Regarding Sakayanagi Arisu's "anti-killing" behavior, Kazehara Tetsu lamented in his heart that he had been meddlesome in such a thing, but looking at the back of the little man who was visibly happy, he could only helplessly shake his head.
He was not angry in the real sense, or in other words, after that moment of astonishment, what came to his heart was more of a little-known novelty about Sakayanagi Arisu.
"What a guy who doesn't want to suffer..."
Kazehara Tetsu murmured in a low voice and followed quickly.
"Hey, Arisu. Is that a foul? What about your agreed-upon demeanor? Why did you become a 'fauvist' who speaks directly?"
Facing the protest behind him, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't even look back, but turned his face slightly.
"For things that belong to oneself, it is not limited to declaring sovereignty, but also 'marking' and 'devouring' them. This is the basic quality of a ruler. Why, is Tetsu-kun dissatisfied with this? Or..."
She paused deliberately, with a hint of playfulness in her tone.
"You actually enjoy the feeling of being 'preyed'?"
"..."
Kazehara Tetsu opened his mouth, but finally chose to shut up.
Debating this topic with this logic geek will only make things worse.
Since the "protest" was unilaterally dismissed, the date between the two naturally continued.
Perhaps because that bold move broke the last layer of barriers, the shopping atmosphere that followed became extremely relaxed and harmonious.
The two walked through the lively central Lobby, avoiding the crowds who were still taking pictures around the huge Christmas tree, and came to a relatively quiet boutique corridor.
A Flower Shop family is standing at the corner.
The transparent glass display window is not filled with bright red and purple roses like the ordinary Flower Shop, but instead is filled with various strange-looking flowers.
"Just stop for a moment."
Sakayanagi Arisu stopped, his eyes stayed on the dazzling flower stand for a moment, and then turned to look at Kazehara Tetsu.
"Tetsu-kun, do you know flowers?"
"Flower?"
Kazehara Tetsu followed her gaze and shook his head honestly.
"I'm a complete layman. Except for roses and lilies that are very popular in TV dramas, all others are collectively referred to as 'colored plants' to me."
"After all, in my opinion, this thing is inedible and has a short shelf life. It has no practical use except as a social prop. So I haven't bothered to learn more about Flower Language."
"Haha, Tetsu-kun is really... as pragmatic as ever."
Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled, seemingly not surprised by this answer.
"However, just because you don't understand, sometimes you can make the most intuitive choice."
She turned around and faced the door of Flower Shop, as if she had thought of some interesting game.
"In that case, how about we play a little game?"
"Pick each other a bouquet of flowers."
"Since it is 'our' choice, we cannot fall into the cliché. There is only one rule: you cannot choose mainstream flowers that are well-known to the public - such as roses, tulips and the like. You must choose something... that is a little bit special."
"Let's take a look at what the 'other' in our eyes looks like after excluding Standard Answers."
"Huh?"
Kazehara Tetsu raised his eyebrows and looked at the excited girl in front of him.
Although he knew nothing about flowers, looking at her expectant eyes, he swallowed the words of rejection as soon as they came to his lips.
"Okay."
"Since Arisu is interested in playing this kind of guessing game, then I will risk my life to accompany you. But if you choose something with a bad meaning, don't blame me."
"Then it depends on Tetsu-kun's vision."
Sakayanagi Arisu smiled slightly, and then took the lead in pushing open the glass door of Flower Shop.
"Then, in order to keep the surprise, we will buy them separately. Please be sure not to peek."
After saying that, she walked to the deep area of the store alone, leaving Kazehara Tetsu with a mysterious figure behind her.
The temperature in Flower Shop is controlled a bit low, and the air is full of the smell of earth and plants.
Kazehara Tetsu Standing in front of the dazzling flowers, looking at the bunch of unnamed but colorful plants in front of me, I felt dizzy for the first time.
"You can't choose a well-known one..."
He touched his chin and scanned the flowers.
As a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder, his first instinct was to choose white flowers.
The reason is simple.
Sakayanagi Arisu's iconic silver hair and her always spotless white dress are all highly bound to the concept of "white".
