Does This Love Suit Your Taste? - Volume 1 Chapter 5.6

Date 6

 

We lined up with a few others and waited for our turn. After being guided through the gate by a crew member, we climbed up the iron staircase.

Shirahime and I boarded the Ferris wheel.

 

“Did you want to ride the Ferris wheel?”

 

As I took my seat and asked, Shirahime, seated opposite me, looked straight at me.

 

“No, I just wanted to talk with you alone, Toui-kun.”

 

She averted her gaze to the window, but the view from the Ferris wheel was just beginning.

We still had about ten minutes of ride time ahead of us.

 

“Actually, Toui-kun. Taa-daaa! Look at this!”

 

Shirahime placed a large Nunu-chu plushie next to her and opened the pocket of her bag, handing me some kind of small item.

 

“…Huh, this is Nunuchu, isn’t it?”

“Yes! Hehe, it’s small and cute!”

 

It wasn’t the Nunuchu I had given her, but it was a keychain with a small Nunu-chu plushie attached.

 

“Actually, I secretly won this while Toui-kun was working hard! Here, I’ll give it to you.”

“But…”

“Please take it. I had a lot of fun today… it’s a thank you.”

“Liar…”

 

Even if it’s only as a compliment, saying this date was enjoyable is a little much, I thought, as I turned my eyes back to Shirahime, expecting a courtesy smile. But Shirahime just softly smiled and shook her head.

For Shirahime, who always manages to smile perfectly, she looked awkward and slightly embarrassed.

 

“… It’s true. I really had fun. Even though we fought, it’s because we’ve never spent a day like this before, where everything we did was what I wanted to do. Toui-kun, everything you did for me today made me happy.”

“But nothing went well.”

“That’s not the point, it’s the thought that makes me happy.”

 

Then Shirahime looks out the window. The gondola is slowly but steadily rising towards the sky.

We could already look down at the line we had been standing in until just a moment ago.

 

“I said I hate being selfish, right?”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

“But that doesn’t mean I don’t have my own selfish wishes. Things I want to do, things I want to say, things I like… I have those feelings. But I hold back from expressing them to others.”

“It seems that way.”

“…But it’s different with you, Toui-kun.”

“Yeah.”

“Like what happened on the hill, I was being irrational, and it was a desperate move. Threatening you to listen to me was an outrageous thing to do, and even I can’t believe I resorted to such a terrible method.”

“…”

“Even so, Toui-kun still went along with it. You will do anything I ask of you, and you listen to all of my whims. For someone like me who usually refrains from being selfish, it was actually a little comforting.”

“Shirahime…?”

 

Inside of me, my understanding of Shirahime as a person deepens. Until now, I could only guess her true feelings from her casual attitude, but now her words are bringing her into clear focus.

To know her is to see her differently.

 

“Just a little bit, okay?”

 

Shirahime says with a shy smile, revealing her true self. She was far cuter and more beautiful than ever, so delicate that she might instantly disappear if neglected.

 

“Hey, Toui-kun”

 

And then, for some reason, Shirahime stood up from the opposite side and moved to sit next to me.

 

“Uh, what…”

 

Although it’s narrow, there’s enough space for two people to sit normally. Yet, Shirahime leans snugly against my shoulder.

 

The peak is near.

Outside, the harbor sea illuminated by the sunset is dyed bright red. The warm colors, combined with everything else, start to make my chest feel hot.

 

“S-Shirahime? What are you trying to do?”

“We’re almost at the peak…”

 

Shirahime said that and… began to rummage through her bag.

 

“Uh, what?”

 

Since her actions were a bit off from what I had imagined, I inadvertently asked the same question twice.

Shirahime casually took out her smartphone.

 

“Shall we take a photo?”

“…A photo?”

“Yeah, it was originally a date where I was told by Papa to get along with you, right? Then we need to send proof that we’re getting along to Papa.”

“…Ah, I see… I guess that’s fine…”

 

Unaware of my agitation, Shirahime opens the normal camera on her smartphone with practiced ease.

 

“Okay, smile!”

 

Positioning the camera vertically to capture both of us and the scenic view from the peak in the background, Shirahime said that.

But despite being told to smile, I can’t. I’m not good at this sort of thing, and we were just having a serious conversation.

 

“Come on, smile! Oh, well, this will do.”

“Ugh… hey…”

 

Shirahime pushes up the corners of my cheeks with one hand to forcibly raising the corners of my mouth.

 

“Say cheese!”

 

Click- The shutter sounds, capturing our two-shot photo.

 

“Well, if we’re this close, it kind of looks like we’re getting along, right? I’ll send this photo to Papa now.”

“O-Okay…”

“Thank you for today, really.”

“It’s fine, no big deal.”

“Oh, by the way…”

 

Still sitting next to me, Shirahime looks at me with a mischievous grin.

 

“Did you think I was going to kiss you when I sat next to you?”

“Huh? … No, that’s not—”

 

Mmwa——

Before I could finish my denial, Shirahime kissed me as if to prevent any further pretense.

 

“Wha… you…”

 

She kissed me while lifting my face, which had been looking down.

As she pulled away, she looked at my expression again with a satisfied smirk on her face.

 

“I was right.♡”

 

I’m going to take over Maison… I had made up my mind…

But that intention couldn’t be turned into words, thanks to my mouth that had stiffened in agitation.

 

◇

 

After my date with Shirahime, I went to work at the shop as usual.

Today, like any other day, Maison welcomed a few familiar regulars and just a handful of new customers. Now that we’ve closed for the day, I’m undergoing special training in cooking with Mabuchi-san.

 

“Mabuchi-san, is it still not good enough?”

“Ah, come on, not yet. You need to reduce it more. Keep going until the sharpness of the vinegar fades. That’s what makes Maison’s Beurre Blanc sauce so smooth.”

“Got it.”

“By the way, Toui, you’re practicing just like usual, but weren’t you going to marry that girl?”

“Ah… it’s fine if it’s just a practice.”

 

Since it’s been established in front of everyone but Shirahime that I’ve given up on my dreams and agreed to an engagement, it’s troublesome to be thought of as suspicious for still being enthusiastic about cooking.

While avoiding Mabuchi-san’s suspicious gaze, I focus on the reduction process.

Just then, as Ichigo, who had come up to my room saying he was returning a manga he borrowed, hurried back to the store floor, he poked his head into the kitchen.

 

“Hey, Toui. What is this!?”

“Hmm? Oh, that. I got it from Shirahime during our date today—what’s wrong…”

 

What the half-angry Ichigo thrust in my face was the Nunu-chu keychain I got from Shirahime during our date.

 

“A date huh~…?”

 

After that, Ichigo didn’t speak to me for two days for some reason.