CH 75

Act 3 - The School Festival

19-4 

"...... Here, you can have this." (Rintaro)

"What?" (Mia)

Seeing me choking up at the "couple" part, Mia giggles again in amusement.

Phew, I guess I'm finally getting back on the right track now.

I follow Mia's lead.

Eventually, we arrive at a large game center in front of the train station, where there is a lot of noise.

"A game center, huh?" (Rintaro)

"Yes. To be honest, I've never been to one by myself, nor have I been with Rei or Kanon, so I was a bit curious about it. Are you familiar with this place?" (Mia)

"No, I've only been here a few times." (Rintaro)

"Is that so?" (Mia)

"I'm not good with big noises...... see, there are all kinds of sound effects and music mixed in, right? That's why I never came here voluntarily." (Rintaro)

I've never been in those places because I'm underage, but I am not comfortable with places like pachinko parlors and such, more so than at a game center.

Maybe that's why I'm less interested in such places.

"Ah ....., then maybe you're not very interested in...... it?" (Mia)

"I'm not. It's not like I'm allergic to it, nor hate it. As long as it's with you, I'll go anywhere today." (Rintaro)

"......If so, then I'll take your word for it." (Mia)

Mia looks a little apologetic as she makes her way into the game center.

That was a mistake, I reflect to myself.

I feel bad for both Mia and the game center for showing a lack of enthusiasm in front of the store when we got there.

If I was going to tell her that I wasn't good at it, I should have said so more clearly.

On top of that, if I could have said I didn't want to go there, I would have been able to go to another place without getting into a strange situation――――.

I hold out the stuffed bear in my hand toward Mia.

"I got this with your money, so that means this is yours, right? Here." (Rintaro)

"N-no no no. You got it with your own effort, so it's yours." (Mia)

"What am I supposed to do with this......I don't have a hobby collecting stuffed animals, you know?" (Rintaro)

"Me neither......." (Mia)

She looks between the stuffed bear and my face repeatedly.

Then she timidly accepts the stuffed bear from my hand.

"Well...... if you insist, I guess I'll accept it." (Mia)

"From the very beginning, I told you that it was yours――――well, fine." (Rintaro)

Whatever the pretext, if you accept it, I'm fine with it.

There are men who collect stuffed animals, and I'm not trying to contradict that, it's just that I don't have that kind of hobby.

If it's going to end up in a closet anyway, I'd much rather it be in someone else's hands other than mine.

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"......Thank you, Rintaro-kun." (Mia)

Mia hugs the stuffed doll she accepted from me with a somewhat happy look on her face.

Her expression resembles the innocent look she had when she was eating ramen.

I can say that it was worth getting the stuffed doll just to be able to see her behaving like this.

――――It's just mere luck, though.

"Are there any other games you'd like to try?" (Rintaro)

"Ah, umm...... do they have a photobox here?" (Mia)

"Hmm? Yeah, I think there's probably one in the back corner." (Rintaro)

"Would you mind taking a picture with me? You know, lovers, they take pictures in the photobox together and put them on the back of their cell phones, don't they?" (Mia)

In which era is that?

No, maybe even recently?

Although I exercise daily to the extent that my body does not become dull, it is far from the amount of exercise that a high school boy engaged in club activities would do.

In addition, it is summer, and I can't deny that I am suffering from summer heat fatigue.

It's not that I'm a small eater, by any means. I'm not making excuses.

"Do you not suffer from the summer heat? I can get the answer by seeing you though, you even ordered some extra large servings." (Rintaro)

"We~ll, it's not that I don't suffer from it, but it's more like my body craves more calories than usual, I guess? Lately, we've been practicing a lot of intense summer dance songs. My digestive system is not as strong as Rei's or Kanon's, so I need to lose some weight after taking in too much." (Mia)

"Heeh...... I mean, how can it fit in there in the first place?" (Rintaro)

I look at Mia's belly, which is not even protruding.

Like Rei, her belly doesn't appear pouchy at all, even when I think she's eaten a lot.

I don't have a clue, but she's not suppressing it with her stomach muscles, is she?

"Where have you been looking since a while ago?" (Mia)

"Your belly." (Rintaro)

"You're being too honest, dude." (Mia)

Mia laughs, clamping her mouth shut.

The conversation made my painful belly feel a little better.

I'll have to keep rubbing it for a while, but it's fine for walking.

(......Should I stop touching this subject too much?)

I break off my train of thought, feeling like I'm about to step on someone's landmine somewhere.

"If you want to try it, I'll go out with you. I don't know if I can properly behave like a lover." (Rintaro)

"Thanks. Experience is the key to everything, and I want to try it anyway." (Mia)

Moving to the back of the store, I find that a photobox corner is there.

