Ishigami had to admit that he was nervous, but like a sharp blade that was tampered with by thousands of hammers, his will and nerves also grew stronger as he had been tested by many things.
So, he stepped forward toward Chika and asked softly, "Are you okay?"
"Ah, um." Chika subconsciously answered with a gentle smile, but then her eyes turned toward Kaguya again with an awkward expression.
"Huh? Is Fujiwara sick?" Shirogane was surprised since he thought that Chika was as lively as ever.
"....." Ishigami, Chika, and Kaguya.
"She tripped yesterday, and I helped her, Kaichou." Kaguya, all of a sudden, made a reasonable excuse.
"Are you okay, Fujiwara?"
Hearing that, Shirogane quickly showed his concern. After all, even if Chika often made a prank, she was still a member of the student council, and of course, he worried about her.
"Ah, yes, I am fine, Kaichou." Chika nodded calmly, then said, "I will ask Yuu for help to support me later." She looked at Ishigami and asked, "You are okay, right?"
"Sure."
'Hmm...'
This wasn't his imagination, but Shirogane felt that Ishigami and Chika were so close as he had seen how intimate their exchange be so many times, but—
"Kaichou, would you like more tea?" Kaguya suddenly asked softly as if trying to distract Shirogane.
"Ah, yes, thank you, Shinomiya."
Still, due to those words, Shirogane's thoughts were abruptly ended.
However, Ishigami fell silent, realizing that Kaguya was trying to help him and Chika. He then looked at Chika, who was so close by his side and even leaning lovingly. She appeared so dependent, which made his expression soften, and he patted her back softly.
Unlike the others, who lost their first time, and being accompanied by him, Chika was different since Ishigami wasn't by her side when she lost her first time, and probably... she also encountered many things, too, which was hard to talk about, especially in this room.
"Do you want me to send you off later?"
"Eh? Is that okay?" Chika was surprised, and a bright smile formed on her beautiful face.
"Yes."
Ishigami knew that if there was someone who had helped Kaguya to calm down, it should be Chika, who should have met Kaguya yesterday.
While he wasn't sure what kind of a conversation they had, one thing he knew was he owed Chika a lot of things since if she couldn't calm Kaguya, then he was as good as gone.
"Are you two going out later?"
"....." 2x
Ishigami and Chika looked at Kaguya, who sat elegantly before the two, staring at them with a gentle smile as usual.
Still, as Chika had handled Kaguya before, this time, as a man, Ishigami knew that he had to handle Kaguya. "Yes. We will go out later."
"That's good, then," Kaguya answered calmly as she sipped her favorite chamomile tea, which had a relaxing effect, especially on her nerves, which had been tensed all the time.
"Thank you."
Kaguya suddenly looked up when she heard Ishigami say those words sincerely.
"...Why did you thank you so suddenly, Ishigami-kun?"
"Many things."
Yeah, there were many things that Ishigami had to thank Kaguya for, including her unchanging attitude toward him.
"Hmm..." Kaguya sipped her tea once again and asked, "Where are you two going?"
Ishigami fell silent, then looked at Chika, who gave him a nod. "I have heard of a good cafe that sells a nice doughnut and coffee in Shibuya, so we plan to go there."
Considering Chika's home, which was located in Shibuya, he felt that they might as well visit a cafe nearby.
"Ah, we're going to get doughnuts?"
"You don't want to?"
"Can I get a ramen, too?"
"...sure."
"Yay~!"
Still, Ishigami sighed inwardly, wondering where the low-carb and low-sugar girl had disappeared to.
However, if he had to consider Chika's metabolism, her hobby of walking her dog out, and the growth of her chest, she should be fine, he thought.
If there was a problem, it was the fact that he might meet Chika's family members, but Shibuya ward was a huge place, so it should be fine, right?
"Ramen? Doughnuts? That seems nice."
Kaguya somehow said, trying to tell them that she was there too. "Then, you don't mind if I join you two, right?"
"Ah, um." 2x
Ishigami and Chika quickly nodded nervously, yet he looked at Chika with doubt and asked, "Do you know a good ramen?"
"Who are you talking to? Empress of Ramen! That's what I have known about the ramen community!"
"...that's the first time I've heard that."
"The art of ramen is deep and limitless, Yuu." Like a strict teacher, Chika looked at Ishigami with the gaze of someone who had learned the art of ramen her entire life, even though she was just a high school student.
"Now that you mention it, I have heard there is pineapple and euglena ramen."
"Ah! Is there such a ramen, Yuu?"
Chika became curious and moved closer to his side to see his smartphone screen of those strange ramen places.
"...don't get me a strange ramen, okay?"
Still, Kaguya, who was about to join, quickly said she didn't want them to choose a weird ramen place to eat.
"You lack an adventurous spirit, Kaguya-san."
While "tsk, tsk, tsk," Chika appeared to look down at Kaguya.
"...do you understand what situation you are in now, Fujiwara-san?"
"....."
Chika quickly lowered her head in defeat, yet even so, she had made up her mind, and she was sure that Ishigami wouldn't mistreat or think of her feelings as something that could be discarded easily.
Or rather, if Ishigami really did that, then even if Kaguya wouldn't do anything, Chika's revenge wouldn't be small, she thought.
It was also because of that; even if Kaguya had said all of that to her yesterday, Chika still believed in him.
Still, somehow, this conversation excluded Shirogane, so—
"Should I invite Kaichou, too?"
"No." 2x
Unexpectedly, not only Kaguya but also Chika refuted him since if Shirogane were involved in this problem, then everything would be in jeopardy and complicated.
Moreover, wasn't it quite awkward to reveal everything to Shirogane?
No, Shirogane shouldn't know everything.
"Well, it's fine and all, but let's talk later, okay? If we continue to talk, then he will think that we have excluded him."
"...." 2x
Hearing that, the two pretended nothing had happened, as if they were talking about nothing serious.
Still, he knew well that this problem was far from over and similar to the epidemic that started small before it spread everywhere.
The work of the emotional problem was similar, especially when Ishigami and Chika came to the ramen shop where they waited for Kaguya.
"Kaguya-san, here! Here!"
"Chika-san."
The ramen shop that Ishigami and Chika had chosen was quite normal. It specializes in shoyu (soy sauce) based ramen and is famous for it.
Kaguya came from Kyoto, so it was normal for her to be used to typical Japanese type of foods, so shoyu-based ramen was the best, they thought, but while this choice of ramen was okay, Ishigami met another problem since Kaguya didn't come alone, and she brought Hayasaka with her too.
As Ishigami and Hayasaka met each other's eyes, the two somehow remained in awkward silence.
"....."