The Pure-Hearted Beauty Who Only Dotes on Me Despite Not Being in a Relationship—And How She Became Even Sweeter After We Started Dating - Chapter 28: Reward for Hard Work.

Reward for Hard Work.

On the day of the sports festival, I was sitting in the spectator area under a tent, trying to cope with the heat.

During a sports festival, when you’re not participating in an event, it can be quite dull. I was starting to feel my consciousness fade from the heat when something cold touched my cheek.

“Staying hydrated is important,” a familiar voice said.

I turned around and saw Mizuki standing there. Because it was the sports festival, she had her hair tied up in a ponytail, and I found myself thinking she looked adorable.

“Thank you…” I said.

She handed me a chilled bottle of water, and I took a drink. After finishing, I glanced at Mizuki, who had sat down next to me. Her face was slightly flushed, and I wondered if she was in the same situation as me.

“Mizuki, you should drink some too,” I suggested, offering her the bottle I had just drunk from. She looked surprised.

“Well, my throat is dry, but that’s your water…”

“But you bought it, didn’t you?”

“It’s not that… If I drink from the bottle you just drank from, it would be an indirect kiss.”

An indirect kiss… I hadn’t thought of that. Of course, she wouldn’t want to drink from a bottle I had used.

“Sorry, I’ll go buy a new one,” I said, starting to stand up. But Mizuki tugged on her gym uniform.

“If you’re okay with it, can I drink it? I’m about to compete, so I won’t have time to drink if you go buy another.”

“Uh, sure… if you want to,” I said.

I handed her the bottle, and she opened it. For some reason, watching her drink made my heart race. I couldn’t help but focus on her lips. After she finished, she asked, “What is it?”

Realizing I had been staring, I quickly looked away, saying it was nothing.

“Here, the rest is for you. Make sure to drink it so you don’t get heatstroke,” she said, handing the bottle back to me.

“Yeah, thanks for worrying,” I replied.

Just then, Hasekura-san arrived.

“Mizuki, the scavenger hunt race is about to start. Let’s go.”

“Oh, right. Ao-kun, I’ll be back soon,” Mizuki said.

“Yeah, good luck,” I replied.

After waving goodbye to Mizuki, I felt a tap on my shoulder from behind. It was Kouta.

“Your girlfriend is up next. You’re going to cheer her on with all you’ve got, right?”

“Of course, I’ll cheer for her. By the way, where’s Kana?”

“She’s also in the scavenger hunt race. Ao, are you hoping Tsuyuzaki-san might come to you?” he asked, grinning.

I had a feeling it was Kouta who was hoping for Kana to come to him. He probably wanted her to come running to him.

“I’m not expecting it. Besides, I don’t feel like running much,” I said.

I wasn’t lacking in stamina, but I didn’t want to leave the shade and step into the scorching heat.

While Kouta and I were talking, the scavenger hunt race had already started. I heard someone calling out, “Someone with a handkerchief!”

“Kana’s coming over,” I told Kouta, seeing Kana running toward us.

“Ao, can you come with me!?” Kana asked.

“What…? That’s a hassle…” I replied, surprised that she wanted me, not her boyfriend Kouta, to come.

“It’s not a hassle!” she insisted, grabbing my hand and trying to pull me along. I looked to Kouta for help, but he just said, “Go on.”

“Why not Kouta?” I asked.

“Kouta doesn’t fit the clue at all. Come on, let’s go,” she replied.

Curious about the clue that matched me and not Kouta, I agreed and ran with Kana towards the goal.

Kana ended up in second place out of six. As we headed back to the spectator area, I decided to ask about the clue.

“Kana, what was the clue?”

“The clue was ‘someone who’s good at making comebacks,'” she said.

“Oh, come on.”

If it had been a more generic clue like “a friend,” it would’ve been fine, but “someone who’s good at making comebacks”? Seriously?

“Mi-chan’s turn is coming up soon, so hurry back to the spectator seats,” Kouta reminded me.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I replied.

Returning to where I was earlier, I informed Kouta of my return and he asked about the clue. He seemed to understand after hearing it.

“If it were about someone you like, Tsuyuzaki-san would definitely come to you,” Kouta speculated.

“I told you, I’m not expecting that,” I responded.

“You say that, but you’re secretly hoping, right?” Kouta teased.

“Well, maybe a little,” I admitted.

“Ao-kun, you’re such a tsundere,” Kouta remarked.

“Shut up,” I retorted.

As Kouta and I bantered in our usual manner, the crowd around us started buzzing with excitement. It seemed it was Mizuki’s turn next, and everyone was curious about who she would choose as her partner.

When Mizuki’s turn came, she looked at the clue on her paper and without hesitation ran towards me.

“Ao-kun, can you come with me?” she asked.

“Huh? Me?” I was surprised.

“Yes, you,” she confirmed, reaching out her hand. I gently took her hand, and we ran together towards the finish line.

After exiting through the exit gate, Mizuki and I decided to return to the spectator seats together.

“Ao-kun, thank you,” she said.

“Congratulations on first place. By the way, what was the clue?” I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.

Mizuki chuckled softly. “What do you think it was? I’ve told you this several times before.”

Several times before… Could it be “I love you”? No, there must be something else.

I struggled to recall what she had said to me before.

“Um, could it be… ‘kind person’?” I guessed.

“Yes, that’s right. It would have been nice if the clue had been ‘someone you like,’ though. Next up is the inter-class relay race, right? Ao-kun, do your best!”

“Yeah, I’ll give it my all,” I promised.

“If you do your best, I’ll give you a reward,” she added with a smile, then hurried back to the spectator seats.

“A… reward?” I muttered, feeling both excited and curious about what she meant.

***

“Is this what you call a reward?”

The day after the sports festival, as usual, the four of us gathered to eat together when Mizuki handed me a bento box.

“Here, it’s a homemade bento. Kana-san mentioned that boys want to try a bento made by their girlfriend at least once. Congratulations on first place.”

“Thank you, Mizuki.”

Last night, when Mizuki messaged me saying I didn’t need to bring lunch tomorrow, I wondered why. Now I understand.

I glanced at Kana, who gave a small thumbs-up.

“Thank you, Kana-sama. Thanks to you, I get to enjoy Mizuki’s homemade bento.”

“No need to thank me, kid. Making your friend’s dreams come true is only natural, right?”

I wanted to comment on her character, but I felt grateful to Kana.

“Anyway, Mi-chan, have you improved in cooking? Your lunch looks amazing.”

Seeing the bento Mizuki made, Kana reverted to her usual tone and asked her.

“Well, I’ve practiced a lot since then. Still have a limited repertoire.”

“No way, that’s amazing. I burn my tamagoyaki every time and give up right away.”

“If you want, I can teach you.”

“Yay! Please do!”

After finishing talking with Kana, Mizuki approached me as I ate the lunch she had made.

“How does it taste?”

“It’s delicious. Especially this tamagoyaki…..one time, I had a fight with a friend and when I got home crying, my grandma told me not to cry, I’m a man, so I asked her if I wanted to eat some tamagoyaki and she made it for me, it tastes just like the tamagoyaki I had.”

As I ate tamagoyaki while talking about old memories, Mizuki wondered why she had felt such a desire to eat tamagoyaki.