Chapter 33: The Ice Lady and After Test Plans

“Are you tired by any chance, Asahi-kun?”

 

At a study session the day before the final exam, Fuyuka asked me out of nowhere.

When asked if he was tired, Asahi himself didn’t feel tired in the slightest.

I should be in perfect condition, both physically and mentally.

“What made you think that?”

 

“It’s because… you’ve been sighing more than usual.”

More than usual? Does that mean I tend to sigh on a regular basis?

Although I wasn’t aware of it, it seemed to be particularly frequent today, and Fuyuka gave me a worried look.

“Let’s take a short break.”

“It’s not like I’m tired, so we can keep going. Sighing is probably just a habit of mine.”

“But you still need to take breaks anyway. You don’t want to be overwhelmed, after all.”

Apparently, the session was going to stop temporarily, no questions asked.

Fuyuka, who was playing the role of teacher, quickly got up and headed for the kitchen without hesitation. In her hands there were two empty cups.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Then, I’ll have a coffee. My bad, you’re also doing mine.”

“Don’t worry about it. Please just stay there and rest, Asahi-kun.”

 

“Rest? I told you I’m not tired…”

As he watched Fuyuka making coffee in a familiar manner, Asahi took advantage of the opportunity to take a break.

I put all my weight on the couch and spaced out listlessly, and this time a sigh escaped my mouth.

This was not because I was tired.

However, we were currently in the middle of something somewhat troublesome.

I’m sure that was the reason for all the sighing.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Mhm, thanks.”

A few moments later, Fuyuka came in with a cup of white steam rising from it.

I tasted it after letting it cool down a bit, and a slight sweetness spread slowly through the coffee’s unique bitterness.

It tasted exactly the same as the usual one that I liked to drink.

“…So good.”

“I’m glad to hear it. As I recall, it was one sugar and one milk, right?”

“Yeah, but how’d you know…?”

“You always drink it that way, so I learned it.”

‘Why can’t you do that with cooking then?’ Asahi was about to speak but refrained.

It was obvious that she would pout if he continued to speak.

“Y-you’re really good at making coffee, huh?”

I hurriedly changed the course of the conversation, but she was already giving me a puzzled look.

“Didn’t you try to say something earlier…?”

“No, that’s not―”

“I swear, you were going to say something mean to me again. I won’t get angry, so please don’t hide it.”

“That’s what they say but eventually gets angry anyway…”

Besides, there was a high probability that she would be in a foul mood, so I had no choice but to keep silent when she squinted at me adorably.

Now, how shall I put this to rest?

As I was thinking about how to evade her pursuit, my phone rang at the right time.

“…It’s from your phone, Asahi-kun.”

 

“Looks like I got a call. Can I get that?”

“Yes, of course…”

It was a shame to let him go, but she couldn’t exactly probe him now, Fuyuka thought.

He quickly left her alone, who had the sharp eyes of a predator staring at its prey, and headed to his room with his phone in hand.

Leaning against the door, Asahi checked the name of the person who had called him for the first time, and let out a big, loud sigh.

“That was fast… I think it was your mother who called.”

“You heard? Yeah, it’s from mom.”

“Then maybe you could have spoken more…”

“It’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”

In less than a minute, Asahi returned from this and was greeted by a somewhat gloomy-looking Fuyuka.

It seems like she had a lot of thoughts on how to deal with mothers.

Thinking about it, Fuyuka always had a melancholy expression on her face when she talked about family.

I could sense that she was having a hard time with her family, but that was just a guess.

Of course he was curious, but he didn’t want to force her to tell him something that she doesn’t want to talk about. That was the way he treated her.

However, I couldn’t just leave the girl with a downcast expression in front of me.

“…It’s not really a big deal, okay? She just called me in order to prompt me to respond to a message.”

“A message?”

“It was sent to me yesterday… Look, here.”

Since it was not something bad, Asahi decided to display the message in question and show it to Fuyuka.

There was only one sentence written there.

“I’ve made a reservation at my restaurant for Christmas Eve, so go ahead and invite a intended partner.”

The reason for the sigh that has been leaking unconsciously out of my mouth since yesterday was probably because of this message sent by my mother.

“What do you mean, ‘my restaurant’?”

