A week had passed since the transfer. That evening by the river——eating cream puffs side by side with Mizuki, catching that one moment when her smile didn't reach her eyes——it still lingered in the corner of his mind. But right now, homeroom had just ended, and Haruto had no time to think about it. Mizuki leaned over. From the seat next to his, she stretched her neck forward. "[gentle]Your rolled omelet has such a professional technique, doesn't it?" It was the moment he opened his lunch box. Haruto froze slightly. "[serious]……Professional? It's just a normal omelet." "[gentle]It's rolled evenly. The shape is so neat. I'm not very good at things like that." Haruto couldn't tell from her expression alone whether Mizuki was genuinely impressed or just being polite. It was always like that. He hesitated for a moment, then offered, "Want some?" "[gentle]I'll have some." She took a bite. "[gentle]……It's sweet. Really, properly sweet." He thought "properly sweet" was a weird way to describe it, but she looked happy, so he said nothing. "[serious]What about your lunch?" "[gentle]Please, help yourself." Mizuki tilted her lunch box toward him without hesitation. In a small rectangular container, colorful side dishes were arranged neatly in separate compartments. The presentation was——actually, the presentation was absolutely perfect. Haruto took a bite of the hijiki seaweed. "(……Oh, this is——)" Sweet. Incredibly sweet. Like she'd put in three times the normal amount of sugar. "[serious]……It's delicious, huh." He said it with real effort. Mizuki nodded, looking satisfied. That was the beginning. After that, every day at lunch they started exchanging side dishes one by one. Haruto's food was well-received by Mizuki, and what Mizuki brought always had perfect presentation and uniquely creative seasoning. "Creative" being a rather euphemistic way to put it. The problem was that the whole class was watching this exchange. "[whispers]Hey, aren't those two……dating?" The deliberately audible voice came from the hallway on the second day during lunch break. By the third day, it had spread through the entire class. --- "[surprised]When did this happen!!" The moment Haruto sat down, Nishino grabbed his shoulder from behind. He was gripping it hard. "[serious]No, no, no, that's not it." "[excited]But you're exchanging lunches! Every day!" "[serious]That's just how it happened, it's not——" "[excited]What kind of guy and girl exchange lunches every day just because!!" His voice was a bit too loud. A few people nearby looked over. Haruto said quietly, "Please be quiet," while glancing at the seat next to him. Mizuki was looking out the window, smiling softly. She had no intention of denying this situation at all. "[serious]Arumesu, say something." "[gentle]Well, I suppose so." "I suppose so"——what does that even mean? Mizuki kept smiling that gentle smile. She neither denied nor confirmed anything. Just smiled. That smile was calm, soft, and completely unreadable. From the hallway, Tajima, Yoshikawa, and another boy were all looking over. All three of them looked thoroughly unamused. When Haruto made eye contact, all three of them slightly turned their faces away. I haven't done anything. --- At the end of lunch break, Watanabe, the class representative, stood at the front. "[serious]There's a notice from the student council. We need to decide on what to do for the Nomiya Festival and submit it by this week." The Nomiya Festival——the cultural festival of Sakuranomiya High School, held every October. It was the largest event in the region, with about 3,000 visitors. It was as much a symbol of the school as the large cherry blossom tree in front of the gate. Suggestions poured in. A haunted house, a shooting gallery, a mystery escape game. When one of the boys said "Maid café!" half the girls made faces of exasperation. That's when Mizuki raised her hand. "[gentle]How about a Maid & Butler Café? If we have both, more people can participate." A moment of silence. Then half the class said "That's great!" at the same time. By the time Watanabe started to say "So let's vote——" it was basically already decided. "[serious]Kishimoto, you're good at cooking, right? Could you come up with the menu?" Watanabe said it casually. Apparently it was well-known. The fact that he made his own lunch every day had somehow become common knowledge in the class. "[serious]……Sure, I guess." "[gentle]Then I'll be in charge of customer service." A hand went up smoothly from beside him. No one was surprised. Everyone probably saw this coming. --- After school, in the home economics room. Sunlight streamed through the window at an angle, dyeing the cooking counter orange. The hallway was still noisy with students heading home, but inside the room it was just Haruto and Mizuki, quiet. "[serious]I'm thinking we should test-make cookies first. If we're selling them at the festival, they need to last." "[gentle]That sounds good. I'll help too." "[serious]Then measure out 100 grams of sugar in that container——the measuring spoon is in the right drawer." "[gentle]Understood." Mizuki opened the drawer with practiced ease. She checked the ingredients and started measuring with quick, efficient movements. She was surprisingly good at this. Haruto watched her from the corner of his eye while bringing the butter to room temperature. Her silver hair flowed down the back of her apron. She looked a little more like an ordinary girl than in her school uniform. It was kind of……nice. As soon as he thought that, Haruto second-guessed himself. Wait, what's nice about it? They worked side by side for a while. Sifting flour, mixing butter, cracking eggs. Mizuki didn't talk much, but when Haruto said "Next is cake flour," she silently handed it over. They had an oddly good rhythm. When the dough came