Volume 6 - CH 16

“No, I know it’s a bit late to say.. but I’m glad we made it in time.”

“…It really was just in time, wasn’t it?”

Arisa returned Yuzuru’s words with a sullen expression.

The two were currently in the boy’s room at the hotel.

Just after returning to the hotel, finishing dinner, and taking a shower… They gathered in Yuzuru, Soichiro, and Hijiri’s room.

“I knew it wouldn’t be very good to do something unplanned… and should we rework tomorrow’s plans while we’re at it?”

“Leave tomorrow’s things for tomorrow. It’s important to be lively for a school trip.”

Tenka and Ayaka said so.

The ‘unplanned event’ that they mentioned was the stop at Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

The journey from Kiyomizu-dera to the hotel took longer than the seven of them had anticipated…

They had to check in as they literally skidded into place.

The teacher gave them a mild scolding, telling them to act with a little more breathing time…

“Now, now, there’s no point in worrying about what has passed. Let’s just enjoy the moment.”

Chiharu stated and…

She opened her backpack and flipped it.

A large number of snacks and games popped out from inside.

“Chiharu-san… however you look, that much is….”

It’s impossible to finish.

Arisa smiled wryly as if to imply that.

On the other hand, Chiharu replied with a big smile on her face.

“We have three more nights to go, so this is normal. Did you bring the things properly?”

“Yes, I did. Rather than bringing them, I bought them…”

The one that Arisa took out while saying so was…

“Heh~… pickles, huh?”

“They were delicious. And I thought if it were all sweets, it would be boring… Would you have preferred sweets?”

They were pickles purchased at Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

She had heard in advance that everyone would gather at the hotel and play games while eating snacks, so she chose pickles as one of the ‘snacks’.

“Pickles are fine, aren’t they? I like them.”

Chiharu smiled at Arisa’s choice and seemed to be in a good mood.

Hijiri, on the other hand, had a grim expression on his face.

“Oh, pickles…”

“…do you dislike them?”

“No, I just thought that it was an option too. I should have brought something similar… I only brought safe options.”

Saying so, Hijiri took out a yatsuhashi.

Then Tenka’s expression turned into one of exasperation.

“…Hijiri-kun, you too have a yatsuhashi!”

“…you as well?”

“Well, sort of…”

Tenka had also purchased a yatsuhashi, apparently.

They both looked around at all the faces as if to ask, ‘Did anyone else buy the yatsuhashi?‘

Fortunately, no one else had bought yatsuhashi.

They looked relieved.

“Well, aren’t you two perfect for each other…?”

Ayaka, with a smirk on her face, made fun of them with a laugh.

The two of them turned their faces away from each other in a grimace.

“Well, this one’s the authentic and this one’s the original.　Frankly, I was curious. Let’s compare.”

Yuzuru said with a laugh.

They were the same ‘yatsuhashi’ but made by different manufacturers.

“Okay, enough with the sweets, what do you want to play for now?　…I’d like to play some Mahjong, though.”

Soichiro said this and picked up the mahjong card that Chiharu had brought.

The normal mahjong game used tiles, but this was a paper substitute for the tiles.

“Mahjong huh. Sure, why not?”

“Well, since we’re here, shall we bet on some snacks?”

Ayaka and Chiharu seemed to be very interested in the game.

But…

“I’m sorry, I don’t know the rules of mahjong.”

“….I don’t know either.”

Arisa and Tenka said with apologetic expressions.

Souichiro also had a ‘shoot…’ expression on his face at this.

Apparently, he thought that everyone knew about this.

“Then let’s not…How about the Werewolf game? It’s easy if we use an app.”

Hijiri said as he showed them the screen of his cell phone.

Arisa and Tenka both nodded, indicating that they knew the rules of the game.

Thus began the long night.

“…Yuzuru-san, are you sure you’re not lying?”

“I-I’m telling you, I’m a villager.”

