“Honami-san, do you have some other intentions towards me?” he asked, his calm voice cutting through the ambient chatter of the cafe.
“Eh?
W-what other intentions?” Ichinose blinked, completely derailed by the out-of-the-blue question.
Kaedehara Tetsu tapped a finger against the rim of his cup, gesturing toward the delicate heart-shaped latte art floating on the surface.
He maintained an entirely serious expression.
“Look at this.
You are apologizing and voluntarily treating me to heart-shaped coffee.
Tell me, did you fall in love with me at first sight the moment we bumped into each other, and have been desperately looking for chances to get close to me ever since?”
“Pfft…
cough, cough!”
The spoonful of sweet shaved ice Ichinose had just placed in her mouth nearly went flying across the table.
She choked and coughed repeatedly, her fair face instantly flushing a deep, vibrant red.
It was entirely unclear whether the fierce blush was a result of choking on the cold dessert or sheer, unadulterated embarrassment.
She hurriedly grabbed a paper napkin to wipe her mouth, her eyes darting around in a panic.
“Stop spouting nonsense!
T-this was made by the shop staff, what does it have to do with me!
Besides, who would ever fall in love at first sight with a frivolous guy like you!”
“Oh?
So it was just a standard design made by the staff.
What a pity.”
Kaedehara Tetsu sighed, lacing his voice with a heavy dose of feigned disappointment.
He slowly lifted the cup and took a leisurely sip of the coffee, letting the silence stretch for a brief moment.
“However, did you just say I am a frivolous guy?”
“Isn’t that right?”
Ichinose finally managed to catch her breath.
She puffed out her cheeks slightly, her usual polite demeanor cracking as she retorted in a hushed, accusatory tone.
“Who stares at a girl’s…
that kind of place the very moment they meet, and then says such strange things right to her face.”
“Honami-san, I was merely being objective and stating a factual observation.” He rested his chin on his hand, looking at her with an unbothered, amused gaze.
“You possess such outstanding assets, yet you refuse to let others appreciate and admire them.
Wouldn’t hiding them away be a terrible waste of natural resources?”
His remarks were incredibly bold, wrapped up in a warped, flawless logic that somehow made blatant lechery sound fresh, refined, and entirely reasonable.
Ichinose opened her mouth, fully intending to fire back a sharp retort, but she quickly realized her mind was drawing a complete blank.
She simply could not find the right vocabulary to dismantle this specific brand of hooligan logic.
“I am not talking about this with you anymore!
Also, who just calls someone by their first name the very moment they meet…”
“Alright, Honami-san.
Understood, Honami-san.”
Realizing she was fighting a losing battle, Ichinose decided in utter resignation to give up on staying entangled with him on this topic.
“Anyway, you have had your coffee, so our business is settled!
Do not even think about using this to make fun of me again in the future!”
“Well…
whatever, let us leave it at that for now…” Kaedehara Tetsu murmured, his gaze drifting slightly as if he were suddenly lost in thought.
In the time that followed, the tension at the table eased.
Kaedehara Tetsu did not push his teasing any further, choosing instead to steer the conversation toward lighthearted, everyday topics.
The shift in his demeanor was smooth, calculated to put her back at ease.
“After all, your personality is so accommodating.”
“Eh?
N-no, not at all!”
Ichinose quickly waved her hands in front of her, a modest, embarrassed smile returning to her lips.
“It is just that everyone is very nice, and the classmates in our class all hope to get along harmoniously.
I just want to help help that.”
“Oh?
Get along harmoniously, huh…”
Kaedehara Tetsu’s tone shifted, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible hint of playfulness.
“What a wonderful, picturesque vision.
It is truly their luck to have a classmate like you leading the way in Class B.”
The sudden, genuine-sounding compliment left Ichinose somewhat at a loss.
The defensive walls she had tried to put up melted away.
She lowered her head, staring at her melting dessert, and spoke softly.
“I am not as good as you say…
I just want to do my absolute best to help everyone succeed together.”
“Help…”
Kaedehara Tetsu leaned forward slightly, looking directly into Ichinose’s clear, bright eyes.
They shimmered with a near-naive, idealistic light that he found deeply fascinating to dissect.
“Honami-san, you are just like the sun, always wanting to bring light and warmth to everyone around you.”
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle over the table.
“However, the sun’s light is far too intense.
Sometimes, it can scorch those who try to get too close, and eventually…
it might even scorch you.”
