The Classmate Who Is Adored by Everyone Smiles Teasingly Only at Me - Volume 3 Epilogue

Epilogue

 

Humans are creatures of habit.

Continuously expressing intense emotions like surprise, shock, anger, sadness, or joy would exhaust the mind and body and become unbearable.

Therefore, we are not made to maintain these emotions for long periods. That’s just how humans are.

This applies to Sōma, to Chika, and to their classmates as well.

 

“Sōma-san-Sōma-san! I heard something really interesting!”

 

One day in December, as lunch break approached and Sōma was fiddling with his smartphone at his desk, Chika approached him with sparkling eyes.

If this had been right after their relationship became public, such an interaction would have drawn the eyes of the entire class.

But now, it had become such a familiar scene that only a few would glance over, and it no longer caused a commotion.

 

“Something interesting? What is it?”

 

He responded without looking up from his smartphone.

 

“I heard our school has seven mysteries! Isn’t that amazing? Let’s go explore the school at night sometime!”

“I refuse. Besides, that’s impossible. How are we supposed to get permission to enter the school at night?”

“Is it really impossible?”

 

Chika looked dejected, like a puppy denied a walk by its owner, as Sōma coolly rejected the idea.

 

“Of course, it is. Besides, why do we have to do a test of courage now when it’s almost winter? It’s completely out of season.”

“I was wondering if I could see you get scared, Sōma-san.”

“So that’s your main goal!”

 

He finally slid his gaze from his smartphone to Chika.

Her mischievous grin was irritating.

 

“Coming up with such a silly idea. And I’m really annoyed that you’ve just assumed I’d get scared.”

“So, you’re not scared of tests of courage or haunted houses?”

“…”

“Let’s go to a haunted house at the amusement park on our next day off! We must go!”

“I’m definitely not going!”

 

Despite all the commotion, their classmates only reacted with a sense of “there they go again.”

It almost makes one want to say they’ve become too accustomed to it, but ultimately, making their relationship public was a good move.

It made it easier to discuss where to go next in the classroom.

 

“I’d rather have sweet potato desserts than go to a haunted house. The season is almost over, isn’t it?”

“That’s true. Um, let’s see…”

 

Chika started changing her search from the route to the amusement park to a shop that sells sweet potato sweets.

 

“Ah, how about this place? Their baked sweet potatoes are very famous, and there’s a line of customers even before the shop opens. It’s a bit far, but shall we go there?”

“Baked sweet potatoes? I guess it’s a sweet, but it’s not at all the kind of sweet I had in mind.”

 

Sōma shows reluctance as Chika shows him the smartphone screen.

He likes it as food, but as an aspiring patissier, he finds no appeal in such sweets.

Despite his refusal, Chika persisted in showing him the smartphone.

 

“But this shop also has lattes, ice cream, Mont Blanc, and sweet potato yokan. These seem to be popular too.”

“Really?”

 

That changed things.

 

“I’d like to try the Mont Blanc.”

 

Seeing a photo of the Mont Blanc with its mound of purple paste, he couldn’t help but express his interest.

 

“Alright, let’s go there.”

“Then, let’s meet at 7 in the morning on our next day off.”

“Seven…? Isn’t that too early?”

 

Sōma was taken aback by Chika’s casual remark.

 

“I mentioned earlier that it’s a bit far. Plus, this shop is very popular and there’s usually a line, so if we don’t go early, what we want might be sold out. You wouldn’t want to travel all that way and end up not being able to eat anything, right?”

“That’s true, but waking up early is tough.”

 

He was the type who preferred to sleep in on holidays.

 

“I seriously doubt I’ll be able to wake up.”

“What about an alarm clock?”

“I’m confident I’ll turn it off unconsciously.”

 

He stated firmly, and Chika pondered for a moment.

 

“Well… how about staying over at my house the night before? I’ll make sure to wake you up.”

 

Humans are creatures of habit.

However, when a shock greater than any before strikes, the commotion can easily reignite.

 

“Did you just say ‘staying over’!?”

“They’re already having sleepovers!?”

 

The classroom erupted into chaos, and all eyes were focused on the two of them.

The classmates, with eyes gleaming like wild beasts swarming over fresh meat, crowded around them.

 

“What does that mean!? Ichinose, is it normal for you to stay over at Satomi’s house!?”

“You just said it so casually! Have you stayed over before!?”

“Chika, inviting a boy to your house, you’re so bold!!”

 

They bombarded them with questions, one after the other, with the intensity of reporters on a tabloid show.

 

“No, uh, it’s not what you all are thinking, okay? Obviously, Chika’s parents are there too. Her dad is super sweet to her but really strict and scary with me.”

“Ichinose, you know Chika’s parents!?”

 

He had intended to calm things down, but his words only added fuel to the fire, and the commotion grew louder.

Realizing he couldn’t quiet the situation himself, he looked to Chika for help with his eyes.

