Episode 30: Chocolate Cake filled with Thoughts
After Kaede announced that she was going to make me thrilled, I nervously took my seat. Oh no, my heart was already racing so fast as if it were to almost fly out of my mouth. It wasn’t the first time I’ve received valentine’s chocolate from a girl, so why?
I glanced sideways at Shinji, who was sitting next to me, and saw that he was smiling as softly as ever. Why, don’t you ever get nervous?
“Nervous? Why? You must rather look forward to it. I can’t stop wondering what kind of chocolate my favorite girlfriend is going to present to me, and I can’t stop being excited!”
So this is what the man who’s part of the so-called ‘best couple in the school’ was capable of. And I can’t do it. The pain in the chest makes me feel like I’m going to fall apart if I can’t keep my composure.
“Yes, yes—s! Here you go, boys! But it’s only Shin-kun and Yoshi. Do you want a special valentine’s chocolate just for the two of you from your cute lovers — !?”
Otsuki-san raised her fist towards the sky with a smile like that. Isn’t the tension in the air way too high? Kaede also looked happy with her smiling face. But I couldn’t keep up with the sudden intense tension.
“I want Akiho’s homemade chocolate —!”
Shinji raised his fist in the same manner with a big smile on his face in a joyful manner. Isn’t he adapting quickly? Oh, Kaede, why do you look so unhappy? Why are you turning away from me?
“Hey, Yoshi! Don’t you want to eat Kaede’s Valentine’s Day chocolate, HUH — !!??”
“Yuya-kun… don’t you want to eat it…?”
Kaede mumbled very sadly in contrast to Otsuki-san’s high tension. Wait, why am I the bad guy here? ‘Don’t you want to eat it?’ You’re kidding me. How could that be?
“Of course I want to eat it —!!”
“WHOOAA!! WELL SAID, YOSHIII!! Well then, the time is almost up, so I’ll hand mine over quickly!”
Where do you get that kind of energy from? As if there was a drum roll mixed in her voice, Otsuki-san held out a small pink wrapped box in front of Shinji. The box was carefully wrapped with a ribbon and a sticker with a message that read ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’.
“Wow, thank you, Akiho. Hey, can I open it?”
“Mmm-hmm. Of course you can, Shin-kun!”
Otsuki-san replied with a thumbs up. Shaking his body with excitement, Shinji slowly removed the ribbon and peeled off the wrapping. He opened the box and what he found inside was —
“It’s Shin’s favorite gâteau de chocolat (Footnote: French for chocolate cake.)! It’s a little bitter, so even Shin-kun, who doesn’t like sweets, can eat it. Please enjoy it!”
“… No, I’m not going to do that now. I’ll eat it slowly later. We can’t be all flirty in front of Yuya and Hitotsuba-san, can we?”
Hey, come on, Shinji! What would you have planned to do in someone else’s house? Were you going to feed each other? Your father won’t let you do that!
“Yes, yes. Calm down, Yuya. It’s still too stimulating for you, so I won’t do it here, so don’t worry. More importantly, look, Hitotsuba-san is waiting for you, okay?”
“Yuya-kun, is it time for me now? I worked very hard to make that and… I want you to eat it.”
As Kaede squirmed and fidgeted, I saw a thin slice of chocolate cake on a plate in front of me. I gasped at the perfection of the cake, which made me think for a moment that it had been bought from a store.
The rich, sweet aroma hit my senses. But at the same time, it also contained a faintly refreshing aroma. Looking at the cross-section, I could see that it was made up of three layers.
“It has three layers: chocolate sponge, mousse, and cream. In between, there is orange cream as an accent and the top is coated with caramel.”
She explained it to me, but I was just stunned. When I was in junior high school, the Valentine’s Day chocolates I received were homemade, but they were cookies or something, so I had never seen anything this authentic. Who would have guessed? Three layers! With orange cream accents! The caramel coating was also comparable to something you’d find at a high-end confectionery store!
“What do you think…? Does it suit your taste?”
