CH 33

“We’re here!”

Ageha reached near the entrance of the amusement park in about an hour, and stretched out with a voice filled with a sense of accomplishment.

It was Golden Week, after all.

Although it had been almost three hours since the doors opened, the place was packed with people.

The ticket booth had an unimaginably long line.

I was so glad that I didn’t have to wait in line…

“Haru-kun, let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

Lined up next to Ageha, who said so with a childish smile, and approached the entrance.

Ageha hands a pair of tickets to an employee and we go inside.

At that moment, the bustle of the crowd intensified.

“What do you want to ride? I think I’m going to go on a roller coaster first.”

“Is it really? Well, it’s thanks to Ageha’s father that I was able to come here today, so I’ll leave it to Ageha.”

I thought it was a very reasonable idea, but for some reason, she puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction at my words.

“Haru-kun, you don’t understand.  The best part of an amusement park is thinking about what to ride together.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s what it is.”

I don’t really know what girls think.

I think it’s more efficient for one person to make the decision and follow it, and I don’t think it will cause any strange trouble.

However, if Ageha says so, I will obey.

Since we would be in the way of traffic, we walked a little from the entrance and headed for the large fountain at the intersection of the two main streets.

I sat down on one of the stylish benches surrounding the fountain.

She quickly pulls out the overall map she received at the entrance and spreads it out on her lap.

I sat down next to her with my two fists open and peeked at it with a reserved look.

Then, Ageha said, “It’s hard to see then, isn’t it?” and she closed the gap between us.

Our shoulders touch each other and our body temperatures overlap.

It was a little embarrassing.

When I looked at her to see if she was okay, I saw that her ears, which were visible through her twin-tail hair, were bright red.

“Which one do you want to go first?”

Listening to Ageha’s slightly raised voice, I answered vaguely while looking at the map.

… After all, the real pleasure of an amusement park is thinking about what to ride together, huh.

◆

The attractions at this amusement park can be broadly classified into five categories.

They are: the scream and horror attractions, such as roller coasters; the challenge attractions, such as those that involve solving riddles; the character attractions, which are collaborations with animations; and the family attractions, which can be ridden by families in peace.

Since neither of us was particularly interested in the character attractions, we decided to skip them and go for a ride on the scream line first before eating lunch.

We immediately headed for the most popular roller coaster in this amusement park.

… But,

“An hour’s wait. It’s crowded after all.”

The long lines in front of the attractions do not compare to the ticket booths.

A sign held up by the staff at the end of the line reads, ’60 minute wait.’

“What do you say, Ageha? We could go to the others first.”

“With the number of people here, I don’t think it will change much past noon. Let’s get in line while we still have the strength!”

“You seem to be used to it.”

“High school girls today are used to this kind of thing.”

It’s amazing, today’s high school girls.

If I were alone, I probably would have given up early and gone looking for an open attraction.

Basically, at a place like this, I prioritize what I can ride rather than what I want to ride.

Following the instructions of the attendant, I got in line twice with Ageha.

I casually look at her profile as she stares at the park map she has quickly pulled out of her bag.

Even I could tell that I was feeling a bit flustered.

Four months ago, my feelings were for a different person.

I had lost my heart, learned of her feelings, and spent those four months doing so.

At first, I tried to cover up the feelings that had been revealed to me, pretended not to notice them, but then I became aware of them.

One month has already passed since that day.

Even today, I was really looking forward to it.

Even now, when I’m just standing in line, I’m having fun.

I’m sure this feeling is real.

I’m not going to keep running away from it under the guise of getting my feelings in order.

“Which one do you want to ride next, Haru-kun?”

When I was staring at Ageha, she asked me with a childish smile, perhaps misunderstanding that I was looking into a map.

I suddenly lost all my strength.

“…..?”

Seeing my uncontrollable small smile, she tilted her head curiously.