第48話 氷の令嬢と新学期
新学期が始まってから一週間近くも経過すれば、休み明けの憂鬱な気分も徐々に晴れるというものだ。
始業式あたりは登校どころか、ベッドから起き上がる事すら億劫だったのだが、今ではすっかり学校中心のライフスタイルに元通り。
一方、外の天気は曇り空が続き、冬の寒さをより一層際立たせた。
その影響は実に様々で、例えばコートやカーディガンを着る生徒が増えたり、教室に暖房がきくようになったり、吐息は当然のように白い形を得るように。
他にも、本格的な冬の到来は意外なところで不意に感じられた。
「ちーくん、そのラーメン何で真っ赤っかなの......?」
「どうだ、おいしそうだろ。冬季限定メニュー、激辛キムチラーメンだ!」
「俺には無理だな」
「同感ですね。見るからに辛そうです」
「ちーくんは辛いの好きだもんねえ」
「あれ、ワクワクしてるの俺だけ!?」
誰からも賛同を得られなかった千昭が大袈裟に驚き、がっくりと肩を落とす。
その様子を見て、朝陽や日菜美だけでなく、冬華も小さく上品に笑った。
......と、ここまでの話なら、初詣を通して新たに四人の空気が形成されました、めでたしめでたしと綺麗に終わるはずなのだが。
今日はやけに周囲がざわざわと騒ぎ立っている。
それは、この場が学食だからという単純な理由だけではない。
明らかに、生徒の目が四人のもとに集まっているのだ。
より具体的には、冬華が視線の的となっていた。
「あっちゃー、ここでも注目浴びちゃうねー」
「こればっかりはどうにもならんなー」
「......すいません、ご迷惑をおかけして」
「いやいや、ふゆちゃんが謝る必要ないって!」
「そうそう、俺らは全く迷惑と思ってないし。なあ、朝陽?」
「まあ、そうだな。冬華が気にすることじゃない......って言っても、これは嫌でも気になるか」
周りを見渡せば、男女問わず多くの目がこちらに向けられている事が分かる。
その視線には様々な意味が含まれていて、大きく二つに分類すると、好意と好奇が半々といった感じか。
きっかけは間違いなく氷の令嬢の変わり様だろう。
人を拒まず、言葉を交わし、微笑を浮かべる。
まるで、他人を拒絶し心を閉ざしていた今までの姿が嘘だったように。
氷の令嬢改め氷室冬華はその身に纏った氷をゆっくりと溶かしていた。
「いやー、まさに氷室さんフィーバーって感じだな」
「な、何ですかそれ......」
「ふゆちゃん、大人気ってことだよ! ねえ、朝陽?」
「お前ら何でいちいち俺に振るんだよ......」
バカップルがキラキラと無駄に輝いている瞳でしつこく意見を求めて来るのを、朝陽は手作り弁当を口に運びながら適当にあしらう。
ただ、言葉にはしないものの、氷室さんフィーバーなる現象には概ね頷けるものがあった。
――もし、氷の令嬢の性格が真反対だったら学校中の男子生徒が彼女に恋をすると思う。
いつの日か、千昭が熱く語っていた言葉が再び蘇る。
今まさに、そのifストーリーが現実になろうとしてるのかもしれない。
「教室でも凄かったんだよ? もうみんながみんな、ふゆちゃんと話したいオーラを爆発させててさー」
「へー、そりゃ凄いな。そろそろ、ボディーガードとか必要になってくるんじゃねーの?」
「それは大袈裟過ぎる気が......」
「いや、そうでもないぜ。例えば、氷室さんっていつも学食で昼飯食べるだろ? もし、一人で居たらあっという間に囲まれるに決まってる」
「確かに、ボディーガード必要かも! ふゆちゃんが可愛すぎて、いきなり抱き着く人とかいるかもしれないし!」
それはお前だろ、と日菜美に言わなかったのは朝陽の優しさか。
無言でニヤニヤと見つめられれば、二人が何を言わんとしているか、話の流れから容易に察することができた。
「俺はやらないからな」
「むぅー、まだ何も言ってないのに」
「言わなくても分かる。それに、冬華はこの状況を迷惑だとは思ってないだろ?」
「もちろん、迷惑とは全く思っていません。いきなり沢山の人に話し掛けられるので、少し戸惑いはありますが......」
「ということで、ボディーガードはいらない。はい、この話は終わりね」
有無を言わさず会話を切り上げれば、その意見が正論ともあってバカップルは素直に頷いた。
これは、冬華が大きな一歩を踏み出して、皆に歩み寄った結果だ。
他人との接し方を変えていこうと、冬華が頑張った証拠でもある。
いきなりの変化に周りの生徒も、冬華自身もまだ距離感を掴めていない様子だが、いずれは良い関係を築けるはずだ。
それは、朝陽が自分で経験したように、日菜美や千昭と友達になれたように。
だから、友人としてその姿を見守り、必要とあらば手助けをする。
間違っても、邪魔してはいけない。
それくらいは千昭も日菜美も分かっているはずだ。
恐らく、二人がボディーガードがなんちゃらと突飛な提案を言い出したのは、何か他の考えがあっての事。
その意図は意外にも、冬華と合致していたらしい。
「......でも、お昼ご飯はゆっくり食べたいので、一緒に居てくれると嬉しいです」
「まあ、それは全然いいけど......なあ、お前ら」
「もちろんだよ!」
「右に同じく」
随分と回りくどいやり取りだったが、つまりは友達と一緒に居たかったというだけの事だ。
控えめに呟かれた冬華のお願いを断る選択肢は誰一人として存在しなかった。
「じゃあ、明日から昼飯は食堂で食べるとして......日菜美、何か俺たちに話があるんじゃないのか? もう昼休み終わっちまうぞ」
「あっ、そうだった! すっかり忘れてたよ......」
「相変わらずヒナはうっかりさんだなー」
「もうっ、ちーくん。からかわないでよー!」
イチャイチャしている暇があったら、早く要件を済ませてほしい。
そんな思いが隣で苦笑いを浮かべる冬華と通じ合った気がした。
今日はわざわざ、日菜美に呼ばれて普段滅多に行かない学食へと足を運んでいるのだ。
この四人を集めたということは、初詣関連だろうか。
そんな事を考えていると、日菜美は長財布から横長の紙を四枚取り出した。
「これは......遊園地のチケットですか?」
「そうなの! ママが商店街の福引で当てて、私が譲り受けたって訳!」
