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Chapter 2
The next morning, I headed to school with heavy steps, feeling a slight soreness in my throat. Naturally, Karen wasn’t beside me.
Ever since we started high school, we often went home separately, but we had always gone to school together. That rule had been broken for the first time... and even after what happened, I still felt just a little lonely.
"Haa..."
A deep sigh slipped out on its own. To be honest, I didn’t want to go to school either.
Because if I actually ended up face-to-face with Karen, I had no idea how I would react.
Еṅ ŭ m̌а . i d
"I wonder if Mamiya-san is okay..."
As I ran my finger over the smartphone in my pocket, I remembered last night’s exchange.
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【You don’t need to worry about that.】
On the train ride back from the sea, we exchanged contact info.
As expected, both our phones had multiple missed calls logged. But since there wasn’t a single concrete apology via email or anything, Mamiya-san brushed it off with, “Maybe they just don’t want to leave evidence,” and she didn’t seem to want to think too deeply about it.
But I couldn’t help worrying about all sorts of things... and that night, when I asked Mamiya-san, “I don’t know what kind of face I’m supposed to make when I see Karen tomorrow,” this was her answer.
Ѐ n̂ umа.
【No matter what she says, just tell her you’re not in the mood for that right now.】
【But won’t people say I should hear her out properly?】
【Who will?】
【...My conscience inside my head, I guess?】
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【Well, I can’t say I don’t get it.】
The "voice of reason" can spring up from anywhere, and then it slaps reality in the face without taking responsibility for anything.
E n ú m̆ a
The Karen I knew wasn’t the kind of girl who would do something like that. So there had to be some reason. If I didn’t even try to understand it and just got angry without hearing her out, trying to put distance between us, that was wrong. If anything, the one in the wrong was me... Those cold, mechanical words crawled up from the back of my mind and stabbed at me.
I knew I should face it properly, too... but—
【But isn’t it fine? Just ignore that.】
Mamiya-san casually kicked aside my worries.
【“You should hear her out,” “There has to be some reason”—that’s logic that benefits the one who betrayed you, isn’t it? You don’t have to follow that. What matters is what Watanuki-kun wants to do.】
It was just text, but maybe because it was text, it came through all the more directly.
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Her forceful argument made me feel incredibly reassured right now.
【Maybe I should take one step here and muster some courage.】
【Sure.】
Right after the blunt reply, she sent a cute character stamp.
Somehow, both the choice and the little consideration of sending a stamp were a bit unexpected, and I ended up laughing without thinking.
"Heh."
Еn̂ u̇_mă
As I walked along with a quiet little chuckle, it felt like my vision cleared in a strange way.
Like noticing there’d been a shop over there, or seeing a cat sleeping by the roadside and thinking I’d seen it before.
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Up until now, I’d been desperate to talk with Karen... no, maybe I’d been straining too hard to get her attention. Either way, I don’t think I’d had any room to really take in the scenery like this.
【Let’s stop going to school together for a while. At school too, I don’t want you to talk to me.】
I sent that to Karen last night. I was a little nervous when I hit send, but once I’d sent it, it was surprisingly quick and clean.
【Okay. I’ll wait until you calm down, Ak-kun.】
Е́ n ŭm а̂ . і̀.d̊_
Karen replied with that message, and the call barrage stopped completely.
The vague feeling of dissatisfaction—was it because, somewhere inside, I’d expected her to cling to me more? Or was it—?
"Haa..."
The moment I thought about Karen, a sigh came out no matter what.
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Even that feeling of walking freely on the way to school alone began to fade, and I found myself feeling a sense of loss at her absence beside me. Even though the smiles she’d shown me might have been lies.
"I wonder what Mamiya-san is doing..."
Ẽ n u̇ m ă .ǐd̂
Somehow, I tried thinking about Mamiya-san as a form of escapism.
Mamiya-san was Shibaki’s fiancée. But that didn’t mean they lived together, and she’d said they always commuted separately too.
So she probably wasn’t dealing with complicated feelings like mine right now, but...
"...Huh?"
As I was thinking that, my phone suddenly vibrated.
When I checked the notification... it was a message from the very person I’d been thinking about—Mamiya-san.
