CH 24

I bought some tea and hot snacks.

I decided on a quick snack of fried chicken, frankfurters and yakitori. With that in hand, I walked to the free spectator seats.

“Wow, that’s some serious engine noise.”

Lida was right, I could hear the sound of the boat. When I finally reached the spectator stand, I saw that the boats were just starting to race.

“It’s starting. Okay, we’re in the shade, let’s eat while we watch.”

“Yeah. I’ll feed you ♡”

“Eh … but”

“Don’t be shy. Here. Chicken.”

People’s eyes were on me, but not really. They were all focused on the race and watching the winner. I was totally fine with that. I took advantage of this opportunity to eat some grilled chicken. It was good.

“Then I’ll feed Frankfurters to Lida.”

“Well, Oojirou’s Frankfurter?”

Lida blushed and giggled.

Um, why are you surprised? And that’s a bit of a misstatement to say it that way. No, it’s true I bought it and I like it, but ……!

“Here, eat up.”

Lida, who brushes her silver hair, slowly puts her mouth on my frankfurter…. and something’s wrong!　Why is it so erotic?

‘………… Hmph. I’m sorry.”

I’m not sure why, but she’s looking at me like I’m in tears!

…… Damn it, LIDA, you definitely did that on purpose!

“You should eat normally.”

“I’m eating normally. What were you fantasizing about? Oojirou. Tell me what you’ve been thinking about.”

“It’s nothing. Anyway, the race is great. It’s so exciting.”

“You fooled me. Yeah, I don’t know, but it’s so hot. Oh, I think the finish line is coming.”

Just as we finished eating lunch, the race was over. There are still a few more races left, so I guess we’ ll just watch for a while.

Of course, minors are not allowed to purchase boat tickets. You have to be over 20 years old. So, here comes Grandpa ……, or rather, he seems to go there every day.

“Grandpa, you’re here again today.”

“Oh, so that’s Oojirou’s grandpa.”

“Yeah.”

In the distance, there was a youthfully dressed old man, Ichiro Kamishiro, enjoying a race. Today, the old man was enjoying himself by buying boat tickets. All he does is predict the race. It’s only legal if you’re just predicting. We don’t buy boat gambling tickets, we just watch the race.

–Yes, this is like a simulation, so to speak. For a long time, my grandpa used to take me to the races and I used to make predictions. Maybe that’s why my predictions were so often correct and helpful.

This time, my grandpa happened to be passing by and overheard the information and decided to purchase one. Of course, I didn’t ask him to do it. Grandpa is a genuine gambler who goes to boat races, so I guess he really wants to win. That’s why he wants to use my predictions as a guide, even though Lida is here this time. It’s all a coincidence, it can’t be helped.

I used the mark sheet I had procured earlier, a sheet of paper with the boat racers’ data on it and a unique paper envelope to predict the next race.

“Oojirou, are you going to fill out that mark sheet?”

“I don’t actually bet on anything, I just write it down. Well, there are many ways to bet: single winner, double winner, double-double, triple-double….”

“There’s so many.”

“The trifecta is the biggest bet, but it’s hard to hit the mark. It’s better to play with single or double winners first.”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess it’s interesting to hear that. I guess it’s also important to know the players.”

Lida seemed to be gathering information about the boat race on her phone. It seems that she is catching up with her understanding. I’m not sure if I need to give a detailed explanation.

–I wonder what I should do now.

This is just a prediction, though!