Chapter 48: The Ice Lady and New Semester

It had been almost a week since the start of the new school year, and post-break tiredness was slowly clearing up.

Around the first day of school, Asahi was too lazy to even get out of bed, let alone go to school, but now he was completely back to his school-centered lifestyle.

Meanwhile, the weather outside remained cloudy, making the winter chill even more colder.

The effects of it were varied, for example, more students wore coats and cardigans, classrooms were heated, and if one exhaled it would naturally take on a form of a white fog.

In addition, the arrival of full-blown winter was unexpectedly felt in unexpected places.

“Chi-kun, why is that ramen so red?”

 

“Doesn’t it look good? It’s on the winter menu, very spicy kimchi ramen!”

“That’s impossible for me.”

 

“I agree with you. I can feel the spiciness just from watching.”

“Chi-kun likes spicy food after all.”

“Eh, am I the only one who’s excited about this?”

Chiaki, who hadn’t gotten anyone’s approval, exaggerated his surprise and slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

Seeing this, not only Asahi and Hinami, but also Fuyuka let out a small, elegant laugh.

…Considering the story so far, it should end nicely with the four of them, newly forming an atmosphere after the Hatsumode, and living happily ever after!

There was a lot of attention around today.

It was not simply because it was the school cafeteria.

The eyes of the students were clearly drawn to the four of them.

More specifically, Fuyuka was the target of their gaze.

“Oops, looks like we’re getting a lot of attention here.”

“It can’t be helped.”

 

“Sorry for the inconvenience…”

“No, no, you don’t have to apologize, Fuyu-chan!”

“Yeah, yeah, we don’t find it annoying at all. Right, Asahi?”

“Well, yeah. It’s not something that you need to worry about… but I guess even if you don’t like it, you will still notice it.”

If one was to look around, one would see that there were many eyes on them, both male and female.

The gazes contained different intentions, and if it was to be categorized into two, It would be half favourable and half curious.

The reason for the attention was undoubtedly the change in the “Ice Lady”.

Didn’t reject people, able to communicate, and could smile.

It was as if the way she had been rejecting others and closing her heart had been a lie.

“The Ice Lady,” or Himuro Fuyuka, was slowly melting.

“Well~, it’s just like a Himuro-san FEVER.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“It means that you’re super popular! Right, Asahi?”

“Why do you guys have to ask for my approval every single time?”

The lovebirds’ glittering, uselessly shining eyes persistently asked for his opinion, which Asahi brushed off as he poured his homemade lunch into his mouth.

However, although he didn’t put it into words, Asahi was generally agreeing with the phenomenon of Himuro-san FEVER.

―If the Ice Lady’s personality was the exact opposite, every boy in the school would fall in love with her in a heartbeat.

Somehow, Chiaki’s passionate words came back to him once again.

Maybe, that “if” was about to become a reality.

“There was a lot of attention in the classroom too. Everyone was exploding with the aura of wanting to talk to Fuyu-chan.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. I guess she’ll be needing a bodyguard or something soon, huh?”

“I think you’re overreacting…”

“No, not really. For example, Himuro-san always eats lunch at the school cafeteria, right? If you were alone, you’d be surrounded in no time at all.”

“Right! You might need a bodyguard! Fuyu-chan is so cute that some people might suddenly hug her!”

‘Isn’t that you?!’ Asahi thought.

The two were staring at Asahi with a silent grin, and he could easily guess from the flow of their conversation what they were trying to say.

“I’m not doing it.”

 

“Boo~, I haven’t said anything yet.”

“I already know what you’re gonna say. Besides, Fuyuka doesn’t think this situation is annoying, does she?”

“Of course, I don’t find it annoying at all. I’m just a little confused because I’m suddenly being spoken to by a lot of people…”

“So, no bodyguard needed. Okay, I guess we’re done here.”

When Asahi closed the conversation, the lovebirds nodded their heads in agreement with his opinion.

This was the result of Fuyuka taking a big step forward and approaching everyone.

It was also the evidence of Fuyuka’s efforts to change the way she interacted with others.

With the sudden change, the students around her and Fuyuka herself were still unsure of the distance between them, but they should be able to build a good relationship eventually.

It was just like Asahi had experienced,  just like he had become friends with Hinami and Chiaki.

So, as a friend, he would watch over her and help her if she ever needed it.

And he would make sure that he doesn’t make the mistake of interfering.

Chiaki and Hinami must have known that much.

Perhaps they had other ideas in mind when they came up with the outlandish suggestion of having a bodyguard.

However, surprisingly, their intentions seemed to be in line with Fuyuka’s.

“…but I’d like to have lunch leisurely, so it would be nice if you could stay with me.”

“Well, that’s totally fine. Right, you two?”

 

“Of course!”

 

“Same here.”

It was a roundabout way of saying that she just wanted to be with her friends.

None of them had the option to refuse Fuyuka’s modestly muttered request.

“Well, I guess we’ll be having lunch at the cafeteria tomorrow onwards… Hinami, don’t you have something to say? It’s almost the end of lunch break.”

 

“Oh, right! I totally forgot about that…”

“Careless as usual.”

“Mmh, Chi-kun. Don’t tease me!”

‘If you guys have time to flirt, please finish your business real quick.’

Asahi felt these thoughts communicated with Fuyuka, who was smiling bitterly next to him.

Today, he was invited by Hinami to go to the school cafeteria, which he rarely went to.

Asahi wondered if the gathering of the four of them was related to the Hatsumode.

As he was thinking about this, Hinami took out four horizontal sheets of paper from her long wallet.

“Is this a ticket to… an amusement park?”

“That’s right! My mom won it in a lucky draw at a shopping mall and she gave it to me!”

The three of them waited in silence for the rest of the story, as it was rude to interfere.

However, Asahi already had an idea of what Hinami wanted to say.

Four tickets to an amusement park, and four people gathered together.

The answer that could be derived from the conditions was clear.

“Who’s free this weekend?”

“I’ve got plenty of time.”

“…I’m available.”

 

“I’m free at the moment, but…”

 

Chiaki grinned and Asahi slurred his words.

As for Fuyuka, Asahi felt her eyes shine a little.

Thus, Hinami opened her mouth with a big smile on her face.

“Let’s all go to the amusement park and have fun together!”