Gamers!

Volume 3, Chapter 2 - Keita Amano and Karen Tendou’s Best Entertainment

Translator: your_pingas

Keita Amano

“Uehara-kun, please teach me what I should do when I’m on a date!”

“You don’t have a plan at all!?”

After I explained how I started dating Tendou-san, Uehara-kun stood up abruptly from the bench and yelled at me. I can hear the sound of liquid shaking vigorously in his can of coffee.

Uehara-kun scratched all over his hair impatiently before sitting back next to me. Meanwhile, I was just sipping my box of bland vegetable juice and stared blankly at the scenery.

The park after school was shaded with the orange sunset. It was filled with housewives carrying their goods and students that are chatting with each other. There’s even a group of boys chasing each other In the central plaza. Then, next to the fountain, intimate couples from Otobuki and Hekiyou (Note: The name of the high school in Student Council’s Discretion) are flirting with each other.

Within this peaceful aura, two tired high school students are sitting on a rarely visited bench under the tree at a corner of the park.

Uehara-kun is playing with his canned coffee, throwing it from one hand to another, and let out a big sigh towards me.

“I’m here because you said you wanted to discuss something about Tendou-san in peace, and then you are asking me about your date? I thought you were determined to break up with her based on what you said earlier.”

“Eh? You wanted me to break up with her, Uehara-kun?”

“Not at all, how did you get that conclusion?”

“Ah…no…it’s nothing. Forget about it.”

“Really? Well, I’m fine with that.”

Uehara-kun seems to be able to tell something is off, but he doesn’t particularly care. So, he took another sip of his coffee while I put my hand on my chest, feeling relieved.

“I still don’t understand what’s going on between him and Tendou-san, though.”

Different from Aguri-san, I am not that confident with my theory. After all, Uehara-kun and Tendou-san are friendly people that I respect. I don’t think that they came up with the cruel idea of using-me-as-a-cover. However, I think that’s why they are 100% in sync with each other.

In conclusion, while I am still suspicious about the relationship between them. There’s no way for me and my poor communication skills to prove this. For now, all I can do is to maintain the status quo with them.

Tendou-san is the girl that I deeply admire and respect.

Uehara-kun is the most trustworthy friend I can find.

That’s why, while I still can’t get the idea that they are secretly dating off my head, I still think that I can trust Uehara-kun and ask him for advice regarding my date with Tendou-san.

I glanced at Uehara-kun’s face. He seemed pretty tired lately and was blaming me for everything. But then, he gradually switched to a serious tone and engaged in the discussion.

“Why are you asking me? I’m not that experienced, you know. Aguri is the only girlfriend I ever have.”

“But you dated with her for half a year, you should have at least went out with her, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

Uehara-kun scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed.

“I might have said this before, Aguri and I were like friends. Even if we go out on a date, it’s not like what you see on TV or in movies, we would often call our friends as well.”

“Wow, that’s totally a normie thing to do.”

“Why do you hate normies so much? Don’t just treat boys and girls who play together as villains!”

“I didn’t treat them as villains. Uehara-kun, but you should be careful when you guys are heading to a beach with sharks during times like Friday the 13th.”

“What are you worrying about? It’s not like I will get murdered or anything. You are dead wrong if you think that all normies will end up badly!”

“This world doesn’t make the least bit of sense to me at all…”

“This still makes more sense than a world where you will be sawed or eaten by sharks for having a good time!”

“If I am dating the legendary Tendou-san, I need to have a more dramatic backstory like being an otaku that is bullied by Uehara-kun to maintain perfect balance. As all things should be.”

“You know you don’t need to perfectly balance your fortune and misfortune. Why does half of your view towards reality is coming from fictional stories? That’s a whole new level of edginess!”

I beamed a charming smile at Uehara-kun.

“A common highschool boy got in a word with a cute girl, and then develops into a relationship…”

“Damn, you are really like a protagonist from romantic comedies!”

“That’s what I’m saying. As long as I deal with every threat facing Tendou-san and me carefully, I feel like this relationship can last forever!”

I expressed my thoughts with a serious look on my face. “Y-Yeah…” Uehara-kun seemed to have backed down slightly.

“Um, w-with that said, I guess this is still a peaceful romantic comedy after all. There shouldn’t be any place for a Jason, right?”

“…Uehara-kun, do you have any last words for Aguri-san?”

“Dude, if you don’t want to die, don’t throw me a certain-death setting. Even though this is just a romantic comedy, I feel like characters like BFFs are in danger, they are usually the first ones to be sacrificed in a disaster to dramatize the boring plot!”

“Relax! You are immortal, Uehara-kun! You are such a strong and gentle character! You will never die unexpectedly!”

“You really wanted me to die!”

“Um, but in reality, you are not the same as me. You don’t really care about the plot. Right? That’s fine, you can keep on hiking with Aguri-san and your friends.”

“Hmm, now that you are mentioning it, I’m starting to feel scared! I can imagine that a first-person camera angle popped out from nowhere and started creeping towards Augri and me when we are having our intimate moment. Crap, it’s all your fault. Amano-“

“W-What should I do, Uehara-kun? I feel so proud of myself that I think I will really die when I’m going out with Tendou-san! At this point, I think I’m in a storyline where I am actually in a deep coma, and everything was supposed to be a dream! Things are just going too good for me!”

“Get a hold on your self-imagined suffering. Jeez, that’s really enough. How about you actually start thinking about the date instead of trash-talking?”

“Y-You’re right. Even if I am going to die, I am willing to as long as I get to save Tendou-san.”

“W-Well, as long as you are happy with it.”

After the bullshitting is over, Uehara-kun looked at the couple next to the fountain again.

“Anyway, I’ve never gone on a serious date with Aguri. The closest thing we had was going to the arcade and going home together as we’ve always done before.”

“Well…I feel like I don’t have a word at this, but is that really what you want?”

This is an arrogant question, but I felt terrible for Aguri-san. I am prepared to be scolded by Uehara-kun. Incredibly, he gave me a gentle smile instead of getting angry.

“Yeah…I guess I’m disappointing her, you’re right. However, I really enjoyed the times where we can walk home together.”

“So, when you two are busy or don’t have time to play together, you just make up by walking her home?”

Uehara-kun laughed at my question.

“Hey, it’s a blessing when you can chat happily with a girl you love all alone.”

“You’ll feel happy even when all you do is chatting…?”

Uehara-kun seems to be hurt by the intimate couples surrounding the fountain. Well, even though I felt bad for him, I still think that he is just trying to make up with chatting.”

“Perhaps this is because I played a lot of games, but I feel like being able to participate in an entertaining event together with your loved ones is happier than simply being together.”

Somehow, I started thinking about my little brother. He’s close to me because we are in the same family, but I think I will enjoy my time with him more if I played games with him instead of just hanging out aimlessly.

Will the same thing occurs if it’s between Tendou-san and me?

“Even so-“ I guess Uehara-kun can sense my confusion, he gave me a slightly bitter smile before continuing.

“Well, I think you need to plan your first date properly if you wish to close the distance with her.”

“That’s true. Like I’ve said before, I was the one who invited Tendou-san.”

“Yeah, that’s the point. Hey, you can sometimes act like a man in weird situations.”

“Eh? D-Do I? I am feeling quite embarrassed when you praised me-“

“You seem calm, but you would often ignore the consequence and went straight into it. You pretend to be gentle, but you are actually an asshole who prioritize emotion more than anything else…”

“You weren’t praising me at all!”

“Hey, your analysis is correct. However, you failed at the critical dating part; you weren’t supposed to come here wholly unprepared even if you wanted to discuss it with a friend. Like, dude, I can’t give you anything if you don’t even have a script.”

Uehara-kun sat on the bench and acted like some kind of a producer or director. He does have a point, though, so I just brought my knee caps together sheepishly.

“I’m sorry. Well…I have considered this before, but instead of me giving useless ideas, can Master Uehara give me a start boost first?”

“What the hell? You are asking someone to help with your own date, are you serious, kid?”

“Calling me a kid...Ah, no, you’re right, I’m sorry. Well, this is embarrassing, but please allow me to give you a presentation on my shallow plan for my date.”

“That’s a good start. Alright, you will most likely feel ashamed for the first time. It’s okay, though. Allow Uehara Senpai to guide you with his half-year experience.”

“Alright, then I’m starting, Master.”

“Let’s go.”

Uehara-kun feels quite satisfied with playing the role of a producer, he started to become more self-centered, while I am trying my best to present my dating plan, sheepishly.

“Well, we are not suited to do what ordinary couples would, so things like watching movies, taking a walk at the park, and shopping is out the question. I don’t feel like things will go well if we chose to do that anyway.”

Uehara-kun’s eyes bulged slightly, he seems to have forgotten his role as producer and replied to me.

“Hey, you are quite smart, you know. That’s right, while those are pretty solid, you shouldn’t force Tendou to do so if neither of you is interested. With that said, you are not just going to take Tendou to the arcade to hang out, right?”

“Yeah, I understand. That was too shabby. However, I think that gaming is the only thing that both of us are interested in. So…”

“Woah, Woah, Woah…” Uehara-kun suddenly stood up just when I am finishing that sentence, he then looked at me, worriedly.

“You are not thinking of bringing her to your home for your first date rig-“

“So that is why I wanted to bring Tendou-san to the multi-entertainment complex “Around 1” located in the next town, to try and have a good time with her. Is that good enough…?”

“…………”

Uehara-kun held the can with both of his hands and looked down, is my plan so terrible that he can’t even give me any feedback? I-I guess so, it’s too simple to call it a date when all you do is bringing the girl to an entertainment complex…

Just when I wanted to scrap the idea-

Suddenly, Uehara-kun chugged all the remaining coffee down his throat. Then, he left his can on the bench and then turned around to grab my shoulder with both of his hands, accompanied by a serious look on his face.

