Chapter 78: Volume 3 - CH 3.3

Yuzu then looked at me as if thinking of something.

“Yamato-kun, you don’t watch gameplay videos?”

“I don’t actively watch them. I’m the type of person who wants to play instead of watch.”

If I watched a gameplay video or such, and the game turned out to be interesting, I would regret not playing it myself.

“I see. So Yamato, you’re not bored when I’m playing?”

“Hmm… Not really. I actually enjoy it.”

“Oh? So it’s something like watching the cute Yuzu-chan playing  is, in itself, worth seeing?”

“Not like that,” I politely denied it, yet the narcissist was already on the loose.

“No-no, you don’t have to cover it up. As long as I concentrate on my game, you can stare at your cute girlfriend’s profile without me noticing. Oh no, Yamato-kun is so calculating.”

“I’m being painted as a manipulative character without my input.”

This was a completely false accusation. To stop her wild thoughts, I had to quickly clarify it.

“Listen to me. When I said I enjoy it, it’s because I appreciated how you’re getting better at playing when, at first, you used to suck at it. As an analogy, it’s like watching kindergarteners at sports events and feeling deeply touched at how much they’ve grown.”

“In what way do you look at me? You’re treating me like I’m your child.”

“It’s kind of amusing, and a bit moving too. Yuzu, who was so small, can now hold a controller so well…”

“What do you mean by ‘so small’?! We met in high school! You’re getting too emotionally involved and creating a past that doesn’t exist!”

“You’ve gotten bigger, Yuzu.”

“I haven’t changed in size since we met!”

Yuzu protested, and I chuckled at her.

“Anyway, I’m having a fair amount of fun when you’re playing, so I’d say don’t worry about it.”

“…Really?”

“Really.” I was somewhat relieved as I lightly chimed in.

To be honest, I was a little worried. I was worried that the change in my state of mind would disrupt the rhythm of this casual routine. Nonetheless, our usual day-to-day interactions continued normally without any problems.

I can handle this. I’ll be able to control my feelings without issue.

Once I was convinced of this, I felt at ease and concentrated on the game screen. But for some reason, Yuzu’s gaze was still fixed intently upon my profile.

“…What is it?” Unable to bear this discomfort, I asked Yuzu, who in turn cocked her head aside.

“No, I just wondered what kind of windfall it was that Yamato-kun, who usually stays focused all the time once the game starts, becomes so attentive to me today.”

My heart jolted a little bit, feeling as though she had seen through me. At the same time, I had mixed emotions boiling inside me.

“I… am I usually that bad of a boyfriend?”

“Relatively speaking, yes.”

It hurt when I couldn’t exactly object to that.

“Well, occasionally I can be attentive too.”

“I see,” nodding, Yuzu then snuggled into my shoulder firmly, “well then, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that such a time will come again.”

“…Don’t expect too much.”

To hide my embarrassment, I concentrated on the game screen.

Alas, as though the boy on the screen was also infected by my nervousness, he was miserably beaten by neverending blows.

==

A few hours went by as both of us alternated playing the game. When it was Yuzu’s turn, we arrived at the scene to challenge a stage boss.

“Oh, no! It’s super strong!”

“It’s okay! Your teammate will heal you!”

As soon as I said that, a duck character activated the healing magic.

“I survived! Can I just bulldoze my way ahead?!”

“Yeah, you can!”

The boy controlled by Yuzu unleashed a series of concerted blows and killed the boss monster.

“Yay! I defeated it!”

Yuzu released the controller and reached out both hands toward me.

“Yeah, congrats!”

I responded by making high fives.

“Whoa, it was so strong.”

“Yep, now you can go to the next one.”

We were both happy as we watched the story play out after the boss’s defeat.

So now, what kind of world will the next one be—

I was immersed in that thought when suddenly the television screen went dark.

“Huh?” “WHA?” We both made silly yelps.

For a moment, I thought I had pressed the TV remote by mistake, but I was wrong. It wasn’t only the TV, but also the game console, which had completely stopped.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Look towards the academic building, Yamato-kun.”

Yuzu called out to me as I finally understood the situation here—all the classrooms were in pitch darkness when I glanced out of the window in the direction of the academic building.

“A blackout?”

To avoid being caught using the literature clubroom without permission, the lights in our room were not usually switched on, but it was odd that the other classrooms were also dark.

“Seems like it… Ah, now I remember, Sota had mentioned that there’ll be an electrical utility inspection, so all club activities were to end early.”

I see. So was this a scheduled power outage for maintenance work?

Apparently, the students who had club activities were told, but the general students who were not required to stay in school were not informed as it was not relevant to them. I understood, and that was when I realised a problem.

“…Hey, when did you last save the game?”

Yuzu lightly twitched at my question.

“…An hour ago?”

I never thought we’d have to pay the price of committing the error of challenging the boss without saving beforehand.

“Oh no… We have to redo it again tomorrow.” My head drooped down in frustration.

“Don’t mind it so much. There’s nothing we can do about it today, let’s tidy up and go home.”

“Okay.”

I let out a sigh and we started preparing to leave. I put away the game console while Yuzu cleared the tea set. Afterwards, we exited the clubroom.

chocolala: Well, we know what’s coming ahead when it’s pitch dark… (oh I mean the innocent scenes, haha)