Himegi-san a Bride from the Future Begs Me to Confess My Love to Her Again - Volume 2 Chapter 2.5

A Pool Date with the Princess 5

I let out a big sigh and put my smartphone back in my pocket.

Then, I approach Himegi-san, who is staring intently at a stuffed animal.

“Do you want it?”

“No, I don’t particularly want it, but this little guy keeps looking at me with round eyes.”

Himegi-san, that’s what people generally call ‘wanting’ something…

However, she’s not honest about certain things.

The stuffed animal that Himegi-san was eyeing was a white frog character.

This guy, you’ve been encroaching on my life lately…

“I have no choice. Let’s welcome Hakugaeru-kun into our home.”

Saying that, she inserts a 100-yen coin and starts playing the crane game.

Comical music starts to play, and the crane arm moves jerkily in sync with the lever that Himegi-san is operating.

“Do you play crane games often?”

“It’s been five years. Right, this will be my second time since my first play here.”

“I see.”

“…here we go.”

She says that and presses the crane game button.

The three-pronged arm lowers and firmly grabs the head of the white frog.

“Oh, you think you can get it? “

“——Be quiet.”

“S-sorry.”

She was seriously angry.

Then, the arm lifts the white frog up into the air,

“——Ah!”

It slips out of the crane’s grasp and falls back into its original spot.

This is just as I suspected.

The crane arm loosens when it reaches its highest point, making it extremely difficult to win the plush toy.

Unfazed, Himegi-san inserts another hundred-yen coin.

“….how was it…I wonder?”

“What?”

Himegi-san mumbled something.

I couldn’t hear it well due to the noise, but she seemed to have asked me a question.

“…uh, sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

Upon hearing this, she visibly scowls.

It seemed like it was an important question.

“I’m really sorry. Could you please say it again?”

“…So, how…did my…swimsuit look?”

Perhaps feeling shy, Himegi-san’s face turns slightly red.

Not wanting to let me see her reaction, she turns away and gazes at the yet-to-be-won plush toy, feigning indifference.

It then occurred to me that I hadn’t actually complimented her swimsuit out loud.

This is a big mistake on my part as her boyfriend.

“…Himegi-san.”

“What is it?”

“I’m going to throw away my cherished Shiramori Yuki photobook!”

Shiramori Yuki is a popular idol of our generation.

I was such a huge fan that I would immediately go to the bookstore whenever a new Shiramori Yuki photobook was released.

She has a figure that can stand toe-to-toe with Himegi-san’s.

“What do you mean?”

“Today, I’ve encountered something even more amazing than Yuki-chan, to whom I’ve devoted my youth to. Yes, it’s you, Himegi-san! I want to thank you for how incredible you looked in your swimsuit!”

For some reason, I get chopped.

“Don’t lump me in with girls who are just outlets for s*xual desires!”

“Outlet? All I do is admire Yuki-chan’s swimsuit photobook and imagine spending a summer vacation with her before going to sleep!”

I swear to God, I’ve never looked at Yuki-chan with lewd intentions.

“I think you are having lewd fantasies about her…”

“…But Himegi-san, you’re even lewder!”

“I’ll knock you out! In any case, that compliment—only gets a fifty!”

“O-okay…”

It seems I went about complimenting her the wrong way.

“…Himegi-san, would you wear today’s swimsuit again? I’d like to see it at the beach if possible.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

It seemed that this way of complimenting her was better; I didn’t miss the brief moment her expression softened into a smile.

It may not have been a perfect score, but it seemed to have touched Himegi-san’s heart a little.

While we were having this conversation, another plush toy fell loosely from the crane game arm.

“Ah! Mmm… Well, there’s still time. Let’s enjoy the game at a leisurely pace.”

She then pulls another hundred-yen coin from her wallet for another retry.

” ….. “

Sadly, I can already foresee what’s going to happen next.

And then—thirty minutes later.

——Bang!

“Ah! Don’t hit the machine!”

“B-but! I’ve spent ten thousand yen!”

“I told you, you should have stopped when you reached a thousand yen!”

Unfortunately, even after spending ten thousand yen, she still hasn’t won the frog plush toy.

Himegi-san has lost all sense of when to stop and is engrossed in the crane game.

She’s definitely the type who shouldn’t be allowed to gamble.

“Ouji-kun, I’m going to get some change. Keep an eye on this frog plushie so nobody else takes it!”

“——Okay.”

It seems she still wants to continue playing.

Also, I’m not too worried.

I doubt anyone else would want this rather unappealing frog.

“Are you still doing it?”

Harune-chan appears with a puzzled expression, having finished her game.

“She can’t seem to quit.”

“Harune only spent five hundred yen… This is what you’d call a double standard.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

I really have no words to counter that.

…Touka-nee, while you’re messing around, you’re lowering your little sister’s opinion of you.

“You already spent a lot of money. I’ll ask the clerk to move it to an easier position to grab.”

“I suggested that too, but she vehemently refused.”

She seems determined to win it on her own power without anyone’s help.

For the record, I did offer various pieces of advice, but she snapped, ‘I can’t focus, so be quiet!’

Since then, I have remained silent.

“What a ridiculous sister.”

Saying that, Harune-chan coldly gazes at the frog plushie.

It must be frustrating for her, to watch her sister frivolously spend money while she only spent five hundred yen.

“…Harune-chan, play with this money.”

——rip rip rip!

“Ah, Onī-san… that wallet…”

“Yes?”

“T-that’s so cool!”

So it seems.

It appears that, just like me, this kid has a real understanding of the essence of style.

A true connoisseur of taste.

“I think that in five years, Velcro wallets will be all the rage worldwide.”

“Wow! Onī-san, you’re living in the future! You are visionary!”

“Well, yeah. I’m so ahead of the times that ordinary people just can’t comprehend it. More importantly… here’s some pocket money for Harune-chan.”

I take a thousand-yen bill from my wallet and give it to Harune-chan as a gift.

“…Is this okay?”

“Of course.”

“Yay! I love you, Onī-san!”

Harune-chan is overjoyed and leaps into my arms.

Oh, oh! What is this?

I feel like I could give anything to this kid!

If she were to demand a hundred thousand yen card, I would undoubtedly withdraw the money from an ATM and run to the card shop.