‘So, do you have any nice place to suggest?’ I ask Kaoru.

   Considering that she spends her time trying the menu from different ramen shops, I figured that she did the same for other types of eateries as well. Turns out that I was right.

   ‘Well, the cake shop over there serves delicious cake and good tea, but it’s always crowded. I mean, look at the line now.’ she says while pointing at a shop with a name that I can’t even pronounce.

   There’s indeed a long line waiting outside the shop. From the way it moves from the few minutes I observed it, I estimate that it would take around an hour to go inside.

   ‘Ah, why not? We still got lots of time. Might as well go in.’ I says while looking at the time displayed on my phone. ‘Unless you want to go somewhere else.’

   ‘To be honest, I do want to eat some cake.’

   ‘It’s decided, then.’

   And so, we start to line up so that we could get inside. Even when we’re doing that, the line keeps on getting longer.

   ‘This place is really famous, huh?’ I remark.

   ‘Yes. The owner has studied pastry in France for ten years, so his skill is the real deal.’

   ‘Wow. Can’t wait to try out the cake he makes.’

   We talk about lots of random things while waiting for our turn. This is partly to relief our boredom, and partly to cover up the rumbling sound made by Kaoru’s stomach every once in a while. Thankfully, the sound is quite soft, so it can be masked easily.

   ‘I could go buy something for you to eat if you want.’ I whisper to her. ‘I can’t have you passing out on me.’

   ‘It’s fine, aniki. It’s true that I have the urge to eat something, but it’s not that bad until I would pass out if I don’t eat something soon.’

   ‘If you say so. Just tell me if you can’t hold it back.’

   After waiting for around an hour and a half, we finally got ourselves a seat. After we sit down, the waiter hands us a copy of the menu each and leaves us alone so that we could decide on our orders in peace.

   The interior of the shop is simple but fancy, with wooden fans and shiny chandelier at the ceiling. One side of the wall are decorated with various certificates and trophies awarded to the chef.

   For the seats, the tables covered with tablecloth made of silk and chairs that have cushions on it. I could be wrong, but something tells me that these are imported furnitures.

   The whole place smells like cake, coffee and tea. As I’ve mentioned several times before, I don’t drink coffee nor tea, but the aromas are so alluring even I feel like drinking some of them.

   After we’ve decided on what to order, I call the waiter over. I decide to try the chocolate cake here since the menu wrote that it’s their best seller. Meanwhile, Kaoru ordered four different kinds of cakes. She also ordered a pot of Darjeeling tea. There’s no way I could order a glass of water in a high-class place like this, so I ask the waiter to bring us two cups.

   I knew that Kaoru has come here for more than once when the waiter got her four whole cakes instead of four slices. He even got her a plastic knife to cut the cakes. The table barely has any spaces left with all the things piled on it.

   ‘Well then, shall we dig in?’ I ask her.

   ‘Yes.’

   I take a bite of the chocolate cake. It’s hands down the most delicious cake I’ve ever ate, including the ones I’ll be eating from now on. I know I should give better comments, but words alone are really not enough to describe the heavenly taste.

   While I’m savoring the taste of my cake, Kaoru has already downed one of her cakes. Her progress is slow since she has to cut the cakes into smaller pieces first, but her speed is still astonishing. She’s just waiting the cakes quietly, but she still got the attention of the entire shop. Pretty much all the customers are observing her progress right now.

   I’m eating my own slice of cake while watching her eat, and we finish eating around the same time as each other. I didn’t say this out loud since it’s rude to mention the name of another girl while you’re on a date with a girl, but I sure want to see an eating showdown between Mashiro and Kaoru.

   After we’re done eating and drinking, I pay for the bills and we leave the cafe.

   ‘So, do you have any other hobbies other than eating?’ I ask Kaoru since I still couldn’t think of anything that we could do together.

   ‘Well, I also like baseballs.’

   ‘There’s a batting cage nearby, do you want to go?’

   ‘Yes!’

   The batting cage is just ten minutes walk from where we were, so we reach there at the blink of an eye.

