Episode 16 – The Goddess’s Ice Melting

“So what can I do for you?”
“W-Well…”

Uu…Ichikawa san is cold. It’s really cold.
This is what I mean by unapproachable.
Where should I start?

　……I have no choice. Let’s rely on my secret weapon right from the start here!

“I-I thought we could have lunch together. ……”
“Lunch”
“Y-yes…I bought some delicious-looking desserts at the store. Would you like to eat it with me?”
“Desert?”

Oh, she took it.
Girls like sweet things. I have already learned that from my younger sister, Kaede.
And that’s what I bought for her!

I shuffle through the plastic bag and pull out the items I’ve bought.

“Pudding right?”
“Yes. Pudding !”

Kounan High School’s famous special pudding with plenty of fruit and fresh cream.
The price. A ridiculous 1000 yen! (About 8 American dollars)
The price is too high for a single student.

But with this, there is no girl who won’t fall!….Must be

“I’m not good at sweets. I don’t like sweets.”
“Eh?”

It hurts.
This is news

OI Kaede !! You are wrong about this !! I always get you in a good mood when I buy you something sweet, but it doesn’t work for Ichikawa san!

I mean, I don’t know anything about Ichikawa san’s tastes yet.
We’ve only been dating for a short time…..

But Ichikawa san, wondering what I was thinking, accepts the pudding from me, which is already drooping.

“Eh? I thought you didn’t like sweets…….”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t take it. Komiya kun went to the trouble of buying it for me. I’d rather take it than throw it away.”
“No, I won’t throw it away though…..”

Ichikawa san went straight to the stairs leading to the rooftop as usual with the pudding and sat down.
I went straight after her and sat down beside her.

“I don’t remember giving you permission to sit beside me.”
“Ugh…”
“I’m kidding”

Heartbreaking.
But she is still…… angry. And instead of putting her in a good mood, I’ve given her something she doesn’t like. No wonder…

“……”
“…..”

Well. We’re back to square one. The secret weapon has had the opposite effect, and now what to do about it…..

“Thanks for helping me out earlier.”
“Eh?”
“You were the one who pretended to call the teacher and helped me, weren’t you, Komiya kun? So thank you.”
“Y-Your welcome…”
“Do you think it’s so weird that I thank you?”
“N-No it’s not that…”
“Komiya kun. You think I’m mad at you.”
“Eh? Am I wrong?”

I was puzzled because I didn’t expect her to thank me.

If you’re not mad, what is it? …… No, wait? I’ve seen this nonsense before, haven’t I?

She pretended to be mad at me to make fun of me. So…This is the same thing ?!…..Ah, Then you should have said so earlier.

“I’m angry at myself. I had no idea that Komiya kun was cheating on me during that brief time. I am angry at myself for not foreseeing such a thing. I never should have let Komiya kun go at that time, even if I had to tie him up.”
“……..”

….I was wrong.
But that’s scary.
Eh? What are you talking about with your cool face?
Eh? I feel nothing but madness.

“You’re definitely mad at me, right?”
“I’m not mad. If I may say one thing, the way you helped me earlier was a bit pathetic. I would have wanted a man to step forward and protect me. I almost had my hand out.”

Here comes the no-no I mentioned earlier.
You say it so much.

“Maybe, but didn’t you need help in that situation?”
“I’ll tell you what. Next time, if that guy had pulled me, he would have lost his reproductive function.”
“Ouch..”

I was stunned. I won’t ask.
Apparently, it was an unnecessary worry.

“But it was nice of you to be tactful and help me out right there.”
“—Tss”

A complete change from the too-cool expression she had earlier. The gentle smile left me speechless.

Surprised……. It’s not fair. That smile is sneaky.
My face burnt…

“Fufu. You are red up to your ears you know?
“No, not that”

It’s even more embarrassing when people point it out, so don’t do it.
For now, is it okay that I have been forgiven?

I looked at Ichikawa san’s face sideways while turning my face away.

“So what’s your relationship with Mitsushima san?”
“Ou…”

But that’s just for show. She won’t let me go.

“Speaking of Mitsushima san, she was a very popular girl with the girls, wasn’t she? It’s surprising that such a girl is acquainted with Komiya kun.”

But this is an opportunity. A chance to prove that this morning was a misunderstanding and that I have nothing to hide.

“The truth is, yesterday—–”

I told her how I got to know Mitsushima san from there, from yesterday to today.

“Oh okay. So there is nothing going on with Mitsushima san.”
“Y-Yes ! There is really nothing ! But I’m rather doubtful that the other side even knows who I am.”
“For all that…I saw you were quite intimate with each other though?”

Intimate? Was it? We only had a normal conversation in the morning.
If you are as good a communicator as Mitsushima san, even with a plain student like me, you might be able to see it that way.

“I wonder if it’s my imagination….”

Ichikawa san put her hand over her mouth as if thinking about something.

“Well, okay.”

Perhaps having settled on an idea, Ichikawa san opens the lid of the pudding.
She then scoops it up with a plastic spoon and brings it to her mouth.

“……”

I wonder why. A woman bringing something to her mouth is like…..yeah.
For some reason, I couldn’t bear to see it, so I turned away from Ichikawa san.

I take my own bread out of the bag and open it too.

“It’s sweet”
“By the way, What about lunch, Ichikawa san? I bet you didn’t eat your lunch.”
“Ee. I didn’t have time to make it today. I was going to buy some at the store. But thanks to Komiya kun, who just bought this for me, it saved my life.”
“Eh? Maybe that’s all you have for lunch?”
“I guess so. I don’t think there’s going to be anything left if I go buy it now.”

Indeed. It’s already half past lunchtime.
If you go there now, there may or may not be a loaf or two of bread left.

But I’m worried about the pudding alone, no matter how high in calories it may seem.
In addition, she looks like she is slender and doesn’t seem to eat much regularly.

“…”

I offered Ichikawa san the long type of jam bun I was now holding in my hand.

“You can eat this. If it’s only that, you will get hungry right?”
“……Thanks”
“………..?”

Although she thanked me, Ichikawa san did not accept the bread she offered but only stared at it.
When I froze in place, not knowing what her intention was, Ichikawa san opened his mouth.

“Aaaan”
“Eh?”
“What’s wrong? Aaaan”

Seriously?
Eh? Are we doing this?

“I don’t think I’ve forgiven you for what you did this morning.Aaan”

It is typical of Ichikawa san to cite the morning’s incident in this regard.

E-Embarassing…
But I have to do this, she is not going to let me go.
Eeeei, Whatever !

I nervously take the torn piece of bread to Ichikawa san’s mouth.

“Aumm”

With a cute voice not unlike Ichikawa san’s, my mission was complete.

“Sometimes sweet things are not bad”

………Me, I think I’ll hold off on the sweet stuff for a while.