Chapter 90: The Second Launch ②

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Translator: Soafp

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I'm not exactly an expert myself, but I had made okonomiyaki once or twice before.

So I took the spatulas from Airi and Kokoa-san and started cooking in their place.

I somehow gathered the crumbled batter back together and cooked it again.

…No matter how you looked at it, it resembled monjayaki more than okonomiyaki.

“You’re pretty amazing, Ren-kun. It’s delicious. The appearance is a bit… questionable, though.”

“Seriously! Ren-sama, you’re actually pretty good at cooking, aren’t you? The appearance is a bit… questionable, though.”

“You both always have one unnecessary comment too many.”

To begin with, Airi had supposedly been learning how to cook from Nodoka.

She had said she didn’t even know what medium heat was, so maybe cooking was secretly Airi's weak point.

Not that I was any good at cooking myself.

As we talked, the restaurant door opened.

“Hey! You started eating without us!”

A familiar voice rang out.

When I turned around, it was exactly who I expected.

Nodoka.

I was about to joke back when my eyes were drawn to the girl standing behind her.

“Whoa! Yuzu-san really changed her image!?”

Kokoa-san was the first to react.

Jumping to her feet, she grabbed Yuzuki by both shoulders and pushed her in front of me.

Yuzuki flinched in surprise, then quietly asked,

“H-How do I look…?”

The low twin-tails of grayish-black hair she used to have were completely gone.

Her hair had been dyed a light brown and tied into a neat, high ponytail.

Her clothes were completely different too.

Especially her top.

Before, she always wore conservative clothing, buttoned all the way up.

Now it was the complete opposite.

A fitted one-shoulder top made of pure white fabric with navy trim.

The line of her shoulder and collarbone was visible, giving off a cool, refreshing impression.

Her skirt was completely different as well.

Gone was the modest silhouette that simply fell straight down.

Instead, a pale mint-colored balloon mini-skirt with a high waist and delicate gathers puffed out softly.

White ankle socks and sneakers completed the sporty look.

“How should I put it… You look cute. Like an energetic girl from a sports club.”

“R-Really…? Do I… look different enough?”

“Yeah. Honestly, for a moment I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Yuzuki smiled shyly.

Taking a seat, Nodoka folded her arms with a satisfied expression.

“When I’m involved, this much is easy!”

“Nodo-san, you’re amazing! By the way, did you deliberately choose a design that emphasizes her ch*st?”

“Of course! It’s Yui’s biggest selling point!”

“It certainly is big!”

“And despite appearances, Yui actually has great stamina and is athletic, right? I’ve always thought this kind of style would suit her perfectly!”

“It's amazing that someone with such a large ch*st can still be athletic!”

…It was true.

Because of the tight top, Yuzuki's generous figure stood out even more than before.

Just above the navy line running diagonally across her ch*st, soft skin leading toward her cleavage was visible.

If I remembered correctly, she used to avoid styles like this because she hated drawing attention to her ch*st.

“Yui, just to make sure—you're not forcing yourself, right?”

“N-No! It does feel a little strange, like I'm not myself, but I'm not forcing it.”

“Good. As long as that’s true.”

Maybe because both her appearance and even the name people called her by had changed, the symptoms of her trauma had almost completely disappeared.

I was probably the one most surprised by it.

…Maybe it was because Nagasawa-senpai had shown her those photos taken with that Leica directly.

Yuzuki sat down beside Kokoa-san, directly across from me.

Airi immediately grinned and teased me.

“Ren-kun, if you keep staring at Yui-san’s ch*st, I might get a little jealous. Maybe you really do like clothes with open necklines?”

“N-No, that wasn’t what I was trying to do…”

“So that’s why Ren likes swimsuits. You can see thighs and cleavage all at once.”

Any healthy guy probably would.

…I wanted to say that in my defense, but I couldn’t bring myself to deny it completely.

Kokoa-san hugged her own ch*st protectively and spoke up.

“Ehhh? Then Ren-sama, did you become our sponsor because you wanted to see me in a swimsuit during that beach concert?”

“Not even remotely close. So you can relax.”

“When you reject the idea that firmly, it somehow annoys me too!?”

I obviously couldn’t tell her it was because I’d seen it in a dream.

Even though I brushed it off as a joke, I should probably come up with a more convincing explanation someday for why I decided to become their sponsor.

“Now then, Nodoka-san.”

Holding a spatula, Airi spoke.

“Please make us some okonomiyaki.”

“…Don’t tell me you called me here just to cook for you?”

“Exactly.”

“Seriously!?”

