Our next stop was a cafe.
We’d come in just to have something simple to drink, but Mayuri seemed to be hoping for dessert too, so we decided to order some of that as well.
"Mayuri, what do you want?"
"I haven’t decided yet. What about you?"
"As for me, I don’t really feel like eating anything in particular."
The crepe I’d just had was enough to take the edge off my hunger, so I was planning to just get a smoothie.
"Hmm...."
"If you really can’t decide, ordering everything is an option."
"That’s true, but...."
Mayuri was staring at the menu and agonizing over what dessert to get.
Ordering everything was an option, sure, but that would probably end up being too much, and she seemed to be holding back because she didn’t want to get fat.
"Mm.... Okay, I’ve decided. I’ll have this and this."
"What would you like for a drink?"
"For the drink, I’ll have this."
"Understood."
Since Mayuri had picked out what she wanted, I got up from my seat and headed to the counter.
I ordered a strawberry smoothie for myself, and for Mayuri, a parfait, a slice of cake, and finally an Americano.
She must have figured she should wash all that sweetness down with something bitter.
"Yes, your order is in."
After hearing the employee say that, I was about to head back to our table when I noticed familiar blue hair sitting in the seat across from Mayuri.
"Mana?"
Mana, Itsuka-kun’s younger sister, had apparently come in at some point and was talking with Mayuri.
"Ah! Hi! It’s nice to see you!"
"Yes, nice to see you too. It’s been a while."
Mana lived on her own and didn’t come by the mansion very often, so it really had been a long time since I’d seen her. I was genuinely happy.
"So Mayuri and Hi are on a date!"
"Ahem. Well, yeah?"
"What brings you here, Mana?"
Mayuri shifted over a little, so I sat down in the seat beside her and asked.
"I was watching a movie and then I saw Mayuri, so I came in!"
"I see."
So that was why she was here.
Itsuka-kun had said he was worried Mana might be getting obsessed with movies lately.
Seeing her go to the movies even on weekdays, it really did seem like she was hooked.
"What movie did you see?"
"W-Well, it’s a little embarrassing to say...."
"What on earth was it?"
If she was saying that much, then it really must be embarrassing to admit. Just what kind of movie had she watched?
"Don’t tell me.... An R-rated one?"
"What are you talking about, Hi! There’s no way I’d watch something like that!"
Mana shrieked and flatly denied what I’d said.
Judging from that reaction, it definitely wasn’t an adults-only movie, so I lowered my head and apologized.
"Ahem. That was out of line. I’m sorry."
"Honestly, I’ll forgive you since you apologized right away. Don’t let it happen again."
"I’m grateful for Mana’s mercy."
Thankfully, I was forgiven.
Though the fact that Mayuri was looking at me like, What the hell is wrong with this guy? during the whole exchange was a little hurtful. Secretly, of course.
Honestly, I could see why she’d be suspicious.
"Then what was it?"
"Umm...."
Fidgeting with her fingers for a moment, Mana soon blushed and told us the name of the movie she’d watched.
"It was, um, [Theatrical Version: Valkyrie Misty]...."
"Ah, ahhh~"
For a second I was slow to react because I couldn’t remember what movie that was, but I knew it well enough.
Strictly speaking, it would be more accurate to call it an animated film than a movie, but that wasn’t important, so I set it aside.
"What, you know it?"
"Yes. I know the basics."
[Valkyrie Misty] was a girls’ anime, and I’d heard the art was solid and the story was pretty good, so I’d watched it once myself.
Of course, I hadn’t watched it because I wanted to; Miku had dragged me there by force.
The anime I ended up seeing was, just like Miku said, free of any bad animation and had a pretty solid story.
Not a masterpiece, but definitely good enough to call a strong work.
So I spent that whole session watching every episode that was out with Miku.
The trouble I went through because she kept clinging to me in the middle of it was probably our eternal secret.
If I ever told anyone else about it, I’d die of embarrassment on the spot.
"This is just my personal opinion, but it wasn’t a masterpiece, though it was definitely high-quality enough to call a very good work."
"That good?"
"Yes. I think it’s worth recommending at least once. I watched it because Miku recommended it to me, and I ended up watching every episode that was out at the time."
