The Classmate Who Is Adored by Everyone Smiles Teasingly Only at Me-Chapter 2V1 .4 - Smiling Strawberry Parfait

Smiling Strawberry Parfait 4

“Say, ‘Please give me this one.’, put the item on the counter, then say, ‘Tell me the price, and I’ll pay for it.’. Say, ‘Please give me this one.’, put the item on the counter, then say, ‘Tell me the price, and I’ll pay for it.’——”

She continues to recite the steps of shopping aloud, loud enough to be heard even from near the entrance.

…What is this feeling?

Even though he’s just watching his classmate shop, a new emotion he’s never experienced before wells up in his chest.

It’s a chaotic mix of anxiety and anticipation that he can’t quite describe.

Watching Chika, he finds himself torn between cheering her on and worrying if everything will be okay.

If Sōma were a girl, he might have joined Miki in pampering Chika like a cute little kitten.

As Sōma anxiously observes, it’s finally Chika’s turn at the register.

She hands the items to the cashier, has the barcodes scanned, and pays for them.

Although she nearly drops some coins from her wallet, the whole process is surprisingly smooth, almost anticlimactic.

“I did it! Sōma-san, did you see it? I managed to shop all by myself!”

She rushes over with a proud expression as if she were a rookie adventurer who successfully completed a high-level quest for the first time.

“I saw. I thought you might struggle more, but it seems like it was no problem at all. Well done, well done.”

“Hehe. Oh, by the way, Sōma-san! Please don’t do what Miki-chan does!”

“Ah, sorry. I couldn’t help but pat your head.”

Unconsciously, he reaches out to touch her head, even though there are other customers around.

He quickly withdraws his hand after feeling the softness of her hair.

“Anyway, with this, I’ve taken one step up the adult staircase!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t say it that way in public, but yeah, I guess so.”

As he applauds lightly, she happily jumps around, carrying the store’s bag with her newly purchased items.

“Ah, I did it! I did it! See, I can do it!”

Her excitement is anything but adult-like.

“——Ah, that’s right.”

After showing off her dance of joy, Chika rummages through the bag and hands him two things.

One is a cat-shaped silicone tray. The other is——

“This is a thank-you gift for watching over me and a souvenir to commemorate my successful first solo shopping trip.”

It’s a small cat plushie that can fit in the palm of his hand.

Despite its size, it’s remarkably well-made.

“I haven’t done anything deserving of receiving something like this…”

As he gazes at the cat plushie sitting in his hand, he can’t help but show a puzzled expression.

All Sōma did was watch.

When someone does something like this for him, it makes him feel somewhat embarrassed instead.

“Please, take it. Look, now we’re matching.”

Chika picks up an identical plushie and presents it with a sparkling smile.

If he were to refuse forcefully, it would dampen her smile.

“…Alright. I’ll put it on my desk or something.”

“Yes, please do!”

After putting the plushie in his school bag, Chika happily and carefully places her own plushie back in the bag.

“Now, let’s go to the next store!”

Having successfully completed her solo shopping and gained confidence, Chika raises her fist cutely as if saying, ‘I can do this!’

“Are we still going?”

He had assumed that they would go to the café he had requested.

“Actually, I made a reservation at the store you wanted to go to. But there’s still some time before the reservation.”

“You’re well-prepared. I’ve never made a reservation for a café before.”

“I wanted to try making a reservation. I was a bit nervous, but I managed to do it on my smartphone.”

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Seeing him surprised at her skillful efficiency, she proudly showed him her smartphone screen.

Certainly, there is still plenty of time until the reserved time.

“If we already have a set time, it would be a waste to just wait around. Shall we go to the next place?”

“Okay! This way!”

With Sōma’s approval, Chika started walking energetically.

“You seem to be having fun.”

“Yes, I am really enjoying it!”

When I asked, she vigorously nodded.

“I’m always dragged around by Miki-chan, going here and there, so it’s my first time deciding the destination and leading the way. That’s why it feels so fresh and exciting.”

“Is that so?”

Though they’re just walking for shopping, she looks so happy.

After all, this girl has a strong sense of independence.

However, despite her independence, she finds herself in a passive position, being influenced by others, probably due to her timidity or perhaps her kindness.

…No, that’s not it.

While those might be reasons too, the biggest reason is probably that this girl unconsciously stimulates protective instincts.

Just by looking at her, anyone can’t help but think, ‘Is she okay? Is it safe? Shouldn’t I help her? Shouldn’t I protect her?’

She isn’t small, and her face doesn’t look childish.

In other words, she doesn’t have the so-called ‘Lolita’ appearance.

If she just stood there silently, it would be more appropriate to describe her as beautiful.

However, the atmosphere around her is so innocent and adorable.

Perhaps this mismatch is what triggers the desire to protect her.

“Alright, we have arrived.”

While gazing at Chika’s profile, they arrived at the next store.

“… As expected, it’s the classic choice.”

Looking at the store’s appearance, he was momentarily dazzled.

The second store was a women’s apparel shop.

Inside the clean, white-themed store, colorful clothes were displayed like flowers in a flowerbed.

In a girl’s shopping list, there had to be something related to clothing.

He was prepared to visit this kind of shop after seeing the list.

However, now that they were actually about to enter the store, he felt nervous.

He had never set foot in a women’s apparel shop in his entire life.