Chapter 104: Thank You for Liking Me

After finishing their ice cream, Mika and Seiji walked back to the apartment building, carrying the groceries together .

An enigmatic light flashed through Mika's eyes . "Seiji, come over and eat dinner at our place tonight . "

"Eh? Why so suddenly..."

"I'm telling you to come, so come!"

"But the landlord..."

"My mom will agree... I'll call her right now!" Mika decisively took out her cell phone .

Nozomi Uehara answered her call .

After the call had ended, Nozomi smiled faintly .

'Nice job, this is how you have to be, Mika! With an opponent's appearance, my daughter has become more decisive . ' The landlord approved of her daughter's slight growth in maturity .

"My mom agreed, but you need to help out with the cooking as well . You don't need to return to your room; just come over to my place!" Mika was rather spirited as she talked to Seiji after hanging up the call .

"Oh... oh . " Seiji reflexively agreed .

He was more than happy to help out with the cooking and have dinner together with the Ueharas . He just felt that something about this particular meal was...

'Well, whatever . I should stop thinking too deeply into it . '

The boy and the girl walked back home together .

...

After Nozomi Uehara returned home, she found her daughter preparing food in the kitchen together with the tall boy, who was also her tenant .

Both youngsters wore aprons as they prepared the food, and they occasionally made idle conversation while cooking together . It was such a warm scene .

Nozomi truly felt that it was an excellent thing to behold .

Of course she was already used to her daughter being there, and as for the boy... it would make her feel reassured if there was a strong and reliable male in her family .

Her husband died early, so she had to raise her daughter as a single mother . There were various difficulties as she had to put up with life's pressures .

Even though she'd considered remarrying, time passed by quickly, and before she knew it, her daughter had grown up . Only now did she remember her husband .

She had almost forgotten what it was like to have a man in the house, but in this instant she recalled it clearly .

The boy's back seemed to overlap with her husband's figure .

Nozomi was lost in her thoughts for a while before she recovered her senses and discovered her face was burning with embarrassment .

Honestly, what was she thinking!

He was only a boy, a student the same age as her daughter . Even though he was tall and strong, he was still only a child .

But it really did feel reassuring to have him around, honestly...

Nozomi stopped thinking along these lines as she reined back her slightly unstable emotions . She flashed the pair a small smile and walked over to greet them .

"Mom? Welcome home . "

"Excuse my coming over today, Miss Landlord . "

Her cute daughter greeted her normally, and the gentle boy greeted her politely .

"Yep, I'm home... Welcome, Haruta-kun . "

Nozomi smiled in response as she started to help them with preparing the food in the kitchen .

They seemed just like a real family .

Cooking with Mika and the landlord, before eating dinner together with them was a process which didn't disappoint Seiji's expectations .

He thoroughly enjoyed their company . .

Only... something had caught his attention . Mika... was more proactive than before .

She intentionally sat close beside him and gave him food to eat with her chopsticks . She kept looking directly at him and talked to him more than she typically did... Anyway, it was obvious that she was being more proactive . Even though her face was reddening, she still worked hard to... get closer to him .

As for why, this was easy to guess . Seiji could only sigh .

As for why, this was easy to guess . Seiji could only sigh .

Kaede Juumonji...

Seiji suppressed the mixed emotions he felt when thinking about the blonde girl as he continued smiling in front of the Uehara family .

After dinner .

Seiji helped with washing the dishes and returned to his room afterwards .

But he wasn't able to rest for more than a minute before he heard a knock on his door .

Seiji silently clutched at his head for several seconds before going to open the door .

As expected, it was the blonde young missus from the mafia family .

She must have been waiting for him to return home!

Kaede Juumonji was still smiling, but there was a dark shadow beneath her smile .

"Hello, Harano-kun, have you eaten dinner?"

"Hi... I just ate . "

"Actually, I ordered some sushi for takeout, and I wanted to invite you if you hadn't eaten already... But it seems like I'll have to wait for next time . " There was a hint of frustration in Kaede's eyes as she sighed .

Seiji didn't know how to reply to this .

"This is the moving-in present I was going to give you, but we were interrupted . Is now... a good time?" Kaede handed him the cake box for the second time .