Ichinose froze, her breath catching in her throat.
She had never heard anyone describe her in such a way.
All her life, the only things she had ever heard were endless praises for her kindness, her cheerful disposition, and her natural leadership.
People flocked to her warmth without a second thought.
This was the very first time someone had looked past the bright facade.
Kaedehara Tetsu had casually reached in and pointed out the inherent danger that might be lurking just beneath the surface of her self-sacrificing personality.
“I…” She opened her mouth, completely at a loss for how to respond to such a piercing observation.
“It is nothing, just my own idle rambling.”
Seeing her trapped in her own thoughts, Kaedehara Tetsu smoothly changed the subject, pulling her back to reality.
“Let us not talk about such heavy topics.
Do you have any plans for the weekend?
Going anywhere fun?”
“The weekend…” Ichinose blinked, shaking off the lingering shock.
“I will probably go to the Library to study with a few friends from class.
There might be a first quiz at the end of the month, so I need to prepare early and make sure everyone is ready.”
“Oh…
a quiz?” Kaedehara Tetsu tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as if he were trying to recall something.
“Our homeroom teacher has not mentioned a single thing about this.”
“Ah, really?
But my homeroom teacher told us about this a long time ago.
“Huh…
it feels like your homeroom teacher told her own class on purpose, just to get a leg up on a certain colleague.”
“Uh…
what?”
Ichinose was entirely confused by the inexplicable, cryptic words Kaedehara Tetsu had just muttered.
“It is nothing, just take it as me spouting nonsense again.”
Kaedehara Tetsu did not give her a chance to continue pressing the issue.
He turned his gaze toward the large window, noting the darkening sky outside.
“It is getting late.
The culprit’s compensation is complete, and this victim should be satisfied enough to head back to the dormitory.”
He stood up, sliding his chair back.
“Thanks for the treat today, Honami.
Although it is a few days late, this heart-filled compensation tasted pretty good.”
He addressed her by her first name again, deliberately emphasizing the words ‘heart-filled’ with a teasing smirk.
“I-I already said it is not heart-filled!
You guy…”
Ichinose quickly stood up as well, puffing out her chest slightly as if trying not to lose any momentum to him.
“And, do not you dare call me Honami again!”
“Got it, Honami.” Kaedehara Tetsu waved a hand lazily over his shoulder.
He turned around and walked straight toward the cafe entrance without a single moment of hesitation.
Ichinose stood exactly where she was, watching his tall figure completely disappear through the glass doors, before she finally let out a long breath and sat back down in her chair.
She picked up her spoon, unconsciously poking at the watery, melted remains of the shaved ice in her bowl.
Her gaze drifted back to the empty seat opposite her.
“What a…
weirdo.” She muttered softly into the quiet cafe.
‘And, what did he mean just now?
Does Class A really not know about the quiz?’
Did he just simply forget?
Or, was there some other hidden arrangement going on behind the scenes?
Or is it that the flow of information between the different classes is inherently unequal?
After a few minutes of turning the puzzle over in her mind, she realized she was not going to figure it out today.
She let out a soft sigh of defeat, gathered her belongings, and walked out of the cafe.
Meanwhile, at one of the secluded shopping center exits, Kaedehara Tetsu was leaning casually against the brick wall.
One hand rested in his pocket, while the other expertly toyed with his smartphone.
He had not gone straight back to the dormitory, choosing instead to linger in the cool evening air for a while longer.
He looked down at the screen, staring at Ichinose Honami’s contact information, which he had smoothly obtained through their casual small talk earlier.
However, his sharp mind was not focused on the cheerful girl from Class B at all.
‘It seems Hoshinomiya’s resentment towards Chabashira far exceeds my initial imagination…
Does she really feel the need to mention a useless little quiz in advance just to secure a petty advantage?’
He already knew the truth behind the school’s structure.
This upcoming quiz was merely a diagnostic tool to check the students’ basic academic ability.
The brutal rule where failing leads to immediate expulsion would not actually take effect until the official exams, namely the midterms and finals.
Kaedehara Tetsu slipped his phone back into his pocket, straightened his posture, and stretched his shoulders.
He stepped away from the wall, smoothly merging into the steady flow of students moving through the night, his footsteps carrying him calmly back toward the dormitory.
[Inorin’s Note:
Hey guys, hope you’re enjoying the novel!
Hate waiting for updates and cliffhangers?