Epilogue
“Did you trick me?”
“Well, what might you be referring to?”
Sōma glared her, but Chika simply sipped her iced water with an innocent expression as she sat across the table.
This was a few days after they had successfully finished the children’s Halloween party.
Chika had invited him to a cafe famous for its sweets.
Hearing it was about popular sweets, there was no way he could refuse.
After school, Sōma readily agreed to Chika’s invitation and followed her to the cafe.
Sitting at the table he was led to while excited like a child, he heard the name of the sweets she ordered, looked around the cafe, and then it finally dawned on him.
“This place is totally a couples’ spot…!”
He looked around while growling lowly like a stray dog.
The cafe was decorated primarily in pink, and most of the customers were couples. Happy men and women gazed into each other’s eyes as they ate sweets or drank coffee.
The atmosphere itself seemed tinged with pink.
The icing on the cake was the menu item Chika ordered.
“What the heck is ‘Heart-throbbing Lovey-Dovey Sweet Pudding Parfait’? Where’s the famous pudding parfait you mentioned?”
“This is exactly what I was talking about. It has a rating of 45 stars and there are lots of photos of it on social media.”
Sure enough, her smartphone screen displayed a line of pudding parfaits lavishly decorated with plenty of fruit.
Chika hadn’t lied.
She hadn’t lied, but this feels almost like a scam.
As the unconvinced Sōma continued to glare at her, Chika pouted her lips in dissatisfaction.
“I thought you said a while ago that you wanted to try a couples-only parfait. Isn’t it nice that I’m helping you with that?”
“I don’t remember that.”
“You remember about being bad at swimming, yet…”
“Well, I happened to remember that.”
“Then please remember about the parfait too. Since it’s for couples, it means it’s for two people, right? I’ve never seen or eaten such a big parfait, so I was curious.”
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
“You could have asked Saito. It seems like it doesn’t have to be a mixed-gender pair.”
Indeed, there were not only couples but also groups of women and parents with children in the cafe.
“Miki-chan doesn’t eat much. On the other hand, Sōma-san, you wouldn’t leave any sweets unfinished, would you?”
“Of course not.”
That would be unthinkable for someone aspiring to be a patissier.
“Then Sōma-san, aren’t you the most suitable person for it? I can be at ease even if I can’t finish it.”
He sighed inwardly as he watched Chika smile brightly.
Knowing this girl, there was probably no malice intended. She must have thought that Sōma was the most convenient partner to share the couples only parfait with.
…No, considering she brought him here without saying a word, it’s not entirely without malice.
Of course, her wanting to try the parfait here was one reason, but she must have also thought it would embarrass Sōma to bring him to this place.
As evidence, her smile while watching Sōma’s cheeks turn red had a hint of a mischievous devil in it.
‘Damn it, she always does whatever she wants!’
He couldn’t help but feel bitter as he intently glared at her.
He has always been thinking of some way to get back at her. He wants to embarrass Chika so much that her face turns bright red.
But he couldn’t come up with any good ideas at all.
“Sōma-san-Sōma-san, the parfait has arrived.”
While he was lost in thought, the couple’s special parfait had been brought over.
“Wow… this is actually amazing.”
The parfait placed between them was impressive. It had a considerable weight, presence, and volume.
But that wasn’t all. As it was meant for lovers, the decoration was also gorgeous and beautiful.
A large flower seemed to bloom with an assortment of colorful cut fruits centered around the pudding. Pure white whipped cream and heart-shaped black and white chocolates were also added as accents.
With such a glamorous and cute parfait served, it was certain to lift the spirits of the couples. Sharing this parfait would undoubtedly be a happy moment for couples.
He said it was amazing because he genuinely wanted to praise it.
“…It’s beautiful.”
“Eh?”
His thoughts inadvertently spilled out as he gazed intently at the pudding parfait.
Someday, he’d like to make such a beautiful parfait himself. He wants to make couples smile with it. It was so splendid that he felt a strong desire to do so.
He might have been tricked into coming here, but perhaps he should be somewhat thankful to Chika.
“…Chika? What’s wrong?”
He shifted his gaze from the parfait to Chika and noticed something amiss.
“Is something wrong with me?”
“What do you mean ‘something wrong’? Your face is bright red.”
“Eh?”
Chika touched her cheeks as they were pointed out.
She had been normal until just now, but her face had turned red at some point.
“Is my face red?”
“It’s pretty red. You look like a boiled octopus.”
She seemed unaware as she patted her face, looking puzzled.
“Maybe it’s because it suddenly got colder, or perhaps you’ve caught a cold?”
“No, I’m perfectly healthy. No cough or fever.”
“Then… maybe it’s the atmosphere here?”
“No wayy. I’m not like you, Sōma-san.”
He tried to joke about it, but she immediately denied it.