“Not bad, kid! No, Amano! There’s nothing that I can teach you anymore!”

“Master isn’t that too fast for graduation!?”

“Damn, I can’t believe you thought of going to Around 1, even I haven’t been there with Aguri yet! You are a wizard, Amano! The king of normies chosen by God himself! This is a perfect plan for the date!”

“Somehow, I feel more worried when you praise me like that!”

While it is good that Uehara-kun praised me, but now that I’m thinking of it, suspicion soon clogged my brain. “Even though Uehara-kun is handsome, does his mindset not resemble that of a normie at all?” Right, Uehara-kun is a serious and hard working guy deep down. Considering that he made virtually no progress with his girlfriend for half a year, maybe he is as old-fashioned as an 84-year-old.

He gave me a refreshing smile and moved his hand towards me.

“Have fun, Amano! Your plan is perfect!”

“Eh? Y-Yes, thank you…”

I gave him a reluctant smile and grabbed his hand. Then, he started to shake them vigorously.

………….

“…Everything will be fine, right? It’s my first date…”

It was not until today that I realized, sometimes you will feel more insecure when your friend cheers you on like that.

*

It is all the way on a Sunday before the summer holiday when Tendou-san and I are actually free.

“Phew…”

I walked off from the bus and arrived at the station where we are supposed to meet. I looked at the clear blue sky above and let out a sigh.

“Wow, I can’t believe it didn’t rain, is this Tendou-san’s power?

To be honest, I, Keita Amano, is your typical “Ame Otoko” [Note: Rain man, the opposite of “Hareonna,” which means sunny girl, like Hodaka and Hina from Weathering With You.] While most people think that it’s just imagination or something like Murphy’s Law where you can remember bad memories more clearly. However, I still feel like it’s more likely to rain when I head out.

I became lost in thoughts as I walked from the bus sign to the station.

“This has to do with me keep praying for rain so that the baseball practice can be canceled in junior high.”

It seems ridiculous, but I believed in it nonetheless.

Even though it’s not a realistic explanation, people will feel relieved as long as there is evidence that seems to convince them. I guess it’s like being superstitious, rather than accepting the unreasonable amount of rain in my life, I keep praying for rain in the past is somehow a convincing reason for me to give up and take the fate.

Also, this would make sense in another meaning.

I walked into the station with air-conditioning while holding my shoulder bag tightly.

“Perhaps, what I’m doing right now is looking for evidence for me to date Tendou-san…”

Just like the explanation I had for myself for being an Ame Otoko, while I am both honored and blessed to have Tendou-san as my girlfriend, but I will feel insecure when I can’t find the reason of her dating me. I even tried to buy the self-abased idea of her using me as a cover to cheat with Uehara-kun. In a way, this is a less depression conclusion.

“But…today, I won’t be the same anymore!”

I raised my head and then marched forward with burning determination.

This is the reason why I am asking Tendou-san for a date, even if I usually wouldn’t do this at all.

There’s just not enough “evidence” for us to become a couple.

However, even if things aren’t in my favor, once the red string of fate is pulled, this will be a proud moment that I will treasure forever. Just because I am seemingly losing doesn’t mean that I should disconnect early on, I will never do that!

Also, if I decided to give in everything, I have to enjoy the experience and try my absolute best to win.

So, the first step for that is to create evidence for us. Even if I am clumsy, inexperienced, and is straight-up a lonely Passerby A, the least that I could do is try my best to make the girl like me, right?

I arrived at the giant clock tower where we are meeting, then I grabbed my phone and checked the time. 9 AM. 1 hour earlier than when we are supposed to meet.

“Anyway, I can’t make Tendou-san feel ashamed! The first thing I can do is to arrive before she does, she could have come 5 minutes earlier, I do feel like it’s normal for her to arrive 15 minutes earlier, no, even 30 minutes is not out of the realm. I have to reach at the destination before she does and show my sincerity-“

Just when I’m about to approach to the place while snickering-

“Amano-kun? Wow, you sure do come early.”

“………..”

My whole body immediately curled up upon hearing the familiar voice. After I raised my head stiffly, I saw a cute, blonde girl with a gentle smile, wearing a pure women shirt. My girlfriend.

I can feel that my face is clamping, but I greeted her nonetheless.

“G-Good morning, Tendou-san.”

“Yeah, good morning…*cough* It’s a nice day, isn’t it…”

Tendou-san somehow started off with the standard galactic opening remarks, I threw her a question before she could continue.

“Um…we decided to meet here at 10AM, right?”

“Hm? Yeah, you are right.”

“It’s 9 AM now, right?”

“Yup. 8:58 AM to be precise.”

“Um…if that’s the case, when did you arrive here, Tendou-san?”

“Eh? Me? Um, if I remembered correctly…”

Tendou-san put her finger on her lips, her beautiful blonde hair is reflecting the sunlight beaming down from the window of the station. Then, she replied to me with a heavenly smile.

“I think I arrived here at 7:57 AM.”

“Oh, well, uh…”

You’ve got to be kidding me, she arrived here 2 hours earlier.

I stared at the sky blankly, should I just go commit die?

“Amano-kun? What’s wrong? By the way, you are really early today. That caught me off-guard! I knew that you are a serious person!”

“…………”

“A-Amano-kun?”

Under the clear skies, I am hearing the heavenly voice of the cutest girl in the school. At the same time, I re-verified the fact of “I am now dating Miss Karen Tendou,” the tears of joy are already forming in my eyes.

*

We arrived after a 30-minute bus ride.

“Wow, it’s more spectacular than I’ve ever imagined.”

“You’re right…”

After we walked down from the car park, Tendou-san and I just stood there and admired the grandness of the entertainment complex like we first visited Tokyo as we exchanged our thoughts.

Although everyone that got off from the bus glanced at Tendou-san for a while, then they soon turned their eyes to the complex.

“W-Well, let’s go!”

“S-Sure, right.”

Tendou-san and I responded to each other stiffly as we walked forward shoulder to shoulder, we even left a subtle distance apart from each other.

“H-How did I manage my distance when I’m walking with Uehara-kun or my family?”

I’m so nervous that I began to forget basic things like this. I quickly glanced at Tendou-san, she seems a bit restless as well. In situations like this, I should be the one who takes up arms and…well, I don’t even know what I should do.

“If we are in a romantic comedy, I need to hold her hands bravely…but there is just too much distance between us, there’s no way I can pull that off…”

Sigh, I’m not sure if we count as a couple now that I’m thinking about that.

Actually, during the bus ride, we were so shy that we can’t even pick our seats correctly, I ended up sitting behind her, causing the majority of the bus ride to be silent.

“Man, now that I’m here, maybe I should’ve heard Uehara-kun’s advice. Is it better to act in a group instead of going alone for the first date? But then, I thought about who I pick…

Immediately, the image of a seaweed-haired girl – my rival, the guy who is highly suspected of cheating, and the competitive gal who doesn’t want to lose to the rest of the females in the gang popped up in my brain. This group…

“T-This feels different, it’s not what I’ve imagined for a normie tour!”

This is a group that is destined for eternal conflict, far off from the harmonious normie group I imagined. Ugh! My interpersonal relationships are all messed up!

“Amano-kun? What’s wrong?”

Just when I am mumbling to myself, Tendou-san spoke to me in a worrying tone.

“Ah, i-it’s nothing. I am just thinking, although I’m not a loner anymore, my friendships are still all messed up, and the more I think about it, the more confused I became.”

“Friendship? Oh, do you mean the Game Hobby Club?”

“Eh? Well, I guess it’s similar to that.”

If we are looking for precision here, I had to count Aguri-san in as well.

Suddenly, Tendou-san gave me a mischievous grin.

“Ohhhhh, if you ever feel regret for joining the Hobby Club, the Game Club is always here for you, Amano-kun.”

Tendou-san then moved her head towards me. Oh my, that’s so cute. No! Wait!

I gave her my reply while I am shaking my head and smiling bitterly.

“F-Forgive me. Really, that’s unkind of you.”

“Haha, but I am quite serious, though.”

“It’s true, b-but you know how much I sucked at games, right?”

“Well, I will absolutely teach you.”

“……………………………Um, sorry, b-but I refuse.”

“My my, you considered that for a long time, didn’t you?”

Tendou-san chuckles, then I retorted while my face is still blushing.

“Sorry, I am weak, but I find that joining the Game Club with you sounds far more tempting than before…”

I am ashamed, I repented when I abruptly reject her invitation earlier. I suck at being a man…

Just when I am disappointed by my actions, Tendou-san somehow turned away from me.

“R-Really? It is now far more tempting for you to join the Game Club with me…r-right.”

“Tendou-san? Ah, s-sorry, you invited me once again, and I replied to you this way…”

This was supposed to be a date, why did I just reject her invitation that abruptly?! I always screw everything over, don’t I? Even if I am going to say no, there are much better choices of words, right? Just when I am heartily regretting my actions, Tendou-san turned back to me, panicking. I feel like her face is a bit red, maybe it’s from my imagination.

“N-No, don’t say that! I am good with what I have. Yes! I am satisfied!”

“R-Really…you feel satisfied?”

How is she satisfied when I rejected her invitation that abruptly? That’s gotta hurt.

I felt terrible for her, but then Tendou-san seemingly wanted to change the topic, so she spoke again.

“Ah, w-we arrived at the entrance, Amano-kun!”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right!”

I got a hold of myself, then went back to the date.