It is purity, pride, and the color that represents "innocence" to a certain extent.
If you can choose a bouquet of pure white flowers to give to her, it will best interpret her image.
"But..."
Kazehara Tetsu's eyes fell on the large vat of Gardenia that was as white as gelatin.
So famous. This is definitely on the "famous" blacklist.
The same goes for the jasmine next to it.
As for White Rose... that's the most cliché of clichés.
He looked at the other white flowers.
There is a bucket of flowers that look like garlic heads, which look a little silly.
"This looks like cabbage..."
"This... looks like a species that only appears on altars."
Kazehara Tetsu frowned and looked over, finding that the slightly prettier white flowers with recognizable names had all been banned.
The remaining unpopular white flowers either have strange shapes or the smell is really unflattering.
"Tsk."
He was stunned in his heart.
It seems that the "pure white" route will not work.
"Since white doesn't work, then settle for the next best thing..."
His eyes were fixed on the cool-toned area.
blue.
"Is it blue..."
Kazehara Tetsu shuttles among the flowers.
Suddenly, a unique touch of blue attracted his attention.
Beautiful and unique.
It does not need to be set off by green leaves, it is the best decoration.
"It's you."
Kazehara Tetsu A satisfied smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Just as he was about to reach for it, he glanced at the door with his peripheral vision.
I saw that Sakayanagi Arisu had been selected at some point, and was standing in the corridor outside the automatic door, with his back to this side, looking at the snowy scene outside.
She didn't hold a large bouquet in her hands, just something small and simply wrapped in white paper.
"It's really fast."
Now that the other party has already taken care of it, he can't wait any longer.
Kazehara Tetsu no longer hesitated, and directly reached out and pulled out a dozen branches of Blue Flower from the flower bucket.
He came to the front desk with a bouquet of flowers.
"Hello, please pay."
The clerk was a young girl who had to work overtime even at Christmas. When she saw Kazehara Tetsu holding such a "hard-core" bouquet of flowers, a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.
"This... sir has a really unique vision. Are you giving it to... your girlfriend?"
"To a very special 'rival'."
Kazehara Tetsu smiled without explaining too much.
"By the way, can I trouble you..."
He pointed at the standard size Wrapping Paper that the clerk was about to take.
"Wrap it in slightly larger paper? Make it... fluffy and three-dimensional. It's best to wrap it so it looks substantial."
"Eh?"
The clerk was stunned for a moment.
There are only a dozen flowers in this bouquet, which is not many. If the paper is too large, won't it look empty inside?
"This... maybe a bit empty? And it's a bit of a waste of paper..."
"It doesn't matter, I just like the exaggerated sense of ceremony."
Kazehara Tetsu said nonsense without blushing or heartbeat.
"And I will pay the money."
"Okay, okay."
Since the customer has asked for it, the store clerk can only do it.
She took out a huge dark blue Wrapping Paper, and followed Kazehara Tetsu's requirements to wrap the not-so-large bouquet in layers.
After some skillful folding, the originally small bouquet was stretched out into a huge cone-shaped space.
"A total of 2323 Points."
Kazehara Tetsu took out his mobile phone and completed the payment with a beep.
During the brief moment when the clerk turned around to get the ribbon.
Kazehara Tetsu The hand that had been in his pocket stretched out at an extremely fast speed.
He had already prepared a white box in his palm.
That was the last gift he prepared today, and it was also the heaviest one.
He accurately stuck it between several branches, using the layers of Wrapping Paper folds as a cover to perfectly hide it deep in the bouquet.
Looking from the outside, you can only see the proud clusters of blue flowers, and you can't see what is hidden underneath.
"Sir, can I tie a silver ribbon for you?"
The clerk turned around and was not aware of the "secret display" that happened in that second.
Kazehara Tetsu looked at the silver ribbon being tied into a beautiful bow and nodded with satisfaction.
"Thank you."
He took the bunch and it became a little heavy.
He straightened his expression and returned to his usual casualness.
He pushed open Flower Shop's door and walked into the hustle and bustle of the corridor.
"Long wait, Arisu."