It’s Too Early to be Having Newlywed Syndrome! ~Childhood Friends Who Rekindled their Love for Each Other ~ - 2 - 3 - Punishment of Smiling Broadly a Thousand Times

Punishment of Smiling Broadly a Thousand Times

After the sauce for the nuggets is done, Natsuki returned from the kitchen.

“It’s done, care to try one?”

Naoto happily dipped a nugget to the sauce and took a bite.

“Okay……. Ah, this spicy aftertaste! Uwa, this is fantastic……delicious, really delicious.”

Naoto was amazed by the high quality of the sauce.

“Is this okay?”

“I think this is my most favorite sauce now. I’m not really a fan of ketchup and the like, you see.”

“That’s true! Using ketchup is a tad bit sad.”

“Right. Especially on nuggets, it’s so sour it makes the dish sad. Like those lemons that are put on karaage.”

“Doesn’t lemon make karaage tastier?”

“Eh?”

“Karaage and shrimp tempura taste better with lemon, don’t they?”

“I, maybe, haven’t tried eating those with lemon in the first place. Just a little drop of lemon is enough to make those food sour.”

Naoto’s face soured.

“Eh——”

Natsuki laughed. Naoto’s unpleasant face looked cute in her eyes.

“Rather, I might not have even eaten a lemon nor a pickled plum yet in my life.”

“Does that kind of person exist?”

“I’m bad with oranges and the like because they’re sour.”

“But, haven’t you drank lemon tea before?”

“Lemon tea is, well……”

“You haven’t eaten even an orange-flavored gummi candy?”

“Those are sweet, though.”

“Fuu—-n. You’re not good with very sour foods?”

“I’m bad with sour foods. That’s why I don’t eat mayonnaise either.”

“And you’re good with spicy ones?”

“Spicy and sweet foods are my favorite.”

Naoto answered with a bright smile.

“You do like milk tea, yes. How about coffee?”

“Bitter. The only ones I drunk are those free after-meal coffees at restaurants.”

“How about café latte?”

“Bitter.”

“So your bad with bitter as well.”

“Spicy and sweet are good.”

“Were you that extremely picky? You once ate the liver in my eel liver soup for me, so I saw you as someone can eat different kinds of food.”

“No no, that one I ate because Natsuki looked troubled eating it. I haven’t really eaten liver until then.

Aren’t I very skinny back then?”

“Ah- that’s right! You used to eat only half the quantity of what I eat, that’s why you were 10 kilograms lighter than me. That’s why I was really happy when you ate a lot of pizza slices on our Christmas party.”

“The pizza tasted good after all. Well, I feel like the amount I eat has certainly increased, though.”

“Looks like I need to compile and organize my data on Nao-kun. What are your other favorite foods aside from pizza?”

“Yeah, what are they? There are a lot, like hotcake, ice cream, takoyaki…”

“Hey, you know.”

While saying that, Natsuki shorten the distance between them.

“Hm?”

“I’m good at making all of those.”

Natsuki boasted.

“That’s not true. Even better than those nuggets?”

“Takoyaki is my specialty. It livened up the atmosphere when my friends came here once.”

“Which friends, a guy?”

“Nope. My friends from middle school, I haven’t hanged out with any of the boys, probably.”

“Even though your popular?”

“I didn’t go even when they invited me. I am cautious around boys after all.”

“Now that you mentioned it, when I was asking you about your cystitis, I intentionally angered you so that I can invite you to my room. You wouldn’t normally come otherwise.”

“Idiot.”

While laughing, Natsuki repeatedly tapped on Naoto’s shoulder. Natsuki knows that every time Naoto jokes around with her, she feels relaxed to a certain degree. Natsuki doesn’t hate Naoto’s loose mouth. Because she thinks that having a silly exchange with Naoto is proof of their closeness, these moments bring happiness to Natsuki.

“You’re saying something silly again.

Moreover, I actually went in your room when we were little. We used to play with jigsaw puzzles, right?”

“But when we grew up you stopped visiting at all.”

Saying that, Naoto hugged Natsuki close to him.

“I’ve always waited, you know.”

“That’s because Nao-kun was not replying to my summer greeting card.”

“What’s that?”

“Haven’t I written you a letter. That I’ll play with you once I come home from visiting my granny.”

“Ah—– a letter, huh. So that was a summer greeting card. I just happened to brush up on it yesterday.”

“You still have that?!”

“So I should have replied to that letter, huh.”

“You can still write your reply now.”

“Isn’t it weird to be replying to it now?”

“You can just reply with ‘Okay, let’s play’.”

“You know, somehow, the words ‘Nao-kun, do you love Natsuki as well?’ were written in there.”

“You’re kidding, right?!”

“Whole truth.”

“That was definitely not written there.”

“Wanna bet? The loser will follow the winner’s orders for one week.”

