After finishing their meal, Yuzuru and Arisa parted ways with Hijiri and the others.
Seeing them off… Arisa murmured quietly.
“They backed down surprisingly easily.”
“Yeah. Honestly, it helped that they both caught on so quickly.”
At the very least, they had made it clear that Yuzuru and Arisa were not actually a couple.
That said, it seemed the others had realised they weren’t just ordinary friends either—but the fact that they didn’t pry any further was something Yuzuru deeply appreciated.
“But, Yuzuru-san… You told Satake-san, but not Ryozenji-san… is that really okay?”
“You mean my friendships?”
“Yes.”
“Hijiri wouldn’t get upset over something like that. Well… I do feel a bit bad about it.”
Both Hijiri and Soichiro were equal friends to Yuzuru.
If he’d told Soichiro, then by rights he ought to tell Hijiri too…
But you never knew where information might leak from, so if it could be kept quiet, it was safer that way.
With Soichiro, there’d been no room for excuses—what with the whole swimsuit situation at the pool.
And Ayaka, who was incredibly sharp and perceptive, had been there too.
This time, on the other hand, they’d been in a situation where they could gloss things over to some extent.
And besides—
“Hijiri might not look it, but he’s tight-lipped, and we’ve known each other for ages, so I trust him. But I don’t know anything about Nagiri-san as a person.”
It hadn’t just been Hijiri there—Tenka had been present too.
Yuzuru could vouch for Hijiri’s character without hesitation, but he couldn’t say the same about Tenka.
“Nagiri-san didn’t seem like a bad person, though… Her personality isn’t exactly great, but still.”
Apparently, Arisa was still holding a slight grudge over being laughed at earlier.
She drew her beautiful brows together.
Yuzuru gave a wry smile.
“Well… unless we can be sure we can trust both of them, it’s safer to keep things under wraps. By the way, if Hijiri presses me about it later and I can’t dodge the question…”
“You trust Ryozenji-san, don’t you? Then it’ll be fine. I can’t say I trust Ryozenji-san myself, but I do trust you, Yuzuru-san.”
“I appreciate you saying that.”
Of course, part of that trust came from believing in Yuzuru’s judgement of character…
But more than that, she was probably worried about his relationships.
Maybe it was guilt—worrying that protecting her might damage his friendships—but either way, Yuzuru was grateful for Arisa’s consideration.
Anyway, simply parting with a “well, goodbye” felt a bit too dry, so the two of them decided to wander around a nearby shopping mall.
“Yuzuru-san, is there anything you want to look at or buy? I’m thinking of getting some autumn clothes… maybe a coat, if I have the budget.”
“Hmm… I was thinking of buying some accessories.”
When Yuzuru said that, Arisa blinked in mild surprise.
It wasn’t that he didn’t care about his appearance, but he didn’t seem like someone particularly into fashion—so it caught her off guard.
Feeling slightly self-conscious himself, Yuzuru tried to brush it off.
“Well, you’re stylish, right? If I’m going to be walking next to you, I should probably raise my level a bit. Wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”
“That’s a very good attitude.”
Perhaps pleased by his answer, Arisa replied in a cheerful tone.
It was half-joking, but her slightly haughty manner made Yuzuru chuckle.
“Who do you think you are?”
“Your fiancée, perhaps?”
“Ah, right. That was the setup. Arisa-sama.”
Since Yuzuru already had a rough idea of what he wanted, they decided to take care of his shopping first and headed towards the section selling watches and jewellery.
That said, “jewellery” covered a wide range.
What Yuzuru was after was something inexpensive—something a high schooler could wear without it seeming out of place.
“What kind of thing are you looking for?”
“Let’s see… I’ve already got a watch, so maybe something for my neck. Price-wise… under ten thousand yen should be fine.”
At that, Arisa pointed to a corner of the shop.
“How about that? I think it looks cool.”
“Yeah, I like how simple it is.”
What she’d found was a simple necklace made of black spinel—a dark gemstone.
It cost around three thousand yen.
Affordable enough, and not out of place for a high schooler.
After getting permission from the shop assistant, Yuzuru picked it up, held it against his neck, and showed Arisa.
“What do you think?”
“It suits you very well… You look a bit more… alluring, somehow.”
Arisa spoke while lowering her jade-coloured eyes, framed by her long lashes.
It didn’t sound like empty flattery.
“Alluring, huh…”
What exactly made a man “alluring”?
Yuzuru wasn’t entirely sure he even had such a thing—but trusting Arisa’s judgement, he decided to buy it.
“Um, Yuzuru-san.”
“What is it, Arisa?”
“…You’re not allowed to wear that necklace unless you’re with me. And not at school either.”
“Huh…? I mean, sure, but why?”
Tilting his head at her odd request, Yuzuru watched as Arisa’s cheeks turned faintly rosy.
“If you get popular with girls, that would be a problem… Even if it’s fake, I’m still your fiancée.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not. …Besides, I’m the one who picked it.”
Her expression clearly said, absolutely not allowed.
Her brows were drawn together, her emerald eyes narrowed, and her lips were set in a stubborn pout.
“Alright, I promise.”
Slightly bewildered by this unexpected display of possessiveness, Yuzuru agreed.
Since they were already in the accessories section, they decided to browse some women’s jewellery as well.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they… gemstones.”
Arisa gazed at a stunning emerald with a dreamy expression.
Though she was a little out of step with most girls in some ways, she seemed to genuinely like jewellery like this.
“They match your eyes.”
Since she’d been looking at the emerald, Yuzuru said it half-jokingly.
Arisa lightly thumped his chest.
“P-please don’t say things like that! It makes us sound like one of those sickeningly lovey-dovey couples!”
Despite her protest, her face was bright red.
Yuzuru scratched his cheek, feeling his own face grow warm.
“Yeah… even I thought that was way too cheesy after I said it.”
“Honestly…”
She tried to sound annoyed, but the corners of her lips softened slightly.
It seemed she didn’t entirely dislike that sort of cheesy line.
“By the way… what kind of designs do you like from these? For future reference.”
“Hmm, let’s see…”
As they walked around the shop, Arisa gave her opinion on each piece—“I like this one,” “This isn’t really my taste,” and so on.
She liked not only cute designs but also fairly extravagant and flashy ones.
And one thing was consistent—
They were expensive.
Of course, good design and high-quality stones naturally drove up the price, so it just meant Arisa had a good eye…
But it was still surprising to Yuzuru that someone who was usually quite frugal when grocery shopping preferred such pricey items.
(Well… she’s probably always had to hold herself back, or hasn’t had the chance to own things like this… so she actually wants them.)
His eyes stung slightly.
“I don’t really know many jeweller names… Are you familiar with them, Arisa?”
“Not especially. I know the basics, though.”
“Like what—what are the famous ones?”
“Tiffany, Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston are known as the five great jewellers.”
“Huh…”
Arisa reeled off the names smoothly.
Out of the five, Yuzuru only recognised Tiffany and Harry Winston.
She went on to list several more brands—far more knowledgeable than he’d expected.
“In Japan, there’s also 4°C… What’s wrong, Yuzuru-san? You’re making a strange face.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
He’d just remembered that Arisa couldn’t even get slightly expensive soap bought for her—rather, she couldn’t bring herself to ask—and nearly felt like crying from how pitiful it was.
But he couldn’t say that aloud.
It would only hurt her pride.
“Shall we go look at clothes now?”
At the very least, Yuzuru’s shopping was done.
Next was Arisa’s turn.
“That sounds good. Let’s go.”
Arisa gave a small nod.
