SS 1
Tempted by the Scent of Ramen
Leaving the ice cream shop, the sun had completely set.
The wind, which during the day had carried the warmth of the sun, had turned cold and reminded one of autumn.
“The ice cream was good, but I ate too much. It feels chilly.”
Exposed to the cold wind blowing through the street, Sōma rubbed his arms through his short-sleeved shirt.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve gotten a bit cold.”
Chika, who had also stepped outside the shop, rubbed her hands together while gazing at the night sky.
“It’s already autumn, isn’t it? I feel like eating something warm.”
“That’s for sure. I’m craving ramen.”
“Ramen, huh? Sounds nice. I like the miso flavor. I want to eat one with lots of corn as toppings!”
“I’d like to load mine up with a bunch of garlic. It’s bound to be amazing to eat with a chilled body.”
“The smell might be a concern, but that sounds good too.”
As Sōma mimicked the motion of slurping ramen, Chika started glancing around, left and right, with a curious expression.
“How about we go to a ramen shop right now? I suddenly feel like having some delicious ramen.”
“I totally get the feeling, but the answer is no. I don’t have that kind of money left.”
Today, they played billiards at the game center and ordered double cups of ice cream at the ice cream shop.
Sōma’s wallet had taken a serious hit. There was no way he could afford ramen.
“When it comes to money, I’m the same…”
Chika admitted, her gaze falling to the bag containing a stuffed animal.
“Besides, I don’t know any good ramen shops around here.”
“Really? Since we’re near the station, there should be plenty.”
“There probably are. But I’m not really knowledgeable about food places in general, not just ramen shops.”
While Sōma was interested in sweets, he had little interest in cooking.
Sweets and cooking were two separate things. They were different fields altogether.
Though he would have meals with friends when they hung out, in those cases, he’d leave the choice of the place to his friends.
Additionally, the places high school students would go for meals were mostly cheap chain restaurants.
He doesn’t have any chance to go to famous establishments that come with the label ‘delicious.’
“If you really want to go, you can either just walk into one randomly or search on your smartphone.”
“Well, that does sound interesting, but it’s a bit too much of a gamble. Plus, I’m not in the mood for a chain restaurant today… I want to eat a delicious, rich soup ramen.”
It seems that the experience at the lunchtime beef bowl shop left a lingering impact on Chika.
“In that case, you should research properly and plan for the next opportunity.”
“True. I’ll do that. If I eat ramen now, I might not be able to have the dinner my mom prepared. I’ll invite you again next time after researching, so please join me.”
“Sure thing.”
When Sōma nodded, Chika seemed to have cut her regrets about ramen. They started walking towards the station together.
“When you usually eat around here, what do you have, Sōma-san?”
“Ramen, udon, beef bowl, curry, hamburgers. That’s about it.”
“Huh, only five options? And all of them are probably from chain restaurants, right?”
“When I’m hanging out with friends, I don’t want to waste time deciding where to eat, so I stick to the same places. Besides, I’d rather spend money on having fun than on food, so it naturally ends up being cheap chain restaurants.”
“I can kind of understand that sentiment, but well, that’s not really helpful.”
“Even if you say that, I think most other guys are in the same boat.”
“I wonder if there are girls who are knowledgeable about food places… Sudo from Class 3? But maybe she’s more into spots for having fun.”
Chika was muttering to herself while pondering such matters.
As she was lost in thought, she passed by a pair of a man and a woman whom she recognized.
“Oh, those people…”
Inadvertently stopping and turning back, Chika looked at them.
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, I just think I saw them during lunch.”
Chika turns around, following with her eyes the back of the two in the same school uniforms.
“Oh, it’s the senior couple.”
The two who passed by were an upperclassman couple who had escaped for their lunch break before Soma and his friends.
They were linking arms and getting close, chatting happily together. They didn’t seem to pay attention to what was in front of them.
It’s surprising they don’t trip and fall like that.
“Chilling during lunch and still all lovey-dovey after school, huh. It’s nice to be close.”
As he spoke ironically, his face unconsciously turned into a frown.
For someone who had never experienced having a significant other, watching couples being overly affectionate wasn’t very enjoyable.
“Let’s head back.”
Not particularly interested, he turned on his heel to leave promptly.
It would be best and better for his mental health to quickly forget about that couple.
Suddenly, the hem of his short-sleeved shirt was grabbed by Chika.
“Hey, what’s with this hand?”
“Sōma-san, what if we try following those two?”
She said something completely unexpected.
“Huh? Why would we have to do something like that?”
“Walking around here at this time might imply they’re heading somewhere to have dinner. Those two mentioned going to a place with private rooms where they can relax during lunch. If they know such a place, they might be knowledgeable about food places.”
“Come to think of it, they might have said something like that, but you remembered it quite well.”
While looking exasperated, he shook his head.
“Even if that’s the case, I don’t feel like tailing them. It’s a hassle. Besides, it might not be dinner; it could be karaoke.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then so be it. If it’s karaoke, it should be nearby, and we can just stop if they enter.”
It seemed that no matter how much he tried to convince her, changing this girl’s mind was quite challenging.
He could just leave her be and go back home himself, but leaving her alone on the streets at night made him worry about various things.
With a sigh of resignation, he said,
“Okay, but only for a short while. We won’t hang around for more than thirty minutes or an hour.”
Checking the current time on his smartphone and making sure of it, Soma emphasized, and Chika nodded in agreement.
“Alrighty then, it’s a Stakeout Time!”
“Wait, you didn’t actually care about the restaurant; you just wanted to tail them, didn’t you?”
And so begins the strange endeavor of tailing a senior couple whose names they barely know.
Seriously, today is filled with all sorts of things, he thought.
