Knowing When to Back Down is Key

By the end of the day, it was decided that Amane's class would hold a café for the cultural festival. While the boys were overjoyed at the vote, Amane could only put on a bitter expression and endure the situation. The boys were likely expecting Mahiru, Chitose, and the other beautiful girls to dress up as waitresses.

Amane obediently obeyed the decision because he couldn't overturn what had already been decided, but was still resisting slightly as he took his measurements.

"Nah, an outfit like that won't suit me," Amane asserted.

"You won't know until you put it on. Come on, give it up. It's already been decided."

"Just give it up, Fujimiya!"

"So you're already throwing in the towel, Kadowaki…" "I had a feeling this would happen, you see."

According to the person doing the negotiations, their costumes had been planned to be rented out without incident, so now the students in charge of serving the customers began to take their measurements to secure the costumes as soon as possible.

Amane was dissatisfied with the notion of him serving customers without being asked first.

Trying to be considerate, Itsuki said, "You have to be prepared for anything, even if it means spending time with Shiina-san," but Amane wanted him to let him know first.

"By the way… have you gotten thicker than before?"

"How rude. I haven't put on any weight. I'm forced to live a regular life." "Haha, your wife's taking good care of you."

"Shut up."

Amane was embarrassed that he'd called Mahiru his wife and gave him some harsh words, but Itsuki gave him the same teasing smile as always.

"Well, I still think you've gained weight. Have you put on more muscle than before?"

"That might be it. It's all thanks to the Kadowaki-style muscle training I've been doing."

"What? I want to know as well."

Surprisingly, the now curious Itsuki went over to interrogate Yuuta, and Amane glanced around at the boys around him. They were taking their measurements just like he was. They were talking about something among themselves, but very sneakily, so Amane inevitably grew curious. Hearing their excited voices, Amane strained his ears to listen in on their conversation and noticed that they were talking about Mahiru.

"Shiina-san wearing a maid outfit, huh…? She must look stunning in it." "The girls are taking their measurements in a different classroom right now, aren't they? She'll look amazing, dude. No doubt in my mind." "She does have huge knockers, after all."

"She's always with Shirakawa, isn't she? The difference in size between them is no joke."

"Hey. Akazawa would kill you if he heard that."

"You'd be surprised. Even Itsuki admitted that her size was on the modest side… His palm was too big, apparently…"

"That said… I'm so jealous. That dude can keep Shiina-san all to himself."

Amane looked at them without even hiding his exasperation as he looked toward Itsuki. If Amane was asked, he would say that talking like this about other people's girlfriends was disgusting.

"…At least try not to talk so loudly," Amane spoke up. "Fujimiya? So you were listening, huh?"

He wished they wouldn't fantasize about his girlfriend's physique, but he didn't want to get angry in such a place, so he held himself back. Besides, no matter how much they fantasized about it, Amane was the only one who would actually get the chance to see it, so he could say he gave them some leeway.

Itsuki seemed to have heard them too and smiled wryly. It would have been bad if Chitose had known about it, but it seemed that Itsuki had no intention of telling her, so it would stay a secret.

"Well… I have no choice."

"That angel, she's always hiding it in her blazer and vest, but she's pretty… Hey, Fujimiya, how is it really?"

It was precisely because they were in a boys-only place that they started having silly conversations. Amane shrugged, trying not to furrow his brow as they looked at him expectantly. "Not sure what you want me to say," Amane replied. "They're exactly how it looks, I guess."

"Don't dodge the question," the classmate retorted. "No idea what to say. That's all."

"There's apples and then there's melons, you get me?"

"Fruits vary from person to person." Amane remained vague, "Don't you think?"

"Man, you're such a pain in the ass!"

"That'd be you!" Amane countered. "…In the first place, why should I even tell you her size?" To begin with, it wasn't like Amane had an accurate grasp of his girlfriend's size. Well, in reality, he did know. He saw Mahiru's laundry when they visited his parents' house, but he knew better than to tell them that.

They closed in on Amane, their enthusiasm clearly not cooling down as they pushed toward him with pressure. Seeking help, he looked at Itsuki, but he simply gave him a shrug and a grin. It wasn't the look of him intending to play savior.

"Anyways, I haven't the foggiest idea." Amane insisted. "Don't pull a fast one on us with a lie, dude."

"I'm telling you, I haven't got a clue."

"Ah, you guys." Itsuki interjected. "What Amane's saying isn't a lie." He seemed to have no choice other than to delicately offer help, and he smiled under the gazes of the approaching boys and Amane.

"I mean, Amane's the kind of guy who wouldn't lay a finger on Shiina-san even if it was just the two of them at home. There's no way he'd know."

At Itsuki's words, the classroom fell silent. "…Fujimiya, latest theory says you're not a man."

"So that's why you didn't show any interest in that gravure magazine." "No!" Amane shot back. "Itsuki, don't say it like that. I just want to respect Mahiru's wishes!"

"People call that being a coward." "Hey, now."

"No, that's normal… isn't it normal for the other person to accept being alone in a situation like that? Girls aren't stupid, they're considering the possibility."

"Well, you know, the two of them seem to think it's too early for that because they're a serious, pure, and innocent couple. It's a moment that will come naturally with due time. Just don't say anything unnecessary."

"Hey, Itsuki, whose side are you on?" "I'll always be on your side."

"I just can't trust you…!" Hearing Itsuki's words, the boys around them started looking at him pitifully, and conversely, they also gave him lukewarm smiles.

