Chapter Five: “The Princess Wants to Seize the Chance” — Part Nine
“Senpai! Your girlfriend has a proposal!”
I sat down on our usual bench and, before even taking out my lunchbox, held my phone up in front of her. She tilted her head with a quiet what is it?, and I caught her scent.
She always smelled good, but this was something I hadn’t smelled on her before. A fresh citrus fragrance that suited her perfectly.
“Iori-senpai, did you change your perfume? No, your deodorant?”
“You noticed.”
“Of course I noticed. After all, you’re my beloved girlfriend.”
“The one I’d been using ran out, so I got a new kind. It used to be unscented, but this time I went with a citrus one.”
“I see! I think it suits you wonderfully!”
“Does it? And you can tell from this distance?”
Senpai’s fingers brushed against mine.
“Want to smell it up close? Just kidding.”
“Yes I do, please, let me please.”
The response came out rapid-fire before I could stop it, and Senpai burst out laughing. It’s not fair to tease me like that, I thought, and yet I loved her for teasing me too, which was completely hopeless.
“…Senpai, that’s a cruel joke.”
“It wasn’t really a joke, though.”
“Then I actually can smell it?”
Without waiting for an answer, I leaned my face toward her neck. Citrus, yes, but not only that. Her own scent was mixed in underneath.
They say if you find someone’s smell appealing, you’re genetically compatible with them. Which meant Senpai and I were fated for each other, right down to our DNA.
“…Himena-chan. Isn’t that a bit long?”
“You said I could, Senpai.”
I pulled back slowly. Senpai’s face was faintly pink.
“So what was this proposal, Himena-chan?”
Oh, Senpai changed the subject because she got embarrassed.
The way she’s so easy to read is adorable in its own right. This is bad. She’s so adorable I could just eat her up.
“There are some apps I’d like us both to download!”
“Apps?”
“Yes! A couples app, and a shared schedule app!”
I showed her the apps I’d found this morning and installed on the train over.
The couples app let you enter your start date and would remind you of anniversaries and similar milestones. It also had a memo function for logging dates.
“This one lets you each fill in a profile and share your date records.”
“Oh?”
“Of course, if that’s too much trouble, I’ll do all the input myself! I’d just really love it if we could do it together.”
The screen currently read: Day 2 together. Tomorrow it would say Day 3.
Building up the days like that sounded like something I could be happy about every morning.
Even an ordinary day became something special once it was tied to a memory with Senpai. She was the source of all my happiness.
“Sure. Send me the link later?”
“Yes!”
“And the schedule app?”
“This one!”
At first glance it looked like an ordinary calendar, but the point was that one calendar could be shared between two people, with both of them able to add entries.
“Since you can see each other’s plans, it makes it easier to arrange dates, apparently.”
“That does sound useful. It would save having to check in about schedules all the time.”
“Exactly, it’s so convenient!”
I leaned forward without meaning to, and Senpai raised a hand to her mouth and laughed.
“You’re so cute, Himena-chan.”
“You’re cute too, Iori-senpai!”
“…I don’t think cute is really my thing.”
“As far as I’m concerned, Iori-senpai is the cutest girlfriend in the world!”
“…Hm.”
She looked away, and the sheer adorableness of it sent me launching myself at her in a hug.