“It’s a place my parents run together, Soleil Levant.” [TL: Rising Sun, ‘Asahi’ also roughly translates to that.]

“S-Soleil Levant?!?”

 

“Do you know it?”

“Know it or not, it’s one of the most prestigious three-star restaurants out there.”

“It seems so.”

“It seems so…? Your parents are very amazing people, Asahi-kun.”

The same thing was said by Chiaki and Hinami, but to be honest, it didn’t really hit home because they were relatives.

Even if the person who just called was a top-notch pastry chef, she was nothing more than a mother to Asahi.

She was also a difficult mother who annoyed her son in some way.

“Why don’t you reply? Isn’t the answer obvious?”

“That’s true… I’m sure she’s gonna call again. So, let’s just straight up tell her no.”

“Are you gonna say no?!”

“What is it? You’re awfully enthusiastic.”

“T-that’s because, Soleil Levant usually requires a reservation six months in advance, right? How can you say no to that…?”

 

“I don’t have anyone to go with, so there’s nothing I can do.”

Unfortunately, Asahi had no one to spend the holy night with.

Every year during this season, he receives the same text message from her mother, which was a source of worry for Asahi, who has never been involved in a romantic relationship.

‘Asking Fuyuka… Yeah, right.’

When I saw the email from my mother yesterday, the first thing that came to mind was Fuyuka’s face.

But a man and a woman alone in a three-star restaurant on Christmas Eve.

Besides, now that I had shown her the contents of the message, I couldn’t help but be aware of the word “intended partner”.

It was too hard to ask her to accompany me.

Most importantly, it could destroy the friendship that we have built up.

Such a feeling of uneasiness strongly negated the option that came to mind.

So as usual, Asahi was thinking of refusing his mother’s gratuitous kindness.

But here came a new option that he hadn’t considered.

“…Would it be all right if I accompany you?”

“…You mean with me?”

“Who else is there but you, Asahi-kun?”

When I turned my gaze in surprise at the sudden suggestion, I saw Fuyuka shivering.

“I guess it’s no good… I don’t fit the criteria, after all.”

“No, I don’t care who I’m going with… Fuyuka, If you want to go, do you want to go with me?”

“I-I’d love to, if you don’t mind!”

 

The pure and innocent eyes were sparkling in the brightly lit expression.

Fuyuka’s uncharacteristically high spirit made Asahi feel his heart beat faster.

Intended partner, coupled with such words, made him feel embarrassed.

Fuyuka must have felt the same way, because she regained her composure as if she had come back to herself and turned her head down again and became quiet.

This atmosphere was so awkward.

Thinking this, Asahi continued the conversation in a spur of the moment.

“Are you even free on the 24th? I heard you’ve been getting a lot of invitations from boys.”

“I don’t know those people… so I declined.”

“Yeah, well, I had a feeling.”

‘My condolence.’ I thought in my head.

Perhaps they were trying to get closer to Fuyuka before the long vacation.

As soon as the final exams are over, we will have the test return day and the end-of-term ceremony, and then it will be winter break.

This was the time of year when many students take advantage of Christmas to ask someone out on dates.

Chiaki had told me many times that Fuyuka was the leader of this popularity, with his smirk and hateful smile.

Since the rumor that the “Ice Lady” had melted a little, Fuyuka’s popularity had been on the rise again after her great performance in the ball game.

This was where the boys, who were previously unable to even approach her, gathered their courage and approached Fuyuka.

However, even though she became a little calmer, Fuyuka still rejected others and closed her heart off.

From the current reaction, it was easy to predict that more and more boys would be reduced to tears in the future.

Asahi couldn’t help but feel strange that he would be spending Christmas Eve with that “Fuyuka”.

“…I’m looking forward to Christmas Eve.”

Fuyuka’s cheeks were dyed a pale sakura color as she smiled, which was really cute and adorable.

I know that it was only as a friend.

However, in the face of an unexpected promise, my heart began to thump unavoidably.

“But first, We have to get through finals.”

If I didn’t express such a serious opinion, this itchy feeling was not going to subside.

I sipped my coffee in one go, trying to calm my mind.

When I remembered that Fuyuka had brewed it for me, a richer sweetness than usual spread in my mouth.