Volume 1 - CH 16

The final exam went off without a hitch.

Yuzuru felt that his performance was even better than the midterm exam.

“Fu…It’s not bad.”

Yuzuru shouted with relief as he finished grading himself.

I can’t say for sure until I get the results back, but I’m sure I scored at least as well or better than the midterm.

Perhaps it was thanks to the study session with Arisa

–during midterm exams, I studied while goofing off with Soichiro and the others, so I didn’t make much progress.

“So how are you doing?”

“…… I think I’m doing good. I think I’m getting results for my efforts.”

“That’s good.”

Last day of final exams.

It was a Friday, not a Saturday, but Arisa had come to Yuzuru’s apartment.

The two of them were going to grade themselves and reflect on the exam.

“But it’s refreshing. Self-grading.”

“……You’ve never done that before?”

“Well, I don’t look back on the past,……, and all my friends are people who don’t do that either”

Specifically, it is Soichiro, Ayaka, Chiharu, and Hijiri.

Yuzuru felt depressed about the bias of his friendships because they were all bad.

Perhaps it was a case of “birds of a feather flock together”.

“It’s not a good idea to look back too much, but I think you should at least review.”

For some reason, Yuzuru seemed to have regained his composure, but Arisa gave him a cold look and spoke coldly.

Yuzuru shrugged his shoulders in response.

“You know what they say, ‘nothing comes from revenge,’ right?

“That’s not the same as ‘review’……. We have to work hard to prepare for the off-campus mock exam during the summer vacation.” (TN: revenge and review seemed to be both pronounced as ‘fukshuu’)

“Off-campus mock exams huh. I have to get serious about it. ……”

Mid-term exams, final exams, and off-campus mock exams.

The latter is by far the most important.

As long as you are not aiming for a recommendation, there is no problem even if your internal application scores are bad.

Since the questions on the midterm and final exams are not designed for preparing for entrance exams, it is doubtful that they will be useful for entrance exams.

“I think both of us should get serious about this. Isn’t  recommendation an option to begin with?”

“I don’t have the confidence to spend three years being well-behaved. Is Yukishiro planning to go for a recommendation?”

“I haven’t decided yet. However, the more options, the better, right?”

It’s a very honor-student answer.

Yuzuru put himself on the pedestal, hoping that Soichiro and the others would follow in his footsteps. 

“Anyway, the entrance exams are a long way from now, and the final exams are already past, so let’s talk about the more immediate future.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to not think about it at all, but …… what about the more immediate future?”

“What are you going to do tomorrow?　Do you want to play a game as usual?”

Tomorrow is Saturday.

It’s the day when Arisa usually comes to Yuzuru’s house.

We’ve been studying instead of playing games for the past two weeks, so if we’re going to play games, it’ll be the first time in a while.

“I’d like to talk to you about that.”

Arisa said to Yuzuru In a formal tone.

“What’s up?”

“…… You prepare a cake every week for me, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. Well, last week it was cream puffs.”

This is a famous confectionery store that Yuzuru uses.　

They have many kinds of cakes, but of course, they also have cream puffs and puddings.

All of them are very delicious.

Yuzuru bought a different kind every week for Arisa.

“That one was very delicious. But that’s not what I meant.”

“Then ?”

“Next week…it would be great if you could stop with the sweets.”

Yuzuru couldn’t help but nod his head.

Every week, Arisa’s eyes would light up when he took out the cake box, and the way she ate it made her look so radiant.

And just now, she said the cream puffs were delicious.

“Why? It was delicious, wasn’t it?”

“It’s delicious. Though It is delicious…. that’s the problem…… Please understand.”

Understand huh…

Yuzuru thought about it for a while and came up with …… the answer.

As a girl, she might be concerned about that. ……

But

“If anything, it’s possible that the amount of sugar you’re putting in your coffee is the main factor……”

“That’s none of your business. And no, it hasn’t increased yet. We are still in the stage of concern.”

Arisa glared at Yuzuru as she stated that.

She blushed a little, raised her eyebrows, and scrunched up her eyes.

Seems like he was a little insensitive. 

“Well, ……, but I might have gained some too. I’ve been consciously increasing my physical activity.”

“…… Men have a higher metabolism, don’t they?

