Prove Your Eternal Love. There Shall Be No Heroine Correction. - Chapter 2 Part 3

“That’s great, Suguru-senpai, it looks like you can make your own cotton candy over there!”

“Ohhh, yeah.”

Nagisa’s shift was over and we decided to go around the place together. Nagisa happily pulled my hand as she pleased. I was on the lookout for Ocupido, wondering if itt would show up anywhere again.

“Could we two please? Ah, Suguru-senpai, are you all right on time?”

I checked my watch and said, “About ten more minutes.” From eleven o’clock, the committee members have to make their rounds. This includes dealing with problems, guiding lost children, checking for repairs, etc. To put it simply, we walk in pairs along a set route for an hour and do various things in a flexible manner.

Nagisa received two sets of disposable chopsticks and cups filled with pomelo sugar, and without hesitation, put the sugar for two into the hole of the machine.

“The one who makes the largest amount wins, Suguru-senpai!”

“Wait, wait. Why are we competing This is the kind of thing you do one at a time.”

But whatever I said, it was too late. Soon the machine was filled with sweet silk. I quickly took the disposable chopsticks from Nagisa’s hand and pointed them at the string sugar, but Nagisa said, “There’s a chance!” Then she was twirling from side to side, snatching away from me.

“Hey, that was obviously for me.”

“Fufum, I don’t care. The first one to get it wins. Oh, here, have some of that!”

“You know, greed is a bad thing.”

Nagisa was growing her own cotton candy, smoothly and innocently. Her smile was dazzling. She looked really happy and lovely, but still…I probably haven’t fallen in true love with Nagisa yet.

Such guilt made my movements even slower.

And so the result of the competition was a single large cotton candy supported by ──── two pairs of disposable chopsticks.

“H-How did this happen…”

“Well, I knew this would happen.”

I bent down to meet Nagisa’s back and ate the cotton candy we both hold from different directions. For some reason, the option of cutting it into strips for two did not occur to me.

The cotton in my mouth softly vanished with a sweet taste. It was a slightly strange sensation. Unlike the usual candy, there was no added, deliberate flavor or anything that touched my tongue.

Our faces naturally moved closer to each other in a rhythm of mutual nibbling. Eventually, our rhythm broke, our cheeks meet, and we gasped. Nagisa’s face turned bright red and she jumped.

“I-I’m so sorry! I was so absorbed in the cotton candy!”

“N-No. I don’t really mind…but you tore it apart.”

I pointed to Nagisa’s hand. In the spur of the moment, all the cotton was taken to the disposable chopsticks on Nagisa’s side. Well, I’ll leave the rest to Nagisa. The time was just right.

I threw my own disposable chopsticks into the trash, and then I put my hand into my pocket. I felt the armband for the committee members.

“I’m sorry, Nagisa, but I’ll or now…”

I tried to leave Nagisa while my toes wandered. But Nagisa — she grabbed my arm tightly and didn’t let go.

“…Nagisa, what’s wrong?”

“No. I don’t want you to go to her.”

The good-humored expression on her face from a moment ago has vanished, and her eyebrows have dropped completely. The cotton in the disposable chopsticks still clutched in her hand had somehow transformed into a white lump.

The person Nagisa referred to was, of course, Aogashima Yuno. But I never said anything about pairing up with Aogashima. And yet.

“…How did you know?”

Nagisa was right. Today and tomorrow, I was supposed to make rounds with Aogashima-san.

“It’s a hunch. Suguru-senpai, it seemed like you were hiding something from me.”

“No, I wasn’t hiding it. I just didn’t have to tell you.”

After I said it, I realized the deception. I did not tell Nagisa because it would have worried her. That was the same as hiding it.

“Why can’t I go with you?”

“Sorry, Nagisa. I can’t take you with me because it’s my job. I’m happy you feel that way. I don’t want to leave you, too. I know Aogashima-san bothers you…But I also want you to understand my position.”

I touched Nagisa’s hand that held mine and untied it. But Nagisa shook her head.

“No, I can’t. If I let go of Suguru-senpai now, I feel like I’ll lose you.”

“…It’s all in your mind. I’ll be back soon.”

I was just going to see Aogashima-san for a few minutes, and then I was going to pay a visit to the mysterious angel.

“Really?”

Before I could react, Nagisa asked.

“Really, really, don’t you have a crush on Aogashima-senpai?”

For a moment, I was at a loss for an answer. I blinked twice. I thought back to the haunted house. If she had approached me like that again. I honestly don’t know what would happen.

If I confided everything honestly, it would make Nagisa even more worried.

To prevent that from happening, I have to untangle her hands. That would surely lead to the proof I promised Nagisa.

“…It’s fine. You don’t have to worry about that. Rather, I’m sorry for making you worry.”

It sounded like a kind of push-off. But this was my problem. It was something I have to solve on my own.

Her reddish eyes flickered slightly. I wondered what kind of emotions were in them.

“After the rounds were done, there is nothing else to do until the evening. Then we’ll take our time going around.”

After a short pause. As if a switch had been flipped, Nagisa smiled again.

“Well, let’s conquer all the exhibits, then! Suguru-senpai and others worked very hard to make this festival a success, so I want to enjoy every minute of it!”

Copying her, I returned the same smile.

“Conquest is not the result that matters. I just want to enjoy the process of having fun with you—and make memories together.”

“Fufu, hmph, you really are a hassle senpai every time?”

“Because apparently, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.”

I gently put my hand on Nagisa’s head to pet her. Nagisa moved her little head by herself like a small animal and purred pleasantly.