“All right, Cecilia first then. Say ahh.”

  Ichika, the blockhead of blockheads, failed to notice. Cutting off a bit of cake with his fork, he raised it to Cecilia’s mouth.

  “Mmm.”

  By the time she bit into her piece, Cecilia could no longer taste it. Her heart was beating so hard that she could barely catch her breath.

  “How is it?”

  “It... It’s wonderful,” she giggled happily. Her face had broken out into a full smile, not even so much at the cake as at her own joy.

  “How about me?”

  “Oh, sorry. Say ahh!”

  “Mm...”

  Charlotte closed her eyes and let the sensation wash over her as the cheesecake melted on her tongue. What she enjoyed most, though, were the feelings in her heart. This was the second time she’d been fed by Ichika, but this time was much more intense. Perhaps due to her own emotional changes more than anything.

  “It’s good. I love it.”

  Not necessarily what she’d been expecting to say she loved this morning, but.

  “All right, now it’s my turn.”

  Ichika’s reach with his fork was immediately halted as their voices turned partway to screeches.

  “Wait right there!”

  “It would be rude to make you cut your own after you fed us.”

  “Really? I’m fine with it.”

  “Indeed it would.”

  “It’s too delicious not to.”

  Each giggled, and lifted a fork loaded with a bite of their cake to Ichika’s mouth.

  “Say ‘ahh!’”

  Unable to take both at once, he continued in the same order as before, starting with Cecilia. The sweet yet tangy flavor of the pear in the crisp tart crust would have been enough alone, but the jelly coating added something even more in taste and mouthfeel. After cleansing his palate with iced tea, he took a bite of Charlotte’s shortcake.

  “These are really, really good.”

  “Yeah. I’m going to have to go there myself sometime.”

  The delight was clear in their voices even as they lifted their glasses of iced tea to keep Ichika from seeing their grins.

  “You know, you two are here really early. It’s barely even ten.”

  “Yeah. You’d said you were an early waker, so I thought maybe it was okay.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. But what about you? It’s summer vacation, shouldn’t you be hanging out with friends?”

  “No, no, it’s fine. No one’s schedules matched up today, so I would have just been sitting around.”

  “Oh my, what a coincidence. It was the same for me. I certainly didn’t plan on this.”

  “Oh really.”

  Each had canceled all of their plans for today in favor of this, but neither was willing to admit to it. Neither wanted to be the kind of girl who got that excited to go back to a boy’s place with him.

  I... I just don’t want to seem that matter of fact about it...

  It simply wouldn’t do to for Ichika to think of me as unladylike.

  So both simply passed it off as a rare stroke of luck.

  “Well, now what? There’s not really anything to do here. Wanna go somewhere?”

  “Nah, it’s fine! It’s too hot out there anyway, let’s just stay in.”

  “Agreed! Perhaps we can see your room?”

  “My room? Why do you want to see that?”

  That was a hard one to answer, but aside from being able to pilot IS, Cecilia and Charlotte were just normal girls. Of course they’d want to see where their crush grew up.

  “Ah well, whatever. You’re gonna be disappointed, though.”

  “Of course we won’t!”

  “Yeah!”

  “Okay...”

  Ichika backed down in the face of their shared insistence.

  “Let’s go do that, then. I’m upstairs.”

  The two nodded even more intently than they had been doing, and followed Ichika, matching his pace. Like a normal Japanese home, the stairway made a 90-degree turn partway through its course. This was the first time Cecilia had climbed such a staircase, and her interest was matched with a comparison of its crampedness to her own home.

  Clever, but one would have a devil of a time carrying tea service up it.

  Charlotte, on the other hand, felt right at home. Before her father had taken her in, the home she shared with her mother was as similar in spirit as it was different in style. I’d rather live in a place like this than some mansion any day. It feels like a home, not just a house.

  “Here we are. Oh, and that’s Chifuyu’s room. Go in there uninvited and she’ll probably kill you.”

  “Ahh... So that’s...”

  “I see... I suppose it’s only natural that Ms. Orimura lives here.”

  Charlotte and Cecilia both laughed it off nervously. Since the class trip the prior month, both had felt like they were on even thinner ice than normal with her.

  “I’ll make it clear right now, I won’t let you have him.”

  Those were some stark words, and they struck fear into the heart of everyone who’d heard them.

  She’s simply being an overprotective big sister... right?

  Umm... If we’re competing with Ms. Orimura, we have no chance...

  Ichika raised an eyebrow at their involuntary gasps.

  “What? Did you change your minds?”

  “Of course not. What was the saying, no guts, no glory?”

  “Yeah. In for a penny, in for a pound.”

  “Huh?” Ichika raised an eyebrow again at the unexpected answers as he opened the door to his room. “It’s pretty cramped, but come in.”

  “Of course.”

  “I hope we’re not intruding or anything.”

  With their pulses racing, Cecilia and Charlotte stepped into his room. Squinting in the bright light from the window on the far wall, the first thing they really noticed was the smell of a boy’s room. Not quite sweat, more of a musk.

  “I’ve only got one chair in here, so feel free to sit on the bed.”

