Chapter 14

It was the first Friday of early July.

After school, as Yuzuru was about to head home,

"Yuzuru. Are you free tomorrow?"

The one who entered the classroom was Tachibana Ayaka.

Behind her was Nishimae Chiharu.

Yuzuru inwardly frowned, thinking, "What a troublesome combination."

"What do you want?"

"We're planning to have a study session tomorrow. Yuzuru, are you free?"

A study session.

In other words, it's a proposal to study together before the final exams.

"By 'everyone,' I mean me, Ayaka, Soichiro, and Yuzuru."

The reason why Ryoshinji Sei is not part of the group is that he isn't particularly close to Ayaka or Chiharu.

Originally, before high school, Sei only had interactions with Yuzuru.

Yuzuru and Soichiro, Yuzuru and Sei, were friends and had interactions...

But there was no such relationship between Sei and Soichiro.

They became close because they were both Yuzuru's friends.

"Sorry, I'll pass."

"Why not?"

"It's out of consideration not to interfere with your rendezvous."

"It doesn't bother us."

"It bothers me. I'm the one who's bothered."

Yuzuru felt a bit awkward when Ayaka, Chiharu, and Soichiro created their own world together.

"But you and Soichiro always cozy up when you ignore us."

"Let's keep it separate, guys and girls."

"Could you not say such suggestive things in our class, loudly? You guys."

Of course, he didn't expect them to listen, given how they deliberately used such expressions.

Yuzuru sighed inwardly and then gave another reason.

"Besides, I have prior plans."

"Who? Ryoshinji?"

"Are you ditching Soichiro for a rendezvous with two people?"

"No. And about the suggestive things... sigh. It's futile."

Yuzuru sighed deeply and...

For a moment, he glanced towards the classroom door.

He happened to meet Ailisa's eyes as she was about to leave the classroom.

Ailisa then gave Yuzuru a small smile.

"Who, then? With us here!"

"Exactly. A guy? A girl?"

He felt a slight flutter in his heart, but that was a secret.

The next day.

Usually, it would be in the afternoon... but that day, the intercom rang early in the morning.

"Good morning, Yuzuru."

"Good morning, Ailisa."

Yuzuru invited Ailisa into his room.

First, Ailisa checked the room, nodded in satisfaction, and then turned her gaze to Yuzuru.

"As you said, it's eighty percent from the start."

"That's right. Thank you for your consideration. And it suits you very well."

Ailisa complimented Yuzuru's outfit.

Since he was complimented, Yuzuru couldn't help but look at her outfit.

Today, she was wearing a beige summer dress with a cape-like item over it.

She had a black belt around her waist.

Yuzuru, who wasn't very knowledgeable about women's fashion, wasn't sure why a belt was necessary for a dress, but...

The belt emphasized Ailisa's slim waist and curvaceous figure, so it was probably a fashionable choice.

"You look good too. In fact, I don't know how to say this..."

"What is it?"

"Maybe it's just my impression, but... have you become more fashionable? I mean, I think you were fashionable before, but..."

He felt that the average price of her clothes had increased.

This was purely Yuzuru's intuition, but it turned out to be correct.

Ailisa slightly smiled and narrowed her eyes.

"You are correct. In the past... well, I didn't care what Tachibana thought of me. But recently, I guess... I don't have romantic feelings, but I don't want to be just anyone."

"Hmm... well, thank you, I guess?"

"No, actually, I should be the one to thank you. Thanks to you, my allowance has increased."

So that's why the average price of her clothes seemed to have increased.

The Amakusa family wanted Ailisa to win Yuzuru's heart.

Yuzuru chuckled, finding it a rather materialistic situation.

Now, usually, they would start playing games... but that day, they spread out their study materials.

It was a study session.

The prior engagement Yuzuru mentioned to Ayaka was with Ailisa.

They started studying together, but...

After about two hours, Yuzuru's concentration began to wane.

(Man... she's so serious.)

Yuzuru gazed at Ailisa's face absentmindedly.

Ailisa was intensely working on her reference book, unaware of Yuzuru's gaze.

He had heard that she was at the top of her class in the last midterm exam.

She must study diligently on a regular basis.