Around 1 is the largest entertainment complex in the country. This single building includes a bowling alley, KTV rooms, billiards, basketball, tennis, and baseball fields, and many more. This is a perfect place for entertainment that takes an utterly different approach than a playground.

Moreover, the facility here is so well-equipped that there’s nothing you can’t play here, well, at least that’s what the ads on the official website say.

“Sigh…Basically, it’s a complex reserved for normies.”

Although I feel like that I’m 100% incompatible with this place, I walked into the entrance. I found that the atmosphere is unexpectedly chilling. Well, maybe it’s because this is Sunday morning, we see far more families than groups of normies.

“Phew, we are lucky…”

I put my hand on my chest, feeling relieved. I feel like if there are too many people that are of the same age as we do, Tendou-san may receive some unwanted attention.

While she is clearly being glanced at, I think I don’t need to worry about hostile people messing with us deliberately, for now.

“The boyfriend that strikes at the gangs who’s trying to harass his cute girlfriend, making the girl falling even deeper in love. There’s no way I can afford to be in that kind of plot!”

Unless the boyfriend is Uehara-kun, that would fit perfectly. Sigh…

“Wait, why am I beating myself all over when I’m on a date? This can’t continue!”

My determination fired up again, but then, Tendou-san looked at me suspiciously while tilting her head.

“What’s wrong, Amano-kun? Your face looks like the characters from Baki the Grappler when they are hyped up.”

“Please don’t mind that, this is a proof of my determination.”

“Mmm, while I don’t want to interrupt your triumphant speech, but I don’t want to walk along with people showing that face. If it’s possible, please keep your cool.”

Ouch, I tried my best to keep the facial expression, but I gave up after a few tiring seconds. Then, I reverted back to the usual “relaxed Keita Amano” mode. “Hey, that’s right.” Tendou-san beamed me a smile. I scratched my head embarrassingly, what’s wrong with me? I feel like I’m on a date right now. I mean, even though we are already on one.

We walked to the reception counter and started to discuss what we should play while looking at the list of facilities and their costs.

“A tour of the arcade area, that’s a must.”

“A required activity, right?”

“Well, I don’t really want to play anything else aside from that. Amano-kun, the rest is on you.”

“You liked gaming far more than I’ve imagined!”

Tendou-san smiled shyly at my comment.

“It’s not like that, I’ve more or less followed the recommendation of others when I’m giving my suggestion to what my friends and I should play.”

“I guess so, you ranked at the top among normies, after all.”

“We can talk about you ranking me at the top without my consent later. Um, but…”

Tendou-san’s hand seems a bit restless when she said this, her glistening eyes focused on me.

“I really hope that I can show my true side in front of you…”

“Tendou-san…!”

After hearing that, I…I…am really sorry!

“Oh my god! I have already pissed her off during our first date!”

After all, if I consider how Tendou-san treated this relationship, this is what she meant-

“Hey Amano, even if we are dating, you are nothing but an earthworm in my eyes! Take a good look at yourself! You should be ashamed!”

She meant this, right? It has to be. Crap, I'm too hyped today!

I immediately saluted to Tendou-san.

“Tendou-san, I will try my best to cooperate with you in your incredibly fake conservations that don’t involve any emotions at all!” (This is the best translation I can come up with.)

“Um, I’m sorry, even though I don’t understand what you are trying to say at all, but I feel like we aren’t even on the same planet.”

“I-I’m honored!”

“But, I’m regretful!”

For some reason, Tendou-san let out a huge sigh. This means that I have to try even harder!

I maintained my pose for a while and then looked at the floor plan hanged on the wall once again.

“S-Sir! What should we do?”

“I’m not your officer! I had already said this before, just do whatever you want.”

“So it turned out like this…crap!”

“Sorry, Amano-kun, why are you sweating embarrassingly? I’m not going to judge you based on what you are choosing.”

“I’m sorry, Tendou-san. But, saying what I wanted to do for my friend is an astronomically tall order for a weak loner like me.”

“You are like the kind of guy who’s too scared to say what loot he wants in Monster Hunter, am I right?”

“Ah, no, that’s something entirely different.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t know that. But, I guess you will explain everything clearly when you have to-”

“No, I’m the kind of guy who can’t even find friends to play that game with me.”

“…………”

“…………”

“…Okay, Amano-kun, how about we just take a tour around the complex and just play whatever we see, you good with that?”

Tendou-san is giving me such a gentle look, she’s as cute as an angel! But, for some reason, I’m somehow feeling worse after I saw her beautiful face.

A-Anyway…

We started our date in Around 1.

*

Tendou-san said that the arcade will be the main dish for today, so we decided to save up the best for the last and just play whatever we saw that has fewer people.

Zone 1: Baseball Field. There’s only one empty spot, then Tendou-san urged me to go first with a smile; it’s too cute to reject! So, I just equipped the helmet and walked into the field.

I practiced the bat swinging a couple times while sighing in my heart.

“I’m bad at this…”

If you can’t tell already, my strength and agility are basically 0. I’m neither talented nor have the willpower to devote myself to a sport continuously. That’s me, a weak, nervous, easy-to-chicken-out coward.

Being always anxious made my performance went from bad to worse. When I'm in the baseball team, I’m horrified with the opponent's ultra focus on scoring a point, being over-considerate when I’m on the attacking side. Aside from that, I would often trip myself when playing football, putting all my points in defense during Kendo sessions and scared of the ball speeding towards me in baseball.

“Well, at least I never told Tendou-san that I used to waste my life in the baseball team, that way she won’t have high hopes for-“

“Hey, Mizumi-kun told me that you were in the baseball team, right?”

“MIZUMI-KUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!”

Why does my cheery friend have to act like he always had?! Did I accidentally tell him when we are gaming in my room? Out of all the things he could’ve said to Tendou-san, this is the one piece of useless trivia he picked? Well, to be honest, I think Mizumi-kun is just trying to be friendly, but I’m screwed now!”

“Do your best, Amano-kun!”

“I-I-I-I-I will!”

My face clamped up again as the first ball is launched from the machine suddenly, and I- swung 3 seconds after the ball flew over by me.

“………….”

The family that was watching me dropped their jaws, not to mention Tendou-san…Crap. I’m sweating more and more. Then, the second ball is already speeding towards me while I’m still frozen…miss streak x2.

I plopped my head, and Tendou-san seems pretty embarrassed along with the families that are watching us. The worst part is the innocent kids that were around them, I think the two of them are brothers.

“That’s lame!” “Hey, he sucked at this!”

The bald kids burst into laughter while their parents immediately tried to tame them down, and then tried to apologize to us with a smile that I don’t even know how to describe. I nodded at them and then immediately prepare for the third ball.

Right! I have to concentrate and hit this next ball precisely- There’s no way I can do that.

I missed the third, the fourth and the fifth ball, I swung the bat violently to compensate and ended up looking like an idiot, missing the sixth and the seventh ball.

There are 20 strikes in one round, I lost a third of that already…crap.

Then, when I’m waiting for the eighth one, there’s a clean hit sound coming from the right. The older of the kids went on to the field and ready for action, looks like he got a hit already.

“…Hehe!”

“!”

The kid glanced at me for a second before grinning mischievously. He even gave Tendou-san a flirty smile, this little shit!

“Take another swing, bro!”

His little brother is cheering up for him at the entrance. Their parents freaked out and beamed me an apologetic look, all I can say is, “N-No, it’s fine.”-

“Ping!”

“Oh.”

-I missed the eighth one without even swinging my bat, I’m so distracted.

The older kid burst into laughter again and took another swing, second hit. He’s still lacking in strength, but his talent is far more supreme.

“Ugh…”

I’m flared up. I have to get at least a home run no matter what, this is a battle of my honor!”

I stared back at him right in the eye, and then went on to overdrive mode to win the rest of the game, then-“

“Y-You did well, Amano-kun…Don’t let it get into your heart.”

“…I’m sorry.”

20 strikes, gave up 1, missed 16, 3 went out of bounds (one of them ricocheted and hit my leg). I have to leave.

The hit sounds are still coming from the next slot, then Tendou-san looked at me, who just let out a despairing sigh.

“Hey, A-Amano-kun, I think that this is just like how you play video games! You don’t need to win as long as you had fun-“

‘…………”

“-Sometimes, there is just despair, though.”

Tendou-san looked away from me as she said this. Well, to be, I felt bad for her after seeing her like this…

Then, the kid walked out of his slot, with a satisfied grin.

“Hey, that was fun!”

“You hit every single one of them, you’re amazing, bro!”

“Yeah, that’s nothing! There’s no way you will miss any of that!”

“Ouch!”

He glanced at me, even though his parents are poking his head and apologizing to me. Neither of us cared anymore, and we just looked at each other furiously. I-I get it now, this is the feeling of having a rival-

“Then, Amano-kun, it’s my turn!”

“Alright, help yourself- What?!”

Tendou-san is already walking to the field triumphantly when I snapped back, I never even imagined that she wanted to try out baseball as well. So, I rushed towards the entrance and grabbed the iron mesh wire.

“T-Tendou-san, you wanted to try it as well? In this situation?”

“Eh? Situation? I’m not sure what you are talking about, but my blood’s boiling when I’m watching you play. Therefore, I wanted to try too!”

“O-Oh, it’s fine for you to try, but I don’t think this suits you…”

“Oh, it’s starting now. See you later, Amano-kun.”

“Eh…”

After she dropped that, she put on her competitive look and focused on the field with burning passion in her eyes.

Then, around 5 minutes later…

“Phew. 13 home runs in total, I have to try harder next time.”

“…………”

Tendou-san is still feeling unsatisfied after 13 home-runs and 7 hits, then there’s also the family who’s looking at me and her back-and-forth.

“T-This is embarrassing!”

