How Could You Like Another Girl When You Already Have A Cute Fiancée Like Me? - Chapter 5
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- How Could You Like Another Girl When You Already Have A Cute Fiancée Like Me?
- Chapter 5 - The Consequences of a Tangled Fate
Translator: AJ1703
Editor: Xen
Chapter 5: The Consequences of a Tangled Fate
The train rumbled and shook.
Kouta held on to the strap and looked out the window. The train was passing through a town tinged with dusk, but he could not see the scenery.
Next to him was Hisame. She, like Kouta, was holding on to the strap.
The two of them are now secretly linking their empty hands.
“……”
“……”
Although their hands are connected, there is no conversation between them.
Kouta quietly peers sideways at Hisame.
She straightened her back and looked straight ahead. Her cheeks were bright red which may have been because of the evening sunlight. Kouta currently should also be red but that was without a doubt not because of the evening sunlight
After making sure that there were no other students from the same high school around, the two of them left school together.
Ever since the day of the lunchbox operation, Hisame started to have an interest in going home with Kouta. According to Chris, this was the result of the operation. It’s been almost three weeks since he and Chris formed an alliance, and Kouta and Hisame’s intimacy has been steadily increasing.
(Calm down, I… will be fine. Chris said it would be fine, too. Cut it out now, me.)
Today, Kouta had a very important mission.
And that is to askHisame out on a holiday date.
He had saved up enough money through his part-time work and frugality. He wanted to go out with Hisame this weekend, no matter what. To do so, he needed to ask her out today, which is Friday.
“Kouta-kun, can you do me a favor?”
He was startled by her first move.
“W-What is it…?”
Hisame squeezed Kouta’s hand tightly.
Her expression was so serious that it looked as if she was facing a national crisis. Kouta couldn’t help but gulp as well.
“……On we……we……week………!”
Kouta looked up at Hisame, who was saying something over the sound of the train.
“On weekends, I want to be in touch with you a lot…”
As soon as she finished, Hisame turned her head down. Steam was coming out of her head.
Kouta was relieved to hear that.
“Of course I’ll call you. Lately, we’ve been calling each other every night until we fall asleep.”
Hisame nodded her head.
“…There’s that wicked vixen at night, you see.”
“What do you mean by ‘wicked’…?”
Hisame scowled at the empty space.
“It’s a metaphor.”
“Huh…”
“Holidays are especially dangerous. That wicked vixen is by Kouta-kun’s side at all times.”
Hisame squeezed Kouta’s hand tightly. Which hurt him a little bit. An indistinct announcement announced the station Kouta was getting off at.
“Hey, um, are you free the day after tomorrow, or rather on Sunday? I’d like to go on a date with you.”
Her body jerked.
Still, Hisame kept her eyes forward. Her ears seem to be turning red, but he couldn’t tell if it was true or not.
Hisame said in a flat voice.
“…I’m free.”
“I see. Good. I’ll let you know where we’re meeting, okay?”
“Okay.”
Whether Hisame welcomed the date or not was a mystery, but he got the OK. The speed of the train slowed down.
“See you on Sunday then.”
Kouta waved to Hisame and got off the train.
“Oh yeaaaaaaaaah─!”
On the station platform, Kouta alone shouted out a joyful cry.
He had finally decided on a day for his date with Hisame. The tension was crazy.
“Congratulations, you’ve finally decided on a date to propose.”
Kouta turned around as someone called out to him from behind. His ally, Chris, was smiling at him.
Kouta scratched his head and said, “Oh…”
“Are you sure you want me to propose…?”
“I told you I heard from my papa,” Chris said, putting her hands on her hips.
“The preparations for the overseas store are going extremely well. Kouta’s dad will be back in Japan early next week. If we’re going to propose, this is the weekend to do it.”
“Haa~, I’ve never been on a holiday date before…”
“You knew you had a tight schedule to begin with. The reason I’ve been pushing you for an aggressive strategy is because we don’t have that much time… Have you told her where the date would be?”
“No, not yet. I’m going to send her a line message.”
“I see. I would have liked to see her reaction when you told her where it was, but oh well.”
Chris told me to go to Hanabatake Amusement Park. It was the biggest amusement park in the prefecture. Local children went there when they were in kindergarten or early elementary school, and Kouta remembered going there himself when he was in kindergarten.
As he was about to text Hisame, Kouta suddenly stopped.
“Hey, are you sure we’ll be fine with our date at Hanabatake Amusement Park? I think Hisame would like it better if we went somewhere a little more mature─”
“Does Kouta know? Tojo-san has a mechanical pencil of Poppy-kun, the character of Hanabatake Amusement Park.”
Kouta shook his head. He had no idea.
“She also had a Poppy-kun hand towel in her bag. On the back of her phone case, there was also a Poppy-kun sticker. In the back of the biggest piano stool in her room, there is a stuffed toy of Poppy-kun─”
“W-Wait a minute! How do you know all this!?”
“I’m your ally.”
Chris smiled proudly.
“I know everything there is to know about Kouta and your girlfriend.”
Kouta abandoned his thoughts.
Chris’s orders had never been wrong, not even once. Ever since forming an alliance with Chris, all Kouta had to do was to follow her.
As they finished the line, Chris caught Kouta’s hand. Their fingers intertwined.
Kouta and Chris were starting to look more like lovers. They’re even holding each other’s hands. All that practice with her was worth it.
Chris’s face was close.
Kouta couldn’t help but avert his gaze from her evil, mischievous smile.
Kouta had never held hands with a girl before, so when he couldn’t lay a finger on Hisame, Chris said, “Let’s practice with me.”
“Well, now that I’ve practiced with you, the bar for securing Hisame’s hand has been lowered…”
“So now it’s time for the next step.”
“Next?”
”Let’s see,” Chris whispered closely.
“For example, kissing─”
“Wha…!?”
He quickly pulled away from Chris.
His eyes were naturally drawn to her lips.
“….I can’t do that.”
Kouta said in a low voice.
He was even angry at Chris for sticking her lips out so defenselessly. Kouta raised his voice impulsively.
“That’s not something you can do in practice, is it!? Don’t say that lightly. Just because we’re allies doesn’t mean we can do things─!”
“I’m just kidding.”