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【Are you free after school today?】
【Of course.】
I replied before I even had time to think. In fact, starting yesterday, my schedule book had been practically wiped clean, so I could cram in new plans as much as I wanted.
【Then let’s go somewhere.】
【Somewhere where?】
【You decide that. I decided last time, so it’s only fair that you decide next time, right, Watanuki-kun?】
Ě ňúm_а́
"...Seriously?"
This was it—the request for our “pseudo-romance contract,” the thing we losers were doing to heal each other’s wounds!
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So that trip to the sea was the first round... Well, she was right. Yesterday she’d dragged me out to the ocean, so naturally, it was my turn to produce the next one.
"But this is a problem... ‘somewhere’—where am I even supposed to take her...!?"
With a homework assignment suddenly dropped on me that was due right after school, I clutched my head in my hands.
Oddly enough, thanks to that, Karen got blown right out of my mind for the moment, and while I desperately dug up date candidates from inside myself, I sent back a quick 【Got it】 for now.
Е̄n ů mа.і̂ d̊
◇
And then, after school.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mamiya-san..."
"No, not at all—but are you okay? You look kind of pale."
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"Ah, yeah... Don’t worry about it."
We met up in front of a convenience store a short distance from school.
W е̇ b̈ n̄о̊v е l̆ É n um̀ӑ
Mamiya-san was standing there as straight-backed as ever... and the moment she saw me, she frowned suspiciously.
"Don’t tell me... something happened with her?"
"No! Nothing like what you’re imagining, Mamiya-san!"
If I looked pale, then for once, the cause wasn’t Karen.
The reason was... that in the end, up until this very moment, I still hadn’t come up with a good date course.
I really did think about it. I thought about it desperately even during class! But almost everything that came to mind was somewhere I’d gone with Karen... It couldn’t be helped. Up until now, I’d always been thinking about that kind of stuff for Karen.
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I didn’t want to take Mamiya-san to those places, and it bothered me too.
Which meant the only options I had left were ones I’d never been to with Karen (or places I’d never planned to go with her). But then there was the problem of whether those were even places you should be taking a girl in the first place...
"What? You’re not thinking about anything perverted, are you?"
"Huh!?"
"No. Even if we’re talking about trying out a pseudo-romance, I have no intention of doing that sort of thing."
Mamiya-san stared at me with a so-called “suspicious side-eye,” like she was warning me off, her cheeks puffing slightly in a sulky way.
Е nūm̈ǎ
For a moment, I almost got distracted by how slightly childish the gesture was, but I immediately shook my head and denied it.
"I-I know that! I mean, I’m not even thinking about that!"
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I couldn’t believe she’d suspect me in that direction!
I mean, Mamiya-san was beautiful. There were probably plenty of guys who admired her, but...
"Then you can tell me what you were thinking about, right?"
"Uh..."
Enu̇ m a. і̂d.
"If you can’t say, that means..."
Her gaze sharpened even more. Earlier I’d thought it was a childish gesture, but now all I could feel was sharp killing intent, and my back straightened reflexively.
"O-Okay. I’ll say it. I’ll tell you...!"
Given the reason we’d gotten close, Mamiya-san of all people should know best that I didn’t have the spare capacity to harbor that kind of ulterior motive.
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So she was deliberately shaking me up like this to draw out what I was worried about... I think. Even if I told myself that, it was still just plain scary, and it was murder on my heart.
And then, after she got everything out of me exactly as planned, Mamiya-san nodded with a grave look.
Е̄ ñúm̌.å .і ḋ
"...I see. That was a complete blind spot. I didn’t really go out to have fun with that man very much."
"S-So you didn’t..."
That man... I decided, for now, not to dwell on how coldly she’d put it.
I didn’t know much about what it meant to be engaged, but even so, it made me curious about what their usual routine was. Of course, I wasn’t going to ask right now.
"You don’t have to think so hard about it. Anywhere is fine... Ah, of course, as long as it isn’t somewhere indecent."
"You don’t have to hammer that in!"
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"If I just say ‘anywhere,’ it’d be annoying because you'd feel like I was putting you on the spot, wouldn't it? So, isn’t there somewhere? Somewhere you haven’t gone with Washizaki-san—somewhere you’ve never even thought about going."
"Somewhere I’ve never even thought about going, huh... The first thing that popped into my head was, like, a ramen shop."
