“Hey…”

“…”

The next day, Yuzuki and I met up at my cousin’s café to decide our next action. At the usual seat, after picking up the drinks we ordered, I touched her cheek again.

“…Isn’t this more than last time?”

“…”

At my interrogation, she looked away embarrassedly, her cheeks flushed pink.

Seems that she is self aware. So this is why she looked unusually nervous when I was about to touch her cheek today.

But still, she’s really easy to fall in love…

“N-no, it’s… that… Sorry.”

“Nah, you don’t have too. Just tell me the reason. That guy’s Aoki, right?” I questioned.

The latest member of the “Crush List”, Aoki, is of class eight like me. Pardon my way of putting it, but he isn’t the most memorable guy around.

But if I recall, he’s one of the Yuzuki fan club.

“Why… I don’t know either.” She frowned.

“Don’t know? Something that you’re attracted to, anything?” I continued probing.

Her frown deepened, “…He picked up my handkerchief for me in the hallway. We chatted a bit then, nothing in particular before that.”

“His appearance is your type?”

The probability is low, but I asked anyway. And it’s to protect what’s left of Aoki’s honor.

“I don’t think so… Among people I’ve come to like, their appearance varied, so…”

“I see…” I noted.

That was true. From the twenty three… No, from the twenty four people in this list, none of them have something in common in terms of appearance. Some good-looking, some plain. Some burly, some lanky. In terms of height or body types, the deviation is also high.

“So is it okay to assume that appearance has no influence? For all of them, I mean.”

“Perhaps… I think so. But if not then what? Why have I come to like them? I don’t have the answer…”

“…So you know nothing.”

“Yeah…”

“Hoh…” I let out a breath.

This is going to be more troublesome than I imagined.

“I-I mean… There’s too many of them… And there’s no definite pattern to liking someone. Besides, the reason I’m asking for your help is precisely because of this.”

“Well… I suppose that’s true.”

Moreover, I did say it myself that romantic feelings aren’t something you can control.

She had a point. But just that, the fact that there’s too little data is still there.

“Even if there’s no pattern, surely there must be a reason why you like them. Like in this case, being treated kindly.”

“I have considered that. But if that’s the reason, then I think the number would be absurd. Besides…”

“Besides?” I repeated.

“If that’s so, then there’s no way that I wouldn’t… like… you.” Her voice faded away steadily.

[TN: It’s a bit confusing here, in the later chapters, Io said that didn’t see himself when he touched Yuzuki, contrary to Yuzuki’s declaration at the end of chapter 1]

Silence.

“W-well…” I cleared my throat.

“I–o—!” At that moment, a chipper voice suddenly came from beside our table.

I turned and saw my jolly cousin. An apron over his shirt and denim, his exuberant grin annoys me to no end.

And he dared show up when it’s the embarrassing moment.

“What do you want?”

“Hey, hey. I’m providing the venue for you. Be nice, will you?”

“Isn’t this a café? We even ordered.”

“Hmmm. Are you sure about saying that? I did look out for that seat?” He pouted.

“Ah–, I’m sorry. I’m forever grateful–” I pulled my hands up in surrender.

This guy…I did owe him a favor, but he’s always messing around with me.

“So, what are you after?”

“Nahh–, I saw you talking with a girl, so I thought I’d join in,” he chortled.

“What about going back to work? Work?”

“It’s okay, it’s not that busy now.”

Don’t “It’s okay”, your part timers are complaining…

“Ah, um, I’m sorry we stayed here for a long time…” Yuzuki bowed her head.

She’s thorough when it comes to this, huh? As expected.

“Nope, it’s totally fine, totally fine. This happens all the time, thanks to Io. Besides, having a cute girl like you like here makes the store seem stylish.”

“Ah, no. Not that much…”

[TN: In Japan, it is a normal practice to deny the praise in order to show humility]

“Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself. I’m Akashi Yukito, Io’s cousin and CEO of this Café Proof.” He flashed another grin.

“You’re just a manager,” I reminded him.

“I had already checked the definition of CEO, I meet qualifications.”

How convenient of you. You just like how that sounds, don’t you.

Yukito is seven years older than me, a cousin from my father’s side. He knew about my activities as the Angel and was willing to lend me his place when I needed it, just like now. To be honest, he helped me out a lot.

But it would be great if he stopped these annoying interruptions.

“I’m Yuzuki Minato. I’m Akashi’s friend from school,” she introduced herself.

“Friends. Hmm, friends, huh?” Yukito put his hand on his chin and bobbed his head.

