Epilogue / There is No End to Feelings of Love
It was the start of a new week.
During the lunch break, Izumi Sumie was eating lunch on the rooftop.
…Well, he had been eating, but.
“Here, Izumi-kun, ahh?”
At this point, having Nanao Nanase beside him seemed to defy the laws of the universe.
The egg roll that she offered with her chopsticks…the sweet one absolutely laden with sugar…Izumi hesitated for a moment before putting it in his mouth.
“How is it?”
“…It’s good.”
He could only be amazed at how he was being fed like a pet. And yet, he didn’t feel bad about his current pathetic self at all, which only made him feel more exasperated.
Then another person arrived.
“I-Izumi-cchi. Can I join you?”
“Ama…Amane?”
Turning towards Nanase, she smiled and nodded.
“Of course.”
“Well then…”
She sat down on the opposite side of Izumi, sandwiching him between them. Izumi thought, “Huh?” as he had expected Nanase to sit right next to him.
Well, whatever, he accepted it.
“Oh? Amane, you brought a boxed lunch today?”
“Ah, yeah. I have to watch my nutritional balance sometimes…”
For some reason looking embarrassed, she opened the lid.
…It was an extremely brown-looking boxed lunch. It didn’t seem like something a high school girl…moreover, a popular model, would eat. Nutritional balance, huh?
“You’re going to eat that meaty boxed lunch, Amane…?”
“Umm…”
Looking hesitant, Amane resolutely took one piece with her chopsticks.
And then, she held it out right in front of Izumi’s face.
“Ah, ah-n!”
“Ehh…”
It was the unexpected “ah-n?” offensive.
Izumi was taken aback.
“Wh-What’s wrong?”
“Well, uh, you know? Remember that photoshoot the other day when you cheered me up…”
Apparently, that’s what this was about.
He didn’t recall doing anything so extraordinary though…
Amane exchanged glances with Nanase, the two giggling about something. But then for some reason, the atmosphere between them grew tense.
(Huh? What’s with this atmosphere? Are they getting along? Or not getting along?)
Sensing that Nanase was likely behind it, Izumi decided not to press the matter further.
“I-I’m flattered, but…”
In fact, Izumi had just finished off two boxed lunches. One was brought by Hakua, and the other was Nanase’s.
However, Amane said with a hint of shyness:
“Ah, I made this one…”
“……..”
Izumi recalled the other day’s failure. By rudely rejecting Amane’s invitation, he had ended up hurting her feelings, didn’t he?
(I have no choice but to do it…!)
To meet one’s demise in battle is the highest honor for a warrior.
Izumi opened his mouth.
And with a trembling motion, Amane stuffed in a piece of fried chicken. Of all things, the heaviest item.
…The food itself was fine, but.
“……?!”
Upon eating it, Izumi felt a jolt. A single stream of sweat trickled down from his forehead. It wasn’t from the rooftop’s heat – it was a cold sweat.
Still, he forced an awkward smile.
“I-It’s delicious.”
“……?!”
Amane’s face instantly brightened.
Seeing that expression filled his heart – though Izumi still had one thing he needed to confirm.
“Say, Amane.”
“What is it?”
“How did you season this?”
“Well…”
The list of seasonings like soy sauce and mirin was extremely ordinary. It seemed to be a classic, straightforward style introduced on sites like Cookpad.
But then she added with a smile at the end:
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“For my secret ingredient, I put in lots of chocolate since I love it so much!”
“—–!!”
Izumi finally understood the source of the chaos raging in his mouth.
“…Amane. Did you taste it yourself?”
“Eh? No way? I can’t eat stuff like fried chicken in the morning, and oily foods cause acne, so it’s a no-go.”
A perfectly reasonable response for a model.
Izumi felt a sense of despair.
And judging by the fried dishes to follow…she likely didn’t taste any of those either.
“…Give me the next one.”
Izumi endured.
He ate every last piece.
“…It was delicious. Thank you.”
After Izumi finished it all, Amane gave a dazzling smile and nodded.
“Yeah!”
Then suddenly, Amane’s phone started ringing.
“Ah, crap! I’m out of time!”
Saying that, she happily packed away the empty lunch box into her pouch.
“Well Amane have plans with Hakua-san and the others after this!”
“O-Oh…Huh? Hakua-neesan? Why?”
“It’s a girl’s secret, so no asking!”
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”
While Izumi was furrowing his brow, Amane had already left.
And once she was out of sight…he seemed to reach his limit, slouching over dejectedly.
“Why chocolate in fried food…”
“They say it’s supposed to taste good in things like curry, right? Maybe she got the idea from that.”
“I guess Amane is just that type of person.”
Looking up at the blue spring sky, Izumi let out a groan.
“Maybe I should make her a dedicated cooking notebook…”
“That might be putting the cart before the horse though.”
Nanase giggled softly in response, and Izumi smiled back at her.
“Thanks. I’m guessing you were the one who cheered Amane up?”
“Hmm…Did I cheer her up? I’m not so sure.”
“Either way, it was good for Amane.”
The gloom from the other day had lifted.
Her photoshoot on Saturday got good reviews too, so it seemed her little slump was over.
More than anything, Izumi thought to himself:
“I’m seriously happy not just for myself, but that she’s made a friend she can be her natural self around.”
“Yeah, I’m glad I became friends with Amane-chan too.”
Reassured by Nanase’s heartwarming words,
Izumi suddenly checked the time on his phone.
“Ah, crap. I had a committee meeting today.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m gonna head out for a bit. What about you, Nanase?”
“Ah, I’ll be going back to class.”
Izumi said “Got it” and stood up from the bench.
But then, as he started to walk away…he had a thought and turned back around.
“Nanase.”
“What is it?”
Nanase asked, but Izumi paused to think for a moment.
(Hmm…Being straightforward might make me feel like a loser again, so…Yeah, I’ll do that instead.)
He cleared his throat and put on his usual nihilistic smirk.
Bringing his lips close to Nanase’s ear, he tried whispering sweetly as a tease:
“Thanks for the lunch again today.”
“………”
Nanase blinked slowly.
“…Are you trying to imitate me, perhaps?”
“Ugh.”
Instantly seen through, Izumi was the one left flustered instead.
Being coldly called out like that, even though it was just spur-of-the-moment banter, filled Izumi with immense embarrassment over his own foolish prank.
“Ah, no, I just…since you’re always the one doing it to me, I thought I’d try it for once, and…”
“………”
Nanase smiled wryly, then leaned in to whisper back in Izumi’s ear:
“Izumi-kun can be quite cute too ♡”
“Stop that! My brain’s gonna melt!”
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