together, Mizuki said "Let me shape them" and started forming them. She rolled them gently between her fingers and arranged them carefully. That work was really beautiful. The shapes were uniform, the arrangement orderly. "[gentle]Done." The presentation was certainly perfect. They put them in the oven and set the timer. The two of them waited, spacing out. A nice smell spread through the room. Sweet——butter and sugar. In the fading light, it was a strange, wonderful moment. The timer went off. Mizuki opened the oven. Beautifully baked cookies sat in neat rows. "[gentle]They baked nicely." Haruto took one and bit into it. "(……)" It was salty. Really, incredibly salty. Completely betrayed by the sweet smell. What happened? Haruto's expression twisted. Mizuki was watching him. "[serious]……The shape is really beautiful." He forced it out. Really forced it. That's when Mizuki burst out laughing. "[laughing]Ahahaha, that's all!?" Haruto had never seen Mizuki laugh out loud like that. Not her usual gentle smile——she was actually laughing. Her shoulders were shaking. It was so funny that Haruto started laughing too. "[laughing]But the shape really was beautiful! It's just the inside that's the problem!" "[laughing]I mixed up the sugar and salt. The containers looked similar……" "[laughing]You knew!!" The two of them laughed so hard they nearly collapsed over the cooking counter. The evening sun streaming through the window dyed the whole room orange, the remains of the salt cookies sat on a plate, and that made it even funnier. After a while, the laughter faded. Mizuki picked up the measuring spoon again. "Let me fix the sugar and make them again," she said. Haruto answered "Yeah," and noticed that his chest felt warm inside. He couldn't quite name the emotion. But it was the least tense he'd felt all week. --- After cleaning up, they stepped into the hallway. The building was almost dark now. It was time to go home. "[gentle]Thank you for today. Including the salt cookie test run." "[laughing]Don't say "including"." They laughed as they went down the stairs and exited through the back door on the first floor. The April evening air was a little cold, and the building's shadow stretched long across the ground. When Haruto started to say "Well then," Mizuki, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped. Just before the back gate, where the stone pavement ended. The streetlights weren't on yet, and the area was dim. Mizuki stopped and slowly raised her right hand upward. Her palm facing the sky, eyes narrowing. Haruto started to ask "What's wrong," but the words caught in his throat. On Mizuki's palm, a small white flower was blooming. Just one. A tiny flower, about the size of his thumbnail. Glowing faintly——it was there for just a few seconds, soft and gentle——then it vanished. Haruto rubbed his eyes. It was a mistake. It was just a petal or something flying in the backlighting of dusk. That kind of thing happens this time of year, right? It had to be. Mizuki turned around. "[gentle]What's wrong?" Her usual face. Calm, soft, the face of someone for whom nothing unusual had happened. Her palm was empty. "[serious]……No, it's nothing." He answered and started walking beside her. But deep in his chest, something ached. It was the same sensation as the light in his dream, as when the river surface rippled that moment. --- They parted ways at the entrance to Hanamichi Shopping Street. "See you tomorrow," Mizuki said, and her silver hair disappeared into the evening darkness. Haruto walked alone along the Misogi River path. The river surface was quiet. The last of the sunset trembled faintly on the water. He remembered the cookies. Mizuki laughing out loud. His chest feeling warm. When he tried to think of a name for that emotion, his thoughts got blurry. Was it love? Or just fun? Haruto couldn't tell. People often said he was slow to notice his own feelings, but he'd never been this confused before. He put his hand on the guardrail by the river and sighed softly. He thought about the flower that bloomed on Mizuki's palm. When he tried to convince himself it was a mistake, a feeling came back: "I don't think it was." The same ache from the dream light still lingered gently in his chest. It might be nothing. But it might not be nothing. Which was it? There was no answer. --- The next morning, he knew the moment he entered the classroom. The rumors had spread even further. The moment he sat down, three classmates asked him simultaneously: "Did you confess already?" "How did you approach her?" "Are you really dating?" "[serious]We're not dating! It's a misunderstanding!" He said it with all his strength. The classroom door opened at that exact moment. Silver hair swayed gently. "[gentle]Good morning, Haruto." She'd used his first name. Not his surname——his first name. And so naturally. The temperature in the classroom seemed to rise a notch. Haruto's denial hung uselessly in the air. "[whispers]See, she called him by his first name." "[whispers]They're definitely dating……" Nishino came up from behind. "[whispers]Haruto, there's a report that you were in the home economics room yesterday after school." Haruto felt like he was about to collapse in his chair. Mizuki sat in the seat next to him, still neither denying nor confirming anything, just smiling that gentle smile. Haruto still couldn't read what was behind that smile. But now——the memory of that palm he'd seen by the school building yesterday was in the back of his mind. The question of what lay behind that smile, which had been a vague "something mysterious" feeling until now, had started to take on a different shape since yesterday. Something not normal. There was something around Mizuki Arumesu that he couldn't understand. That question had finally begun to take on a clear outline.