Ch. 77.1 - Harutaki’s Final Booster Stage Pt1
“Please enjoy.”
The waiter set down the desserts and drinks that Harutaki and Chouko had ordered. After a small bow, he left with the tray in his hand.
Harutaki had ordered an espresso and five Paris-Brest cream puffs—3250 yen with tax.
Chouko chose a Berry Berry Soda and a chocolate-almond Opéra cake.
“Um… th-thank you…”
Chouko stared at the puff he pushed toward her, flustered, thanking him almost on reflex.
“Eh? Harutaki, you’re only eating that much? Is that enough?”
Sae cheerfully speared a cream puff with her fork and bit into it, instantly smearing white cream across the corners of her mouth.
“Though I appreciate Hoshikawa-kun sharing with me too, this kind of scatter-shot kindness is exactly how playboys operate, you know~”
Minako spoke with her usual cloud-soft voice, smiling with that unreadable expression of hers.
“Y-you stupid Hoshikawa… y-you should’ve just kept it for yourself…”
Nogami cut her cream puff in half, then placed one piece back into Harutaki’s plate.
Unfortunately, Paris-Brest puffs were shaped more like sandwich cookies, so splitting them only squeezed the cream out onto the plate, leaving the whole thing looking a bit deflated.
“Tch, I can’t eat all this. You take this too.”
With that, she used her knife to slide over the half of the strawberry mille-feuille she had earlier cut in two.
Can’t eat it?
Harutaki glanced at the girl’s slightly flushed face. Considering the total size of that mille-feuille was basically three tiny slices of strawberry, he wisely chose not to expose the lie.
Chouko and Minako clearly noticed as well, but both understood the atmosphere too well to say something tactless.
“Huh? You can’t finish even that? Nogami, are you not feeling well or something?”
Sae, unfazed by Nogami’s embarrassed expression, questioned her with rice grains still stuck to her lips.
Do I look sick to you?!
That single question made Nogami freeze, mortified—
Why did Sae always poke precisely the kind of irrelevant—no, deeply embarrassing, weak spots she wanted hidden?
Before Harutaki entered the picture, Sae had never blindsided her like this…
But the truth was, Nogami just hadn’t realized: before Harutaki, she never showed this many openings in the first place.
Back then, she was the kind of person made up of malice, arrogance, and domineering pride—an “ex-villainess” who ruled others by exploiting their weaknesses day after day.
“…I—I’ve been trying to watch my weight lately…”
Forcing a smile, she stammered an excuse.
But Sae, noticing Minako trying not to laugh on her right, immediately shifted targets.
“Minako, you’re the one who needs to watch your weight most. And you’re eating that giant soufflé? That sugar and calorie count is off the charts, you know.”
“A-ahaha… I-I think it’s fine…”
Truly impressive, Harutaki thought as he watched Sae effortlessly demolish the defenses of two friends in a row, purely by accident.
Only someone with a heart completely free of malice could say such things without provoking an attack.
In short, she’s straightforward to the point of being a lovable idiot. And idiots tend to naturally attract goodwill laced with sympathy.
“Speaking of which, Harutaki, how did you end up hanging out with Shihou-san today? Isn’t it the holidays?”
Sae’s next question froze the grin on Harutaki’s face.
“Hey—Hoshikawa, you…!”
Nogami, remembering the things he’d told her earlier, suddenly recalled:
Until just moments ago, she’d assumed his claim about liking Shihou was a joke, something he said to tease her.
But looking at his reaction, he was acting completely guilty!?
“I confessed to Shihou-san yesterday.”
Harutaki didn’t hide it. He simply stated the truth to the three girls who hadn’t heard.
He wasn’t some oblivious blockhead, he was perfectly aware of Nogami’s feelings. But he knew he couldn’t respond to her right now. And when he invited Shihou today, he had already devised his plan.
His goal was simple: dissolve the barrier between Shihou and Nogami.
The two girls had zero direct conflict. If anything, with their social standing, one from Kanto, one from Kansai, they could easily become formidable friends.
Nogami lacked friends like Sae and Minako: people whose talent and character she both respected and got along with.
Shihou lacked friends who treated “Shihou Chouko” without fear or caution—people she could relax around completely.
Seen this way, the two slightly vicious girls were practically made for each other.
If they became close friends, it would benefit them both immensely.
Clatter.
“H-Hoshikawa, what the hell are you even saying…?”
Nogami’s fork slipped from her hand.
He felt his heartbeat slow half a beat—
So I’m more important to her than I thought.
Though honestly, he couldn’t understand why a girl like Nogami, an ex-queen, practically born perfect, would like him this much.
He could read expressions and logic, but girls’ hearts remained a mystery.
No one knew what would make them explode in anger, or what tiny detail they’d pour absurd amounts of emotion into.
“Huh? I thought Hoshikawa-kun was just a playboy.”