   I’ve never played baseball before, so it’s quite difficult for me. I could barely hit the ball, and for the rare few times I did, all of them were foul balls. Kaoru, on the other hand, has no problem hitting home runs after home runs.

   ‘How did you get to become so good?’ I ask her curiously.

   ‘My father always brought me to the park near our house to play baseball when I was small.’ she replies. ‘Over the years, I’ve come to like it, so I practise my myself every once in a while.’

   Seeing how good she is, I ask her to coach me on batting, so she comes over to my cage to guide me. After a few lessons, I’m finally starting to get the hang of it.

   Unfortunately, we have to end the date before dinner time since Kaoru have to eat dinner with her family.

   ‘I’m sorry about this, aniki. I would love to have dinner with you as well, but my mother has been most insistent about eating dinner together as a family.’

   I tell her the same thing I told Yui.

   ‘It’s fine. You should prioritize your family, especially when you haven’t meet your mother for ages.’

   Just as we’re about to reach the headquarter of the Ueyama Group, Kaoru suddenly pulls me into an alley. Her faces is a bit red, and she looks nervous. Only an idiot can’t tell what’s gonna happen next.

   ‘Um, aniki, I-I have something that I want to tell you.’ Kaoru says nervously.

   I nod at her encouragingly. ‘Go on. There’s no need to rush, just take your time.’

   She nods back and takes a few deep breaths. After she’s prepared, she opens her mouth.

   ‘I love you, aniki.’

   Her face is covered with blush after she said that, but she’s not stopping.

   ‘I’ve always admired you after you saved me from those knights, and the feeling kept on growing after we went to Italy. At first, I intended to keep this feeling to myself, since a boy liking another boy is kind of, wrong for me. But, turns out I’m a girl all along, so I took up the courage to confess to you.’

   ‘Thank you for your confession, Kaoru. But, are you really sure? You won’t be my only girlfriend, you know?’

   She shows me a determined expression. ‘Yes, I’m sure. I don’t mind that your love towards me is shared with others, I just want to be with you.’

   ‘In that case, I guess I’ll be in your care.’ I say to her a little bashfully.

   ‘Likewise.’

   She tiptoes so that her face could reach mine and kiss my lips briefly.

   ‘Good night aniki. One day, maybe we could have dinner together with my family.’

   ‘Yeah, after I have enough courage to tell your parents that I’m multi-timing.’

   ‘Don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be fine.’

   ‘No offense, but I think if I angered them, getting killed is the least of my problems.’

   She chuckles at that. ‘None taken. Like I said, aniki, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll help you to convince them if it’s necessary.’

   With that assurance, we leave the alley and head for her house. As usual, we’re greeted by the guards keeping watch outside. I stood in front of the gate while Kaoru goes inside after giving me a cute wave of her hand. I waited until she’s completely out of sight before leaving the place.

   Just as I was heading back to the dorm, I spot a familiar face a few hundred meters away. It’s Amesaki-senpai.

   I recall that she’s supposed to be attending a mixer today. Based on her expression that looked like she just witnessed the end of the world, I’m guessing that it did not go well. Again. I was thinking of leaving her alone when she spots me.

   ‘Hey there, Kagenashi. What are you doing outside all by yourself?’

   I figured that it’s probably not a good idea to tell her that I’m going back to my dorm after a date, particularly when the set-up to her future ones went wrong, but I wouldn’t want to lie.

   ‘Well, I was sending a girl back to her house after a date.’ I tell her honestly.

   ‘I see. Must be nice. A boy and a girl, enjoying their youth to the fullest. Not that I would know anything about it. Not ever.’

   She starts to chuckle maniacally. It’s kind of creepy and scary to watch when combined with her eyes that are devoid of any life or hope. I figure that I need to do something fast.

   ‘Um, have you eaten?’

   ‘No. Not at all. I got out from there before things got too…awkward.’

   ‘Well, shall we have dinner together? I know a good eatery.’

   She hesitates for quite a while before nodding. So I brought her to Yamamoto Canteen, where Miyako-san is working.

   Thankfully, the eatery isn’t crowded tonight, so we got a seat straight away. Miyako-san herself is taking our order.

