Chapter 9
‘Ugh.’
Watching the women sitting across from him, Shota couldn’t help groaning.
‘Who’d have thought Mochizuki was Takamine’s friend?’
It was a pairing he’d never imagined. But now that he saw them together, they did seem to suit each other. Their shared beauty put them in the same category: ‘beauties.’
Takamine was a beauty whose silver hair and other features gave her an air of mystery.
Mochizuki, by contrast, with her neat black hair, fair skin, and graceful gestures, had the look of the kind of woman one pictured when thinking of an Eastern beauty.
Anyway,
With two beauties sitting right in front of him, Shota hid his awkwardness behind a stiff smile.
‘What should I do?’
The barrage of questions had ended with Mochizuki’s arrival, and since then, a veil of silence had settled over them again. Shota furtively glanced at Mochizuki.
She was the reason he was feeling this way—awkward and flustered.
‘Of all people.’
Shota knew Mochizuki. He couldn’t claim not to, considering how much time they’d spent together. As members of the same club—the tennis club—they’d often found themselves caught up in each other’s affairs.
‘I didn’t want to run into her here, too.’
Shota wasn’t talented at martial arts like Takamine. But he did have a talent in another field: tennis.
He’d improved quickly as soon as he joined the club. Before long, he’d become quite skilled, and everyone had recognized his ability.
……Just like Mochizuki, his ‘mixed doubles’ partner.
“Y-you two already knew each other?”
Takamine was the first to break the silence.
Takamine’s expression had stiffened somewhat. She seemed flustered by the awkward atmosphere that had settled in after Mochizuki arrived.
Perhaps that was why, after glancing back and forth between Mochizuki and Shota for a moment, she stared at her friend as if glaring at her. Then she parted her tightly pressed lips.
““We’re in the same club.””
Mochizuki and Shota spoke at the same time. Perhaps they were both surprised by that, because they flinched.
In Shota’s case, an awkward expression appeared on his face as well.
“Ah――. Th-then you two must be close?”
“……I guess.”
Shota answered Takamine’s question, watching her reaction. He knew his answer would only make things more awkward, but he didn’t want to lie.
He didn’t know what Takamine’s standard for being ‘close’ was, though.
By Shota’s standards, he and Mochizuki were hardly close. If anything, it was fair to say things were awkward between them.
He thought their disagreements as mixed doubles partners were what had made things this way.
‘We used to at least talk until a few weeks ago.’
That was right. Even if they disagreed about tennis, they’d still exchanged the usual pleasantries about other things.
For example, ‘Hi,’ ‘Good work today,’ ‘See you,’ and ‘Let’s do better next time.’ He also remembered having a few serious conversations with her here and there.
But at some point—about a few weeks ago—Mochizuki’s attitude suddenly changed.
She stopped talking to Shota altogether. Just like her expression now, she’d simply blush and stare at him in silence.
――Even when they were playing doubles together.
For weeks on end.
If it had only been a day or two, he could’ve treated it as a simple ‘incident.’ But once it went on longer than that, it couldn’t be dismissed as one.
Watching Mochizuki’s reactions, Shota eventually came to a conclusion.
He must have done something wrong, or perhaps Mochizuki had finally turned her back on him after their repeated disagreements.
That was what Shota thought. Eventually, this conclusion affected him, too. He began to feel uncomfortable around Mochizuki.
No matter how often people said Shota was easygoing, he wasn’t the sort of person who could act at ease around someone who clearly didn’t like him.
“Oh. I see.”
Takamine spoke in a somewhat stiff tone. Then she narrowed her eyes and looked at Mochizuki.
Mochizuki seemed to feel burdened by Takamine’s gaze and abruptly lowered her head.
Why were they both acting like that? Hadn’t they said they were friends? Or was it because they were friends?
Anyway,
Watching them, Shota couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for Mochizuki. They weren’t close, but he thought he should at least help her as a fellow club member.
More than anything, he didn’t know why, but he’d ended up sitting with them. Spending time in this kind of atmosphere was pure torture. He thought they needed to liven things up, too.
“Mochizuki.”
“……Yeah?”
