Does This Love Suit Your Taste? - Volume 1 Chapter 5.5

Date 5

At my suggestion, we stopped by the arcade where we had bought milk tea earlier.

The only thing I felt I could really present and enjoy with her was something like this.

Back in junior high school when I had friends, we used to go to arcades quite often.

“What are we going to do?”

“Hmm… maybe that?”

For starters, I invited her to a shooting game.

She probably hadn’t played it before, and I figured I wouldn’t get an immediate “that is not fun” rejection.

“I’ll even put in a hundred yen.”

“You’ve really turned over a new leaf, haven’t you?”

“…shut up. Give me a break.”

As I grumbled, Shirahime giggled with a clear voice. Still, she didn’t refuse and happily joined in the game.

It’s a game where you take down zombies one after another with a handgun at your side as they attack. A survival game where you either make it to the goal or get eaten by zombies.

And when it’s over—

“Phew~ this game was satisfying.”

“Not fun at all! I was the only one who died right away, and Toui-kun was the only one who made it to the goal.”

“Yes-yes, sorry about that.”

That’s the mixed review. Well, I guess that’s how it is; girls might not like this kind of game.

Right, I was supposed to listen to what Shirahime wanted. In that case, I should prioritize what she wants to do.

“So, what do you want to do?”

“Hmm, let’s do that!”

“Oh, that thing… Alright…”

This time, we played the air hockey game Shirahime pointed at. But the result was——

“Toui-kun, you’re too weak~. You’re no match for me.”

“Maybe you’re just too strong…”

Shirahime’s reflexes are extraordinary, and I’m completely on the defensive.

All I can do is guard the goal with my mallet while Shirahime relentlessly scores five points without letting any through.

It ends up like a match between a strong team and a weak one.

She’s good at this too… How S-class is she?”

“N-next! What do you want to do?”

“Eh? Hmm… Ah! Nunu-chu! It’s cute, right? Nunu-chu.”

“Hmm…”

Looking around, I find a big plushie of the recently popular teddy bear ‘Nunu-chu’ lying in a ball pit inside a crane game machine.

“A UFO catcher? You want this?”

“Ah? N-no, I was just curious…”

“Got it, I’ll get it for you.”

Ignoring Shirahime’s hesitance, I put in a hundred yen.

It’s not like I’m particularly good at crane games, but if the princess (Hime) desires it, then it’s my fate as a servant to do it.

Sigh… It’s sad how accustomed I’ve become to the role of a servant.

“Well, maybe I’ll get it surprisingly quickly… Ah!”

But it wasn’t that easy.

The arm, having lifted the Nunu-chu, drops it back down as the impact at the peak causes the Nunu-chu to slip through the arm’s grasp.

“…Sorry”

“No-no, it’s okay.”

Well, I didn’t really expect to get it with just a hundred yen.

And as I continued playing, Nunu-chu kept slipping away from the arm.

“Toui-kun? It’s okay to stop…”

“No, wait. I can get it. I can get it. You just don’t get it, Shirahime. This kind of game is about gradually moving it closer.”

“Hmm…”

So I put in another hundred yen. What am I even doing?

Finally, I couldn’t even grab Nunu-chu anymore.

“Damn it… Why…”

Time and hundred-yen coins flowed by… after spending about three thousand yen, I realized Shirahime had lost interest and moved to another machine.

“That…”

“Hold on, I’ve almost got it now—ah, yes?”

After a while, the person who approached me wasn’t Shirahime but a staff member of this arcade.

“If you’d like, I can assist you…”

“Assist?”

“Yes… It seems you’re having quite a struggle… We can position the prize in an easier spot for you to grab…”

Ah, how embarrassing… I shouldn’t have bragged about getting it myself…

“Or would you like to continue trying on your own?”

“No, please do it…”

“Yes…”

In the end, Nunu-chu was placed by the clerk in such a way that it almost hung on the edge of the prize machine’s chute, ensuring it would make it fall by barely touching it.

I inserted another hundred yen. Without even needing to grab Nunu-chu, Nunu-chu fell into the prize chute with just a slight touch from the arm.

“Congratulations!”

“…thank you.”

Applauded by the helpful staff, I felt my own patheticness as I collected Nunu-chu, and just then, Shirahime came over.

She seemed to have watched the whole assisted retrieval process.

“…Here you go.”

When I handed over the Nunu-chu, Shirahime hesitated, looking back and forth between me and the Nunu-chu.

“Is it really okay?”

“I’ll look like an idiot if you don’t take it.”

“…Thank you! I’ll treasure it.”

“Okay…”

I felt annoyed. The dynamic hadn’t changed; I was supposed to be entertaining her, but as usual, Shirahime was the one looking after me, and I was the one causing her trouble.

Wiping the awkward sweat from my forehead, I watched Shirahime look at me with a smile for some reason as she adorably hugged Nunu-chu.

“What’s wrong…”

“No? It’s nothing. Should we head out soon?”

Indeed, there seemed to be no point in staying here any longer.

There was also the possibility that choosing to go to the game center was a mistake. As the day was nearing dusk, we left the arcade while feeling empty.

As I was inwardly feeling down for not having accomplished anything, next to me, Shirahime put her hand to her mouth and made a gesture as if she was thinking about something.

“…Hey, do we still have time?”

“Yes? Ah, well, I guess I can still make time for one place.”

Shirahime nodded after hearing my response and then suggested, ‘If that’s the case.’

“There’s one place I’d like to go, is that okay?”

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