Ichika-chan is naturally flustered by the sudden “aaah~” from the Kiyotaka-senpai she loves so much.

‘Um... should I accept this honestly? Or should I hold back?’

As Ichika-chan, part of me wants to accept Kiyotaka-senpai’s bold action, but at the same time, it’s embarrassing to have the gallery… especially my classmates Ayumi-chan, Kasuga-chan and Tetsuko-chan see this scene.

“Hey, Kiyotaka-senpai? This… could it be…”

“When eating during a date, it seems calling the girl by her first name and doing this leaves a good impression.”

“And that advice… who did you get it from?”

“Ah, Ike. Since he’s always saying he wants a girlfriend, he’s pretty knowledgeable about romance… lately he seems to be getting along well with Shinohara.”

Ike-senpai, you idiot! What are you teaching someone as out-of-touch as Kiyotaka-senpai!?

“U-um… you see, things like this…”

“…Did you not like it?”

“Um…”

For just a moment… just a brief moment, Kiyotaka-senpai’s expression darkened as if he were disappointed.

‘Ugh… if you say something like that… then I have to make up my mind…’

It seems Ichika-chan no longer has the option to refuse.

“Understood… I will accept senpai’s aaah~!”

“No, it’s not something that requires that much resolve…”

Chomp…

…Before Kiyotaka-senpai could finish speaking, I bit into the bite-sized hamburger he offered and put it into my mouth myself.

At that moment…

The gallery who had been secretly watching us each reacted differently.

Some covered their mouths and blushed as if saying “Ohhh!”…

Some were breathing heavily with jealousy and anger…

Some looked unhappy, even a bit sad…

Some were simply stunned and speechless…

Some remained expressionless but looked intrigued…

And some even secretly took pictures of the scene and tried to contact someone, as if they had witnessed something entertaining.

“W-well… are you satisfied now, Kiyotaka-senpai!?”

“Hm? Well… I don’t really know if I’m satisfied… but I guess it feels like I’ve completed a task.”

“But! From now on, when you go on dates with girls… please don’t ever do that again! If it hadn’t been me, you might have totally put them off!”

“I see… I’ll keep that in mind.”

After that, our meal continued, but… I felt so awkward that I couldn’t say a single word to senpai and just silently kept eating.

Ah… by the way… the hamburger I ate from Kiyotaka-senpai’s aaah~ was more delicious than any hamburger I’d ever had in my original world. That’s a secret, okay?

…The fun date with Kiyotaka-senpai came to an end in the blink of an eye…

“Kiyotaka-senpai! Thank you for today!”

“Likewise. I had quite a fulfilling day.”

Ichika-chan and Kiyotaka-senpai were about to part ways in a place out of sight.

Perhaps because it had gotten dark, the gallery had also dispersed, and there was no one around.

“Hey, senpai? Can I ask you just one thing?”

“I don’t mind… what is it?”

“Today… you never smiled even once. Was going on a date with me not actually fun?…”

I’ve been wondering this the whole time…

When we watched the movie, when you listened to me sing at karaoke… even when you carried me like a princess or did the aaah~ you never showed me a smile…

Were you just going along with today’s date reluctantly… just to repay your debt to me?…

“…Amasawa, that’s not the case.”

As if seeing right through me, Kiyotaka-senpai said that.

“I’ve just always been bad at smiling.”

“Because in the White Room, emotions were unnecessary… right? In your case, maybe it’s also because you went through the highest-level curriculum…”

“That might be true…”

Even though we got a little closer during today’s date… it seems it’ll still be a while before he shows me a smile.

“…By the way, Amasawa… I’ve been wondering something.”

“Yes? What is it~?”

“We’re both from the White Room… so why is it that you’re so expressive while I’m so emotionless? Can simply being from different generations create such a gap?”

Hmm… the difference in curriculum probably plays a part, but the biggest reason is…

“The difference between you and me… maybe it’s whether there’s someone important you’d risk your life to protect? You think as long as you survive, that’s enough, right?”

“I won’t deny that…”

If I hadn’t developed feelings of admiration for Kiyotaka-senpai…

I might have ended up thinking the same way as him…

“Amasawa, even if we’re both White Room students… I can say without hesitation that I surpass you in academics, physical ability and many other areas.”

“Well yeah! Of course you do! Are you bragging?”

Even with the strength I gained in my original world… I can say for sure I couldn’t beat a serious Kiyotaka-senpai!

“But… when it comes to emotions… I’m probably the one who loses to you…”

“Senpai…”

I didn’t expect to hear words like that from him…

“Sorry for saying something unnecessary… I’ll be heading back now…”

With that, Kiyotaka-senpai turned his back and started to leave.

“W-wait!”

“What is it? Is there something else?”

“Kiyotaka-senpai! If you want to understand emotions better… sometimes it might be good to make choices based not on logic or gain, but simply on what you feel!”

“I see… I’ll keep that in mind.”

After replying, Kiyotaka-senpai finally left.

‘Today was fun… I hope I can go on another date with Kiyotaka-senpai…’

At that moment, I didn’t realize…

That my final words would lead Kiyotaka-senpai to take an unexpected action…