Kouta kept his mouth shut.
He heard a giggling, almost comical voice. The soprano voice echoed in the almost empty station platform. It grew louder and louder, and eventually Chris began to laugh in her stomach.
“Mou~, Kouta, you’re so serious. You can’t be that serious. It’s just a joke, of course.”
Chris wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Kouta felt bad and turned his face away.
“I don’t get your jokes…”
“I wouldn’t give you my first kiss for practice either.”
“F-first kiss!?”
“What, why are you freaking out? Did you think I’ve kissed someone before?”
“No, that’s exactly why… how could you make a joke like that! What were you going to do if I took you seriously!?”
“Hmm? You know Kouta, you can’t kiss me right away, can you?”
“Oh, that’s right…!”
”She’s completely read me, and she’s just playing with me. I’m not sure if I’d be able to handle this girl,” Kouta thought.
An express train rushed past the side of the platform.
Blending in with the roaring sound of the train,
“…Haaa, I’ve wanted to kiss you…”
Chris said something. A gust of wind from the train sent her long blonde hair flying. Because of this, he couldn’t see her profile.
As the express train disappeared, Chris looked at him. Her face was bright and cheerful.
“Kouta, let’s go home together.”
”Oh,” Kouta replied.
He followed Chris, who flipped the hem of her skirt.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”
It was Saturday night and Kouta was getting ready for his date tomorrow when Chris approached him.
“Kouta, how are you going to propose to your girlfriend?”
“How, you ask─?”
“Try proposing to me now.”
”What?” Kouta choked out.
Chris looked at Kouta as if she was testing him.
“…No, that’s just unreasonable…”
“I’m just kidding.”
She laughed.
“I was just wondering if Kouta could propose properly. It’s very common in dramas. The man kneels down and pulls out a ring, and I wondered if Kouta could do it.”
“O-Ohh” after saying that, he realized.
“Ah, the ring!”
What a thing to have forgotten, he thought. Chris shook her head at Kouta’s pale face.
“In reality, it would be difficult to get a ring, given Kouta’s financial situation.”
“All I had in mind was the cost of the date…”
“That’s what I thought, so I’ve prepared something to take its place.”
Chris held out a small box.
Kouta gasped as she opened it.
There was a single crimson rose in the box. The intense red color caught her eye.
“It’s a preserved flower. Don’t you think it’s a great idea to give someone a flower to express your feelings?”
“How long have you been preparing these things…?”
“Because I am your ally,” Chris laughed.
“Kouta, do you know the language of a rose?”
“No…”
“Each rose has a different meaning, but a single rose means ‘you’re all I have’.”
“‘You’re all I have’ huh…”
That’s perfect, he thought.
Hisame is the only one he would propose to. That’s why Kouta and Chris have been doing everything they can to make it happen.
“Do you have any more regrets?”
“Regrets…?”
“Do you have any regrets about what you should have done or what you wish you had done to make the proposal a success?”
Kouta thought for a moment.
“None,” he assured her.
“It’s been three weeks since we formed the alliance to end our engagement. You’ve done what you can. I think Hisame and I have become much more like lovers than we were at the beginning.”
“Yeah. I mean, you two started out so badly.”
“I didn’t know how to treat my girlfriend. That’s why we went out for two months and didn’t make any progress.”
After Chris came along, things started to change.
He started going to school together with Hisame, eating their lunch together, and holding their hands together.
It was all because of Chris.
“There’s no way I would regret it. We gave it our all. Didn’t we?”
Chris let out a huff.
“Haha, ahahahaha─!”
Shaking her body, Chris laughed like a broken man. Kouta had no idea what was so funny. Was there anything funny in his line of dialogue?
“You’re right, Kouta. We did our best, and if we fail, it’s not your fault.”
“It’s not my fault…?”
Yes, Chris said coldly.
“She wasn’t the one Kouta was meant to be with at the time.”
Destiny.
Do you think you and Hisame are bound by fate? He didn’t know. Kouta had never felt fate before in his life.
Chris said cheerfully to Kouta, who now had a difficult look on his face.
“If Kouta’s proposal fails, you can go on a heartbreak trip with me.”
“Huh!?”
“I’ll take you to a villa on a southern island in my private jet.”
“What the hell is that? No, wait a minute. You said you wouldn’t be in the mood if the proposal failed.”
“I’ll comfort you in my swimsuit?”
The words “Oi…” were too faint to be heard.
Chris chuckled.
“…You’re kidding, right?”
She’s teasing me again, he thought.
Sure enough, Chris said.
“I’m just kidding.”
Turning away, she opened the sliding door of the Japanese-style room.
“Good night, Kouta.”
Without waiting for Kouta’s reply, she closed the fusuma.
She seemed strangely nonchalant. Kouta thought that maybe Chris, his ally, was also nervous.
The next morning, Sunday.
Kouta was waiting for Hisame at the entrance of Hanabatake Amusement Park.
The time was 9:55. The meeting was at ten o’clock, but Kouta had been waiting for thirty minutes because Chris had kicked him out of the house so he wouldn’t make Hisame wait.
“You’re coming to the amusement park too?”
Kouta asked Chris as they left the house.
Chris smiled cheerfully.
“Kouta is starting to know me better.”
“You’re my ally. I knew you wouldn’t leave the last mission to me.”
“This time, I’m just going to watch from afar. I won’t interfere that much.”
Kouta felt a little uneasy.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about. A lot of strange things are going to happen at the amusement park today.”
“What’s up with that?”
“I’ve set up the park so that Kouta’s proposal will be a success.”
“What’s the gimmick? You can’t just set something up in an amusement park!”
“Did you forget? I am the Christina Westwood of the world.”
She smiled triumphantly.
“Kouta just needs to go with the flow. Do that and your date will go well.”
He was appalled, but also relieved. Chris’s strategy had saved his life so many times before. He was sure he could trust her this time, too.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Kouta looked up when he was suddenly called out.
(Wow, Hisame’s casual clothes…!)
It was the first time he had seen her in her casual clothes. While her uniform gave her an impression of being well-dressed, her plain clothes made her look very girlish. One can clearly see that she has large breasts.
Hisame twisted uncomfortably.
“Thank you for asking me out on a date today.”
