Prologue
The library was very quiet in the early morning.
The wind that fluttered in through the open windows carried the sweet scent of osmanthus, gently easing one into a soft and comfortable mood.
There was no one else but Ichinose Sōma in the library. He had come to school early.
Not only were there no other students, but even the library committee members who were supposed to be on duty were absent.
While having the library all to himself, Sōma was silently engrossed in reading a book.
It was not a novel, nor was it a textbook.
What he was reading was a recipe book for sweets, and not just any book, but an old one published decades ago.
The place known as the school library is different from a town’s bookstore; the books on the shelves don’t get replaced constantly.
As long as they aren’t damaged or dirty, even old books continue to sit on the shelves indefinitely.
If you look for them, you can even find things from not just the Heisei era (1989-2019) but also the Showa era (1926-1989).
Sōma, who aspires to be a patissier, secretly enjoyed digging up such old recipe books in libraries and bookstores.
In the Reiwa (2019-present), Heisei, or even Showa eras, the same sweets might have different processes or ingredients for making them.
He found this interesting and educational.
Take cakes, for example.
Nowadays, it’s common to decorate cakes with whipped cream, but up until the middle of the Showa era, it was mainstream to decorate cakes with buttercream.
It was something he hadn’t known.
“Because refrigerators weren’t widespread, buttercream, which could be preserved at room temperature, was the main choice… In that case, it might have been okay to make cakes with buttercream for picnics too.”
While looking at faded photos of cakes, he thought of a strawberry shortcake and the girl who had enjoyed eating it.
He flipped through the pages, wondering if there were any sweets that she would like.
Then, something orange caught his eye, and he stopped.
“Oh, so Halloween existed even in the Showa era.”
In the section for seasonal event sweets, Halloween treats were introduced.
There were pumpkin pies and cookies shaped like bats and ghosts.
Back then, Halloween wasn’t as mainstream, so it seems that cookie cutters in the shapes of bats and ghosts weren’t readily available in stores.
That’s why the instructions for making the cutters are included as part of the recipe, which he found quite interesting.
“Halloween sweets, huh?”
‘Maybe I’ll bake some bat-shaped cookies next time and have her try them.’
It was while he was idly thinking about this.
“Sōma-san, I found you!”
Saying something like a child playing tag, a female student burst into the library.
“It’s rare for you to come to the library.”
The person he had just been picturing in his mind appeared before him, so he was slightly surprised.
He comes to the library quite often, but he doesn’t recall ever seeing this brown-haired girl here.
“No, I don’t have any particular business in the library. The selection here is a bit lacking, you know.”
“You’ll make the librarian cry if you talk like that.”
As he made a grim face on behalf of Sensei, Satomi Chika chuckled amusingly with a ‘Fufufu.’
As she approached,
“I saw your bag on your seat when I came to school, Sōma-san, so I was wondering where you might be.”
“Do you need something from me?”
“Ah, well…”
The girl who had come close to Sōma spread her arms wide and twirled around.
Then, as if asking, ‘How about this?’ she struck a pose.
“Hmm… what?”
He looked at her with a puzzled expression, not understanding the meaning.
She repeated the same action once more. Still, it made no sense to him.
“I don’t understand.”
When he honestly admitted that, Chika puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
It was a gesture not quite befitting a high school student, but it somehow suited her, who had a somewhat childish aura.
“It’s time for a change of clothes! Won’t you give me your thoughts on how I look now that I’ve switched to winter clothes?”
“What, just your uniform?”
He panicked, thinking he had overlooked something significant.
“There’s nothing to say, really. It’s October, so everyone switches to winter clothes. I’m wearing my winter clothes too.”
He said, pointing to the blazer he was wearing.
“Besides, we wore winter clothes for two months in April and May after entering high school. There’s no way it feels fresh or unusual now.”
“Ugh! That’s not what I mean! It’s about a girl looking different from yesterday. You could at least say something like ‘You look beautiful,’ ‘You’re cute,’ or ‘It suits you very well.’ “
“Even if you say that, your uniform is… “
Uniforms are designed to suit anyone who wears them. Even Sōma was praised by his parents for looking good in it on the morning of the entrance ceremony.
