I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Neither of them said anything more. After confirming that their conversation had not revealed any flaws, they fell into a subtle silence.

After sipping their iced coffee for a while, Yuu Tenkuji finally stood up and said, "Let's go have lunch. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"Either is fine... How would you deal with this most troublesome problem?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha also stood up, deliberately holding the coffee in her left hand, giving herself a reason not to hold his hand.

Then, she mischievously turned her head, winked and smiled at him: "Just name a place, and I'll rate it according to how satisfied I am!"

"There's even a pop quiz..."

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Tenkuji Yu walked towards the restaurant area, pondering what kind of food he should eat at the amusement park.

I don't know why, but an answer just popped into my head.

"Spicy...Chinese food, I guess?"

After he finished speaking, he was stunned for a moment.

why?

Chinese food is one thing, after all, it's my hometown cuisine...

He clearly doesn't crave spicy food, and he hasn't eaten spicy food in a long time because of Qiong's taste. So why would he suddenly crave spicy food at this time and in this place?

Moreover, I inexplicably feel that it would be perfect to try the local spicy dishes with your girlfriend on a date at an amusement park.

This baseless yet perfectly natural thought surged into Yuu's mind, giving him an indescribable feeling of discomfort, as if his ventricle was tightly wrapped by a thin membrane, and each heartbeat seemed to be suppressed by an invisible obstacle.

He could only try to dig into his memories.

Speaking of spicy food, I think of Kanade, who is obsessed with Mapo Tofu... but I've never gone on a date with her at an amusement park, have I?

It's even more impossible that Iroha likes sweets, so what is it...?

"Zero points! Yoyo-kun, I don't remember raising you into this kind of clueless straight man."

In a daze, the girl's gentle voice, tinged with reproach, pulled him back from his increasingly distant thoughts.

"Putting aside the fact that girls have a 'magic period' where they can't eat spicy food or drink ice water, you probably know that I like to eat light and bland food, right?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha put one hand on her hip, raised one finger, leaned forward and stared into his eyes: "Even if we take a step back, I can eat spicy food and I like spicy food. Normally, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat the kind of food that makes me sweat profusely, numb my lips and tongue, and is too stimulating when I'm on a date with my girlfriend at an amusement park, right?"

"I'm wearing makeup today, you know?"

Without a smile on her face, she pursed her lips and pretended to be serious, hoping that he could truly realize his mistake.

Yuu Tenkuji certainly understood that sweating could affect makeup and that eating too much spicy food could make lips that had been lipsticked look bad.

But he was still preoccupied with that complex and wonderful feeling from earlier, so without much thought, he casually replied, "Sorry, you're right. How about French cuisine then?"

"...Is it a Buddhist ingredient?"

She paused slightly, keenly sensing his perfunctory attitude. Kasumigaoka Utaha raised an eyebrow, outwardly appearing oblivious but inwardly scrutinizing his expression.

"French cuisine is romantic and nice, but a slightly more formal set meal can take at least an hour to finish... We still need to go play on other facilities later, so let's save that for dinner."

"That's true. Let me think about it..."

Sensing her thoughtful gaze just as keenly, Tenkuji Yu suddenly snapped out of her daze, immediately banishing all other thoughts from her mind. She lowered her head thoughtfully, pinching her chin with her fingers.

Quickly, after ruling out the option of going home and cooking lunch himself, he gave a new answer:

"If you're looking for home-style cooking, I really like oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl). I wonder if they have it here? Could you come with me to look for it?"

Hearing his sincere tone, Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned, and finally sighed helplessly.

"...I'd say you passed. Sometimes, girls don't want to eat some expensive and special meal; they just want to know what you like to eat and want to see you share those preferences with her. When you're genuinely enjoying the date, what you eat for lunch isn't the point; the point is that you can enjoy the process together."

Tenkuji Yu bowed to her with a serious expression and said, "As expected of Kasumi Shiko-sensei, I have learned a lot!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head silently.

