Chapter 2 Part 6 – She gave me courage when I lacked confidence – Part 2

Translator: Chaos

Editor: Riciel

I hurriedly tried to hide the cake in my bag. But I was in too much of a hurry and it didn’t work.

Oh crap.

Why is it stuck?

Oh no, I tilted it a bit…!

“Minato-kun?”

From the other side of the door, a curious voice called out to me. If I kept her waiting any longer, she’d get suspicious. I had no choice but to hide the cake behind my back and reply to Riko.

“I thought I’d ask if I could heat up some of the side dishes.”

“Oh, oh, yes! Please do…!”

“… Minato-kun, are you hiding something?”

“Nothing!”

“No way. What is it?”

Riko tried to sneak a peek behind me in a playful manner.

“Whoa, s-stop!”

I twisted my body desperately to escape her gaze, but it was a bad idea. The cake box popped out of my hand with a bang and fell to the floor. The lid didn’t open, but unfortunately, the cake tumbled inside the box, leaving it in a sorry state.

“Ah, I’m sorry… that I messed with you.”

“No, no, it’s not Riko’s fault.”

I picked up the cake and sat down, not feeling like getting up, when Riko came to my side and squatted down in front of me.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s because I tried to hide it, so don’t worry about it.”

“… Why did you hide it?”

“……”

Oh yeah, shoot.

Because of my unnecessary action, I can’t say that I bought it for myself anymore now.

Because then I wouldn’t have to bother hiding it.

I took a deep breath and confessed that I had bought it for her instead of thanking her.

“…For me?”

“But like I said, I realized that a cake from a convenience store is no way to thank you, so I want you to pretend this never happened.”

“No, you can’t. Because I’m happy.”

“… You don’t have to push yourself.”

“I’m not pushing myself.”

“Don’t worry, I know exactly what I’m doing. I know that a guy like me can’t make Riko happy… I’m sorry that all I do is to ask you to do things for me… I feel sorry for myself.”

“Don’t say that…!”

“…..!”

She looked me straight in the eye and made my shoulders jump with fright.

She was terrifyingly close.

So close that I could see my reflection in her eyes.

Flustered, I averted my gaze to escape. Just then, suddenly, warm hands touched my cheeks, forcing me to face her. It was Riko who cupped my cheeks and also made eye contact with me. I gasped in surprise. Riko looked much more hurt than I did, as well as touching me like this. I was shocked by that.

Why do you… make such a face…?

Are my words hurting Riko…?

But… I just declared that I was sorry…?

“Don’t look away from my feelings…”

“Riko…”

“Whenever I cook for you, you always say, ‘It’s delicious’, right? And when I do housework, you always say ‘Thank you’ or ‘You’re great!’. You notice small changes immediately and always express them in words. It’s not easy to do all those things. I believe you can do it easily because you are a considerate and caring person.”

What are you talking about?

That doesn’t describe me, but Riko.

“I told you that my thank you is worthless for what Riko is doing for me…”

“No, no…! You don’t know what you’re talking about, Minato-kun…! You have no idea how much your words fill me with happiness…!”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

That was the first time Riko got angry with me and I reflexively apologized. I didn’t have time to understand the words she had just told me. Riko, perhaps taken aback by my pathetic reaction, muttered, “It’s not fair…” and returned to her gentle face.

“Anyway, Minato-kun is a much nicer person than he thinks he is.”

“But…”

“Do you think I’m lying?”

“… No.”

“Then believe me. Minato-kun is wonderful.”

“……”

The words that Riko gave me resonated in my heart like magic. I was a timid guy with negative thoughts and no self-confidence, but the girl of my dreams told me I was a great guy. I didn’t like anything about myself, but now I felt like having a small hope I could affirm.

“… Also, Minato-kun, you really don’t need to say thank you or anything like that. I’m not doing the housework because I want something in return, but rather because I want to help Minato-kun. I just want to help Minato-kun and make him happy, even if it’s just a little…”

“Why…?”

I asked a simple question, but when I spoke out loud, Riko jolted up as if startled.

“Oh, uh, that’s, uh, that’s… that’s, uh…”

She started to squirm, a complete change from what she had been doing before. I don’t even know why she’s so flustered.

“A-a-anyway, Minato-kun, don’t worry about anything and let me do all kinds of things as before…!”

“But why would that be-”

“I… love to serve you…!”

“Huh?”

“I want to be devoted to you, and I’m the happiest when I’m doing this. That’s what I mean…”

“I see… But that’s…”

I was finally convinced that she was taking care of me out of her own will, but I was shocked to learn that Riko took pleasure in serving me.

Then I suddenly remembered the TV show I had seen before, a special show featuring female comedians who fell for pimp men. They complained about how each of them had paid a lot of money to a gambling man, and how they had prepared dinner every day while waiting for the unfaithful man to come home.

… I hope you’re okay, Riko.

Because I feel like you are going the same route as them…

“I don’t mean to deny your taste, but you have to be careful not to fall for bad guys. There are some guys out there who will take advantage of your kindness.”

When I told her how seriously worried I was about her, she rolled her eyes and started giggling.

“Does that mean Minato-kun is a bad guy?”

“What? What? Me? No, no, no, I’m not that kind of person…!”

I’m not capable of cheating or taking advantage of a woman.

I don’t even want to…

“Then I guess I won’t be fooled by any bad men.”

Not knowing what that “then” indicated, I asked, “Really?” and Riko shook her head vigorously and replied, “Really”.

“Ah, that’s good then.”

I was so relieved to hear her say that because I never wanted to see Riko unhappy.

◇◇◇

Then Riko neatly transferred the cake that had crumbled in the box to a plate, and we both ate it together with the tea she had made.

As expected, the cake tasted like something bought from a convenience store. But Riko was smiling the whole time. What’s more, she whispered as she chewed on the cake.

“Minato-kun, I’m so happy right now… ”

At that moment, I felt the taste of the strawberries in my mouth become tens of thousands of times sweeter. I didn’t know that Riko liked cakes so much that she would say she was happy despite chewing on this plain cake, but I was still glad that I bought her one.

Next time, I’ll be brave enough to go through the door of the cake shop. It was that fancy cake shop right in front of Ofuna station. I knew that their cakes had a good reputation for their amazing taste. However, the store was always full of female customers, and I didn’t have the courage to go in there, so I just walked past it every time. Still, I felt like I could go buy something for Riko.

Because Riko affirmed me as a person straight away… I think that made me a little stronger.