“So if it’s a restaurant for couples, what kind of place do you think it is?”
Walking about ten meters behind the seniors, Chika asked this question.
“Who knows? It’s probably not some fancy French restaurant serving a full-course meal. Maybe it’s a place for pizza or pasta.”
“An upscale Italian restaurant sounds nice. If it’s really that kind of place, let’s go there sometime.”
“No way. Italian places are already super high-end for me.”
“What, that’s boring. I want to try going to a restaurant with you, Sōma-san.”
“If I had the money for that, I’d use it for ingredients for sweets. Besides, it’s not like those two have specifically decided on an Italian place. They might end up going to a hamburger shop for all we know.”
“I don’t remember seeing any hamburger shops around here.”
“Then it must be a soba place.”
“Sōma-san, are you just saying random things?”
“Pretty much. It’s cold, and I’m tired. I want to finish this stupid thing quickly and go home.”
“Mouu! Mou-mou-mouu!”
Seeing Sōma’s complete lack of motivation, Chika pouted.
“Are you a cow?” (Moo)
“You’re boring! Your retorts aren’t funny either!”
“I didn’t think we were forming a comedy duo, so don’t expect high-level retorts from me.”
“A comedy duo… Oh, by the way, the school cultural festival is coming up next month.”
“Hey, cut it out. Don’t start thinking about scary stuff.”
While saying pointless things, they continued the stakeout.
“…Somehow, the atmosphere of the town seems to be changing.”
After walking for about ten minutes, Chika suddenly looked around.
Upon hearing this, Sōma realized that they were surrounded by flashy neon signs.
They had entered what’s commonly known as the nightlife district.
“Are there any places to eat around here?”
Chika tilted her head, finding it strange, and Sōma also twisted his head in confusion.
“I don’t think there are places where high school students would eat in a nightlife area full of bars.”
At least, Souma couldn’t think of any.
“So, the destination is further ahead?”
“Further ahead…?”
Still staring at the senior couple who were walking while being all lovey-dovey, Chika’s words left Sōma startled…He finally got it.
He understood where that silly couple were heading.
“Hey, let’s go back.”
This time, Sōma grabbed Chika’s sleeve and put a stop to their steps.
“Huh? Are we going back now? We still haven’t found out their destination.”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s go back. We’ve had enough.”
He tugged at her, stubbornly and forcefully turning them around.
“That silly couple…! Are they going in their uniforms without changing? Isn’t something strange with their heads? I mean, really.”
As they walked back towards the station, Sōma grumbled and complained about the senior couple.
Deeper into the nightlife district, there were adult-oriented establishments like hostess clubs lined up.
Naturally, high school senior couples wouldn’t be heading to a place like that. Which leaves only one possible option.
That senior couple seems to be further ahead than Sōma imagined.
It was a bit overwhelming for a male high school student with no experience in romance.
“Seriously, what about the youth ordinances?”
As he complained with reddened cheeks, Chika walking beside him peeked in innocently.
“Sōma-san, where did those two go? From your expression, I’m sure you know. Please tell me too.”
Chika is a girl who has been cherished dearly by her parents and friends alike.
It’s hard to believe she would know about facilities restricted for those under eighteen.
If unnecessary knowledge was given here, it might just attract undue resentment from various places.
He decided to play dumb.
“Who knows. I just wanted to go home.”
“Huh? That expression definitely looks like you know. Don’t be mean; please tell me too.”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t say that, just tell me!”
She grabbed his arm and shook it playfully.
“I can’t tell you because I don’t know.”
He said while trying not to look at Chika’s face as much as possible.
Nevertheless, she peered at him even more.
“Your face seems kinda red. Why is that?”
“Because it’s cold.”
“Is that so? It just seemed like you suddenly turned red.”
“I’m telling you, it’s because I’m cold. Anyway, look ahead of us. You might trip.”
“Then, like the senior couple from earlier, could you link arms with me? I’m sure I won’t fall if we do that.”
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
“I won’t do that!”
Even though their tailing had been forcibly interrupted, this exchange with the surprisingly cheerful Chika continued until they finally reached the station.
Under the illumination of the familiar convenience store lights, he sighed, and then he told Chika.
“Listen, forget what happened earlier.”
“Why is that?”
“Stalking someone doesn’t sound good, you know.”
He thought she would react with something like ‘No way’ or ‘I don’t want to.’ but instead, Chika looked at Sōma’s face for a brief moment and then smiled as if satisfied.
“Alright, if Sōma-san says so, then I’ll do that.”
And with a surprisingly straightforward nod, she showed her agreement.
“Uh, yeah. Please do.”
Her excessive frankness left him dumbfounded.
“Well then, let’s stop here for today. Thank you for keeping me company so late. I had a lot of fun today.”
She bowed her head.
In the momentum, her usually brown hair revealed a glimpse of her ear.
That ear was dyed a vivid pink color, so bright that he could see them clearly even at night.
“Hm?”
“See you at school tomorrow.”
“Hey, wait.”
He tried to call out, but she just walked away.
“That girl… could it be…”
As he watched her disappear into the night’s crowd, he was left a bit dazed.
Perhaps Chika had realized where the senior couple was headed all along.
Maybe that’s why she had asked persistently.
If she had known, she could thoroughly enjoy Sōma’s flushed face, and even though she must have felt embarrassed too, she hid it.
“No, no way, surely not… But if it’s her…”
He felt the urge to chase after her and ask.
However, bringing up this topic again probably wouldn’t lead to anything good for Sōma.
Instead, it would likely just please Chika even more.
Biting his lip hard, he headed home..
Soma never brought up this night again, and Chika never mentioned it either.
Therefore, whether she noticed where the senior couple was going is unknown.
The truth lies in the darkness, or rather, in Chika’s heart.