CH 54

“My hair is…..fine. Clothes are fine too.”

I checked carefully in the mirror for any sleeping habits. I don’t know much about fashion yet, but I’m sure I’m not dressed strangely.

“The time should be fine. As expected.”

The meeting was at nine o’clock at the usual place. It’s seven o’clock right now. There should still be plenty of time.

“……Usually she’d be there even if I went now. I promised her yesterday.”

[Tomorrow. Or rather, from now on, let’s meet up on time. I don’t want one of us to arrive first and the other one to wait and catch a cold.]

That’s what she said. She was right.

But if you have time, it’s just as well.My heart is agitated, so I looked up things I shouldn’t do on a date on my smartphone.

“…Even if I say that, most of them are pretty obvious.

I don’t want Nagi to hate me. So when we meet, I naturally pay attention to see if I was saying or doing anything that made Nagi feel uncomfortable.

Of course, I try to be as careful as possible, but when it comes to Nagi, I’m very careful.

Of course, to the extent that it doesn’t bother her.

“If I’m thinking about the future, it’s better to keep things as simple as possible.”

It’s easy to cover yourself up. It’s also possible to never let my uncool side to Nagi……I have to pay a lot of attention, but it’s not impossible to do.

But–one day, there will be a limit.

A small crack will eventually destroy the vessel.

And a broken vessel is difficult to repair. It takes time.

The longer I endure it, the more damage will be done when it breaks.

“….At first, I remember telling Nagi a similar story.”

When I thought about various things, I remembered something nostalgic. My cheeks naturally relaxed.

“The “Nagi” back then…..I felt like I was one step behind. The roots haven’t changed.”

In the first place, it’s been a month since we became friends, and she says, [I want you to stroke my head and praise me].

The distance between us was strange. …Well, I think it can’t be helped now.

“…Thank goodness it was me.”

I wonder what if someone else had been by Nagi’s side.

Just thinking about such things makes me feel like something black is welling up inside me, and I let out a sigh to hold it back.

“It seems like a long time, but it looks short.”.

Three months have passed since then. It can be said that it is both short and long for a man and a woman to be in a relationship. The actuality is that it depends on the person.

“Well, it’s not good to get too lost in thought.”

Even close friends are polite. But I concluded not to overdo it and reset my thinking.

However, there is still time.

I reconfirmed today’s schedule, took a quick look around the room, and confirmed that no cleaning was needed.

I left the house just in time to be at the meeting place at exactly nine o’clock.

◆◆◆

The train rattles and shakes. I looked outside.

It’s cloudy outside.

The forecast said it might snow.

I send a message to Nagi, [I’ll be there soon] and she sends another message, [I’ll be there soon, too].

The moment I arrived at the station, I saw a figure coming to the platform.

The train stopped and the doors opened.

“Good morning, Souta kun.”

“Yeah. Good morning, Nagi.”

Nagi entered the train. I moved a little from the entrance and looked at Nagi again.

She is wearing a black sweatshirt and a long down coat. And she is wearing a long blue skirt of thick fabric.

It is much warmer inside the train than outside. Nagi took off her fluffy earmuffs.

“Phew. It’s cold today.”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

Nagi and I locked eyes. Her eyes were looking at me kindly.

“It looks good on you. It’s lovely.”

“Nagi is……well, that I think it’s cute. I think it’s a very cute outfit that brings out Nagi’s cuteness.”

“Fufu. Thank you.”

Nagi smiled at me.

At the same time, the surroundings became a little noisy.

When I turned my gaze to see what was going on…there were men screaming as someone who looked like their lover grabbed their cheeks and grabbed their arms.

“…? What’s going on”

“Don’t worry about it, it’ll be fine.”

Have they been unintentionally charmed by Nagi’s cuteness? Even if you’re not a fanatic. Nagi is cute and beautiful, so it can’t be helped.

That’s what I think.

I stood around so that there would be fewer gazes towards Nagi.

◆◆◆

“The train was warm, so it doesn’t feel extra cold. …Are you okay? Nagi.”

“Yes, I’m fine. I have a pocket warmer with me.”

I got off the train and asked her as we left the station. Nagi took out a pocket warmer and said so.

Then, when I tried to walk out to see if it was okay, I was pulled by the sleeve.

“S-souta kun. Your hands are cold.”

“Hm? Oh……well.”

“Then, let’s hold hands !”

Nagi’s cheeks turned slightly red. She averted her gaze.

“….A-above all, I’m happy with it. What do you think?”

Nagi said that with a downcast look and rubbed the pocket warmer with both hands.

I found myself holding her hands. Nagi looked a little surprised and smiled softly.

Nagi put the warmer in her pocket and her hand wrapped my hand. It was very warm.

“……If it’s this warm, it should be hard for the heat to escape after we hold hands.”

Saying this, Nagi removed one hand. Place her other hand on mine.

If Nagi adjusts the position of her palm as it is, Nagi and I will have a shape like hand-to-hand.

“Souta kun’s hands are really big after all.”

“….I think it’s normal among boys.”

“Is that so?”

Nagi asked that. ….She smiled smugly.

“But it doesn’t matter much to me. ….The only male hands I know are my father and Souta kun.”

Nagi’s finger slips and goes between my fingers.

“Well, let’s go. Souta kun. ……Souta kun?”

Just like that Nagi held my hand–so called “lover’s held”, and tried to walk away.

But I stopped involuntarily.

“…..Now that’s a foul.”

My face got hot and I involuntarily turned my face away from Nagi, and a giggle reached my ears.

But Nagi doesn’t say anything and waits for me to calm down.

It took nearly enough time for me to start walking again.

◆◆◆

“……! Souta kun, I heard the maze has been renewed !”

“I’m glad to hear that. I hear they’ve added a lot of other Christmas touches, too.”

While waiting in line at the entrance, we looked at the pamphlet together.

Nagi seems to especially like the maze, so I’m a little happy to hear that it’s been renewed.

But then Nagi looked at me as if she had noticed something.

“…..Ah. This time, I won’t think about it alone, I’ll challenge it properly with Souta kun !”

“You don’t have to worry about it. I won’t get tired of seeing Nagi’s serious expression.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Nagi’s serious expression is so cool…..and the gap between it and your usual expression is huge.”

I explained to Nagi who was floating. Nagi said, [Then] and brought her face closer.

“It’s no longer possible for me to clear it by myself. ……I also want to see Souta kun’s cool side.”

Nagi’s beautiful face was right in front of me, and she smiled mischievously.

“Fufu. Are you looking forward to it?”

“……I can’t say I’m good at it. I’ll try my best.”

“Yes !”

Nagi looks excited and happy.

–It’s clearly different from when she had come before. She had a clear expression on her face, with no regrets.

I found myself smiling, too, and looking forward to seeing what other attractions we would enjoy at the amusement park.