  —On his bed?

  A sudden electronic ringing broke their concentration. Ding-dong.

  “Huh, someone else is at the door. Hold on, let me go answer it.”

  Ichika walked back down the stairs again.

  “.........”

  “.........”

  Charlotte and Cecilia, left alone in the room, eyed the bed without making a move.

  So that’s Ichika’s bed.

  Mm, this is different from just being in his dorm room.

  A few moments later, they heard footsteps echo up from below.

  “Cecilia, Charl, come downstairs.”

  “Ehh?”

  The disappointment at not even having ten minutes was audible in each of their voices.

  “Why?”

  “We wanted to stay here a little longer.”

  “Well, um...” The sound of steps on the stairway cut him off.

  “Ichika, what are you— Oh.”

  Ling opened the door behind them. She’d visited Ichika at home many times in elementary and middle school, and didn’t hesitate to show herself in. But she wasn’t expecting to see them at all, and froze stock-still.

  “What the hell are you two doing?”

  Ling’s blood rushed to her head as she shouted loud enough to be heard from below, and shouts rose back from the first floor in response.

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  “Infiltrators?”

  Houki and Laura had arrived as well. That was when Cecilia and Charlotte both gave up on their hopes of anything more happening.

  ◆

  “You know, I don’t mind if you’re gonna show up, but one of you should’ve warned me.”

  “I didn’t even know I’d be free today until this morning.”

  “Yeah. What’s the problem with just showing up, anyway? Did you have to hide your porn or something?”

  Houki and Ling picked at their chilled soba as they answered. With the large crowd, lunch was quick and easy noodles.

  “I was busy buying the cake.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of it.”

  Cecilia and Charlotte nibbled at theirs, served without wasabi. All five understood that, just like themselves, the others had wanted to just drop by casually.

  “I’d hoped to surprise you by arriving without warning. Doesn’t it make you happy?” Laura asked matter-of-factly as she dipped another noodle in the sauce.

  —I’m jealous of how forward she can be, echoed four thoughts in unison.

  “So, what did you want to do this afternoon? No one wanted to go out, so I guess just stay here?” Five heads bobbed as if attached to the same marionette string.

  I went to all this trouble to find a day when you’d be home.

  Are you crazy? Why would I waste it somewhere else?

  I’d simply love to find out something new about you.

  I still don’t know what your hobbies are.

  I’m interested in seeing where Lehrerin Orimura lives, too.

  Houki, then Ling, Cecilia, and finally Charlotte and Laura thought as they finished their noodles.

  “Hold on a minute, I’ll make some tea.”

  “I’ll help out, if you don’t mind.”

  “You sure? You’re a guest, I don’t want to impose. I guess clear the table, then?”

  “Sure! No problem.”

  Charlotte, with her impeccable timing, volunteered for the cleanup. Ling and Cecilia, sensing danger, responded by standing in unison.

  “I’ll help too!”

  “I’m not particularly familiar with this, but if I could help, I insist!”

  “Nah, you two can take a load off. Four would be a crowd,” replied Ichika.

  “Hmph...”

  “But...”

  They seemed inclined to persist, but realizing that doing so would only do the opposite of what they wanted, they both sat back down on the sofa simultaneously. As an aside—it was Ling, Cecilia, Charlotte, and Laura on the sofa, while Ichika and Houki sat on cushions on the floor.

  “Should I wash these?”

  “Yeah. The sponge and dish soap are right there. You really sure you want to, though?”

  “It’s fine. I’m good at washing up, and... honestly, I like it.”

  Charlotte put a little bit of extra emphasis on ‘like,’ but the embarrassment of doing so made it so muted that the others couldn’t really tell.

  It feels almost like we’re newlyweds...

  The others glowered at Charlotte’s joyous smile.

  Hmm... I definitely can’t let down my guard around her.

  Ugh, dammit, she beat me to it.

  Perhaps I should try that angle as well.

  Hm. She’s quite cunning.

  With Charlotte’s help, the cleanup was done in barely any time at all, and 15 minutes later they were all gathered around the table.

  “Green tea’s the best after a meal. It really relaxes you.” It was hot tea in summer, but Ichika preferred it that way. Cold tea before the meal, hot after. “So, what did you all want to do? There really isn’t much here.”

  “I figured it’d still be like that, so I brought some things over. Here.” Ling lifted a bag, overflowing with everything from playing cards to hanafuda, Monopoly to Life, and more, onto the table.

  “Oh, right. I remember you being into board games.”

  “Of course I am, I can win at this kind.” Rin’s self-satisfied bragging was an attempt to paper over her terrible record in video games.

  “Why don’t we play one, then? Anyone have any preferences?”

  At Ichika’s prompting, everyone began looking through the bag.

  “Oh, there’s plenty of foreign games too.”

  “Hey, I remember this one. It’s the one where you trade wood.”

  “This one uses traditional Japanese cards. They’re beautiful. I think I’m going to send a copy back to my squad as a souvenir.”

  “I’d normally be fine with shogi, but that’s only good for two people.”

  The girls were excited by the sheer variety of games. As he watched, Ichika thought back to middle school and remembered how Ling had always been the life of the party.