"...Ramen?"
"I like ramen as much as the next guy and I go sometimes, but Karen isn’t really interested."
"...Right. It kind of has this image of being bad for you and making you gain weight."
"I think it depends on the kind."
Е́ n ǔm̈а̃.і̃ d
Still, it was true that I couldn’t really picture Mamiya-san eating ramen.
Maybe ramen on a date was too rough, huh—
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"Ramen..."
"Mamiya-san?"
Mamiya-san started walking with a spaced-out look.
Her steps were steady, but it felt like she was deep in thought...
En um̀ а̂
"What’s wrong? I haven’t even decided where we’re going yet—"
"Golden-colored soup, springy noodles..."
"Is there somewhere you want to go, then? If you can give me a hint—"
"Juicy chashu, ramen rice to finish..."
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"...Don’t tell me, Mamiya-san—you like ramen?"
"I’ve never eaten it. I only know about it as general knowledge."
Е̊ ñ u ṁ_ā .і ď
S-She answers clearly when it comes to ramen questions...!
Looking closely, it almost seemed like there was a faint bit of drool at the corner of her mouth—ah, she wiped it.
"...If you’ve never had it, want to go try it?"
"I do!"
"That was fast!?"
With sparkling eyes that didn’t suit her cool, mature vibe at all, Mamiya-san nodded, leaning forward.
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Her sheer momentum made me instinctively lean back—but when she saw my reaction, Mamiya-san snapped her eyes open, her cheeks faintly reddening as she made an obvious little throat-clearing cough.
"W-Well, if there aren’t any other candidates, it can’t be helped. It’s not like my goal is to trouble you. Honestly, inviting a girl to ramen on a first date is a little too boyish, isn’t it? I’m kind, so I’ll let it slide."
"I-I see..."
It’s written all over her face: “I want to go, I want to go, I want to go!”
"Then I’ll take you up on that kindness. You said ‘golden-colored soup’ earlier, right? Is that what you’re most interested in?"
"Mm-hmm. I’m only speaking in terms of general knowledge, but a golden, clear, artistic soup would be fine, and a thick, opaque, wild, rich soup would be fine too.I’m also interested in things like tsukemen and something called abura soba... But for a beginner, maybe it’s best to simply have normal ramen first? In that case, choosing the flavor matters too! Soy sauce, miso, tonkotsu, salt—and the base broth is important too, and I’ve heard seafood-based ones are increasing! And even chashu—there’s an image of it basically being roast pork, but I’ve heard more shops have chicken chashu these days, too, and—"
Ẅ е̇ b̆ n ŏ v ё l̈ Е̇n̂u m ӓ
Translator’s Note:
"Stop! I get it! I get your enthusiasm for ramen!"
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"It’s not enthusiasm. I was just stating generalities. There wasn’t a single personal opinion of mine in there."
"No, your eyes were wide and intense, and you were breathing through your nose all hard."
"That’s your imagination. Maybe you’re seeing things. Are you feeling okay? Today you should eat ramen, get warm, and go to sleep."
"So we are eating ramen."
Е̃ñ ūṁã .і d
"We are eating ramen."
Maybe I’d just opened some kind of forbidden door.
She claimed she’d never eaten ramen even once, but her passion for it was way too strong.
"But yes. For something like this, maybe I should rely on senpai-level knowledge rather than generalities. Going, with a neutral mindset, to the shop Watanuki-kun recommends is best, isn’t it?"
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"No, the way you’re raising the bar is brutal... I mean, if you’re that interested in ramen—"
"I’m not interested. I only understand it as general knowledge."
W е̄ b n о̀vӗ ľ Еṅ u m̌ а
"Do you even need to keep pretending?"
"I’m not pretending."
Mamiya-san huffed and looked away.
I didn’t really get the fixation, but it seemed like she was embarrassed at the idea of being thought to have an interest in ramen.
"W-Well, fine. Even if it’s ‘as knowledge,’ did you never think you’d like to actually try it and confirm the taste?"
"Is that ‘general knowledge’?"
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"Y-Yeah."
Honestly, I couldn’t really tell what the difference was between her “general knowledge” and her own thoughts, but I nodded for now.
"My household is pretty strict. Junk food and the like were forbidden."
"Huh..."
