Arc-1 Chapter-6: Snow White's Weakness

￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣

　It was lunchtime that day.

　Naoya and Koyuki were in the courtyard.

　The sky was clear, and the courtyard was filled with a warm, cheerful atmosphere. Students were spreading out leisure seats here and there on the grass, eating their lunches, playing games, and spending time in their own ways.

　This school is known for its free style, despite its high academic performance.

　Thanks to this, the school has an unusually large number of students, and there are many places to relax.

　Looking around the bustling courtyard, Koyuki tilted her head.

　"U, uh. Where is Natsume and the others?" (小雪)

　"Ah. We're separating." (Naoya)

　It was on the way to school this morning that we promised to eat lunch together. Of course, Yui and Tatsumi were with us at the time.

　But Naoya shrugged his shoulders lightly.

　"I figured it would be better for you to relax at least for lunch. So I called them and asked them to sit out for a bit." (Naoya)

　"W-why is it......again, Hmmm... I get it." (小雪)

　Koyuki smiled devilishly and looked into Naoya's eyes.

　"You wanted to be alone with me, didn't you? You're quite the naughty one aren't you?" (小雪)

　"I mean, I won't deny it." (Naoya)

　"Gugu...well, you can stop nodding with a serious expression." (小雪)

　Koyuki immediately flinched and made a reluctant face.

　I've been aware of this since yesterday, apparently she's not used to being counterattacked.

　Naoya smiled at Koyuki's squirming.

　"Shirogane-san's shy, aren't you? I was afraid you'd be so nervous around Yui and the others that you wouldn't be able to eat well." (Naoya)

　".....!" (小雪)

　At that moment, Koyuki's face froze.

　However, she quickly regained her composure and gave a cool smile.

　".....Pfft, that's a funny joke. The perfect me is shy? What kind of a childish attribute is tha--?" (小雪)

　"Ah, Yui. Yoo-hoo, wanna eat together with us?" (Naoya)

　"Hyah,.... hello Natsume...., huh?" (小雪)

　Shrinking back, Koyuki panicked and looked behind her.

　But of course, there was no sign of Yui there.

　Koyuki tilted her head in confusion, but then she quickly realized what was going on and closed in on Naoya.

　"Ser- you tricked me.....!? Coward!" (小雪)

　"It's so cute that you'd fall for such an obvious trick...."

　Naoya let out a small sigh.

　Then Koyuki lost her momentum and became small and shifty.

　"Umm... I'll tell you this... actually, I'm kind of bad at talking to people and stuff..... Uh..." (小雪)

　"You're so honest." (Naoya)

　Naoya patted her on the shoulder.

　They moved to the shade of a tree and sat down side by side on a vacant bench. As they spread out their lunches, Koyuki began to talk in bits and pieces....

　"You know... I've always been good at everything. Whether it was studying or sports." (小雪)

　"Really? You're amazing, Shirogane-San." (Naoya)

　"Yeah...., but was a problem." (小雪)

　Koyuki nibbled on her omelet with a gloomy face.

　"They were all complimenting me on how great I was. But I didn't understand why they were saying that, because to me, it was 'normal' to be able to do that" (小雪)

　"That's...what you said?" (Naoya)

　"....Yeah. They all had weird looks on their faces." (小雪)

　Koyuki furrows her brow in disappointment.

　Naoya could see the scene in his mind as well.

　"When they kept doing that, I became afraid to talk to people... I was so afraid that I would make a mistake somewhere..." (小雪)

　"But you can talk to me normally, right? Just like this." (Naoya)

　"You're right, its..." (小雪)

　Koyuki pondered for a moment, looked down at the lunch box on her lap, and said in a whisper.

　"It's no use trying to fix things with you. Maybe that's why I can talk to you with a relaxed shoulder..." (小雪)

　"Well.., I'm flattered." (Naoya)

　Naoya smiled back at her.

　Although it was a skill that I originally acquired for my sick mother, I was glad that I had honed it if it could help her to be more honest.