Vol. 2 Chapter 69 – The Irregular Double Date (3)

“Taiju-kun, are you okay…?” (Ichiru)

“I-I’m fine… This much is totally, nothing to worry about… I’m the eldest son, so…” (Taiju)

Sitting on a nearby bench, Ichiru was rubbing Taiju’s back.

After a total of five thrill machines, half the soul seemed to have drained from his body.

The words he managed to reply with seemed more for his own benefit than for the person next to him.

“Look, look! Hasn’t their distance shrunk a little more again?!” (Hikaru)

Hikaru said happily again, watching her brother’s pathetic state.

“Shrunk, you say, but… haven’t they become more like a guardian and a ward than a man and a woman?” (Reiya)

“Th-that’s… well, look! If he suddenly shows a good side there, the gap will turn everything around!” (Hikaru)

“By ‘turn everything around,’ does that mean you admit their current relationship is far from romantic…?” (Reiya)

“Ugh… That might be true, but…” (Hikaru)

Hit bullseye, Hikaru’s voice trailed off awkwardly.

“Still, he’s so cool when he’s working, why is he like that in his private life…?” (Reiya)

When Taiju was involved in game development, he was undoubtedly a perfect individual, enough to show he and Hikaru were siblings.

While accurately assigning tasks to the other three, myself included, he also got involved not just with words but with his hands in all sorts of work, doing the work of about ten people by himself.

And not only that, but he apparently handled all the negotiations with external contractors on his own too.

It was hard to believe he was the same person currently being cared for like a carsick child.

“When he’s working?” (Hikaru)

“Ah, no, it’s nothing… Just talking to myself…” (Reiya)

I realized I’d let it slip and tried to cover it up.

I’d forgotten that I was still keeping it a secret that I was making a game with Taiju.

“Hmm… Oh, looks like they’re heading to the next place! We have to follow!” (Hikaru)

She looked at my face intently, suspiciously, but decided this wasn’t the place to pursue it and let it slide.

After that, we continued to watch over the two from a distance.

Hikaru, meanwhile, kept a close eye on her brother’s every move, sending correction instructions repeatedly. You’re walking too fast! Match her pace properly! Don’t keep glancing at your phone! Put it away immediately after checking instructions! Did you compliment her hair and clothes?! She went to the trouble of dressing up, so you have to praise her a lot! I told you, you’re walking too fast! Walk beside her, not in front!

Some of those were things I felt keenly applied to me too, so I resolved to be more careful in the future.

Two hours passed since we entered, and perhaps tired out, the two decided to take a break at the food court.

“Sorry to keep you waiting! Here, this is yours, Taiju-kun!” (Ichiru)

“Ah, thank you…” (Taiju)

Ichiru sat down opposite Taiju and handed him one of the soft-serve ice creams she was holding.

We were sitting two tables away, similarly with soft-serve ice creams in hand, listening in on their conversation again.

“Are you feeling better now? Not sick anymore?” (Ichiru)

“Y-yes… Thanks to you…” (Taiju)

“That’s good then. But, I’m sorry. It feels like I’m just dragging you along while I’m the only one having fun.” (Ichiru)

“N-no… If Mizumori-san is enjoying herself, then that’s all I could hope for…” (Taiju)

“‘All I could hope for,’ huh. I wonder just how many girls you’ve said that to before~…?” (Ichiru)

Ichiru covered her mouth with her left hand and giggled teasingly.

“I-I haven’t said it to many girls at all…” (Taiju)

“Really? Because, Taiju-kun, you’re super popular, aren’t you?” (Ichiru)

“I-I’m not popular…!” (Taiju)

“There you go again, being modest~” (Ichiru)

Ichiru continued to tease Taiju, who was desperately trying to smooth things over.

From her more casual tone than usual, I could certainly feel that the distance between them was shrinking.