Everyone felt that. The older kid even got up to me and gave me a pat on the back.

Tendou-san beamed me an innocent smile just when I’m about to cry.

“It seems easy, but it’s actually quite challenging!”

“Y-Yeah…”

“However, I found this to be surprisingly fun! I really liked getting as high of a score as possible in a limited time!”

“R-Really? That’s great…”

Tendou-san excitedly and utterly destroyed my dignity as a man (boyfriend) there, even though she didn’t mean it. Well, I guess I’m okay with that as long as she is having a good time. However, everyone is already staring at me sympathetically, it’s too much for me. It’s like when I’m having fun with my friends back in elementary school, and then a serious girl showed up and yelled at the boys for bullying me. Feels sad, man.

“W-Well, let’s check the other places out!”

I urged Tendou-san to leave, she still seemed unsatisfied.

“Eh? Well, alright. I kinda wanted another round, though…”

“I-It’s bad to hoarding the slot, that’s right!”

“Oh, I guess that’s true. Let’s go.”

We left the baseball field after I convinced her. I glanced back, and the bald brothers are still looking at me, laughing uncontrollably.

*

The rest of the experience in Around 1 is more or less the same as the baseball one, whether it’s billiards, darts, or bowling.

First, I screwed up badly, then Tendou-san tried to save me embarrassingly. However, she’s the type that goes full-on tryhard when it gets competitive. So, she always tried her best at everything, so much so that she forgot to care about me and just became fully immersed in gaining the top score, then reviewing herself and ask me where she could do better.

The worst part is, we would often see the bald brothers, and they would always try to compete with me, then they keep yelling after a win.

My disappointment is immeasurable, and my date is ruined. But…

“By the way, this place is amazing, Amano-kun!”

“R-Really, that’s good to hear…”

After a tour at the sports facilities, we took a break in the food court at noon and ate some snacks.

It was during this time that Tendou-san told me how she felt about this place.

I smiled bitterly at her thoughts, but I do think that, from the bottom of my heart, it’s great as long as she gets to enjoy this place. So, I start sipping my oolong tea that’s slowing diluting due to the melting ice cubes.

Tendou-san calmed down a bit, but she still can’t hide the joy on her face.

“This is incredible, I’ve never been so excited before even though I did the same thing during PE lessons!”

“Yeah, I think I felt that as well. I guess it’s different because you are doing that on your own.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s part of the reason…”

Tendou-san glanced at me as she speaks. I tilted my head to express my confusion, then she suddenly grabbed the ice lemon tea nervously and took a sip.

I feel like she’s embarrassed, so I decided to change the topic.

“So, where should we go next? It’s almost time for the arcade, right?”

“Eh? Y-Yeah, you’re right. We still have a lot of time, though.”

“Yeah, but we already visited every iconic sports facility.”

I took out the floor plan from my bag and spread it out on the table. Just when I wanted to rotate the map so Tendou-san could see, she told me, “No, it’s fine.” before moving her seat next to mine.

She’s closing on me unexpectedly, I can smell her orange-like scent radiating from her hair.

“Ehm…”

I embarrassingly tried to maintain our distance as I’m not used to being so close to someone that I can smell the scent.

But then, maybe Tendou-san realized what I’m thinking, or she just did it naturally, she closed off our distance again…all I can do is to temporarily ignore this feeling, and focus on the floor plan.

“Um, well, I guess we’ve been to every place.”

“Yeah, it seems like you’re right…. Huh? Amano-kun, this floor...”

Tendou-san then pointed at the path connecting the other building of the complex. There are a lot of buildings here. However, there’s only one sports facility in that large building. As for what it is…

“Um, it’s a water park with swimming pools, water slides, and wave pools. But…”

To be honest, there’s no way I could’ve missed that iconic building, but I never intended to pick that in the first place since…

“It’s not good to get Tendou-san in a swimsuit right….not to mention we weren’t meant to go there anyway.”

An attractive girl with a swimsuit on…Honestly, while I’m certainly excited to see that, I feel like troubles will soon show themselves before I get to enjoy it. Also, even if we went there, there’s nothing competitive that Tendou-san can immerse herself in.

Therefore, just when I planned to forget the idea of going to the pool, Tendou-san then spoke like it’s nothing.

“It’s not easy getting here, why not we give it a try? Amano-kun.”

“Huhhhhh!?”

I accidentally hit my chair, then Tendou-san tilted her hair, confused.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“No, there’s not…”

You are the girl who’s often in the spotlight, and yet you are not aware of that? I fell silent, then Tendou-san seemed to have realized what I’m worried about and mumbled, “So that’s why…” before giving me a mischievous smile.

“Amano-kun, you don’t want anyone to see me in a swimsuit, right?”

“N-No, um, well, actually, I do!”

“Eh? Ah, r-really? I’m just kidding with you…”

“Eh?”

Tendou-san blushed and lowered her head. My face flared up as I tried to cover it up.

“Ah, no, i-it’s not like that! To put it this way, I’m not qualified to see you in a swimsuit, the best is to keep that in a place where no human should ever witness!”

“Am I too dangerous to be kept alive when I’m wearing a swimsuit?”

“I’m sure that will awaken the dark side of humanity.”

“T-That’s a ridiculous description for your girlfriend In a swimsuit! You’re rude, Amano-kun!”

She pouted, and it’s the cutest thing ever. No, wait-

“S-Sir! You shouldn’t reveal something that is destined to bring nothing but chaos to this world!”

“Stop calling me that! Amano-kun, listen here, I really don’t like suppressing my real side, this is how I act like.”

“I knew that fact painfully.”

Mostly by being destroyed by her earlier.

Tendou-san crossed her arms while she nodded before continuing.

“That is why I hate nothing more than being not able to do something I wanted just because of other people's attention.”

“Well, I guess so, you created the Game Club from the ground up even though you ranked at the top of all normies.”

“Yes. With that said, now I only have one thing in mind. I wanted to enjoy the date with you in the swimming pool, even if that meant the destruction of humanity.”

“You’re really too dangerous to be kept alive! What did humanity do to you!?”

“You’re annoying! Amano-kun, I’m going to ask you one, and one question only.”

“Right, what is it?”

“*cough* Amano-kun, you…”

Tendou-san paused for a second, then she stared into my eyes and asked.

“…you want to go to the swimming pool with me, or not?”

*

“I betrayed humanity…”

Wearing a pair of shabby swimming pants, and fantasizing that the future of the world is decided by his words, that’s me.

I looked at my surroundings cautiously and sheepishly while I’m at the entrance, waiting for Tendou-san to change.

We are at the swimming pool after all. However, I don’t feel like I’m compatible with this place in the slightest.

Under the clear sky above the window, the children are lively, their parents are watching them peacefully by the pool, a bunch of normies is having fun on the slides, and the couples are playing the classic game of spraying water at each other.

Honestly, I don’t hate this scenery. I don’t think I hate normies to the point that I will bring a curse upon this peaceful land. This is like heaven.

However, that is why I don’t think I fit here.

“Maybe it’s like what I felt back when I’m trying out at the Game Club…”

It’s interesting to see professionals competing with each other, it felt completely different if you have to take part in it, though.

“This is weird. I have a girlfriend, and we are now dating, this is already as close as the life of a normie. Then, why don’t I feel like one at all? Is there something wrong with me?”

I glanced at the couple that is spraying water at each other. T-They do look happy. But then, for some reason, I don’t think I can do that, it’s like watching people flexing off their musical talent. It’s incredible, but just in the right amount, so they don’t feel like you’re showing off. It’s also like those insane people in Osu! You can see that they are old-schooled players. T-There is no way that I can pull that off! No! Wait!

“What the hell am I saying!? I have to show that I’m determined! I can’t give up without doing anything, it’s a terrible attitude! Right, once Tendou-san comes, we will do the same-“

Just when I am flared up, suddenly-

“Sorry to make you wait, Amano-kun.”

“!”

Someone is calling me from behind, my shoulder is shivering as I’m turning back, then I saw-

An angel.

“…Crap! I lost a life there.”

After I snapped back, I looked at Tendou-san face to face.

“W-What do you think?”

Tendou-san’s cheeks are slightly blushing; she embarrassingly crossed her hands and put them behind her. The white bikini is too bold for her, she looks great in it, though. This was supposed to get people to watch by showing as much skin as possible. Still, because she’s so attractive, this is an unusually well combo. Before we talk about how hot she looks, I wanted to say this sincerely-

“Gramercy, my gracious liege.”

“That’s a weird compliment for a swimsuit, Amano-kun.”

“N-No, I just feel grateful to know such a spectacular view really exists.”

“You don’t need to go that far, you know…”

“I don’t want to start with a pedestrian compliment like “You look good in it!” or something!”

“Can you at least start with pedestrian compliments like “You look good in it!” first?”

“You look good in it!”

“Well done.”

Tendou-san gave me a satisfied smile. It’s hard to compliment a girl correctly.

I carefully glanced at my surroundings. As expected, everyone is staring at us, guys and girls, no matter how old they are.

I guess this feels the same as when you see a UFO in the sky. When an angel descends on the pool, there’s no way for you to look at anything else.

I’m beginning to sweat from this terrible scenery, while Tendou-san beamed me a calm smile.

“Amano-kun, your swimsuit suits you as well.”

“You’re mentioning that in this situation?”

“A white and soft body, you are like a cute girl in my eyes.”

“Tendou-san, I don’t feel praised at all.”

“Well, I do appreciate those ads where they showed the differences of the guy before and after losing his weight.”

“Tendou-san, I still don’t feel like I’m being praised!”

I have to train up my muscles, no matter what.

