Volume 1 - CH 6

Ten days have passed and I have finally graduated from crutches. Speaking of Arisa, of course…she no longer came to my room as she didn’t have any reason to.

Well, it’s been a week since I graduated from crutches.

Yuzuru, who was told by his doctors that he has recovered but for safety he has to refrain from any kind of  heavy exercise, was eating with his friends at the cafeteria.

I don’t know how to cook , so I always eat at the cafeteria.

Soichiro Satake, a beautiful boy, has a lunch box because he is attending the school from his parents house.

A man with a slightly flirtatious vibe, Ryozenji Sei also comes to school from his parents’ house. But…he is also like me, always eats at the cafeteria.

(Yukishiro’s food was delicious!)

I muttered so inwardly, while siping miso soup from the cafeteria. The daily lunch that I eat is not bad at all…but the taste is definitely lower than the food made by Arisa.

“Yuzuru, lately, you…have been eating your vegetables.”

Soichiro pointed that out suddenly.

It’s not like I hated them from the start…I was the type who didn’t want to eat them actively, so I didn’t usually eat them much.

But lately, I’ve been eating them consciously.

“Well, otherwise I will make her angry.”

“To whom? Your parents aren’t the type to talk about such things. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“It’s not, unfortunately.”

I denied Sei’s word that he asked in a half-ridiculous manner. Then, after thinking for a while, I ask these two…

“Actually, I have a female friend who has been a bit of a help lately. I want to thank that girl, how do I go about it?”

It seems they weren’t expecting to hear the word “Female Friend” come out of my mouth. Two of them opened their eyes in a surprised manner.

“She isn’t Ayaka or Chiharu, right?”

Soichiro asks me first.

Ayaka and Chihiru are childhood friends of Soichiro and mine and they attend the same school as us.

Speaking of “Female friends” of mine, except them there are none.

“Don’t worry. I am not talking about them.”

“What’s…that, Yuzuru. I thought we were buddies, but your spring has already arrived? Just die.”

“It hasn’t arrived. It’s not like that. And, I don’t want to die.”

There is no doubt that I am “Engaged”, so at first glance it may look like my spring has arrived…. But it’s not, rather it felt like I was in the middle of winter. However, I am fine, even in winter.

“Soichiro. You’re used to dealing with women right?”

“Me, Ayaka and Chiharu are not like that, but …”

It sounds like half affirmation, when he calls out their name smoothly. However, I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want Soichiro to bend my navel by pointing it out.

“For the record, I have no close female friends except for Ayaka and Chiharu. I’ve given them gifts as a friend, but it’s same for you. So I don’t think my treatment of women is going to be helpful.”

“Really?”

“I recently bought a Tiffany necklace and it has a meaning that says “I’m interested”. I can give it to you if you want, but can you give it to her?”

“…I can’t.”

I’m sure that Arisa will definitely feel uncomfortable, if I gave her that. I’m not familiar with women’s heart, but I can understand that it’s uncomfortable.

“Why don’t you just ask? You want to repay the favor, right? You don’t have to surprise her? It’s not like you are going on a raid.”

Sei says so with a dismayed expression.

That’s right, It’s not like I am doing this to surprise Arisa.

“Indeed. As expected of the heir to Ryozenji temple. You have my gratitude.”

“Oi, Yuzuru. You’ve got a big misconception about our house, don’t you?”

While ignoring the voice of Sei, I decided to ask her directly.

Strike the iron while it’s hot.

On the same day, I sent a message to Arisa on her smartphone asking “I want to thank you for your help before, is there anything you want me to do or want?”.

And I immediately got a reply.

『Will you let me play some of the games that I found in your room, Takasegawa-san?』

I was a little bit surprised by the response, but I immediately gave an okay. After some discussion…it was decided that Arisa will come to my house on Saturday this week.

The time is past noon.

In response to the intercom call, I opened the door.

And there stood a beautiful fair-skinned girl with flaxen hair and jade-colored eyes.

It’s Arisa Yukishiro.

“Thank you, I will be in your care today.”

Airisa, wearing a white blouse and beige pants, politely bowed to me.

It was my first time to see her in plain clothes, so it’s a bit refreshing.

“Well, please come in.”

With that, I invited Arisa inside the house. After arriving inside my house, Arisa looks around and says a few words.

“You’re cleaning up properly, aren’t you? That’s quite something.”

“Well…It’s not much.”

I didn’t want to pollute the room which Arisa had cleaned up, so I have been cleaning my room every day. I knew that she was coming today, so I was particularly enthusiastic about cleaning today.

“The kitchen is also beautiful. …Have you been cooking or not?”

“That’s…well, I can’t cook. No, but I have started to eat vegetables. It’s a convenience store salad though.”

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling a little remorse.”

It seems that my appreciation of Airisa by changing my lifestyle habits was properly conveyed to her. She nods her head impressed.

“Then, we will play the games that you like. Which game do you want to play? As you can see there are lots of games here. You can also play computer games and other things that aren’t in here.”

“Un, that’s right.”

Airisa’s jade-colored eyes are attracted to the packaging of game software.

While picking up multiple cases, she begins to ponder.

Her back view was somewhat lively and fidgety.

It seems that she is really looking forward to it, so I was a little bit relieved.

“Well, let’s play this.”

Airisa chose the famous fighting game in which characters from various games play battle royale.

“It’s good. Then let’s play it.”

I put the software in the console and started the game. And I gave her a controller.

Then Arisa…

“How do you operate it?”

She asked me, a little confused. In the first place, It seemed that she didn’t even know how to hold the controller properly.

“Ah, you’ve never used it?”

“When I was in elementary school, I only used it once…at my classmate’s house.”

“The shape is a little different from the old days.”

I taught Arisa how to use it while touching her hands. Arisa listened to me with a serious expression.

“Well, the basic operation method is like this. You will get used to it while you are playing with it.”

“Thank you.”

Immediately, we moved to the screen to select a character.

Then again, Arisa asked me.

“Takasegawa-san. Is there a character that I shouldn’t choose?”

“What’s that?”

“My classmate from elementary school,  it’s …… such a nasty thing to do…”

“There will be that kind of student even in elementary schools. Well, I don’t feel like that just because it’s my thing.”

“I see. Which one should I choose at ……?　Is there a beginner’s character or something like that?”

“For beginner’s…then this guy will be a good choice.”

I don’t play games very much, so I am also a beginner. Therefore, I’m not in a position to teach it to Arisa.

“That’s right. Takasegawa-san.”

“What happened?”

At that time, I had just selected the character, and the game was about to begin.

Arisa then said to me in a serious expression.

“I don’t want you to go easy on me. So please play with me seriously.”

“I will try my best, but I’m also not good at it.”

Yuzuru shrugged his shoulder.