Just to be sure, I check to see if there are any restrictions that I had heard rumors about, such as no boys allowed, but it seems there are no such restrictions.

"Rintaro-kun, there is an empty one over there." (Mia)

While several photoboxes are occupied, no one has yet entered the one Mia pointed to.

Surprised to see so many customers using the machine, even though it's summer break, we step inside the machine through the cloth like a banner.

"Four hundred yen a time. That's more expensive than a regular game, isn't it?" (Rintaro)

Mia inserts coins with 100-yen nominal on them into the machine.

Then an announcement starts up and begins to give us instructions.

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Although I exercise daily to the extent that my body does not become dull, it is far from the amount of exercise that a high school boy engaged in club activities would do.

In addition, it is summer, and I can't deny that I am suffering from summer heat fatigue.

It's not that I'm a small eater, by any means. I'm not making excuses.

"Do you not suffer from the summer heat? I can get the answer by seeing you though, you even ordered some extra large servings." (Rintaro)

"We~ll, it's not that I don't suffer from it, but it's more like my body craves more calories than usual, I guess? Lately, we've been practicing a lot of intense summer dance songs. My digestive system is not as strong as Rei's or Kanon's, so I need to lose some weight after taking in too much." (Mia)

"Heeh...... I mean, how can it fit in there in the first place?" (Rintaro)

I look at Mia's belly, which is not even protruding.

Like Rei, her belly doesn't appear pouchy at all, even when I think she's eaten a lot.

I don't have a clue, but she's not suppressing it with her stomach muscles, is she?

"Where have you been looking since a while ago?" (Mia)

"Your belly." (Rintaro)

"You're being too honest, dude." (Mia)

Mia laughs, clamping her mouth shut.

The conversation made my painful belly feel a little better.

I'll have to keep rubbing it for a while, but it's fine for walking.

[Make a heart shape with your two fingers!]

――――Huh?

"Hmmm... So the pose is specified." (Mia)

"Hey, what do we do next!? Something's starting to count!?" (Rintaro)

"For now, let's just give it a try." (Mia)

Mia calmly makes one side of the heart shape with her fingers while the announcer starts the count to the shutter.

As one would expect from an idol. Mia is used to having her picture taken and is calm at times like this.

I, on the other hand, am not so calm.

In a nervous manner, I fearfully put my own hand next to Mia's.

[3, 2, 1!]

I hear what sounds like the sound of a shutter being pressed.

It seems we've been shot in the pose we're in now.

[Next, pull your shoulders together!]

Why do you demand such close contact, b*stard?

"Yes, it sure would be a lover's play. Shall we follow all the instructions from here on out?" (Mia)

".......Yea." (Rintaro)

Suddenly, Mia's shoulder touches mine.

There is no time to feel the stirrings of youth that make one's heart flutter, only pure embarrassment.

In addition, the embarrassment is further accelerated by the fact that this scene will remain in the photograph.

Although I exercise daily to the extent that my body does not become dull, it is far from the amount of exercise that a high school boy engaged in club activities would do.

In addition, it is summer, and I can't deny that I am suffering from summer heat fatigue.

It's not that I'm a small eater, by any means. I'm not making excuses.

"Do you not suffer from the summer heat? I can get the answer by seeing you though, you even ordered some extra large servings." (Rintaro)

"We~ll, it's not that I don't suffer from it, but it's more like my body craves more calories than usual, I guess? Lately, we've been practicing a lot of intense summer dance songs. My digestive system is not as strong as Rei's or Kanon's, so I need to lose some weight after taking in too much." (Mia)

"Heeh...... I mean, how can it fit in there in the first place?" (Rintaro)

I look at Mia's belly, which is not even protruding.

Like Rei, her belly doesn't appear pouchy at all, even when I think she's eaten a lot.

I don't have a clue, but she's not suppressing it with her stomach muscles, is she?

"Where have you been looking since a while ago?" (Mia)

"Your belly." (Rintaro)

"You're being too honest, dude." (Mia)

Mia laughs, clamping her mouth shut.

The conversation made my painful belly feel a little better.

I'll have to keep rubbing it for a while, but it's fine for walking.

[Next up, you two hug each other!]

I want to hit it now, this b*stard.

"That is indeed a little embarrassing." (Mia)

"Err, are you going to do it?" (Rintaro)

"You'll never know unless you try. Right?" (Mia)

I ask myself if we can hug each other when we didn't even hold hands.

No, it'll be impossible.

The only reason――――I refused to hold hands was because of the way people looked at me.

I needed to maintain a distance that would allow me to claim that we were only friends in appearance so that I would have an excuse.

