Chapter 22: 3.2

As Namase had mentioned, Yuzu also ended up spending both the lunch break and all between-class breaks with Kotani. Owing to that, I had barely spoken to her the whole day.

“…Now here, suddenly it became only the two of us.”

In the literature clubroom after school hours. I came alone earlier to do some mental preparation beforehand and was sitting on a chair to psych myself up.

Okay! My mind is now as serene as a polished mirror!

I softly muttered, “All right, now my heart is ready—” 

“Thanks for waiting! Sorry, I’m late!”

“WHOA!” 

Yuzu’s sudden entrance at this exact time completely shattered my serene state of mind.

“What’s wrong, Yamato-kun?” Yuzu’s eyes widened at my huge reaction.

“No-nothing… It’s just the door opened so suddenly, that’s why.”

There was also that time with Namase. Today was full of me being startled. This just portrayed how my heart was totally frazzled. 

“I see. Well, this isn’t much of an apology, but I brought something good here,” she said as she took out something from her bag—a silver water bottle.

“Ta-dah! What do you think is inside this?”

“What is it? Coffee?”

“Wrong! As a special treat, I’ll give you hints. Hint number one: H2O.”

“Isn’t that water? That’s already an answer.”

She said it was a hint, yet it was straightforwardly the answer. What a new style of a quiz.

“You were close. The correct answer is hot water. Steaming hot.”

“What on Earth, that’s such a random trick question.” 

Not that I could say that since I had indeed been tricked.

I continued to ask the main question, “By the way, why are you bringing hot water?” 

Again from her bag, Yuzu took out another paper bag. From there emerged the teacup and spoons she had bought the previous day.

“I brought the teacup and everything as a set, thinking that I wanted to use them here. Yamato-kun, do you also bring your teacup?”

“Yeah, just in case.”

I also brought out the box with the teacup inside from my bag. As soon as that was out in the open, Yuzu let out a giggle as though she had been tickled.

“…Um, it does feel nice when a person uses the present I gave them.”

“Oh, yep.” Embarrassment suddenly flooded me, so I darted my eyes elsewhere.

During that time, Yuzu started to prepare tea.

“Ah, I need to ask you this upfront, Yamato-kun, are you a tea person or a coffee person?”

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“If I had to say, I’d say coffee.”

“I see. Incidentally, I only have herbal tea at the moment.”

“Then why did you even ask..?”

Despite the meaningless interjection, Yuzu quickly finished preparing the tea and contentedly nodded once.

“Yes, it’s done!”

A beautiful amber liquid had been produced in the teapot.

“Yamato-kun, put out your teacup.”

“Okay.”

She poured boiling water into a teacup once to warm it up, then dumped it into a  ’chakoboshi’1 excess tea container before pouring the herbal tea into the cup.

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“Here you go. It’s Yuzu-chan’s special chamomile tea. I think you can see my character in its taste.”

“That sounds somewhat unsettling to my stomach.”

“Also, although I said I’m a black tea person, I think my inconsistency is showing for bringing herbal tea as a starter.”

“Indeed, I was also thinking something was off there.”

I intentionally didn’t touch on that matter, yet she mentioned it herself.

“Nah, actually my stock of black tea has run out…”

“You, you are really a black tea person, right…?” I threw a doubtful glance at Yuzu who simply giggled.

“But still, I guarantee the taste. I’ve poured in a lot of love too.”

“Well, if you say so…”

Sitting side by side on the simple chairs, I gently blew on my cup and sipped at my chamomile tea. The distinctive, refreshing aroma wafted through my nostrils and I felt the hot sensation of something falling into my stomach.

“Delicious.”

“Really? I’m glad.”

While looking happy and joyful, Yuzu also wrapped a teacup with both hands and drank her tea.

It must be because of this tranquilness that my nerves, which had been forgotten in my shock, gradually returned to a state of tension. 

“…”

Oh no, I can’t think of any topic to talk about in this situation!

“After all, it’s nice to start adding hot drinks here. I think we should continue to bring in a variety of different goods, depending on the season.”

“I, I guess so,” I chimed in to keep the conversation going while drinking my tea at a fast pace.

Chamomile tea supposedly had calming properties, but so far it had not fulfilled its potential. 

Usually, what did I talk about with Yuzu?

“Hey, Yamato-kun, you’re not playing any games today?” Prompted by a curious Yuzu, I suddenly realised.

That’s right, I usually play games and just go along with any topic from there. 

To forget such a basic thing, I must be pretty freaking out.

“Yeah, I’m playing soon.”

I turned on the old game console and grabbed the controller.

“Yuzu, you wanna play first?”

The game we had been playing lately was for a single player, so I always alternated with Yuzu.

“Nope, I’m in the mood to slowly enjoy my tea.”

“I see. Then, I’ll go first.”

I turned to the screen where it had finished loading and started the rest of the game. It told the story of a young boy with a sword in the shape of a keyring, adventuring through various worlds with world-famous ducks and dog characters.

“But then again, Yuzu, you pretty much just watch me play. Aren’t you bored?”

As I was defeating small fry enemies using nothing but muscle memory, I felt calm enough to chat with her.

“No. I like watching other people play and stuff. I’m interested to see how the story develops among others.” 

Yuzu engaged in the conversation while also staring at the screen.

“Is that what it’s like?”

“Yeah. Sort of like watching gameplay video clips?”

“Oh, I see. That’s easy to understand.”

“Right? And in addition, I can watch real-time gameplay from my exclusive seat, and Yamato-kun will take care of the troublesome or difficult parts half the time. It’s the perfect setting.” 

chocolala: Yamato trying to feign a calm face while inside he’s yelling like crazy

Footnotes

‘chakoboshi’ is a receptacle that is used for holding excess water and leaves during tea preparation. Something like sold here with more explanations

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