“No, no, I’m the one who’s sorry I couldn’t ask you out on a date…”
“Is there a reason why you chose this place for the date?”
Hisame looked up at the entrance gate of the amusement park. The mid-morning sun reflected off the poppy-shaped gate.
Kouta scratched his head.
“Erm, I just thought Hisame might like this place…”
“…I see.”
She sounded somewhat unhappy. Kouta choked up, wondering if he had offended her.
“I certainly like the characters of this amusement park. But originally, Kouta-kun was…”
Then Hisame stopped speaking.
Kouta looked into Hisame’s hesitation.
“Originally, I was…?”
When their eyes met, Hisame turned away in a huff.
“Let’s go. The present time is more important than the past.”
Kouta hurriedly snuggled up to Hisame, her straight black hair fluttering as she made her way to the gate. He slipped his hand into hers.
Hisame turned away but grabbed Kouta’s hand back.
It was when the two of them went through the entrance gate together.
“Congratulations~!”
There was a pum-pum-pum sound, and a scrap ball cracked above their heads.
Amusement park staff and costumed characters came up to them. The staff around them applauded, and Kouta and Hisame flapped their hands.
“We’ve just had our ten millionth visitor! Congratulations!”
A smiling staff member said, “It’s a memorial,” and put stickers on their clothes. It was Poppy’s sticker.
“Celebrating 10 million visitors!” Kouta was convinced when he saw that banner.
(So this was the mysterious thing!)
Chris’s voice came back to life, “A lot of strange things are going to happen at the amusement park today.” This must be a part of Chris’s plan.
“I was surprised. I didn’t know there was something like this.”
Hisame was staring at the stickers on her clothes with a blank expression.
“I think I’m going to have a good day.”
Hisame looked happy. Kouta inwardly struck a gut-winning pose.
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday.
There were many visitors at the amusement park. Families and couples were prominent. Occasionally, screams coming from the roller coasters can be heard.
“Where should we start?”
Kouta unfolded the park map and looked at it.
He had already decided on the place where he would propose at the end of the date. It was the fountain plaza at the far end of the park. It seems to be lit up when it gets dark, and Chris says that it has the best atmosphere.
During the daytime, he’d like to just hang out and get to know Hisame, but─
“Kouta-kun, I need a favor.”
“What is it?”
“Can I try that shooting target?”
Hisame pointed to a large target.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Thank you.”
Hisame paid a hundred yen and received a cork gun from the staff. She aimed it at the target and held it up.
It’s cool to see a girl like Hisame with a cool vibe holding a gun. As Kouta was looking at her new charm.
“…It’s no good. It’s not falling at all.”
Hisame, who had used up all her ammunition, dropped her shoulders.
“What were you aiming for?”
“The Mega Poppy doll.”
There was a stuffed doll on the platform. It had a bright red poppy as its face, but at that size it looked like the sun.
“You can’t buy Mega Poppy dolls at souvenir shops. You can only get them at a shooting gallery.”
“You know a lot.”
“I’ve been here a few times.”
The sound of popping and children’s voices echoed in the air. A family was aiming at a stuffed animal much smaller than the Mega Poppy doll. However, they still hadn’t been able to shoot it down.
“I see, it seems to be a very difficult task to drop a stuffed animal that size.”
“Yeah. I can hit the cork, but it won’t drop.”
“I think I’ll try it.”
Kouta paid one hundred yen to a staff member. He was given a cork gun.
Kouta thought as he aimed the gun at a giant stuffed animal.
(I wish I could get it for her here, but I’ve never done target shooting before…)
Before he could do anything, Kouta pulled the trigger. There was a loud popping sound.
Immediately after, the doll tilted.
“”Eh!?””
It was not only Hisame who screamed, but also Kouta.
The Poppy doll, which was unlikely to fall, tipped over and fell.
“Kouta-kun, that’s amazing…!”
Hisame’s excited voice said.
“I’ve never seen anyone drop a doll before! You did it!”
She squeezed Kouta’s arm and shouted with delight. Kouta felt his arms go to another level of softness and hurriedly pulled away from Hisame by saying that he will get the prize.
(Seriously… how is this possible!?)
No, it’s not. It’s not normal.
Then this must be Chris’s plan.
The amusement park certainly has a trick up its sleeve to increase likability for Hisame.
It was when Kouta went to the staff and received the stuffed animal.
“Wooow~, stuffed animals!”
He heard the sound of a child crying.
A boy in the lower grades of elementary school was crying when he saw the doll in Kouta’s hand. His mother was nearby, chiding him.
“Don’t cry! I’ll buy you another one at the gift shop…”
“No, I don’t want that one, the biggest one! I want the biggest one!”
“Don’t be selfish. Just get another one next time you’re here.”
“When’s the next time!? I’m flying on a plane tomorrow!”
”I’m troubled”, he thought.
But even Kouta couldn’t compromise on this. This doll is for Hisame. He’s going to give it to her as a gift, and he’s going to earn Hisame’s favor─
“Um, if you don’t mind.”
Kouta held out the stuffed animal to the mother and child.
The boy stopped crying immediately, and the mother looked at Kouta with a surprised face.
…He knows he’s ruining Chris’s plan… But he couldn’t ignore the crying child. And moreover, this is something that he got from cheating.
“Oh, no, we can’t take it…” the mother said in dismay, but Kouta shook his head.
“I’m a local, I can come here any time. I’ll get the doll another time.”
This was Chris’s plan, and he was able to get it. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get it next time. Kouta knew that, but he still said that.
He handed the doll to the boy. Holding a huge stuffed animal, he smiled and said, “Thank you…”. The mother and child bowed, “Excuse me,” and walked away.
As soon as they were gone, Kouta ran up to Hisame.
He bowed vigorously to the girl who was looking at the prizes of the target shooting.
“I’m sorry, Hisame! That doll I just gave away, the visitor boy wanted it, so I just─!”
She was so happy when he got the doll, but he gave it to someone else without permission. Kouta was prepared for her to get angry, but,
“…I think it’s very like Kouta-kun…”
”What?” Kouta looked up.
Hisame was looking towards the day after tomorrow.
“Now I have a reason to come here again with Kouta-kun.”
“Oh, that’s…”
“You can pick up the doll another time.”