But now I don't have those pesky eyes around.

(......Even if it is)

I take a step away from Mia.

"......I see, you can't do it." (Mia)

"Sorry. I'm not saying I hate it, but it's hard to be in close contact with a girl I'm not even dating." (Rintaro)

"Although you were fine with taking a bath together with me?" (Mia)

"I don't have anything to say to that." (Rintaro)

It's true that I don't hate it.

As a man, it's a great pleasure to be able to hug such a beautiful woman.

But, I wonder why.

Although I exercise daily to the extent that my body does not become dull, it is far from the amount of exercise that a high school boy engaged in club activities would do.

In addition, it is summer, and I can't deny that I am suffering from summer heat fatigue.

It's not that I'm a small eater, by any means. I'm not making excuses.

"Do you not suffer from the summer heat? I can get the answer by seeing you though, you even ordered some extra large servings." (Rintaro)

"We~ll, it's not that I don't suffer from it, but it's more like my body craves more calories than usual, I guess? Lately, we've been practicing a lot of intense summer dance songs. My digestive system is not as strong as Rei's or Kanon's, so I need to lose some weight after taking in too much." (Mia)

"Heeh...... I mean, how can it fit in there in the first place?" (Rintaro)

I look at Mia's belly, which is not even protruding.

Like Rei, her belly doesn't appear pouchy at all, even when I think she's eaten a lot.

I don't have a clue, but she's not suppressing it with her stomach muscles, is she?

"Where have you been looking since a while ago?" (Mia)

"Your belly." (Rintaro)

"You're being too honest, dude." (Mia)

Mia laughs, clamping her mouth shut.

The conversation made my painful belly feel a little better.

I'll have to keep rubbing it for a while, but it's fine for walking.

I can't accept that with enthusiasm.

"......Yea, that's fine. I'm rather relieved that you're so firm." (Mia)

"You thought...... I'm firm?" (Rintaro)

"To begin with, the time we took a bath together was also something I was forced onto you using my right. Today it's like I've already asked you for a date and you're already doing me a favor, so I won't throw a tantrum." (Mia)

Mia says this and smiles as if she has given up.

When I try to respond to her, she interrupts me by placing her index finger on my lips.

"How-ev-er. I'll definitely have you do the next pose instruction." (Mia)

"......I thought you said you won't throw a tantrum." (Rintaro)

"I think this is a legitimate request." (Mia)

Mia laughs mischievously and turns to the camera.

Well, fine, only that much.

I wait for the next instruction, hoping that it'll be as simple as possible.

[Next up, a princess hug!]

――――I barely saved.

"Ahahaha, that's an interesting pose. Hmm hmm, a princess, huh?" (Mia)

"Phew...... I'm okay it if it's that much." (Rintaro)

"I see. Then may I ask you to relax?" (Mia)

"What?" (Rintaro)

Mia steps closer to me and tries to reach for my knee and the back of my neck.

I quickly move away from her and look at her in disbelief.

"Why are you evading? You can do this, can't you?" (Mia)

"No, no no no! Why are you the one who has to lift me up?" (Rintaro)

"Because I'm a prince character?" (Mia)

Mia is tilting her head with an expression as if to say what is obvious.

It is true that Mia is a cool character among the Millefeuille Stars and is even called a prince by some people. She has the most female fans of the three, and it is said that there are often arguments between male and female fans.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to be on the princess side here.

"Huh....... I'm the one who lifts you up, you're the one who gets lifted up. Okay?" (intaro)

"Huh......?" (Mia)

"Don't "huh" me! I'm never going to give that part up!" (Rintaro)

While Mia is stunned by my insistence, I decided to do exactly what she had just tried to do to me.

I put my arms on the backs of her knees and neck and lift her up in one fluid motion, scooping her up.　

"Kyaaa...... What? What?" (Mia)

"See, this is okay, isn't it?" (Rintaro)

The actuality is that the actuality is not really that.

In fact, it probably isn't, but it feels so thin in my hands that I feel as if I could crush her just by having her in my arms.

While I am having these thoughts, the shutter of the photobox is pressed by the end of the count.

"――――Are you satisfied?" (Rintaro)

I guess I had fulfilled her request.

I look down at Mia's face for confirmation.

"Ah............ Y-es." (Mia)

Her face, which is unexpectedly close to me as I lift her up, is dyed bright red.

Her eyes, which are somewhat moist, are looking straight into mine, and I begin to feel somewhat embarrassed.

After I stay like that for a while, the next shutter is clicked.

As expected, it would be a waste to have two photos of the same pose in a row.

Thinking this, I slowly put her body down and have her stand on the floor.