3 bar menu

Chapter 94 Part 2

「「Thank you for the meal!」」

「「Apologies for the humble food.」」

「Ah~, I’m so full. But I’m interested in the cake.」

「You can just eat it later, can’t you?」

「Yeah. The plan is to take it easy tonight, after all.」

「Ah… yeah.」

「A late-night snack, I suppose.」

「You’ll gain weight if you eat late in the night, though.」

「Don’t worry. As long as you do a fitting amount of exercise….」

Hearing Yuu’s words, Sayaka and the others looked at each other meaningfully.

In the end, when they were done eating all of the meal, they had no room for dessert cake, so it was temporarily put away in the refrigerator.

After enjoying an after-meal tea, it was finally time to exchange gifts.

「Well then, once again, Yuu-kun! Happy 16th birthday!」

「「Happy birthday!」」

「Huh, we’re starting with me?」

「Yup, yup, Gentlemen First, you know.」

It was a phrase that he had never heard since he was reborn in this world, but it was probably a term that expressed the priority of men, as opposed to ladies first.

Not only Sayaka, all three of them were holding the gift in their hands with big smiles on their faces, so Yuu decided to accept their gifts first.

「I’ll go first. If you like it, I’d be happy if you use it.」

What Sayaka held out was a rectangular package measuring about 15 cm x 5 cm.

「What is it, I wonder? May I open it here?」

「Of course.」

When he carefully opened the wrapping paper that had the name of a famous department store on it, he found a paper box with a wooden case inside.

「This is…? Ah.」

When he opened the case in a careful manner as if he was handling something fragile, he found that inside of it was what appeared to be a navy blue and gold brass pen.

「Is it a ballpoint pen?」

「Yes. At first, I thought about going with the standard option, a wristwatch, but you already have a good one, Yuu-kun. Then I thought, when it comes to stationery items, it doesn’t matter even if you have more than one. I debated between a fountain pen and a ballpoint pen, but taking into account their ease of use, as a student I thought a ballpoint pen would serve you better.」

Although she normally showed no such behavior, Sayaka’s parents were the owners of a large company.

She must have a discerning eye.

And it was an item she went out of her way to buy at a department store. It was most likely no ordinary ballpoint pen.

Just by its appearance, he could tell that it was not something a student could easily afford.

He had no recollections of the small English letters engraved on the pen, but it was probably the name of an overseas manufacturer.

When he tried to hold it with his hand, he felt that it had just the right thickness and moderate weight.

「Ooh… It seems really easy to write with.」

「Fufufu. Do you like it?」

Once Yuu put the ballpoint pen away in its case, he turned to Sayaka and wrapped his hands around hers.

「Y, Yuu…kun?」

In addition to it being a high-class item, Sayaka’s feeling, as she had chosen it while keeping his well-being in mind, made him happy.

「Thank you, Sayaka. Thank you for giving me such a nice gift.」

As he gave Sayaka his heartfelt thanks, he hugged her body.

「Hyah?! Yuu…ku…n.」

「What a mistake. Letting Sayaka go first, I mean.」

「Certainly.」

Eimi gave a small nod.

「Then, it’s a little hard to give it after Sayaka, but it is something that I’ve taken the trouble to prepare, so I hope you’ll accept it.」

「Yup, yup. Looking for something that would look good on you, Yuu-kun, I chose it after looking at a lot of different options while consulting Riko-senpai, you see.」

Apparently, Riko and Eimi chose their gifts as they went shopping together.

What Riko prepared was a beige safari hat. As for Eimi, it was a pair of sunglasses.

Perhaps both of them chose their gifts while thinking about his outdoor activities.

Yuu had a few baseball caps, but he didn’t have any other type of hats or sunglasses, so it was perfect.

The choice was a bit mature and showed their respective sense of style.

「Ooh… so cool. Can I try them on here?」

「「Go ahead!」」

Yuu got up from his seat and moved to a place where the three of them could see him easily.

There, he put on the safari hat and sunglasses he had just received as gifts.

