as stained as when her stomach rumbled, and her dull caramel eyes were covered with a thin, clear film of water.

Somehow, I feel sorry for her.

“I-I couldn’t have made it to the ball game without your help, so I just wanted to thank you for that, I didn’t know about the…legend, and I never had that kind of intentions!”

“I know, I know it already, so let’s calm down for a second, alright?”

There was no need to be aggressive about it, but Fuyuka was clearly talking too much and too fast.

The way she was writhing in shame showed a glimpse of cuteness appropriate to her age that I couldn’t imagine from her usual cool beauty.

“Anyway, I can’t possibly take this.”

“No, you must absolutely take it.”

“Wha- you’re really stubborn, you know? Really, you don’t have to worry about thanking me.”

“But I care about it! If I back down here, it’ll look as if I have romantic intentions!”

I wanted to ask where did the gratitude went, but I guess that was not the point right now.

In addition to the fact that she did not show any signs of backing down, her normally bland words were unusually passionate, which indicated that Fuyuka was concerned about the existence of the legend.

I was hoping that maybe she would bring back the brooch with the legend in mind, but even that would backfire on me, which was not funny.

Furthermore, Fuyuka suddenly standing up forced the brooch’s whereabouts.

“I think I’ll go home for today.”

“Wai- hey, What about the brooch…”

“I’ll see you tomorrow night then.”

As the sound of footsteps and door slamming echoed throughout the room, Asahi picked up the brooch that got left behind and sighed loudly.

“As I recall, it doesn’t work if you don’t give it to the person you mean to.”

Fortunately or unfortunately, It was extremely unlikely that Fuyuka had feelings for him, which meant that he didn’t have to worry about the legend.

However, when he saw the three glittering red roses, Asahi couldn’t help but be conscious of it, and pondered for a while about where to put the brooch.