As soon as she said that, she quickly walked away.
(Does that mean she’ll go on another date with me…?)
As he was thinking about it, Hisame stopped in the middle of the road. Kouta hurriedly ran up to her as she glanced back at him.
◆◆◆
The location has changed, to the center of the amusement park. Only today, the entrance to the plateau overlooking the park was marked with a no-go sign.
At the top of the hill,
“Ahhh, that was such a Kouta thing for him to do! Putting the feelings of a crying child before his own plans. How kind of him! Haaa, I love him, I love him, I love him soooo much!”
Chris was squirming in agony as she looked through her binoculars. She was wearing large headphones and her golden twin-tails were in a mess.
The conversation between Kouta and Hisame was flowing through the headphones.
The commemorative sticker that was given to the two when they were at the entrance was wiretapped and had a GPS transmitter attached to it. The part where they were the ten millionth visitor was, of course, a lie.
A jet-black maid rebuked Chris for raising her yellow voice and flinching.
“…Milady, if you don’t keep quiet, we won’t be able to hear them over the radio.”
The top of the hill was lined with large radios, speakers, and monitor screens, creating a somber atmosphere. Hozuki was in charge of all this.
There was a buzzing noise, and a woman’s voice came over the speakers.
“Team 0021, Operation B is a success.”
“…Copy.”
Hozuki returned with a walkie-talkie.
Chris looked through her binoculars at the mother and child of the visitors, the mother to whom Kouta had given the doll. The mother had a walkie-talkie in her bag.
“Fufu, how many people have been mobilized for this operation?”
“…Five hundred and thirty-six.”
Hozuki replied, looking at the monitor screen displaying a map of the park─ the GPS signal moving there.
“…All of the people in the park today are cherry-picked, except for Kouta Gouzanji and Hisame Tojo.”
”Excellent”, Chris said, lifting the corners of her mouth.
Kouta would have figured out that the fall of the giant stuffed animal was Chris’s plan. But he must not have realized that the mother and child were also part of Operation B.
To make Kouta’s proposal go smoothly, Chris had rented out an amusement park. All of today’s employees and visitors were people specifically hired by Chris for this operation. It was a feat that could only be accomplished by a person of such vast wealth.
Wherever Kouta and Hisame went in the park, Hozuki would send them instructions by radio, and various events could be intentionally triggered.
Chris looked at Kouta through the binoculars and smiled wryly.
“Now, Kouta, this is the Christina Westwood of the world. You can run all the way to the proposal!”
“…Attention all personnel. Subject is en route to Poppyland Adventure. We are now entering Operation E.”
***
Kouta and the others decided to ride an attraction. They lined up for Poppyland Adventure, which was close by.
This attraction was a small two-seater trolley ride through a cave. It was not a scream ride, so they could ride it without worry.
“The ride was surprisingly quick.”
“Yes, it was. I thought we’d have to wait a little longer because of the line.
It looked crowded, but after about five minutes, it was Kouta’s turn.
The staff urged Hisame to get on the trolley, and Kouta sat next to her.
“It’s dangerous, so please don’t get off the trolley no matter what.”
After a briefing on the precautions, the trolley started running at a brisk pace.
The walls and ceiling of the cave were covered with flowers. In the midst of the flowers, Kouta and Hisame were alone.
“Hisame, you come to this amusement park from time to time, right?”
“Yes.”
“Who do you go with?”
He had been wondering.
He had never seen Hisame getting along with anyone in high school. He wondered if she had any friends outside the school that she could go to the amusement park with.
“I came here with my brother.” [TLN: She said aniki, so the brother is older than her.]
“Oh, so you have a brother! That’s surprising.”
“Surprising?”
“No, I just thought you were an only child…”
It seemed that way because Hisame was a solitary figure in the classroom.
“Is Hisame’s brother also a genius?”
“…No. My brother is normal, unlike me.”
Kouta felt a strange tug at her phrasing.
Kouta looked to the side, where Hisame was staring blankly at a wall of flowers.
“Could it be that you don’t like to be called a ‘genius’?”
He thought back. The time he had spent with her so far. The conversations they’ve had. The glimpses of her face.
Hisame replied clearly to Kouta’s fearful question.
“I don’t like it.”
“Why…?”
“It’s weird, that’s why.”
The meaning was not immediately clear to the ordinary Kouta.
The sound of a trolley rattling by was mingled with Hisame’s voice.
“When people say, ‘Genius…’ I feel a strong barrier between me and others. In fact, everyone in my class always keeps me at a distance and is concerned about me. When I join the conversation, the atmosphere becomes awkward. I guess it’s because I’m different and weird somehow.”
Dropping her eyes, Hisame breathed quietly.
“I wanted to be normal. Being a genius─”
“No, Hisame!”
Kouta said with great vigor.
“Everyone is holding back because they think Hisame is amazing! It’s not because you’re weird. Everyone really wants to talk to Hisame more.”
“Is that so? I can’t believe it.”
“Yes, they do! I mean, Hisame is getting a lot of confessions. That’s proof that there are many people who want to get to know you better, isn’t it?”
Hisame paused for a moment.
“Is that what it meant…?”
“What else could it mean!?”
“No, I just thought… that they were only interested in my body…”
Hisame turned over in embarrassment. Kouta followed her gaze and saw the massive chest.
“Well, that’s part of Hisame’s charm!”
He turned his head quickly to the side.
“You’re wrong, you are attractive just the way you are. There’s no need to feel ashamed of being a genius!”
“Kouta-kun…”
All the lights went out with a bang.
Hisame let out a small scream. It was suddenly pitch black and the trolley had stopped.
“What happened…?”
Kouta’s tense voice reverberated through the cave.
Then a voice came from the speaker inside the cave.
『For everyone on board. We apologize for the power outage. Please wait for the power to be restored.』
“A power outage huh…” Kouta thought it over.
(This is also Chris’s plan.)
It’s not every day that a facility like this experiences a power outage, so it’s natural to assume that this is a part of Chris’s plan.
He wanted to take out his phone to get some light, but unfortunately, he had left all his luggage in a locker before boarding the trolley.
“Hisame, are you alright…?”
Kouta asked the darkness next to him.
”Yes,” a voice replied.
