CH 38

After some time had passed since the excited visitors tried to get a good spot to see the parade, the crowd started to calm down.

Even so, it’s only if we compared it with the previous chaos. For me, this was still crowded.

Looking around, some people were plowing through the crowd to reach the attractions and some were quarreling over the line. I could even see a couple arguing over something in the midst of all of this.

“...This sure is a picture of hell.”

I sighed and drank the amusement park’s special fizzy drinks, resting my elbows on the table. If I had to compare this place to the disaster over there, we sure had it peace here…

Rin, who sat in front of me, had a bitter smile as she looked around.

“Why do that couple have a fight even though they’re coming to this place to have fun? It’ll be nice if everyone can enjoy themselves.”

“Maybe they’re arguing because they can’t get into the mood? Both of them insist on their opinion and won’t concede, so they start to fight before they know it.”

“But I think once they’re having fun, they will be able to forget their troubles…”

Rin watched the fighting couple with  a sad face. When the woman slapped the man in the cheek, Rin’s shoulders jumped. That made her look like a frightened rabbit, which was a little cute… Of course I wouldn’t say it to her.

“I don’t think they can do that.”

“Why?”

“Normally, working adults and students will be looking forward to coming to this kind of special place during their holidays, right? They’ll want to vent their pent-up anger here.”

“That makes sense, but… Rather than that, why don’t they avoid causing trouble since they want to have fun?”

“Well, I understand what you want to say, Rin. I don’t think anyone will fight if they have the same mindset as you. Unfortunately, the truth isn’t that simple.”

“Hmm. I wonder why… It’s difficult.”

“In short, it’s because they feel like they deserve to have fun the most. That’s why they think about themselves first and can’t see the people around them. And the result is they will have a conflict without thinking.”

“I see… So that’s the reason. I guess it’s natural that everyone wants to have fun.”

“That’s right. Well, in the end, we’ll prioritize ourselves the most. We’ll want to blow off some steam without thinking about troubles in life, so we won’t care much about other people anymore.”

I shrugged my shoulders, picked the sausage I bought, and chewed it. The sausage, which was dipped in a special spicy sauce, was a popular snack in this amusement park.

Yeah, it’s delicious. This dripping gravy is pretty good…

Rin chuckled as she watched me.

“Did I do anything strange?” I made a face and looked at her with dissatisfaction.

Rin chuckled again when our eyes met. “No. I’m just surprised that you unexpectedly watch your surroundings that much.”

“What… Most people normally watch their surroundings, don’t they?”

“Is that so? I thought Towa-kun is the kind of person who’s not interested in the people around you.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I’m not really interested, but I’ll have to look around to defend myself, right? It’ll be troublesome if I get caught in trouble and don’t know how to avoid it.”

Before anything could happen, I should avoid it in advance. After all, peace was the greatest state in history…

However, my life had recently become stormy in a sense. Even if I tried to avoid troubles, an unreasonable existence broke through my efforts with brute force… But I was also grateful with that.

“I wonder if they can make up.”

“Make up? That couple?”

I turned my gaze to the couple who was still arguing. Well, the man just took a beautiful slap on his face…

“Yes. I hope this quarrel will start a firm relationship between them.”

“I’m not sure about that. But then, it seems that there are quite a few things that can lead to separation when going on a date in this kind of place.”

“I-I never heard of that… Please tell me in detail!”

I didn’t know why she was so surprised, but Rin widened her eyes and blinked them many times. Then she stared at me.

Overwhelmed by her gaze, I could only give an awkward reply. “S-sure.”

Rin was nice, so she most likely didn’t want that couple to break up. That’s probably why she wanted to know more about this.

“You see, it’s inevitable that we’ll have to wait in the line at an amusement park, right? That’s why, anyone can’t help but notice the unpleasant sides of their lover.”

“Unpleasant sides…?”

“Yeah… For example, their lover may start to get frustrated in the waiting line. The silence continues, causing the atmosphere to be awkward. And after that, they end up looking at their smartphone all the time without paying attention to each other… It’s probably something like that?”

“I see. If something like that happens on a date… I agree. It’s pretty heart crushing.”

Rin looked at the couple again. However, they were no longer there. Instead, what we saw was the back of the fighting couple walking hand in hand at a distance.

Noticing that, Rin muttered, “What a relief.” She then smiled gently.

That benevolent look fascinated me, and I looked at Rin’s face as if I had forgotten the time. Rin also noticed my gaze and turned to me, so I coughed and hurriedly turned away.

“Towa-kun. About what we talked before…”

“Hm? About breaking up?”

“Yes. I don’t think we have to worry about it.”

“Um… What are you talking about?”

“I think something like that won’t ever happen between Towa-kun and me.”

I spewed the juice I was drinking and coughed.

Rin stared at me worriedly and asked, “Are you okay?” She then offered a clean handkerchief with her right hand.

“I’m fine. I just choked a bit…”

I didn’t want to get her handkerchief dirty, so I extended my hand to refuse. However, Rin lightly pressed her handkerchief against my face and wiped my face, ignoring my hand.

“Fufu. Towa-kun, you have sauce on your cheek.”

“...I know. I was going to wipe it later…”

It was a painful excuse. I feel like she was treating me as a kid… And I couldn’t even honestly thank her, how embarrassing…

“Is that so? Why would you have to do it later, though?”

“It doesn’t really bother me.”

“I see. Then, how about this?” Rin said, and gently wiped the edge of my mouth with her handkerchief. Surprised, I froze. “Now it’s all clean. Towa-kun, you didn’t notice that, right?”

Seeing Rin with an innocent look of a mischievous child, I could only raise both hands and surrender. “You got me…”