Lonely Rock for the Blind

Nekoyashiki Haru nodded.

Kita Ikuyo smiled with satisfaction, then said to the waiter next to her.

"Two cups of Ceylon tea, two blueberry chiffon cakes. Ah, one of them needs more cream, the other one needs less..."

"Um... is the extra cream for me?"

The cat named Haru next to him asked.

"Yes."

Kita Ikuyo nodded and said.

“…I’ll get tired of it…”

"It's okay, it's okay. The extra dosage isn't much."

Kita Ikuyo waved her hand to suppress Nekayashiki Haru's worries.

Nekoyashiki Haru took out his wallet from his pocket, pulled out a few Fukuzawa Yukichi notes, and handed them to Kita Ikuyo.

"I won't need that much."

Kita Ikuyo quickly waved her hand and said.

"It's okay. I might have to treat you to a meal later. Consider it an advance payment."

"How much are you going to treat me to?!"

"The more the better."

"I'd better take one."

"She's completely different from Yamada-san. Usually, she takes it away the moment I give it to her."

Nekoyashiki Haru said with relief, his voice full of kindness, and the air seemed to be filled with the words "Good boy, good boy".

"Ryo-senpai is just short of money... I'll definitely pay you back next month."

Kita Yu made a brief excuse on behalf of Yamada Ryo, then drew a Fukuzawa Yukichi card and turned to look at Hiroi Kikuri on the other side.

“…hiss…why is there no wine?”

Hiroi Kikuri said worriedly.

"There's definitely no alcohol in the cake shop!"

Kita Ikuyo covered her face and said.

"Kikuri..."

Nekayashiki Haru's voice held a hint of menace.

"Ahahaha... I'm just curious. I don't drink alcohol."

Hiroi Kikuri's finger pressed against the menu.

"Then this...this...Pistachio Mille-feuille? Ahem, this is it!"

Hiroi Kikuri said carelessly.

"Ok."

The waiter next to him, who had been smiling politely, nodded.

"Please wait a moment."

After the waiter left, Kita Ikuyo stretched gently.

"Hmm... Street performances are really tiring. I suddenly feel that people who usually perform on the streets have a hard time."

"It's not bad actually."

Hiroi Kikuri was playing with folding paper with a tissue.

"You're an old hand, so you must feel normal. Kita is just nervous, so you feel tired, right?"

Nekoyashiki Haru asked Kita Ikuyo.

"Yeah, it's really too much for Senpai to suddenly stop and force me to play guitar..."

"Feel sorry…"

Nekayashiki Haru apologized weakly, then continued asking.

"But Kita definitely popped out."

“It sucks.”

Kita Ikuyo evaluated herself.

"That's not important, Kita. What's important is, do you hate the feeling you had at that moment?"

Nekoyashiki Haru's hand was grabbed by Hiroi Kikuri, and then a boat made of tissue paper was put on her head, but the boat collapsed the next moment.

“…I don’t mind.”

Kita Ikuyo shook her head.

"Rather, I quite like that feeling."

Kita Ikuyo leaned slightly against the back of the chair.

"That's enough."

Nekoyashiki Haru smiled gently.

Kita Ikuyo glanced at Nekayashiki Haru's smile.

The yellow-green eyes narrowed slightly.

"Senior, you look so cool when you play guitar."

Kita Ikuyo suddenly said.

"Really? Thank you for the compliment."

Nekoyashiki Haru nodded.

"... "

Kita Ikuyo looked at Nekayashiki Haru without saying anything else.

"Your cake."

The waiter put the cake down on the tray, bowed slightly, and walked away.

"Ah, this is yours, senpai."

Putting the blueberry cream cake in front of Nekoyashiki Haru, Kita Ikuyo said with a smile.

"You have to eat it all. Here, fork."

“…I’ll try my best…”

Nekoyashiki Haru took the fork handed to him by Kita Ikuyo and gently poked the cake...

"Wait a moment!!!"

Kita Ikuyo suddenly stopped him loudly.

"What's wrong?!"

The startled Nekoyashiki Haru turned towards Kita Ikuyo.

"This part of the cake can't be the first bite! But you can't see it, Senior, so there's nothing I can do."

Hiroi Kikuri, who had already eaten half of the cake, looked up a little confused.

"Is it necessary to be so particular?"

“It’s necessary!”

He stretched out his fork and gently adjusted the position of Nekayashiki Haru's fork.

"Okay, here it is, let's eat!"

"... "

Nekoyashiki Haru gently poked the cake with his fork, then scooped out a portion and put it into his mouth.

“…So disgusting…”

"how come?!"

Kita Ikuyo took a bite of her own.

"it's common!"

Then he scooped out some of Nekoyashiki Haru's and put it into his mouth.

"That's normal...ah..."

Suddenly realizing that she had directly scooped out Nekoyashiki Haru's cake and put it into her mouth, Kita Ikuyo was slightly stunned, and then her cheeks turned slightly red.

At this moment, Hiroi Kikuri finished eating the cake and raised her head.

"Xiaoqing doesn't seem to like cheese, which has no flavor but a greasy texture. Maybe the same goes for cream."

“…No, it’s not like I haven’t tried other creams before, and I can tolerate them if they’re not too heavy, but this one always feels really greasy…”

"Ugh...what should I do now..."

Kita Ikuyo looked at the cake in front of Nekayashiki Haru with distress.

"... "

Nekayashiki Haru was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and smiled at Kita Ikuyo beside him.

"It's still okay to eat it, there won't be any leftovers."

Nekoyashiki Haru smiled, then scooped up a big bite and put it in his mouth.

“…it’s actually quite delicious…”

Nekoyashiki Haru showed her thumbs up.

"Senior, you don't have to force yourself. I said I'd finish it all, but that was just talk."

Kita Ikuyo said softly.

"Well... after all, you've been calling me senior for so long... at least finish the cake."

Nekayashiki Haru took a deep breath and scooped up another big spoonful.

"Delicious... Ugh... Delicious... Delicious!"

"I'm already retching! There's no need to fight so hard!"

...

……

.........

After drinking the black tea next to him in one gulp, Nekayashiki Haru broke out in a cold sweat.

"…eat…finished…a formidable opponent, the blueberry chiffon cake…"

"senior…"

Kita Ikuyo looked at Nekoyashiki Haru with emotion.

"I will definitely find a cake shop that suits your taste in the future!"

"Thank...thank you..."

Chapter 45: Reasons to Care

"Senior! Miss Hiroi! Goodbye!"

In front of the station, carrying her guitar bag, Kita Ikuyo waved goodbye to Nekayashiki Haru and Hiroi Kikuri.

"Goodbye, Xiaohong."

Hiroi Kikuri smiled and raised her hand in response, and Nekayashiki Haru also shook her hand gently.