“Your cooking is more sinful than the cake. I tend to overeat these days.”

“Should I say …… thank you very much for that, or should I apologize?”

Arisa sounded confused as she said this.

But if anything, I think her feelings are more towards the “thank you” side …….

The proof is in the slightly relaxed corners of her mouth.

“…… To tell you the truth, my grandparents have been preaching to me lately.”

“Preaching you ?”

“They said that playing video games at home may be fun for you, but it’s boring for a girl your age. Well, that’s what the sermon was about.”

Arisa comes to Yuzuru’s house partly because she wants to play games, but also to play the role of a…… friendly fiancée.

In short, it is nominally a “home date”.

But what kind of couple in the world does …… “home dates” all the time?

“I do enjoy it, though. .. But, yes. My adoptive parents also …… asked me this morning if I was going to go outdoors …… on a date.”

Arisa was a bit hesitant to say the word “date”.

From her perspective, they are just friends of the opposite sex. But from the point of view of the public, they are lovers, and from the point of view of their guardians, they are fiancées.

Naturally, they are acting as if they are, but it is embarrassing for them to say it out loud.

…… There’s nothing wrong with that kind of attitude, though, because it feels like two novice lovers.

“So your case is also the same huh… So what I want to talk to you about is this: do you want to go out on a date tomorrow? “

I’ve been studying a lot lately and haven’t been able to move my body.

So I want to get some exercise outdoors. It would be good for my health.

Besides, I’ve just finished my final exams.

I want to have fun in a different place than usual.

So Yuzuru suggested.

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea. I think it would be better to play outdoors a little to give credibility to the fact that we are lovers.”

“I’ll contact you later then.”

So they decided to go on a “date”.

The day of the date–

They changed into comfortable clothes to do some light exercise and visited a place called-

“What can we do at this place.?”

“I’ve played karaoke, darts, billiards, bowling, table tennis, and tennis here before.”

Yes, this

To is is what you call a general entertainment facility.

It’s not healthy to stay at home and play games all the time, that’s why I chose this place.

“You’ve been here before?”

“Well, a few times with friends. Of course, those friends were Soichiro Satake and Hijiri Ryozenji.”

Yuzuru didn’t dare to take Arisa to a place he had never been to before.

Well, he could do pretty much anything, so he decided that it would not be all out of the question to come here.

Yuzuru had a membership card, but Arisa didn’t, so he asked her to make one when she entered.

After putting the membership card in her purse, Arisa asked Yuzuru.

“So…… what should we do now?”

“Isn’t there something you’re interested in, Yukishiro?”

Yuzuru said as he opened the pamphlet he had gotten from the counter, trying to prioritize the novice Arisa here.

After some deliberation, Arisa pointed to one of the facilities.

“Tennis, maybe. I’ve played in a class before. I’m not confident when it comes to a match ……, but I can play a rally. I think it’s good exercise and fun.”

“Tennis. Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s play that.”

Playing tennis between a man and a woman is a very lover-like event.

I’m sure my grandparents, who were always bothering me, would agree if I told them that I played tennis with her.

They immediately borrowed rackets and balls and headed for the tennis courts, but ……

There, they encountered a problem.

“…… Hijiri?”

“…… What a coincidence, Yuzuru.”.

I made a mistake.

In addition, for some reason, there was a beautiful dark-haired girl next to Hijiri.

A tall girl with slender limbs and a slender figure.

Nagiri Tenka.  (TN: Furigana says Tenka. But the direct translation of kanji says Amaka. I like Amaka better, but since I don’t want to change the names entirely, I’ll keep it as it is. Let me know your thoughts). 

At Yuzuru’s high school, she was known as one of the prettiest girls along with Arisa, Ayaka, and Chiharu.

Yuzuru and Nagiri are not close friends; they only greet each other when they pass each other in the hallway.

However, Chiharu and Tenka seem to know each other, and Hijiri and Tenka also seem to have some connection.

And so, while they may not have any direct relationship, they are almost strangers.

That is Nagiri Tenka to Yuzuru.

I had heard that she was in the same class as Hijiri, but I had no idea that they had such a close relationship that they would have a ” date ” here.

Oh, I’ve been caught.

I have no idea what to say…

That was the expression on Hijiri’s face.

And Yuzuru also had that expression on his face.