Watching Sajuna eat, Akira also felt his appetite grow, so he sped up his eating, starting on the eel pieces and the rice beneath.
The moment the rice entered his mouth, the eel he had just eaten tasted even more delicious; each grain of rice was glistening and plump, with a rich aroma.
The grilled eel clearly had excellent compatibility with the rice.
The grilled eel pieces spread over a bowl of fragrant rice allowed its rich, thick, and aromatic sauce to flow freely and blend perfectly, transforming the entire bowl's color and flavor into a divine delicacy.
After a light bite of the eel, the fish oil, which had seeped in from the grilling, burst forth in his mouth, providing an incredibly satisfying eating experience.
Akira, who usually had no particular preference for food, felt it was his first time wanting to eat so much rice.
Akira finished the grilled eel rice in front of him completely, then took out a tissue from his pocket to wipe his mouth, and looked at Sajuna.
Sajuna was still slowly eating the grilled eel rice in her bowl with chopsticks, seemingly even slower than when he had last observed her.
Sajuna truly is adorable.
Akira couldn't help but sigh; it was this kind of girlish spirit that made him love Sajuna so much.
Watching Sajuna's somewhat elegant way of eating, Akira unexpectedly found a certain aesthetic beauty in it, making him want to keep watching her.
It must be because of Sajuna.
Akira had his answer in his heart.
It didn't matter what Sajuna was doing; as long as Sajuna was doing it, her mere presence brought a kind of beauty that made Akira willingly immerse himself.
Sajuna looked up and saw Akira's empty bowl, exclaiming in surprise.
"Aki-Kun finished!"
"No need to rush, Sajuna."
Akira gently wiped the sauce from the corner of Sajuna's mouth with a clean tissue, while Sajuna sat obediently, waiting for Akira to attend to her.
Seeing Akira withdraw his hand, she was about to ask Aki-Kun what he had just done, then she saw the sauce on the tissue.
"You got sauce on the corner of your mouth, you know."
Akira said dotingly, but his tone held no hint of anger, only the sweet air of romance.
"Hmph."
Aki-Kun is always so caring.
Sajuna took a big bite of rice; she had to find a chance to "get back" at him.
As she was thinking this, Akira's arm, which he had withdrawn, bumped into the finished bowl and chopsticks placed nearby, knocking the chopsticks to the floor.
Akira instinctively wanted to bend down to pick them up, but then remembered that used chopsticks might be greasy. He quickly checked if the chopsticks had stained his clothes.
After checking his clothes, Akira bent down to pick up the fallen chopsticks, holding them in his hand. He looked up slightly and saw Sajuna on the other side of the table, gently wiggling her calves.
Long, slender calves emerged from beneath her school uniform, exquisitely beautiful. Pure black over-the-knee socks tightly encased her calves, extending past her knees to the upper part, where a cute indentation marked their end, highlighting the slight squeeze of her flesh.
Akira couldn't help but want to grab Sajuna's ankle like that, but doing so would surely make him seem like a pervert.
Resolutely, he sat back down, taking two deep breaths, trying to forget what he had just seen, but he couldn't help but start associating it with previous events.
He had never seen Sajuna's over-the-knee socks from that angle before. Akira felt that with a change of perspective, a mysterious beauty suddenly burst forth, making him unable to help but reflect on his own preferences.
Sajuna, who was almost finished with her meal, noticed Akira's unusual behavior and tilted her head in confusion.
Aki-Kun, what's wrong?
Connecting it to what Aki-Kun had just done, Sajuna, who always thought about her interactions with Aki-Kun, uncontrollably let her thoughts drift to suggestive places. Then she looked down.
The thighs extending from beneath her uniform skirt were so round and fleshy that Sajuna couldn't help but touch them a few times.
After touching them, she suddenly jolted. What was she doing?!
Seeing that Akira didn't seem to notice, Sajuna slowly relaxed, quickly resuming her grilled eel rice.
After dinner, she still had a date with Aki-Kun.
Sajuna couldn't help but hum to herself, and as she thought this, the dish in her bowl didn't seem as delicious as when she first started eating.
After dinner, Akira paid the bill, then held Sajuna's hand and walked out of the food court restaurant.
The sky was still an endless blue. Summer evenings always darkened later, making one want to fully indulge in the prime of youth under such beautiful weather.
"Aki-Kun."
Sajuna, holding Akira's hand, suddenly called out, her tone carrying a hint of a young girl's thoughts.
"Hm."
Akira nodded, then waited for Sajuna to continue.
Girls are always sentimental; no girl's emotions are not like silk woven by fine rain, delicate and soft.
With just a gentle touch of a finger, it would entwine around the fingertip and slowly shatter, then turn into fine, dense mist, hazy with sorrow, lingering in a young girl's innocent heart and causing a young boy's inexplicable melancholy.
"When you picked up the chopsticks earlier, did you see my legs?"
Sajuna felt that asking such a question was like portraying Aki-Kun as a perverted creep who peeked under girls' skirts.
"Yes."
To Sajuna's surprise, Akira nodded directly and admitted it bluntly, as if stating something as ordinary as having eaten breakfast.
"Every part of Sajuna has a unique charm; my eyes couldn't help but be drawn to it."
Akira said sincerely, even causing a sudden feeling of guilt in Sajuna's heart.
It's all my fault...
Sajuna quickly shook her head, dispelling the thought that had just appeared in her mind.
However, hearing Akira's frank admission, Sajuna's initial shyness slowly faded, leaving only a heart full of love for her beloved.
Sajuna suddenly let go of Akira's hand, her eyes sparkling brightly. She took a few quick, hopping steps forward, then turned to look at Akira behind her.
"Aki-Kun!"
Sajuna's voice carried over.
"Let's go see the beach in Saitama!"
The girl's energetic voice reached Akira's ears, every word clear. He looked intently and saw her hair, disheveled by her excited cheers, and her slightly nervous, cautious face, along with the overflowing anticipation contained within it.
Regardless of what Sajuna wanted to hint at, Akira simply wanted to fulfill Sajuna's expectations.
So, meeting Sajuna's hopeful gaze, he slowly walked to her side and reached out to tidy her slightly disheveled uniform.
Feeling the touch of Akira's fingertips on her clothes, Sajuna felt her whole heart melt, and she slowly collapsed into Akira's embrace.
She looked up and heard the warm breath and gentle words coming from Akira's mouth.
"Okay."