Chapter 78

After the New Year, it was the first day back at school.

Yugen was eating lunch with his friends as usual.

"That looks warm."

While looking at Yugen's lunch box, Soichiro said enviously.

Yugen nodded while drinking warm consomme soup.

"Yeah. It's nice to have warm food and soup in the winter."

Yugen was using an insulated lunch box that could hold soup and other liquid foods.

Of course, the contents were homemade lunches made by Ailisa.

The white rice, side dishes, and soup were still warm.

Until now, he had been using a regular lunch box from home, but he had renewed it at the start of winter break.

"Maybe I'll get one too... By the way, what about in the summer? Won't it spoil easily?"

"In high temperatures, bacteria actually don't multiply, so it's apparently safe. Trying to cool it down might make it spoil more easily."

Ailisa apparently uses a similar insulated lunch box.

Her perfect knowledge of cooking is truly worthy of her.

(If I marry Ailisa, I can have meals like this for the rest of my life.)

Conversely, if he let Ailisa go, he wouldn't be able to eat this.

Yugen renewed his resolve to make sure Ailisa would be his and to make his proposal successful.

"What are you grinning about? It's creepy..."

"Sorry. I was thinking about Ailisa."

When Yugen answered Shou's comment boldly, he looked like he had eaten a cube of honey-soaked sugar.

He drank tea as if to clear his mouth.

"My class has PE next..."

He changed the topic as if to say this, with a very unhappy expression.

"After lunch...?"

"It's tough. Especially at this time of year."

Yugen and Soichiro sympathized with Shou.

Why is it "especially" tough at this time of year?

It's due to an event at Yugen's high school, which is coming up in a month.

"Man... the marathon."

At Yugen's high school, a marathon is held at the beginning of February.

At this time of year, PE classes are almost entirely dedicated to endurance running.

"Wasn't it... ten kilometers for boys and seven kilometers for girls?"

When Yugen said this, Soichiro nodded.

"That's a long distance. Ten kilometers."

Yugen is not averse to exercise.

He sometimes runs long distances for health.

So he has some confidence in his endurance... but he's not particularly interested in marathons, nor does he exercise enthusiastically on a regular basis.

And the same goes for Soichiro and Shou.

"Well... it feels long when you think about how many kilometers are left, but if you just run without thinking, it'll be over before you know it, right? In terms of how it feels."

"That's boring... Marathons are no fun."

Shou sighed in response to Yugen's words.

Preferences for long-distance running like marathons vary from person to person.

But... Shou doesn't seem to like it much.

"Is that so? I like long-distance running. You just run until it's over without thinking. It's easier than sports where you have to think and move all the time."

Soichiro said this.

He looks serious, but he's actually quite lazy.

And he's also a very efficient man.

(I'll think about Ailisa while running... No, my face will grin, so I'll hold back.)

A man grinning while running would be quite creepy, to put it mildly.

Yugen decided to restrain himself.

"Well... but running blindly is boring. How about a race? The slowest one buys the other two dinner. What do you think?"

When Yugen suggested this, the two of them smiled.

They seemed to be on board.

"I'm fine with it."

"I'm in too. ...Having a goal does make it more fun."

Thus, the "race" was decided.

Although Yugen himself had proposed it... he resolved to take the class a bit more seriously.

---

After school.

Yugen was standing alone at the school gate.

After waiting for a while... a group of girls walked by.

They were girls from Yugen's class.

And among them was a girl with a forced smile.

(When you look at it this way, she's not that noticeable.)

While watching Ailisa chatting with the girls, Yugen thought.

Ailisa is a top beauty, but when she blends into a group, she's surprisingly not that noticeable.

Ailisa probably tries to keep a low profile.

In fact, while she seems to be chatting happily... upon closer inspection, she stands a step back and listens.

The smile on her face is a forced one.

It's probably Ailisa's way of navigating social situations.

Being so beautiful, she attracts a lot of jealousy and envy. She might even be bullied.

If she were a leader in the group, it might be different, but Ailisa doesn't seem to be good at that.

So she tries to keep a low profile.

For the other girls, it's probably more comfortable to have a beautiful girl like Ailisa in a relatively "lower" position...

This might be a bit of a cynical view, but...

Having thought this far, Yugen took out his smartphone and fiddled with it while waiting for Ailisa to part ways with the other girls at the school gate.

He had already investigated and knew that Ailisa's way home was different.

Ailisa saw the other girls off and turned around.

At that moment, Yugen called out to her.

"Ailisa!"

"Huh!? ...Yugen, why?"

Ailisa's eyes widened in surprise.

Yugen, a bit nervous but trying to appear calm, said:

"I want to go home with you."

He had considered calling out to Ailisa in front of the other classmates to lay the groundwork, but he changed his plan halfway through to avoid causing her trouble.

Of course, he intended to make it known to the school that Ailisa would soon be his girlfriend.

"Is it okay?"

When he asked the frozen Ailisa, she shook her head vigorously from side to side, as if it might fall off.

"N-no! It's fine... It's completely fine..."

Ailisa's face was slightly flushed, and she looked at Yugen with a puzzled expression.

"Then let's go. Ailisa."

Yugen said this and started walking with Ailisa.

He adjusted his pace to match hers and made sure to walk on the side away from the road.

"So... Yugen, why today?"

"I just felt like going home with Ailisa... I want to do this more often if our schedules allow. Is that okay?"

When he asked this, Ailisa's face turned even redder, and she nodded slightly.

"Y-yes... It's fine. But, the people in our class..."

"I understand. Let's keep it hidden and wait for you."

"...That sounds like stalking."

Ailisa giggled softly.

Yugen laughed in response.

Yugen walked with Ailisa, maintaining a distance where their shoulders almost touched.

At first, they chatted happily, but as they approached the station, Ailisa's words became fewer, and her expression seemed distant.

"Ailisa, is something bothering you?"

Yugen asked this to achieve his true purpose for walking home with Ailisa.

Recently, Ailisa has been often in a daze, as if her mind is elsewhere.

He had noticed this because he had been watching her during class since before the winter break.

Previously, she had taken notes diligently, but recently, she often stared into space, deep in thought, and then hurriedly copied the board.

At first, he found it fresh and cute, but it seemed like she had something on her mind.

Her expression when she was deep in thought recently was a bit gloomy.

"Huh? ...No, I'm fine."

When Yugen asked, Ailisa shook her head.

However, her words were not a denial but a reassurance to Yugen that "I'm fine."

"I see."

Honestly, she didn't seem fine.

But he couldn't just assume that she wasn't.

When Ailisa said "I'm fine," it meant she didn't want Yugen to get too involved.

Just then, they arrived at the station entrance.

Ailisa turned to Yugen and bowed slightly.

"See you tomorrow, Yugen."

"Ah... Ailisa."

As Ailisa was about to leave, Yugen stopped her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Um..."

"I'm on your side. If there's anything I can help with, let me know anytime."

Ailisa's emerald eyes wavered with emotion.

Her eyes glistened slightly.

"Thank you, Yugen. I appreciate it."

Then Ailisa nodded slightly.

>> I've been watching Ailisa during class since before the winter break.

Yuzuru...

One step wrong and you're a stalker.

If you think so, please bookmark, rate (change the stars below the table of contents from ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★), and Ailisa might fall into Yuzuru's clutches.