“Yeah. It’s good. It’s so good. I’ve never had such a delicious chocolate cake before. Thank you, Kaede.”
“That’s all, Yoshi!? You’re a terrible food reporter! Shouldn’t there be something more!? Come on, squeeze it out!”
Shut up, Otsuki-san! I wish I could say something clever, but I can’t find any good words. Kaede’s eyes were glazed over and she couldn’t even look at me. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but be annoyed by Shinji’s smirk.
“I don’t know how to say it properly. It’s not just the taste, but the fact that you made something like this that makes me so happy. It’s hard to make sweets by hand, isn’t it? And yet, I never thought that you could make something like this from scratch. It makes me so happy to see that you think that much of me…”
I swallowed the words ‘I’m sorry’ at the same time. One step. Yes, all I had to do was take a step forward. The fear that sticks in my heart like a thorn makes me hesitate to do so, but I have to change.
“Thank you, Kaede. Thank you for making such a delicious cake for me. I can really feel how much you care for me. Keep up the good work.”
“… Yuya-kun… Yes! I’d like to thank you as well!”
I praised her with a sly smile and tasted the sourness of the orange and the sweetness of the chocolate. The two favors harmonized in my mouth as I savored the food while appreciating Kaede’s thoughts that were added to it. Before I knew it, there was nothing left on the plate. I wanted to eat more.
“Hehe. Don’t worry. There’s still plenty left. Would you like some more?”
“Oh, I’d love to have one more…, but I’m not going to. I’ll have another one tomorrow night. Is that okay?”
“Of course. Let’s eat together then. I’ll give you an ahhh.”
“Hahahaha. Then I’ll give you an ahhh too, and we’ll feed each other.”
Kaede’s eyes widened at my casual remark. And that’s not the only thing. The air in this entire room froze. I’m not sure if I just said something terrible —?
“Hey, hey, Shin-kun. Did you hear what Yoshi just said? He said, ‘Let’s play “ahh” and feed each other’. Is he flirting?”
“I did hear that, Akiho. Yuya really said, ‘Let’s play “ahh” and feed each other’. I should’ve recorded it.”
Shut up, you two! I mean, can you two please leave now!?
“That’s right, Shin-kun. If we stay any longer, we’ll be in the way of the two young ones, so we’ll leave them alone.”
“You’re right, Akiho. It would be a shame if we disturbed their sweet night, so we’ll just go home.”
After preparing to depart with lightning speed, Shinji and Otsuki-san left with a smile on their faces. While being puzzled by their skillfulness, I received the following message from Shinji on my phone.
‘Be gentle with her, Yuya.’
“Mind your own business, you f****t!”
I resisted the urge to throw my phone at him and went back to the living room. Kaede was still frozen up.
Good grief, please reboot yourself for goodness sake.
～The conversation between Shinji Higure and Otsuki Akiho after they left the apartment. ～
“Hey hey, Shin-kun. I think I forgot to ask them something very important…”
“That’s right, Akiho. I forgot to ask them too why those two started to live together.”
“Aaah! I was more interested in listening to their story than the chocolate! I forgot about it because their lovey-dovey atmosphere was too precious!”
“Hahaha… Well, you don’t have to force yourself to ask them. I’m sure the two of them will tell us soon. I’m sure of it.”
“Oh, yeah! I’m sure Yoshi will tell you! Hey, Shin-kun, what do you think the reason is?”
“I don’t know… since they’re living together in such an amazing apartment, do you think Hitotsuba-san might be pressuring Yuya into a relationship?”
“Yeah, it’s possible! Kaede-chan’s love for Yoshi is beyond comparison! ‘I’ll die if you don’t live with me!’ Or something like that.”
“Hmmm. But that’s not true only for Hitotsuba-san. In fact, she might have put Yuya too in a situation where he couldn’t escape anymore. She is very clever, Hitotsuba-san.”
The two of them were on their way home, having a conversation in which they may or may not be convinced of that.