(I wish I could make those guys drink a potion made from her fingernail clippings.)

If he had studied with Soichiro and the others, they probably wouldn't have made much progress.

...Though, Yuzuru couldn't really talk about others in that regard.

(But... the more I look, the more beautiful and cute she seems.)

Previously, Yuzuru had requested a "blonde, blue-eyed, fair-skinned, large-breasted beauty," and Ailisa almost met all those criteria.

Her hair wasn't blonde, but it was a light, almost blonde, ash-brown color.

He really wanted to touch it.

Her eyes were not blue but a beautiful green, like jade.

Though... they seemed a bit lifeless.

Her skin was milky white and as smooth as porcelain.

He felt an urge to touch it.

Her chest... was indeed large.

Among the women around Yuzuru, Ayaka and Chiharu had large chests, but Ailisa's was no less impressive.

Perhaps larger than Ayaka's but not as large as Chiharu's.

(But her hips are a bit smaller...)

"Ailisa. What is it?"

"Huh?"

"You were staring at my face... I felt a rather lecherous gaze."

She slightly distanced herself from Yuzuru and looked at him with a cold stare.

Her eyes were as frozen as a winter lake.

She frowned and her expression twisted in displeasure.

"No, nothing... it's nothing."

Yuzuru said this while taking a sip of coffee.

At that moment,

"Blonde, blue-eyed, fair-skinned, large-breasted beauty."

"Choke!"

Yuzuru coughed involuntarily.

He looked at Ailisa, who was giving him a cold, almost disdainful look.

"Ah, um... Yuzuru? Where did you...?"

"I heard you talking loudly about it before. You set those conditions for your arranged marriage partner."

"Before" was probably when he was having lunch with Soichiro and Sei.

He couldn't remember who had said it loudly, but...

He secretly decided to curse both of them.

"You were looking at me with those eyes."

"No, no, calm down! I didn't even think you would come. And you weren't chosen by me, but by my grandparents and your adoptive parents!"

As Yuzuru hurriedly defended himself...

Ailisa slightly smiled.

Then she chuckled softly.

"I'm just joking. I understand, so don't worry. As a living being, it's inevitable to have such thoughts."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Besides... it would be frustrating if you didn't have any such thoughts at all. I'm also concerned about your health."

Yuzuru remembered that Ailisa had said she was frustrated that he didn't consider her as a potential romantic interest.

If she were just anyone, it wouldn't matter, but being treated as just a friend by a male acquaintance was unsettling.

"But, overtly lecherous gazes are uncomfortable, so please refrain from them."

"Ah, yes."

"Also, if you try to touch me, I'll crush you."

"O-Okay... rest assured. I won't do anything to cause you trouble, okay?"

Yuzuru said this with a strained expression, and Ailisa nodded.

"Yes, I know. I trust you. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here."

She then closed the distance, as if to prove her point.

Yuzuru, feeling embarrassed and guilty, scratched his cheek to hide his discomfort.

He then changed the subject to avoid the awkwardness.

"What about lunch?"

"Lunch? I was planning to make it. Do you have any preferences?"

"Well... it's before the exam. You might want to spend as much time as possible studying. How about going out to eat for a change?"

He felt it was a bit wasteful to spend valuable pre-exam time making food.

Besides, she usually made it for him.

"I'll treat you today. It's a thank you for all the times you've made food for me."

"...Okay. Then I'll accept your offer."

He thought she would refuse at first, but she accepted it quite straightforwardly.

Perhaps their relationship had grown closer, and she felt more comfortable.

"So, where should we go? Well... somewhere nearby would be good. There are cafes, family restaurants, soba shops, ramen, and curry places around here. We can also order a pizza. You can choose."

"Let me think about it."

Ailisa started to think, and Yuzuru inwardly thought, "It's summer, so I'd like soba."

If you found the heroine cute and are curious about the continuation, or if you think that even though he doesn't intend to pursue her, wearing cute clothes is essentially a way to attract him...

Please bookmark and rate (change the stars at the bottom of the table of contents from ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★).

The next chapter will have more development.

If you are looking forward to it, please bookmark and rate (change the stars at the bottom of the table of contents from ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★).