Chapter 27: I Want to Awaken My Worship-Type Talent – Step 4: Getting Close

I was watching her movements, trying to figure out how to get closer to her.

When should I talk to her? What should I say?

Everything she wears is high-end, and it doesn’t even look like “her taste” so much as just… her family background.

Even what she does during breaks—reading and studying—is always stuff related to class, so I can’t even tell if she’s doing it because she wants to.

What do I do? This is the least “hook” I’ve had so far—

I was thinking that when she tripped right in front of me and spilled her stuff everywhere.

Huh? Again? There was nothing there.

“Are you okay?”

Before I knew it, I’d called out to her. Crap—! I talked to her with zero plan…

Well, whatever. If I’ve stepped forward, then I might as well faceplant forward and commit.

“You’re Yashirosaka-san from the class next door, right? You’re not hurt?”

If I’ve got no topic, then I’ve gotta use what’s happening right now as the topic.

She looked a little surprised, but she didn’t try to chase me off while I picked things up, and she nodded in response to my question.

Good. Doesn’t seem like she’s the type to ignore me.

“Ah, um, thank you. I fall a lot, so… you don’t need to worry. I’m fine.”

she said in a voice that sounded like it might disappear.

Why does she talk like she has so little confidence?

She’s this cute, and her family’s rich—she should have more confidence. Was she bullied like Sugisawa? Or is it just her personality?

It’s not like I’m going to bite her and eat her or anything, geez.

“I’m glad you’re okay. Just be careful, alright?”

I said, and left.

For today, this is just a quick “nice to meet you.” In a situation where hardly anyone talks to her, the fact that I helped her when she fell probably left a strong impression.

The next day—well, “right away,” I guess—she was waiting by the shoe lockers for someone.

Yeah, I’m not being overly self-conscious here, but there’s a 90% chance she’s waiting for me.

For someone like me, who was trying to create a chance to get closer, this is basically a lucky accident—an opportunity I have to capitalize on no matter what.

When she noticed I’d arrived, her face lit up, and she started moving closer to me.

Alright, come on, come on.

But when I tried to walk past her, she looked like she couldn’t decide whether to call out or not.

Seriously… fine. It’s okay. I’ll talk first.

“Morning, Yashirosaka-san. Are you waiting for someone?”

I called out.

Well? What is it? Why were you waiting for me?

“Ah, um… thank you for yesterday. This is… a thank-you gift…”

What she held out to me was—GODIVA chocolates.

Huh? Wait, seriously? She’s legit an ojou-sama.

All I did was pick up her stuff.

This is that “difference in common sense,” or “difference in values,” or whatever… Yeah. I guess that kind of thing is another reason she stands out.

“No, it’s fine. Something that expensive. It’s not like I did anything that deserves a gift like this.”

But she kept shaking her head and kept pushing the chocolate box at me.

No way. I can’t. This is too much—I’d feel bad…

Also, wait—she’s the type to give offerings even before her yandere talent awakens? She’s got talent! …Just kidding. Sort of.

“Then let’s eat it together. Want to go to the courtyard and eat?”

I said, and somehow guided it into a situation where it wasn’t “I’m taking this,” but “you’re sharing it with me.”

Whew. That was a little unexpected. Rich people really are different. If I’m not careful, there’s a chance she’ll come back with an even crazier return gift.

That chocolate I ate with her was the best chocolate I’ve ever had. Part of it was that high-end chocolate really is good, but more than that—two-person chocolate time with a girl who has yandere talent? That’s just good.

She ate her chocolate quietly.

While asking her questions here and there, I enjoyed the precious time that had popped up by accident, and I tried to interact in a way that would help us get as close as possible.

She doesn’t really respond much, though… I can’t even tell if she’s listening.

Well, still—aren’t we getting at least a little closer?

For now, starting tomorrow, I’ll add some yandere-talent-awakening spice for her.

Chapter 28: I Want to Awaken My Worship-Type Talent – Step 4: Getting Close (From Her Perspective)

Ahh… that was fun.

After I got home, I was thinking back on the time I ate chocolate with him in the courtyard. It was only a little while, but it was rich—like chocolate.

A smile spilled out of me without even trying.

“How was today? Did you do well?”

Father asks me again, like he always does.

Usually, I just say things like,

“Nothing changed today either.”

“It was fun.”

I don’t really talk about how school was. If I did, Father would tell me, “Do this,” “You should do that.” So there’s no need to go into detail. Father tells me everything I need to know.

But yesterday was different. I told him about how he helped me, and how he smiled at me.

Then Father handed me some chocolate and said I had to thank him.

I see. I have to thank him, right. I hadn’t even thought of that at all. As expected of Father. He always teaches me what’s right.

In the morning, when I got to school, I immediately got stuck.

I was fired up to thank him and give it to him, but I didn’t even know his name or his class. How was I supposed to meet him?

I can’t go around checking every class, and it’d be nice if I could see everyone coming into the school, but…

Oh! If I wait at the entrance, he’ll definitely pass by. Because there’s no way into this school besides the entrance.

I looked at the faces of the people coming in one after another. That face isn’t it, and that person isn’t it either…

It was only a short time, but there’s no way I’d mistake the face of the boy who helped me. No way.

I waited for him carefully, watching faces.

Um… ah! There he is.

Even in a crowd, only his face stands out. That gentle face, that atmosphere different from everyone else… that’s definitely him.

And that’s when I realized—ah. If I don’t talk to him first, he won’t stop today.

I didn’t notice that at all.

Yesterday, he talked to me because I fell, but today I don’t have any charm or trap that would make someone talk to me. There’s no way he’d talk to me first.

Up until now, I’ve almost never started a conversation with someone myself. Usually I’d wait for someone else to talk to me, and if they didn’t, that was that.

So I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

Ugh… why do I realize that now?

I’m hopeless, aren’t I. There’s no way I can start talking to someone first.

“This chocolate is good. Do you eat it a lot at home?”

“What do you do at home?”

“I like reading—how about you, Yashirosaka-san?”

“Isn’t math hard lately?”

So things like that can happen!

I was waiting to thank him, but I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him. So I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to thank him at all.

But he noticed I was struggling, and he talked to me first. And I thought I’d hand him the chocolate and that would be it, but he invited me to eat chocolate with him, and on top of that, he talked with me and spent a fun time with me.

Even when my replies are slow, and even when I’m not interesting, he goes, “Mm-hm, and then?” like he’s truly interested.

Even when the conversation doesn’t flow, he doesn’t make an annoyed face—he expands it for me.

I had the most fun time of my entire high school life.

He might really be different from other people.

The next day, I wanted to see him again, so I waited for him at the entrance. I found out his name was Takashiro-kun, and that he was in the class next to mine.

I can’t stop wanting to see him. He’ll talk with me without getting bored, and he’s kind…

Is this love? Just kidding.

Ah—he’s here!

He’s definitely going to talk to me first again today.

Wait for me.