第24話 氷の令嬢と大マジな提案
高級オムライスをペロリと平らげ、さて洗い物をしようといったところで冬華が名乗りを上げたのはおおよそ予想がついていた事だった。
一度言い出したら中々引き下がらないことは知っているものの、一応は俺がやると声を掛ければ、冬華は無言で見覚えのあるお弁当箱を差し出して来た。
同じく無言で受け取れば、「ありがとうございました」とお礼の言葉が耳に届く。
更には「とても美味しかったです」との誉め言葉も頂戴したが、食堂でも同じやり取りをしたので、朝陽は頷くだけにとどめておいた。
「......これ、氷室が洗ったのか?」
「もちろんです。ピカピカにして返す、そう約束しましたから」
女子には少し大きめの、保温機能付きステンレス鋼素材のお弁当箱の蓋を開けて中を見れば、部屋の照明に照らされて新品同様の光沢を放っている。
まさに、ピカピカという副詞がピッタリ当てはまる仕上がりに朝陽は暫しの間目を疑った。
「念のため聞くけど漂白剤とか使ったか?」
「いえ、普通に洗っただけですけど......」
「普通に、か」
ちょっとやそっとではここまで綺麗に洗うことはできない。
ましてや、前に見た冬華の洗い方では到底不可能なレベルだろう。
それ故、漂白剤というチート技の使用を疑ってみたが、どうやら見当違いだったらしい。
普通に洗ったという言葉通りなら、冬華の洗い物スキルが急激に上達したと考えるのが妥当だ。
冬華が無言で洗い終わったお弁当箱を差し出して来たのも、そういうことだろう。
どうやら、「私はここまで綺麗に洗うことができる、だから任せろ」と言いたいらしい。
「頼むも何も、夕食をご馳走になった身として当たり前の事ですから」
その言葉を千昭にもそっくりそのまま聞かせてやりたいと軽くため息をつきながら、朝陽はキッチンに向かう冬華の背中を追った。
目的はもちろん、急激に上達したらしい冬華の洗い物スキルを確かめるためだ。
冬華は最初、ジロリと不機嫌そうな視線を送って来たが、前例を思い浮かべて観念したのだろう。
今度は表裏正しくゴム手袋を装着して、早速シンクに向き合い洗い物を始めた。
結論から言えば、冬華の洗い物スキルはお世辞にも上達しているとは言い難いものだった。
ここ一週間続けてきたお料理教室ついでの洗い物教室の甲斐あってか、洗い方の基本は身に付いていたものの、まだまだ無駄とむらがある。
それでも、水切りかごに並ぶ食器はお弁当箱と同じく眩い光沢を放っていた。
一見矛盾に思える不思議な光景だが、答えは案外簡単で単純だったので朝陽は思わず笑ってしまった。
そのせいでリビングへと追い出されてしまったのだが、冬華が何故お弁当を新品同様綺麗にできたのかは十分に見て取れた。
ピカピカになるまでひたすら洗う、ただそれだけの事。
お陰で水音が止まるまで二十分近くとかなりの時間が掛かっていたが、機嫌を損ねそうなので余計な口出しはしないでおいた。
「ん、お疲れさん。悪いな、全部やってもらっちゃって」
「ですから、それは――」
「当たり前ってか? いいんだよ、俺は助かったんだから素直にお礼くらい言わせてくれ」
ただ、それ以上は何も言い返して来ないで、黙って下を向いてしまった――というより、視線を別の方向へと向けたといった方が正しいか。
その大きな茶褐色の瞳に映るのは、朝陽がダイニングテーブルに広げたテキストとノートの数々だ。
「......お勉強ですか?」
「あ、ああ......球技大会が終われば直ぐ期末テストだからな。早めに対策しておこうと思って」
「それは殊勝な心掛けですね......ただ、問三と問七は間違っていますよ」
「嘘だろ、自信あったのに......本当だ、解答と全然違う」
「ここは途中式のミスによるものですが、こっちはそもそも解法が違いますね。まず二次方程式ではなく......」
いつもは洗い物が終わると、冬華は短い一言と共に自分の部屋へと帰っていくのだが、何故か今日はいきなりの勉強会が始まった。
一直線に玄関へと向かうのではなく、ダイニングテーブルの空いている席に冬華が座り、丁度食事中と同じような光景になる。
急にどうしたと驚きと疑問が浮かんだものの、わざわざ教えてくれようとしているのだから、せっかくの厚意を断る必要はない。