At Shota’s call, Mochizuki blinked, then slowly opened her mouth. Her response was still awkward. Seeing that, Shota said what he’d already thought of.
“You should pick something from the menu. It’s one item per person.”
“…One item per person?”
A question mark popped up over Mochizuki’s head at his words. Then Takamine, who was sitting beside her, whispered something to her, and—
“I-I was just about to choose.”
Mochizuki reached for the menu nearby as she spoke. Then she quickly read through the items listed inside.
“Hmm.”
Maybe she couldn’t find anything she liked. Mochizuki turned the pages one by one, and her hand finally stopped at the end of the thin menu.
It seemed she’d chosen something.
“…I’ll have a parfait. …A double chocolate parfait.”
――A parfait?
It was an unexpected choice. To Shota, Mochizuki Kaede had the image of a quintessential young lady from a respectable family. He’d expected her to order tea or something.
He never thought she’d choose a parfait.
The unexpected side of her made Shota look at Mochizuki with interest before he knew it.
That was when it happened.
“……Um.”
Suddenly, Takamine, sitting beside them, raised her hand. Their gazes naturally shifted to her.
Takamine glanced between the two of them, then quietly opened her mouth.
“I’ll have a parfait too……. Strawberry.”
＊＊＊
Munch, munch.
‘So this is what a parfait tastes like.’
The sweet flavor of the parfait melted and dissolved in my mouth. As I savored it, I thought—
I was glad I’d spoken up.
It was a parfait I’d wanted to try someday. But I’d been so busy with my daily life that I’d never had the chance.
Now that I’d become a woman, I could enjoy desserts to my heart’s content without worrying about what anyone thought. And yet, I had no time to do so.
To me, it was truly lamentable. So when the word ‘parfait’ came out of Kaede’s mouth, I thought I had to eat one now, no matter what.
“Ah. So you two are doubles partners.”
“Yeah. It just happened.”
Maybe it was because we were eating something sweet, but the atmosphere had softened in several ways. Our conversation began to flow naturally, unlike before, when it had been completely stuck.
Who would’ve thought my own personal craving would improve the situation? I felt satisfied. The power of sugar is amazing.
Of course, even with the pleasant atmosphere, I was still annoyed that Kaede kept her mouth shut.
Sigh. Kaede, I wish you’d take the initiative and talk to him a little.
I’d been too busy to pay attention lately, but I never expected things between them to be this awkward. What on earth had happened between them?
“…How did you two become friends?”
As I was grumbling to myself, Arai asked a question. So, to get Kaede to talk somehow, I gave her side a little nudge with my elbow.
That’s because Takamine is my maid―――
“Maid?”
W-wait a second!
What are you saying, Kaede!
“Ahem. We happened to meet at a maid café before.”
“Ah. R-right. We met at a maid café and became friends. Hehe.
“Really? …That’s a rather unusual way to meet. A maid café.”
“……Haha.”
Kaede, you idiot.
Maybe she couldn’t think straight because she was in front of the person she liked.
Just when I thought she might finally say something, she brought up something that could expose who I was. I managed to gloss over it somehow, but…
What on earth did she mean, our first meeting was at a maid café? Seriously.
I held back a sigh, then turned my gaze to Kaede to warn her.
“……?”
Ah! Looking closely, there was parfait cream on her cheek.
So careless.
Take better care of that pretty face of yours.
I took a handkerchief out of my bag. It was made of linen and embroidered with a butterfly.
“Lady Kaede――, ahem. You’ve got cream on your face.”
Then I used it to wipe the cream off Kaede’s face. As usual, she didn’t resist my touch.
It was then.
“You two look like sisters.”
Shota said that as he watched us.
Sisters, huh. I’d never really thought of us that way.
Hmm. I guess we could look like that.
Even if you’re friends, taking care of each other like this isn’t something you see every day.
From the outside, I’d naturally look like the older sister――
“That’s right. I do look like the older sister.”
“?”
As I was trying to come up with an answer, Kaede spoke first. I looked at her in disbelief and saw that the shy girl from a moment ago was nowhere to be found. The usual young lady had taken her place.
Good grief.
Kaede, do you have a conscience?
After all the looking after and taking care of I do, anyone would say I’m the older sister.