Chapter 61: The Confession
"…Seriously, whose voice was that sounding so happy? …Idiot."
"What's wrong, Hisako?"
The moment she hung up the phone, Hisako muttered the complaint with a flushed face. Erina tilted her head curiously and asked. When Hisako hurriedly replied, "It's nothing!", Erina accepted it at face value. She stopped working on the documents she had been handling since morning and stretched.
"Erina-sama. Um… it seems Santoku Shogo has returned. I received word that he's heading this way."
"Shogo-kun!? I-I see… Grandfather did tell me he'd be back today, but I didn't know what time… He's coming here."
Erina felt her heartbeat, which had been calm until a moment ago, begin to accelerate unmistakably. She was happy to see the person she had longed to meet, but now that it was actually happening, it was a different story. Her cheeks gradually grew red, and her thoughts slowed.
"Erina-sama…? Is something the matter?"
"Eh? N-Nothing at all. …Well, actually… it's a little embarrassing."
Through the Regimental Shokugeki, Erina and Hisako had grown closer than before. Hisako had boldly declared to the father she once feared that she was not a "retainer" but a "friend," and Erina wanted to be honest with her in return.
Looking back calmly now that everything was over, even Erina had lost count of how many times Santoku Shogo had helped her. She didn't want to hide those feelings.
The moment Shogo withdrew from the Regimental Shokugeki, Erina had been seized by a dark terror. The words "I will definitely win" that she had said so bravely to avoid worrying him were not a lie, but she couldn't say she had been confident.
Yet Shogo had casually brushed aside that fear as if it were nothing.
"If you don't at least do that much, I'll be disappointed. —After all, you're supposed to be my rival."
Nothing in those words caused her to falter. They simply removed the terror from Erina's heart. Of course I'll win. There's no way I'll lose. Those words came from someone who believed in her strength.
She wanted to become his rival. She wanted him to acknowledge her as his rival. That provocative encouragement steadied Erina's spirit and let her focus on the cooking before her.
"…I kept my promise with Shogo-kun."
"…Yes. You reclaimed it, Erina-sama. …Our Totsuki Academy."
Erina and Hisako gazed at each other. Having stepped out of the master-retainer relationship, the two smiled gently.
"Erina-sama, let's end today's work here. I'll take care of the cleanup, so please go and talk with Santoku Shogo."
"Eh…? J-Just the two of us?"
"Yes. Just the two of you."
Somewhat forcefully ushered out of the room, Erina yielded to the pressure in Hisako's smiling face and obediently did as she was told.
Judging from the information that he was heading this way, he was probably already close. Not wanting to risk missing him by moving around, Erina decided to wait near the entrance of the school building.
"…Haa."
Under the still-chilly winter sky. Erina looked up at the gray, thick clouds and exhaled a white breath. The surroundings were wrapped in silence; not a single sound could be heard. The situation of waiting for someone in an empty school building felt strangely dreamlike, and Erina buried her face in the muffler she was wearing.
"…Ah."
After waiting for a while, footsteps echoed through the quiet world. Erina, who had been standing with her head down, looked up to see the person she had been waiting for running straight toward her.
A boy wrapped in a black coat, leaving white breaths behind as he sprinted directly to her. Erina faced the boy who appeared before her—Santoku Shogo.
"H-Hello… Shogo-kun."
"Hello, Erina-san."
At the sight of Shogo's face for the first time in about a week, Erina's cheeks grew even redder.
Talking right at the school entrance felt too impersonal, so Shogo and Erina moved to a different spot. They came to the hill with the cherry blossom trees that Erina had occasionally visited since childhood.
In spring, this place would be a superb cherry-blossom viewing spot with trees in full bloom, but in the current season it could only be described as bleak. Even so, neither of their faces clouded over. The location was secondary; who they were with was what mattered most.
"It feels like it's been a while since we last talked like this."
"Yes… Even though it's only been about a week."
"Maybe that just shows how busy we were. Congratulations again on your victory in the Regimental Shokugeki."
"…Yes, thank you."
Shogo and Erina walked side by side through the bare trees, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched but not quite. Shogo was his usual self, but Erina seemed somewhat tense.
"Um… was everything all right with your family? I heard from Grandfather that Father did something…"
"Ah, that. Don't worry, there was no problem. Nothing for you to be concerned about."
"…I see. I'm glad."
Hearing Shogo's words, Erina closed her eyes in relief. She had felt guilty about the matter she had been told after the Regimental Shokugeki.
"Thank you for worrying about me. I've safely returned to the academy, and everything was resolved nicely. …Honestly, I never expected to get caught up in such a big incident in my first year of high school."
"Fufu, that's true."
Erina's soft laugh made Shogo's lips curve upward too. Even though they weren't saying much, there was no awkwardness. There was a comfortable sense that they didn't need to force conversation.
"…Haa."
"Are you cold? Don't you have gloves?"
"Eh, um…"
As Erina warmed her chilled hands, Shogo took one of them and slipped it into the pocket of his own coat.
"Sh-Shogo-kun!? Th-This is… eh? It's warm?"
"I have a heat pack in my pocket. Take shelter there for a bit. Put your other hand in your own coat pocket."
"…Th-Thank… you."
Unable to refuse the kind offer, Erina obediently accepted. In all her life she had never been in such close contact with the opposite sex, so apart from the warmth being given to her, her ears turned red.
"The Advancement Exam is over, so we're second-years now. …Oh, right. Congratulations on becoming the new headmaster, Erina Headmaster."