Episode 30: Chocolate Cake filled with Thoughts
After Kaede announced that she was going to make me thrilled, I nervously took my seat. Oh no, my heart was already racing so fast as if it were to almost fly out of my mouth. It wasn’t the first time I’ve received valentine’s chocolate from a girl, so why?
I glanced sideways at Shinji, who was sitting next to me, and saw that he was smiling as softly as ever. Why, don’t you ever get nervous?
“Nervous? Why? You must rather look forward to it. I can’t stop wondering what kind of chocolate my favorite girlfriend is going to present to me, and I can’t stop being excited!”
So this is what the man who’s part of the so-called ‘best couple in the school’ was capable of. And I can’t do it. The pain in the chest makes me feel like I’m going to fall apart if I can’t keep my composure.
“Yes, yes—s! Here you go, boys! But it’s only Shin-kun and Yoshi. Do you want a special valentine’s chocolate just for the two of you from your cute lovers — !?”
Otsuki-san raised her fist towards the sky with a smile like that. Isn’t the tension in the air way too high? Kaede also looked happy with her smiling face. But I couldn’t keep up with the sudden intense tension.
“I want Akiho’s homemade chocolate —!”
Shinji raised his fist in the same manner with a big smile on his face in a joyful manner. Isn’t he adapting quickly? Oh, Kaede, why do you look so unhappy? Why are you turning away from me?
“Hey, Yoshi! Don’t you want to eat Kaede’s Valentine’s Day chocolate, HUH — !!??”
“Yuya-kun… don’t you want to eat it…?”
Kaede mumbled very sadly in contrast to Otsuki-san’s high tension. Wait, why am I the bad guy here? ‘Don’t you want to eat it?’ You’re kidding me. How could that be?
“Of course I want to eat it —!!”
“WHOOAA!! WELL SAID, YOSHIII!! Well then, the time is almost up, so I’ll hand mine over quickly!”
Where do you get that kind of energy from? As if there was a drum roll mixed in her voice, Otsuki-san held out a small pink wrapped box in front of Shinji. The box was carefully wrapped with a ribbon and a sticker with a message that read ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’.
“Wow, thank you, Akiho. Hey, can I open it?”
“Mmm-hmm. Of course you can, Shin-kun!”
Otsuki-san replied with a thumbs up. Shaking his body with excitement, Shinji slowly removed the ribbon and peeled off the wrapping. He opened the box and what he found inside was —
“It’s Shin’s favorite gâteau de chocolat (Footnote: French for chocolate cake.)! It’s a little bitter, so even Shin-kun, who doesn’t like sweets, can eat it. Please enjoy it!”
“… No, I’m not going to do that now. I’ll eat it slowly later. We can’t be all flirty in front of Yuya and Hitotsuba-san, can we?”
Hey, come on, Shinji! What would you have planned to do in someone else’s house? Were you going to feed each other? Your father won’t let you do that!
“Yes, yes. Calm down, Yuya. It’s still too stimulating for you, so I won’t do it here, so don’t worry. More importantly, look, Hitotsuba-san is waiting for you, okay?”
“Yuya-kun, is it time for me now? I worked very hard to make that and… I want you to eat it.”
As Kaede squirmed and fidgeted, I saw a thin slice of chocolate cake on a plate in front of me. I gasped at the perfection of the cake, which made me think for a moment that it had been bought from a store.
The rich, sweet aroma hit my senses. But at the same time, it also contained a faintly refreshing aroma. Looking at the cross-section, I could see that it was made up of three layers.
“It has three layers: chocolate sponge, mousse, and cream. In between, there is orange cream as an accent and the top is coated with caramel.”
She explained it to me, but I was just stunned. When I was in junior high school, the Valentine’s Day chocolates I received were homemade, but they were cookies or something, so I had never seen anything this authentic. Who would have guessed? Three layers! With orange cream accents! The caramel coating was also comparable to something you’d find at a high-end confectionery store!
“What do you think…? Does it suit your taste?”