Amane's cheeks twitched greatly.

"It's not like I'm pure or anything, and I'd like to if I could, but I'm just thinking about Mahiru's future…"

"I see―"

"Don't grin at me like that… Oi, what's with you guys? Don't you dare look at me."

Feeling extremely unbearable, he bit down on his lip as he received even more pity from the boys. Now flashing Amane an even bigger smile, he couldn't bear it anymore and threw a cloth measuring tape at the face of the culprit, Itsuki.

✧ ₊ ✦ ₊ ✧

"…Um, Amane-kun? I don't know why, but the boys seem to be looking at me with mellow eyes. Why's that?"

"No idea."

The girls had finished taking their measurements and met up with them, but they were worried about getting strange looks from the boys, so they whispered to each other.

Amane, on the other hand, received warm stares from the girls, so he wanted to ask the exact same of Mahiru.

"I'm getting some weird looks from the girls… Mahiru, did you say anything?" "N-No, I didn't do anything to tarnish your honor."

"So you said something other than that, didn't you?"

"I-I was just talking about how you normally are, Amane-kun, and about how I spend my time, so don't worry."

"What was it exactly?"

"…That you're a wonderful gentleman, Amane-kun?" "You too!?"

"Me too?"

"No, it's nothing."

He couldn't mention that he was being ridiculed for his lack of manliness, so he replied in a calm voice while panicking internally and ruffled Mahiru's head. She stared at him blankly.

"…Let's stop leaking information. It's embarrassing."

"Y-You're right. Personally… I'm glad everyone's teaching me a lot of things." "Hey, I can't help but worry about what you're being imbued with."

Even though Chitose had implanted her with knowledge he'd rather not have her know, he was afraid that the other girls would be giving her even more strange ideas. He was confident that Chitose wouldn't go overboard, but if he could, he would prefer to know what they were trying to tell her.

"…It's not like anything bad will happen to you, Amane-kun."

"I don't know how to deal with the way girls are looking at me right now." "W-Well… it can't be helped."

"I feel like there's nothing we can do about it."

"Hey, you two. I don't mind you flirting, but I'd like to move on to the topic at hand, so stop showing off."

Itsuki, serving as an executive committee member, looked at Amane and shrugged as he stood in front of the podium.

They weren't trying to flirt, but at this rate, Amane didn't think there was any point in saying anything back.

"Well, let's put those two aside and decide on our menu for the café. We should have decided on it first, but I had to make an early reservation for our costumes. Oh, and Kido-san, make sure you calculate the size of your clothes and order what we need. I'm the boy here. Don't misuse the information."

Itsuki, who was good at delegating tasks, briskly gave instructions and gave a report of the class' measurements to the girl in charge of the costumes.

"Anyway, we can't use raw food. There's a limit to how long we can use the kitchen, and from a sanitary standpoint, we usually offer baked sweets and drinks. Any objections?"

"Okaaay."

"Chi, don't mix any strange stuff in there." "How rude."

Chitose had a track record since Valentine's Day, she would only do that to her close friends and wasn't thinking of serving it to customers.

"Anyway, as for drinks, well, it's a café, so coffee, black tea, and juice should be fine. If you have any other ideas for food or drinks, hand them over. I can only suggest something obvious."

"Okay, okay. What about ice cream? I want cream soda!"

"That's a good idea, but how would we preserve it? If we're going to put store-bought food in the kitchen and carry it, that's fine. But it'll take up space in the

freezer, so we'll need to talk to the student council about that. I'll list it as a candidate for now, so I'll ask the student council later while I'm at it."

"What about a light meal?"

"I took that into account, but considering the time it takes to make it and the time it takes to restrain the maker, I don't recommend it. There's a pretty big difference between providing something that's premade and making it fresh. Also, even if it's a light meal, hot dogs and warmed sandwiches are the only ones that we can cook properly. Especially the hot dogs. It looks like other classes are going to do that, too, so stealing their share would be going a bit too far."

"Nothing we can do about that."

Amane thought that Itsuki was very adept at leading the class as he moved the conversation forward and touched on all the topics needed, and Mahiru seemed to be thinking the same thing and smiled a little, saying, "He's reliable."

"Well then, that should be enough suggestions for now. Now I just have to submit this to the student council and wait for their confirmation. So, about securing that drink… I know someone from a shop that sells coffee beans, so I'll try negotiating with them. I'll try to get a discount on the price in exchange for advertising their store. It'd be nice if we could adjust the taste for our audience too."

"Whew, you're so reliable."

"Don't fall for me now. Boys only get a 'no thanks.'"

Itsuki conducted the meeting very casually, but amazingly, he still did what was supposed to be done, and to a high standard.

Impressed by his cheerfulness and leadership skills that he couldn't imitate, Amane thought little by little about what he should do and sighed softly.

After all, last year I was only decorating the haunted house.

For some reason, he felt like he was being forced into serving customers this year, but at the same time, he was deeply moved that he could participate in such a youthful and student-like event.

Just the year before, Amane thought of the cultural festival as a waste of time and effort… but now he had Mahiru by his side. He didn't think it was a bad idea for the two of them to use this chance to make memories together.

"Is something the matter?" Mahiru asked, curious. "Hm? Just felt like I gotta do my best at the festival."

"Hehe, that's true. …Um, I'm excited to see how you serve, Amane-kun." "Nothing like there's anything to see. I'll just end up looking unfriendly." Mahiru smiled cheerfully hearing his response to her playful teasing.