I Will Do Everything In My Power To Bring Happiness To The Enchanting Beauty Who Can No Longer Smile. - Chapter 42: A Visit To A Café.

A Visit To A Café.

“Waaaah! It’s huge!”

“…That’s an incredible amount.”

“See? I told you, ordering the jumbo one would be insane for us.”

“…Yeah, it really is.”

After school, just like we had planned, we came to a café.

There, we ordered parfaits—but in front of Se-chan lay a parfait that looked straight out of SNS posts, viral videos, or TV shows, made to impress.

It towered higher than Se-chan’s head. Candy, chocolate, and cookies were stuck into the soft serve like little flags.

It was an enormous dessert worthy of its absurd name: “Ultra Hyper Deluxe Monster Parfait — We Put Everything On It!”

For the record, I had a chocolate parfait, Tsubame ordered strawberry, and Shirao had banana. All of them had a cherry perched atop the soft serve.

“I’ve heard Se-chan likes sweets, but can you really eat all that?”

“Piece of cake!”

“Even for you, isn’t that a bit much for ‘piece of cake’?”

“No worries! I easily ate five pancakes before!”

“Wow.”

Tsubame’s eyes widened at Se-chan’s words.

Tsubame isn’t exactly a small eater but not a glutton either. Se-chan, on the other hand… I don’t recall her being a big eater normally, so she must have an incredible ‘second stomach.’ She doesn’t say it often—this ‘second stomach’ thing.

Tsubame’s comment made Se-chan blush and giggle softly, looking a little embarrassed.

“Alright then, let’s eat! Itadakimasu!”

“Yeah, itadakimasu.”

“Itadakimasu.”

“Itadakimasu.”

We all put our hands together and began to eat.

Parfaits aren’t something we get to eat often. It had been a while, and it was delicious… but I couldn’t help but worry about Tsubame.

I heard her sense of taste isn’t fully restored yet, but it’s coming back gradually. The doctors said this period is like rehabilitation, and it’s best to try various stimuli.

A parfait, with its cold, creamy soft serve, the rich sweetness, the tartness of strawberries and cherries, and the subtle saltiness of cornflakes, seemed ideal.

Bitterness and umami were compensated for in other dishes. And for non-taste stimuli, there was a bit of spiciness… though Tsubame herself isn’t very fond of bitter or spicy flavors, but she handled it well.

And yet, I couldn’t help but keep watching Tsubame eat—an involuntary habit of mine.

“So sweet and yummy!”

“…Yeah, it’s delicious.”

Se-chan pressed her hand to her cheek as if her face might just fall off, and Tsubame’s eyes were wide open.

Come to think of it, since regaining her sense of taste, Tsubame hadn’t had ice cream yet.

As I kept staring, Tsubame’s gaze shifted from the parfait to me.

“Strawberries are this sweet and tangy? It’s nostalgic and delicious.”

“That’s great. Really.”

Her words made me smile without thinking. She’s always loved fruit, so knowing she can enjoy it again warms my heart.

But since we hadn’t talked about it yet, Se-chan tilted her head, and Shirao had a questioning look on his face.

“…? Tsubame-chan, is this your first time eating strawberries in a while?”

“Not exactly… it’s been a few months. But until recently, I couldn’t taste anything.”

“What!?”

“R-Really!?”

I hesitated a moment on how much to explain, but Tsubame told them straightforwardly.

I figured it’d be okay talking with just the two of them… but still—

“Tsubame, are you sure it’s alright?”

“Yeah. I used to hide it so no one felt awkward, but now it’s fine. I even told some people at work.”

“I see.”

She probably had many chances to eat treats and snacks at work. I remember Amamizu-san once gave her castella, which she hadn’t enjoyed before.

“Ah, so that’s what happened… I had no idea. So it’s okay now? Your sense of taste came back… right?”

“Yeah. Thanks to Shigure-kun.”

“…You could even do that kind of thing? I did get some requests that only superpowers could fix.”