“Yeah. It’s good. It’s so good. I’ve never had such a delicious chocolate cake before. Thank you, Kaede.”
“That’s all, Yoshi!? You’re a terrible food reporter! Shouldn’t there be something more!? Come on, squeeze it out!”
Shut up, Otsuki-san! I wish I could say something clever, but I can’t find any good words. Kaede’s eyes were glazed over and she couldn’t even look at me. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but be annoyed by Shinji’s smirk.
“I don’t know how to say it properly. It’s not just the taste, but the fact that you made something like this that makes me so happy. It’s hard to make sweets by hand, isn’t it? And yet, I never thought that you could make something like this from scratch. It makes me so happy to see that you think that much of me…”
I swallowed the words ‘I’m sorry’ at the same time. One step. Yes, all I had to do was take a step forward. The fear that sticks in my heart like a thorn makes me hesitate to do so, but I have to change.
“Thank you, Kaede. Thank you for making such a delicious cake for me. I can really feel how much you care for me. Keep up the good work.”
“… Yuya-kun… Yes! I’d like to thank you as well!”
I praised her with a sly smile and tasted the sourness of the orange and the sweetness of the chocolate. The two favors harmonized in my mouth as I savored the food while appreciating Kaede’s thoughts that were added to it. Before I knew it, there was nothing left on the plate. I wanted to eat more.
“Hehe. Don’t worry. There’s still plenty left. Would you like some more?”
“Oh, I’d love to have one more…, but I’m not going to. I’ll have another one tomorrow night. Is that okay?”
“Of course. Let’s eat together then. I’ll give you an ahhh.”
“Hahahaha. Then I’ll give you an ahhh too, and we’ll feed each other.”
Kaede’s eyes widened at my casual remark. And that’s not the only thing. The air in this entire room froze. I’m not sure if I just said something terrible —?
“Hey, hey, Shin-kun. Did you hear what Yoshi just said? He said, ‘Let’s play “ahh” and feed each other’. Is he flirting?”
“I did hear that, Akiho. Yuya really said, ‘Let’s play “ahh” and feed each other’. I should’ve recorded it.”
Shut up, you two! I mean, can you two please leave now!?
“That’s right, Shin-kun. If we stay any longer, we’ll be in the way of the two young ones, so we’ll leave them alone.”
“You’re right, Akiho. It would be a shame if we disturbed their sweet night, so we’ll just go home.”
After preparing to depart with lightning speed, Shinji and Otsuki-san left with a smile on their faces. While being puzzled by their skillfulness, I received the following message from Shinji on my phone.
‘Be gentle with her, Yuya.’
“Mind your own business, you f****t!”
I resisted the urge to throw my phone at him and went back to the living room. Kaede was still frozen up.
Good grief, please reboot yourself for goodness sake.
～The conversation between Shinji Higure and Otsuki Akiho after they left the apartment. ～
“Hey hey, Shin-kun. I think I forgot to ask them something very important…”
“That’s right, Akiho. I forgot to ask them too why those two started to live together.”
“Aaah! I was more interested in listening to their story than the chocolate! I forgot about it because their lovey-dovey atmosphere was too precious!”
“Hahaha… Well, you don’t have to force yourself to ask them. I’m sure the two of them will tell us soon. I’m sure of it.”
“Oh, yeah! I’m sure Yoshi will tell you! Hey, Shin-kun, what do you think the reason is?”
“I don’t know… since they’re living together in such an amazing apartment, do you think Hitotsuba-san might be pressuring Yuya into a relationship?”
“Yeah, it’s possible! Kaede-chan’s love for Yoshi is beyond comparison! ‘I’ll die if you don’t live with me!’ Or something like that.”
“Hmmm. But that’s not true only for Hitotsuba-san. In fact, she might have put Yuya too in a situation where he couldn’t escape anymore. She is very clever, Hitotsuba-san.”
The two of them were on their way home, having a conversation in which they may or may not be convinced of that.