  “Let’s pick one everyone can play.”

  Ichika’s suggestion was a game called ‘Barbarossa.’

  “Oh, one from Germany?”

  Laura’s arms were crossed, but her interest was obviously piqued by the German flag on the box.

  “What kind of game is it?”

  “You make statues out of plasticine, then everyone else tries to guess what they are.”

  “So, the more artistically talented you are, the better?”

  “Nah. It’s almost the other way around, you don’t get any points if someone guesses it right away. You’re better off if people can’t figure it out at first.”

  “At first? So you do have to be kind of good at it?”

  “It depends on the questions. As long as they can figure it out from your answers, you’re fine. The question part of the game is more important than the sculpting.”

  Ling and Ichika, who were familiar with the game already, explained the rest of the rules, and then they began sculpting.

  “I’m done.”

  “Let’s get started then.”

  Charlotte rolled the die to begin the game.

  “One, two, three.”

  “You get an elfstone.”

  “I landed on a question square. All right, Laura, it’s about yours.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Remember, you have to answer ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘I don’t know.’ You can keep asking until you get a ‘no,’ so it’s best to start with broad categories.”

  Houki nodded as she listened to Ling’s explanation, and then took another close look at Laura’s sculpture. It was an imposing, solid conical shape that gave few hints as to its meaning. Really, everyone but Laura was curious about it.

  “Is it something on land?”

  “Mm.”

  “Okay. Is it bigger than a person?”

  “It is.”

  So it obviously wasn’t a hand tool or anything. Still, it being larger than a person left a lot of room.

  “Is it found in cities?”

  “Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.”

  The answer threw the group into confusion, as most had been thinking it was Tokyo Tower.

  “Is it manmade?”

  “No.”

  “All right, questions over. You can make a guess if you want, Houki.”

  “Hmm. I may as well, I don’t lose any points if I’m wrong.”

  Normally the questions would be done one-on-one written on a sheet of paper, but since they were just trying out the game, Ling had changed the rules.

  “Go ahead.”

  “An oil rig!” Houki proudly mimicked with her fingers.

  “Wrong.”

  As Houki pouted, Ichika and the others were left wondering where she even came up with that. And so the game continued toward its conclusion.

  “If you don’t get it right soon, no one will get any points for guessing it.”

  As an aside—Charlotte’s horse had been guessed so early that she herself earned no points for it. The key to Barbarossa was to create a sculpture which was obvious, but only in retrospect. A correct guess in the mid-game gave points to both its guesser and its creator. Houki had made a well. It was hard to tell by sight, but Charlotte’s expert questioning had deduced it at just the perfect time. The problem was Laura and Cecilia. Laura had her mysterious cone, and Cecilia had made a blob which looked almost like a bacterium.

  “Is it a food?”

  “No.”

  “Is it smaller than a building?”

  “No, it’s vast.”

  With their own sculptures guessed, Houki and Charlotte were fervently but fruitlessly trying to narrow down Laura and Cecilia’s. Eventually, the game finished.

  “So, Laura, what is that?” Ichika was the first to admit defeat and ask.

  “What? You can’t tell? And you think you’re worthy of being my wife?”

  “Uh, whatever. Just tell me.”

  “A mountain.”

  “A wha—”

  “A mountain,” Laura repeated.

  “C’mon. What kind of mountain is that pointy?”

  “Hmph. How rude. Isn’t Everest like this?”

  “Then isn’t it Everest and not a normal mountain?”

  “There are others too.” Laura sat with her arms folded, insistent.

  “Okay, okay. Anyway, no one guessed it, so you lose points. How about you, Cecilia?”

  “Why, I can’t believe no one managed to figure it out.”

  Ichika and Ling both had to hold back an “If we had we would have guessed it.”

  Cecilia glared at the others, while motioning haughtily with her left hand, “My homeland, England!”

  “...............”

  The room fell silent. Their answers had been things like mashed potatoes, a protocell, extra-cheese pizza, an algae bloom, a rag, a hurt dog, and a jumping cat.

  “I simply can’t believe how uneducated you all are. It would behoove you to keep an atlas and look over it daily.”

  “The problem isn’t that we don’t know what England looks like!” was a response everyone thought, but no one could bring themselves to say. Cecilia had even more obvious pride in her sculpting abilities than Laura, and it would be rude to prod her further.

  “Anyway! Now that everyone knows the rules, me and Ichika can play too.”

  The six gathered around the table again and started kneading. Of course, this meant the end of the last round’s sculptures, but Ichika perched Charlotte’s horse on his hand first, a bit reluctant to destroy it.

  “You’re really good at this, Charlotte. I almost want to keep this on a shelf.”

  “I’m not that good. It was just easy because it has four legs.”

  “There’s no way I’d confuse it for a donkey or a camel, though. Good job.”

  “Thanks...” Charlotte shyly answered as the other four wondered why Ichika was so fixated on her today. Houki, Cecilia, and Laura, especially, felt their faces flush with indignation at the lack of a compliment.

  “Rin, you can’t make something that could be a bao or a dumpling.”

 

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