“I’m not sure, but maybe the air conditioning is too strong, and it’s made me hot.”
“Really? I don’t think the heating is that strong. Ah, I see. It must be because of the fat――”
“If you say any more, I’ll shove this entire parfait into your mouth, okay?”
“Sorry.”
‘For a moment, I swear I saw a demon behind Chika’.
“Don’t worry about my complexion. Let’s just eat it already. Here, say ‘ahh.'”
She scooped up some pudding with a long-handled soda spoon and brought it to his lips.
Having come this far, there was no reason to refuse now. He obediently took a bite of the pudding.
“Mmm, delicious.”
“Please feed me some too.”
Chika opened her mouth like a baby bird, and then he fed her the pudding. She seemed so happy that her body practically bounced with joy.
“It’s so good! This pudding is incredibly smooth. I’m amazed. Please let me have another bite!”
She opened her mouth again while looking happy.
“Sure, but can I sit next to you? It’s kind of hard to feed you from across the table.”
Couples around them seemed to do it effortlessly, but using a long-handled spoon to feed someone across the table was surprisingly difficult.
He was afraid he might miss and hit Chika’s cheek with the pudding.
“Okay, go ahead.”
“I don’t know how you managed to get me to eat that parfait last month. I was kind of impressed.”
“I didn’t think it was that difficult. Maybe it’s because of the difference in the size of our mouths?”
“You have a small mouth, yet you eat so well.”
“That’s too much.”
While saying that, he moved his seat to sit next to her.
They were close enough for their shoulders to touch.
‘There was no way I could mess up now. I could feed her the parfait with ease.’
“Here you go.”
“Ahh.”
This time, he fed her pudding and fruit together.
“The balance of sweetness between the pudding and the fruit is just right. I thought the pudding was a bit mild, but it must be balanced with the fruit in mind.”
“As always, you’re amazing, Chika.”
He hadn’t noticed the pudding was mildly sweet at all.
Chika blushed and giggled shyly when he praised her.
“I wouldn’t have been so confident before. But now, I have a little confidence. After all, I’ve been working hard because I want to be of help to you, Sōma-san.”
“Chika, you’ve been a huge help. I’m seriously grateful to you.”
She giggled even more when he sincerely said that.
‘Asking Chika to be my tasting partner was the right decision. I can’t even imagine having anyone else in that role.’
“I’m also grateful to you, Sōma-san. Thanks to you, my world has expanded. I’ve been to places I couldn’t go alone and done things I couldn’t do by myself. Thank you so much. And please, I hope we will continue being like this.”
Chika’s bright brown hair fluttered and tickled the tip of his nose as she bowed slightly next to him.
“Y-yeah. Likewise.”
“Oh, did I make you blush?”
“Don’t tease me.”
She poked his reddened cheek.
‘…continue being like this, huh?’
Sōma’s confectionery skills are still quite immature. And Chika still has so many things she wants to do.
If that’s the case, this relationship is likely to continue for some time.
‘What shall we do together next? What shall we eat together next? Where shall we go together next?’
Such thoughts keep popping into his head.
“Sōma-san-Sōma-san, I want to eat the chocolate.”
While he was pondering over various things, he was requested to feed her the small heart-shaped chocolates.
“Ah, I just want to eat the chocolate. It’s easier to appreciate the flavor that way.”
He was about to scoop up some whipped cream with a spoon, but she made a special request.
He put down the spoon, picked up the chocolate with his fingers, and brought it to her lips.
“Here you go.”
“Mmnn!”
She ate the chocolate like a puppy being rewarded by its owner.
“Ah, this chocolate is delicious. It’s quite bitter, and it’s not just visually striking, but it also adds an accent in terms of flavor. Here, Sōma-san, you should try some too.”
The roles of the eater and feeder were reversed.
“…It doesn’t feel like a luxury chocolate, but it’s still good.”
“The presence of the chocolate becomes too overpowering if it’s too luxurious. The main star of this parfait is the pudding.”
“I see. So everything else is just a supporting role.”
“Oh, I want to eat white chocolate too.”
“Here, open your mouth.”
“Ahh.”
It was all too normal for the two of them.
That’s why they didn’t notice at all that the gazes of everyone in the store were gathered on them.
***
“――Did you see the high school couple that came in this evening?”
“Yeah, I saw them. Wow, that was intense. It was amazing. From beginning to end, those two were playfully feeding each other. Normally, people get tired or bored halfway through and start eating by themselves, but I guess it’s not them.”
“Working in a place like this, I’ve seen plenty of lovey-dovey couples, but they were really something else.”
“It’s incredible. Instead of sitting across from each other, they sat next to each other and fed each other by hand. I can’t believe they could do that in front of people.”
“Being young is amazing. Ah, maybe I should find a boyfriend too instead of working part-time.”
Sōma had no idea that such conversations were happening among the waitresses that day.