“I’m… fine…”
”Really?” He wondered, as Hisame’s voice sounded anxious.
His vision was in complete darkness, I couldn’t see a thing.
“Hisame, reach to the side.”
“…Like this?”
Hisame’s fingertips touched Kouta’s shoulder. He caught her hand and could feel Hisame’s body jump.
“I just thought that holding hands would make you feel more secure.”
“…I know.”
Her voice was curt, but Hisame squeezed Kouta’s hand back.
“Kouta-kun’s hands are warm.”
Hisame’s hands were cold.
A cool breeze had been blowing through the cave. It was like an air conditioner that had been set to the wrong temperature.
“Are you cold? Should I lend you my jacket?”
“No, that’ll make Kouta-kun cold. No thanks.”
She refused, but Hisame looked cold.
(Is it possible that I should hug Hisame to warm her up? Is that the plan, should I make use of this wind?)
He wanted to ask Chris, but it was pitch black and there were no “instructions”.
After some hesitation, Kouta closed the distance between him and Hisame. He pulled her arm closer.
“Kouta-kun…?”
The voice sounded skeptical.
He put his hand on Hisame’s shoulder, but she didn’t seem to mind.
He was thrilled. He had never hugged a girl before, and he could feel Hisame’s breathing close up.
Determined, Kouta pulled her into a hug…
The lights flickered on. The two of them were revealed.
Inside the trolley, Kouta and Hisame were almost hugging each other. They were so close that their lips could almost touch if they brought their faces a little closer.
“”~~~~~~~!!!””
The two of them, their eyes black and white, separated vigorously.
『I’m sorry to keep you waiting. The trolley will now depart.』
A voice came over the speakers and the trolley began to move. As the trolley rattled along, the two red-faced passengers stood stiffly at opposite ends of the trolley.
◆◆◆
The monitor on the hill showed the two of them reddening on the trolley, and Hozuki lifted her glasses.
“…………Milady, weren’t you a little early in signaling the lights to turn on?”
“No, of course not! You can’t let them get any closer than that, of course. What’s the point of this plan? They were about to kiss!”
“…All operations are as per your instructions, Milady.”
Teeth clenched, Chris stomped on the ground.
“I know that! Let’s move on to the next operation!”
***
It was lunchtime, and Kouta and the others headed for the restaurant area. Suddenly, Hisame stopped in her tracks.
“Oh, this restaurant…”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s a noodle shop now.”
Hisame looked up at the sign on the building.
“Was it different before?”
“Yes, it used to be a Western-style restaurant that served hamburgers and omelets.”
There’s probably a need for a Western-style restaurant among the customers who come to the amusement park. The building looks like a family restaurant, and the sign saying “ramen” is somewhat out of place.
“What should we do? There seems to be a Japanese restaurant over there.”
“Um, Kouta-kun.”
Hisame held Kouta back as they passed the ramen shop.
She squeezed Kouta’s hand and told him as if she were confessing a sin she had been committing for ten years.
“I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never been in a ramen shop…!”
“No, you don’t have to be embarrassed. I think girls who have been in a ramen shop are in the minority.”
Kouta occasionally helps out at the store, but doesn’t see many female customers.
“But I still think I should know about ramen shops.”
“H-Hmm? Why is that…?
”That’s…” Hisame said, and froze up.
“…Well, that’s because of, uhh, you see….”
Her gaze whirled, and she spun meaningless words.
Kouta tilted his head at Hisame, who was suddenly acting strangely.
“…I want to… Kouta-kun…!”
Hisame was trying to say something with a boiling face. But her voice was too small to be heard.
A group of elementary school students ran excitedly by Kouta and HIsame, and a family walked by, talking about what to do for lunch.
(Could it be that she’s in the mood for ramen today…?)
He has heard that it is quite a hurdle for girls to enter a ramen shop. Isn’t it possible that Hisame can’t bring herself to say she wants to eat ramen?
“Would you like ramen for lunch?”
Hisame’s mouth dropped open at Kouta’s question.
The next moment, she tightened her expression.
“Yes! By all means.”
He thought ramen was no good for a date, but if Hisame wanted it, there was no reason to say no. Kouta and the others headed for the ramen shop.
It was lunch time, but the restaurant was sparsely populated. Kouta and the others were shown to a table for four near the window, which was similar to a family restaurant, and sat facing each other.
“I’m sorry, I just realized…”
Hisame looked at the menu and became serious.
“Are you sure you want ramen, Kouta-kun?”
“Yeah, I’m fine with it.”
“You eat ramen every day, you must be tired of it.”
“No, I’m not. I don’t eat ramen at home.”
With a wry smile, Kouta flipped through the menu.
“Are you okay with ramen…? Ramen is uhh… not that sweet after all…”
“The first thing I want you to teach me today is how to behave in a ramen shop.”
“There is no such thing as etiquette. You’re misunderstanding ramen!”
Decide what you want to order and tell the waiter. As he and Hisame were discussing the order in which to go through the attractions,
“Is there a ramen cook among you~?”
“!?”
He almost spurted out the water he had been drinking.
If you look carefully, several waiters were hovering around, repeating the same words. What they were searching for wasn’t a “Doctor” but a “Ramen Cook”. He wasn’t mishearing.
(What the heck is up with this situation!? You’re too stupid, Chris─!)
This was without a doubt Chris’s plan. How could such a thing happen in real life?
The waitress came to Kouta and the others’ table with a weak face.
“I’m sorry, dear customers. Our cook had a stroke earlier, and we can’t serve you until we can find someone to boil the ramen.”
(That’s a heavy setting for a ludicrous situation!)
Hisame put her hand over her mouth as if to say, “Well.” She seemed to believe the waitress’ words completely.
“In that case, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to eat elsewhere…”
(Oh my god. What a cheap farce…)
He was disappointed, but it was Chris’s plan. He had to do it.
“Uh, well, my house is a noodle shop…”
Kouta said, and the waitress’ face brightened up. “I’ll show you to the kitchen!” She urged him. What a great acting ability. He wondered if Chris had hired a theatrical troupe.
The plan was for Kouta to make ramen here to suit Hisame’s palate.
Resignedly, Kouta got up from his seat.
“Kouta-kun.” She called out to him.
