Kazehara Tetsu's gaze slowly traveled from Ichinose Honami's face down to the pale blue gift box.
He straightened up and reached out, taking the gift from Ichinose Honami's fingers.
"Since it's from you, Honami, of course I'll accept it."
For one brief moment, their fingertips touched, and Ichinose Honami felt a faint current run up her skin.
She quickly pulled her hand back.
Silence settled over the room once more.
"Kazehara-kun... what kind of girl do you like?"
Kazehara Tetsu stopped fiddling with the chocolate in his hand.
"Generally speaking..."
"When a girl asks you that, most people will go along with it and say they like the qualities she has, just to keep things pleasant, no matter what they really think, right?"
Ichinose Honami was a little surprised that he had laid bare this unspoken rule so directly.
But she didn't back down. Instead, she leaned forward slightly, her delicate face earnest.
"It's okay."
She shook her head firmly. "I don't want to hear some polite answer meant to keep things pleasant. I don't mind if Kazehara-kun says something nice about the girl in front of him even if he doesn't mean it, or says he likes someone who's nothing like me. I just want to know... what you really think."
Kazehara Tetsu quietly studied the stubborn girl before him for a moment.
He made no effort to avoid her intensely direct gaze.
"First, she has to be pretty."
The most straightforward answer imaginable—three words that sounded almost vulgar—came from Kazehara Tetsu's mouth.
Hearing this, Ichinose Honami didn't show the slightest disappointment, as if to say, "So you're just another shallow man who only cares about looks." Instead, she nodded in agreement, as though he had confirmed something she already suspected.
"Mm-hm. You're so direct, without even trying to