Chapter 14: Let's Go Cherry Blossom Viewing!
That night, Kaede was dragged by Eriri to play Monster Hunter for several hours, helping the girl, who was actually quite bad at the game, farm a lot of materials. Then they played My World together for a long time, finally going to sleep only when they couldn't stay awake past midnight.
Sunday morning, 9:30 AM.
Woken up by the sunlight streaming through the window, Kaede couldn't fall back asleep even after pulling the blanket over his head, so he could only get up, yawning.
After changing clothes, brushing his teeth, and washing his face, Kaede felt slightly more awake and headed downstairs.
In the living room, his mother was leisurely drinking tea and watching TV. Seeing Kaede come down, she said, "Kaede, for breakfast, just have some milk and bread. I'll make something delicious for lunch."
"Mhm, I'll just eat something simple."
He went to the kitchen, grabbed two slices of bread, heated a cup of milk, and ate while sitting down in the living room.
"Where's Dad? Did he go out?"
"He went to the company. It seems there was an issue with a contract, and he went to help sort it out. He'll be back around noon."
With that, Asakura Reiko glanced at her son and asked with a smile, "Did you stay up very late playing last night?"
"Huh? Mom, how did you know?"
"Because when I got up in the middle of the night, I saw light coming from your room, Kaede," Asakura Reiko explained, then added, "Kaede, while we don't object to you playing games, you shouldn't stay up too late, alright?"
"I know, I know. Yesterday was an accident."
Biting into his bread, Kaede thought that if Eriri hadn't dragged him along, he would have been asleep by 12 AM at the latest.
After finishing his milk and setting the cup down, Kaede stretched his wrist.
The recovery was decent. After resting a bit, he should continue writing in the afternoon.
Although the Bunko had agreed to let him delay the submission by a month, Kaede felt unaccustomed to the sudden break, so he decided to just finish one volume first and then take a proper rest all at once.
*Sigh*, I really am a diligent person.
Suddenly, his phone rang. Kaede took it out and saw a message in the Art Club chat group—a photo sent by Usami Mizuki.
He clicked on it and saw a fully bloomed cherry blossom tree in the photo.
Ah, it's already that time of year.
Following the photo was an exclamation from Usami.
[Everyone, look quickly! Cherry blossoms!]
However, since no one else seemed to have replied to her message, Kaede decided to reply first.
[Usami, are you already out this early?]
[Yes, I went out shopping for groceries with my mom!]
Her personality seemed to match her appearance; she was very diligent. But since she wasn't Kaede's type, he didn't have any further thoughts.
Asakura Reiko watched her son engrossed in his phone and leaned over, asking curiously, "Are you texting a girl?"
"You're thinking too much. It's just a classmate from the same club. She sent a picture of a cherry blossom tree."
Saying this, Kaede showed the photo to his mother.
"I knew the cherry blossoms were blooming everywhere, but I didn't notice them when I was out shopping earlier! Ah, Kaede, you have another message!"
Taking his phone back, Kaede saw a new message, and this time it was from the Club President.
Harukami Akira: [It's decided. Let's go cherry blossom viewing next weekend!]
Usami: [Huh? It's decided just like that?]
Harukami Akira: [We can also sketch while we're there. Two birds with one stone, so it's settled! Everyone remember to clear your schedule for Saturday!]
At this point, Uchimaki Subaru finally sent a message.
Uchimaki Subaru: [Cherry blossom viewing... Okay, so is Saturday confirmed?]
Harukami Akira: [That's right, Saturday. Everyone can bring some food, and make sure to bring your drawing supplies too!]
Kaede was surprised that the Club President, usually such a lazy guy, was suddenly so enthusiastic, but he quickly sent a message.
Kaede: [President, it's fine to just set the date for now. It's still a week away.]
Harukami Akira: [Ah, I guess so. We can discuss the details when we're at school.]
Usami: [Um, Sawamura-san hasn't replied yet. I wonder if she's free.]
Eriri, huh? She's probably still fast asleep right now. She probably won't wake up until noon.
Ah, damn it, thinking about it is making him sleepy too.
But since he was already up, Kaede had no intention of going back to sleep, so he could only go brew a cup of coffee to wake himself up.
When he returned with the coffee, Asakura Reiko asked, "Kaede, I haven't asked this before, but does the Art Club you joined have many members?"
"The Art Club? Not many people. Including the President, there are only five of us. The President is a second-year, and the remaining four are freshmen."
As soon as he finished answering, Kaede saw his mother's expression and knew exactly what she wanted to ask, so he immediately stood up, holding his cup.
"I'm going back to my room."
Narrowing her eyes, Asakura Reiko revealed a mysterious smile.
"Did Kaede think I was going to ask about girls? Hehe, I already noticed something yesterday, so I won't press the issue rashly. Ah~~ This is wonderful! Kaede is finally interacting more with girls after starting high school. This is great news!"
... Monday, it was time for school again.
As usual, Kaede rode his bicycle to school.
As he entered the school building and prepared to change his shoes, he saw Eriri standing in front of his shoe locker with a troubled expression. Several other girls stood around her, looking excited.
Walking over with a curious gaze, Kaede saw the envelopes Eriri was holding.
"Love letters?"
Startled by the sudden question, Eriri turned her head. "Oh, it's Asakura. Good morning."
"Mhm, good morning." After greeting her, he looked at the several envelopes in Eriri's hand and asked, "These are..."
Eriri said, looking troubled, "I saw these as soon as I opened my shoe locker. It feels like such a hassle."
"Well, it's high school; things like this are unavoidable. If you don't want to read them, just toss them straight into the trash. If you don't look, you won't know who they're from anyway."
While speaking, Kaede walked toward his own shoe locker.
And when he opened it, an envelope dropped out—a light pink one, at that.
"..."
Then, Kaede sensed Eriri's gaze coming from her direction. He turned his head and saw that she was trying to hold back her laughter.
He sighed, picked up the envelope from the floor, put it away, changed into his indoor shoes, and left immediately.
Eriri hadn't expected Kaede's actions to contradict his words; he actually kept the love letter. Before she could react, her classmates grabbed her and started asking questions.
"Sawamura-san! Who was that boy?"
"Yeah, yeah, he looked so cool! Which class is he in?"
"Uh..."