“I’m looking forward to my first bowl of ramen.”
Hisame’s cheeks were flushed and her face was full of anticipation.
Kouta was determined to cook for her.
◆◆◆
Chris put her hands on her hips and stared blankly at the monitor.
There, Kouta and Hisame were eating ramen in a friendly atmosphere.
“Hey, where’s the ramen for me? I’ll order the ramen that Kouta made.”
“…Kouta Gouzanji only made two bowls.”
“Why!? Why did you only let him make that much!?”
“…Due to the progress of the operation, there was no time for Kouta Gouzanji to make extra ramen─”
“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh!? I wanted to eat Kouta’s ramen too…!!”
***
“There’s really a lot of equipment trouble at the amusement park today, isn’t there?”
Hisame spilled the beans.
Kouta was frightened.
“Oh, yeah, you’re right…”
(Chris, aren’t you overdoing it for the last time…?)
After the meal, they rode the roller coaster, the trapeze, and the Ferris wheel, but all of them had trouble stopping in the middle of the ride. Clearly, something was wrong with this amusement park.
“But somehow Kouta-kun looked very reliable.”
“Eh…?”
“I respected the fact that you didn’t get upset when the roller coaster stopped.”
“─”
He didn’t get upset because he knew it was Chris’s plan, and Kouta was at a loss for a response.
(Hisame seems to be in a good mood…)
Kouta looked sideways at her. Kouta and Hisame’s hands have been linked together for a while now. Chris’s strategy had been a success. The distance between them was the closest it had ever been.
Kouta and Hisame had made it to the back of the park.
The final battleground, the Fountain Square, was just ahead.
Kouta pulled Hisame’s hand and urged her towards the plaza. As she stepped onto the stairs that connected to the plaza
Poof.
The lights on either side of the stairs lit up.
As if on cue, the stairs lit up one after another. As if welcoming Kouta and Hisame, the fountain square was enveloped in light.
Hisame gasped.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it…?”
“Is this your first time to see the square at night?”
“Yes. I always leave in the evening.”
In the center of the circular square is a large, illuminated fountain.
The area around it was paved with stones, and benches lined up in a circle so that people could watch the fountain. Behind the benches was a flower garden with deep red chocolate cosmos in full bloom.
It was a romantic place, but there were no visitors. It must have been Chris who arranged it.
Kouta and Hisame sat down side by side on a bench.
The fountain was making a lot of noise.
(A-Am I going to propose to her now? Oh no, I’m starting to get nervous when it comes to ……)
Even though they had come this far, it seemed like the sun was about to set.
Kouta looked around for Chris’s support, but there was no sign of her at the fountain or the flower garden.
“It’s like a dream.”
Kouta was startled by the sudden remark.
“Do you like this view that much?”
”No,” said Hisame, shaking her head.
“Being on a date with Kouta-kun like this…”
His heart skipped a beat.
“…Kouta-kun, you don’t remember, do you? We went to the same kindergarten.”
“Eh?”
He looked at Hisame without thinking.
Her long hair draped over her face as she stared at the fountain.
“It was Kouta-kun who first introduced me to the characters of this amusement park.”
“Huhh!?”
“Kouta-kun gave it to me as a souvenir from the amusement park.”
“…Sorry, I have a bad memory…”
”Don’t apologize,” said Hisame, looking down.
“And playing ramen shop.”
“Wha!?”
“We used to play together.”
His childhood days flashed through his mind.
(No way. Don’t tell me that Hisame was the “bride” of that time…?)
A girl with long hair.
That’s all Kouta could remember.
Even if that girl was Hisame─ there was nothing wrong with that.
“I wasn’t good at talking from then on, so I couldn’t get along with other kids. They said I was weird and wouldn’t let me play with them.”
Hisame squeezed her hands in her lap.
“But Kouta-kun was the only one who invited me to play with him at the ramen shop.”
She was really happy, she spilled.
(Does she remember that─? The “promise” we made back then? We promised each other that we would get married.)
If that’s the case, then it’s fate.
If this is not fate, then what is?
They got engaged when they were in kindergarten, met again by chance in high school, and Kouta fell in love with her all over again.
As if she couldn’t stand Kouta’s gaze anymore, Hisame left the bench. She walked towards the fountain.
“When I entered high school, I immediately recognized you as Kouta-kun from that time. Even in high school, you hadn’t changed. I couldn’t get along with the people around me, but you went along with me. You tell me that I’m attractive even as I am. I─”
She looked up at the fountain and her words trailed off.
“…I-I’m so happy to be Kouta-kun’s lover…”
Kouta stood up to hear the voice of Hisame, who stubbornly turned her back on him.
In the back of his mind, he had always been worried.
Deep down, he had always wondered how Hisame really felt about her relationship with Kouta.
Wasn’t it just Kouta’s enthusiasm that made her accept his confession?
Even if that’s the case, does Hisame like Kouta at all, and does she regret going out with Kouta?
The sound of rushing water drowns out all other sounds, even Kouta’s footsteps.
Hisame knew Kouta couldn’t hear her, so she let out a small whisper of what was on her mind.
“…I’m so happy to be Kouta-kun’s lover.”
“Me too, Hisame.”
Hisame’s body bounced.
When she turned around, she was a bright red. Her mouth opened and closed in recognition of Kouta.
“W-W-Wha…!?”
She looks like she’s broken. “Uuuuuu~~~~~” she let out a scream and squirmed in agony, her face contorted in tears.
“T-That’s not fair…! You can’t just sneak up on me from behind…!”
“I was just walking normally though,” Kouta chuckled.
“I’m relieved to hear Hisame’s words, I’ve always been worried that Hisame would be bored with me.”
“…T-That’s not going to happen…”
Hisame’s gaze wandered in circles as she tried to squeeze out her voice.
”I can do it now,” he thought.
It’s the only time to make a proposal.
(This is going to work, isn’t it, Chris?)
Hisame really liked Kouta.
Kouta and Hisame had even promised to get married when they were in kindergarten. Moreover, Hisame was the “bride”.
Hisame blinked at Kouta as he knelt down.
“…Kouta-kun?”
As the light reflected off the fine spray of water, Kouta reached into his bag. From there, he pulled out a preserved flower.