“Really?　Look me in the eye and tell me.”

Arisa asked while staring into Yuzuru’s eyes.

As expected, Yuzuru couldn’t help but look away.

“Ah!　I knew it, I looked away!　This person is a werewolf!”

“No, I’ve been falsely accused!”

“Then why did you look away?”

“It’s because …your eyes are too bright.”

“….you really think so?”

“A-Arisa, don’t stare at me… hey, isn’t this a foul play?”

Yuzuru complained about Arisa’s violation of regulations…

Ayaka and the others only laughed hysterically and did not agree with him.

As a result, Yuzuru ended up getting killed in that game.

“See, I knew you were a werewolf.”

Arisa put on a smug face.

Very cute… but that itself was infuriating.

And the opportunity for revenge soon came.

“…Hey, Arisa. Are you sure?　Aren’t you really a werewolf?”

Yuzuru asked as he put his own forehead against Arisa’s.

Arisa, on the other hand, was blushing.

“I told you it’s not true…”

Then, embarrassed, she tried to escape.

But Yuzuru has a firm grip on her chin, so she could not escape.

“Look me in the eye, Arisa.”

“P-please stop it… I-it’s embarrassing…”

“No way. You just did it too. Look me in the eye and tell me you’re not a werewolf.”

At Yuzuru’s words, Arisa raised her green eyes…

And with her voice trembling, but answered clearly.

“I… I’m not a werewolf”

“…really?”

“A-are you doubting me…?”

That’s outrageous! As if to say so, Arisa looked sad.

Yuzuru, however, did not let up in his pursuit.

“Ah. When she lies, Arisa has a little smirk on her face.”

“N-no way… that’s a lie.”

Arisaf held her mouth as she said this.

Yuzuru couldn’t help but smile.

“I guess we found our idiot.”

“Ah, …that’s not right. It was…”

In spite of Arisa’s pleadings, everyone voted for her.

And so, Arisa was executed.

“You’re terrible… Yuzuru-san!”

“No, you did the same thing.”

After the game was over, Yuzuru and Arisa began to argue with each other.

Ayaka and her friends clapped their hands while laughing hysterically at these two.

“Easy, easy, calm down, both of you.”

“Reading from facial expressions is a tactic, but… it’s a bit stale to repeat it over and over again, so let’s call foul next time, shall we?”

Ayaka and Chiharu interceded with laughter.

Yuzuru nodded at their words, and he settled the contravention…

“No, no. Even though it’s a game, it’s not good for Yuzuru-san to lie to me… and not trust me…”

“I said I was sorry… Next time, let’s not do it with each other, okay?”

With a mushy expression, Arisa smacked Yuzuru’s chest.

Yuzuru attempted to calm her down by patting such Arisa’s head.

“No, no way… I’m hurt. I won’t forgive you.”

Arisa’s cheeks puffed up as she said that.

It seemed that she wasn’t really angry.

But at the same time, she seemed to be in a bit of a troublesome mode.

“Um …what do I have to do to get you to forgive me?”

“Nn…… kiss me.”

“…wha!”

Yuzuru unintentionally raised a bewildered voice.

Meanwhile, Arisa looked up like a baby bird as she rested her body on Yuzuru’s chest.

She was completely in the position to demand a kiss.

“N-no, but here is…”

Naturally, Yuzuru was embarrassed to kiss Arisa… in front of his friends.

Yuzuru looked around at the faces of the people around him to ask for help.

And…

“…somehow, isn’t Arisa-chan’s face a little red?”

“Mm, that’s true…”

Yuzuru placed his hand on Arisa’s forehead as she tried to kiss his lips whenever she had the chance, and Yuzuru frowned.

Her body temperature also seemed to be higher than usual.

“Um… I don’t want to think about it too much, but…”

Chiharu giggled and…

“Isn’t Arisa-san drunk?”

She asked while pointing at the alcohol-infused chocolates.