Chapter 74: I'm still holding back, you know

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Translator: Soafp

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After the takoyaki party at Ginji's house, Sora had him give her a ride home on his bike. Not wanting to part just yet, she asked for a quick hug in front of her house. After he gently patted her head, she felt a little satisfied and reluctantly said goodbye, watching him leave.

She went inside, locked the door, and changed clothes in her workroom.

“Tomorrow's already Friday… so the day after, huh?”

She had been slowly working on a painting that she'd been hiding from Ginji, so she could show it to him over the weekend.

Using fast-drying acrylic paints, she layered transparent colors for the base and carefully added opaque paint on top.

It was a technique similar to oil painting, and Sora loved the process of slowly building up the image she wanted to paint. Plus, the quick drying time meant less waiting around, which was great.

“It's been a long time since painting felt this fun.”

She thought back to earlier events as she mixed water with paint to create colors. Back when Aika was forcing her to work on art, Sora had to sneak in time to work on her own pieces. Now that she could paint freely, it made her incredibly happy.

Her brush moved without hesitation as she smiled to herself, thinking about Ginji while layering her feelings onto the canvas.

The next morning.

They arrived at their usual meeting spot almost at the same time. Sora ran up to Ginji happily, her short hair swaying. As a playful greeting, she bumped his shoulder lightly on purpose.

“Whoa, morning. We're here at the same time today—I left a bit early too.”

“Boom! Me too. But hey, it's a good thing, right? More time together.”

“Yeah, true.”

They put their bags in their bike baskets and started walking. When they arrived at school, the morning greeting event wasn't being held.

Sora, a little nervous, greeted some familiar boys as they walked to the classroom. They chatted until the warning bell rang. Sora returned to her seat to wait for homeroom.

The classroom door slid open. In walked Aika, wearing her uniform perfectly, and behind her was Mio.

“Good morning, everyone.”

“Good morning, Shiki-san,” “We were worried since you were absent yesterday,” “Glad to see you again,” the students replied. Aika smiled and went to her seat.

Mio, looking a bit tired, passed by Sora and gave her a glance like she had seen something scary. She then turned away and went to her seat, handing Aika a note. Aika took it and touched her chin while nodding slightly.

After the morning classes, Sora and Ginji ate lunch together in the old manga clubroom as usual.

“Today it's the classic: fried food and salad. Two kinds of sauce—tangy and spicy.”

“Not just fried stuff, huh? Looks like a solid meal.”

As usual, Sora brought out a three-tiered bento box. The first layer had fried chicken, shrimp tempura, homemade chicken meatballs, colorful tamagoyaki, and a mini gratin. The second layer had pickles, broccoli and cucumber salad, and the sauces in small plastic containers. The third layer had rice balls and salad. It was a pretty hefty lunch.

“The fried chicken's seasoned to still taste good cold. It's one of my proud recipes, so try it—say ahh.”

Sora happily scooted her chair next to Ginji and held out a piece of fried chicken with her chopsticks. It had become an unspoken rule between them—Sora would feed him the first bite. Still not quite used to it, Ginji shyly took the bite.

“Mmm, it's light but juicy. Is it the chicken?”

“Nope, just cheap chicken b****t. I just used a special marinade. Well, I got the idea from a cooking magazine. Now that I've gotten the hang of it, I'll make it even better next time.”

“Sounds good. But I'm curious too—can we cook together sometime?”

“Sure! Next up is shrimp. Double-fried for extra crisp.”

“You even made a different sauce just for this? Wow… this is good. Definitely not frozen, huh?”

“Haha, of course not! I'd never use frozen stuff in a bento for you. Well, unless it's a better ingredient in some cases.”

She reacted like Ginji had made a joke. Lately, Ginji had been a little worried that Sora was going overboard with all the care and effort.

But from Sora's perspective, she just loved seeing Ginji enjoy the variety of dishes she couldn't finish on her own. Her motivation was through the roof.

“I mean it, though. You don't have to make these bento so fancy. I just don't want it to be a burden on you.”

“Like I said before, I'm taking it easy where it counts. Compared to when Aika had me doing all that work, I've got way more free time now. I'm sleeping better too.”

When Ginji helped Sora before, she was at her breaking point from being overworked. Compared to that, she almost felt lazy now.

She was the type who liked keeping busy. After being forced to handle a ridiculous amount of work, spending her time on someone she cared about didn't feel like a burden at all.

In fact, she felt like she still had plenty of energy left. She was even holding back a bit because Ginji kept worrying about her.

“If you say so. But let me do some doting too, okay?”

“…”

Sora heard his words, then set her chopsticks down and clung tightly to his arm. Something soft pressed against him, and he caught the citrusy scent of her hair.

“I appreciate you worrying, but like I said, I'm still holding back, you know. And… there are other things I'd rather hear you say.”

She leaned in with her head, silently asking for a head pat.

“…Thanks, Sora. The food's really good today too.”

He patted her head, a bit rough from embarrassment. Sora closed her eyes with a happy smile, enjoying being pampered in return.