   ‘Hello there, Kagenashi-kun. Where are your usual friends?’ she asks me curiously.

   ‘They have…things to take care of. This is Amesaki Miu-san, who previously studied at the Academy and is now working for our PM.’

   Amesaki-senpai nods at her formally. ‘Good evening.’

   ‘Good evening. So, you’re a civil servant? Thank you for your hard work.’

   ‘No, it’s nothing. It’s what I wanted to do anyway. To serve the people through working for the government.’

   ‘How very noble of you. But do you have any time for relationships? A girl must always be on the lookout for a nice guy, you know?’

   I can’t see my own face right now, but I’m pretty sure it’s gone pale. Why, oh why did you have to bring that up, Miyako-san? As for Amesaki-senpai, she reacts by covering her face with both her hands and starts to weep. The only good news is that she’s not being loud.

   ‘Um, did I just step on a landmine?’ Miyako-san asks me in a soft voice.

   ‘Yes, yes you did.’ I whisper back. ‘For now, could you get us glasses of water while I try to calm her down?’

   ‘Y-Yes, right away.’

   Even though I said that, I have absolutely no idea on what to say to Amesaki-senpai. Miyako-san, on the other hand, simply put down the glasses of water and left faster than the wind in fear of stepping on another landmine. In the end, I could only think of one way.

   ‘Senpai, after we’re done eating, let’s go on a short date together.’ I suggest to her.

   She immediately stops weeping and slowly moves those hands away from her face.

   ‘What’s this all of a sudden?’

   ‘You don’t want to keep on failing when you go to mixers or dates, don’t you? We could try to fix what you did wrong all these while by having a mock date.’

   ‘That’s…actually a sound idea.’

   ‘Isn’t it? It’s decided, then.’

   ‘Are you certain that it’s fine? Haven’t you already gone through a date?’

   ‘It’s fine.’ I assure her. ‘I’m not that tired anyway.’

   ‘Very well. If you say so.’

   We quickly order our food, ate them and paid for the bills so as not to waste more time.

   ‘So, where are we going?’ Amesaki-senpai ask once were outside. ‘It’s getting quite late, so a lot of places are out of the option.’

   ‘Um, I’m sorry for touching your old wound but, where did you had your mixer, senpai?’

   Her eyes become devoid of life again as soon as I ask that, but she quickly snaps out of it.

   ‘We went to a karaoke box.’

   ‘All right then, let’s go to a karaoke box.’

   We got ourselves a room at the nearest karaoke box and sits down. However, we’re not really here to sing.

   ‘Now then, please tell me what you did from the moment you went inside the room.’ I request.

   ‘Understood. Let’s see…one of the man complained that the air-conditioner was too cold, so I asked the receptionist to adjust the temperature to the hottest.’

   ‘...I beg your pardon?’

   ‘And when they complained that the room is too hot, I got them drinks from the drink bar. The sad news is, I tripped when I was about to reach the room, and as a result all the glasses were shattered.’

   ‘Huh?’

   ‘After apologizing to the waiters who cleaned up the mess and compensating them for the broken glasses, I got back to the room. The others were kind enough to act like nothing is wrong, but I messed it up when it’s time for us to sing.’

   ‘I’m really scared to ask, but mess it up how?’

   ‘I accidentally knocked the microphone with my teeth, causing it to release a really high-pitched squeal. I was so ashamed I just ran out.’

   After hearing all this, I have reached to a conclusion. Amesaki Miu, former Student Council President of the Royal Blade Academy and the personal assistant of the Japan’s Prime Minister himself, is an airhead.

   Now, there’s no way people would let her handle important matters if she’s clumsy, so my guess is that she has two mode: working mode and casual mode. She’s brilliant and awe-inspiring when at work, but she’s totally untrustworthy during other times. I mention this to her, and she agrees wholeheartedly.

   ‘I never understood why, but that was always the case. I could work flawlessly during my student council times and at the office. I could defeat enemies without tripping needlessly and risking the lives of myself or my teammates. When it comes to everything else like going to social events, however, it’s a totally different story.’

   ‘Um, what about cooking?’ I ask fearfully.

