Chapter 81: I just have to do my best!

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Translator: Soafp

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Sora, who was helping with the dishes after eating the teriyaki chicken Ginji made, puffed her cheeks slightly.

“What's wrong? Didn't like lunch?”

“…It was delicious. I wanted to be the one to cook for you.”

She gave him a light poke with her toe and pouted. When Ginji had woken her from a deep sleep, there was teriyaki chicken and salad already on the table. The seasoning was mild, and the portions were small—clearly adjusted with Sora's light appetite in mind. When she couldn't help but mutter “Delicious…”, Ginji had let out a hearty laugh.

“Hearing my girl say my food's tasty—nothing makes a guy happier.”

To Sora, Ginji looked kind of mature as he said that, and her heart skipped a beat.

Dependable, a great cook, and even helps with the dishes… Wait a sec, isn't Ginji like, the ultimate catch?

As those affectionate thoughts spun in her head, the dishes were finished. Sora pulled out a bottle of hand cream from the shelf.

“Want some, Ginji? It'll keep your hands from getting rough.”

“Huh? No, I'm good. I don't really care about that stuff.”

“No, give me your hand.”

“…It tickles.”

“Bear with it, bear with it.”

She grabbed his hand and gently massaged in the cream.

“Your hands are big.”

“You're just small. Hard to believe you can draw like that with such slender fingers.”

Ginji looked away slightly as he said that.

“You're blushing… Ginji's so cute.”

“Quit teasing me.”

They headed back to the living room to continue their game, but now that she'd eaten, Sora was starting to feel drowsy again.

“You can nap if you want. We're going shopping together tomorrow, right?”

“…Usually, a quick nap is enough, but I feel so relaxed now… yawn Still, feels like a waste to sleep.”

As she clung to his arm and fought off the sleep, Ginji gave her a wry smile. Just how tense had she been before?

“You'll get a stiff neck if you sleep here.”

“Mm, I'll make coffee to wake up. Want some, Ginji?”

“I'll take a cup.”

In the end, the coffee helped chase away Sora's drowsiness, and the two played games together until evening. After making plans for tomorrow, they said their goodbyes. Sora saw Ginji off, then returned to her room, took a shower, changed into her loose loungewear, did the bare minimum skincare, and flopped into bed. Her heart felt so full, she didn't even have an appetite for dinner.

“This feels like a dream.”

Lying on her back, she replayed the day in her mind. No matter how hard life might get later on, she felt this moment of happiness could cancel it all out.

“We're going to be happy.”

“Yeah… Let's be happy together.”

She answered the Ginji in her head. Tomorrow, she'd say it to the real one.

“Oh, right—I have to tell Suzu-chan too.”

She rolled over, pulled out her phone, and typed:

[I'm officially dating Ginji now!]

She added a rocket-launch sticker. A read receipt appeared almost instantly.

[No way!? Congrats!! I knew it—figured it was just a matter of time with you two.]

“Hehe…”

Sora, overwhelmed with happiness, started texting Suzu about how incredibly cool Ginji had been. But then she got a different kind of reply.

[This is where the real challenge begins, Sora.]

‘Master!?’

[Guys like Ginji—serious, rugged types—they tend to get more attention once they have a girlfriend.]

“…Huh? What's that supposed to mean?”

According to Suzu, there's a phenomenon where guys become more attractive to others after getting a girlfriend.

Sora tried to dismiss it, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized—Ginji really was cool.

She had just finished certifying him as “top-tier boyfriend material,” after all. She knew without a doubt that Ginji wasn't the type to cheat, but even so, anxiety started bubbling up in her chest.

Meanwhile, on Suzu's side of the phone…

“Well, from the way they were acting while shopping, they're clearly just a lovestruck couple. I'm not worried about them. Still, I want a boyfriend too~ Maybe I'll ask Sora how she managed it next time… No wait, I've got my reputation as a ‘self-proclaimed romance expert' to think about…”

What had started as a light tease—

“W-What do I do? What do I do…? I just went and slept like it was nothing! I even let him do the cooking…”

Sora, lacking confidence, had slipped into a mini panic. If Suzu had seen her in that state, she would've jumped in with some quick reassurance—but through text, she had no idea what effect her words were having.

“I just have to do my best!”

No matter who came along, she wasn't letting go of Ginji. Sora jumped out of bed and pulled a white dress from her closet—the one she'd bought with Ginji.

She was going to make it absolutely clear she was his girlfriend on their date tomorrow. Determined, she began preparing her makeup for the big day.