“W-what!?”
Yuzuru let out a startled voice, and Arisa’s eyes wavered slightly, as if she immediately regretted what she said.
“U-um… d-did you not like that?”
She lowered her gaze, looking a bit hurt.
Yuzuru quickly shook his head.
“No, not at all! It’s just… um…”
Carefully choosing his words, he asked:
“When you say ‘eat it’… specifically, how do you mean?”
The most straightforward interpretation was putting his mouth directly on her.
They had kissed many times before, so touching her skin—her chest included—wasn’t something he was strongly opposed to.
At least, if she was okay with it.
But if that wasn’t what she intended, things could go very wrong.
Maybe she wouldn’t hate him—
But he might get slapped.
“U-um… well…”
Whether she hadn’t thought that far, or was just too embarrassed to say it—
Arisa hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Any way is fine… however you like… please.”
“I see… then…”
After a brief pause, Yuzuru reached towards her chest.
The moment he touched her, he felt softness and warmth at his fingertips.
He wiped up the melted chocolate with his finger—
And brought it to his mouth.
“H-how is it?”
“How is it…? It tastes like chocolate.”
“R-right!?”
Somehow, an awkward silence settled between them.
Yuzuru let his gaze wander for a moment, then looked back at her.
Arisa straightened her posture.
“Um… Arisa.”
“Y-yes?”
“…Let’s just eat.”
“Y-yes, let’s!”
And just like that, the two hurriedly resumed eating the rest of the chocolate fondue.
“That was delicious.”
Afterward, as she wiped down the cleaned equipment, Arisa said cheerfully.
She had already changed out of the ribbon outfit.
“…Yeah.”
Yuzuru gave a vague reply.
Noticing his tone, Arisa looked puzzled.
“…Wasn’t it good?”
“No, it was good.”
He shook his head.
It was delicious—
But not entirely without reservations.
“The second half was a bit… tough.”
He decided to be honest.
He had gotten a bit tired of the chocolate flavour.
“I thought so.”
Arisa gave a small, knowing smile.
Yuzuru tilted his head.
“You too?”
“No, I like sweets, so I didn’t get tired of it. But… you looked like you were struggling.”
“I see…”
Apparently, it had shown on his face.
His eating pace had slowed down noticeably too.
“Even if I didn’t get tired of it, it’s still the same flavour throughout. It’s not strange to get bored. That’s something to improve next time.”
“Improve, huh… got any ideas?”
Curious, Yuzuru asked.
Arisa nodded.
“Off the top of my head—maybe spices.”
“Spices? With chocolate?”
“Cinnamon, nutmeg… even pepper can work surprisingly well. Or increasing ingredient variety, or serving other dishes alongside it…”
Despite saying “off the top of my head,” she listed several ideas smoothly.
“What do you think, Yuzuru?”
“Hmm… personally, I think it’d be better for a group. Like a party.”
The fondue itself was good.
But having it as the entire dinner had been the issue.
“Like a party… or maybe a wedding?”
“…Well, yeah, a big chocolate fountain at a wedding would definitely be fun… do you want that?”
Yuzuru asked with a wry smile.
Arisa quickly shook her head.
“N-no! I didn’t mean for us specifically…”
“Oh? But if it were an option… would you want it?”
“…I think it would be lovely.”
She nodded, cheeks faintly flushed.
Yuzuru nodded firmly.
“I’ll remember that.”
“Thank you… um, can I ask something?”
“Anything.”
“What kind of wedding would you want?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Like a Shinto ceremony, or Protestant style… how many guests… or maybe just photos… some people don’t even have one, right? I’d like to know your thoughts.”
“That’s fair. It’s important to align expectations.”
He nodded.
He had heard of couples arguing about this right before marriage.
Though he didn’t think that would happen with them—
It was still worth discussing.
“A Protestant ceremony. Not sure about numbers, but… probably over a hundred guests.”
“…You like big events more than I expected.”
“That’s not my preference.”
He immediately denied it.
Arisa tilted her head.
“Then… your father’s? Or your grandfather’s?”
“Not exactly. Though my grandfather does like flashy things… but that’s not the point.”
“Then…?”
“It’s because I’m the future head of the Takasegawa family. It has to be large-scale. That’s all. …And honestly, we probably won’t have much say in the venue either.”
Their opinions wouldn’t be ignored entirely—
But the final decisions would be heavily influenced by their families.
Freedom was limited.
“I… see. That makes sense…”
Arisa looked a bit downcast.
She didn’t reject it—
But she clearly had her own vision.
Unlike Yuzuru, who saw marriage somewhat politically,
Arisa valued the romantic side more.
That much had been clear since their school trip.
“It’s okay. I mean… I do have feelings about it, but…”
“Don’t worry so much. We can just have two.”
He lightly tapped her shoulder.
She looked up, surprised.
“…Two?”
“Yeah. If you don’t like the big one, we just do another, smaller one. If order matters… we can do yours first.”
“…Do people usually have multiple weddings?”
“My parents had three. Two in Japan, one overseas.”
“…What?”
She blinked in shock.
That idea clearly hadn’t occurred to her.
“Three not enough? I’d rather not go up to five or six though…”
He joked.
She quickly shook her head.
“N-no, three is more than enough! Then… one I want, and one for yours…”
“My preference is your preference.”
Yuzuru didn’t have strong feelings about weddings.
A commemorative photo would’ve been enough for him.
“…I see. Then… I’ll think about it.”
Arisa smiled happily.