えっへん、と胸を張る日菜美は実質何もしていないのだが、突っ込むのは野暮なので三人は黙って続きの言葉を待った。
とは言え、日菜美が何を言うかは大体予想が付いている。
四人分の遊園地のチケット、そして集められた四人。
条件から導き出せる答えは明確だ。
「今週末空いている人!」
「余裕で暇だな」
「......一応、空いてる」
「今のところ大丈夫ですが......」
千昭がニヤリと笑い、朝陽は言葉を濁す。
冬華はというと、少しだけ目が輝いている気がした。
かくして、日菜美は満面の笑みを浮かべて口を開く。
「みんなで遊園地に遊びに行こう!」
Ch 48
It had been almost a week since the start of the new school year, and post-break tiredness was slowly clearing up.
Around the first day of school, Asahi was too lazy to even get out of bed, let alone go to school, but now he was completely back to his school-centered lifestyle.
Meanwhile, the weather outside remained cloudy, making the winter chill even more colder.
The effects of it were varied, for example, more students wore coats and cardigans, classrooms were heated, and if one exhaled it would naturally take on a form of a white fog.
In addition, the arrival of full-blown winter was unexpectedly felt in unexpected places.
"Chi-kun, why is that ramen so red?"
"Doesn't it look good? It's on the winter menu, very spicy kimchi ramen!"
"That's impossible for me."
"I agree with you. I can feel the spiciness just from watching."
"Chi-kun likes spicy food after all."
"Eh, am I the only one who's excited about this?"
Chiaki, who hadn't gotten anyone's approval, exaggerated his surprise and slumped his shoulders in disappointment.
Seeing this, not only Asahi and Hinami, but also Fuyuka let out a small, elegant laugh.
...Considering the story so far, it should end nicely with the four of them, newly forming an atmosphere after the Hatsumode, and living happily ever after!
There was a lot of attention around today.
It was not simply because it was the school cafeteria.
The eyes of the students were clearly drawn to the four of them.
More specifically, Fuyuka was the target of their gaze.
"Oops, looks like we're getting a lot of attention here."
"It can't be helped."
"Sorry for the inconvenience..."
"No, no, you don't have to apologize, Fuyu-chan!"
"Yeah, yeah, we don't find it annoying at all. Right, Asahi?"
"Well, yeah. It's not something that you need to worry about... but I guess even if you don't like it, you will still notice it."
If one was to look around, one would see that there were many eyes on them, both male and female.
The gazes contained different intentions, and if it was to be categorized into two, It would be half favourable and half curious.
The reason for the attention was undoubtedly the change in the "Ice Lady".
Didn't reject people, able to communicate, and could smile.
It was as if the way she had been rejecting others and closing her heart had been a lie.
