Seeing Rei Ao calmly eat the cookie without a change in expression, Yui Yuigahama's eyes lit up with excitent.
"Rei Ao-kun, how is it? Does it taste good?" she asked eagerly.
Even Yukinoshita Yukino cast a curious glance his way, wondering if he would lie. She didn't like dishonesty, but…
Considering how much effort Yui had put into making the cookies, Yukino realized that telling the truth might severely hurt Yui, who was filled with anticipation. For the first ti, she hoped Rei Ao might lie to spare Yui's feelings.
However, Rei Ao remained calm and shook his head.
"It doesn't taste good. In fact, it's probably the worst cookie I've ever eaten."
"!!!"
Yui Yuigahama froze in place, stunned as if she had just been struck by lightning.
"..."
Yukino was equally dumbfounded.
This guy… was brutally honest.
Even she thought that such blunt honesty was a bit inappropriate. He could have softened the blow a little.
Yui's shoulders slumped as she lowered her head in disappointnt.
'Sigh…' Yukino sighed inwardly. She blad herself for not secretly mixing her own cookies into the batch. That might have made things turn out differently.
But then Rei Ao's next words turned the situation around.
"Even though it tastes bad, I really appreciate it. Thank you, Yuigahama-san."
Completely unexpected.
"Is he just comforting ?" Both Yui Yuigahama and Yukino thought the sa thing.
Yui wiped away the tears that had welled up from being so disheartened. Fighting back her sobs, she said, "Rei Ao-kun, you don't have to comfort ."
"I'm really sorry for giving you sothing so terrible!"
She began to bow in apology, but Rei Ao gently grabbed her right shoulder.
"There's no need to apologize. I'm not lying to comfort you."
"..."
Yui bit her lip, not entirely convinced.
But then Rei Ao raised her right hand in front of her and said, "I have very sharp senses, especially my sense of taste."
"I could imdiately taste a faint hint of blood in the cookie."
He gently brushed his fingers over Yui's right index finger, which was wrapped in a bandage.
"This finger, you injured it while making the cookies for , didn't you?"
"???"
Yukino frowned in confusion.
'He could taste blood from a baked cookie?'
That didn't seem possible. But even though it sounded like a wild guess, it turned out to be accurate. Yui had indeed cut her finger while baking.
Yukino assud it was just a lucky guess ant to comfort Yui, but in reality, Rei Ao's heightened senses were genuine. As he had grown stronger, his senses had beco incredibly sharp. His sense of taste, borrowing a concept from a particular food-based ani, was at least on par with a "God's Tongue."
He could even distinguish the subtle sweetness in Mai's "juices," so detecting a trace of blood was no challenge at all.
But did Yui believe him?
At the mont, she wasn't thinking too deeply about it.
Because as Rei Ao's hand brushed over hers and his gentle words reached her ears, her body tingled as if tiny ants were crawling over her skin.
"Does your wound still hurt?"
Seeing Rei Ao start to lift the bandage as if to check the wound, Yui was overwheld by an odd sensation—like he was about to undress her. Blushing furiously, she quickly pulled her hand back.
"N-No! Thank you for your concern, Rei Ao-kun, but I'm fine."
"However, this thank-you gift doesn't count. Next ti, I'll make sure it's sothing you'll enjoy!"
From start to finish, she didn't dare et Rei Ao's gaze. After hurriedly blurting out her words, she practically fled from the classroom.
"..."
Now, the two remaining people, who weren't that familiar with each other, exchanged glances. Yukino naturally averted her gaze and broke the silence first.
"Rei Ao-kun, how did you know about the Service Club's mission?"
Rei Ao didn't try to impress the beautiful girl he had taken a liking to with so grand explanation. He knew Yukino wouldn't believe vague answers.
So, he casually brought up a familiar na.
"Shizuka Hiratsuka-sensei told about it before."
"Hiratsuka-sensei?"
Suddenly, Yukino recognized his na.
"Oh, so it's you…"
"You've heard of ?" Rei Ao asked curiously.
Yukino set down her book and took a sip of her tea.
"Hiratsuka-sensei had ntioned your academic performance to . She said she would recomnd you to this club."
Not only was Hiratsuka-sensei her forr teacher, but she was also a friend of Yukino's older sister. Because of this connection, Yukino was familiar with her.
When Hiratsuka brought it up, Yukino hadn't thought much of it. She had seen Rei Ao's grades before—he had always hovered around just outside the top 100. Even when he improved, it was never by more than 10 spots, aning he never made significant progress or fell behind. In a way, that was impressive on its own.
This curiosity led Yukino to accept Hiratsuka's recomndation.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— 50 Advance Chapters!
User Comments
0 comments from readers