「How… is it?」

Yuu’s attire today was a navy-blue polo shirt and black slim jeans.

It was dubious whether that style was outdoorsy or not, but the hat and glasses seemed to match it.

「Holy cow… Yuu-kun, you’re so cool!」

「If you walk down the street in that, people will definitely think you’re a celebrity.」

「I feel like Yuu-kun will attract the gazes of even more women, so I can’t help but be worried.」

「Err, you’re making me blush….」

Receiving praises from those three, as expected even Yuu ended up getting embarrassed.

「At any rate, Riko, Amy, thank you. By all means, I’ll go ahead and use them in the coming seasons, aright?」

Walking around the table, Yuu expressed his gratitude and hugged Riko and Eimi in turn.

Then it was Yuu’s turn now.

Returning to his seat after fetching his backpack that he had left in the living room, what Yuu took out from inside was a compact plastic bag with a camellia flower pattern.

It was something that he had bought at a Japanese-styled store that he found in the shopping street he passed when he went out to the town by himself nearly a month ago.

Among the items stored inside the plastic bag, he first took out a flat box.

「Here you go. Happy 18th birthday! I decided on it while thinking of a certain part of you, Sayaka.」

「A, a part of me… what in the world… Then, can I open it?」

「Sure, go head and open it.」

Perhaps intrigued by Yuu’s words, Riko and Eimi also inched forward as they stared at the item gifted to Sayaka.

The wrapping paper was carefully unwrapped by Sayaka’s hand.

Inside the paper box was a light purple cloth bag with a camellia flower pattern.

「This is… Huh?!」

What Sayaka pulled out of the bag was a beautiful comb made of boxwood.

Her eyes widened in surprise, Sayaka traced the elliptical grain pattern with her icefish-like fingertips.

「F, for me…?」

Yuu turned to Sayaka, who was still unable to take her eyes off the comb, and said in a gentle tone.

「I remember very well that when I first met you, Sayaka, I was captivated by the beauty of your hair. As I wished it to continue to be as beautiful from now on too, I naturally thought a comb would be the way to go.」

As a matter of fact, straight hair was more suited to being groomed with a traditional comb than permed hair.

When he previously heard from Sayaka herself about the items given to her by her fiancé as her birthday gifts, although they were certainly expensive items, it was also a fact that he was concerned about the lack of any semblance of girlishness in them.

Like the time he gave them to his ex-wife as a gift before his rebirth, jewelry such as necklaces and earrings were also candidates.

However, as a first-year high school student, it was difficult to choose an item within the scope of his allowance that would suit the preference of a girl from a wealthy family.

Though, the combs displayed in that store were also highly varied, and there were even some that cost tens of thousands of yen.

After consulting with the shopkeeper, Yuu chose a comb that cost just under 10,000 yen.

「Yuu…kun…. T, thank you… for giving me… such a wonderful gift. Umm… I will take good care of it… and use it.」

She always spoke in a clear manner, but at the moment, perhaps something hot was welling up inside her chest, she managed to somehow give him her thanks while scrambling for words.

Grabbing Sayaka’s hand that was lovingly holding the comb, Yuu brushed the hair on her side away with his other hand, leaned his mouth closer to her ear, and softly whispered…

「I love you, Sayaka.」

「…! Yu…u…」

At that moment, a tear trickled down her cheek from her eye.

「H, huh… why, am I…?」

When she realized that she was crying, she immediately went red in the face and ended up getting flustered.

It was because she had never imagined that receiving a gift from a boy, one he had put his feelings into, would shake her heart to such an extent.

Showing a nice smile, Yuu gently stroked Sayaka’s hair.

She had always thought of him as a younger brother, but at this exact moment, Yuu was like an older man in her mind.

「I’m so happy for you, Sayaka.」

「As I thought, Yuu-kun is such a wonderful boy….」

Even though they felt a little envious, Riko and Eimi watched over the two with a big heart.

When Sayaka had calmed down a little, Yuu took out two small packages from the plastic bag he had placed nearby.