The people stopped paying attention to us as we talked to each other. At first, I am worried that someone will try to mess with us, but the atmosphere doesn’t look like there will be any.

I put my hand on my chest and let out a relieving sigh, then Tendou-san chuckled.

“Amano-kun, you are thinking too highly of me, who do you think I am?

“Eh? You are nothing but an angel to me…”

“Oh, I’m sorry, that was blunt, I can’t cover how excited and embarrassed I am. Give me 10 seconds please.”

Tendou-san turned around and took a few deep breaths. Wow, even her back looks attractive. Wait, why aren’t there any wings? Is it because I’m too evil? Right? Well, I can understand.

Just when I’m thinking about all this, the normal Tendou-san with her iconic smile turned back to me once again.

“Thanks for the wait, so, what should we do?”

“Ehm, well…”

? glanced at the shallow pool area. Then, Tendou-san gave me another smile.

“I don’t really want to go for a swim either, I guess we’ll get just a bit wet and call it a day.”

“A-Alright.”

Tendou-san and I then stepped into the artificial beach, the temperature of the water is just right. When the water reached our knee caps, I plan to give her a surprise by spraying water at her suddenly- of course, I don’t have the courage. So, I suggested:

“C-C-C-Can I spray water at you?”

“Eh? Why did you ask….Oh, that’s why…”

Tendou-san jaw dropped at first, but then she saw what the couple are doing there before realizing.

She turned her head to me, then looked at me fearlessly.

“Sure.”

“T-Then…”

I started loading the water into my hands. Then, Tendou-san asked for a sudden pause. Water poured from my hands as she continued.

“Though, if we are playing this, we should set up some rules, shouldn’t we?”

“R-Rules?”

I’m already feeling that this is deviating away from what I’ve imagined.

“Of course. If we are just attacking each other without any kind of victory conditions, don’t you think this will be pointless, Amano-kun?”

“I don’t think that’s true…”

“That’s because you’re dumb. If we just started to attack each other right away, don’t we have to keep spraying water at each other until one of us dies from hypothermia?”

“This is the first time that I’ve heard such a nightmarish description for spraying water at each other.”

That sounds like what a crazed killer in horror movies would force a normie couple to do.

Tendou-san continued with a serious look on her face.

“That’s why it is crucial to figure out how the competition shall ends.”

“I think we’ll just leave when we had enough…”

“Amano-kun, you once said that it’s wrong to disconnect before it’s clear who the winner is.”

“I never expected you to bring that up in this situation.”

“Put it this way, even if we are just spraying water and each other, that’s not a reason for us to act like filthy casuals, don’t you feel the same way?”

“Um, I’m sorry, Tendou-san, but what I’m feeling is that you’re really annoying.”

“Hmm, you mean we don’t need any rules? That’s what you were thinking…Alright, Amano-kun, let’s begin this deathmatch- the battle of our date!”

“Please don’t host the “Karen’s Poolside Deathmatch” without authorization. That’s a ridiculous interpretation of what a date is, we can just do this regularly!”

“Regularly…do you feel satisfied by spraying water at each other aimlessly?!”

“I’m quite satisfied with that!”

“Alright, then let’s begin-let us spray water at each other aimlessly!”

Tendou-san bulged her eyes.

That’s how we began our “water-spraying activity.”

I sprayed water sheepishly towards Tendou-san’s stomach, she did the same towards mine. Then, rinse and repeat, silently.

Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash.

…………

So, Tendou-san, filled with emptiness, clenched her teeth before blasting on me.

“Amano-kun! What can we even learn from this pointless match?”

“I’m sorry! I don’t really know either!”

What the hell is this!? There’s a limit for boringness. Are all the normies crazy?

“I-I guess you’re right, we need more or less some form of rules to make this fun…”

The moment I said this, Tendou-san beamed me another smile, she didn’t smile that much today, though.

“See? W-What did I tell you! We were just wasting our time because you are being so indecisive! You should’ve heard what I said in the beginning!”

“Y-You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“That’s good to hear. So, let’s make up the rules, a set of rules that grants a competition!”

Tendou-san then started to discuss the rules with me excitedly.

So, 3 minutes later.

“So…Amano-kun, let’s begin!”

“Okay, I’m ready for you!”

From an outsider’s perspective, a couple is staring at each other menacingly while keeping their distance from each other.

“…………”

3 seconds after the start, none of us moved an inch.

4 seconds later, the nearby families are starting to feel uneasy when they sensed a menacing aura is surrounding them.

Then, 5 seconds later-right now. Tendou-san’s shoulder vibrated suddenly. I can see that that’s a sign for attacking, and I immediately moved to left. What I saw the next moment was cold bullets- I mean plain old water scattering where my head was.

“Hm!”

Tendou-san pouted. I gave her a smile before I start revising the rules in my brain with the 10 seconds I had.

“The one who gets their hair wetted loses. Only one attack is allowed for one round, which lasts 10 seconds. The attacker and the defender switches after spraying water or when time runs out. Rinse and repeat until the hair of one of us is wet!”

7 seconds went by already.

Suddenly, Tendou-san is giving me a troublous look, I grabbed the chance at sprayed a massive wave at her-But! That’s was she planned all along!

“NANI…”

Tendou-san has seen through my attack and dodged it beautifully. Crap, I’ve been bamboozled!

My attack failed to hit the target, and now it’s Tendou-san’s turn. I took a deep breath to prepare, then-

“Ha!”

“A-A quick attack?!”

Tendou-san immediately attacked instead of waiting for that 10 seconds, I tried to dodge, but my body just can’t follow up!

The match ended with my wetted bangs.

I slapped my hands onto my kneecaps and plopped my head down

“I…lost…”

“I won!”

Tendou-san stood tall and cheered over her win.

A moment for us to relish our victory and defeat, please.

Just when we felt a bit satisfied after finishing an exciting match, the couples started to spray water at each other excitedly.

“Ahaha, hey, don’t do that, c’mon. Ha!”

“Woah! Hey, that’s cheating! My turn!”

“You’re lame! ?”

“…………”

They are not bound by any rules. The quality of our match should be far better than theirs, but then why are we-

“…………”

We stared at the couple who is surrounded by a loving aura, then we looked at each other silently.

“…………”

After that, we left the pool depressingly.

*

We tried to lighten up the mood by walking around the pool area, but there are just too many people for us to play. Also, Tendou-san in a swimsuit attracted way more attention she usually had, so much so that even she can’t take it anymore.

After we lapped the pool, I suggested to her:

“…Should we head to the arcade?”

“R-Right! That’s not a bad idea at all. Sure!”

Tendou-san’s eyes are clearly brighter than before. “Then let’s go.” I smiled bitterly and urged her to move.

-Just when we arrived at the entrance of the pool.

“…? What’s wrong?”

“Not sure..at least it doesn’t look like an accident.”

Screams and scolds can be heard clearly, but no one is gathering around the location of the incident; it’s like when people are staring at Tendou-san, you can feel that everyone is peeking at something.

The closer we are to the entrance, the more we can sense the above atmosphere to the point where it’s the same as the attention that Tendou-san is getting. Then, we realized what it is.

“Oh.”

Tendou-san and I spoke at the same time. We can see a girl’s back there-a seaweed’s back.

Wearing an aqua blue swimsuit that doesn’t fit her style at all, the girl with a curvy body that is currently the target of all the males’ attention.

She is standing by the entrance alone, moving around restlessly.

“…Amano-kun, that girl is clearly…right?”

“…Yeah.”

Tendou-san and I looked at each other. To be honest, this situation causes quite a headache, but we feel terrible to just ignore her and leave. We then walked towards her - Chiaki Hoshinomori, but before we even got there, a handsome tanned boy started chatting to her.

“Hey, is something bothering you?”

The guy gave her a bright smile, maybe he’s just trying to talk to her, but then everyone around him liked that, they can feel at least he’s showing 20% of caring there.

But then- Chiaki apparently freaked out, her shoulder is shivering, and tears began to form in her eyes as she faced the guy.

“Eh!? U-U-Um, i-it’s not, I-I-I am f-f-fine.”

“W-What? C-Can you repeat again but slower?”

The handsome boy tilted his head as he took a step towards Chiaki. I don’t blame him, but this is probably stressing the hell out of Chiaki, and caused her to freak out even more.

“I-I-I-I am j-j-just waiting for someone h-h-here. S-S-So…”

Chiaki has become a malfunctioned recorder at this point, we can understand what she is saying because we knew her habit of repeating words. “Hey, she’s waiting for someone.” Of course, it’s too hard for the guy who she met for the first time to understand. He wished Chiaki to calm down first, so he tried to put his hand and Chiaki’s shoulder, which is a bit controversial but probably not malicious.

“Wait-“

Just when Tendou-san and I wanted to stop him, Chiaki seemed to have noticed us and turned her head around, we looked at each other in the eyes.

“Oh…”

Suddenly, Chiaki beamed us a relieved expression.

Just when the guy stopped and looked at us, tears began to form in Chiaki’s eyes before she suddenly started running.

Before Tendou-san and I can even react, Chiaki had already sneaked behind me and wrapped her hands around my arms, and then mustered words to the handsome guy.

“E-E-E-E-Ehm, h-h-he is the guy I-I-I’m waiting for-“

Chiaki is still not speaking properly. However, I guess the guy is really being kind-hearted, he gave us a bright smile and gave us his conclusion.

“Oh, your boyfriend is here. That’s great, off I go then.”

EVEN THOUGH HE’S WRONG! DEAD WRONG! 100% WRONG!

He turned around and left quickly, while I can still feel that Chiaki is wrapping my right arm.

As for where Tendou-san is standing, though…

“…………”

Some kind of terrifying aura is radiating from her side, which prevented me from turning my head. What is this? This is scary.