"...What’s with that look like you’re seeing something strange?"
"No, I was just nodding along..."
W̌ е̄ bńоv̌e̊l Е ñ u m̌_а
"Well, since I started high school, they’ve stopped nagging me that much. My curfew’s gotten looser too."
"Then it’s not like eating it is a problem."
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"As long as I don’t get found out. But going in alone feels a little daunting... I don’t know the system, and there are manners violations, right...? Like ‘breaking the lot,’ and things like that..."
"Ah, yeah... that’s only at some places."
She even had knowledge that went pretty deep...
But if you knew about that particular darkness, I could understand being scared to enter a ramen shop alone.
Е̂ n̊ ům̈ ă
The first time I went, they asked me, “Garlic?” and when I answered, “Yes,” they looked totally confused—and it left me pretty scarred.
"Then it’s better to go somewhere that’s not that complicated... It’s a bit of a walk, but is that okay?"
"I’m fine with running!"
"How eager can you be!?"
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"It’s not like I’m excited because I want to eat ramen quickly, or because the chance to finally eat that legendary food I’ve been imagining has suddenly fallen into my lap... Not at all. Absolutely not. It’s just that we had PE today, so I’m a little hungrier than usual. Don’t get the wrong idea!"
"I-I see..."
É nū m̆ а̀. id
"Anyway, we’re leaving! Come on, Watanuki-kun—lead the way! If you dawdle, the noodles will get soggy!"
"We haven’t even ordered yet, so they won’t..."
With Mamiya-san—who was clearly acting excited—hurrying me along, I opened my phone to check whether the ramen shop I’d thought of was open.
For a high schooler in the “go-straight-home club,” getting to eat ramen on the way back isn’t actually that easy.
The biggest wall is business hours. In this country called Japan, ramen shops are packed in at an absurd density, but many of them are independently owned shops. Probably. I haven’t exactly looked it up.
And because they’re restaurants, their hours are mostly for lunch or dinner—around early evening, when we’re heading home, plenty of places are still closed.
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On top of that, for all sorts of reasons, they might close unexpectedly even outside their regular day off, or if they run out of soup at lunch they’ll just shut down for the day.
And then, this is just my own selfish situation, but if someone I knew happened to see me together with Mamiya-san, I still hadn’t decided how I should explain our relationship. I’d already told some friends I was dating Karen... and even aside from that, I didn’t know whether something like a pseudo-romance would be accepted as “normal” in general.
So I wanted to avoid places like the busy downtown area, where I might accidentally run into someone I knew.
And as the most basic premise, this was the first bowl for Mamiya-san, who had an extraordinary level of interest in ramen. As someone who claimed to love ramen, this was where I wanted to introduce her to a shop I could stake my life on—and hook her into the ramen swamp.
And then, on top of that on top of that, since she was a beginner, it needed to be a place where ordering didn’t require an “incantation”—and as I piled condition after condition and narrowed things down, there was only one candidate shop left. No, rather, the fact that there was a shop that matched all of that meant things were better than they could’ve been—long live the ramen powerhouse, I guess.
"Ramen Fuji...! This is the stage for my first ramen...!"
Ĕńu mа̇ . і d
Twenty minutes on foot from the convenience store.
Staring up at the sign on the shop we’d finally arrived at, Mamiya-san’s eyes were shining brighter than I’d ever seen as she snapped photo after photo with her phone.
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"Um, it’s a meal-ticket system—should I buy yours too, Mamiya-san?"
"Nope! I’ll buy it myself!"
Like a kindergartener who really wants to press the stop-request button on the bus, Mamiya-san did a small hop on the spot and hurried over.
"Ah—right. Take pictures!"
Е̂ ň ǔm ӓ . i d
"Huh? Of you buying the meal ticket?"
And at the same time, she shoved her phone into my hands.
“It’s my first time. There’s no downside to documenting everything!”
"It feels a bit over the top, but... okay. I’ll take them, so go ahead and buy without worrying about it."
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“I’m leaving it to you!”
As I aimed the camera, Mamiya-san operated the ticket machine.
Е nũ ḿа́ . іd
But this shop only sold soy sauce ramen, so it wasn’t complicated. And it didn’t look like it was her first time using a ticket machine either—her hands moved smoothly.
"Noodles, firm!"