Chika, with a cheerful smile, said,

 

“Just as Sōma-san said, there’s nothing odd going on. We are not in that kind of relationship. The reason I suggested he stay over is simply that it would be more convenient.”

 

Her perfectly reasonable explanation calmed the encircling classmates, who seemed to accept the explanation.

However, that peace was short-lived,

 

“Oh, but I do want to take pictures of Sōma-san’s sleeping face. I took a lot the other time, and he was so cute.”

 

With a calm smile, Chika made another shocking statement.

 

“You’re taking pictures of him sleeping!? Does that mean you’ve slept in the same room before!?”

“Wait, “the other time”!? So sleepovers are a regular thing for you guys!!”

 

It was not just adding fuel to the fire—it was as if explosives had been thrown into the classroom, causing an uproar.

 

“Why do you have to say unnecessary things like that!?”

“I thought I’d share with the world just how cute Sōma-san’s sleeping face is.”

“Seriously, stop it! Hand over your smartphone! I’ll delete the data!”

“Please stop! That’s a violation of privacy!?”

“Showing everyone a photo of my sleeping face that you took without permission is a far bigger violation of privacy!?”

 

For the remainder of the lunch break, Sōma found himself chasing Chika around, trying to snatch her smartphone as she attempted to show off the photos.

Therefore, even though Sōma caught a glimpse of Wakui, slightly teary-eyed and trembling, being comforted and patted on the head by a group of girls, he had absolutely no capacity to wonder why that was happening.

 

***

 

The following Sunday, Sōma pedaled his bicycle vigorously, breathing out white puffs of air as he hurried to the station.

 

“Sōma-san, over here-over here!”

 

After parking his bicycle at the bicycle parking area and heading to their usual meeting spot, Chika was already there, hopping up and down and waving her hands.

 

“Come on-come on, if we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the bus.”

“It’s fine if we miss one.”

“No, it’s not. We have to stick to the plan properly.”

 

No sooner had he arrived than Chika was pulling him along by the arm.

Still sleepy from waking up early, he was pushed onto the bus just before it departed.

 

“That was close. We made it.”

 

They settled into the back seats, and soon the bus started moving slowly.

 

“Hey, isn’t this a bit too early?”

 

Aside from the two of them, there were no other passengers on the bus.

It was the first time he had ever ridden on such an empty bus.

 

“Let’s see, it’s about an hour by bus, right? So we’ll arrive around eight, but the store doesn’t open until nine.”

 

In other words, they would have to wait for an hour even after they arrived.

Standing in the cold for an hour in the morning during this time of the year when winter was setting in would be quite tough.

 

“The sweet potatoes we’ll eat after waiting in the cold will surely taste amazing.”

“I’m actually here for the sweet potato sweets, not the baked sweet potatoes.”

“Just eat whatever you want. The popular items might sell out, so it’s correct to go early and line up. Don’t worry, I’ve got the hot tea all ready!”

 

With that, Chika proudly tapped the bag resting on her lap.

It seems that for this girl, lining up itself was part of the adventure.

 

“Well, since we’ve come this far, we might as well line up.”

 

It was Sōma’s role to go along with what Chika wanted to do.

He has no thoughts of getting off the ‘bus’ midway.

 

“I’m going to sleep a bit since it’s early. Wake me up when we get there.”

“Aw, but we could talk since we’re here.”

“No, I refuse. I’m sleepy. And you, you’re way too hyper for this early in the morning.”

“I’ve been excited since last night and hardly slept!”

“You’re like a grade-schooler before a field trip.”

 

Despite feeling exasperated at Chika, who had sparkles in her eyes, he slowly closed his eyes.

 

“Huh, are you really going to sleep?”

 

Chika sounded disappointed, but too sleepy to engage further, ignored her and kept his eyes closed.

The early morning bus continued on its way, not picking up any passengers at the stops, carrying just the two of them along the quiet roads.

The rhythmic rocking of the bus quickly pulled Sōma into the land of slumber.

 

――Thump.

 

A few minutes after he had started to doze off, he felt a weight on his right shoulder.

He pried his heavy eyelids open to see Chika leaning against him, breathing softly and peacefully in her sleep.

She had been lively and excited, but it seemed she was also sleepy.

For a moment, his hand reached out to move her head away.

 

…Well, it’s okay.

 

But he quickly retracted his hand and closed his eyes again, letting Chika lean on him.

Softly, softly, their breathing intertwined, creating a gentle lullaby.

Listening to the comfortable melody, he dreamily thought about the future.

Next month would be December. Christmas was coming.

It was the busiest time for a patissier and the time when Sōma felt the most motivated.

Using the experience and knowledge he had gained over the past few months, he would make the best Christmas cake ever.

And he would have Chika taste it.

 

What kind of face would she make then?

Would she show him a happy face? Or would she be surprised?

Just imagining it made him excited. He was looking forward to that moment.

He resolved to work hard. He would make an exceptional Christmas cake.

Feeling Chika’s presence on his shoulder, Sōma made a firm promise to himself.