“Yukito-san?”

“Whoa. Stop that ‘Yukito-san’, it’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Ah, but…”

“Just call by the first name, Yuzuki–”

“Don’t be silly,” I cut in.

Considering that our surname is the same, the logic’s  kinda understandable, though.

“And if you’re going to call by first name, do it with Io. Ah, and Io too, call Yuzuki-san by her first name. What a perfect timing.”

“Eehhh?!”

“Hey, Yukito…”

That’s unnecessary…

“‘Io’ is just two letters. Besides, there’d be many more occasions to call him, so that makes sense, right? And girls can’t call the guy’s first name one-sidedly.” argued Yukito with the smirkiest grin of the day.

[TN: Description for this is quite lengthy, you can look up here https://cotoacademy.com/san-sama-kun-and-chan/ if you’re curious]

This is what makes this guy so annoying. He looks like he’s joking around, but he’s awfully good at logically validating his pranks.

Really…

“There’s no way… We need to talk at school too.”

“It’s not that rare nowadays, right? You always call people by their names, you don’t like it when it’s your turn?”

[TN: If you pay attention, Io never uses honorifics.]

“Urgh…” I groaned.

“Listen to what your patron says, Io. I’ll be back to check on you, just so you know.”

“Ha? Oi!”

At that, Yukito went back to work. From the counter, he sent us a jovial wink.

That guy…I’ll remember this!

“S-so what next?” she asked, baffled. A normal reaction.

“It’s a pain… But Yukito’s serious at times like this. Better follow what he says, better than listen to his complaints…I guess.”

He’s good at poking at people’s weak points, and even more at getting people to follow his suggestions. With that in mind, listening to what he says without resistance is the best solution.

The part timers here too must be troubled. I can imagine their daily struggles.

“But, I think he’d be satisfied with making fun of me. Earlier, you were just used by him in order to achieve that. That’s why it’ll be fine if you let me call me by your first name, you don’t have to call mine.”

He probably won’t corner Yuzuki like he did with me. He tends to keep his outward appearance good, after all.

“But still, if it’s only you it would be strange, right?” she noted.

“Hm? Nah… Well, it might sound unbalanced, but that’s it. You don’t need to worry about that,” I refuted

Even though I said that, Yuzuki was deep in thought.

She’s serious, no… upright in a weird way.

“Um, yup. After all, I’ll call you too… by your first name,” she insisted

“U-um, okay…”

“…”

Her face flushed red.

I don’t want to stop her as she says so, but isn’t that pushing herself too hard?

“Then, what about calling that only when we’re here? Sorry, Minato.”

[TN: Minato is Yuzuki’s first name]

“Hya!…Umm. Uhhh…I-Io!”

Just like how people make contracts in anime, we called each other’s names once.

Well, it shouldn’t be a big deal. Just change the way we call each other, that’s it. But the thing is, Yuzuki– Minato– looked squirmy, her cheeks even redder than before.

“You don’t have to, you know?”

“N-no. It’s okay…! It’s just… I’ve never called a boy by the first name…” she mumbled in a muffled, fading voice.

That reaction, if you can, stop please…

◆　◆　◆

“What are you after?” While wiping the dishes at the counter, I glared at Yukito who was closing the register.

After that, we discussed our course of action quickly and adjourned. Minato went home, while I went straight to help out the store until the café closed.

This was one of the conditions for renting the place.

While I do get paid, I was basically called in to fill in shifts as Yukito wanted.

“Nothing–. I was just trying to support my cute cousin in befriending a beautiful girl,” he replied.

“What support? Adults don’t play around with high school students. It’s gross.”

“I’m still young, just twenty three. Unfortunately.” His voice was somber, his usual glee was nowhere to be found.

Whatever meaning lies in those words, that was for later.

Yukito’s behavior was worse than usual today.

“You’re always helping other people’s love, what about yours? I just want to shine light into Io’s lonely youth, what’s wrong with that?”

“Yep, totally wrong. You already know that I have yet–”

“Io.” Interrupting my argument, Yukito stared at me.

With his soft smile still on his face, he continued in an admonishing tone.

“You too, wouldn’t it be better if you stop giving that girl special treatment?”

“…”

“Something painful, you’d be better off if you forget it, you know? You still have to live on.”

“…Shut up.”

Just shut up, Yukito.

I know. I know this the best.

[TN: The feather marks the next part as Ayaha interlude. As I personally like everything about the interlude, I really wanna keep this feather, lol]