She Wants to Level Up Her Love

I couldn’t kiss Kaede, nor could I answer her question. I was truly the lowest, most pathetic man.

I didn’t know how much time passed without an answer. Kaede let out a soft sigh.

“…Maybe it was too soon for you, Ryoma.”

Ah, yeah, it was. It was too soon for me. I wanted to kiss Kaede, but not now.

I needed more time. Time to erase the memories with my ex.

“If you’re hesitating about a kiss, that means your love level is still nowhere near enough.”

“My love… level…?”

“Yeah. If love had ten levels, the ‘like’ you’re talking about is maybe a ‘5 or 6′ at best.”

A 5 or 6? I thought it was more than that… but no, hesitating on a kiss kinda kills my credibility.

“Of course, my love level is a ’10.’ Actually, 10 isn’t enough. It’s infinite, infinite.”

She’d just said ten levels herself, but then went with infinite. Unlike me, Kaede was devoted. Her pure, earnest, straightforward feelings hit me right in the chest.

Compared to that, me… yeah, lingering on my ex already made mine something else entirely. It was presumptuous even to compare my feelings to hers—mine were clearly limited, laid bare.

Kaede’s love was on a whole different level from mine.

“So it’s still too soon. Even if it’s not okay now, someday I’ll definitely raise your love level to 10. I’ll make you fall even harder for me. Until then, is it okay if you stay as my pet?”

“Y-Yeah.”

Kaede resumed cooking. I remembered I had meant to go to the bathroom and rushed there in a panic.

Kaede’s charm was terrifying—it could even make me forget this intense urge to pee. I couldn’t win against her.

—

“Ryoma, here, ahh.”

“…A-Ahh…”

That day at lunchtime, on the school rooftop bench.

Kaede’s ahh. She held a pair of chopsticks with a glistening tamagoyaki egg roll right up to my mouth.

Yesterday, she had said no ahh feeding, but today she spoiled me with it.

Yesterday was yesterday, today was today, I guess. She switched gears perfectly. Her angelic smile made it seem like her pouting yesterday was a lie. Both versions of Kaede were too cute.

She had made this bento so early in the morning. I couldn’t leave a single grain of rice behind.

I obediently accepted the ahh and munched on the egg roll.

“Is it good?”

“It’s good.”

“Yay~ Eat up.”

I had thought the same last time, but Kaede’s cooking still had a strong quirk to it—probably not for everyone. But I liked it. Not forcing myself or anything; I genuinely did. I could eat as much as my stomach could handle.

Thinking it was this delicious—maybe Kaede and I were compatible after all…

Unma was pretty good at cooking too, but this might even be better than hers.

…No, I should stop thinking about other women when I’m with Kaede. Unma popped up whenever I let my guard down—that was my bad habit. I had to fix it.

Focus on the bento; it was delicious anyway. The egg roll, the sausages— all good. I was happy…

“Oh my, isn’t that Student Council President Nakajo and Mr. Yasumura?”

“!?! N-Noda!?”

Lost in Kaede’s smile and the food, I noticed too late. Noda stood right in front of our bench where we sat.

How long had she been there!? Did she see Kaede feeding me ahh!? This was embarrassing.

—Wait! Kaede…

I glanced fearfully at Kaede, who sat to my left.

Gyaaaaah. Scary! Seriously scary!

Where had the angelic smile gone? Not a trace of it remained.

Her eyes had lost their light, and there she was, staring at Noda with a straight-faced, dark gaze.

She barely kept the sausage pinched in her chopsticks from falling, but her right hand gripping them had an anger mark rising, on the verge of squishing it flat.

“Aw, come on, Student Council President Nakajo. Don’t glare at me with such scary eyes.”

“…………Do you need something, Senior Noda?”

“Not really anything major.”

“If you don’t need anything, then sorry, but could you please leave? Can’t you tell? I’m in the middle of flirting alone with him. Read the room. To be blunt, you’re in the way.”

Kaede said it straight out. She didn’t even try to hide her “get lost” aura.

Meanwhile, Noda didn’t let her smile crack even under that killing intent from Kaede.

Wait, Noda wasn’t fazed at all by this level of hostility? I was on the verge of peeing myself.

“Come on, don’t be so stiff about it.”

Thud.

!?

She sat!? Noda sat on the bench!?

Kaede sat to my left, and now Noda plopped down to my right.

“…………”

Kaede’s irritation aura more than doubled. It pressed down on me next to her. Her unchanging expression and silent pressure were terrifying.

Hey, Noda, cut me some slack… Don’t make Kaede mad. She’s seriously scary for real.

Sitting down in this situation was impressive. Was her mental fortitude on another level?

Noda to my right, Kaede to my left. Whichever way I turned, world-class beauties. For the first time in my life, I was sandwiched between beautiful girls. The “flowers in both hands” thing, huh.

From the outside, it might look enviable. But this was a battlefield. I hadn’t done anything, right…? At least, nothing with Noda. So why this situation?

I couldn’t stop shaking and could only sit up straight in terror.

“Senior Noda, what do you think you’re doing? I’ll kill you.”

She said she’d kill her. This girl was hurling fastballs that could break bones if they hit me like a dead ball. She was a lady—could she try to be a bit more refined? Please.

“No, no, don’t worry about it.”

“I can’t help but worry when you sit on the same bench.”

“I’m just a little curious, that’s all. Student Council President Nakajo, who never let any men near her, is feeding a guy a bento—it’s such a shock. I’m interested in the kind of man she’d go this far for, so I wanted to observe Mr. Yasumura a bit.

After graduation, I want to study psychology. So I thought it could be good reference material.”

For study!? She put herself in this dangerous spot just for research?

Kaede had been super scary this whole time, but Noda kept smiling. Was this girl invincible?