To try and escape from the situation, I first turned to Chiaki.

“Hey, Chia-“ “…………”

I wanted to complain, but she is still shivering with tears in her eyes and raised her head to look at me…There’s no way I can complain. Even if we are rivals, I’m not that cold-hearted to the point where I can yell at her when she’s in a sorry state like this.

“………..” “………..” “…………..*cough**cough*.”

Just when Chiaki and I are staring at each other meaninglessly, some coughing sounds can be heard from left, it’s from Tendou-san. I am not the dumb protagonist in romantic comedies, this is my final warning. But, even if I knew that…

“………..” “………..”

What’s wrong with her? Release your hands already. You stopped crying and have more or less calmed down, and yet you are still holding onto me.

“…Hey, the seaweed girl here.” “What’s the matter, Mr. Bean Sprouts?”

She is talking shit to me while literally holding onto my arm, and have no intention of releasing her hands while giving me such a calm reply. Ehm, honestly, what’s even going on? A girl in a swimsuit just grabbed the arm of a guy who’s in a date, this seems bullshit. What the hell? Why am I in a harem situation right now? Oh! I got it! Chiaki is pranking me! That’s why, then, I can just shake away her arms forcefully-

“…K-Keita, even thou I hate you, b-but I’m still freaking out right now, so I have to hold onto you right now…Phew…”

-Now I’m not doing it. T-This is too hard for me! I had the feeling that wasn’t a bad guy, but, Chiaki who has the same loner condition with me wearing a swimsuit that she isn’t used to, and forced to get in a word by someone from the opposite sex, I felt that, sincerely.

Then, maybe it’s because she is still shivering, her voice is so weak that Tendou-san didn’t hear what she had said, the terrifying aura has no sign of backing down. Chiaki is slowly calming down, though…

“This sucks, why the hell are you here?”

“That’s my line, why are you here…”

“………….”

Girl holding a guy on his arms, chatting, the girlfriend looking at them silently from behind, in the middle of a date. That’s the bizarre situation that we are in right now.

I’m sweating so hard. Then, Chiaki gave me an unhappy look.

“Your arms are slimy. Keita, you are disgusting.”

“You…!”

What does she want from me?! I see her as a rival, but this is too much for me! Did I murder her whole family or something?

I am trying my best to suppress my arm from shaking her off violently. To make her let go, I gave her a serious look and said.

“T-That’s enough, Chiaki. Look, Tendou-san is here.”

“I saw that. Hello, Tendou-san.”

Still wrapped around my arms, she nodded to Tendou-san with a smile on her face. Then, Tendou-san just answered with her reflex, “Oh. Hi.”

………….

“No, no, no, no, no, Chiaki. Isn’t this weird? Can't you understand? Right now, my girlfriend, Tendou-san, is standing here, standing with us! Do you know where this is going?”

“I know, you two are dating, right? This is obvious!”

“If it’s evident to you, then how the hell can you manage to keep holding onto my arm like that?”

“What? I’m not getting what you are saying…”

Chiaki is tilting her head, she seems really confused. I can see her breasts clearly from my angle…Shit!

“Why are you not getting it? I’m on a date! It’s not hard to understand this fact, right? Then, even though you are a clump of seaweed, but you are classified as a biological female, after all. Don’t you think holding onto my arms like this is a bit too…”

“A bit too…what? Ohoho, Keita, you’re a weirdo. You’re saying that Tendou-san will hate me for sticking up close to you, that’s weird.”

“You’re the weirdo! Wait? Are you doing this on purpose? You’re evil!”

“No, you are. Didn’t you received Tendou-san “kindness” already?”

“I told you not to yell the word “fondness” in front of everyone! Not to mention you are saying that in front of her!”

I turned around, and I saw Tendou-san lowered her head, seemingly embarrassed…Crap!

Then, Chiaki seems to have come to her senses. She adjusted her breaths slowly and released my arm. U-Ugh, I feel like my chest in pain right now.

“T-That’s true, maybe I shouldn’t interrupt your date…”

“You shouldn’t! Also, why did it took you that long to realize that…”

“Hm, I think you are just too on edge right now? Your “girlfriend” isn’t paying attention to you anyway…”

Chiaki is observing her surroundings while saying stuff like this…Nope.

“I’m at the center of everyone’s attention right now. This looks like two cuties in swimsuits trying to compete over a guy, not to mention one of them is my girlfriend!”

“…Cuties…”

“W-Why are you embarrassed? Also, Tendou-san, please don’t distance yourself from us with a dangerous smile on your face! She is just an introvert that is sticking to me, coincidentally!”

After the explanation, while Tendou-san still isn’t 100% convinced, she’s back to us.

I pressed my chest as a sign of relief, then I asked Chiaki once again.

“So, seriously, what brings you here? Are you looking for your natural habitat?”

“I’m not a clump of seaweed! I-I don’t want to come here either…But then, my little sister invited me with something along the lines of “Hey, it’s just this time, alright?”, that’s why.”

“Right, you mentioned that you have a little sister that’s the complete opposite of you.”

After I understood the situation, Tendou-san then asked.

“But, your sister is not with you right now…”

“Y-Yes! That’s why! My little sister is far cuter than I am, and she has a taste for fashion. Hence, I have once again decided on my swimsuit before she does, then entered the pool way earlier.”

“Oh, so that’s why you were forced to get in a word with a guy?”

“Y-Yes, sorry for the inconvenience…”

Chiaki seems a bit down. Tendou-san and I looked at each other, and then Tendou-san put her hand gently on Chiaki’s shoulder.

“If that’s the case, Hoshinomori-san, I will wait with you until your little sister arrives.”

“Eh? Ehhhh!? W-Well, I’m honored, but…”

Chiaki glanced at me, nervously. I scratched my head, then looked away from her and mumbled.

“Keita…”

Chiaki’s tears are forming in her eyes again…how should I put it? While I treated her as my enemy, I am terrified of her showing her weak side…

“COUGH!”

I feel like Tendou-san’s cough was targeting me.

Tendou-san still has that gentle and warm smile plastered on her face, but then I can sense an aura of darkness surrounding her as she continued.

“No, I can mop up the rest here. Amano-kun, please go ahead.”

“Eh? N-No, I’m a guy after all, if I am here, at least we can avoid that kind of situation…”

“No. You don’t need to. We will wait for Hoshinomori’s “cute little sister” here.”

“Um, b-but, then I will have to wait for you all out there alone, I would prefer to stay here…”

“Amano-kun.”

Tendou-san’s eyes flashed an eerie glare. I immediately saluted to her.

“Yes, sir! I will standby at the exit!”

“Good! Off to the exit, Private Amano!”

“Yes! Stay safe, sir!”

I raised my head and then marched towards the boys changing room.

Chiaki stared at us, baffled before mumbling.

“…T-This is what they call a date?”

I’m sorry, Chiaki, none of us can answer this question.

*

“Thanks for the wait.”

“It’s fine.”

Tendou-san and I gathered with each other 10 minutes after we left the pool. I raised from the chair in the corner and walked towards the arcade with her.

“I never thought we will get there that quickly.”

“Yeah, her little sister arrived shortly. Honestly, I wanted to talk to Hoshinomori-san alone.”

“Why?”

“Both of us love gaming, right? It makes sense that we want to chat with each other.”

“…You can always talk to me about gaming.”

I felt a bit unpleasant after asking her, Tendou-san quickly realized what’s on my mind, she moved her head towards me before chuckling.

“What’s wrong, Amano-kun? Are you jealous?”

“I-It’s not like that…! I-It’s just that I hate Chiaki, yes!”

“Ohoho, you are getting jealous of the relationship between Hoshinomori-san and me, interesting.”

“I-I said it’s not like that. Why would I get jealous because of that…”

I explained myself nervously. Then, Tendou-san gently smiled. Although I don’t know what’s going on, she seems to be willing to forget what happened between Chiaki and me earlier.

“Well, then let’s cheer ourselves up at the arcade.”

“Sure. Hey!”

For some reason, Tendou-san sneaked to my right and wrapped her hands around my arm, which Chiaki did. She is “excitingly” close to me, my heart is pumping real fast. But, w-why is this heartbeat feels…

“I feel like excitement isn’t the reason why my heart is pumping up! What the hell!? This is creepy!”

This was made worse because Tendou-san didn’t say anything, she just smiled usually, and this is the part that causes me to freak out. I can’t really be happy if she’s actually jealous, you know? It’s like when I screwed up in MMOs, and the teammates just comforted me gently, they are not even willing to show their dissatisfaction directly, which makes me feel even worse! It’s like when they are not giving you a chance to apologize!

A-Anyway, at least Tendou-san acted like the way she always is on the surface. While I am quite anxious, we chatted with each other like nothing was wrong as we are heading towards the arcade.

“Wow, this place is nicely planned.”

Once we arrived at the arcade floor, Tendou-san’s face clearly brightens and released my arms. Honestly, I’m feeling more relieved than lonely, she turned back to me with a smile on her face and suggested.

“Come, Amano-kun! Let’s lighten up the mood and compete in the arcade, alright?”

“…S-Sure.”

Here it comes. I am about to be brutally destroyed.

However, there’s no way for me to reject- Put it this way, I don’t have the choice at the beginning anyway. Tendou-san dragged my sleeves as we played 1v1 matches, and I lost all of them.

One-hit KO-ed in fighting games, forced to pick a difficulty that I can’t ever hope to overcome in rhythm games, just when I thought I can enjoy riddle games with Tendou-san- she immediately answered all questions correctly, I don’t even have a chance.

Then, I wanted to challenge UFO catchers to redeem myself. Just when I lost a thousand yen without getting anything, Tendou-san already got her “Gamer Bunny” doll with a tenth of what I spent.

