I Want to Know Everything About Love

──Monday after the weekend, at the usual school, during class

I think I’ll stop around here for today.

During class, I was bored and got tired of previewing the textbook. When I glanced out the window, I saw the clouds drifting in their usual direction.

When I’m not motivated, I just stare blankly at the sky.

…

That cloud looks like sushi rice.

I want to eat sushi. Sushi that doesn’t rotate.

The cloud sushi rice is flowing slowly, so it must be a conveyor belt sushi. It can’t be anything else.

I want to drink hot green tea from a thick teacup with lots of kanji characters related to fish written on it. I want to try the sushi I saw in a video before, the one with finely cut knife work.

I wonder what red vinegar sushi rice tastes like.

If I tell Taiyou-kun, will he treat me?

I don’t need a lot, but I want to consume high-quality, delicious food that I’ve never tried before.

――It’s the same with friends; quality is more important than quantity.

I have been getting by with just my high-quality friend, Mika-chan.

Ordinary girls always stick together, eating lunch in large groups and even going to the bathroom together. I wonder if forming such a group makes their individual relationships less meaningful.

And those kids who are always together, are they really best friends?

It might be a prejudice, but in a crowd of people, apart from a core few, everyone else is just an acquaintance.

People who cling to the group are like a goldfish’s poop.

Even if someone like me were to join the group, it’s clear that I would only be a parasite. Trying to fit in with the group’s actions is a load of crap.

In the first place, I don’t get along with people.

There’s nothing to talk about.

I also dislike small talk.

So, it’s impossible to join the existing group.

If they don’t create a core group, they can’t form a flock; they are a pitiful race.

――I’m such a hassle.

Yeah, it’s a hassle. Very troublesome.

Until now, there was no purpose for gathering, so we didn’t gather, but now it’s different.

I want to train myself to use observation fission by peering into as many people’s hearts as possible. I want to understand emotions on a deeper level.

As an experimental setting for that purpose, a flock seems very convenient.

I wonder if Taiyou-kun will successfully create the club.

A club for me to socialize in.

In the end, I think I’ll take a deep dive into the hearts of all humanity except for Mika-chan and Taiyou-kun. Half of it is a joke, though.

Man, this teacher’s class is really boring.

It feels like they’re teaching without understanding why we need to study. Don’t they know that kind of thing gets through to the students?

I don’t even need to read their minds to understand.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds the class boring. I wonder what the person sitting next to me is thinking about during the class. Let’s take a little peek.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about right now.”

“From… the… y…”

Hmm.

I wonder if we’re a bit too far apart.

It’s not clear at all, but I can see something.

Although Taiyou-kun’s heart is relatively clear to see, the others are not so much. I still need a lot more practice.

As a temporary training exercise, let’s keep peering into someone’s heart continuously.

You know, it’s something I often see in the early parts of battle manga. The basic training is where they keep their abilities constantly activated. I want to do that.

So, I began my endurance peeping training.

■■■■■

After lunch, after a nap, after afternoon classes, it’s club activity time.

Reading minds non-stop for half a day is, as expected, giving me a headache.

In short, all I have to do is keep wishing, “I want to peek into your heart!” But if I keep reading those mysterious words like “o…sei…n,” my mind might actually go crazy.

As a result of half a day’s effort, I found out that the distance to the person whose mind I’m trying to read is important, and if it’s too far, I can’t see them.

Although the reason is unknown, it is believed that only Taiyou-kun’s heart is particularly easy to read.

It’s like a special observation unit just for reading Taiyou-kun’s mind. Am I useless?

My classmates have long since gone to their club activities, and as usual, I’m in the classroom alone working on my homework.

Today, Taiyou-kun is not with us.

He has the job of creating the club.

Even so, doing homework alone is definitely the fastest way.

──Being with someone else is the epitome of inefficiency.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of inefficient things that aren’t like me, but I’ve decided to think of them as just one aspect of love.

I was thinking about something else again, that’s not good.

Focus, focus…

…

When I was about to leave alone after finishing my homework, Taiyou-kun came into the classroom.

“Yuki, I’m glad you haven’t come home yet. Look at this.”

He hands me the document for the establishment of the club that he is holding.

“Thank you. Is it okay to just write it here?”

“It seems that’s the case for provisional registration. If we want to make it an official club, we need a faculty advisor and at least four members.”

“I see. I’ll write it up quickly.”

In the flow of homework, I quickly jot it down with the pen I have. The club’s name is “Tea and Chat Club.”

I was able to write it neatly and clearly.

“Hey Taiyou, I’m thinking of doing some fortune-telling at the club, could you help me out next time?”

“Understood. What should I do?”

“Think of something you want to have divine, whether it’s worried about the future or anything else. I’ll use the power of the observation fission to peek into your heart, and then I’ll make it sound convincing based on the atmosphere.”

“??… Well, let’s give it a try for now.”

“The club activities start next Wednesday. First, let’s have a trial session together as practice.”

■■■■■

──Fourth floor of the school building, multipurpose room

After school, I was looking for a classroom where no one would gather, and it would be quiet and nice for drinking tea, and I ended up in this multipurpose room.

Taiyou-kun and I moved six desks to face each other and laid a white tablecloth over them.

On the wrinkle-free tablecloth that has been stretched tight by Taiyou-kun, I set up the tea set, the pot filled with hot water, and the box of tea leaves.

Everything belongs to Taiyou.

Just in case, I also bought some chocolate cookies.

If I had baked it myself, I might have earned some girl power points, but it was a bit of a hassle. Buying it was faster, cheaper, and just plain delicious.

At this point, it feels quite like a tea party.

I’m really satisfied with this atmosphere. As expected of Taiyou-kun.

I’m glad it was properly sunny today.

While being bathed in the sunset, I can enjoy my tea comfortably.

──Alright, the venue setup is complete.

The fourth floor of the school might be more suitable for drinking tea than I thought. The view is good, and the breeze coming through the window is pleasant.

I watch intently as Taiyou-kun makes tea for me.

I’ve seen it many times, but he doesn’t seem like he’ll let me handle it.

I don’t know what he’s particular about, but he seems to have a specific way of brewing.

Personally, I think it would be fine to drink it right after pouring hot water, but he seems to value the mysterious waiting time as if he is steeping it.

If it’s a three-minute cup of noodles, I belong to the group that pours hot water and starts eating exactly after two minutes, so to be honest, the waiting time feels pointless. However, since I have no right to complain as someone who isn’t doing anything, I decide to wait quietly.

“Alright, it’s done.”

When the two cups of tea are ready, he sits in the chairs next to each other.

When I bring the cup to my lips, the fragrant hot liquid flows through my body.

The tea that Taiyou-kun brews is exceptionally delicious.

At the table made by pushing six desks together, it’s just me and Taiyou-kun. Naturally, no one else is here, and I can feel the spaciousness of the classroom.

“From the outside, it looks less like a club activity and more like we’re secretly flirting.”

Guh! Taiyou chokes on the steaming hot tea.

“W-What are you talking about?!”

“That’s right. Should we put up a sign saying tea club in session? It would serve as camouflage.”

“That might be a good idea.”

Taiyou-kun was pondering as he sipped his tea.

“So, have you thought of anything?”

“I’ve thought of some fortune-telling ideas. But based on the flow of our conversation so far, I might change the content. There’s something I’m a bit curious about.”

“What? What?”

When I turned the chair towards Taiyou-kun and prepared to listen, he took a deep breath and put on a serious expression.

“I have someone I like named Yuki. But I don’t know how much she likes me. So, could you tell me how much Yuki likes me?”

──What did he just say…?

Indeed, he said, “He likes me.”

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