"Huh? You watched it too, Hi?"
"If it suits my taste, I can enjoy girls’ anime just fine. Especially [Valkyrie Misty]—the action direction was really tasty, so it was fun."
It wasn’t like there were no fight scenes just because it was for girls.
If anything, it was so packed with action that it felt more like an action series wearing a girls’ anime disguise.
You could tell they’d poured a ridiculous amount of effort into the animation.
"Right? But, Hi, aren’t you embarrassed to admit that kind of thing to other people?"
"Embarrassed...."
If you ask me that, my answer is basically, Why would I be?
I like what I like. Why should I care what other people think?
As long as what I like isn’t morally or ethically wrong, then the people mocking it are the ones in the wrong. I don’t think there’s any reason to be ashamed of saying it out loud.
Well, that’s just my opinion, so I have no intention of forcing it on anyone else.
"I’m not really embarrassed. It’s something I like, so the people who laugh at it are the pathetic ones."
"Ooh, Hi, I feel like there’s so much I can learn from you!"
"Is that so? That’s a new way of looking at me."
It was the first time I’d heard someone say I had a lot to learn from, so it made me a little self-conscious.
So I turned away and checked the bell the employee had given me.
Ding-ding-ding!
"Ah, I guess our order’s ready. I’ll go get it."
Just then, the bell rang, so I left my seat, went to the counter, returned the bell, and picked up the desserts that had come out.
When I came back, Mana was already gone.
"Did Mana leave?"
"Yeah. She said she didn’t want to interrupt our date anymore, so she took off."
"I see."
I moved the desserts to the table and sat down across from Mayuri.
Mayuri was staring at me so intently it felt like she was trying to bore a hole through me.
"...Mayuri? Did you want to say something?"
"...Hey, Hi. You looked really happy just now, didn’t you?"
"Huh?"
"When you were talking to Mana."
Ah. I got it.
She was jealous because we were on a date and I’d been chatting with another girl.
More accurately, she seemed more sulky than angry, but seeing Mayuri get jealous like that made me snort a little.
I had done something wrong, sure, but she was making it painfully obvious that she was pouting right in front of me, so I couldn’t help it.
"You’re laughing?"
"Ah, no, I’m not laughing at you. You’re just cute, Mayuri."
"...What a smooth line."
"I’m always sincere."
"...Then prove it."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
She told me to prove it, but I had no idea how, so I tilted my head. Then Mayuri closed her eyes and opened her mouth.
Yeah, that meant she wanted me to feed her the parfait or the cake myself.
There were how many people in this cafe right now? Asking me to feed her like this was making me a little embarrassed too.
"Ahem."
I cleared my throat awkwardly and scooped up a piece of cake, bringing it to Mayuri’s mouth.
When the fork touched her lips, she carefully closed her mouth and took only the cake, and seeing her face turn red made it obvious she knew this was embarrassing too.
"I-it’s good."
"...I’m glad."
"......"
"......"
The atmosphere got a little weird, and an awkward silence settled between us.
I knew one of us had to break it first, but I didn’t have the courage to do it.
It was like I’d somehow gotten embarrassed for no reason.
Still, since this had happened because of me, I steeled myself and spoke first.
"Mayuri, could I have a bite too?"
"Huh? Oh, of course. I bought it with your money, after all."
"Then, if you don’t mind."
Just as I was about to ask the employee for another fork, Mayuri grabbed my wrist.
Startled by her sudden grip, I looked at her, and she held up the fork with a piece of cake on it and said to me,
"A-ah...."
The intention behind that action was obvious: she was going to feed me herself.
There were way too many people in this cafe for that, so I quietly sat back down and opened my mouth.
"Ahh...."
When I took the cake straight from the fork, I could feel my face heating up.
Ah, man. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone along with this.
"I-is it good?"
"...Yes. Very, very sweet."
To be honest, I couldn’t even taste the cake properly.
I didn’t have much experience with situations like this, so I was flustered, and in this mood, I felt like anything I ate would taste sweet anyway.
For now, I just brushed it off as the cake being sweet and avoided Mayuri’s gaze.
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