Early July, Friday.
After school, just as Yuzuru was about to head home—
“Yudzurun. Are you free tomorrow?”
The one who walked into the classroom was Ayaka Tachibana.
Behind her stood Chiharu Uenishi as well.
What an annoying combo, Yuzuru thought, frowning internally.
“What do you want?”
“We’re thinking of having a study session tomorrow. Are you free?”
A study session.
In other words, with finals approaching, they wanted to gather and “have fun studying.”
“By the way, the ‘everyone’ here means Ayaka-san, me, Soichiro-san, and Yuzuru-san.”
The reason Hijiri Ryozenji wasn’t included was simple: he wasn’t particularly close with Ayaka or Chiharu.
Before high school, the only one who had interacted with Hijiri much was Yuzuru.
Yuzuru and Soichiro were friends.
Yuzuru and Hijiri were friends.
But Soichiro and Hijiri themselves hadn’t originally been.
They’d only become friends because they both knew Yuzuru.
“Sorry. I’ll pass.”
“Ehh? Why?”
“It’s my thoughtful way of not interfering with your romantic rendezvous.”
“We wouldn’t mind at all.”
“You should. I would mind.”
If the three of them—Soichiro, Ayaka, and Chiharu—formed their own little world, Yuzuru always felt awkward.
“But Yudzurun, you ignore us and flirt with Soichiro too.”
“Let’s keep things separated by gender, okay?”
“Could you two stop saying things that will cause misunderstandings—in someone else’s classroom—loudly?”
Still, they clearly said it on purpose.
Sighing inwardly, Yuzuru decided to give another reason.
“I already have plans.”
“Eh? With who? Ryozenji-kun?”
“Are you two excluding Soichiro-san and secretly going on a date?”
“No. And could you stop saying things that cause misunderstandings…? Actually—never mind.”
With a long sigh, Yuzuru briefly glanced toward the classroom door.
At that moment, Arisa, who had been about to leave the classroom, met his eyes.
She gave him a small smile.
“Ehh? Then who is it? While we exist!”
“Yes! Is it a man or a woman?”
The fact that his heart skipped a beat—
would remain a secret.
The next day.
Normally Arisa came around noon.
But that morning, the doorbell rang early.
“Morning, Yukishiro.”
“Good morning, Takasegawa-san.”
Yuzuru welcomed Arisa into his room.
First she looked around the room, nodded in satisfaction, and then looked back at him.
“Just like you said. Eighty percent from the start.”
“Seems so. Thank you for being considerate. And it suits you very well.”
Arisa complimented his outfit.
Since she had praised him, Yuzuru naturally looked at what she was wearing.
Today she wore a summer-like beige dress, along with something like a cape over it.
A black belt wrapped around her waist.
Yuzuru didn’t know much about women’s fashion and wasn’t sure why a dress needed a belt—
but the belt emphasized her slender waist and curvy figure, so it was probably part of the style.
“You look good too. Actually… how should I say this…”
“What is it?”
“Maybe it’s just my imagination, but… have you gotten more stylish lately? I mean, you were fashionable before too.”
To be honest, it felt like the average price of her clothes had increased.
That was only Yuzuru’s guess—
but apparently he was right.
Arisa slightly raised the corner of her mouth.
“Very perceptive. In the past… well, I didn’t really care what you thought of me, Takasegawa-san. But lately… I still have zero romantic feelings, of course, but you’re not someone I can treat as irrelevant.”
“Hmm… I guess I should say thanks?”
“No. Actually, I should be thanking you. My allowance increased recently… thanks to you.”
Ah, that explained the clothes.
The Amagi family wanted Arisa to win Yuzuru over.
How straightforwardly transactional, Yuzuru thought with a wry smile.
Normally, this was when they would start playing games.
But today—
the things spread across the table were study materials.
A study session.
The “prior engagement” Yuzuru mentioned to Ayaka was Arisa.
The two of them studied together.
But after about two hours—
Yuzuru’s concentration started to fade.