A single rose. “You’re all I have.”
“Hisame─”
Just as Kouta was about to say the words of his proposal.
*Step*, the heels clicked.
◆◆◆
Let’s go back in time a little.
To witness Kouta’s proposal in person, Chris and Hozuki had moved from the high ground.
Chris and the others were hiding in a field of chocolate cosmos flowers.
They looked at Kouta and Hisame lined up on a bench.
“The atmosphere is perfect, and Kouta has won her heart.”
Through the headphones, they heard a story about their kindergarten days.
(Hee~, that person has such an episode huh…)
She knew from Hozuki’s research that Poppy was very important to Hisame. That’s why she chose this amusement park as the place to propose.
Surprisingly, it connects to Kouta when he was in kindergarten.
(I didn’t see that coming. Why does she have such a fond memory of her childhood─?)
Chris also had vivid memories of playing ramen shop with Kouta. But that was only because her Dad told her that Kouta was her fiancé.
(She had no guarantee that she would see Kouta again in high school. Much less they would become lovers. Why would she treasure that merch as if clinging on to her childhood memories?)
While Chris was thinking about it, Kouta and the others continued their conversation.
“…Young lady, we have an emergency.”
“What?”
She turned her attention to Hozuki.
The maid, crouched in the cosmos field like Chris, had an unusually tense expression on her face.
“I can’t believe you’re in such a hurry. I wonder if this place is going to blow up in ten seconds.”
“…The fiancé of Hisame Tojo has just been identified.”
“Took you long enough for that information. So who is it?”
Hozuki put her mouth to Chris’s ear.
When she heard the name, an electric current ran through Chris’s body.
She was aware that all the smiles had disappeared from her face, and Hozuki hesitantly continued, “…this is certainly reliable information.”
『…I’m so happy to be Kouta-kun’s lover.』
『Me too, Hisame.』
She could hear their sweet conversation in her headphones.
The lovers stood with the lit up fountain in the background, with Kouta kneeling down to her─.
─No.
Chris stood up from the cosmos field.
She heard a small voice behind her say, “Young lady,” but she didn’t care. Chris threw away her headphones and ran. She ruffled through the cosmos, stained her shoes with dirt, and made a beeline for them.
(No. If Kouta proposes, my plan will fail!)
She can see their expressions, and Kouta’s earnest gaze is focused on his girlfriend. She doesn’t like it. No, no, no, no, no! She’s not going to let him become the property of another woman─.
Chris’s heel hit the cobblestones with a click.
She arrived at the square.
Chris smiled and shouted.
“Kouta!”
A clear voice cut through the world between them.
Kouta knelt down, his body trembling, and Hisame looked at her.
With a clack of her heels, Chris approached the two people in a dignified manner. Her breathing was fast. Sweat beaded all over her body. But she still had a smile on her face.
“Chris…?”
Kouta’s face became suspicious.
“Mou~, Kouta, you were here? You were supposed to go on a trip with me. I was looking for you.”
“Huh…?”
Kouta couldn’t grasp the situation. Of course not. This was not the original plan.
Hisame glared at Chris in obvious displeasure.
“Westwood-sa─”
“Hey Kouta, I think you should let Tojo-san know about our relationship.”
Hisame’s voice was drowned out by the dialogue.
Chris held Kouta’s arm in the middle of her confusion. They leaned in close to each other like a couple of lovebirds.
“We’re actually engaged. Our dads decided.”
“Oi─!?”
Kouta was flustered. This attitude only added to the credibility of Chris’s story.
Hisame had a cold atmosphere around her.
“What do you mean…?”
“If you didn’t hear me, Kouta and I have been engaged for ten years. That’s why we started living together. Oh, I lied when I said there were three of us, yeah a lie.”
“Chris, that’s─!”
“No, that’s not true! Because I’m─”
“No, you’re not!!”
The shouting drowned out both Kouta’s and Hisame’s voices.
“We’ve been engaged for ten years! You’re the one who should step aside, you thieving cat!”
(I won’t give up. I’ll never give up. I’ll never give up Kouta…!)
A red magma was boiling in her chest. It was something that had been bottled up inside Chris for a long time.
Chris grabbed Kouta’s arm and shouted with all her might.
“I’m Kouta’s fiancée! Hozuki, it’s Operation Z!”
Suddenly, there was a lot of noise in the square. A lot of cherry blossoms came from the visitors.
One of them pointed at Chris.
“Oh, it’s Chris-chan!”
That was the signal for an avalanche of cheering people to rush in.
Chris pulled Kouta’s arm.
“We have to run! If the press finds us, we’re in trouble.”
“Huh!? Wait a minute! Hisame─”
Kouta looked at Hisame, but she was already swallowed by the crowd. Operation Z is an emergency operation for Chris. It uses the crowd to separate Chris from the target.
Kouta was overwhelmed by the wall of people approaching him with their phones pointed at him.
“Don’t worry about it, come on.”
Forcibly, Chris pulled Kouta along.
The two of them fled the square as they were being chased by people.
***
Her shoulders went up and down. After inhaling and exhaling in the darkness of the night due to the shortness of their breath after running, a faint, depressed voice was heard.
“…I fell, in love.”
He didn’t know what it meant.
Kouta shook his head.
“Why did you interrupt my proposal? You’ve ruined all of our hard work for the last three weeks─!”
“I fell in love with Kouta!”
A sorrowful voice burst out.
Silence fell in the darkness for two people. The air around them was as heavy as waterlogged cotton, and Kouta felt like he was suffocating.
“Oi… you’re joking, right…?”
A joke.
Yes, a joke!
She always made fun of Kouta, didn’t she? It was a joke. This time, it must be the same.
“I’m not laughing at that joke right now─”
“…When did I make a joke?”
A shaky voice shattered Kouta’s hopes.
“I wanted to go out with Kouta, I wanted to travel with Kouta, I wanted to kiss Kouta, all of those was not a joke! I wasn’t joking!!”
Chris looked up.
The moment he saw her tears, Kouta knew he had been wrong. From that moment on, the two of them had been at polar opposites.
He had seen these tears before.
The tears were as violent as a midsummer shower, and as pure as melted snow in early spring, running down her cheeks.
“I really liked Kouta.”
He felt dizzy.
