Chapter 389: Super-Sized Cherry Blossom Viewing
Soon, the train arrived at the station. After getting off and exiting the station, they walked a few steps and arrived at the park for today's cherry blossom viewing.
"Oh!!! So many cherry blossoms!"
Looking at the blooming cherry trees visible right from the entrance, Takanashi Rikka gasped, her hand continuously tugging at Togashi Yuuta's sleeve beside her.
"Yuta! There are so many cherry blossoms!"
"Yes, yes, I see them," Togashi Yuuta nodded. "Isn't this normal? They happen every year."
"But I've never come to see cherry blossoms before!"
"Uh... Rikka, you've never been cherry blossom viewing before?"
"I don't think so." After thinking for a moment, Takanashi Rikka said, "I still have to search for the invisible boundary line; I don't have time!"
"...Alright then."
Looking at the girl beside him, Togashi Yuuta always felt that many things he didn't know about had happened to her.
Entering the park, under the guidance of the Club President, everyone arrived at the reserved cherry blossom viewing spot, beneath a massive cherry tree.
They laid out the several picnic blankets they had brought and pieced them together to form one giant one.
"Heave-ho!"
Sitting down, Eriri hugged Kaede's arm and said, "This place feels much better than the park we went to last year!"
After the club leader sat down, he stretched and said, "Of course. After all, the scale is much larger than the park we visited last year, and there are more people, making it livelier."
Across from the Art Club members, Takanashi Rikka was anything but settled, immediately lying down as soon as she sat: "Oh~~ Looking at the cherry blossoms like this is wonderful! I feel like the cherry blossoms have a magical power!"
Seeing Takanashi Rikka's actions, Dekomori Sanae and Colette also lay down one after another, looking up together.
While the girls were making a fuss, Kaede and Eriri exchanged smiles, taking out the prepared bento boxes and drinks from their bags.
Seeing their actions, Usami Mizuki, Togashi Kuzuha, and Takasu Ryuji also brought out the things they had prepared, and suddenly the area in front of everyone was filled with food and drinks.
Taking out disposable cups and pouring drinks for everyone, Kaede raised his cup and said with a smile, "Although it's a bit early, let's play and eat slowly. We prepared a lot of delicious food, absolutely enough for everyone."
"Cheers!!!"
Taking a sip of juice, she used a skewer to pick up a warm chicken piece from the insulated box and put it into her mouth. Utaha narrowed her eyes in satisfaction: "Mm~~ Delicious. Asakura-kun's chicken pieces taste as good as always."
"Thank you for the compliment, Senpai."
Kaede grabbed a chicken piece for Eriri too, and said with a smile, "After all, it was marinated overnight, and the recipe is inherited from my mother, so I'm absolutely confident in it."
Among all the food, the items brought by Kaede and Takasu Ryuji were all homemade, and Togashi Kuzuha's contribution was also homemade. In fact, her cooking level was comparable to that of Kaede and Takasu Ryuji.
Picking up a sandwich made by Togashi Kuzuha and taking a bite, Kaede said in surprise, "This is delicious, Kuzuha-chan! You mixed the sauce for this sandwich yourself, didn't you?"
"That's right!"
Togashi Kuzuha nodded with a smile: "Senpai, you're amazing, you could tell right away! My brother, on the other hand, eats it all the time but never notices!"
"Huh? You mixed it yourself?"
This was the first time Togashi Yuuta had heard about this. After taking a bite of the sandwich, he frowned and asked, "How did you figure that out?"
"It's mainly the consistency of the sauce, and the fact that it contains ground particles that are different from store-bought sauces," Kaede explained. "Togashi, you seem to cook yourself, but it looks like you haven't dealt much with sauces and seasonings. I know about this because of my mom; she loves researching various sauces, and I've tasted many of them. Since I cook myself now, I understand it better."
"I see."
Togashi Yuuta nodded knowingly, took another bite of the sandwich, and closed his eyes to savor it. "It seems like there is a slight difference, but it's not obvious. It tastes pretty similar to what you buy at the supermarket."
"Of course, I'm a professional!"
Despite her small stature, Togashi Kuzuha held her head high and declared confidently, "Homemade is much better than store-bought! Besides not lasting as long, it doesn't have any other weird additives!"
After finishing his sandwich and wiping his hands, Togashi Yuuta patted his sister's head: "Mhm, Kuzuha is amazing!"
Looking at the extremely capable Togashi Kuzuha, Eriri glanced at Colette, who was sitting next to her and shared her blonde hair. The girl's cheeks were currently stuffed with food, and she probably wasn't paying attention to the conversation.
Shaking her head helplessly, Eriri thought that despite having the same blonde hair, to the point where others might mistake Colette for her sister, why was there such a huge gap between her and a middle school girl in terms of capability?
Fortunately, besides Colette, the behavior of Takanashi Rikka and Dekomori Sanae was similar, which helped Eriri feel much more balanced.
After eating a bit, Eriri, who hadn't forgotten one of the purposes of today's outing, took out her sketchbook: "It's been a long time since I've done a sketch. I'll start drawing now! Kaede-kun, feed me!"
Aside from the juniors who came specifically to freeload food and enjoy the outing, everyone in the Art Club also took out their sketchbooks, although they didn't intend to start drawing immediately.
What was surprising was that Utaha had also brought a sketchbook today. She smiled and said, "Hmm~~ I also want to try drawing. I usually slack off during art class, so I wonder how good I'll be."
Utaha's participation made Nibutani Shinka, who immediately took out her own sketchbook, laugh: "Yay, that's great! I thought I was the only one who brought one! But I haven't decided what to draw yet."
Tapping her chin with a pencil, Utaha said, "I already have an idea. Nibutani, let's draw those two."
She then pointed at Kaede and Eriri.
"These two, who constantly emit the scent of 'dog food' (PDA), are truly infuriating. Today, I really want to see what level I can reach drawing them."
"Emm... Uh, well..."
Nibutani Shinka hadn't realized Utaha's resentment was so deep, and for a moment, she didn't know whether she should follow the Senpai's lead.
Eriri looked speechlessly at Utaha and said, "Hey, hey, hey, don't be so extreme! Don't draw me as some kind of unrecognizable monster, or I'll whip you with my twin tails!"
"Hm?"
Dekomori Sanae immediately looked over, fixing her gaze on Eriri's twin tails.