An angel hugging a bunny in front of a useless, depressed teenager, that’s the picture we’re in right now.

Tendou-san smiled bitterly and tried to cheer me up.

“S-Sorry Amano-kun. I’m usually a model student, but when it comes to gaming, I won’t hesitate to murder everyone…”

“Your way of comforting me made me feel even worse.”

“B-Bu-But, this bunny can serve as the beautiful memorial of our date, that’s right!”

“A date is supposed to be a 2-player thing, but you caught that bunny alone, though…”

“Aha…ha…”

Even Tendou-san can’t say anything to cheer me up anymore.

Suddenly, when my girlfriend is trying her best to comfort me, some unfriendly waves of laughter broke this atmosphere.

“Ahahaha! You suck! You suck, shrimp bro!”

“Even I am doing better than shrimp bro!”

“Hmm…?”

It’s the bald brothers from before. Also, even if I don’t want to explain at all, but the “shrimp bro” coming from them seems to mean “big brother that is as weak as a shrimp”. This is the most humiliating nickname I’ve been called in my life.

When Tendou-san and I reached the large arcade area, we met with the brothers again, unfortunately. By the way, their name is Shota and Satoshi, respectively.

Shota patted my shoulder and gave me a disgusting smile.’

“Although Big Sister is really amazing, don't you think you suck a bit too much?”

“Ouch!”

Satoshi slapped my butt with his tiny hands before commenting.

“Hey, shrimp bro, I know the answer to the question that you’ve got it wrong.”

“Ouch!”

I guess he is talking about the riddle game earlier. I wanted to give Tendou-san a good impression, so I gave the answer before the question is even revealed (the question is about cartoons for children). The answer is entirely different than what I’ve guessed.

“Hehe...” “Haha…”

“…………”

Tendou-san smiled bitterly at her useless boyfriend. Then, she seems to have thought of something suddenly and suggested it to us.

“Hey, now that we’re all here, don’t you think you should compete with little Shota here, Amano-kun?”

“You’re like Hitler! But even Hitler cared about Germany or something!”

What the hell did my girlfriend just say? She is literally pushing her boyfriend off a cliff at this point!

Just when I’m still frozen, Shota raised his hand energetically and said, “I’m in!” His brother cheered for him, “Play with him!”. Even Tendou-san went along with them and said, “Then let’s go!” She is a devil with an angel’s face!

Although I’m sweating so much, I fiddled with my bangs and gave them a sneer.

“Ah, I guess you’re right, maybe I shouldn’t use 100% of my power to compete with juniors. In situations like this, we can just happily enjoy riddle games together-“

Tendou-san brilliantly ignored what I’ve said, and pointed at an arcade machine.

“Alright, let’s compete with Mario Kart!”

“Yay!”

“Crap, she clearly wanted to rank us in order!”

I’m so nervous that I can’t even- W-What’s wrong with this person! How serious must she get when it comes to gaming! This is not the difference between casual and competitive players! She’s telling her boyfriend to compete seriously with a bunch of first-graders! Is she still mad at what happened between Chiaki and me?!

“Alright, we are starting, Amano-kun. Prepare yourself.”

“Ugh…”

She grabbed my ankles and forced me to sit down before the Mario Kart screen.

Next to my seat, Shota is ready for action. I looked at their parents sitting in the resting area, and they gave me an apologetic look. Tendou-san beamed them a smile, why can’t you use that fondness of yours on your boyfriend who’s on a date with you!?

Well, it’s not like I can escape anyway.

I cried while sitting and began to choose my character.

The character with average stats that is easy to control, the character with low top speed but with a fast starting boost. There are a lot of options, but then I already knew what I need to pick…

“…Shrimp bro, why are you picking that when you suck?”

“S-Shut up!”

Satoshi sneaked behind me and took a glance at my screen before mumbling. He’s right, I picked the weighty character, high speed but hard to control, for advanced players only.

Shota went with the standard option.

We picked a complex track, the one where you can accidentally drive off a cliff.

Shota beamed me a provocative yet confident smile, is he a pro at this? Compared to him, while I did compete with my little brother in this game’s console version, I’ve only played this once or twice in an arcade.

Honestly, if you ask me if I am confident, my answer is a definite no. I suck at even the console version.

I glanced at the other seats. This usually is for 4 players, but now only Shota and I are playing. I can’t find an excuse for losing at this stage. Basically, while there are bots in the race, those are just for fun only.

After the introductory clip, the camera focused on the start.

The lights that signal the start appeared as the countdown began.

Red light…red light…green light!

Once the green light appeared, all the cars started to charge forward. Shota stepped onto the gas in time for a starting boost. While I…

“Boom! Sssssss…”

“………..”

I ultimately failed as the car turned off its engine. Satoshi laughed hysterically at the back…Ouch!

“I-I’m just slacking off for you, that’s right.”

“You suck!”

Shota laughed while controlling the steering wheel masterfully and raced ahead of the bots at 1st place. Ah, crap, is he actually a pro?

I immediately rushed forward and grabbed the power-ups placed along the track. They are meant to save the losers. Players can randomly get power-ups that either stunt the opponents or boost themselves and gain an advantage. The lower the place you are in, the better power-ups you will get.

Shota being at 1st place only granted him power-ups that slightly boosted his speed. While I…

“Yes, crash into all them!”

I got the rocket power-up which enlarges my kart, increases my top speed, and grants me the ability to knock other opponents away.

“Ah, that’s cheating.” Satoshi mumbled.

“W-Why is this cheating? This is a legit strategy!”

‘That’s a cunning strategy! Give it your all, big bro!”

“Right, Satoshi! I’m not going to lose to weaklings like shrimp bro!”

“That’s all you can brag for now!”

I climbed all the way from 12th place to the 4th from the rocket power-up, and then I tried my best to control my unpredictable character after the power-up went off. But then…

“…Amano-kun, you don’t know how to control that character, right…”

“Um…”

Tendou-san gave me a cold stare when she saw my character keeps banging into the edges.

…To be honest, I’ve never used this kind of character at all because I’m a slowpoke. I value stability and ease-of-driving the most when it comes to racing games. There’s no fun for timed races. That’s the kind of guy I am. Sorry.

Then why am I using it now? Sigh, it’s because of my underestimation and vanity. I thought it’s more than enough to race against a first-grader like this. Yes, I’m helpless.

The bots are passing me relentlessly as I’m hitting the walls. But then, I will get a rare power-up after I fell back and will speed forward again. Rinse and repeat.

During this time, Shota is still staying all the way ahead at 1st place, he even got the time to look at my screen and taunted me.

“A-ha, you’re really humorous, shrimp bro!”

“I don’t need any humor right now!”

We reached the last lap when we were messing around with each other. Shota is at 1st place, and I…am at 4th place with the power-ups. There’s still a vast gap between us. However…

“Hm? Amano-kun, you’re starting to get a hold on this, aren’t you?”

“Thanks to you!”

I am less likely to crash into walls. With that and the fact that my vehicle has the highest top speed, I’m catching up quickly.

Then, I picked up a power-up after seeing the evenly-matched 2nd and 3rd place, and the power-up was…

“Ugh…”

“Oh, he got a bad one! It’s the bomb wheel!”

Satoshi screamed. He mentioned the worst power-up you can get in this game. This power-up can randomly bomb a non-CPU player- with a 90% chance of hitting yourself.

Honestly, the risk far outweighs the result, that’s why it’s the worst power-ups, it’s like picking a landmine.

Anyway, I kept the power-up in the slot and passed the 2nd and 3rd place.

I’m now in 2nd place. Then, I saw the back of Shota’s kart.

“Woah…”

Shota is getting nervous. It looks like he is paying too much attention to my screen, and his control slightly relaxed. I’m closing our distance with my top-speed vehicle.

“It’s not easy to tell who will win at this point…!”

Tendou-san gave us an energetic comment. It’s one straight road to the finish line.

I’m getting closer and closer. Shota tried to block me, but that just slowed him down and brought himself closer to me.

And then…

“Oh, crap! This will be dangerous, big bro!”

“I know!”

Shota responded to a worried Satoshi. Yes, if this goes on, I might get to win.”

Everyone halted their breath when it’s a few meters until the finish line.

I grabbed the chance- and used the Bomb Wheel!

“Eh?”

Everyone but me froze at the moment, and the wheel ended up at-

“Boom!”

“Oh.”

-Well, this makes sense, actually. I blew myself up. Although I have suspiciously gained the “male protagonist” status, my luck hasn’t been boosted, and I blew my car up as usual. Then-

“Yay! You’re dumb, shrimp bro!”

“We won big bro! Shrimp bro is weak!

Shota won. I got passed by bots right before the finish line and finished at 8th place. The competition’s result was too tragic to even look at.

*

“…………”

After that match, Tendou-san and I left Around 1 without a single word. We are now sitting on the free shuttle bus.

“…………”

I plopped my head downwards while Tendou-san remained silent since then…it’s like hell down here. Also, for some reason, there’s suddenly enough space on the bus for us to sit together…and other commuters sat quite far from us, it feels like we are alone on this bus.

“…………”

I took a glance at Tendou-san secretly. I somehow feel like the “Gamer Bunny” she put on her legs is staring at me…so I turned around and looked at the window.

The bus hasn’t moved yet, there’s nothing to look at, but then Tendou-san faced towards the window since then, I can’t see her face. I can’t see her reflections from the window either, maybe it’s because of the angle. I can’t really sit tight. The view of the Around 1 brimming with lights just made me feel even more tragic.