That’s what uniforms are all about.
“No fun! You’re really no fun!”
Not getting the reaction she wanted, Chika flailed her arms and legs about like a completely spoiled child.
Her actions alone turned the quiet library into a lively place.
“Ask someone like Saito. She’ll praise you so much you’ll get sick of it.”
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He said, turning his gaze back to the cookbook.
The recipes from the Showa era were far more interesting than the winter uniform he would have to wear repeatedly from now on.
“Pout! Sōma-san, you don’t understand me at all!”
Chika raised her voice in frustration, but it no longer reached Sōma’s ears.
Forgetting about the classmate standing next to his seat, he busily continued making cookies in his mind.
Mental training is important.
In his head, he arranged the cookie dough cut into the shapes of bats and cats on the baking sheet and was just about to put them into the microwave oven.
Suddenly, the recipe book disappeared from his view.
No, to be precise, it wasn’t the recipe book that disappeared, but Sōma’s face was forcibly turned to the side.
He complained to Chika, who had grabbed his chin.
“Hey, don’t disturb me.”
“I think Sōma-san looks cute in his winter clothes, you know?”
Contrary to her childish behavior from before, she said this with a strangely mature smile.
The eyes that held an innocent light now began to emit the brilliance of gems imbued with magical power.
“Huh…?”
“It’s my impression. I thought it wouldn’t be fair to only ask for opinions without giving one.”
“Really, I don’t need your impression of my winter clothes.”
“Well, don’t say that.”
He tries to peel off the hand holding his chin, but she laughs and stops him.
“Sōma-san in winter clothes looks so fresh. It’s been half a year since you entered school, but you still look like a bright new student. You’re very cute, like a kōhai (junior), and it makes me want to pat your head.”
“That’s not really a compliment.”
“It is a compliment.”
While saying that, she actually gently stroked his head as if he was a small child.
She’s doing it again…!
Sōma blushed and growled deep in his throat.
This girl had an extremely annoying bad habit.
Normally, she was so childishly innocent that you’d doubt she was really the same age.
The girls in the class doted on her as if she were their daughter or little sister.
Yet, for some reason, she showed a completely different face to Sōma alone.
She would tease him with a bewitching and mature smile that sent shivers down his spine.
No matter how many times he asked her to stop, she wouldn’t. If anything, it felt like it was gradually escalating.
“You can call me ‘Senpai’ if you want?”
The hand that had been patting his head slowly moved down, caressing Sōma’s cheek as it combed through his black hair.
“Stop it…”
He voiced his rejection as forcefully as he could in a small voice, but the redness in his ears made it less convincing.
Alone together in the spacious library.
There was a way to escape, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“Why is the embarassed Sōma-san so endearingly cute? I feel like I would do anything for the sake of seeing cute Sōma-san.”
While adoring him, she slowly brought her face closer and whispered in his ear.
“It’s your fault for not giving me your opinion on the winter uniform when I asked, Sōma-san. This is your punishment for disappointing a girl.”
“…Will you forgive me if I say it now?”
“Of course.”
While bringing her face close enough to almost kiss, Chika nods.
That affirmation was like magic that manipulates the human heart.
Without thinking, Sōma almost found himself saying the words she wanted to hear.
――Ding-dong, ding-dong――
Just as he was about to voice his praise, the sound of the bell rang out from the old speaker.
For the two of them, it was the sound of Cinderella’s midnight bell.
“Ah, homeroom is about to start.”
Chika suddenly snapped back to her usual self and released Sōma’s body.
“Shall we go back to the classroom?”
With that single sentence, the spell was broken.
Sōma slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding in his lungs.
“You go ahead. I need to return some books.”
While holding down his pounding heart, he dismissively waved his other hand, urging her to go quickly.
“Okay then, see you in the classroom.”
Chika obediently followed his direction and headed back to Class 1-4 first.
But before she left the library, she turned around swiftly. Then, with an enchantingly cute smile, she said,
“The thing about you looking cute in your winter uniform is true, you know?”
“Stop saying things like that. It doesn’t make me happy at all.”
He glared back at her, but Sōma was well aware of the warmth still lingering on his cheeks.
***
TL: Hiraeth