   ‘I can do it just fine.’

   I let out a huge sigh of relief, probably the biggest one I ever let out. Having one chef with disastrous skills is more than enough.

   ‘I believe you’ve mentioned that this is the fifth mixer that you went.’

   ‘Yes, that’s right.’

   ‘How did you manage to find all these mixers in the first place?’

   ‘I followed my friends from the Academy for the first two. After that, I found the events on social medias and requested to join.’

   ‘I’m kind of curious. Doesn’t any of your friends know of your…clumsiness?’

   ‘Not at all. I’ve somehow managed to survive three years at the Academy without any of those episodes. Which is why they thought that I was too nervous when I messed things up the first time. After a second time, I took the hint and stop going with them.’

   So that’s why her friends allowed her to come to mixers when she could be disastrous in those.

   ‘Wait, how on earth did you manage to spent three whole years at school without anyone ever finding out about your clumsiness?’

   ‘Not to brag, but I’m kind of widely admired when I was there. All my juniors who admire me are constantly helping me to do the more minor things, like carrying documents and getting tea. I’ve always felt bad, but they were so insistent.’

   ‘In a way, they were probably glad that they did it, since it meant that your image in their mind did not get shattered.’

   She hangs her head in shame. ‘I guess you could put it that way.’

   ‘Well, I guess that’s enough of your past history, interesting as it is. Now let’s focus on not messing up during mixers.’

   She lifts up her head once again.

   ‘I’ll be in your care.’

   ‘First things first, don’t to anything without people specifically telling you to. If possible, ask for someone else to do it for you, particularly one of the men.’

   She looks confused at that, but she keeps quiet so that I could elaborate.

   ‘You may think that a mixer is about the two groups of genders trying to impress each other, but the girls have the upper hand in events like this. I mean, it’s always been like this. When was the last time you ever saw a woman courting a man? All you have to do is show up, and the men will be fighting for your attention.’

   ‘But, wouldn’t that give others the impression that you’re being slothful?’

   ‘Not at all. Like I said, guys will fight over the chance of trying to impress girls. The important thing is to be polite, and not faking a persona and acting like someone that you’re not.’

   ‘A few girls did the latter in some of the mixers I went to.’ Amesaki-senpai recalls. ‘They constantly acted all cutesy in front of the men despite looking very matured.’

   ‘See, that’s where they made their mistake. I mean, if you use a fake personality just so you could get into a relationship, your act will be found out sooner or later. When that happens, your partner will feel betrayed by your lie and might end the relationship.’

   ‘So, I guess being yourself is the best?’

   ‘Exactly. It may sound corny, but it’s true. Well, don’t really take my word for it. This is just my opinion, not facts. It may or may not work when it comes to the real deal.’

   ‘Either way, I’m really grateful that you spent time to give me guidance.’

   ‘Please think nothing of it. Honestly, you looked so depressed I just can’t leave you alone.’

   She looks at me sheepishly.

   ‘Did I really looked that bad?’

   ‘To be honest, you looked like someone who’ve lost all hope.’

  ‘Well, not any more. Next time, I’ll definitely get myself a boyfriend!’

   ‘That’s the spirit!’

   She takes up two microphones that was lying on the table. She passes one to me.

   ‘For now, let us sing. This facility is built for that purpose, after all.’

   ‘...Pardon me, did you say “us”?’

   ‘Yes. Us.’

   I figure that it’s probably futile on trying to convince her that I’ve never sang in my entire life, so I took the microphone.

   ‘Just don’t blame me if my horrible voice burst your eardrums.’ I warn her.

   She chuckles at that.

   ‘Worry not. I’ve fought enough banshees to gain certain levels of immunity from sonic attacks.’

   Now it’s my turn to laugh. And get nervous for my first singing session.

   I did surprisingly well. I didn’t sing out of tune, and my voice was deemed melodic by the machine. I mean, my highest score is 82, and the lowest I got is 75. Amesaki-senpai still got me beat by getting a 95 for her best scores.

   In the end, we sang for two whole hours. My throat were dry and had to be moisten by drinks. Overall, it was a fun experience.