大人しく机に向き直って意識を勉学へと集中させれば、冬華の透き通るような声がスッ、と耳に入り込んで来た。
文字や図解を使わず、声だけでの説明なのに、頭の中にはハッキリと正しい解答への道筋が浮かぶ。
「やっぱ学年一位は凄いな、先生より全然分かりやすい」
「またそれですか......。教職を専門としている先生方より一生徒の私が優れている事などあり得ませんよ」
「でも実際、俺的には氷室の解説が一番分かりやすいぜ? 最近は英語にも苦戦してるし、いっそこのまま家庭教師として雇いたい......くらい、だな......」
凛とした表情で謙遜を続ける冬華に、お世辞でも大袈裟でもなく心の底から凄いと思っている、そう伝えたかったのだが、勢い余って口が滑った。
「家庭教師......?」
「いや、それは比喩というか何というか......」
慌てて誤魔化しを図れば、冬華が少し首を傾げて訝しげに視線を飛ばしてくる。
下手に言い訳をした事が裏目に出たのか、どうやら追及は逃れられなそうだ。
ただ、朝陽としては別にやましいことを抱えているわけではない。ここは正直に話すのが得策だろうと直ぐに体裁を整える。
「ほら、前にも今みたいに勉強を教えてもらった事があったろ? その時のお陰で、中間の成績が大幅に上がったんだ」
「それは火神さんの努力の賜物では? 私の助力など微々たるものだと思いますが......」
「うーん、何て言えば伝わるかな。一人だと限度があるっていうかさ......とにかく、氷室の教え方は俺に合ってるんだよ。だから、家庭教師にピッタリだと......って何言ってんだ俺」
忘れてくれ、と言葉を付け加えて朝陽は真正面に座る冬華から顔を背けた。
しかし、今回は言葉にして実際に本人に伝えてしまった。
ただ、冬華が家庭教師の依頼を受けてくれるなどとは思っていない。
今日、こうして夕食を共にしていること自体が本来は存在しなかった時間だし、食事が終わった後も小さなテーブルを挟んで顔を合わせていることだって予想外だ。
本当は、冬華が弁当箱を返しに来て、この不思議な関係が終わるはずだった。
それなのに、不思議な関係は不思議とまだ続いている。
思えば、高熱で倒れた冬華を介抱してから今日まで、その一カ月以上にも及んだ冬華との縁を繋ぐ細く短い糸はいつでも途切れる可能性があった。
実際に途切れた時もあったが、奇妙な巡り合わせで今もこうして繋がっている。
だからきっと、言わなくていいことを口走ってしまったのだ。
あと数分もすれば途切れてしまう、細く、短い糸に縋るように。
忘れてくれとは言ったが、冬華はどんな反応をするのかはどうしても気になった。
ぎこちなく首を動かして再び正面に向き直れば、冬華は口元に手を当てて、長く細い睫毛を少しだけ伏せている。
この仕草は何かを長考している時という一種の癖だ。本人に自覚があるかどうかは知らないが、少なくとも朝陽はそう認識している。
考える余地がある、そういうことだろうか。
もしかしたら――そんな淡い期待が朝陽の胸に浮かび上がる。
「......私で良ければ、あなたの家庭教師......というには荷が重いですが、勉強をサポートするくらいなら構いません」
「......マジで?」
「ええ、大マジです」
そんな返しもできるんだ、と感心する暇もなく、朝陽は大きく目を見開いた。
その言葉の一つ一つが信じられず、何度も頭の中で繰り返す。
要約すれば、冬華が勉強を教えてくれるということだ。
あの心を閉ざし他人を拒絶した氷の令嬢が勉強を教えてくれる――つまりは、朝陽との人間関係が続くことを受け入れてくれた。
朝陽としては、家庭教師を受けてくれたことよりも、その事実の方が驚きが強かった。
「......ただし、交換条件があります」
「条件? 時給とかなら全然払うけど......」
「そういう話ではありません」
だったらどういう話なんだ、と首を捻る朝陽の心情を見越したのか、冬華は少しだけ視線を彷徨わせた後、やがてゆっくり深呼吸をしてから口を開いた。
「私はあなたに勉強を教えます。その代わり、あなたは私に料理を教えてほしいのです」
Ch 24
I was about to wash the dishes when Fuyuka came up to me, as I had expected.
