Volume 3 - CH 26

“Good morning, Takasegawa-kun.”

“Whoa!”

Just as Yuzuru sighed,

Suddenly, a voice called out to him, and he trembled involuntarily.

“…you don’t have to be that surprised”

“N-no, I’m sorry. …good morning, Nagiri-san.”

The one who approached Yuzuru was a tall, slender, beautiful girl.

It was Tenka Nagiri.

“Yes, here. I’m always indebted to you. It’s obligatory though.”

“Ah, thank you very much.”

It seemed that she had come to give him obligatory chocolate.

Yuzuru gratefully accepted the chocolate from Tenka.

“… Who is that from? It’s not from Arisa-san, is it?”

She said as she looked at the pretty wrapped box that was left on his desk.

According to Ayaka’s testimony, Ayaka and her friends made chocolates together …so they must know the boxes and packaging for the chocolates that each of them made.

That’s why she was able to find out that it belonged to someone other than the four of them at a glance.

“No, I don’t know. It was inside my desk… It doesn’t say who sent it.”

It may be inside the packaging…

There was no letter or message of any kind, at least not on the outside.

“Chocolate from a stranger… What if it’s not store-bought?”

“…No comment.”

“Well, I guess so. I think that’s normal. Your safety comes first.”

Tenka, guessing from Yuzuru’s reply, patted Yuzuru on the shoulder as if to comfort him.

“It’s tough being a popular guy.”

“I’m not as popular as you. I’m sure many boys would love to have your chocolate.”

It goes without saying that Tenka was also a very beautiful girl and is very popular among boys.

The level of her appearance was on par with Arisa, Ayaka, and Chiharu (of course, Yuzuru thinks Arisa is the absolute best).

Many boys would love to have chocolates from Tenka.

…In fact, the boys in the class seemed to be looking at her a little more sharply.

“…I’m not a good cook. I don’t think it’s that good because it’s not as good as Ayaka’s, to be honest.”

“The important thing is not the chocolate itself, but who gave it to you, and with what intention.”

In that sense, chocolates from an unknown sender were a little difficult to handle.

For now, Yuzuru decided to put away the chocolate from the unknown sender and the chocolate from Tenka in his bag.

Then he asked Tenka.

“Have you already given them to Hijiri?”

“Eh? …W-why did Hijiri-kun’s name come up?”

“No, it’s nothing personal.”

When Yuzuru said that, Tenka turned her head away from him.

“…C-classes are about to start.”

“Ah yeah. Good luck to you, too.”

“…It’s not like I need that or anything.”

After saying that, Tenka walked away from the classroom as if she was running away.

Now, it was lunchtime.

After finishing his lunch with Soichiro and the others, Yuzuru came back to the classroom.

Almost at the same time, Yuzuru’s cell phone vibrated.

When he checked to see who it was from,…it was a text message from Arisa.

[“Did you enjoy your lunch?”]

Somehow, Yuzuru guessed the intention of Arisa’s email.

It’s not like she usually asks for feedback on her bento during lunchtime.

Normally, after lunch, Yuzuru would send a text message to Arisa when he had settled down.

The next morning, when he receives his new lunch box, he usually thank her directly and gives her his opinion.

Therefore, what Arisa wanted to ask was not what she thought of the lunch box.

The reason why she asked him about his impressions of the lunchbox was probably just a conversation starter for her.

[“It was delicious again today. The white fish was especially good.”]

[“I’m glad to hear that as I’ve never put that in a bento before… I grilled it with herbs. Did it smell fishy?”]

[‘No, it didn’t bother me.”]

Normally, the conversation would end with, “– was delicious” and “That’s good to hear”.

But today, the conversation was unusually long.

It was clear to him that she was blatantly trying to prolong the conversation.

Then, after a brief exchange…

[“Who was that chocolate from?”]

Finally, Arisa cut to the chase.

It was just a question, no special emoticons or stamps were used, but there was a certain aura of uncanny, of not being allowed to cover it up.

“……”

Yuzuru looked up for a moment and then turned his gaze to Arisa’s seat.

Arisa was clutching her phone with both hands, staring at the screen with a blank expression.

…That’s just scary.

[“I don’t know. There was no sender name on it.”]

Yuzuru replied, and the reply came back in the blink of an eye.

[“Are you telling the truth?”]

There was no reason for him to lie.　

For some reason, Yuzuru felt as if Arisa was accusing him of something.

Even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.

[“It’s true.”]

[“Have you opened it yet?”]

[“No, not yet.”]

[“Please open it.”]

Even though it was only three words,

The text was powerful enough to convince him to open it.

When Yuzuru was feeling a little puzzled, another email arrived soon after.

[“Please open it.”]

It was the same text.

Yuzuru couldn’t help but look at Arisa.　

Then… his eyes met hers.

Her face was expressionless.

Yuzuru hurriedly typed back a text.

[“I’ll be opening it in the washroom now.”]

Then Yuzuru stood up from his seat as if he was jumping and ran to the washroom carrying his bag.