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Sequel 2A

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A few days after the two became lovers——.

“Iyaa——the classroom is troublesome as usual.”

In an empty classroom in the old school building, which has been completely turned into a hideout, Ryou said so.

“Is that something you say with that kind of smile?”

“Eh, no way——I was, smiling?”

Tilting her head, Ryou put down her chopsticks and touched her face repeatedly.

Apparently she was doing it unconsciously.

“Did I smile in the classroom as well… if so, I don’t like it.”

“Why?”

Ignoring her frown, Yuuma proceeded to eat his lunch.

There were various things that happened this morning and the preparations were delayed, so the menu is a simple Shougayaki.

All you have to do is to grill it, mix it with the ready-made sauce, and put it on white rice.

Of course, that alone isn't enough as a side dish or as a nutrition, so he is going to have to swipe some from Ryou's bento.

“...I don't want anyone other than Yuuma to see my smiling face.”

That kind of surprise attack forces you to stop eating, so Yuuma wished she would stop that.

Unable to resist, he also put down his chopsticks and covered his reddened face to hide his happiness.

“Hm——what’s wrong, Yuuma?”

“No… it’s nothing”

He was sure she said it to embarrass him, but it seems that it was a normal airheaded line.

Relieved that she wasn't a small devil, but an angel, Yuuma managed to get back his relaxed face and picked up his chopsticks again.

“So——if that’s the case, why were you smiling?”

“I guess it’s because if it's here, I can enjoy having lunch with Yuuma without worrying about other people's eyes?”

Ryo stuffed his cheek with a so-called Isobe-yaki, which is chicken fillet wrapped in seaweed and then grilled.

While she chewed and swallowed it thoroughly, Yuuma ended up having to cover his face again.

(No, this is… on purpose already, isn’t it?)

She acted perfectly as a boy in public, but as soon as she stepped away from it, this is what she does.

Perhaps this girl has forgotten that she is a transcendent beautiful girl.

Can a boy maintain his composure after being told such a thing by such a beautiful girl?

(Restrain yourself in school, restrain yourself in school, restrain yourself in school——)

Ok, chant, end.

Having regained his composure, Yuuma replenished his vegetable intake with sautéed asparagus from her lunch box and asked again.

“——Certainly, you have such a cute smile every day, but I feel like you're smiling happily today in particular.”

That’s why, I thought something had happened——

Before Yuuma could continue, she put down her chopsticks and covered her face.

“...Don't say embarrassing things like that when we’re eating.”

You’re the one that said it first!

Staring at her red-stained ears, Yuuma suppressed the urge to scream that line.

No good, if this keeps up, her secrets will be blown somewhere along the line.

If that happens, the Japanese economy will collapse.

He has to divert the topic——for example, find out why she's in a good mood.

“...It's almost time for the test, it’s not that, right?”

“When you say I smile because the test is coming up, have you given up already?”

“No, because I heard that your studies are progressing smoothly.”

“That's not enough to make me smile.”

This relaxed statement, as expected of the top 5 regular honor student.

Nonetheless, if she weren't aware of her smile in the first place, that means it's unrelated.

If that's the case, it's more due to ordinary things——no, since it's not an ordinary smile, then it's probably something extraordinary.

Then, it hit him. This month is December.

“Ah——I see, it’s Christmas isn’t it?”

“Eh? Aah——now that you say it, I guess it is…”

Ryou also noticed when Yuuma pointed this out, and her soft cheeks stretched and she smiled again with a bashful, sweet smile.

“I see... this year, Yuuma and I will be together, huh, ehehe.”

Her words reminded him of last year's Christmas.

In the class, about a dozen members centered on Ryou are doing things like bowling, karaoke, and also a buffet.

Yuuma had heard that they went out at noon for such things and enjoyed themselves.

By the way, Yuuma was selling cakes.

“...I wonder if I don’t have to sell this year.”

“What are you selling on christmas!?”

“No, it’s cake you know, cakes.”

“Aah, I see… wait, you were doing part time job, Yuuma?”

Other than that, what else can you sell?

While worrying about her strangely pink-looking thoughts, he lightly responded ‘well, yeah’.