“What do you think I am? It wasn’t just messing around—well, not exactly—but I enjoyed doing lots of things with Tsubame.”

I wasn’t constantly thinking about what would be fun with Tsubame all the time—though I did spend free time considering it. It would be disrespectful not to take her seriously.

“Oh, so that’s why you come home on specific days?”

“Yeah. Mondays are my day off, so I hang out with Shigure-kun.”

“…Only Mondays?”

“My manager schedules my work. When I started high school, my mom asked me to take some days off.”

“…Sounds tough. But compared to a really intense club activity, maybe it’s about the same? Although coming late to class or leaving early probably makes it even harder.”

By the way, Shirao isn’t as shy when talking to girls one-on-one… but to hold proper conversations in groups like this, he’s trained himself to talk to me or mutter to himself. Otherwise, he really can’t manage conversation well.

Though because of this, he tends to always talk to me when we hang out in groups, which is a bit of a problem. I respond when he talks to me, but it doesn’t leave the best impression.

“I do travel a lot, so yeah, I get tired. Sometimes I stay overnight a few times a month, sometimes once a week. But it’s fun.”

“Ah… sorry for being so cheeky… I’ll commit seppuku… Se-chan, you have to be my kaishaku (assistant)…”

“Why do you two always threaten seppuku at every opportunity?”

As soon as Tsubame spoke, Shirao’s voice turned into a mosquito’s buzz. And both of them want their lover to perform the final act.

I just shook my head, while Tsubame gave me a warm look. Trying not to notice it, she scooped up some soft serve and strawberry with her spoon.

“Shigure-kun.”

“…Tsubame?”

“Aah-n.”

“Aah-n!?”

Tsubame opened her mouth, demonstrating, and Se-chan’s eyes widened, but Shirao grabbed one of the chocolate sticks stuck in the parfait and fed it to Se-chan.

Tsubame stared at me while cupping the spoon in her hand and brought it to my mouth.

Since I couldn’t escape, I opened my mouth—and the sweet and tangy taste of strawberry spread inside.

“It’s delicious, right?”

“…Yeah, it is.”

Though I was a little overwhelmed, I managed to reply. Tsubame smiled just a bit at the corner of her lips.

“T-Tsubame-chan is so cute… I’m melting… I could eat five parfaits with a smiling Tsubame-chan like this…”

“That sounds like a pervert, so let’s just eat quietly, Se-chan. Also, I doubt five parfaits could physically fit in you.”

My heart raced at Tsubame’s expression, but the words coming from the other side made my tense face relax naturally. It’s nice to share feelings about how cute she is. She’s not just beautiful.

“I want a bite of yours too, Shigure-kun.”

“…Yeah, sure.”

At her request, I offered a bite of my parfait, careful not to spill the chocolate sauce.

“Isn’t this one a bit less sweet?”

“Yeah. It’s not overwhelming.”

“Mm, this is tasty too.”

I felt happy that she could distinguish flavors again. I want to support her so she can enjoy food even more.

“I really root for you, Shirao-kun. But how are you two not dating yet?”

“I totally agree with that.”

“I wish I could just be a chair for Tsubame-hyan to sit on… right, Shirao-kun?”

“No way I’m agreeing to that, Se-chan.”

Meanwhile, the others seemed to be having fun too. It felt nostalgic. The three of us used to be like this too… though maybe not quite this lively.

Then Se-chan stared intently at Tsubame and, as if summoning courage, spoke up.

“T-Tsubame-chan! Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Y-You both have the day off today, right? I was just wondering what you’d do when you get home!”

Tsubame looked surprised at Se-chan’s words, then turned her gaze to me with a faint smile.

“What should we do? …No, I’ve already decided.”

She gently reached out and touched right next to my lips. I flinched, but it seemed there was strawberry sauce on her finger.

She licked it off.

“You’ll let me spoil you a lot today, right, Shigure-kun?”

Her eyes gleamed seductively, and her smile deepened. It was clear—she was looking forward to it.