I woke up early in the morning, ready to go, and headed straight to the airport of D.U. I’ve already taken care of three days’ worth of absence requests for the school trip.
Even though I was stuck calming down Nagisa, who was whining in her sleep for about 20 minutes, I didn’t mind at all.
Honestly, it’d be a hundred times better to share a fleeting emotional connection before I leave than to have Nagisa wake up alone and notice my absence.
Basically, I’m the type to leave way earlier than necessary, so it wasn’t a big deal to arrive ten minutes earlier and not be late at all.
“Good morning, Misa-chan♪”
“…!”
But for some reason, my nearby kids never arrive on time.
With their suitcases resting at their feet, Haruna, who had taken a bite of her waffle, and Noah, who was holding a waffle without actually taking a bite, greeted me. I didn’t miss the fact that the distance between the two was closing in on zero.
“Noa-chan, Haruna-chan~☆”
As I waved my hand energetically and approached, Haruna, with her eyes shut, mumbled something before gulping down whatever she had in her mouth.
“Um, good morning, Misa-chan. How are you?”
“Yup, good morning! By the way… was this what you were asking about chocolate and strawberries?”
“Yes. Since you definitely said chocolate… Oh my?”
Noah blinked as she peeked into the adjacent bag, scratching her cheek in apparent confusion.
“This is strange…? I clearly bought three sets of waffles and coffee. Haruna-chan, did you…?”
“Y-yes? Noah-san, you know I can’t eat that much, so what are you saying?”
“…Fufu. That’s true. Then what could have happened? The receipt clearly shows three items. There’s no way I’d misremember…”
Heueng. I don’t know what happened, but it’s fine.
Honestly, who knows what could have caused the waffles and coffee to disappear from the bag…
Nom.
“…Oh my.”
I approached Haruna and tilted my head slightly, snatching a bite of the waffle she held. Seeing Noah break into a big grin at my action makes me feel a little more suspicious than usual.
“Misa-chan, you’re really bold♪”
After pushing away Haruna’s coffee, I settled right next to her and savored the waffle in my mouth.
Hmm… for airport food, I’d say it’s pretty decent. However, it’s a bit disappointing that it’s strawberry and not the chocolate I wanted. Still, it works as a light breakfast.
“Misa-chan… here.”
“Huh?”
But then, after staring at me in silence for a while, Haruna reached out and touched my lips with her finger.
“You’ve got a bit of strawberry jam on you… Hehe.”
Saying that, she effortlessly brought her finger to her mouth and made a slurp sound while sucking on it. I can’t help but realize again why it’s so hard for me to hide my fluttering heart whenever I’m with Haruna.
Heueng. Haruna-chan, it would be nice if you could be a bit more proactive next time. The distance between our fingers feels… um, too far apart☆
It’s a bit unhygienic too.
While I throw a light joke, I pull out a wet tissue from my handbag and hand it to her. It’s best to prevent stickiness.
“Ah, thank you! And should I take your advice for next time, Misa-chan? Fufu.”
Haruna’s eyes crinkle as she completes her beautiful smile. I feel chills every time I see her stunning beauty.
“Speaking of which, Noa-chan, why am I still Misa ‘chan’ to you?”
I casually asked this question as I took a sip of Haruna’s coffee.
…But upon drinking it, I realized it wasn’t coffee at all; it was hot chocolate.
Ah, so here’s the chocolate flavor I was looking for.
Fufu, are you feeling a bit jealous…?
“Well, maybe. Yeah, seeing you two look so good together makes me a tad jealous.”
“Then, from today onward, I’ll call you Misa-chan. Is that okay?”
“Ahaha, sounds great☆”
After finishing the waffle, we started moving according to the flight schedule.
During our group activities, I hadn’t noticed how well Noah distinguished between public and private because of how smoothly everything went, but now that we were separated, it was definitely noticeable. Noah’s eyes flickered back and forth between us, and her hand lingered a bit too long.
In my view, the most important thing is to let you solve Nagisa’s issues on your own. The next crucial point is Haruna’s stance.
If Haruna is positive, our three-person relationship will change a lot.
Honestly, I can’t see this pair clashing as they seem incredibly compatible together.
