Traveling With a Beautiful Girl - Chapter 13: Atami Pudding

After enjoying the hot springs, Nanase mentioned that she wanted something sweet. We went to the shopping district near the station in response to her request.

The shopping district was called Heiwa-dori, lined with souvenir shops and retro-style cafes that entertained the eyes.

Among the shops, we were drawn to a large sign that read “Atami Pudding.” I suggested to Nanase that this place must be good.

“Wait a moment, let me check the reviews.”

Nanase pulled out her smartphone and started tapping away. Her dedication to being thorough was truly impressive.

“It looks like this place is one of the top-rated shops in this area.”

“I knew I had a good eye.”

“Why don’t you become a shop sommelier?”

“Sounds like there’s no demand for that kind of job.”

The shop was apparently known for its famous Atami pudding, a local specialty. The inside of the shop was nearly full.

Soon, our puddings arrived, served in adorable milk bottles.

“It’s nice that it has a local touch,” Nanase commented.

As she enjoyed her pudding, she closed her eyes and held her cheeks, looking genuinely happy. It was an embodiment of pure delight.

Her happiness was contagious, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“…What?”

“I was just thinking how relaxed you look.”

“Is it bad to look like that when something is delicious?”

“I’ve never seen someone get so defensive over it.”

Well, I can understand her feelings…

“…It’s just surprising.”

“Surprising?”

“You always seem so aloof at school. So seeing you enjoy something and smile is just… surprising.”

Nanase blinked a few times before slowly lowering her face.

She put down her spoon and quietly said, “I never had time to let my guard down.”

“Huh?”

I sensed a shift in the atmosphere.

“In tests, races, piano, art exhibitions – in any competition with others, my parents never allowed me any compromise. They only sought results, so I never had time to laugh like a normal person.”

–Failure…is not allowed, even in the smallest things.

That sentiment echoed in my mind, touching the roots of her words.

…Ah, I see.

It all started to make sense.

Nanase’s insistence on checking online reviews before choosing a shop, and her attempt to stop Ruka’s confession – it was all because she had a strong aversion to failure.

I could relate to that feeling. When using the internet every day, it’s hard not to feel pressured by it.

On Twitter timelines and YouTube comments, someone is always criticizing someone else.

Celebrities who have messed up in real life, influencers with strong opinions, ordinary people whose morally ambiguous comments have unintentionally gone viral.

Anonymous users gather and freely criticize others under the cover of anonymity.

Although everyone makes mistakes, they are not allowed to do so. The pressure to not fail is something we both experience.

Nanase has probably been feeling this pressure since she was a child.

Pressured to the point she tried to commit suicide.

“But yesterday… I suddenly didn’t care anymore, and I wanted to give up on everything… Maybe that’s why I’m letting my guard down now.”

Nanase finally looked up, her smile empty and tinged with self-mockery.

“I think… I like this version of you better.”

I said it in a voice as thin as a thread, unable to find any other words.

I didn’t have the vocabulary to step into the bottomless darkness that occasionally showed itself in Nanase.

“Is that so?”

She replied indifferently.

Her smile seemed to lift just a tiny bit, but maybe it was just my imagination.

“Never mind my story. Takahashi-kun, you should eat your pudding before it gets cold.”

I kept the retort that pudding doesn’t get cold to myself.

She probably wanted to change the subject.

Without saying anything, I obediently put the pudding in my mouth.

The soft, bouncy texture touched my tongue, and a strong sweetness hit my taste buds.

“Mmm…”

I froze with the spoon still in my mouth.

This is delicious.

As I was enjoying it, Nanase suddenly said,

“By the way, you were talking like a tired old man in the hot spring, weren’t you?”

“Mmph…”

She heard that?!

There were no other male guests in the open-air bath.

But at the same time, Nanase must have been bathing in the women’s bath, separated by a partition.

Thinking that she had heard everything I had said without a filter made my face heat up, even though I wasn’t in the hot spring.

“Speaking of which, this pudding is really good!”

“It seems your serotonin levels are soaring. Good for you.”

“Stop it! I’m trying to change the subject!”

“It’s payback for this afternoon.”

Saying that, Nanase showed a mischievous smile.

Her enigmatic, bewitching smile made my heart pound as if it had been punched.

I can’t keep looking at her like this.

I shifted my focus back to the pudding.

Mmm, delicious.

The moderate sweetness and the bitterness of the caramel create a perfect harmony…

“You’ve got some nerve, ignoring me.”

“Mmph!”

Unsatisfied with my reaction, Nanase forcefully turned my face toward her by grabbing my chin.

Her face was now very close to mine.

Maybe it was because she had just gotten out of the bath, but I smelled a pleasant shampoo scent I had never smelled before.

Dangerous… my consciousness is wavering… Wait, what?

I noticed.

It was hard to see because it was close to her skin color, but I noticed it.

“What? If you have a complaint, just say it clearly.”

“No, it’s not a complaint, but…”

To Nanase, who was smirking triumphantly, I said,

“You have some pudding on the corner of your mouth.”

“Wh-what…?!”

Frantically, Nanase rubbed the corner of her mouth.

The second time I’d seen this today.

“I’m going to the restroom.”

“Hey, wait…”

Just like in the afternoon, she escaped to the restroom.