(Man… she’s serious.)
He absentmindedly watched Arisa.
She was solving problems in a reference book with a focused expression, unaware of his gaze.
He had heard that she ranked first in the entire grade during the midterms.
She probably studied diligently every day.
(I’d love to boil some of her nail dirt and make those guys drink it.)
If he had studied with Soichiro and the others, nothing would have gotten done.
…Though Yuzuru couldn’t really talk.
(Still… the more I look at her, the prettier she is.)
Back when Yuzuru jokingly listed his “ideal girl,” he said:
“Blonde, blue-eyed, pale-skinned, big-breasted beauty.”
Arisa fulfilled almost all of that.
Her hair wasn’t blonde, but it was close—light flaxen brown.
It looked soft enough that he wanted to touch it.
Her eyes weren’t blue either.
They were beautiful jade-green.
Though… the light in them was often dim.
Her skin was milky white and smooth like porcelain.
It made him want to touch it.
Her chest—
was definitely large.
Ayaka and Chiharu both had large chests too, but Arisa didn’t lose to them.
Maybe bigger than Ayaka’s, but slightly smaller than Chiharu’s.
(Though in terms of hips, she probably loses—)
“Takasegawa-san. What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“You were staring at my face… and I sensed something rather vulgar in your gaze.”
She leaned slightly away from him, giving him a suspicious look.
Her eyes were frozen like a winter lake.
Her brows furrowed with irritation.
“N-no, it’s nothing.”
Yuzuru casually lifted his coffee—
and then—
“Blonde, blue-eyed, pale-skinned, big-breasted beauty.”
“—Gah!”
He coughed violently.
Arisa looked at him coldly.
More precisely, she was looking at him the way one might look at trash.
“U-um… Yukishiro-san? Where did you hear that?”
“You said it loudly before. Your requirements for your arranged marriage partner.”
It must have been when he was eating lunch with Soichiro and Hijiri.
He didn’t remember which of them shouted it—
but he silently cursed them both.
“So you were looking at me that way.”
“W-wait! Calm down! I never thought you’d be the one coming! And besides, I didn’t choose you—our families did!”
When Yuzuru frantically defended himself—
Arisa raised the corner of her mouth.
Then snorted.
“I’m joking. I understand. Humans are living beings. It’s natural to have those kinds of thoughts.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. Actually… if you had absolutely no such thoughts, that would irritate me. And I’d worry about your health.”
Yuzuru remembered her earlier comment about being annoyed if a man didn’t see her as a woman at all.
If someone she was somewhat close to treated her as completely genderless—
that would feel strange.
“But obvious staring is unpleasant, so please refrain.”
“Y-yes.”
“And if you try touching me, I’ll crush you.”
“O-okay… don’t worry. I will absolutely never make you go through that trouble.”
Yuzuru forced a smile.
Arisa nodded.
“Yes. I know. I trust you on that. …If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
Then, as if proving it, she moved closer again.
Feeling embarrassed and guilty, Yuzuru scratched his cheek.
To change the subject, he asked:
“So, what about lunch?”
“Lunch? I was planning to cook again today. Do you have a preference?”
“Well… since exams are coming up, I figured you’d want to spend as much time studying as possible. Maybe we could eat out for once.”
He felt bad making her spend valuable study time cooking.
And besides—
she cooked for him all the time.
“I’ll treat you today. Consider it repayment.”
“…I see. Then I’ll accept your offer.”
He expected her to refuse at first, but she accepted surprisingly easily.
Maybe they had gotten close enough that she didn’t feel the need to hold back anymore.
That made things easier for Yuzuru.
“So, where should we go? Probably somewhere nearby. There’s a café, a family restaurant, a soba place, ramen, curry… or we could order pizza delivery. You can choose.”
“…Let me think.”
Arisa began pondering seriously.
Meanwhile, Yuzuru thought to himself:
It’s summer… I kind of want soba.
Dere Level will be revealed next chapter.