Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 42: A Treasure Trove of Street Food Spots

Chapter 42: A Treasure Trove of Street Food Spots

Two days after the summer festival, today is the second round of my street food date with Saya.

The place we’re going to today is the one Chisato-san told me about the other day.

From what I researched, it seems to have many attractive tourist spots and a rich selection of delicious street food.

Although it’s a bit far, we don’t need to stay overnight, so it will be a day trip.

Saya hasn’t been here before either, but it seems she’s done her homework and already decided what she wants to eat.

“The main event today is sweets! Since we came all the way here, I want to eat a lot! (Diet starts tomorrow… tomorrow…)”

“Take it easy.”

I might need some stomach medicine for this. There’s that mysterious phenomenon where I can eat delicious food no matter how much I have.

It’s almost as if Saya knows where every shop is, as she walks straight to our destination without hesitation.

“First up is the warabi mochi skewers. Let’s each pick one flavor and split them!”

These warabi mochi skewers have three pieces of mochi on one stick, so we’ll eat our two choices and share the last one.

I ordered the kinako flavor, and Saya got the Wazuka roasted green tea flavor.

“Let’s eat… wow, it’s so chewy!”

“Right? It’s even better than I imagined. Here, let’s swap!”

“Thanks! You can have some of mine too.”

We exchanged the kinako and Wazuka roasted green tea mochi, enjoying the different flavors. Since it was just the beginning, we weren’t too full yet.

After finishing, we headed to the next shop. As we walked hand-in-hand with our fingers interlocked, Saya asked me something.

“By the way, Hinata, I heard you were talking to Oohara-san at the summer festival. What were you guys talking about?”

“!”

Should I tell her that I was confessed to? But I don’t want to hide it and make Saya anxious.

“Well… I was confessed to, and she said she likes me, but I told her I didn’t need a reply.”

When I told Saya about the confession from Mai, she smiled slightly.

“Oh, finally! I guess I need to make sure to keep you even more captivated, or you might get taken away!”

Saying that, she hugged my arm and pressed her chest against it.

There’s no need to worry; I’m already captivated by Saya. I’ll only love her from now on.

“Next up is strawberry daifuku!”

“Oh, I might not have had it in a while.”

There are three types: red bean paste, milk paste, and chocolate paste. I ordered the red bean paste while Saya chose the milk paste.

“Oh! I got so caught up in eating that I forgot to take pictures. Hinata, can you take some?”

“Sure.”

After taking a few photos, we sat on a bench with our freshly bought strawberry daifuku.

“I just realized we’re only eating chewy things. I was thinking of having yuba cheese or meat-wrapped rice balls next. Which one do you want to try?”

I wonder what yuba cheese is. I’m curious about both.

“Um, both!”

“Okay, let’s do both!”

Saya was excited when I said I wanted to try both.

After finishing the strawberry daifuku, we walked a little further and bought one yuba cheese skewer and one meat-wrapped rice ball.

The yuba cheese skewer was crispy, and the meat-wrapped rice ball was very delicious. Since we split them, we weren’t too full yet.

As we finished eating, I was looking at the map to decide where to go next when Saya asked me something.

“Hinata, what do you think of Amari-chan?”

“Shiiina-san? Hmm, I think she’s bright, like a ray of sunshine.”

“…Hehe, I think so too. I’m really glad we became friends since we’re in the same class for the first time this year.”

She said that and then looked back at the map. There are still many places she wants to go, but since it would get late, we decided to make the next shop our last stop.

For the finale, we headed to eat the red bean butter taiyaki, which Saya was most looking forward to today.

The shop’s sign said it has a one-minute shelf life, and the flavors were red bean butter, sweet red bean paste, and royal custard.

When I think of Saya, I think of custard. But they say the red bean butter is also delicious, so we ordered one royal custard and one red bean butter.

“Hinata, it’s royal custard! I’m so excited!”

Today, her love for custard is strong. Is it just me, or does royal sound a bit more special than regular custard?

We received our order and immediately dug in. Since we wanted to try both flavors, we divided them in half before eating.

“I’m so happy… Custard, love!”

“They’re both delicious.”

“Yeah, they’re so good!”

After finishing the taiyaki, we hopped on the train, and tired from all the walking, Saya fell asleep.

She leaned against my shoulder, breathing softly in her sleep, and looked so cute that I almost wanted to poke her cheek.

(No, I should refrain from any mischief…)

I decided to look outside until we arrived and remembered Mai’s words.

Mai likes me. She said she just wanted me to know, so all I could say at the time was thank you.

Mai has been my childhood friend for a long time. While things haven’t changed, she still holds a special admiration in my heart.

(I wonder when Mai started liking me…)

The day after my street food date with Saya, I went to a shopping mall to buy new shoes and spotted Shiiina-san standing alone in front of a cat café.

“Shiiina-san?”

When I called her name, she turned around and smiled softly.

“Oh, Kawai-kun! Look at this cute cat!”

“Wow, it really is cute.”

I looked at the cat that Shiiina-san was admiring. She said she often comes to cat cafés because she really loves cats.

(Saya loves cats too…)

As I admired the cat, I noticed Shiiina-san was watching me and, when I looked over, she smiled and playfully poked my cheek with her finger.

“You look cute when you’re watching the cats, Kawai-kun.”

“! Um, ‘cute’ is a bit complicated for a guy…”

Seeing me surprised, Shiiina-san glanced around and whispered in a voice barely above a whisper.

“I think it’s fine for now.”