SHCF – Chapter 37

<Third person PoV>

As they reached their destination, Yuuka was trying to wake Yuuto up.

“Yuuto—, we’re here—, wake up—” (Yuuka)

She shook his body, but he didn’t wake up.

So Yuuka leaned close to Yuuto’s ear and whispered in an incredibly sultry voice,

“If you’re a bad boy who won’t wake up, I’m gonna cover your mouth with mine, is that okay—?” (Yuuka)

The next moment, Yuuto woke up with astonishing speed, and just as he sat up, his face bumped into something soft.

The instant Yuuka realized that Yuuto’s face was in her chest, she reflexively hugged his face close.

“Yu-Yuuka, I can’t breathe, loosen up—or let go.” (Yuuto)

His muffled voice could be heard by those around them, but Yuuka didn’t hear it.

Lia-sensei, who had been watching them called out to them gently.

“Hey, you lovebirds, save the flirting for after you get off the bus.” (Lia)

Yuuka let go of Yuuto with a “guess I have no choice” kind of attitude.

Freed from her hold, Yuuto slung his backpack, which contained his belongings, over his front.

Seeing that, Yuuka slung her backpack behind her, then immediately jumped onto Yuuto’s back.

The two of them got off the bus like that, with Yuuto carrying her on his back.

Because they did it so naturally, their classmates were briefly caught off guard—but quickly nodded in understanding, thinking, Well, it’s those two, after all.

◆

<Yuuto’s PoV>

The place where they got off the bus was a campsite commonly used for outdoor cooking with mess kits.

“Alright, I’ll explain things now, so listen carefully—” (Lia)

Lia-sensei’s voice silenced the entire class.

“You’ll all be making curry for lunch. The ingredients, cooking utensils, and firewood have been placed separately for each group, so feel free to take what you need. Be very careful not to get hurt—no messing around with fire. It’s dangerous to joke around when someone’s using a knife, okay? And remember, use cat’s paw hands when cutting.” (Lia)

Lia-sensei demonstrated the cat’s paw hand gesture.

After the explanation ended, we went to receive our assigned supplies and checked all our equipment.

“Alright, the guys will handle starting the fire. Girls, take care of cutting the vegetables and washing the rice.” (Kouhei)

Kouhei gave the directions, and our cooking began.

Until the ingredients and rice were ready, we were on standby, watching the girls as they prepared the food.

“Yuuka-chan, that’s amazing. You can peel vegetables without a peeler—only someone who cooks regularly could do that.” (Tomoya)

Kaneki-kun watched Yuuka’s knife skills with admiration.

“Yeah, Yuuto’s always being treated to her home cooking, after all.” (Kouhei)

Kouhei said with a teasing grin, nudging Yuuto.

I smacked Kouhei on the head and waited for instructions from Yuuka and the others.

“Yuuto, we’re ready, so carry this.” (Yuuka)

Yuuka called out to me directly, so I loaded the ingredients into the pot and brought them over.

By that time, the other two had already finished starting the fire, so we were able to cook the rice and simmer the vegetables.

After a while, the vegetables had softened, and the rice was done. We added the curry roux, and then I noticed Yuuka holding a piece of chocolate and she dropped it into the curry.

The other two, seeing that, were surprised and tried to stop her, but I blocked them.

“Chocolate in curry? That’s gotta be awful.” (Tomoya)

“We put it in at my house all the time. It deepens the flavor.” (Yuuto)

I replied, but the two of them still looked unconvinced.

When the curry was finished, we started eating.

“This is amazing!” (Tomoya)

“It really is. So good!” (Yuki)

Their earlier doubts vanished just like that.

As I was about to take a bite of the curry, Yuuka tugged on my sleeve.

When I looked over at Yuuka, I saw she had scooped up some curry onto a spoon and was offering it to me.

“Yuuto, here you go.” (Yuuka)

She brought the spoon to my mouth.

Without hesitation, I ate the curry, and Yuuka, looking happy, continued to feed me another bite, then another.

As I returned the favor and began feeding her as well—

“Hey, the curry was perfectly spicy earlier, but now it’s gotten ridiculously sweet.” (Tomoya)

“I’ve gotten used to this scene by now, so I don’t even feel anything anymore.” (Kouhei)

Kaori and Kanemoto-san, meanwhile, were snapping photos of us with their phones, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

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Thanks for reading!

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