“Don’t you want Ren-kun to eat okonomiyaki that you made? Rather than having it made by some other girl?”

“Ugh… Well, that’s true.”

Taking the spatula, Nodoka immediately began pouring batter onto the griddle and shaping it with far more skill than any of us.

Watching her, a thought crossed my mind.

…At this point, Airi was far better at handling Nodoka than I was.

---

After dropping Kokoa off at her apartment building, Ren and the others accompanied Nodoka back to her house.

It was already late at night, and Nodoka hated the thought of parting ways with Ren so soon, but she still smiled and prepared to see everyone off.

“Nodoka-san, could I talk with you alone for a bit?”

“Huh? I don’t mind. At my house?”

“Yes. There’s nothing wrong with a friend visiting another friend’s house, right?”

“F-Friend… Hehe… hehehe…”

Ever since becoming close to Ren, many things had changed for Nodoka.

One of them was that she had gained a new friend—someone she could share anything with despite being in a different grade.

“Ren-kun, this beautiful heroine needs to chat with another beautiful heroine before heading home. Of course I’ll take a taxi afterward so you don’t have to worry.”

“Ah, okay. Take your time. Don’t worry about me. …And what’s with calling yourself a beautiful heroine?”

“It’s just the truth, isn’t it? Besides, we’re going to be talking about you, so it’s not like you can completely ignore it.”

Airi chuckled softly.

Wondering whether she herself counted as one of those “beautiful heroines,” Nodoka nearly let out the goofy grin typical of an introvert.

Eventually, Ren and Yuzuki walked away side by side from the front of her house.

Well, not exactly side by side.

Yuzuki was awkwardly following a few steps behind Ren.

“So she’s the traditional Japanese woman who walks three steps behind her man?”

“Though visually she’s moved a bit away from the traditional Japanese woman look.”

“By the way, how was Yui-san today?”

“She was incredibly excited. Just being asked to do something by Ren seemed to make her happy.”

“I thought so. Yui-san is the type who enjoys being led around by the man she likes.”

Nodoka had noticed the same thing Airi had.

Compared to before Ren rejected her during the first semester, Yuzuki had become even more attached to him.

No—she seemed fixated on him alone.

Whether that was emotionally healthy was another question entirely.

But considering her own feelings, Nodoka didn’t feel qualified to criticize.

The two entered Nodoka’s house while continuing their conversation.

“But why has Ren suddenly started being so… accepting toward Yui?”

“The phrase ‘accepting her’ is a little misleading. A more accurate way to put it would be that Ren-kun is trying to save her.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You didn’t notice how bad things were? Yui-san is in a very dangerous state right now. To the point where it wouldn’t be surprising if she left behind a suicide note and killed herself.”

“W-What!?”

Nodoka knew her intuition wasn’t always the sharpest, but she had never imagined Yuzuki had been pushed that far.

Her feelings toward Yuzuki became even more complicated.

“…Now that I think about it, given Yui’s situation, I guess it makes sense. Ren suddenly dumped her for reasons she couldn’t understand…”

“And then she was effectively taken away by one of her close friends.”

“Ugh… That’s not exactly wrong, but couldn’t you phrase it a little more gently?”

Airi ignored the complaint and continued.

“Then a beautiful upperclassman entered the picture too, right? If she could’ve at least joined the harem, that would be one thing, but she kept being rejected. On top of that, she was even told that merely seeing her face made him feel sick.”

“…That’s why Senpai didn’t oppose Ren when he suddenly said he wanted to keep Yui close to him.”

“What kind of slave opposes her master’s decisions?”

“Sometimes I think you use that slave persona awfully conveniently, Senpai.”

“It’s not a persona. It’s real. Isn’t that right, pet Nodoka?”

They turned on the lights in the dark, empty house and entered Nodoka’s room.

Nodoka felt strangely nervous.

After all, this was the first time she had ever invited a female friend into her room.

“There’s one misunderstanding. Honestly, I don’t care that much about Yui-san’s mental state.”

“Well… I suppose that’s true for you, Senpai.”

Nodoka and Yuzuki had originally been friends.

To Nodoka, Yuzuki was her very first friend—a special person.

On the other hand, to Airi, Yuzuki had only ever been an obstacle standing in the way of making Ren hers.

The very reason they had joined forces in the first place was to keep Yuzuki in check.

“Still, I have a feeling that Yui-san will ultimately be the key to resolving Ren-kun’s trauma.”

“You think so…?”

“Of course, that’s nothing more than my intuition. But that’s exactly why I wanted to talk with you tonight.”

Airi grinned.

“Let’s discuss what we’re going to do about our first time.”