“S-seriously, I’ve never been popular, not even once in my life, I swear…!” (Taiju)

“Is that so? You’re tall, have good features, and look like you’d be very popular, though.” (Ichiru)

“Before all that, I’m pretty much treated as a weirdo wherever I go… I don’t really get why myself, but…” (Taiju)

“Weird, huh… Well, that might be true.” (Ichiru)

“Y-you really think so…?” (Taiju)

“Yeah. I mean, the other day, you suddenly showed up with a cooler box saying, ‘Got some good yellowtail,’ right? That really surprised me.” (Ichiru)

He actually did that?! My inner voice synced with Hikaru’s beside me.

“Ah, that was because I suddenly felt like fishing, so I went on a fishing boat, caught some, and thought Mizumori-san should definitely have it… I can’t cook, so… Was that weird too?” (Taiju)

“Yeah, weird.” (Ichiru)

Taiju looked utterly crestfallen at Ichiru’s blunt reply.

“I-I’m sorry… From now on, I’ll be more caref—” (Taiju)

“But, I like that part of you, Taiju-kun.” (Ichiru)

“Eh? Y-you like the weird parts?” (Taiju)

“Yeah, because it’s interesting, like a jack-in-the-box. I wonder what you’ll be like next time… what you’ll do for me… But today, you were surprisingly normal, so that surprised me in its own way.” (Ichiru)

“Th-this is… well… Hikaru was meddling, or rather… she said my sense of style was absolutely hopeless, so I had her pick things out for me…” (Taiju)

“Ah, so that was it~. No wonder you looked so stylish~” (Ichiru)

This time, Ichiru laughed out loud at Taiju’s honest confession.

“I’m really sorry… It feels like I’ve only shown you my pathetic side today…” (Taiju)

“Honestly… you’ve been apologizing constantly. But that part of you, not trying too hard to make yourself look good, is also very like you, Taiju-kun. Oh, you should eat that quickly before it melts, you know?” (Ichiru)

Smiling naturally again, Ichiru was eating her soft-serve ice cream like a child.

It had been a long time since I’d seen her look so happy in her private life, outside of work.

If Taiju’s exquisite natural cluelessness was bringing out that side of her, then my conviction that these two should indeed get together grew even stronger.

“S-somehow, just watching them makes me feel all fidgety…” (Hikaru)

“Seriously, it’s like… so frustratingly heartwarming it makes my chest ache…” (Reiya)

We whispered to each other while listening to the somewhat nice conversation between the two.

Being shown someone else’s romance up close was far more embarrassing than one’s own.

And even more so if it involved family.

“But, don’t you feel like there’s a bit of a flow here…?” (Hikaru)

“A flow?” (Reiya)

“Yeah, this is definitely the flow of LOVE! Which means, if we’re going to make a move, it’s now!” (Hikaru)

Saying that, Hikaru began tapping her phone screen with single-minded focus.

As I wondered what she was doing, eating my ice cream—

Hotel to Tango. Change of plans, proceed to Plan Z immediately.

A few seconds later, new instructions were written in Team Taiju’s group chat.

“What’s Plan Z…?” (Reiya)

The words were unfamiliar, so I asked Hikaru next to me directly.

“Heh heh heh… You don’t know? Actually, this amusement park has another main attraction besides the thrill machines…” (Hikaru)

“A main attraction other than thrill machines? Uhm… what could it be… Could it be this haunted house?” (Reiya)

I took out the pamphlet and checked its contents. After the thrill machines, there was a large headline: “Total Walking Distance 1km! The Most Terrifying Haunted House of Shivers!”

“Yes! That’s it! We’ll use that to shrink their distance in one go! I call it, ‘Operation: Scream-It’s-Scary-Then-Get-Close-in-the-Most-Terrifying-Haunted-House’!!” (Hikaru)

In a small voice, full of confidence, Hikaru announced the incredibly cheesy operation name.

At this point, I was already half-convinced, ‘This doesn’t look like it’ll go well.’