We arrived at the big commercial facility that we had just visited the other day. However, I was not brought to the women’s clothing store but to the kitchenware store.
「Why here?」
In addition to female customers, there are only college-aged couples around. There was no single male customer indicating not many men were still cooking.
「There will be cooking classes after vacations. That’s why I came to look for aprons.」
「Come to think of it, I remember hearing something like that.」
Cooking classes? That’s the worst class for amateurs. Doing it with a lot of people will reduce both efficiency and taste but if you do it alone, it will be your grades that will be reduced. Since cooking is rarely done by a large group, it should be possible to form a team of yourself.
「Who are you planning to work with, Amane? Who will be your cooking class groupmates?」
「It depends on Shinozaki. I’m not going to have any trouble in deciding on my group mates since he’s in my class this year.」
If we need to be grouped with other boys, Shinozaki would gather the right people. When it’s a mixed group, the girls are attracted by Shinozaki so we don’t even need to ask them which is very convenient for me.
「Why do I feel like you are treating Shinozaki-kun like a panda?」
「I’m just saying what’s actually happening. It can’t be helped because he’s popular. That’s the price of fame.」
Maa, that doesn’t mean I can use him like a panda to attract customers though. However, I’ve been watching him study a lot so I guess that balances things out.
Well, I guess I have to buy an apron too. The one I’m using is getting old so I’d like to buy one if I find anything good but I’m not sure if I can really find one.
The men’s corner was much smaller than expected. This is one of the negative effects of the poor number of men who cook….in addition to that, all the good-looking ones were way over my budget. If I want something solid, it will cost two or three times more than the ones I can find randomly at the wagon. I’ll have to check them out later.
「Areh? Amane is going to buy too?」
「I would if I find something good, however, everything seems to be over my budget. Even if I use it every day, that wouldn’t justify the price. How about you?」
「There’s a lot of options so I’m wondering which one to buy.」
The ladies’ corner has plenty of affordable aprons.
「What do you think, Amane? I narrowed down my choices quite a bit but I still couldn’t decide.」
Kuh, it’s finally here. The guessing game even though the other party already has decided in her mind. I didn’t understand a thing in the date manners course sponsored by Yuna and mother. What do they mean read a woman’s mind? If I can really do that, would I need that date manners course in the first place?
「I don’t have any specific likes or dislikes so say what you have in mind.」
「Okay.」
The first thing Hirose wore was a white apron with frills around it. When she turned around to show it to me, the apron whirled up gently. If her long blonde hair was in a ponytail and not braided, she would have had tremendous destructive power. If I had forgotten that she confessed to me because of a punishment game, I would have confessed to her and gotten rejected. That’s painful.
「How about it?」
「It looks good and cute. However, you look like a maid in a nice place.」
「Ah, I see.」
Then, Hirose said “next”, folds the apron beautifully, and wears the next apron. It is navy blue and has a lot of small floral patterns.
「It looks nice and cute. The color also goes well with your blonde hair.」
「I-is that so? Then, let me try the last one.」
She put it back on the shelf like she did before and started wearing the last apron.
The last one is pink with lavender string. The string can be tied at the front if it is necessary to pull it firmly in place. However, since the string is at the waist, tying it firmly will emphasize the chest.
「How about this?」
「It’s nice and simple. I like the way it is tied in front, it gives off a nicer touch.」
Girls seem to know where men are looking so let’s focus on her face for now. I’m not looking at your busty chest, you know.
「Fumu fumu, I became a little worried when I heard Amane’s impression.」
Hirose lined up the three on the wagon while saying “ugh”.
「Amane, which one do you think is the best? I really can’t decide.」
「If I were the one to choose, I’d choose the second one. They all look great on you though. Maa, Hirose-san is beautiful and stylish so I think anything will look good on you.」
Hirose’s face turned bright red and looked down. She took the navy blue apron to the cashier saying she’ll buy it. I don’t know if she’s embarrassed or if she’s upset with what I said but things got a little awkward. I don’t really understand girls. This situation isn’t good, right?
I told the truth and things still got awkward which means I’m in trouble. Let’s blame Yuna and mother later.
「Sorry to have kept you waiting. What’s next?」
This time, it’s the “guess where I want to go next” game.