"Yes, certainly."
While I was buying my own ticket, Mamiya-san handed hers to the staff and declared that—and then turned back toward me with a smug look... like she was trying to say, “You see? I’m a ramen connoisseur who even knows spells like this.”
I mean, Mamiya-san was the one who told me she’d never eaten ramen before, so that appeal doesn’t really have any meaning at all, but still.
Ramen Fuji was a place with only about ten counter seats, and because it was an awkward time between lunch and dinner, we were the only customers.
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That said, it was a famous shop that got lines during peak hours and had been featured in magazines many times. I’d been here a few times myself, but I’d never seen the place completely empty even at this hour—so maybe that meant Mamiya-san had some kind of “luck” on her side.
"Here you go—water."
While Mamiya-san fidgeted and looked around the shop, someone brought over two glasses of water.
"Ah, it’s self-service! Guh... you’re good, Watanuki-kun...!"
"I didn’t do anything."
I gave a wry smile at how she somehow sounded frustrated even over something like this—and found it amusing too—and after waiting a few minutes for the ramen...
Ě n ūṁ a
"Sorry to keep you waiting—soy sauce ramen."
"Ooh, this is my first ramen...! Watanuki-kun, hurry, hurry! Before the noodles get soggy!"
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"Y-Yeah... um, is it okay if I take photos?"
"Yes, go right ahead!"
After getting permission from the staff just in case, I took a photo of Mamiya-san flashing a bright, refreshing grin and a peace sign together with the ramen. She was as innocent and dazzling as it gets...!
Then Mamiya-san snatched her phone back, and while the staff watched with a smile, she quickly took a ramen-only photo—
Ẅ е̌ b.ṅ ö v̈ёl̊ Е̃ n̄ u m̀ ӓ
"Let’s eat...!!"
With a faint air of nervousness, she finally picked up her chopsticks.
With how ceremonious she was being about it, I was starting to feel strangely nervous too.
But if I stared too hard, Mamiya-san would probably feel uncomfortable. So I turned to face my own bowl, even as my curiosity tugged at me—and for some reason, Mamiya-san lightly poked my arm.
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"This is a problem, Watanuki-kun."
"What’s wrong?"
Е n̈ ùm̄ â
"When I lower my head to slurp the ramen, my hair falls down..."
"Ah—right... I see. Excuse me, do you have any hair ties?"
"Sorry, we don’t lend those out."
"I see."
I checked with the shop just in case. Apparently some places will provide you with one, but not this one. I’d never had to think about it since my hair was short, but...
"Guh... If only I carried a hair tie with me... I want to focus and eat this ramen properly...!"
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Mamiya-san groaned in frustration, her expression dead serious.
But if they didn’t have one, they didn’t have one, and with this, there was only one thing we could do—
"...Watanuki-kun, your left hand is free, right?"
"Huh?"
"Hold my hair."
"...Huh?"
Е̌ñu mа̀.i d̄
For a second, I didn’t understand what she meant.
But before I could freeze up, Mamiya-san gathered her long hair like a ponytail and offered it toward me.
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"Please."
"Y-Yes."
Her words were so earnest that I did as she said and gripped her hair.
The young waitress smiled with an amused “Oh my,” and the gruff older owner murmured, “Huh,” like he was impressed. Seriously—thank goodness there weren’t other customers...!
Еñü.m а̄.і̂d̊
"Now I can finally eat...! This time for real—let’s eat...!!"
After overcoming every preparation and every obstacle, Mamiya-san finally brought ramen to her mouth... and ate it!
"I-It’s so delicious...!! This is... ramen...!?"
Her cheeks reddened, a thin sheen of tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, and she trembled with emotion.
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I don’t know—there were a lot of things weird about this situation, but it gave me a strange sense of accomplishment.
"A salty soup with depth from seafood dashi... Tangling with the noodles, it turns into such a deep flavor...!!"
W е̌b̄ n̄о́ v̊_еl̈ Еn ǔ m ä
As she raved about it, slurping her ramen like she was possessed, not just me, but the owner and the staff too looked visibly moved.
What a warm atmosphere. The best warm space...!!
It was an awkward posture to eat in while holding down Mamiya-san’s hair with my left hand, but even so, the ramen I ate here tasted better than it ever had before.
