A bamboo shoot and mushroom chocolate candy is sitting in the palm of my hand.
Hime stared at the two with her round eyes, comparing them.
"Hime-chan, I don't think you can tell the taste even if you look at it that much."
"No, I'm just enjoying the view. It would be a shame to eat such wonderful food in just a moment."
"Eh? Is it really that delicious...?"
Apparently full from lunch, Kiyoshi was starting to get worried after seeing Hime's behavior.
He hadn't seemed interested until now, but now he was glancing at me.
Meanwhile, Hime no longer seems to have any interest in Kiyoshi and is obsessed with mushrooms and bamboo shoots.
"They both look equally cute. I can't decide which one to eat first...!"
"Um, if you don't eat it quickly the chocolate will melt."
"...? The taste won't change even if it melts, right?"
"No, no, I don't think that's the problem."
"...Ah! Your hands will get dirty, Youhei. I'm sorry, I didn't think about it."
I don't mind my hands getting dirty... well, as long as Hime doesn't mind, then it's fine.
Come to think of it, yesterday she ate sweets with my fingers in it too. Hime isn't a clean freak... or rather, maybe she's opened up to me.
If that's the case, I'm happy about it, so I won't worry too much about it.
"Well then, I'll start with the mushrooms I haven't tried yet! Ugh, I'd love to try the bamboo shoots too, but I'll hold back and check out the flavor of these first, okay?"
After a bit of struggle, Hime seems to have finally made up her mind.
I thought she would reach out her hand, but instead she brought her face close to the mushroom snack and gobbled it down like a puppy eating.
I wonder if this child is learning that sweets should be eaten from my hand.
Although he felt a tickle from the feeling of her soft lips, he opened his hand to make it easier to eat and put it in his mouth...and Hime collapsed onto her knees and sat down on the floor.
"Shh, shhh shhh."
"Hime, calm down. I don't know what you're talking about."
Like the bamboo shoots, the mushrooms also seemed to have struck a chord with Hime.
The sweetness of happiness had left me weak and limp. I stammered every word and had no idea what I was saying.
"--It's so crispy! The texture is different from the moist cookie dough of the bamboo shoots. Mushrooms... I knew they would do it, but it seems they've done it more than I expected. B-But, I also like bamboo shoots, so this... what should I do?"
Hime is staring at the candy wrapper with a troubled look on her face.
Mushrooms or bamboo shoots. I was really torn between which one to choose.
"By the way... which one do you prefer, Yohei-kun?"
"Me? I guess bamboo shoots. I like mushrooms too."
"--Then I'll go with bamboo shoots! Ehehe~♪ This way I can match with Yohei-kun's."
...Hime really is a good girl.
There was no option for her to keep both of them. Even though she was in a quandary, she had already decided to give one of them to her sister, Kiyoshi, as if it was a given.
(Maybe I'll bring more next time.)
I didn't think Kiyoshi would be there today, so next time I'll prepare enough for two people.
Hime was such a kind and wonderful girl that it made me think that way.