章 108: Chinese Dessert

"Hey, Ishigami, aren't you popular?"

"Did you start to cheat after you got a girlfriend?"

"Don't make a joke, okay? You will kill me."

Yet, while the situation was full of jokes, Ishigami couldn't laugh inwardly, especially when Kobachi and Tsubame kept staring at his back in silence. Still, there was no doubt that he attracted the attention of many, especially when he was surrounded by many beautiful girls.

There was no need to say much about Kobachi and Tsubame, who were known as the Four Madonnas of the Shuchi'in Academy as their beauty even spread outside of the school, so when the two of them walked with Ishigami, who had a girlfriend, many couldn't help but feel jealous!

Oh, there was Iino, too!

Well, while Iino was a bit annoying, and many hated her due to her high-strung and stiff nature that forced everyone to follow the rules of the school, no one denied that she was cute and popular among certain types of groups.

Fortunately, Onodera showed her sovereignty over Ishigami and had been holding his hand, showing they were a girlfriend and a boyfriend, so no one said much.

Still, those who knew what Ishigami did behind the scenes, like Shizuku Asahi and Yume Atenbo, who were Tsubami's best friends, wondered whether all of those women had been eaten clean by Ishigami.

Yet, if Ishigami knew what they thought, he would cry of injustice since he was innocent and he was the one who was being attacked, okay?

Still, there was also another, who could only watch him from a distance, staring at his hand that was held by Onodera.

"What's wrong, Karen?"

"N-Nothing."

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing! Let's go back! Come on!"

"Eh? Are you hiding something from me?"

Nevertheless, Ishigami knew nothing, and in his mind, he thought that this was a pretty good atmosphere, especially when all of the women by his side appeared peaceful.

"....."

Right?

"It's my first time to try a Chinese dessert."

"Me too."

"What is good there?"

"Hmm... it's my first time, too, so I am not sure, but there are many varieties, and you should ask the staff instead of me."

Ishigami might have the best talent for cooking due to his "Delicious" ability, but it didn't mean that he had a knowledge of every cuisine in the world, and there was no doubt Chinese cuisine was one of the most complex as every region had its own specialty.

It was said that as long as it wasn't a table, any four-legged animal could be cooked in Chinese cuisine.

Still, this was a dessert, a realm he wasn't quite familiar with except for moon cake; he had never tried other desserts.

"Do you like to try strange food, Ishigami?" Iino asked curiously since Ishigami's choice had been quite adventurous. Most people hardly tried a new food, and they always ate one that they were familiar with.

"I do."

"That tomato oden we tried before was good, right?" Onodera also added.

"Yeah, let's visit that place again sometime."

"Um~!"

"...."

Iino fell silent, staring at Onodera, but she didn't say much since she had gotten used to being hurt, so she was okay with it. Instead, she wondered whether it was possible for her to be alone with Ishigami as she wanted to return the handkerchief that she had borrowed from him before. It had been a while, but while he might have forgotten about his handkerchief, she remembered it well and sniffed it well, even bought a replica of it so he could have a new one instead of the dirty one that she had "used."

"Enough of flirting in front of us."

"Yeah, you two should do it at a private place, you know?"

Still, while Tsubame and Kobachi said those words, they were strangely calm as they stared at Ishigami.

"..." Ishigami.

Nevertheless, being reminded by the two, Onodera felt a little embarrassed, but regardless, she still held Ishigami's hand until they reached the Chinese dessert that they wanted to visit.

The shop was clean and rather spacious, which was quite rare, especially in this area where the land or rent was relatively expensive, so this was probably opened by a wealthy guy who had nothing to do or just a hobby, Ishigami thought.

"Oh? So this is the place?"

"It's kind of interesting."

On the other hand, the girls looked around curiously, feeling a unique feeling as the interior of the shop was different from what they had seen. Instead, they felt like they had visited a famous city such as Shanghai or Beijing in China, especially with many Chinese decorations that gave off such a retro yet fancy vibe.

"It is." Ishigami nodded. "Let's get a seat first."

"Okay."

Probably because many of their group members were good-looking, many stared at their group, whether it was male or female. Still, because of that, those of them didn't have the confidence to approach, and all of them only dared to take a peek.

Nevertheless, Ishigami and the others ignored all of them, especially Iino, whose eyes were already drawn toward the colorful pictures of various desserts within the menu book.

"Order what you want. I will treat you all."

"Huh, really?" Iino was dumbfounded.

"Yup." Ishigami nodded. "You don't have to worry. You can say that it is also my thanks since you have all helped me with my studies." He didn't lack money, especially after he gained a stock trading account from his father, and at this moment, his assets had already reached more than 20 million yen.

There was no doubt that this was amazing, and he thought it was a good thing that he dared to charge forward to the most dangerous heroine in this world, he thought.

While Iino hesitated, Onodera, Kobachi, and Tsubame didn't say much, considering their relationship with Ishigami. While they weren't sure, they knew that Ishigami was relatively wealthy, especially since he helped his family's company, so treating them to desserts was nothing for him.

"It's fine, Iino."

"...okay, then." Iino decided to accept Ishigami's kindness before her eyes drew into the menu book once again as her small mouth started to become wet due to the variety of desserts within the shop.

"There are many of them."

"They all seem delicious."

"The cold one seems good..."

Grass jelly, mango dessert, soya pudding, black sesame soup, and many others. There were many varieties, and all of them were full of color, so it took time for them to choose. Still, after they made their decisions, they started to take photos and update their social media.

Unlike when Onodera was with Ishigami and on a date, so she wanted a private, this time, she didn't mind showing off as she went out with everyone.

Tsubame also joined and took a photo with everyone, which caused Iino to be slightly awkward as it was her first time being like this.

"Come on, Iino! Show your smile. You are cuter if you smile."

"Ah, oh..."

Somehow, Iino showed her sweetest smile after receiving praise from Tsubame.

"....." Ishigami.

Nevertheless, as they received their desserts, all of them devoured them without hesitation, warm and cold, sweet and sour. All of them shared together and even brought some that they would eat at home.

Naturally, as Ishigami had said that he would treat everyone, he did so, yet he had to say, this was a bit expensive for a high school student, but his expression didn't change much, especially when he had 100,000 yen in his wallet.

"It's not bad."

"Yeah, let's visit this place again."

"There seems to be a private room inside that we can use if we ask."

"Then, let's go!"

While all of them didn't mind being gazed after, it felt a bit annoying, especially when they saw many girls and women kept staring at Ishigami in a daze as if they wanted to eat him.

What was wrong with the moral standard of the women in this country?!

Shouldn't all women be more demure and chaste?

Yet, why did they all seem to wish to leap into Ishigami?!

"...." Ishigami.

Still, it was a rare time for them to go out together, so they spent time walking around for a bit before they decided to go back, especially when Onodera was on her period.

"Then, we will leave first."

Ishigami decided to send Onodera off, leaving Iino, Tsubame, and Kobachi.

Still, while Tsubame and Kobachi thought of going out again and talking to each other, Iino decided to follow Ishigami, thinking that it was her chance to be alone with him.

"What's wrong, Koba-chan?" Tsubame looked at Kobachi, who appeared to be in silence and stared in the direction where Iino had left. "What's wrong?"

"...nothing." Kobachi shook her head and decided not to bother thinking since if it happened, then it happened. More importantly, it would be good if all of them could be together, especially when Ishigami was strong enough to handle all of them.

The only problem was when Iino saw Ishigami, he wasn't alone; he wasn't with his girlfriend but with a different girl.