◇
"Ahh, that was delicious!"
We finished eating and left the shop. Near the end, other customers had come in and it had gotten busy, but the staff still went out of their way to see us off with, “Please come again.”
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A soy-sauce soup with a seafood kick. I’d been worried that it wouldn't suit her, but in the end, it was a total bullseye.
"Today, you really gave me an incredible experience!"
"I didn’t think you’d be this happy. No, seriously..."
"I feel stupid for having hesitated for so long. Ah, the taste of the soup is still in my mouth even now. From now on, when someone asks me what my favorite food is, I’m going to answer ramen."
"You’re exaggerating... What did you answer before?"
"Well, it varied depending on my mood, but basically... lasagna, I suppose?"
Еn̈u m̆.а
Lasagna... I’ve never had it. Italian food, right? It’s kind of an ojou-sama choice. Probably my bias, though.
"Thank you, Watanuki-kun. If you don’t mind, I’d be happy if you’d keep going with me from now on."
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"Huh? I figured from here on you’d go by yourself... You’re not scared of it anymore, right?"
"Not scared, no. But I feel like it tastes better when I eat it with you."
"Huh...!?"
"And besides, we’re in the middle of our pseudo-romance contract, aren’t we? Love is something where being together itself has value—not because you need to be together."
Е̂ n̄ūḿа
When Mamiya-san smiled like she was proud of herself, it made me feel like I’d been caught off guard.
Maybe what she’d said was the way a lover is supposed to be.
But had I been like that with Karen? I’d tried my best to make Karen happy, I thought... but unlike with Mamiya-san just now, I couldn’t immediately bring to mind a memory where I’d felt, without a doubt, that I’d made her as happy as possible.
For me, Karen had been someone who’d always been there for as long as I can remember, so there probably wasn’t any freshness or anything like that, and so surely—
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"Nguh!?"
All of a sudden, someone pinched my nose!?
Ӗn ùṁ а. іd
"You were thinking about something pointless again, weren’t you?"
"Uh... ah, no... I was just looking back on half my life without thinking."
"Now, at this timing?"
"Even I think that’s questionable."
Even though I’d picked this date spot specifically so Karen wouldn’t cross my mind, I still ended up thinking about her. It was pathetic how hung up I was—and yet, there was also the feeling of, if you took her away, what would even be left of my life... and—
"...I mean, I’d be lying if I said I never thought about what it would’ve been like if I’d come to a place like this with Soichi."
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"Mamiya-san, you too?"
"Yes. No matter what... But I also think it tasted this good today precisely because it was with you, Watanuki-kun."
A plain, slightly embarrassed smile.
It really was completely different from Karen’s... not something you could compare.
Pseudo-romance. In the end, it was something so fake you could even doubt whether it was “similar” at all.
I’d only just met her, and it wasn’t like she liked me, either.
Ė nū mӓ . і́d
But because of that... the time we spent together like this felt light, comfortable.
There was no suffocating feeling, and there was this easygoing sense that if things didn’t work out, they didn't work out—like that happy, stagnant feeling of sleeping in until well past noon on a day off just because you don’t have any plans.
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Maybe that was why—
"...Yeah."
The ramen we ate today had felt gentler than anything I’d ever eaten before, soaking right into my heart.
"I’m looking forward to our next date."
Е̃n u m̀ а̄ . і̆d̆
"Next time, it's my turn to suggest the plan. I feel like that backfired on me and the bar got raised right back up, though."
"Hahaha, you don’t have to worry about that. Even if I think, ‘Wow, that was kind of a letdown,’ that’d be funny in its own way too."
"Gh... could you stop predicting my failure!? That smug face of yours won’t last forever!"
Even as she said it like she was angry, Mamiya-san’s mouth was curling into an amused smile. I was probably the same.
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There wasn’t any special meaning in the contents of an exchange like this.
No meaning, no purpose, no calculation—just trading pointless banter.
Еnum а .іd̃
And that alone let me forget the raw wound in my heart—the feelings I’d spent so long building up, only to have them collapse.
Of course, that was only for now. Once I was alone, it would probably well up out of nowhere and hurt again... but even so, for now—just for now—this was fine.
Someday, surely I’d be able to move forward.
Because I felt like, if it was with Mamiya-san, I might be able to make that hope come true.