I really wanted to disappear right now, what the hell am I doing? Now that I’m thinking about what did we do for today, none of them would qualify as “ me giving Tendou-san a satisfying impression.” While she did have fun in Around 1, but I don’t think I’m involved in any of this at all. Around 1 is the only thing that’s giving her fun.

“I should’ve never went on a date without a plan…”

I had always been like this, the same goes for my gaming style. Rather than contemplating on my playthrough, I would just dive into the whole thing again brainlessly. That’s why you never see growth in me. Of course, while I do gain subtly while gaming, but that was never enough for a date.

“Is it really too heavy for me…?”

Mizumi-kun’s face suddenly appeared in my brain. Perhaps he should be the one to go with Tendou-san, especially when it comes to competing with each other. I would often play with him nowadays, and I have to say, his adaptability Is really amazing. He is the definition of the protagonist, the one that is on the same side as Tendou-san.

I don’t think there’s a sample answer when it comes to gaming styles. However, there’s no way for all players to get along with each other. A piece of good evidence for this is that some games will use a matchmaking system and create a casual zone and a competitive zone. None are better than the other, but there are certainly preferences.

In terms of this, Tendou-san and I are different. This sort of mindset is certainly not limited to gaming, we are destined to see things differently at some point in our relationship.

“…Especially when I was in that race, I used the power-up at last…that’s the issue, right.”

To Tendou-san, that’s an intolerably stupid decision, it looks like I’m not taking the match seriously at all…at least I can’t retort her if she uses this in her argument.

But then…

I realized that Tendou-san’s shoulder was slightly shivering when I snapped back.

What’s going on? Is she so mad that she is shivering?

I freaked out. But then, it’s terrible if I did nothing when my girlfriend is pissed.

I swallowed my saliva and made my decision…and then put my hand on Tendou-san’s shoulder-

“…Pffft, ahahahahahaha!”

“?”

-Suddenly, Tendou-san let out a hysterical laugh while hugging her doll. At the same time, the door of the bus closed, and it was announced that the bus will soon depart.

My body shakes as the bus is moving, and Tendou-san is still laughing to the point that she bent her waist.

“Ohoho, hehe, haha.”

“…Um…Tendou-san?”

I’m baffled by the situation. Tendou-san then wiped the tears off her eyes with her finger as she continued.

“I’m sorry, g-give me a moment, Amano-kun. I need a second.”

“O-Okay.”

Then, Tendou-san laughed for another 10 seconds before taking a breath and looked at me.

I don’t think she’s angry.

Tendou-san then explained to me.

“Um, it’s not like that, it’s just that the way that you lost was amusing to me. B-But, if you think about it, I don’t think I should laugh with that situation, so I held it back, but then that just made me wanted to chuckle even more. S-Sorry.”

“N-No, it’s okay…So, you are not mad at me?”

Tendou-san tilted her head when I asked this.

“I’m mad? Why would I?”

“Um, b-because of the way I play…won’t you feel dissatisfied because of that?”

“Eh? Oh…that’s what you meant.”

Tendou-san gave me a smile, then looked at the window gently and looked at the lights shining from Around 1 while answering me.

“You’re right, Amano-kun, you didn’t play anything well today, including sports. Also, it’s hard to say that you are “competing seriously” at all.”

“S-Sorry…”

I’m scared. However, Tendou-san gave me a warm smile before looking at me directly.

“But then, you were trying your best to let everyone enjoy the experience, right?”

“Eh?”

I tilted my head to express my confusion after her explanation. “You didn’t realize this at all.” Tendou-san chuckles while mumbling.

“Amano-kun, while it’s true that you keep losing. But…it’s like what you’ve said in the past, you feel unsatisfied after every defeat.”

“O-Of course, I will feel bad. I said that before.”

“Right. However, your reaction is rare these days. When everyone in the Game Club and I lose a match, while we do feel unsatisfied, we will never express it this vividly. We will just train very hard afterward.”

“…Ehm…”

I-Is she meaning that I’m acting like a kid?

In reality, I’ve always enthusiastically asked my little brother to 1v1 me in games, so I will always express my feelings towards the match immediately after it’s over. The reason for this is that I feel like it will get too serious to the point where we will argue with each other furiously if we just hide everything in our hearts. If that’s the case, I think it’s better to just yell when we lost a match so that we expressed our feelings clearly. That’s what I’ve learned from the experience.

However, I never thought I will make that mistake in front of Tendou-san. Just as I’m scratching my head embarrassingly, Tendou-san continued without a single notion that she’s blaming me.

“You are referring to yourself as a slowpoke. To me, though, I feel like you are just trying your best to act like a slowpoke with that attitude of yours, right?”

“Um, I-I’ve never thought about this before…In reality, I just challenged a kid to a serious match and then lost to him…”

“Yes, you are right, you should be ashamed.”

“Ouch…”

“But then, Amano-kun, that’s why you are amazing.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know which part of me got praised at all!”

“Really? For example…Right, take Shota and Satoshi as an example. If I am just coming here with the Game Club members, I think we will never get to enjoy the experience as much as the brothers did.”

“I-I’m sorry, it’s because I suck, that’s why our date is interrupted…”

“It’s okay, I’ve said this before, that’s the amazing part of you.”

“…Sorry, I still don’t feel like which part of me are you praising…”

“Really? Being completely oblivious to which part you are good at is another fantastic point of you as well.”

“Sorry, I usually just freak out when someone is complimenting me this much while I’m confused.”

It’s like when you got an award in a writing contest when you turned in a half-assed submission. While the comments pointed out that the writing included numerous issues in modern society, I have no memory of writing any of that, something like this.

Tendou-san glanced at my utterly confused face, then gave me a “Hmm…” while putting her finger on her lips, thinking about something cutely…Then, she continued as if she reached a conclusion.

“When you are in the last lap with Shota, you didn’t use the Bomb Wheel to win. If winning is your sole purpose, you could’ve just out-speed him with the agility of your kart.”

“Eh? Oh, s-sorry, I didn’t act seriously-“

I immediately wanted to apologize, Tendou-san stopped me by raising her hand. Then, her eyes are sparkling with logic as she continued.

“The brothers will have fun no matter what the result was – that’s why you used the bomb. Am I right, Amano-kun?”

“…………”

“Whether you or Shota got bombed, it’s funnier to the kids this way then to just compete regularly.”

“…Ehm…”

I scratched my cheeks before looking away, I’m being read like an open book. Crap, I knew my girlfriend’s attitude towards gaming. Then, I deliberately let her knew that I was so na?ve that I am willing to lose a match just to let the kids have fun.

Tendou-san’s voice then echoed throughout my head, she sounds a bit baffled, though.

“…Man. You hadn’t changed in the least bit since when you rejected my invitation…”

“Um! Tendou-san, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to reject your attitude towards gaming…”

“Mmm, I understand, you’re not just randomly losing a match on purpose. But then, when compared to “looking cool in front of me,” you feel that it’s more important to let the brothers have fun, right?”

“Ahh! Well, um, ah, T-Tendou-san, I didn’t mean to just ignore you…”

Crap, I’m too scared to look at her. She sounds pissed from that-

“…That’s what I love about you.”

“Huh!?”

-I heard something big and turned my head around immediately. But then…for some reason, this time it’s Tendou-san who looked away to the window. The lights coming from the houses are flashing in the dark, rural scenery outside.

Although Tendou-san and I are sitting very close to each other, I feel really peaceful, incredibly, and I even told her this when she’s still looking out to the window.

“Tendou-san, I really admired…you for destroying me relentlessly.”

“What’s that? I don’t feel like you’re praising me at all.”

“No, I’m being sincere. If you just let me won purposely, that I won’t even get the chance to feel unsatisfied. You know what that meant, right? Tendou-san, you’re amazing.”

“…I’m a dumb girl who just knows how to compete seriously.”

“I know. That’s what I love about you.”

“…!”

Tendou-san’s shoulders suddenly shivered, …but then even I can tell this time: “Oh, she’s embarrassed.”

This awkward yet satisfying moment slowly slipped away.

It was not until a couple minutes after that I started chatting with her.

“…Right, Tendou-san, have you played the newly-released Fire Knights?”

“Oh. Yes, of course! That’s right, I wanted to talk about that! How’s your progress?”

Tendou-san’s face clearly brightens. I answered confidently.

“I’m in Chapter 9 right now.”

“Ugh, I lost. I’m in Chapter 7. I guess I will fall behind if I spend more time with the Game Club and studying…”

“By the way, did you know that if you didn’t meet the requirements in Chapter 6, you can’t get the item in Chapter 12.”

“Eh, really? Awww, then I have to restart…”

“You are starting over!? The item is not that important, I just left it behind and moved forward.”

“Hmph! That’s what I don’t like about you, filthy casuals.”

“Well, thanks, but that’s the reason why your progress is falling behind, right?”

“Hey, how dare you? But then, isn’t that why we will spend a lot of time in games-“

“No, not at all, you’re missing the key-“

…The calm and peaceful scenery, the tired gamers, the night slowly falls on the bus that is slowing driving through the rural town.

Suddenly, when I am in a break while chatting with Tendou-san, I can’t help but mumble:

“…Master Uehara, you’re right, after all. I’m sorry.”

“What did you say?”

“It’s nothing. Oh, about that part in Chapter 10…”

So, I just chatted with Tendou-san about the game while I’m reflecting on what Uehara-kun had sad before the date.

“It’s a blessing when you can chat happily with a girl you love alone, after all.”

[Translator’s note: Phew, that was a long chapter hope you enjoyed it. I manage to get this out early even if I’m playing Animal Crossing all day and doing Uni projects. Also, props to Skythewood for letting me put the chapter onto his blog, really appreciated. Anyway, see you next week, maybe.]