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When she called me cheesy, I just chuckled.

"Hey now, how can you say I'm being cheesy?" I teased.

"This is coming straight from my heart. You have to trust your future husband."

Hearing my words, Mayuri shot me a look. "You're not my husband yet! We're not even married!"

At the mention of marriage, the girl seemed to drift off into a daydream for a moment.

I, however, shamelessly replied with a grin, "Well, what's the difference? It's going to happen sooner or later anyway."

"You belong to me, got it, Mayuri-chan?"

"You can't escape, you know," I added. "After all, I called dibs the moment I knew you existed!"

As I finished speaking, a self-satisfied smile played on my lips.

Hearing my bold declaration, Mayuri couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat as a blush flashed across her cheeks.

'This guy... he just knows how to say things that make me blush.'

'But...'

'It makes me so happy.'

———

Strolling through the mall, laughing and talking, we finally arrived at a Japanese restaurant. There were Japanese restaurants almost everywhere, but most were just small snack shops or barbecue places. The one I chose was a place that Tohka and I had visited many times before. What impressed me most was its most popular dish—the fried tempura.

As soon as we walked in, I habitually ordered two of the largest set meals.

The owner, recognizing me, greeted me cheerfully. "Yo, young man! Bringing your little girlfriend for a meal again?"

After a few visits, we had become familiar faces, and the owner knew me quite well. Besides, he vividly remembered Tohka's terrifying appetite, which was a stark contrast to her delicate appearance.

However, when he noticed Mayuri beside me, he was slightly stunned. "Eh? The girl with you this time is different?"

"Are you talking about Tohka? I might bring her next time," I said with a smile, raising our clasped hands. "But Mayuri-chan is one of my wings, too."

Hearing this, Mayuri blushed slightly and shot me a look, but she didn't deny it.

The restaurant owner, on the other hand, was shocked by my words. After a long moment, he couldn't help but give me a thumbs-up. "Keep it up, young man! I'm rooting for you!!"

'Honestly,' he thought to himself, 'I really admire this kid. So many girlfriends, and none of them seem to get jealous.'

———

After scanning the area, Mayuri and I found an empty table and sat down.

When the two set meals arrived, I remembered that I had ordered two of the largest portions. Fortunately, Japanese cuisine portions weren't excessively large. Even if Mayuri couldn't finish hers, I could easily handle the rest.

"Mayuri, eat a little slower! You've got some sauce on the corner of your mouth!"

"Eh??"

Hearing this, Mayuri subconsciously wiped her mouth with a napkin. When she found no traces on it, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, her cheeks puffing up slightly as she glared at me resentfully.

Instantly, the fried shrimp tempura on her plate seemed to lose its appeal. She was already full from my teasing!

"Alright, my bad," I apologized with a smile and placed a deep-fried tempura shrimp on her plate.

Mayuri glanced at it, and unable to resist the temptation, she took a bite. As if in playful revenge for my earlier trick, her bite actually included my finger.

Three seconds later, she finally released my finger from her small mouth. With a hint of a tsundere tone, she said, "Hmph, I'll forgive you this time."

"Alright, alright, I was wrong. I shouldn't have teased Mayuri."

As I looked at my bitten finger, I paused for a moment, and a cunning glint flashed in my eyes.

Under Mayuri's puzzled gaze, I pointed to my own mouth and said with a half-smile, "Hey, Mayuri, I just fed you. So, as my girlfriend, shouldn't you return the favor?"

"...."

Those words made Mayuri's expression freeze.

'Feeding my boyfriend... that seems like something a couple should do, right?!'

Having thought it through, Mayuri picked up a piece of tempura fried shrimp and held it out to me.

My gaze fell on the tempura, and then on her slender fingers...

I grinned, then gently opened my mouth and ate the tempura she offered. Immediately after, while she wasn't paying attention, I playfully bit her finger.

For a moment, Mayuri only felt a strange sensation travel up her finger. Her eyes went wide in a daze. A few seconds later, she quickly withdrew her arm, her face flushing beet red. "Y-Y-You...!"

However, when she pointed her finger at me again, I simply raised an eyebrow, a playful smile on my face. Noticing my gaze, the girl, exceptionally alert this time, once again pulled her arm back, glaring at me angrily.

"Mm, It was completely unintentional..."

Hearing my words, Mayuri puffed her cheeks and stared at me, her eyes filled with resentment. It was as if she were saying, 'Do you really think I'd believe that??'

"Ahem, Even if I'm at fault, you have to take some of the responsibility too."

"After all," I continued, "who made my Mayuri so cute and beautiful? Even her delicate fingers are completely irresistible to me."

"Shameless..."

Despite her protest, her fair little face quietly showed a hint of a blush.

Taking the opportunity, I moved closer and took her small hand. Then, I gently cut off a piece of grilled meat and brought it to her lips. "Come on, open your mouth. Ah~"

Seeing this, Mayuri was so shy she couldn't speak. It was too embarrassing to do this in front of so many people. However, looking at the grilled meat by her lips, she still opened her cherry-like mouth slightly and ate it.

'So good!!!'

The other people in the restaurant, after witnessing this scene, all started to look on with envy. Among them were many middle-aged office workers, who couldn't help but complain in their hearts.

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