Chapter 23

Sakurako was taking a sip of her coffee with her usual calm and expressionless face as she thought about what Himari and Kohaku had just told her

"… What do you mean by that?"

" "?!" "

And at hearing her question, the two of them almost hit their heads on the table

"We mean we said! Can't you see it that he clearly likes you just from how he treated you when compared to us?!"

"… … … Is that so?"

"Why do you sound so confused?"

"Because Ichiro-san is always treating me like that"

" "…" "

Himari and Kohaku could only stay silent after they heard that, they knew that Sakurako did lack a bit of common sense, especially when it came to people, and that she wasn't exactly the brightest in understanding other people's emotions. But she had a good intuition at detecting people with bad intentions, at least that was a plus for her

"Sacchan… If Ichiro-san is treating you like that, it's because he clearly lik-"

"Here are your drinks!"

Himari was interrupted mid-sentence by Ichiro, who put down the drinks that they had asked for right in front of them

"Please enjoy your drinks, I'll bring the food in a few minutes

"Thanks, Ichiro-san"

"You're welcome, Sakurako-san"

" "…" "

And with that, Ichiro walked away

"So what were you saying again, Himari-chan?"

"… Nothing, just forget about it"

"Okay?"

Sakurako tilted her head to the side, somewhat confused about why Himari said that, but she didn't pursue it any further. As for Himari and Kohaku, they both stayed silent even after Ichiro left

" "…" " < <He clearly said for us to not say anything else about his feelings to Sacchan with that smile of his!> >

And that was because they clearly saw the message on Ichiro's face, that they were not supposed to say anything else about how he felt about Sakurako to her. So, the two complied and didn't touch that subject again as they waited for their food to arrive

A few minutes later

And just as Ichiro had said, the girls' orders had arrived after a few minutes

"Here are your orders"

" "Thanks" "

"Thank you, Ichiro-san"

"You're welcome, Sakurako-san. Please have a good meal, if you three need me, just raise your hand"

"Mm *Nods*" (x3)

And with that Ichiro once again left their table, with him away, the three looked at their food…

"Itadakimasu" (x3)

And thanked for it, then they began eating it. The food in front of them was good, it wasn't the same as a 3-star restaurant that they all went to from time to time, but it was still tasty for them. Especially for Sakurako since she wasn't picky about food and had a quite big appetite, it didn't take too long for the three to finish eating their meals

"It was quite good"

"Yes, it has been quite a while since I had a hamburger with a decent size, and that didn't make my stomach feel weird as well"

"…" *Sipping her iced coffee*

"Let me take your plates away and would you all like some desserts?"

" "?!" "

Himari and Kohaku both took a scare by Ichiro sudden appearance as he began to take their plates

"Thanks, ah! Where's the toilet at, Ichiro-san?"

"Go there and turn right"

"Thanks"

"You're welcome"

Having received Ichiro's instructions, Sakurako got up from her seat and left the table, leaving Ichiro alone with Himari and Kohaku as he piled up their dishes. The three were silent, as none of them spoke a word, but Himari was the first one to decide to break the silence once she saw that Sakurako wasn't around

"… Hey, can I call you Ichiro-san?"

"Sure"

"Thanks, so Ichiro-san… You like Sacchan, don't you?"

"I do"

" "…" "

"Eh? You're not going to deny it?"

"Why would I deny it? I like Sakurako-san, and I don't have a reason to deny it"

"Then why did you warn us to not tell her that?"

"Simple, because I don't want to have Sakurako-san think that she needs to keep our engagement just because of my feelings"

"… What?"

Himari made a confused face at Ichiro's explanation, but Kohaku on the other hand was nodding with a thinking face"

"I see. So Ichiro-san, you're saying that you want to have Sacchan fall in love with you before you tell her about your feelings so that you two can have a happy married life in the future, right?"

"Correct! And since Sakurako-san really likes coffee, and from what I saw today, she's also a big eater, that means that the best way to get to her heart is through her stomach!"

"I totally get what you're saying! But! I still don't approve of you yet!"

"Hohoh? You don't approve of me, you say? And why is that?"

"That's because I don't know if your feeling for Sacchan is just from her looks alone!"

"I see… Hmm, Your name is Kohaku, right?"

"Huh? How do you know it?"

"I made Kazuo tell me about you"

"Ah! that's true, you were together with him in that photo"

"Yup, I'm his friend. And he told me that he fell in love with you at first sight"

"Fuee! H-He fell in love w-with me a-at first sight?"

"Yup, he did. And I can say that I'm the same as him"

"Eh? You don't mean…"

"Yup, I fell in love with Sakurako-san at first sight!"

"*Moved* Ah! T-That's not enough to convince me!… Ermm… Ah! Tell me what part of her attracted you the most!"

"Hmm… Let's see… At first, it was her really cute appearance…"

"*Nods* That's a fair point"

"Then afterward I started to get attracted to her addiction to coffee and her personality"

"*Nods* Yes, those parts of her are pretty cute"

"And now I really want to hug Sakurako-san because of how cute she's looking in those clothes!"

"I approve of you!"

"Thank you very much!"

Ichiro and Kohaku then did an epic handshake as they both reached an understanding due to both of them really liking Sakurako, Himari on the other hand

"…"

She was covering her beet-red face with one hand, due to her getting indirectly embarrassed by Ichiro and Kohaku both saying embarrassing stuff with a lot of enthusiasm

"?"

As for Sakurako, she didn't understand why Ichiro and Kohaku had their faces looking like those old manga characters where two rivals just became best friends, while Himari was covering her face

After she returned to the table, Ichiro later brought the bill which they dutifully paid for

"Well, we'll now be leaving, see you another day"

"See you another day as well. Ah! Sakurako-san, can you wait for a moment?"

"Hm? Sure, what do you need from me, Ichiro-san?"

"First, here"

Ichiro handed Sakurako a small bag that appeared to have a sweet inside

"Huh? Is this?…"

"It's another coffee-based sweet I made for you, so I hope you'll like it. And before you leave"

"!"

Ichiro then approached Sakurako and hugged her, which did take her by surprise, but she didn't find it all that bad. Instead, with a little of hesitation she hugged Ichiro back, after a few seconds passed, Ichiro let go of Sakurako

"Well, have a safe trip, Sakurako-san"

"Ah… Thanks, Ichiro-san"

Sakurako's cheeks were slightly red as she bowed and then turned to leave the cafe with Himari and Kohaku. When they closed the door, Ichiro stood there in silence

"… Ehehe"

And his face began to break into a stupid and proud happy smile

<Sakurako-san is really cute, indeed>