Chapter 23: Drawing Cherry Blossoms, or Drawing...
Although they were curious about the Club President's skill, before that, they decided to enjoy a leisurely cherry blossom viewing picnic.
Picking up a piece of sushi and putting it in her mouth, Eriri narrowed her eyes in delight: "Delicious! The shrimp is so tender."
The others also ate the sushi Kaede brought, one piece after another, all with satisfied expressions.
Kaede also smiled and said, "This sushi is my mom's specialty. She said she loves eating it herself, so she specifically went to a shop to learn how to make it. The seasoning and ingredients are very particular."
As he spoke, Kaede also opened the box under the sushi, revealing the fried chicken inside, and offered it to Eriri, who was sitting next to him.
"Try this. It was just fried this morning, and the bento box's insulation should be good."
"Oh!!!"
Eriri also loved fried food.
Upon seeing the fried chicken, she immediately speared one with a skewer, dipped it in some sauce, and put it into her mouth.
"It's still warm, and this sauce is delicious!"
Before long, the food Kaede brought was finished, having been shared by everyone.
Taking a sip of juice, Eriri exhaled, contentedly saying, "It feels so good to eat delicious food under a cherry tree."
Usami on the other side also nodded: "I didn't expect Asakura-kun's mom to make such delicious food.
The sushi really is on par with what you'd get at a restaurant!"
"Hahaha, thanks for the compliment.
I'll tell my mother these words when I get back."
Looking diagonally across, Kaede also showed an "as expected" expression.
It was none other than their Club President, who was now lying down peacefully, head on his pillow, eyes closed.
He was still muttering, "Ah, after eating, it's time for a good rest."
"Club President, lying down right after eating isn't a good habit."
"It's fine, it's fine."
The Club President lazily waved his hand, "It's torture for me to sit like this at a time like this."
This guy is truly beyond help.
Kaede tried hard to recall, but he couldn't remember why the Club President loved sleeping so much.
Could it really just be to grow taller? But that's not a sufficient reason.
Thinking it over and over, he couldn't find an answer, and finally decided to give up.
After resting for a while, it was perfectly midday, and the sunlight filtered through the tree branches, making everyone feel a bit languid.
However, the others wouldn't be like the Club President, who was already asleep; they still remembered the theme of today's club activity.
After everyone took out their sketchbooks, Usami asked, "Do we have a specific target to draw?"
Eriri tapped her chin with her pencil and said, "We definitely have to draw cherry blossoms today, but where should we draw from?"
Opening his sketchbook, Kaede casually said, "Just draw wherever you find it beautiful.
It's not a mandatory task.
After we finish, we can just look at each other's results.
It wouldn't be interesting if we all drew the same thing, would it?"
Thinking about it, they agreed, so everyone looked around, chose a target, and began to draw.
Holding his brush, Kaede looked at another equally magnificent, blooming cherry tree in the distance, carefully drawing stroke by stroke.
Sketching and life drawing were the areas he had the most exposure to since he started learning to paint, so he drew with ease and speed.
Half an hour later, after finishing the cherry tree and roughly outlining the tourists beneath it, Kaede stopped, stretching.
He looked at the others; the Club President was still sleeping, and the other three were all diligently drawing, completely oblivious to their surroundings.
Turning his head, his attention was gradually drawn to Eriri, who had moved some distance away after starting to draw, so others couldn't see what she was working on.
To be honest, after interacting with her these past few days, Eriri's tsundere attribute hadn't been displayed much, and the impression she gave Kaede was much better than he had imagined.
Touching his chin, Kaede wondered if, in this so-called tsundere, Eriri had more "tsun" or more "dere" in her.
He wasn't sure, he hadn't encountered it much, but he was becoming increasingly curious.
His gaze returned to his sketchbook, and after some thought, Kaede sped up, finishing the remaining parts.
Since the others were likely drawing slower, Kaede flipped to a new page in his sketchbook and started drawing something else.
He drew a few strokes, looked up at the side, and then drew a few more strokes.
As for what he was drawing, it was self-evident.
And as he drew, a smile unconsciously appeared on Kaede's face.
"I can't show this to Eriri even if I finish it now.
I'll show it to her when the time is right.
Her expression then will probably be very interesting.'
Kaede already had some ideas in his mind, but he wasn't in a hurry.
He was quite confident in himself.
Because he didn't need to draw large scenes, Kaede also completed his second painting by the time the others were finishing theirs, and then flipped the page back to the previous one.
Uchimaki Subaru was the last to finish.
When he put down his brush and exhaled with a slight smile, he said, "Drawing like this feels pretty good too."
Usami held her sketchbook and said with a smile, "Well then, shall we show each other our drawings?
1, 2, 3!"
The four of them simultaneously pushed their sketchbooks forward, and their works were displayed.
Kaede: "..."
Eriri: "..."
Usami: "Uchimaki-kun...what is that you've drawn...?"
"Hmm?" Uchimaki Subaru looked at Usami in confusion and said with a smile, "Of course I drew cherry blossoms, but I thought just cherry blossoms were too boring, so I added a new 2d waifu on top.
What do you think?"
On Uchimaki Subaru's drawing paper, a girl with pointed elf ears and a flowing long skirt stood smiling under a cherry tree, creating a very beautiful scene.
Kaede pursed his lips and said, "Uchimaki's drawing...I can only say that compared to what he drew in the club before, it's much better.
At least there are rich backgrounds now, not just a single person."
Eriri also nodded in agreement.
At least this time, Uchimaki Subaru remembered that their main purpose for coming out was cherry blossom viewing, and he didn't just draw a 2d waifu without adding anything else.
Usami Mizuki took a deep breath, adjusting her breathing, and said,
"I knew it. I shouldn't have too high expectations for Uchimaki-kun. Ah, but this isn't bad either. I'll go look at Asakura-kun's and Eriri's drawings. Although Uchimaki-kun also drew cherry blossoms, it feels like the main content is still your 2d waifu."
"Isn't that obvious?"
Uchimaki Subaru's affirmative tone choked Usami once again; the girl's expression was almost at its limit.