"St-Stop that… I don't like being called that."
"Haha, sorry, sorry. But it's amazing, isn't it? A first-year high school student becoming headmaster of Totsuki Academy."
"It's not amazing at all. …I don't even know if I'm up to the task."
The position of headmaster was no small responsibility. There was no way Erina, who had been a student until recently, could feel confident.
"You'll be fine. It's okay."
"…Why?"
"Because I'm here. After this incident, the Santoku family will also be involved in running Totsuki Academy. So it's not just empty comfort—I can really help too."
"Is… is that true…?"
"Yes, it's true. You can ask Senzemon-dono later if you want."
The astonishing fact stated so casually made Erina's thoughts freeze for a moment. Even so, the fact that Shogo would be a collaborator was so appealing that her cheeks unconsciously softened into a smile.
"As I thought, Erina-san looks cutest when you're smiling."
"Wha—!? D-Don't tease me…"
"No, no, I just said what I was thinking."
At the sudden words, heat rose in Erina. The hand still linked with his, her face, her ears—everything grew so warm she no longer felt the cold.
"…!"
Erina turned her face away but stole glances at Shogo with her peripheral vision. He showed no sign of embarrassment and was completely natural. The situation of being the only one feeling embarrassed filled Erina with an indescribable frustration.
There were things she wanted to say. Things she wanted to talk about. While waiting for Shogo's return, Erina had been thinking about them the entire time.
Her own feelings—toward Santoku Shogo.
She already knew what they were.
Erina was still a maiden after all; she had learned from shoujo manga.
She recalled the days since they first met. Memories of the boy who had suddenly stepped into her world, which until then had revolved solely around cooking.
The first time they met, at the transfer exam.
"Wait just a moment, customer."
The time they played cards together in the same room during the training camp.
"Thank you for inviting me, Nakiri-san."
The time they swore to become rivals, during the Stagiaire.
"…Yeah. I'm looking forward to it."
The Moon Banquet Festival, when she had been helpless and he saved her.
"That's my seat."
The moonlit night when he took her away from the mansion.
"I came to rescue you. —Now, let's run."
The harsh yet gentle words that roused her when she was afraid.
"If you can't even defeat Nakiri Azami, talking about defeating me is just a joke."
The beautiful starry sky they looked up at from the train window.
"…The stars really are beautiful, aren't they? —Erina-san."
The Regimental Shokugeki, when he trusted her and left it in her hands.
"This is as far as I go. The rest is up to you."
All of it had shaped the current Erina.
It had shaped the self who had fallen in love with Santoku Shogo.
"Sh-Shogo-kun…"
"Hm? What is it?"
Erina stopped walking and spoke. Her heart was pounding harder than ever, and a crushing pressure weighed on her chest.
Even so, Erina looked straight at Shogo's face. Without averting her eyes, their gazes met.
"…I…"
Her mouth wouldn't move properly. Even though she had steeled her resolve, her throat kept trembling.
Erina once again recognized how terrifying what she was about to do was. Whether she succeeded or failed, their current relationship could never return to how it was. That fact dulled her resolve.
"…I…!"
Power unconsciously flowed into her hand. Still, the words she wanted to say wouldn't come out.
Feeling pathetic, tears welled up in Erina's eyes against her will.
For a few seconds, time seemed to stop.
The one who spoke first—was Shogo.
"—I like you, Erina."
In that instant, Erina's thoughts completely halted.
The surprise attack struck her eardrums precisely. The moment she understood the meaning, her body grew even hotter.
Simple, short words. There was no mistaking it—it was a confession. She had never expected this, and Erina's brain nearly short-circuited.
"Ah, eh… Eh?"
She couldn't form words properly. One thing was certain: her face was fiercely red. Erina could declare that with confidence.
She had been confessed to by the opposite sex several times in her life, but her emotions had never shaken this violently. Even though the answer she should give was already decided, Erina's agitation continued.
"So, can I have your answer now? I did mean it as a confession, just so we're clear."
"That's… yes. An answer… an answer, right…!"
Her gaze darted left and right, but Erina firmed her resolve once more. There was no need to be afraid. He had already told her first that their feelings were mutual.
After taking one breath, Erina met Shogo's eyes. With moist eyes, she returned her honest feelings.
"…I like you too. —I like you… Shogo-kun."
Erina almost wanted to praise herself. The courage she had mustered was that great.
"Then from today on, you'll be not just my 'rival' but also my 'girlfriend,' right?"
"...G-Girlfriend."
"Yes, girlfriend. …The kind of relationship where we hold hands like this."
Shogo took the hand that had been linked in his pocket and changed the grip to the so-called "lover's hold." All their fingers intertwined, and their overlapping palms confirmed each other's presence. The warmth that passed between them was pleasant, and the tension naturally drained from Erina's shoulders.
"Looking forward to it from now on… Erina."
"Me too… Shogo-kun."
With the tension gone, they both laughed at the same time. Happily, bashfully, joyfully.
There was undoubtedly a hot youth there that could blow away the cold.
"For now, this stays our secret, okay? Even from Hisako-san, Erina."
"Eh, yes. I understand. …Fufu. Our secret, just the two of us."
Having said what they wanted to say, Shogo and Erina started walking back toward the school building. Their firmly linked hands remained as they were. Feeling the happiness of the distance they had obtained, the two slowly made their way back.
Until they returned near the school building, their hands never let go.
***
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