CH 13

We talked about what games we should play.

I’m not proud of it, but I have all kinds of games in my house.

RPGs, of course, but also battle royale, racing, simulation, board games, and so on. There are so many that I think I have almost all of them.

The reason for this is that I buy second-hand ones I like at random, or my friends bring them over to my house to play games. Keiichi also brought some games to my house.

“Even though there are many kinds of games, they are limited to some extent when the four of us play them together. Are there any genres that Saejima and others are not good at?”

“Hnn,…… nothing in particular, but the type of games that require a lot of learning of controls might drag me down.”

Saejima said so, and Kohinata nodded in agreement.

Well, you won’t enjoy playing a game where player skill is important on the first go-around. It would be better to play a game that involves a moderate amount of luck and that can be enjoyed by all four players.

“Let’s say ‘Life Maze’ then. It’s easy to play and the mini-games are fun.”

“Oh, good! That’s good. That’s good! I like the human maze!”

The Maze of Life, or Jinmaze for short.

This is, simply put, a game similar to a “sugoroku”. It is a big hit both in Japan and abroad, and more than 10 titles in the series have already been released. It can be played by both children and adults, and the controls are simple and not difficult.

I don’t own the latest one yet because it’s too expensive even used, but I bought the one before that one.

“Are you okay with that, Kohinata and Keiichi?”

I ask them as I look through the drawers for software.

“That’s good! It’s a different group of people than usual, and it’ll be fun. Kohinata says yes too.”

I don’t see her in my line of sight, but she’s probably nodding her head in agreement.

“Okay, then Keiichi, help me prepare the main unit.”

“Okay!”

Keiichi replied cheerfully and quickly connected the cords in a familiar manner.

This game could be played while chatting lightly, and there would be no need to force yourself to play it with others.

At any rate, thanks to this game, I think I will be able to get through today’s sudden visit in peace.

There was a time when I was thinking that

“Um, Kohinata–this has nothing to do with my intention, it’s just because of roulette,…… no, it’s not that I don’t like Kohinata or anything like that.”

As if to make excuses, I stringed together such pathetic words.

Keiichi and Saejima were grinning and happily watching me as I desperately tried to explain myself with cold sweat on my forehead.

You guys are so good at taking care of other people’s business! Think a little bit about the feelings of the people involved! I can’t help but feel awkward!

“………………”

And as for Kohinata, who was caught in my clutches, she didn’t look at me at all as I sat next to her, either looking down at the controller or looking at the TV screen with an upward glance.

And she rarely nods or shakes her head as usual. Sometimes she moves her face about five millimeters, but never in such a large motion that I could put an onomatopoeic word to it.

“Weell, you two have so many children, I envy you.”

“I’m going to smash you, Keiichi! This is just a game!”

Keiichi is right, between me and Kohinata, many children have already been born. Just a few days ago, our seventh child was born. I let him be born.

When the four of us guys played this game together, we would randomly marry female characters that appeared in the game, but we had completely forgotten that if a player had a woman, she would be eligible for marriage as well.

I guess it can’t be helped! I’ve never played a game with a girl before, so I’d forgotten all about those specifications!

Fearfully, I turn to Kohinata sitting next to me, her face reddening, and I think she is trembling slightly.

I’m sure she would be embarrassed to be married to a classmate, even if it was in a game. And she is being forced to give birth to a child. There is no way she would not feel awkward.

I just hope that her feelings are not “humiliation.”

While Keiichi is spinning the roulette wheel, I whisper to Kohinata

“Oh, are you mad at me, Kohinata? Sorry if I made you feel bad.”

When I ask this, Kohinata shakes her head very slightly.

It’s a level that you might miss if you weren’t paying close attention, but it’s clear that she denies it. It’s okay, I guess.

“Wwwwwwwell, if you’re tired of the game, you can always tell me. And I’m sorry if you’ve given birth again. I apologize in advance.”

If heard in the real world, these are the words of a very lousy man with no sense of responsibility.

But in a game, you get congratulatory money from other players, and there are benefits at the time of the final settlement of accounts. It should be all good, but when the other player is a girl classmate, you can’t focus on all that.

I don’t care if I’m already at the bottom of the list, I just want it to end peacefully.

I was looking at the events that Saejima had caused while wishing for that,

“Hee—-?”

Pechi—my right elbow was hit by Kohinata’s small hand. No, it was so light that I could say it was a touch, but the action was so unexpected that my thoughts froze for a moment.

What the heck – what on earth was this behavior? What kind of intention was there in this action!

I don’t feel any feelings of disgust at being suddenly slapped.

I am just in a state of panic because I was touched by a girl.

I moved my head awkwardly like a rusty tinplate and looked at Kohinata.

“……………….”

Still the same expressionless face. But I think her face is even redder than before.

And Kohinata turned her face to the right, as if to escape my gaze.