4. Time For Lunch

"Does it really look good?"

With her head slightly lowered to hide her shyness, Mitsuri looked up at Kotaro with nervous yet expectant eyes. And those eyes…

'You, girl… So, this is your secret ingredient for brainwashing!'

Her action struck Kotaro's heart like an arrow, making him want to shout out - Mitsuri Kanroji, I choose you!

But a character collapse couldn't happen right now. Still, he couldn't look straight into her eyes with a sane mind. Her puppy-like green eyes were too enchanting.

He wanted to dodge by turning his head, but he knew he couldn't do that. Because his action might hurt Mitsuri. She would misunderstand him.

In the short time they had spent together, Kotaro had figured out Mitsuri's personality. Unlike other girls he had met, Mitsuri seemed much more nervous and kind of desperate. Despite being such a beautiful girl, she seemed to carry a lot of insecurities about herself.

In a nutshell, her self-image and self-esteem were quite low. Mitsuri Kanroji was a girl who didn't have confidence in herself.

'Why is she like this?' It was natural for such a question to arise in his mind. And unsurprisingly, it wasn't hard for Kotaro to deduce the answer.

Marriage.

Both he and she were meeting now because of marriage. And it was a fact that this kind of date was not the first time for either of them. Kotaro had rejected many girls, and Mitsuri had been rejected by many others.

In these male-dominated times, it was very unlikely for a man to be rejected by a girl. It was rare but not impossible. Conversely, it was not rare for a man to reject a girl.

Let alone in ancient times, even in modern times, if someone is rejected so many times, they will lose confidence in themselves. Even Kotaro was not invulnerable to this.

Then, how could Mitsuri be alright?

Kotaro guessed that Mitsuri must have been rejected multiple times, enough to destroy her self-esteem. But it was still weird.

Mitsuri Kanroji was beautiful. His eyes weren't bad, nor were those of others. Then why reject her?

To this point, out of all the girls he had met, Kotaro could say with confidence that Mitsuri was the most beautiful, cute, and sexy girl of all.

Then how could one reject her?

He felt he was missing something. The more he thought about it, the more familiar Mitsuri felt to him. Her name and her situation felt strangely familiar.

'Damn! Why can't I remember?'

It felt like he was short of one last piece. With it, he would complete the puzzle.

"Kotaro-sama?"

He looked at her, still gazing at him and nervously waiting for his response. Added with her circumstances, her look made his heart melt and his instincts couldn't help but move. He didn't want anyone to hurt this girl.

But such an ironic situation. Because he too would reject her, adding one more nail into her coffin and hurting her.

Such a cute yet pitiful girl.

"Mitsuri."

His hand moved, and he placed it on her cheek. His action startled Mitsuri. It was too sudden for her. She blushed instantly because of this intimate gesture and called out to inquire about this sudden act.

"K-Kotaro-sama, why are you—"

"Shh!"

He silenced her by putting his finger on her lips, and then gave a justification for his act.

"Didn't you want to hear the answer?"

He moved his hand, caressing her cheeks and then patting her head affectionately, and then, with a smile most beautiful in Mitsuri's eyes, said the words that went deeply to her heart.

"Mitsuri, you're truly beautiful."

Though he couldn't marry her, Kotaro decided to at least instill some confidence in her. Maybe this way, he would be able to reduce his guilt for hurting her in the future.

…

"Please come again!"

The shopkeeper bid farewell with smiles, quite elated to have witnessed such an intimate scene in his flower shop. Though he secretly hoped that the man would kiss the girl and claim her as his own!

He looked at the departing couple, with the girl smiling a bit more brightly with the flower etched in her hair, enhancing her beauty even more.

"What a lovely couple!"

The shopkeeper retreated and began to water the flowers to keep them fresh, humming a trending song and enjoying the moment.

…

'That was a bit embarrassing.'

Now that he was out, Kotaro realized that what he did was a bit too intimate. Not to mention the stare of the shopkeeper... He looked happier than both of them combined. Kotaro glanced sneakily at Mitsuri to see her flushed face, which still hadn't returned to normal.

Mitsuri was still in a daze, replaying the scene of Kotaro caressing her cheek, putting his finger on her lips, patting her head… All of it was too intimate for her. Besides her father and mother, nobody else had done such things to her.

But what stole her heart was that smile. That smile that praised her while patting her head…

--Mitsuri, you are beautiful!

Boom!

Once again, the steam engine started, leaving Mitsuri in a flushed state. It was too romantic!

'It was an act of impulse.'

Kotaro didn't intend to do that, but his body acted on its own when he saw Mitsuri trying so hard in front of him. His heart just melted, and he couldn't help but pat and caress her.

It had happened. There was no point in thinking about it. Moreover, Kotaro didn't regret it. And why would he?

Mitsuri's cheeks were super soft, and she smelled quite nice too. Her reaction to it was priceless as well. Thinking of that red, nervous, and flustered state, a certain pleasure emerged in his heart.

'Should I tease her now?'

Now that he had figured out that Mitsuri was unlikely to stop his advances, he wanted to tease her more to see more of her cute reactions. He was craving it.

Speaking of craving, Kotaro remembered that he hadn't eaten yet. He felt his stomach was empty and decided to eat next.

"It's almost noon. I bet you haven't eaten anything. Let's go for lunch next, Mitsuri."

'Lunch!'

The word 'lunch' made Mitsuri return to her usual nervous state. Kotaro noticed it but didn't think much of it. He was hungry, and Mitsuri was probably hungry too. That's what he thought.

But Mitsuri was sweating buckets. This was the part where she needed to be careful. If not handled well...

'I can't let Kotaro-sama know about my abnormality!'

===

A/N:

The time for Mitsuri's identity reveal is coming!

And for extra chapters: patreon.com/cherryblooming