I wonder if we can have sincere conversations on this trip that’ll clarify things.
Since everyone isn’t too concerned about finances, we boarded a business-class flight.
The destination of this trip is none other than the Hakgwiyaeng Autonomous District.
*
Once we got off at the airport in Hakgwiyaeng Autonomous District and pulled our suitcases outside, we noticed that even at the end of February, there were still piles of snow everywhere.
Heueng. It really does have a certain charm.
“It has a similar yet slightly different feel from Sanhaegyeong. Considering it’s the home of festival foods, there must be a festival happening somewhere in this district right now. Well, the winter festival has probably ended already.”
“Since the White Night festival is just around the corner, the timing is a bit awkward… we probably shouldn’t expect a large scale festival?”
“Hm, that festival seems to be ongoing already?”
From the shopping street, it looked like the Sakura Mochi and various brightly colored rice cakes, along with dolls displayed on red pedestals, indicated that the festival was live at that moment.
Fufu, what a perfect timing♪
“I’ve always wanted to try Sakura Mochi… Shall we go?”
True to her reputation as the owner of gastronomic madness, Haruna bravely started to stride ahead. Before I knew it, Noah quietly took my hand, smiling, and followed behind.
When we asked a shopkeeper, who was a cat beastman, we learned that a quite elaborate festival known as Hinamatsuri was currently taking place. Not only Sakura Mochi but also Hinagashi, Hishimochi, and Hinaarare were sold as festival foods, so naturally, we decided to buy and taste everything.
Sakura Mochi, which is a confection wrapped in cherry blossom leaves, comes in two kinds. One is glutinous rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste, and the other is a flour dough shaped like a ball with sweet red bean paste wrapped inside. I picked one of the glutinous rice cakes and handed it to Haruna.
Unlike before, Haruna showed no hint of embarrassment and calmly began tasting it. Meanwhile, I picked up a flour-based Sakura Mochi and handed it to Noah.
Noah blinked as if staring blankly at the rice cake in my hand. Perhaps she hadn’t even thought that I might feed her.
For something trivial, Noah, who seemed to be deep in thought, slowly opened her mouth and accepted the confection with one hand clutching her hair.
After both of them chewed thoughtfully for a while, they simultaneously picked up the same type of Sakura Mochi they had eaten and offered it to me.
“…Huh?”
I froze for a moment, unsure of which one to accept, when Haruna lowered her hand first, indirectly indicating her intent.
To avoid making either Haruna or Noah feel awkward with my consideration, I carefully accepted the confection Noah offered me. As my lips brushed against her fingertips during this process, Noah’s eyes fluttered slightly.
Surprisingly, Noah seems to express her feelings more through her facial expressions than her complexion.
The moment I tasted the Sakura Mochi, the first impression was, ‘salty.’ It seems to be the flavor from the cherry blossom leaves, and honestly, I hesitated since it felt unclear.
But as I began to chew slowly, the soft texture of the flour dough mixed with the sweetness of the red bean paste created a delightful harmony of sweetness and saltiness.
“…Heueng. This is delicious. To be honest, the first bite was nothing special, but starting from the middle, it became pretty good. The texture is soft and smooth going down. Hmm, could it be that it tastes better because you fed it to me, Noah?”
“Oh my, I feel similarly. It feels like spring is blooming in my mouth! It’s soft and sweet, yet with a bit of saltiness remaining, it’s just like the coldness of winter fading away and the warmth of spring gently filling in its place… Yes, that’s how I’d describe it.”
“What I had was similar to what you both described, but being made from glutinous rice gave it a chewier texture rather than just soft. I’m not quite sure if it’s necessary to eat this leaf as well, but I suppose including it is the most complete way to enjoy this rice cake?”
This time, Haruna and Noah were feeding each other the types they hadn’t eaten, which yields a rather fascinating feeling.
If I were to see Hina and Nagisa sharing food like this with another kid, I’d surely feel a hint of jealousy, but watching these two makes me smile reflexively.
“Misa-chan, here…”
Receiving the Sakura Mochi offered by Haruna, I thought to myself.
It would truly be delightful just to throw everything away and travel alongside these two.