"The Ice Lady," or Himuro Fuyuka, was slowly melting.
"Well~, it's just like a Himuro-san FEVER."
"W-what do you mean?"
"It means that you're super popular! Right, Asahi?"
"Why do you guys have to ask for my approval every single time?"
The lovebirds' glittering, uselessly shining eyes persistently asked for his opinion, which Asahi brushed off as he poured his homemade lunch into his mouth.
However, although he didn't put it into words, Asahi was generally agreeing with the phenomenon of Himuro-san FEVER.
--If the Ice Lady's personality was the exact opposite, every boy in the school would fall in love with her in a heartbeat.
Somehow, Chiaki's passionate words came back to him once again.
Maybe, that "if" was about to become a reality.
"There was a lot of attention in the classroom too. Everyone was exploding with the aura of wanting to talk to Fuyu-chan."
"Wow, that's amazing. I guess she'll be needing a bodyguard or something soon, huh?"
"I think you're overreacting..."
"No, not really. For example, Himuro-san always eats lunch at the school cafeteria, right? If you were alone, you'd be surrounded in no time at all."
"Right! You might need a bodyguard! Fuyu-chan is so cute that some people might suddenly hug her!"
'Isn't that you?!' Asahi thought.
The two were staring at Asahi with a silent grin, and he could easily guess from the flow of their conversation what they were trying to say.
"I'm not doing it."
"Boo~, I haven't said anything yet."
"I already know what you're gonna say. Besides, Fuyuka doesn't think this situation is annoying, does she?"
"Of course, I don't find it annoying at all. I'm just a little confused because I'm suddenly being spoken to by a lot of people..."
"So, no bodyguard needed. Okay, I guess we're done here."
When Asahi closed the conversation, the lovebirds nodded their heads in agreement with his opinion.
This was the result of Fuyuka taking a big step forward and approaching everyone.
It was also the evidence of Fuyuka's efforts to change the way she interacted with others.
With the sudden change, the students around her and Fuyuka herself were still unsure of the distance between them, but they should be able to build a good relationship eventually.
It was just like Asahi had experienced,  just like he had become friends with Hinami and Chiaki.
So, as a friend, he would watch over her and help her if she ever needed it.
And he would make sure that he doesn't make the mistake of interfering.
Chiaki and Hinami must have known that much.
Perhaps they had other ideas in mind when they came up with the outlandish suggestion of having a bodyguard.
However, surprisingly, their intentions seemed to be in line with Fuyuka's.
"...but I'd like to have lunch leisurely, so it would be nice if you could stay with me."
"Well, that's totally fine. Right, you two?"
"Of course!"
"Same here."
It was a roundabout way of saying that she just wanted to be with her friends.
None of them had the option to refuse Fuyuka's modestly muttered request.
"Well, I guess we'll be having lunch at the cafeteria tomorrow onwards... Hinami, don't you have something to say? It's almost the end of lunch break."
"Oh, right! I totally forgot about that..."
"Careless as usual."
"Mmh, Chi-kun. Don't tease me!"
'If you guys have time to flirt, please finish your business real quick.'
Asahi felt these thoughts communicated with Fuyuka, who was smiling bitterly next to him.
Today, he was invited by Hinami to go to the school cafeteria, which he rarely went to.
Asahi wondered if the gathering of the four of them was related to the Hatsumode.
As he was thinking about this, Hinami took out four horizontal sheets of paper from her long wallet.
"Is this a ticket to... an amusement park?"
"That's right! My mom won it in a lucky draw at a shopping mall and she gave it to me!"
The three of them waited in silence for the rest of the story, as it was rude to interfere.
However, Asahi already had an idea of what Hinami wanted to say.
Four tickets to an amusement park, and four people gathered together.
The answer that could be derived from the conditions was clear.
"Who's free this weekend?"
"I've got plenty of time."
"...I'm available."
"I'm free at the moment, but..."
Chiaki grinned and Asahi slurred his words.
As for Fuyuka, Asahi felt her eyes shine a little.
Thus, Hinami opened her mouth with a big smile on her face.
"Let's all go to the amusement park and have fun together!"
How To Melt the Ice Lady
【コミカライズ連載中】氷の令嬢の溶かし方　～クールで素っ気ないお隣さんがデレるとめちゃくちゃ可愛い件～
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/how-to-melt-the-ice-lady/
Comedy Romance School Life Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Beautiful Female Lead Caring Protagonist Cooking Cute Story Famous Parents Kind Love Interests Kuudere Male Protagonist Modern Day Popular Love Interests
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2567fv/
高峰 翔