"...Thanks, I'll accept it . " Seiji took the cake box from her .

"Sorry to be a bother . Please take care and have a good rest now . " Kaede bowed slightly as she turned around to leave .

Her pretty figure looked lonely as she walked off .

Seiji's expression flickered as he held on to the cake box .

"Wait a moment!" he called out to her .

The blonde girl's footsteps paused .

The blonde girl's footsteps paused .

"Would you like to come in and sit down? Although I don't have much to entertain guests with..."

Kaede slowly turned around .

"I... would be delighted to do so . "

Her beautiful face was blushing, and her eyes were sparkling .

'I'm such an idiot!' Seiji thought to himself as he watched the blonde girl walk towards him .

But he couldn't let things remain the way they were .

It was necessary to have a discussion with her .

Thinking this, Seiji invited her into his room .

His apartment was small and narrow; it wasn't suited to accommodating guests . Seiji let her sit on his own chair, while he sat on the edge of his bed .

Thankfully he had two cups... They were the only two cups he possessed .

He poured two cups of tea and opened the cake box, putting everything together on his table . He figured this would count as him treating a guest .

"These tea leaves are rather cheap, so there's no need to have any expectations about the flavor . Please feel free to have as much as you would like . "

"No... as long as you brewed this tea, it's good tea to me . " Kaede's face reddened slightly as she spoke . She slowly took the teacup in both hands and lifted it to her mouth .

Seeing how careful she was being with even the teacup, Seiji inwardly sighed .

For such a high-class beauty to have such feelings towards a boy, what were the odds that the boy wouldn't be moved at all?

Seiji felt like it was zero .

At the very least, he would definitely be moved .

At school, when he received all those love letters, the situation was different . After all, they were only love letters; he didn't have to meet the girls personally, so he was able to deal with it .

But Kaede Juumonji was an unmistakable beauty who had followed him all the way here!

Although he was slightly inconvenienced, it was impossible for him to remain completely unmoved .

It still wasn't at a romantic level yet, though, and he still had to consider her identity as a member of the mafia .

Although he was slightly inconvenienced, it was impossible for him to remain completely unmoved .

It still wasn't at a romantic level yet, though, and he still had to consider her identity as a member of the mafia .

'No matter what, it's best to have a fruitful discussion first . '

"Juumonji-san, you don't need to act so polite around me . Feel free to relax and little and be more casual . "

"Is that really alright?" Kaede's eyes lit up upon hearing those words .

"By all means, please do so . It's nice to have manners, but I'm not used to such etiquette . " Seiji lifted his own teacup and took a sip .

"Okay..." Kaede was delighted at closing the distance between her and Seiji .

Silence fell in the room for a few seconds .

"I'm not very good at beating around the bush, so I'll just say things directly . " Seiji scratched his face awkwardly . "If I've misunderstood things, or if I'm being impolite, then I apologize beforehand... Anyways, I need to ask, you came here because of me, right?"

Kaede's face became a deeper shade of red as she nodded slowly .

"Since that's the case, I'm happy that you... have feelings for me, but I currently have no intention of getting a girlfriend," Seiji stated sincerely while looking into her eyes .

Kaede's face darkened slightly .

"Harano-kun... am I bothering you by coming here?" she asked in a small voice .

"No, you're not bothering me... but honestly, it's a little bit inconvenient," Seiji told her directly .

Kaede's face darkened yet again .

"But you didn't do anything wrong . Living here or wherever, it's your freedom to choose . You came here for me, so I should respond to your feelings, and that's what I just did . Although I don't believe that I'm worthy of you doing so much, but... in any case..."

Seiji's gaze became slightly unfocused as he scratched his face awkwardly, showing a hint of embarrassment . "Thank you for liking me . "

Hearing these words and seeing his expression, Kaede's dark expression cleared up, and an indescribable light flashed through her eyes .

This person is definitely...

A difficult-to-describe feeling of warmth welled up within her heart . It felt as if all the bitterness she'd accrued from her earlier defeat had been herded out of her chest .

'I won't... give up,' she resolved, gritting her teeth in determination .