Hiding in the corner, Horikita Suzune felt a faint twinge of jealousy.
The distance was too great for her to make out what Amane and Ichinose were discussing.
But from the way "Amane's" name kept floating over, she could still sense the familiar, intimate tone Ichinose was using with Amane.
She sure says 'Amane' pretty smoothly, doesn't she.
Suzune pulled a small notebook from her pants pocket and began scribbling notes, her gaze flickering intermittently toward the still-conversing pair.
"Ichinose, you don't need to get so excited, you know. And talking so loudly this late might wake others."
Amane brought a finger to her lips in a shushing motion.
Ichinose hurriedly covered her mouth.
Only then did she realize she'd been a bit carried away. Making such a racket late at night was a sure way to annoy everyone.
After calming her emotions slightly, Ichinose began pondering how to make it up to Amane.
First off, Amane seemed dissatisfied with her method of apology.
Ichinose mulled this over for a moment, and the conclusion she reached was surprisingly that she herself lacked common sense.
She'd chosen a completely inappropriate time to ask someone to meet.
And how could she show up empty-handed to apologize?!
Surely, Amane had seen her empty hands and concluded her apology wasn't sincere.
That must be why Amane kept dodging the subject during their conversation.
She needed to prepare an apology gift, and fast.
Really, the best solution for this sort of thing was to just ask Amane what she liked. A targeted gift would show Amane that Ichinose's apology wasn't just a perfunctory gesture.
But there was no time left to go buy a gift now.
Directly transferring private points was certainly convenient.
Private points functioned as the universal hard currency here at Advanced Nurturing High School; gifting them would be perfectly appropriate.
The only downside was that it might seem like she hadn't put in any thought, like she was trying to brush off the other party with money.
Besides...
Ichinose glanced at Amane.
Her gut feeling was that Amane didn't seem like the type of girl who was overly focused on points.
Plus, she'd already given Amane a fair number of points before—they should be more than enough for now.
Giving too many now might seem like she had an ulterior motive, while giving too few would just be inappropriate.
Ichinose hesitated for a long time.
Finally, she decided to tentatively sound Amane out.
"Amane, what kind of gifts do you like?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Ichinose felt it was probably too blunt. Asking so suddenly what someone likes practically announced her ulterior motives.
But Amane's eyes lit up.
A gift.
Amane glanced at Ichinose's empty hands.
It was a bit strange to confess without bringing a gift.
She'd just been thinking that if Ichinose was planning to confess, she should have at least brought some flowers.
It seemed now that Ichinose was clearly acting on a spur-of-the-moment impulse, unprepared. Otherwise, why would she ask the person involved what kind of gift they liked?
"I'd be happy with any gift from you, Ichinose."
Amane deliberately called out Ichinose's little scheme.
Embarrassed at being seen through, Ichinose averted her gaze.
Seeing that Amane wasn't shying away from the topic, a smile spread across Ichinose's face.
As long as Amane wasn't avoiding the issue, she could find a way to handle it.
But Amane's request was still a bit vague. Since she'd already mustered the courage to ask, what harm was there in asking for more details?
Having made up her mind, Ichinose pressed on.
"So, do you have any ideas, Amane? If it's something I can do, I promise I'll do it for you."
As long as it was something Amane wanted, and the price wasn't exorbitant, she had full authority to decide how to use her points.
Over on her side, Amane was taken aback by how open-ended Ichinose was being.
Could it be that to deepen their understanding, Ichinose was willing to go as far as 'promising anything'?
Don't tell me...Ichinose's confession was serious?
To be safe, Amane decided to confirm with Ichinose again, just in case she'd misunderstood Ichinose's intention.
"Ichinose, you're being serious about this, right?"
"Of course, I'm completely serious."
Hearing Ichinose's answer, Amane's heart finally settled back into place.
Although accepting a confession right now might be risky.
Who knows, she might get kicked out of the dorm or something when she got back.
But getting to know Ichinose a little more intimately...
Hehehe.
Amane lightly covered her mouth with her hand.
She looked as if she was hesitating and thinking it over. In reality, behind the cover of her hand, the corners of her mouth were already stretched into a wide grin.
"Well, if you're so keen on showing your sincerity, Ichinose, how about..."
Amane tapped her own cheek.
She was sure Ichinose would understand her hint.
Ichinose did understand.
But she froze completely on the spot.
Why would an apology require... that!!!
Wasn't this going a bit too far?
"Amane... isn't that kind of request a little..." Ichinose whispered, her voice thick with embarrassment.
Watching Ichinose's adorable expression, Amane forcefully suppressed her own desire to do something a little mischievous.
Here she was, with Ichinose finally resolved and saying she'd agree to anything.
Taking advantage of someone was shameful, but Amane had always considered her own sense of shame to be rather flexible. Shameful or not, failing to seize an opportunity was just stupid.
"This is the only kind of gift I'll accept."
Amane applied a little more pressure.
If Ichinose turned and left, Amane would be a little disappointed, but she'd also feel much more at ease.
At least she wouldn't have to worry about Suzune using this incident against her and bullying her later.
But if Ichinose agreed...
Then it was a total win!!!
Seeing Amane dig her heels in on this demand, Ichinose felt conflicted.
She had absolutely zero experience in this area. Forget kissing, the only people she'd ever held hands with were close friends.
It was safe to say Ichinose leaned slightly toward the traditional side.
Precisely because of this, she hesitated for a long time facing Amane's request.
But finally, blushing, she gave a small nod.
It's just kissing another girl, it should be fine... right?
Ichinose cautiously scanned their surroundings.
Making sure no one was around to see, she gently rose on her tiptoes and quickly pecked Amane's cheek.
"Th-there! Is that okay?"
This was the absolute limit of what Ichinose could currently manage.
Amane touched her own cheek in disbelief.
No way?
She had thought Ichinose would get angry at such an unreasonable request and run away or something. She never imagined Ichinose, for the sake of her confession, would go this far.
Could it be... she genuinely has feelings for me?
Amane found herself scratching her own cheek in a rare moment of bashfulness.
Oh well.
How troublesome. It seemed no matter where she went, cute girls were drawn to her. Ah, the agony of being so liked.
Just as Amane was inwardly feeling a little smug about her own charm, Ichinose suddenly spoke up, her expression completely serious.
"Now can I apologize?"
Ichinose's earnestness was met with a look of pure confusion from Amane.
"Apologize? Apologize for what? Ichinose, weren't you trying to confess to me?"
"C-confess? Wha?!!!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.