CH 46

Of course, the contents of the haunted house didn’t change at all.

While calmly looking at the traps just as I remembered them, Shinozuka-san clings to my arm while trembling.

The sweet scent and bouncy skin sensation didn’t leave me.

Objectively speaking, it should be a situation to be happy about, but I was filled with complicated feelings.

I have a girlfriend that I am dating right now.

Even if it’s not cheating, I can’t help but feel guilty and immoral in this situation. The feeling of being suffocated as if my chest was tightened by a thin thread assails me, even though I haven’t fully realized that I have a girlfriend yet.

“Ah, it was scary. Minato-kun wasn’t scared at all, was it because it was your second time at that place?”

As soon as we left the haunted house, Shinozuka-san asked me for my impression first.

“Well, I wasn’t really scared the first time either.”

“As expected, Minato-kun doesn’t gets scared with these type of things.”

“Yeah, well. More importantly, can you let go of my hand now?”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask? Because, the haunted house is already over.”

“Oh, that’s right. If I hold hands with you, it would be cheating, right? If Sakuramiya-sensei was here she would look really jealous.”

Shinozuka-san hurriedly let go of my hand and put her hand on her chin, while nodding.

“Um… no, Sakuramiya-sensei and I aren’t dating.”

“Oh, right, right. Sorry, I got carried away.”

While smiling and combing her hair with her fingers, Shinozuka-san held my left hand again.

“But if that’s the case, it wouldn’t be cheating if we hold hands, right? There’s no problem with that, right?”

“Well, it’s not just about that…”

“I like holding hands. Bear with my selfishness, Minato-kun.

Shinozuka-san looked up at me with upturned eyes. The brown ponytail swayed slightly as she tilted her head.

You might not know this if you weren’t here, but she didn’t give off the feeling that I could refuse. It felt like I was saying I had another reason to refuse holding hands if I did so here.

It’s possible that I would have doubted my relationship with Sakuramiya-sensei again.

” … In that case.”

When I allowed Shinozuka-san to hold hands, she closed the distance between us even more. It was the distance where our shoulders touched. If someone who didn’t know us saw us, they might mistake us for a couple due to how close we were.

“Thank you. I like Minato-kun’s kindness.”

“This isn’t particularly what we call kindness. And I’m not what I look like either…”

“No, Minato-kun is kind. But I don’t want you to be kind to a lot of people. If possible, I want Minato to be kind only to me… or something like that.”

” … Th-that’s…”

“Ah, let’s ride this next. I feel like I can ride the roller coaster this time. This time I won’t get sick.”

Shinozula-san pulled on my hand and led me towards the nearby roller coaster.

I walked with her while feeling uneasy in my chest.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

The sun was starting to set and the sky was turning from blue to orange.

The closing time was probably around 5:00 PM. There was one more attraction I wanted to ride, the roller coaster.

I am already quite exhausted physically because Shinozuka-san took me to ride various attractions.

Come to think of it, I haven’t really used the dating tips that Hamamura-sensei gave me at all… Well, there have been various interruptions, so it couldn’t be helped. I’ll use them at some other opportunity.

Shinzuka-san, who does not show any signs of being tired at all, smiles affably and said,

“Let’s ride this last one.”

As she said that, she pointed at the ferris wheel. Now that I think about it, I haven’t ridden it yet.

Since I’ve already conquered all the other attractions except for the ones for children, I might as well complete it now. As soon as I showed my consent, we immediately headed towards the ferris wheel.

Perhaps because it’s closing time for the amusement park, there is almost no waiting line.

Following the instructions of the staff, we get on the gondola. As we sat facing each other, the staff closed the door.

The gondola slowly ascends as it traces a circle.

As I lazily gazed at the scenery outside, Shinozuka-san steadily looked into my eyes.

“Thank you for accompanying me today, and following my childish whims.”

“No, I should be the one thanking you. It was fun to come to an amusement park after such a long time.”

“That’s good then. I’m worried that I might have overwhelmed you and made you feel like you were being tossed around because I got carried away.”

“There’s no such thing. I’m not very good at making decisions on my own, so I’m grateful when someone else makes them for me.”

“I see. Then maybe Minato and I have a really good chemistry.”

I was startled by Shinozuka-san’s casual remark, and my heart skipped a beat.

Hiding my reddening face, I looked out of the window at the scenery.

There’s no deep meaning to it. That’s right, there shouldn’t be any deep meaning to it. Let’s not think too much about it.

After that, there was nothing worth thinking about.

The atmosphere around us fell silent.

Before I knew it, we were headed for the top.

It must be about fifty meters up from the ground level.

The sunset combined with the spectacle of the view made it a beautiful sight.

As I reminisced about today’s events and became emotional, I felt a slightly cold touch on my right hand.

I looked away from the window and met Shinozuka-san’s gaze.

Her face had turned much more redder probably because of the embarrassment and the light from the sunset that illuminated her beautiful face, and she just stared at me intently.

After a moment, she moved her lips slightly and, in a voice that seemed like it would disappear at any moment, she said…

“I like you.”

Three short words. But they were more than enough to turn my head blank.

It would be easy to pretend I hadn’t heard it, but I’m not that dishonest.

I let out a small sigh.

Closing my eyes for a moment, as sincerely as possible, I said,

“Thank you. But I -”

“Ah, stop, stop! Don’t say anything after that.”

Shinozuka-san leaned forward and covered my mouth.

She didn’t let me reply.

With a smile, she took her hand away from my mouth and, with a voice full of energy, she continued.

“Suddenly, here’s a problem! The feelings I have for Minato are “like a friend” or “like the opposite s*x”?”

Shinozuka-san raised one of her fingers with both hands and presented the problem.

Suddenly, I was asked a question and taken aback. After a short silence, I answered with some hesitation.

“Uh, like a friend …?”

“No-oh, Sorry but that’s an incorrect answer.”

Shinzuka showed a cross sign with both of her index fingers.

It is clear which answer is correct from the timing and Shinzuka-san’s expression was clearly telling me about her feelings. However, I did not have the courage to say the latter part of the answer.

“I want to give a punishment to Minato-kun who made a mistake.”

“Punishment?”

Shinozuka-san, leaned forward and approached my face closely. A small, neat face and milky white flawless smooth skin. We were so close to each other that our breath was hitting each other’s face.

I hurriedly turned my head away to escape, but Shinozuka-san grabbed both of my cheeks and forcibly turned my face towards her.

When I was forced to look at her, Shinozuka-san lifted my bangs and…

“…”

Without resistance, I was kissed on the forehead.

“I’ll try my best to make Minato-kun like me. So this is the first appeal, okay?”

Shinozuka-san held her index finger towards me and declared war.

I was just amazed seeing her dedication.

“Because Minato-kun can only be with me… and no one else… and it doesn’t matter how much time it takes to make you fall for me.”

“Th-that’s … ”

“I’ve liked you since our first year, Minato-kun.”

Shinzuka-san, embarrassed but straightforward, conveyed her thoughts and I couldn’t properly reply to it.

Before my brain could process it, the gondola completed a full turn. When the door was opened by the employee, Shinzuka-san quickly got off.

“Come on, Minato-kun~”

“Oh, okay.”

I get off the gondola a half step behind.

I was confessed by Shinozuka, who became involved with Sakuramiya-sensei … today was a bit chaotic … It took time for my brain to organize everything.