“In case you're wondering, I do it on a limited short-term basis. Last year I worked part-time during the May holidays and most of the summer, winter and spring breaks.”

He managed to convince his reluctant father that he wanted to earn at least his own allowance.

He may be doing his best not to be a burden himself with being a single parent, even though he has nothing to blame himself for.

He gave Yuuma a proper monthly allowance, and he even set up some sort of celebrations for things like birthdays and New Years.

What kind of face would he make if Yuuma told him that he's going to spend Christmas with a friend this year——though she’s actually his girlfriend.

“I need to fire myself up for this, too…”

“What, are you planning to do something for Christmas?”

Perhaps feeling something from Yuuma’s words, he asked his strangely serious girlfriend, who for some reason responded with an excited expression.

“Because, it’s my first time doing a part time job.”

“————Yes?”

What does that mean, they were supposed to be talking about spending Christmas together.

She raised her hand holding chopsticks saying ‘like I said’ to Yuuma who stopped his chopsticks because he couldn't see what she was talking about.

He needs to warn her later that she should stop that because it is bad manners.

“Let’s work part-time together for Christmas. We could have dinner at my place when we come back. I'm sure Reiko-san would be happy too.”

I see——the idea hadn’t occurred to him, Yuuma was impressed.

As he was spending Christmas with a girlfriend, the first thing he thought about was going on a date.

However, since Ryou can't behave as a girl, they have to limit their dates outside to the level of boys’ socializing.

That's why, if they were going to spend time together like lovers, they'd be relaxing at one of their homes.

With that in mind, her proposal seems like a good idea.

He can go out to the town, spend time with his girlfriend in moderation, and experience something special that he wouldn't normally do——indeed, it certainly looks fun.

“Ah, well... if you want us to be alone, I'll have to reconsider…”

“No, it's okay. Or rather, we've just started dating, if the two of us spend Christmas together... I’d feel sorry for your parents.”

Also, for Reiko-san too.

“...Probably, they will be happy instead.”

“If that’s the case… but well, Ryou want to do a part time job too right?”

“Yeah, I’ve never done it before, so I’m excited.”

In her case, a long-term part-time job would be inconvenient, and a lot of short-term part-time jobs involve a lot of physical work, which would be difficult considering her real gender.

If it is a one-day vendor, excluding the harshness of the environment, it can be said to be easy to do.

“All right——if that’s the case, then let’s see if we can go to the same place as last year.”

“Yatta, thank you! But, will it be okay? It’s quite sudden.”

“I was the only one who signed up last year, so I think we'll be fine.”

It's located in a nearby shopping district, so Yuuma passes by it on his way to and from school, but there must have been some part-time job recruitment notice left.

“Umm——so you were on your own last year? Did you take turns or anything?”

“It's not that big, it's a private store. The daughter there also helped out, so the four of us, including the store manager and his wife, went around normally.”

If Ryou also joins in, it should be a little easier this year.

As he was thinking about this, Ryou's eyebrows drew together in a strangely stern manner.

“...That shop, has a girl there.”

“Yeah. I think she became a middle school student this year.”

“Aah——I see, so it’s like that.”

What did she mean by ‘so it’s like that’.

“...Even though she’s a middle school student, as an employee she’s still a senpai. Make sure you listen to what she says and work seriously.”

“I-I got it already… or rather, that’s not what I meant…”

Hearing her mutter, Yuuma let out a small breath.

“…Even if she was the same age as me, last year I didn’t have the leeway to think about such things.”

“——Yeah, sorry… that’s true isn’t it.”

Because of Yuuma's distrust of women, she was unwillingly affected.

That's why Yuuma didn't deliberately bring it up, because he thought that if he brought it up, he would get this kind of reaction.

Even so, he can understand why Ryou was concerned about it.

“Also... this year, I'm devoted to Ryou.”

In that case, let's clearly address that concern.

“I like you, Ryou, only you.”

“Aa… ye, yeah… I… like you too…”

It is quite risky to exchange these kinds of words on school grounds, even if you know that no one is nearby.

But——isn’t it fine once in a while, he thought.

That's what Yuuma thought as he stared at her as she hid her embarrassed face.

One way or another, he felt like saying it once every day, but that’s beside the point.

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