The two quickly chose a Japanese restaurant from among many options. The prices were reasonable, but the atmosphere was pleasant, like a quiet forest park in the middle of a bustling city.

One person ordered an extra portion of oyako-don (chicken and egg rice bowl), and the other ordered soba noodles with yuzu soy sauce—Tenkuji Yu only just realized that Kasumigaoka Utaha doesn't like strong flavors and usually doesn't order oyako-don.

Since the two had different tastes, they didn't feed each other. They finished their lunch in this uneventful way and headed to the next amusement park.

Drop tower.

This machine, which moves straight up and down and makes humans repeatedly manipulated by gravity, also received praise from Kasumigaoka Utaha, who claimed it was another good way to release stress. Seeing that the queue was not as long as that of a roller coaster, she excitedly joined the queue a second time.

This time, Yuu Tenkuji didn't go up with her. Instead, she took pictures of Yuu's continuous ascents from below with her phone. Because her hair was flying everywhere and she was screaming loudly, she looked rather ugly. She didn't have the clean and elegant temperament that a beautiful young writer should have, so the photos didn't last long before Kasumigaoka Utaha deleted them herself.

Next up is the haunted house.

Unlike other couples, Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't even bother to act scared. She simply hooked her elbow around Tenkuji Yu's and walked in, smiling at the ghosts who tried to frighten her. Her gaze was pleasant and contemptuous as she watched them leave with expressions of existential doubt. Along the way, she didn't hide her criticism of the haunted house's workmanship and the shortcomings of its backstory.

To avoid being blocked inside by the staff in a fit of anger, Yuu Tenkuji quickened his pace halfway through, and amidst many gnashing glares, quickly pulled Kasumigaoka Utaha, who looked completely indifferent, away from the haunted house.

We had finished all five rides we had booked, and it was almost 3 or 4 pm.

Yu Tenkuji took out the map again and prepared to plan a route from the central square of the amusement park where they were, all the way to the main entrance.

The map also showed the various activities in the park today. He glanced at it, then turned to Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was eating a hot dog, and said:

"Want to watch the fireworks from the Ferris wheel? There seems to be a one-hour fireworks show after six o'clock, and the Ferris wheel is on the way, so we can go straight back after watching it."

Chapter 111 The Date in Progress

"A Ferris wheel..."

Recalling the feeling of going to the Ferris wheel alone to gather material in the past, Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed with inexplicable complicated feelings, but quickly put on a smile again and said to Tenkuji Yu, "Sure, you could say this is the standard for a date."

"Coming to an amusement park without riding the Ferris wheel for a romantic ending is like going to a sushi restaurant and only ordering udon noodles and ice cream."

"There probably aren't any people like that..." Yuu Tenkuji casually remarked, while putting away the map. "I calculated the queue time. You need to take the Ferris wheel to the highest point when the fireworks show starts, and then queue up about an hour later."

"You even managed to figure that out? You're really something." Kasumigaoka Utaha patted his arm lightly, her attitude as relaxed as if she were talking to a close friend, and said in a teasing tone that seemed commonplace, "So what are we going to do for this hour? Where should we rest, or find something even more thrilling than a roller coaster or a drop tower?"

“An hour isn’t enough for a break,” Yuu Tenkuji thought to herself, pointing to the arcade with many tourists diagonally in front of her. “How about we go over there to kill time? There are definitely some games that are more thrilling than roller coasters, and people of all ages will enjoy them.”

Following his gaze, Kasumigaoka Utaha fell into a brief silence, the smile on her face slowly fading.

“...I said, Yu-Yu-kun. No, Tenkuji-kun.”

"What's wrong?" Tenkuji Yu blinked innocently.

She slapped her face, which was beginning to contort in pain. Her cheeks twitched slightly as if in a spasm, and the air she exhaled from deep within her lungs carried a profound sense of helplessness and resentment.

"Going to an amusement park and then to an arcade is even worse than taking a girl out for spicy Chinese food..."

