Volume 7 - CH 4

“Shall we start with a leisurely attraction?”

Yuzuru suggested to Arisa after they entered the amusement park.

Arisa rubbed her stomach at Yuzuru’s words and nodded with a wry smile.

“I think that would be better for me too.”

Both of them still hadn’t fully digested their overeaten breakfast.

They had no desire to ride an attraction that would make them fall or spin in this state.

…Neither of them wanted to end up bringing back the food they had eaten back to their mouths.

So they decided to enjoy the more leisurely and relaxing attractions, where they could enjoy the mood of the place.

Although the time spent at the attractions was only about five minutes at most, including the waiting time, it took more than an hour after all rides.

By the time they finished one of the rides, they were free from the feeling of fullness that made them feel pain.

“What shall we do next?”

Arisa asked with a cheerful expression on her face.

After thinking for a moment, Yuzuru pointed to a pamphlet.

“Well, shall we go for this?”

The expression on Arisa’s face tightened at his words and action.

It was the horror attraction they had talked about yesterday.

It is highly regarded not only as a scary horror experience but also as a scream ride.

“R-right… Th-that one is…”

“If you’re scared, perhaps we shouldn’t go there.”

Even yesterday’s not-so-scary attractions scared Arisa all the way to the end of the day.

More than that, he didn’t think he could endure this attraction, which had a reputation for being scary.

“I-it is scary… but I’d like to ride it.”

“…I’m sure it’s a few times scarier than it was yesterday. Will you be okay?”

“I-it’s fine. Yesterday it was nighttime, and it’s still light outside now, isn’t it?”

“No, it was bright enough yesterday, too.”

The entire park was illuminated by the lights of ornamental illuminations, roadsides, and attractions.　

So even at night, there was plenty of light.

“When I say it’s okay, it’s okay…! or Yuzuru-san, could it be that you are scared?”

“Wha..!”

Yuzuru’s eyes widened in surprise at Arisa’s unexpected provocation.

While Yuzuru was immensely surprised, Arisa put on a proud expression on her face.

“Even though I said I’m fine… there’s no other reason for you to oppose, is there?”

Arisa chimed in with a look of pride.

I’m right, aren’t I? That was the look on her face.

Her expression was a little cute.

But no matter how cute it was, it was impossible to say that it was not at all upsetting.

“All right, I get it. I’m not against it anymore. Let’s get in.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying from the beginning.”

Yuzuru’s words brought a look of satisfaction to Arisa’s face.

It appeared that she really thought it was going to be okay.

For a scaredy cat, Yuzuru had no idea where that confidence came from for her.

“…don’t cling to me when you’re scared, okay?”

“I know.”

Arisa nodded vigorously as if it were natural.

…and an hour and a half later.

“F-fu,fu~h…i-it wasn’t m-much of a big d-deal, was i-it?”

Arisa remarked as she grabbed onto Yuzuru’s arm while her knees trembled.

This was still quite a recovery for her, as at first she was completely weak and couldn’t even get up from the ride.

“Arisa, can you step away from me?　It’s hard to walk.”

“N-no way, p-please don’t be mean…”

Arisa looked up at Yuzuru and squeezed his arm tight again.

He could feel the softness of Arisa’s body.

If it had been normal Yuzuru, he would have just left it as it was, but he was not in the mood for that this time.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t cling to me?”

“U-ugh~…”

Arisa slowly let go of his hand in response to Yuzuru’s words.

At the same time, however, her body started to sink down.

Arisa hurriedly clung to his arm.

“It’s still bright outside, right?”

If it’s bright, you’re not afraid, are you?

Yuzuru asked Arisa with a smirk on his face.

Arisa turned her face away awkwardly.

“W-well… should I say, it was more than I expected…”

“I thought I told you upfront that it was scary.”

“I-I was wrong… I’m sorry. Is this not good enough?”

Arisa looked up at Yuzuru with moist eyes.

Deciding that it would be pitiful to toy with her any further, Yuzuru nodded with a wry smile.

“Can’t be helped.”

“…Thank you very much”

For the time being, Arisa could not move around properly until her limbs were recovered.

Yuzuru sat Arisa down on a nearby bench.

“I thought my heart was going to come out of my mouth…”

When the shaking of her body was finally fixed, Arisa reiterated her impression.

Then Yuzuru asked Arisa.

“I don’t suppose you did, but you didn’t leak, did you?”

“Eh…? N-no way…”

At Yuzuru’s half-joking question, Arisa blatantly looked away.

Yuzuru couldn’t help putting on a serious face.

“…you’re lying, aren’t you?”

“I-I didn’t! I didn’t let it leak!”

“…you didn’t let it?”

Yuzuru, caught off guard by Arisa’s words, questioned her again.

Arisa kept her mouth shut with an awkward expression on her face.

“…I just had a chill.”

Unable to hold Yuzuru’s gaze, Arisa blushed and turned her head down.

She then looked up with a flustered expression on her face and pressed closer to Yuzuru.

“I didn’t really leak it, okay?”

“I hope that’s true…”

“I just had a close call. I didn’t leak anything!”

“I think it’s quite a story that you were nearly there, though…”

“I-I really didn’t!”

“Okay, okay.”

Yuzuru nodded many times, pushed by Arisa’s momentum.

Finally satisfied, Arisa sat back down on the bench.

“But it was fun. I was too scared to concentrate this time. Next time, I want to concentrate more. I’m sure it won’t be as scary the second time around.”

“You never learn, do you…?”

Yuzuru couldn’t help but make a face of dismay.