I know that once she says something, she was not gonna back down that easily, however, I said I would do it anyway and Fuyuka silently offered me a familiar lunch box.
When I received it in silence, and a "Thank you" reached my ears.
She also added, "It was very delicious," but since they had the same exchange in the cafeteria, Asahi could only nod.
"...Did you wash this, Himuro?"
"Of course. I promised to return it to you shiny and new."
I opened the lid of the lunch box, which was a little large for a girl and made of stainless steel with an insulating function, and looked inside, it was as shiny as new.
Asahi couldn't believe his eyes for a while, as the finish was so shiny, a perfect description for it.
"Just out of curiosity, did you use bleach or something?"
"No, I just washed it normally though..."
"Normal, huh?'
It was impossible to wash this clean in just a little bit.
In addition, the way she washed dishes before was not something of this level.
Therefore, I suspected the use of bleach as a cheat, but apparently I was wrong.
If the words "washed normally" were correct, it was reasonable to assume that Fuyuka's washing skills had improved rapidly.
I guess that was what Fuyuka meant when she silently offered me the lunch box she had finished washing.
It seemed like she wanted to say, "I can wash this well, so please leave it to me."
"It's something you don't have to ask for, it's natural to do since I was treated to a meal."
Sighing lightly, Asahi followed Fuyuka's back as she headed for the kitchen, wishing he could say the same to Chiaki.
The purpose, of course, was to check on Fuyuka's washing skills, which seemed to have improved rapidly.
At first, Fuyuka gave me a sullen look, but I guess she gave up when she thought of the precedent.
This time, she put on the rubber gloves correctly, and immediately faced the sink to start washing the dishes.
As it turned out, Fuyuka's washing skills had not improved much to say the least.
Thanks to the cooking and washing classes I had been doing for the past week, she seemed to have mastered the basics of washing dishes, but there were still a lot of things that needed to be improved.
Still, the dishes lined up in the draining basket were as dazzlingly shiny as the lunch box.
It was a strange scene that seemed contradictory at first glance, but the answer was surprisingly simple and straightforward, which made me laugh.
However, that sent me out to the living room, but I could see why Fuyuka was able to make her lunchbox as clean as new.
All you had to do was, wash it until it shines.
It took almost twenty minutes for the sound of water to stop, but I didn't interfere as I didn't want to upset her.
"Mhm, good work. My bad, I made you do all of that."
"As I said, that's..."
"It's natural? It's all good. You helped me, so let me at least thank you."
But she didn't say anything back, and looked down silently - or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she turned her gaze in another direction.
Her large brown eyes reflected the textbooks and notebooks that Asahi had spread out on the dining room table.
"...Studying, huh?"
"Yeah... Since after the ball game it's the end of term exams, so I thought that I should study early."
"That's very admirable. However, question three and seven are wrong."
"Are you serious? I was so sure... It's true... it's totally wrong..."
"This is due to a mistake in the equation, but this one has a different solution. First of all, it's not a quadratic equation."
