Prologue
The clear autumn sky, without a single cloud, stretches endlessly.
It was a perfect day for a picnic, and many people were enjoying their time in the vast picnic area inside the botanical garden.
Some are enjoying their packed lunches with their families, some are playing catch ball with their friends, and some are taking a nap inside their tents.
The refreshing breeze gently strokes the young green-colored grass. It’s peaceful and relaxing, a pleasant atmosphere.
Sōma and Chika spread out a leisure sheet in the corner of the pleasant grassy field and ate the lunch Chika had prepared.
“Mmm, this fried chicken is delicious.”
“Is that so? Then I’m glad.”
As Sōma munched on the fried chicken with a rice ball in his hand, Chika, who had been anxiously watching with a worried expression, let out a relieved sigh.
“I was really worried about what would happen if it had failed.”
“Have some confidence. Not just the fried chicken, everything else is delicious too. It’s a great success for a beginner cook like you.”
Inside the lunchbox were fried chicken, tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), simmered hijiki seaweed, potato salad, spinach with sesame dressing, and a three-colored marinated paprika.
The menu itself was simple, but each dish was carefully made and incredibly delicious.
Knowing about her initial failure, this achievement was worthy of admiration. She must have worked really hard.
“I’m satisfied that I was able to make a bento. I’ve accomplished something I wanted to do. Thank you very much.”
Smiling softly, Chika said so.
“Chika usually just eats her friends’ lunches.”
“That’s true.”
As they finished their lunch and drank tea, Chika recalled her behavior in the classroom and let out a slightly wry smile.
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“I’ve always wanted my friends to eat my bento. That wish has finally come true. It’s not just about the bento. Thanks to you, Sōma-san, I’ve been able to challenge myself in many ways, and it’s been really fun and fulfilling. Thank you so much.”
“You don’t need to thank me that much. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship, okay?”
Sōma said, tapping the cooler bag he had brought.
“Now, it’s my turn.”
“I’ve been looking forward to it. What’s the dessert for today?”
With Chika’s excitement growing, Sōma opened the bag and revealed its contents, feeling like a pirate showing off a treasure.
“Today’s dessert is this.”
A triangular cake covered in pure white whipped cream, with a single strawberry delicately placed like a ruby brooch.
“Wow! Is it a shortcake?”
Chika exclaimed and clapped her hands in excitement.
“I put in a lot of ice packs, so I think it’s okay.”
Sōma placed the chocolate cake on a paper plate and handed her a plastic fork.
“Pure white, it looks beautiful. It’s like a traditional cake!”
Chika turns the paper plate around and looks at the cake as if it were a work of art. Then, she gently sinks the fork into the whipped cream.
“Well then, Itadakimasu.”
After a few words, she put the cake in her mouth.
As soon as she takes a bite, her face starts to shine like a flower in full bloom.
“Delicious! This cake made by Sōma-san is really delicious! Especially the sponge cake, it’s fluffy and melts in your mouth with an elegant texture!”
She expresses how delicious it is by waving her hands in the air.
It’s a very childish gesture, but it can also be said to be Chika-like. That’s the kind of girl Chika is.
“I never thought I could eat such a delicious shortcake outside. It’s nice to eat it at home or in a cafe, but it’s also great to eat it outside.”
“It’s nice to hear that it’s delicious, but just saying that you like it is not enough. As a taste tester, please tell me your impressions.”
When Sōma says that, Chika’s smile fades slightly.
“Right… I’m a little concerned about the whipped cream. Today, you carry it around on the train, and we walk for a while, so maybe it can be taken into consideration, so I guess that’s why it’s a bit too firm from over-whisking. Unlike the fluffy sponge cake, I felt lumpy in my mouth. And the thickness of the cream spread is not uniform, especially on the sides. Also, the cross-section doesn’t look neat, so I think it would be better to fix that.”
She happily praised how delicious it was, but now she’s pointing out the flaws.
Sōma, on the other hand, doesn’t get disappointed even when criticized.
“Whipped cream, huh? I’m also concerned about the thickness of the spread, but it’s difficult. I’ll try again soon, will you taste it again then? “
“Of course! After all, I’m Sōma-san’s taste tester!”
Chika pats her chest and readily accepts.
Then I noticed a little bit of whipped cream on her right cheek. I guess it must have been left on her cheek when she swung her fork around happily.
“Chika, you have cream on your cheek.”
“Ah, sorry, that’s a bit unsightly.”
She reaches out her hand to her left cheek.
“No, the other way around.”
This time, she touches her right cheek but slightly misses the cream.
“A little higher.”
She tries to search it somehow, but it doesn’t go well.
Initially, Chika tried to find the cream with Sōma’s guidance, but she gave up quickly.
And then, for some reason, she brings her face closer.
“Sōma-san, can you clean me up with your mouth? “
“Yes…? “
For a moment, he doesn’t understand the meaning of her words and makes a silly face, and then, in the next moment, his face turns bright red.
“No-no-no! What’s that? And why with my mouth? Normally it’s done with a hand, okay?!”
“But, Sōma-san would be more embarrassed that way.”
“Of course! “
In the presence of many families and groups of friends, there is no way he can lick cream off a girl’s cheeks.
“Ahh, I love it. You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed, Sōma-san.”
While saying something outrageous, she smiles without any remorse. That smile is no longer childlike but incredibly mature and enchanting.
“You…! Don’t turn on your strange switch at a place like this.”
“It’s rude to call it a strange switch, you know.”
Normally, she was seen as childish, cute, and lovely, but occasionally, she showed a completely different face, exclusively reserved for Sōma.
A mature, seductive, mischievous side.
“You see, the problem is that Soma-san is so cute.”
Saying that, she playfully poked his nose.
“I don’t live my life to be considered cute.”
Even if he’s called cute, it doesn’t make him happy at all. He wants this teasing that only makes him embarrassed to stop immediately.
She looked very mature and beautiful, making his heart race, and he was the only one who could see this side of her.
…I wonder why did it turn out like this.
Until a few weeks ago, we were just classmates who occasionally exchanged a few words.
She was just a childish girl adored by the girls in the class, and Chika thought of him just as a boy who liked making Western sweets, nothing more.
And yet, now they have become the kind of relationship where they casually go out together on weekends.
The time spent with her keeps increasing.
“Come on, Sōma-san, please wipe off the whipped cream on my cheek.”
Perhaps enjoying seeing him embarrassed, she approached him with an adorable and audacious smile, getting closer and closer.
“I’m not going to do it. Don’t try to make me do something strange outdoors! “
“If it’s indoors, will you do it?”
“That’s not the issue here!”
Embarrassed, thrilled, shouting, running away, and laughing.
Being with this girl is incredibly hectic, he thought.
***
TL: Hiraeth