(Chris likes me…? What’s up with that?)
It was beyond his scope of understanding.
Because that should have never happened.
Their fathers decided for them to get engaged on their own. Kouta and Chris were both engaged to someone they did not like. Isn’t that why the two of them formed an alliance?
“…Then why… were you in an alliance with me…?”
“Kouta, let’s end this alliance.”
Chris said in a light tone.
He didn’t know how long she had been carrying it around, but in Chris’s hand were the agenda papers that she had taped to the refrigerator.
『Kouta & Chris: Engagement Breakup Alliance』
“Your proposal to Tojo-san will be successful even without me. There’s no reason for us to form an alliance anymore.”
There was an audible tearing sound.
The agenda that the two of them discussed was being torn up by Chris. The shredded paper was swept away by the night wind and quickly disappeared.
“…Chris…”
“Let me ask you one last thing. This is my question as a girl.”
The girl who was no longer an ally asked.
“Kouta, are you sure you don’t want me to be your fiancée?”
He couldn’t answer.
Chris’s confession was so shocking that Kouta’s mind was still confused.
For him, Chris had always been an ally.
It could be said that he had consciously excluded her from his love life. It was a prerequisite for him to be able to break off his engagement with her.
A damp breeze shook Chris’s twin tails. She was staring at Kouta as if she was praying.
There was a drooping sound.
It was raining. Before they knew it, the sky was covered with black clouds. Droplets of water drenched Chris’ head and shoulders.
“…I see.”
Chris’s lips quivered.
With a wet face, she smiled self-mockingly.
“Who was it that said people would give up if they gave it their all?”
The rain hits the girl’s face.
Chris had a look on her face that Kouta had never seen before, the look of someone who had lost.
“Bye-bye, Kouta.”
The golden hair fluttered.
Chris was running away. He was going to shout back to her, but he stopped after thinking about it.
(What am I going to say when I stop her…?)
It’s like a ball of yarn that’s tangled and can’t be untangled. Nothing was coming out. He had no idea where to start.
Kouta stood there in the cold rain.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier.
Dragging his messed up mind and body, Kouta arrived home.
Chris must have gone home by now. Looking up at the old apartment in the pouring rain, Kouta sighed heavily, uncomfortable to see Chris.
He felt awkward to face Chris, but he couldn’t stay outside all day with a wet body, so he opened the door.
“I’m home─!?”
There was an unexpected sight in the house.
At the dining room table watching TV was his father, Tetsuji, and there were several cans of beer on the table.
To Kouta’s surprise, Tetsuji glanced at him.
“Oh, welcome back.”
“Dad…? I thought you were coming back next week…?”
That’s what Chris had said.
“I can’t keep up with the hobbies of millionaires! Kouta, we’ll start earning money tomorrow.”
“What, didn’t you say something about opening a store overseas…? Wasn’t it going well?”
“Well? Who told you that bullsh*t?”
“Bullsh*t?”
“Any discussion with a millionaire is a fruitless one.”
Tetsushi gulped down a beer and crushed the can.
“We’re not opening any stores overseas! No matter how much we talk about it, we’ll never get anywhere. I’ve given up.”
The crushed beer can was released with a crunch. “Seriously?” Kouta looked at the Japanese-style room. The huge bed was gone.
“Where’s Chris…?”
“Oh, that’s right, she went back to her Dad.”
He looked around and saw that all of her belongings were gone as well. It was as if Chris had never existed in this house from the beginning.
“As you know, no more engagements for you guys. Forget about opening a restaurant abroad, forget about the engagement, forget about everything.”
”I’m going to bed,” Tetsuji said, and turned off the TV. He went into the Japanese-style room and closed the fusuma sliding door loudly.
Left alone in the kitchen, Kouta was in a daze.
“Forget you say… That’s absurd, isn’t it?”
Kouta recalled how much he and the others had been working and thinking about the engagement for the past three weeks.
How many relationships have been torn apart by the involvement of Chris and Hisame?
And now he’s supposed to forget it all?
“What the h*ll is happening, ah mouu─!!!”
“Shut up!” Tetsuji shouted from the Japanese-style room.
He had been pushed around so much. It wouldn’t hurt to scream all night, Kouta thought.
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Translator’s Afterword: Sorry for the lack of updates, it was an entire month of being sick on our entire family. The illness was just rotating from all of us except our father who somehow had good resistance. Not to mention I finally got vaccinated two weeks ago, yay. Anyways, I’d like your help for me to be able to read my favorite series, which is “My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend”. The fan translator (Hellping) is about to retire and he’s doing a poll on twitter on which series he should do. So please vote for the “sweet and sour” option for me in this tweet. As an exchange, I’ll really finish the entire volume this week, then next week I might even finish Sono Tsugi’s entire 1st volume too. I hope we can at least get the votes for “sweet and sour” to at least around 55-60% by tomorrow if possible. I can guarantee you that I’ll keep my promise (unlike Dead smh). Thanks in advance to those who’ll do so! Posted this at 9:05PM, will decide tomorrow, 9:05PM also.
As for the chapter, sadge for Chris, even editor flipped out and started doing jokes to try lighten up the mood. (This is Xen btw)
satorri
Noo cmon, honestly I’m rooting for both of them they’re both so great damn it. Thanks for the TL!
Stevedeepak
Hello ? Wtf happened here
Hadean
Now i need more
Soul Breaker
Me da peresa escribir en ingles y solo vengo a decir que llegue tarde para la encuesta de twitter asi que f, bueno esperare hasta la siguiente entrega de la novela y gracias por tu trabajo, espero que ya te encuentre mejor
AJ1703
Good thing deepL exists, thank you too for reading. It’s fine if you weren’t able to vote in the poll, the thought is what matters, so thank you still <3
AJ1703
I’m lowering the bars to 45-50%. Apparently, after I slept, an hour later of that time, the poll suddenly got 200 more votes and became a landslide for option 3 despite having an at least 10% lead for option 1 before I slept.
your friendly otaku neighbour
I created twitter at the age of 15 and was banned the next day without doing anything, and that was 4 years ago. I still can’t enter Twitter till this day.
Thanks for the chapter.
AJ1703
Hmm, that didn’t happen to me before. Thank you too for reading!