Normally, when she finished washing the dishes, Fuyuka would return to her room after saying a few short words, but for some reason, today a study session started out of nowhere.
Instead of heading straight for the door, Fuyuka sat down at an empty seat at the dining table, just as she would during a meal.
I was surprised and wondered what was going on all of a sudden, but since she was going out of her way to teach me, there was no need to refuse her kind offer.
As I turned to my desk and focused on my studies, I heard Fuyuka's clear voice in my ears.
Even though the explanations were given verbally, without text or diagrams, the path to the correct answer appeared clearly within my mind.
"As expected of the number one in our grade, your explanations are so much easier to understand than teachers."
"There you go again, it's impossible for me, a student, to be better than teachers who specialize in the teaching profession."
"In reality, I can understand it more with your teaching, since I've been struggling with English lately. Rather, I loved to hire you as my tutor, or something along those lines..."
I wanted to tell Fuyuka, who continued to be humble with a dignified expression, that I was not flattering her or exaggerating, and that I sincerely thought she was amazing, but my words slipped out of my mouth.
"Tutor...?"
"Well, it's more of a metaphor than anything..."
When I hurriedly tried to cover it up, Fuyuka tilted her head slightly and looked at me puzzled.
Perhaps my poor excuse backfired, but it looked like I won't be able to escape the pursuit.
However, Asahi was not in any way guilty of anything and it was best to be honest here, so he quickly put his appearance in order.
"You know, you've taught me how to study before, right? Thanks to that, my midterm grades went up a lot."
"Isn't that the result of your efforts, Kagami-san? I'm sure my help was not needed..."
"Hmm, I don't know how to put it. There is a limit to how much one person can do alone. Anyway, Himuro's teaching style suits me. That's why I said you're perfect to teach me how to study. Eh, What am I saying...?"
"Please forget it." he added, and turned his head away from Fuyuka, who was sitting directly in front of him.
But this time, I put it into words and actually told her.
However, I did not believe that Fuyuka would accept my request for tutoring.
The fact that we were having dinner together today was a time that should not have existed, and the fact that we were still seeing each other across the small table after the meal was something unexpected.
In fact, this strange relationship was supposed to end when Fuyuka came to return the lunch box.
And yet, this strange relationship still mysteriously continued.
Thinking about it, the short and thin thread that connected me to Fuyuka for more than a month, from the time I took care of her when she collapsed with a high fever until today, could have been broken at any time.
There were times when we were actually disconnected, but through a strange coincidence, we were still connected in this way.
So, I'm sure I've said things I shouldn't have.
Like clinging to a thin, short thread that would be cut off in a few minutes.
I told her to forget it, but I couldn't help but wonder how Fuyuka would react.
When I awkwardly moved my head and turned around to face the front again, Fuyuka put her hand over her mouth, and her long, thin eyelashes were slightly downcast.
This gesture was a kind of habit when she was thinking long and hard about something. She may not be aware of it, but at least Asahi was aware of it.
There was room for a thought, it seems.
'Perhaps...' Such a faint hope rose in Asahi's heart.
"...If you're okay with me, It's heavy to be called a tutor... but I can at least help you with your studies."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious."
Before he had time to admire the fact that she replied like that, Asahi opened his eyes wide.
He couldn't believe each of those words and repeated them over and over in his head.
To sum it up, Fuyuka was going to teach me how to study.
The "Ice Lady," who had closed her heart and rejected others, was willing to teach him - in other words, she accepted the fact that her relationship with Asahi would continue.
As for Asahi, he was more surprised by this fact than by the fact that she had accepted the tutoring.
"...However, there are conditions for it."
"Conditions? I'd totally pay you hourly wages."
"That's not what I'm talking about."
Wondering what she was talking about, Asahi tilted his head. Fuyuka's gaze wandered for a bit, and then she eventually took a slow, deep breath before opening her mouth.
"I will teach you to study. In return, I want you to teach me how to cook."
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