How could someone as intelligent as him be so lacking in common sense?

Furthermore, Kasumigaoka Utaha believed that she could never be attracted to a straight man who was even straighter than the load-bearing pillars of a building—even if she accidentally fell for him, they had spent a year together, and given her personality, she would definitely subtly influence the person she liked until he could understand her thoughts and gradually transform him from a clueless boy into a mature and reliable man.

So there's only one reason why he's giving such a typical, clueless suggestion...

"I know, you must have done it on purpose, right?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha lowered her hand, pretending to be sad as she lightly bit her lip, gazing at him with a wronged expression, her eyes gradually welling up with tears.

"You're blaming me for not making things clear back then, so you deliberately used this infuriating method to force me to tell you what you did, right?"

Even if it wasn't true, she would still turn white into black, to deepen his guilt and unease towards her.

When you don't know what he's up to, this is the most versatile way to deal with it.

"No, I really want to take you to the arcade."

His tone was very sincere. Yu tried to grab her hand, but she angrily shook it off and hid it behind her back, refusing to let him touch her.

Seeing that she did not react more aggressively, Yuu Tenkuji gave up his plan to hug her forcefully. He raised his hands in surrender and looked into her eyes with utmost seriousness, hoping to dispel her doubts with this attitude.

"I think you have some misunderstanding about the game center... It's not just a place for families to have fun together, there are also many games for couples to play together, and there are even several photo booth machines."

Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned, asking as if she wanted to understand his thoughts rather than questioning him: "You think I don't know? So what I find strange is, there are so many rides to play in the amusement park, why did you insist on taking me to an arcade within ten kilometers of the city center?"

Yuu Tenkuji spread his hands: "Because you don't seem very interested in the other facilities, and you said you'd listen to me wherever we go, but you never express your own opinions."

"..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha was speechless for a moment, but she quickly straightened her chest and said confidently, "It's not that I'm not interested, I just want to know your thoughts and your interests. That's how much I value your choice!"

"Your concern is based on the suspicion that I'm targeting you?"

"Girls are the kind of creatures who say 'whatever' but actually hope you can guess what they're thinking and choose the option they like best!"

"You like me the most, right?"

"That's right... What's wrong?"

"Your favorite me choosing to go to my favorite place—that's reasonable and shows high emotional intelligence, right? I don't understand why you think I'm trying to annoy you." Tenkuji Yu sighed, gazing forlornly at the darkening sky in the distance.

"You don't go to the arcade often, do you? If we can leave our mark there and let you laugh to your heart's content, wouldn't that mean your life has become more colorful and fulfilling because of me?"

"I just want to be the most important person in your life."

Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't think of anything to refute him.

It wasn't because I was moved, but because his acting was so exaggerated and his words were so reasonable that it left me speechless from both a logical and moral standpoint, and I even felt like I was gradually being persuaded.

Although she dislikes noisy and crowded places like arcades, as his girlfriend who loves him to death, continuing to object after he's put it this way would only arouse suspicion.

After much thought, Kasumigaoka Utaha gave up her stubbornness and sighed helplessly. Her eyes suddenly sharpened, staring at him like a dagger.

"If you're unhappy, you have to make it up to me double."

"Do not worry."

Tenkuji Yu extended his hand to her, smiling brightly, and said, "With me here, how could I not be happy?"

"..."

This inexplicable yet unwavering confidence left Kasumigaoka Utaha stunned, as if her breath had stopped, her eyes clearly reflecting his gentle and cheerful smile.

But when the noisy and cheerful park music suddenly flooded her ears, the dazed and quiet world shattered abruptly. She came to her senses and found her heart pounding loudly in her chest, heavy yet with a slight stinging pain.

...Is this a natural reaction of this body?

Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head, putting aside her complicated but unexplained thoughts, calmly taking his outstretched hand, and smiling with a hint of helplessness.

"besides……"

She walked over to him, lowered her eyes gently, and whispered, "It doesn't have to be. You've always been the most important person to me."