Chapter 48: Volume 2 - CH 3.3

As soon as we left, I exhaled deeply.

“Whoa…that was scary, I won’t say what exactly.”

“Really… What ascary place, I can’t say what exactly.”

We both shuddered at the terrifying fortune teller.

Just as we both inwardly decided not to go to a fortune teller anymore, the sweet smell of baking sugar and flour drifted in from outside of the window of the corridor.

“Oh, what’s that smell…? Crepe?” Yuzu seemed to have noticed that smell and turned to look out the window.

The usual familiar schoolyard was lined with food stalls, creating the extraordinary atmosphere of a festival as much as possible.

“Shall we go?” I suggested.

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“Yes!”

I walked down to the schoolyard with Yuzu, who nodded cheerfully.

It was even more crowded than in the school building, and inadvertently, we could hardly move anywhere.

“Wow, what a crowd. We’re gonna get separated at this rate.”

As a boy, I didn’t mind this situation, but Yuzu seemed a little anxious.

“I know. Make sure you’re right behind me.”

When I was scanning for a route that had even a little space for us to go through, Yuzu peeked at me, looking unhappy.

“If I’m behind you, we’ll easily get separated. Can’t you think of a better way to prevent that, you know? I’m sure there’s one, an easy method to do so.”

Somehow, she was being very self-assertive there.

“That’s true. Alright, I’ll go buy it by myself and then return here. Yuzu, wait here.”

“Why would you do that!”

Despite my reasonable answer, Yuzu was very upset.

“Well, I thought that would be the easiest way.”

“No matter how you think about it, isn’t it the perfect time for us to hold hands?! I assisted you so that even the shy Yamato-kun could hold hands with me, but why are you ignoring my hints!”

“Sorry. I was annoyed by the feeling of being set up, so I just-“

“This is why you are a sixty percent compatible boyfriend!”

“Hey, don’t put the blame for that sixty percent compatibility on me alone! That sixty percent score also contributed by you!”

We were both blaming each other for our pathetic compatibility percentage in an ugly manner. Nevertheless, since we were at the cultural festival, continuing our squabble would be unproductive. Here, I should be the bigger man and accommodate my sixty percent girlfriend.

“Okay, okay Here, let’s hold hands.”

When I held out my hand, Yuzu’s expression changed to a smile and she grabbed my hand back, as if we hadn’t just been glaring at each other.

“You should have done that from the beginning, what do I do with you, Yamato-kun. But I think with this we’re now at sixty-one percent, don’t you think?”

“Thirty-nine percent left. We still have a long way to go.”

As I walked ahead with a wry smile on my face, Yuzu, who was standing beside me, casually changed the way we held hands so our fingers interlaced–like how couples do.

“…Um, it’s really embarrassing to hold hands this way in public.”

I was an introvert by nature, so I was embarrassed to hold hands in a way that blatantly made us look like a couple in such a crowded space.

But Yuzu, a full-blown narcissist with a cheerful personality, seemed to be truly enjoying this situation, “You shouldn’t be! You get to flirt with a pretty girl like me in public, so you’d be missing out if you weren’t more proud than embarrassed, okay?”

“I see. By that logic, you’re bringing along a boyfriend you can hardly be proud of, so you should be more ashamed when you walk.”

“Wow, what a novel way of miserable thinking. But it’s okay, I’m a boast-worthy existence just by me being myself!!”

She had an overly positive self-esteem.

As we chatted like this, we stood in line at a crepe shop that was wafting out that sweet smell.

“…Hey, we don’t have to hold hands while standing in line, do we?”

When I suddenly realized that fact and relaxed my grip, Yuzu tightened even more.

“No-no. In everything you do, the time you get careless like that is the most dangerous. When we’re in a line that we need to hold hands even more firmly to avoid getting separated. That’s an iron rule.” Yuzu spoke as if it was only natural to say so.

“Is that how it works?”

“That’s how it works.”

If that’s the way it is, then so be it. I didn’t protest any further but waited for the line to move forward, still holding Yuzu’s hand.

So we successfully bought crepes (even during payment, I was required to keep holding hands), and we walked while we ate together.

“Oh, it’s surprisingly tasty.” Yuzu looked a little happy as if the taste had exceeded her expectations.

So I also tried eating my own crepe.

The taste of the beautifully cooked crepe batter matched well with the vanilla ice cream and peach topping, and it was indeed surprisingly full-flavored.

“It’s true. I looked down on this food sold at a cultural festival, but it’s surprisingly good.”

I was impressed despite my initial expectation and there, Yuzu offered me her crepe.

“Hey, Yamato-kun. Want to trade bites?”

“Oh, good. That one looks good, too.”

Yuzu’s crepe contained chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and lots of oranges.

“Here, say ahh.” Yuzu tried to feed me like it was a given to do so.

Normally I would have said no, but my right hand was holding my own crepe and my left hand was still connected to Yuzu. Well, I had no choice, then.

“Okay…”

When I finished justifying this situation in my mind, I tried to eat Yuzu’s crepe.

That was when it happened. A passerby pushed by the crowd bumped into Yuzu’s back.

“Ahh!”

“Oops, sorry.” The passerby bowed lightly and then left as if swept away by a wave of people.

“Good grief, geez… Ah?…”

Yuzu didn’t seem to be hurt from that bumping, but as soon as she looked at my face, her expression twitched..

Yes—following that impact, Yuzu’s crepe struck me in the face with full force.

“A-are you okay?”

“It tastes so sweet.”

Whipped cream stuck to my mouth and cheeks. Oddly enough, we achieved our goal of tasting, but the damage on me was too great.

“Let’s see, where’re the wipes…”

Only at this time she finally let go of my hand that had been holding hers and rummaged through her pockets. Meanwhile, I was worried about the eyes around us, so I turned my back to the crowd and faced the corner of the schoolyard where there were fewer people.

There was a couple there eating crepes, just like us.

“Oh, see here, you’ve got cream on your cheeks,” the girl said with a nasally sweet voice.

Over there, they seemed to have succeeded the feeding ritual and only a reasonable amount of cream was left stuck to the cheek of the boy.

“Really? Clean it for me.”

When the boyfriend turned his face toward his girlfriend, she murmured happily, “What do I do with you!” and then kissed and licked away the cream on his cheek.

“Alright, it’s clean.”

“Thank you.”

Wow…real couples are totally on a different level!

I was impressed in my heart, but I felt like I was going to get heartburn if I looked at them any longer, so I turned my face back to Yuzu.

And there, I saw Yuzu’s face blushed as she looked at me and that couple.

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“It-it’s absolutely impossible for me to do that, okay?!”

Apparently, me staring at the couple made it look like I was urging her to do the same thing.

“No, no, no, I’m not telling you to do it!”

“Your eyes do!”

“They don’t! My eyes are like me, modest and introverted!”

“B-but, if you insist, we might as well challenge it…!”

“I don’t!”

“What?! Coward! You are spineless!”

“What do you want me to do exactly?!”

She ended up being unreasonable all of a sudden.