–A few days before White Day.
At this time of the year, advertisements that make people aware of White Day become more and more prominent.
In addition to fliers, convenience stores have their own White Day section, which seems to stir up the feeling that you must prepare something to return.
Every year, I bake cookies for Kotone.
You might say, “Oh, really?”. I’ve been doing this since elementary school, and it’s become such a habit that I feel uncomfortable if I don’t cook them and hand them over.
This year, I was making it as usual when Towa came to my house at the right time.
He even went out of his way to buy the ingredients …….
“I need to teach you how to bake.”
“Oh…”
“I guess it’s for Wakamiya’s sake. Sounds good to me!”
“Don’t be so sure…….”
“Oh, no? I thought I came all the way to your house just to make her happy.”
I knew that, but I dared to make fun of Towa.
Then Towa scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
“No, it’s ……. Well, yeah ……but…”
“Haha, that’s right~ Well, I’m going to teach you from scratch, so don’t give up halfway.”
“Obviously.”
Towa took out his notebook and pencil case and sat down on a chair.
Oh man, this makes me want to support them even more….
◇◇◇
–Two hours after starting to make sweets.
There were a lot of failures.
Some of the characters are broken, some of them have salt in them instead of sugar, and some of them are …… in a disappointing state.
I smiled at the situation and looked at Towa.
Towa is trying again with the recipe I taught him.
He tries the recipe I gave him, tastes it, and if he’s not satisfied, he tries another one.
In a sense, it’s an artisanal approach.
But…
“Towa doesn’t have any sense or lack of sense…….. Just how much have you not done before? ……”
“Shut up. Just tell me what to do next. I mean, I’m starting from zero, so help me out.”
“It’s not zero. It’s more like a minus, you know?”
“That’s why the potential for growth is limitless.”
I sighed as Towa said this with a very serious face.
However, despite the sigh, I was in a strangely cheerful mood.
He has been making improvements little by little, and is making steady …… progress, albeit at a slow pace.
I’m certain I’m smiling at the fact that I’ve never seen Towa like this before.
“Well, why are you suddenly making sweets? If it’s White Day, wouldn’t a man buy something to give back?”
“That’s what I thought at first too……”
“And then…”
“If I’m going to be standing alongside Rin, I’m going to have to put in the effort…..”
He exhaled and gathered his energy.
His eyes were simply straight, without a trace of the lazy atmosphere of before.
I was so happy to see the change that I almost relaxed my expression, but …….
As usual, I said, “People change when they learn to love, don’t they?”
“See, a lifetime as a bachelor is kind of uncool, right? I’m going to win over Rin at least in one way or another. That’s part of it. But if I’m also good at video games, I can win.”
“Hey, Towa, you’ve been acting all cool and stuff for a while now, but …… it’s actually because you want to make her happy, right?”
“…… Shut up.”
“I’ll take your reaction as an affirmation.”
“So, what’s the plan after this? Just give it to her and be done with it…?”
“No, I’m going to talk to Lisa-san. I have to get permission for an overnight stay……”
“Hahaha! I’m so happy. I’m so glad you’re able to think that far ahead.”
“It hurts. It’s stupid, so please don’t hit me on the back. ……”
“Well, good luck with that! I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
Towa muttered quietly, “Thanks for everything.”
I smiled at him.
In the back of my mind, I was thinking of a plan to make my friend’s surprise a success, thinking, “I’ll have to tell Kotone later.”
