Chapter 52

The next day, Saturday.

As usual, Yugen welcomed Arisa.

"Thank you for having me today."

"Sure, come on in."

Saying that, he gestured for Arisa to come in. Arisa naturally took off her shoes and headed to the living room.

As usual, they started playing games, but...

Arisa seemed to be less focused than usual.

I'm doing a bit better today, he thought.

Just as Yugen was feeling a bit good about it, Arisa suddenly asked,

"Um, Yugen-san."

"What's up?"

"...How did you do on yesterday's mock test?"

It seems Arisa is the type who easily gets discouraged.

She seemed to be still dwelling on yesterday's poor results.

"Pretty good, I guess."

"...Can I see it?"

"Sure, if you want."

There was no point in hiding it, so Yugen took the individual score sheet from his bag and handed it to Arisa.

Arisa looked at the sheet and let out a very complex voice, a mix of surprise, joy, and sadness.

"Second place in the school, huh?"

"Well, I guess I was in good form this time."

"...By the way, do you know who got first place in the school?"

"It's Ayaka."

"...I see."

It seemed she had expected it.

Arisa answered in a slightly dejected voice.

Then, Arisa silently handed over her own individual score sheet, which she had brought with her.

The scores and standard deviation were...

not bad at all.

She was in third place in the school.

However...

Third place is not a bad rank at all; in fact, it's a very good rank.

But for Arisa, who had always been first in the school exams, being overtaken by two people who usually ranked behind her in an external mock test must have been quite frustrating.

"I thought I could at least get second place in the school... even if I might lose to Ayaka-san."

Arisa said this with a slight grudge.

In short, she hadn't expected to lose to Yugen, and that's why she was frustrated.

Mostly, though, there was a bit of a more intense negative emotion lurking beneath.

"No, Arisa, it's just..."

It's just a test, after all.

You're overthinking it.

He was about to say that, but...

"I'm sorry. It's not right to say such things to Yugen-san. ...I know I have a bad temper. I know I shouldn't think that I can beat Yugen-san. I'm really, really sorry. I shouldn't be saying such things to you."

It seemed she had fallen into a negative thought pattern.

While it wasn't surprising, given that he had always known Arisa's mental strength was somewhat weak.

Yugen reached out to Arisa.

She seemed to misunderstand something and tightly clenched her hands, closing her eyes.

He gently stroked her head.

Her soft, smooth hair was a pleasure to touch, making him want to keep touching it.

"It's okay, Arisa."

"...I'm sorry. It's my fault..."

"Actually, there's something I want to ask you. Is it okay?"

Since comforting her didn't seem to break her out of the negative loop, Yugen decided to give her a chance to "make amends."

Of course, Arisa hadn't done anything wrong, but giving her a chance to forgive herself would be better for her mental health.

"I actually received some food from my mother."

"...Food?"

"Yeah. But it's something I can't cook or handle. I want you to take a look."

Yugen went to the refrigerator and took out a styrofoam box. He placed it on the table and opened the lid.

"Wow... This is amazing. These are..."

Arisa's eyes widened in surprise.

Given that Yugen was also surprised, it was understandable that Arisa was shocked.

The box was packed with large, high-quality matsutake mushrooms.

"Matsutake mushrooms. ...I've cooked them before, but never in such a quantity."

Arisa's voice had a hint of excitement.

High-end ingredients like these are a chef's chance to show their skills.

But she quickly looked worried.

"Can I really have them?"

"My parents wrote that they want you to cook them. Well, if they had written that I shouldn't let you eat them, that would be a different story."

"...Please thank your mother and father for me."

Arisa said to Yugen.

Then, she picked up one of the larger matsutake mushrooms.

"Hmm... Well, matsutake rice is a must. We can also do foil-wrapped matsutake, and a grill on the stove since we don't have charcoal. A clear soup would be delicious too. If we have a teapot, I'd like to try teapot-steamed matsutake."

Arisa, as expected, quickly came up with cooking ideas.

...The test results seemed to have flown out of her mind, and Yugen felt a bit relieved.

He wanted Arisa to be smiling.

Ignoring the question of why he felt this way, he asked Arisa,

"I think I saw a teapot in the back. How about it?"

"Wait a moment. ...I can make matsutake dishes, but it might be a bit tough with just matsutake. I think we should have some meat and fish too. And it's not good to have only brown dishes. I'm thinking about that now."

Arisa said, then put her hand to her chin and...

started thinking.

Then, she asked Yugen,

"Are you hungry?"

"Of course."

"Then... please eat a lot. I'll make a lot."

Arisa said with a cute wink.

For a moment, Yugen's heart skipped a beat.

So, next time, Arisa will make matsutake dishes.

If you think Arisa is smart and cute,

please bookmark and rate (change the ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★) so that

you can tell Arisa, "Wow, these are great matsutake mushrooms!"

And as I mentioned the other day, please check out my work on KakuYomu.

If I write a scene where Arisa is surprised by Yugen's matsutake in the future, it won't be on Narou, but on KakuYomu.