At 5:30.
The sky had not fully darkened yet, but the streetlights had already turned on, casting a white glow. Looking up, a few stars were already visible, quite noticeable.
Chisato felt quite satisfied as he glanced at Kazusa Tohma, who looked somewhat disgruntled beside him.
Indeed, handling this stubborn person required more than just gentle methods.
From the moment they left the school until now, Kazusa had glared at him several times, clearly showing her displeasure and anger.
But despite her visible irritation, Chisato could still see occasional notifications about rising affection levels from the pure love system.
By the way, he had figured out in the classroom that Kazusa was pretending to be asleep.
It's simple logic; it's unlikely she'd be constantly thinking about him in her sleep, especially given the frequent affection notifications that were like a barrage of messages.
So, even though he had been very tempted to act on his instincts, he had managed to control himself despite his deep yearning.
It wasn't just a fleeting kiss he was after; he wanted more.
He wanted to see Kazusa display both shyness and impatience in front of him, to have her shed her cold and aloof exterior and reveal her delicate, astonishingly appealing self.
Many decisions are made in an instant, simple and quick.
When he saw Kazusa's fingers dancing over the piano keys in the first music room, her dark eyes radiating brilliance and charm beyond her years, he was deeply captivated.
He wanted to hold her hands, lift her delicate feet to meet his shoulder...
These thoughts had surged in his mind in an instant, and when he saw the girl who was supposed to have left waiting patiently in her seat after returning to class, certain things became fixed and unchangeable.
As they walked towards the station, they passed by a yakitori shop, an izakaya, and the smells of meat and food wafted out.
"Want to have dinner?"
Chisato asked Kazusa, adding,
"I'll treat."
Kazusa, with her arms crossed, shot him a cold glance.
"This is what you wanted to talk about today?"
"Of course not."
Chisato shook his head.
"It's about your life and my dreams."
"...My life is fine, no need for you to worry. As for your dreams, why should I care?"
"Please keep talking like this."
Chisato seemed quite pleased.
"Huh?"
Kazusa found this hard to understand.
Did he enjoy being treated with disdain? She hadn't realized he had such a preference before.
"Just keep talking like that. If you do, no one else will befriend you, and to some extent, only I will truly know and understand the real Kazusa."
The feeling of exclusivity was quite wonderful.
"What are you babbling about?"
"If you think it's nonsense, then just consider it nonsense."
Chisato didn't intend to explain further to the confused Kazusa.
He stopped in front of a dessert shop and asked Kazusa,
"How about having dinner here?"
"Go eat by yourself. Give me back my bag; I'm going home."
Kazusa turned away from him and extended her hand.
Chisato ignored her request and walked into the shop.
"Hello, you two."
"Two of you? Please come this way."
Kazusa, fuming, wanted to turn and leave, but after a few moments of deep breaths, she walked into the dessert shop.
The staff, seeing the indifferent boy and the visibly upset girl, assumed they were a quarreling couple and played the mediator, recommending a couples' set.
Kazusa, chin resting on her hand, looked out the window, showing no intention of speaking, so Chisato did all the talking with the staff.
"What's in the couples' set?"
"Lime flower tea cold drink, tiramisu cake, sour date cake, peach sauce pie, all in double portions."
"Sour date cake and peach sauce pie might be a bit sour?"
When Chisato asked this, Kazusa shot him a sideways glance.
"Yes."
"Then never mind."
Chisato reviewed the menu and ordered a ring cake for himself, and for Kazusa, he ordered the signature milk pudding and banana pancake tower.
These desserts had no extra flavors; they were just plain sweet.
After the desserts arrived, Kazusa took a small spoon and silently began eating the pudding, finishing it quickly.
"Are you satisfied? Would you like another?"
Chisato's cake remained untouched as he watched Kazusa eat the pudding.
"No need."
Kazusa drizzled maple syrup over the pancake tower, cut a piece with a fork and knife, and ate it.
Whether the dessert had improved her mood or she was just too tired to resist, she now seemed quite docile.
Chisato thought with satisfaction that his plan to use sweet food had worked, allowing them to have a calm conversation in a quiet setting.
"Since I have to go to work later, I'll briefly tell you why I wanted to see you today, which is—"
"What kind of work are you doing?"
Kazusa interrupted him.
Chisato was taken aback for a moment, then answered honestly,
"I'm helping out at the exhibition hall, handling drinks and collecting tickets."
"What's an exhibition hall?"
"Well, it's a place where bands and underground idols perform. You can think of it as a starting stage for young people to achieve their dreams."
Kazusa nodded thoughtfully, though it was unclear if she understood.
"So the reason I called you to wait for me today is that I wanted to discuss something with you…"
"I'm coming too."
"???"
What's going on here?
"No, why would you come to where I'm working?"
"Who says that only you can be reckless?"
Kazusa grabbed the ring cake from Chisato and cut a big piece, stuffing it into her mouth.
After swallowing, she looked at Chisato's somewhat troubled expression and gave a triumphant smile of revenge.
___
20+ advanced chapters on patreon.com/SenatusTheta
___
If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!
I'll fix it as soon as I can.
Upload rate: 2 chapters a day
Don't forget to check out my other translations!