CH 39

The sky reflected on my eyes was hollow, dim. My visibility was hazy, as if it was foggy.

“...Oh no.”

I leaned against the back of a bench and put a plastic bottle on my forehead. The bottle had warmed, no different from room temperature.

It wouldn’t really make any effect, but I hope I could distract my mind with it, even if just a little.

The amusement park Rin and I visited was very large. It’s impossible to experience all the attractions in one day. If we wanted to enjoy everything, we would have to stop for the night here.

Moreover, it’s summer vacation now. As a matter of course, popular attractions were extremely crowded, making it hard for us to reach our destination.

Well, we still could play to some extent by devising our time.

It’s all good at that point.

However, the harmful effects of avoiding people had occurred here.

“Towa-kun. Are you okay?”

“...I’m sorry.” I could only apologize. Then I glared at the roots of all the evils in front of me. “...It’s really embarrassing to get sick in the crowd. There are too many people, for real.”

Yes, I got sick because of the crowd. I usually didn’t get into a crowd that much. I only get involved with people in my part-time job, and I never dealt with a large number of people.

That’s why I wasn’t used to a place like this. An amusement park filled with people.

And then I got dizzy. It’s completely shameful.

“Towa-kun, you told me you feel sick because there’s too many people, but… I think it’s because we spinned the coffee cup rides too much.”

“Well, that makes sense… But that’s——“ because Rin asked me how many times it could spin. But I swallowed those words.

I’m responsible for spinning it. This all happened because of my choice. I was at fault for getting ahead of myself…

I desperately endured the unpleasant sensation of wanting to vomit. I couldn’t afford to disgrace myself even more than this.

Rin was rubbing my back, watching my condition. I could see a plastic bag on her back, but… let’s pretend I didn’t see it. I didn’t want to think about what she was preparing for.

“...Rin, you look completely fine.”

“My head is slightly spinning, but it’s not a big deal.”

“...As expected, huh.”

She didn’t show any crack even after we came this far.

Did she have anything she’s not good at? I couldn’t imagine it at all. She most likely would do anything with a cool face.

“Shouldn’t you lie down?”

“...No, I’ll pass. There are a lot of people in front of the attractions… I don’t want them to see me with strange eyes.”

Occasionally, you would find some people lying down and sleeping in the public. Especially in this kind of amusement park. They spread a picnic blanket and rest there to wait for the parade, not caring about the passersby around them.

But I didn’t have the courage to do that in the midst of the crowd. I would definitely die with shame.

“I see… If so, can you walk a little?”

“Oh, yeah…”

When I nodded, Rin smiled and gently held my hand. Usually, I would be nervous, but I didn’t really feel anything now since I was unwell.

Rin pulled my hand and walked slowly, taking my condition into consideration. I followed her with unsteady steps, letting her guide me without knowing the destination.

After a while, we reached a river area with almost no attractions. It was a very quiet place, and I could only see some ships that operated regularly and a few people. Most people didn’t bother to line up here since it took a long time until the ship returned.

Rin stopped at a bench in that area and sat before me. She then tilted her head a bit and said without confidence, “Um. If you don’t mind, please lie down here…?”

Rin tapped her thighs, like she was urging me to sleep.

“Uh… Are you telling me to sleep there?”

“Yes. Fortunately, there’s almost no people here. The bench is also big enough to lie down.”

“...But…”

“You don’t have to be reserved with me, so please use my lap. But… I’m sorry if it’s hard to sleep…”

I looked at Rin’s slender thighs.

“You won’t charge me later, right…?”

“I won’t. Come on, just lie down already.”

Rin pulled my arm a little forcibly, not giving me time to be hesitant. She then put my head on her lap.

It’s soft…

No, I wasn’t saying that she was fat. Rather, she was thin, and I even had an unscrupulous thought that it would hurt to sleep on her lap.

Even so, Rin’s knee pillow felt better than anything I had ever experienced.

My blurred vision suddenly cleared up, and my dizziness disappeared. Instead, my heart palpitations were so intense that my face was getting hot.

“You can sleep a little, you know? Even if you think you’re feeling better, please take a rest. We still have a long time today.”

“...Then I’ll… take your offer…”

“Fufu. Please do so.”

I was thinking of getting up since I didn’t feel dizzy anymore, but Rin took the initiative to block my path again… I sighed.

Looking up, Rin’s face was as gentle as a smiling angel. I covered my eyes with my arms and tried to hide my face as much as possible.

I wanted to hide, even if just a little.

“Tell me if your leg hurts.”

“I understand. Towa-kun, you should also tell me if you have trouble sleeping, okay?”

“...Sure.”

I looked up at the reddening sky from the gap of my arms. Could the color of the sky hide the redness of my face?

In the end, we stayed in that position for around an hour.