Seeing Haruto calmly take a bite of the handmade cookie, his expression remained as composed as ever.
Yui Yuigahama leaned forward, her peach-pink eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Haruto-kun... well? How is it? Is it delicious?" she asked eagerly, clasping her hands together.
Beside her, Yukino Yukinoshita quietly observed the scene. Though her face remained calm, her gaze drifted toward Haruto with faint curiosity.
Yukino valued honesty above all else. Even so, after watching Yui spend the entire afternoon carefully mixing the dough, shaping each cookie by hand, and nervously baking them in the Home Economics room, she couldn't help but hesitate.
If Haruto told the truth... it would almost certainly crush Yui's enthusiasm.
Just this once, Yukino found herself hoping he would tell a small, harmless lie.
Haruto slowly finished chewing before setting the cookie down on the porcelain plate.
"...It's not good."
The room fell silent.
"In fact," he continued in the same calm tone, "it's probably the worst cookie I've ever eaten."
"...Eh?"
Yui stood frozen, her hopeful smile disappearing in an instant. She looked as though a bolt of lightning had struck her, her soul nearly leaving her body.
"..."
Even Yukino was left speechless.
She stared at Haruto in disbelief.
This person...
...was astonishingly, mercilessly honest.
For someone so perceptive, he showed not the slightest intention of sugar-coating his words.
Even Yukino, who normally appreciated blunt honesty, couldn't help thinking that he could have chosen a gentler way to say it.
Sometimes, preserving someone's feelings was just as important as telling the truth.
Yui's shoulders drooped as she lowered her head, her cheerful energy disappearing in an instant.
I really messed up...
Beside her, Yukino Yukinoshita let out a quiet sigh.
I should have secretly mixed in a few of my own cookies... she thought. Perhaps things wouldn't have turned out like this.
Just as the awkward silence began to settle over the clubroom, Haruto spoke again.
"Even if they don't taste very good..."
He looked at Yui with the same calm expression.
"...I still appreciate the effort you put into making them. Thank you, Yuigahama-san."
"...!"
Neither Yui nor Yukino had expected those words.
He's just trying to comfort her, they both thought at the same time.
Yui quickly wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes and forced a shaky smile.
"Haruto-kun... you don't have to say that just to make me feel better."
"I'm really sorry for giving you something so awful."
She lowered her head in a deep bow, but before she could finish, Haruto gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
"There's nothing to apologize for."
"I'm not lying."
Yui slowly raised her head, uncertainty still visible in her eyes.
Haruto carefully lifted her right hand.
"My senses are unusually sharp."
"Especially my sense of taste."
His fingertips lightly brushed over the bandage wrapped around her right index finger.
"You cut this finger while making these cookies for me, didn't you?"
"...!"
Yui's eyes widened.
"..."
Yukino's brows knitted together in confusion.
He tasted blood... from a baked cookie?
That sounded completely impossible.
Yet the bandage around Yui's finger proved his words weren't merely a random guess.
Yui had indeed cut herself while preparing the cookies.
Yukino assumed Haruto had somehow noticed the bandage earlier and cleverly connected the dots.
What she didn't know was that his senses truly were extraordinary.
As his body had continued to develop, every one of his senses had reached an abnormal level. His palate was so refined that even the faintest impurity stood out immediately. To him, the tiny trace of blood hidden beneath the sweetness of the cookie was as obvious as adding a pinch of salt to green tea.
Yui, however, wasn't thinking about any of that.
The moment Haruto's fingers lightly touched her hand, her heart skipped a beat.
A strange warmth spread through her body, and her cheeks turned bright red.
"Does it still hurt?"
Seeing Haruto begin to lift the edge of the bandage to check the wound, Yui panicked.
"N-No!"
She hurriedly pulled her hand back, hiding it behind her back.
"T-Thank you for worrying about me, Haruto-kun... but it's already fine."
She took a deep breath before flashing a determined smile.
"And... these cookies don't count!"
"Next time, I'll make something you'll really enjoy!"
Unable to bear looking Haruto in the eyes any longer, she spun around and hurried out of the Service Club room, her embarrassed footsteps echoing down the hallway.
Silence returned.
Only Haruto and Yukino remained.
The atmosphere became noticeably quieter.
Yukino looked away toward the window before finally speaking.
"Haruto-kun..."
"How did you know about the Service Club's activities?"
Haruto answered without hesitation.
"Hiratsuka-sensei mentioned it to me before."
There was no dramatic explanation or attempt to impress her.
Just a simple, straightforward answer.
"Hiratsuka-sensei?"
At the mention of the name, Yukino's expression shifted slightly in recognition.
"...So you're Haruto."
"You've heard of me?" Haruto asked with mild curiosity.
Yukino quietly closed the novel resting on her lap before taking a graceful sip from her teacup.
"Hiratsuka-sensei mentioned you before."
"She said there was a student she intended to recommend to the Service Club."
Since Shizuka Hiratsuka had once been her homeroom teacher—and was also an old friend of her older sister, Haruno—Yukino knew her quite well.
When Hiratsuka first brought up Haruto's name, Yukino hadn't paid much attention.
However, after hearing him mentioned several times, she had looked through the latest academic rankings out of curiosity.
His results immediately caught her eye.
Haruto consistently ranked just outside the top one hundred students in the year. Whether it was examinations or mock tests, his position hardly ever changed.
Occasionally, he would climb a few places.
Other times, he would slip by roughly the same amount.
Yet he never broke into the top ranks, nor did he experience any significant decline.
It was as though he had deliberately maintained that exact level.
For someone to remain so consistently average among the school's higher-performing students required a surprising degree of stability.
That peculiar consistency was enough to pique Yukino's interest.
Combined with Hiratsuka-sensei's unusual insistence on recommending him, Yukino eventually agreed to let him visit the Service Club.
Looking at the calm young man sitting across from her now, she finally understood why her teacher had been so persistent.
Haruto was....certainly an unusual person.
*****
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