“Uuuuu, I won’t!”

“You’re the one who said ‘That was definitely not written there’ first, and now you’re backing out?!”

“That’s, because I don’t think Nao-kun is the type to come up with a weird lie like that.”

“You don’t remember writing it at all?”

“I don’t remember writing it. The only thing I remember was that you didn’t reply to it. I’m in quite a shock right now.”

“Then, what’s your oldest thing you can remember? My oldest one is when we took a bath together during a sleepover.”

While saying that, Naoto remembered Natsuki when they were little. His memory of young Natsuki involved her attacking him with a water gun while laughing.

“I remember that. I also remember tearing down your sand buildings and blocks.”

“What blocks?”

“Nao-kun, didn’t you used to really like piling up blocks to make them high?”

“I don’t remember that, though.”

“Nao-kun loved arranging them!

Then, whenever you pile them high enough, I never failed to come and demolish them, whenever that happened, you always bawled your eyes out. That’s my oldest memory.

I don’t really remember much myself, but I can’t seem to forget it because mom also used to tease me hundreds of times, so I might be missing up memories in my head.

In any case, whenever we’re alone, I would immediately bully you.”

“Why would you bully me? You’re so mean, Natsuki.”

Saying that, Naoto laughed.

“I’m sorry! But it’s Naoto’s fault for not playing with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whenever were on the park, you would go in the sandpit. When we’re at home, you would play with building blocks. You’re the one who’s mean, Nao-kun”

“Even if you say that. Surely, my younger self just liked being alone.”

“Maybe that’s what it was, but I still hated that. I just want us to play together, that’s why I end up kicking your sand mountains hard.”

Natsuki said while looking embarrassed.

“That’s what didn’t make sense. That time, there were several other boys at the park, right? If you look at the album, you can see there are other boys in the some of the pictures.”

“It didn’t seem like I was that close with them. Anyway, it seems it was Nao-kun the I wanted to play with.”

“Hmmmm……”

“That’s why, I just ended up tearing them down.”

“Nope, as I thought that doesn’t really make sense to me.”

“Whenever you ended up crying loud after I tore down whatever you’re building, even if I tell you ‘Let’s play together’, you always shake your hand in rejection, bud when you calmed down a bit to just weeping, I would tell you ‘I won’t do it again, so let’s play together’, then you will always say ‘Ok’ and grab my hand. I would think how we can finally play together, and that seemed to have always made me happy.”

“I looked like I’ve been completely deceived.”

“Nao-kun was always easily forgiving, that’s why it has become a habit for me to demolish whatever you’re making. Because of that, I always got a scolding from mom. She would always tell me ‘He’ll end up hating you if you keep doing that.’”

“Then don’t do it…… I don’t really remember anything about that at all. My oldest memory might’ve been when I was in third or fourth grade.”

“I really regret what I did back them. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“It’s not like I’ll be crying now even if the sandpit itself gets tore down!”

“Then, this time, it’s okay if you tear down something that I own.”

“All my life, I’ve never once thought of destroying or demolishing something, you know.”

“Want to tear down my trump tower?”

“You can make something like that?”

“I can’t.”

“Why offer, then.

…. Then, from now on, I want to see Natsuki’s appearance tore down a thousand times. Until then I won’t forgive you.”

“What does my ‘appearance tore down’ mean? Some kind if bullying or something?”

Natsuki put herself on guard. Natsuki thought that it might mean something perverted.

“No well, it just means I want to see Natsuki ‘smiling broadly’ for one thousand times.’”

(Important TL note: the original WN’s Japanese phrase 相好を崩す means to smile broadly or grin widely. However, if translated word for word, it would mean destroying/tearing down/demolishing (one’s) appearance. The whole exchange is a basically a wordplay using the word 崩す that means to tear down/demolish.)

“So kind! You’re so kind, Nao-kun!”

“Right? I might tear down your appearance, but I won’t tear down your health! I’m a kind person, after all.”

Naoto, who got carried away when Natsuki praised him, blurted out something weird.

“You’re very kind! Anything else?!”

Natsuki also got carried away.

“Is there anything else?”

“There is, there is.”

“Hmmm…… I’ll do my best not to tear down our relationship!”

“That’s also very kind of you! Anything else?”

“I’ll immediately come and support you if ever your balance got tore down while walking.”

“You’re so kind and cool!”

“If ever Natsuki caught some incurable disease, I’ll tear through my savings to pay for your medical expenses!”

“Now you’re being TOO kind!”

“Fell in love with me?”

“Yeah, I fell in love with you! Again!”

Natsuki somehow can’t contain her happiness. It’s because she’s now able to have a ‘silly long talk’ without break with Naoto just like the conversation between him and the Onee-san that she heard while hiding in front of the restaurant.

Did Nao-kun got himself accustomed to having conversations with me? Thinking that, Natsuki broadly smiled.