Crepe

Hearing such a considerate answer, the girl turned her head to avoid his gaze, feeling a bit at a loss.

Even though the words seemed a bit off, since they did have a prior arrangement, it made sense if Sasaki valued promises.

But thinking about it, being valued so much by a boy, even knowing he meant nothing else, made her feel an intense, burning shyness.

Feeling her cheeks getting hot, Natsuha lifted her flushed face naturally, hoping the cool evening breeze would take away the heat on her face.

At the same time, she thought about how to continue the conversation without making it awkward.

If she stayed silent, the atmosphere would become awkward because of her odd behavior.

But if she spoke, what should she say to avoid showing she was shy...

Before she could think it through, Sasaki, having glanced at her beautifully flushed face under the twilight, secretly smiled and then pointed to the shop ahead.

"There's the crepe shop I mentioned."

"Mm."

She glanced at him surreptitiously.

Seeing him deliberately looking straight ahead, Natsuha, realizing he had noticed her shyness, quickly changed the topic.

"Do you often eat here? It doesn't seem very crowded."

Though he had never eaten there, Sasaki, knowing Otome had mentioned the shop was good, responded without hesitation.

"I think it's pretty good. You girls should like the taste."

"There are few people now because the extra training is mostly for sports clubs.

It's rare to find even one girl among the three sports clubs, and at this hour, those in sports clubs would want to go home quickly."

"That makes sense."

Natsuha nodded in agreement, following Sasaki to the crepe shop.

The shop was run by a scruffy-looking middle-aged man.

As a small establishment, he worked alone.

Seeing Sasaki and Natsuha approach, the owner moved to the counter.

"What would you two like?"

Looking at the menu, Sasaki, who didn't like sweet food much, ordered something savory.

"I'll have a sausage crepe."

"Got it."

The shop owner noted down Sasaki's order and turned to the girl next.

"I'll have a fresh cream and strawberry crepe."

After looking at the menu for a while, the girl found something she liked.

"Got it."

With their orders taken, Sasaki and Natsuha waited, standing side by side.

After the two customers had placed their orders, the shop owner skillfully scooped some batter and poured it onto the hot plate, striking up a conversation with them.

"You're a lucky guy, young man, finding such a beautiful girlfriend."

Exchanging a slightly awkward glance with Natsuha, Sasaki smiled and shook his head.

"We're not a couple."

"Oh?"

Expressing a mix of disappointment and surprise, the shop owner encouraged him.

"Young man, beautiful girls like her aren't easy to come by. You should seize the opportunity, or you'll regret it when someone else takes her away."

As the shop owner continued his endless chatter, Natsuha, feeling awkward and unsure of what to say, subtly moved closer to Sasaki, hiding behind him.

Realizing the opportunity had presented itself, the boy gently grabbed Shinomiya Natsuha's soft hand and interrupted the shop owner's monologue with a smile.

"Uncle, I understand. I will work hard to pursue her and make her my girlfriend."

Glancing at their clasped hands, the shop owner, understanding the performance was over, laughed heartily and stopped talking, giving them a slightly teasing look.

Standing behind Sasaki, with her hand held, Natsuha wanted to pull her hand away.

However, she didn't want to embarrass Sasaki in front of a stranger, which would be akin to ending their friendship.

Since they had held hands before and she didn't want to listen to the shop owner's awkward chatter, the girl only slightly struggled to show her reluctance, then obediently hid behind Sasaki like a reprimanded wife.

Knowing that she had a childhood boyfriend and despised betrayal due to her family background, Sasaki didn't make any provocative moves like stroking her palm or grazing her fingertips.

After all, such actions would be crossing the line for Natsuha, whose deep-seated hatred of betrayal would make her immediately pull her hand away.

To her, ignoring Sasaki's advances would be a betrayal of her boyfriend, her principles after her father left her, and the hardships she and her mother endured.

Understanding this thoroughly, he simply held her hand until the shop owner handed them the crepes, then he let go.

Not wanting to hear any more embarrassing remarks from the shop owner, Natsuha quickly stepped aside after receiving her crepe.

And so, she didn't see Sasaki give the shop owner an extra ten thousand yen after paying for their crepes.

Glancing at the purple-haired girl standing by the roadside, out of earshot, the scruffy shop owner took the agreed-upon payment with a smile and gave Sasaki a thumbs up.

"Kid, you've got some moves. I believe in you. Keep it up!"

Taking the crepe and glancing at Natsuha, who wasn't paying attention, Sasaki smiled and thanked the shop owner.

"Thanks for your cooperation, boss."

"Hey, it's my job. I get paid for it."

Leaning on the counter with both elbows, the shop owner looked at Sasaki's handsome face, a trace of reminiscence flashing across his weathered features as he sighed and said:

"Ah, to be honest, if I had been as sharp as you back in my school days, that would've been great..."

Shaking his head and looking again at the girl standing by the roadside, the shop owner rubbed his chin in puzzlement and said:

"With your smarts and good looks, you should've won that girl's heart already, right? How come..."

"Almost there~ almost there~"

Without going into detail about the shop owner's question, the boy smiled and brushed it off before turning to walk back to Natsuha.

He didn't know the shop owner well, so there was no need for idle chat.

After work, on his way to school, he had thought of getting closer to Natsuha by arranging for the shop owner to say those things.

Otherwise, who would normally be so chatty and kind?

Reaching Natsuha, Sasaki softly apologized, "Sorry about that."

Meeting her puzzled gaze, he smiled wryly and explained:

"I haven't been here much, and I haven't brought any girls here before, so I didn't know the shop owner was so... gossipy. Sorry for causing you trouble."

Thinking back to when Sasaki held her hand, Natsuha, feeling the warmth still lingering on the back of her hand, awkwardly clenched her left hand.

Then, casually brushing her hair behind her ear, she shook her head and softly said:

"It's okay, it's not your fault."

Knowing it was pointless to dwell on the matter, Sasaki mentioned it briefly before moving on.

He then smiled and asked about the crepe.

"How is it? This crepe is pretty good, right?"

"Yeah, it's really good."

Although she didn't appreciate the shop owner's chatter, as Sasaki had said, the crepe was indeed the best she'd ever had.

Finishing the crepe in her hand, Natsuha remembered she hadn't given Sasaki the money so she took out her wallet from her skirt pocket and handed him some change.

Even though they were friends now, the usual way to treat each other here was to split the bill.

Not wanting him to think she was the type to take advantage, Natsuha naturally couldn't pretend not to know if he was too polite to bring it up.

While she didn't have many female friends, she knew that many girls were disliked by guys because they liked to take advantage.

Wanting to maintain their friendship and not let small things ruin it, Natsuha handed him the money.

But before she could withdraw her hand, Sasaki held her hand again.

"Keep it. It's just the cost of two drinks. No need to be so formal. You can treat me next time."

Holding her soft and smooth hand, the boy returned the money to her palm.

Grasping the money in her hand and realizing that fussing over such a small amount seemed a bit petty, she saw that Sasaki genuinely didn't mind. So she put the money back in her wallet.

"Alright, it's a deal. I'll treat next time."

"Mind if I join in?"

"Hmm?" Just as Sasaki was about to nod in agreement with Natsuha, he frowned upon hearing the flippant question and turned to look beside him.

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