What If You Spoil a High School Girl Who Looks Like a Landmine? - Volume 1 Chapter 3.6

Seeing What Shouldn’t Be Seen 6

“…Raihara-san? What’s wrong?”

It’s unbearably painful to watch, and it feels too precious to look away.

“Huh? …this”

A tear lands drop by drop onto his hand, and then he finally seems to notice the situation.

“What…? Why…”

Chifuji-san, who hadn’t realized he was crying until now seemed to not understand why he was crying.

His face doesn’t show pain, and his voice doesn’t quiver with sorrow.

Still, the tears just continuously fall.

“I’m sorry…haha, maybe the fever messed up my tear ducts…”

Chifuji-san, blinking several times, wipes around his eyes with a wry smile.

“What am I doing…I need to be proper.”

The words murmured softly were chillingly cold that it gave me the creeps.

It’s not a logical thought in my head, but it’s an intuition coming from deep within my belly that tells me.

Chifuji-san is very mature, responsible, and hardworking.

But, could this person actually be…

Actually be…

——Once again, my throat gulped.

***

It’s precisely what people say, ‘exposing disgraceful behavior.’

“I truly owe you a lot. Thank you so much for your help.”

“No, it’s nothing!”

Going out on Sunday with Raihara-san have practically become a regular thing.

Anyway, I’ve already thanked her several times, but still…

“Didn’t you get infected, Raihara-san…?”

“Not at all. Hehe, I have never caught a cold since I was born!”

Strong.

I think she is exaggerating to reassure me, but a part of me feel like it might really be true.

“Are you feeling better now, Chifuji-san…?”

“Thanks to you, I’m completely fine. I can go to school and to my part-time job. And as you see, to the game center too.”

“Well, hehe. I’m glad.”

Today, the two of us came to a game center located in the bustling city area.

The spacious store is lively with a diverse range of customers.

“It’s nostalgic, I haven’t been here since elementary school.”

“Oh, is that so? I often come because my younger sister particularly likes it.”

“Really? What kind of games do you play?”

“Mostly competitive ones.”

“I see, you seem like the athletic type who would enjoy competition.”

“Since we’re here, let’s do that afterward. But, what we came here for today is…”

“This one!”

What is lined up in the area we came to are——crane games, one of the kings of the arcade world.

Today’s mission for Raihara-san is to ‘beg for prizes.’

“…However, I feel like there are way more crane games than before… Were there this many machines before?”

“Ah, now that you mention it, it might have increased… I don’t remember the crane game area being this big.”

“It’s popular, isn’t it?”

The row of machines is clearly more than I remember.

We wander around looking at what kind of prizes are available.

“B-but…is it okay? You see, it costs money…”

“As I said before we came. I received such a lavish bento from you, and above all, you took care of me last time.”

“But that is…. no… I have to be spoiled, yes!”

Raihara-san clenches her fist and gets pumped up.

She eventually stops in front of one machine.

Inside are lined up stuffed rabbits.

It’s a character characterized by moist eyes and bandages wound around it.

“Oh, I’ve seen this. I think a girl in the class had one.”

“Ac, actually, I have a few too…”

“Oh, you like it, don’t you?”

“Yes, it’s cute, isn’t it, Usabyan (バャ).”

“…What?”

Come to think of it, this is the first time I heard its name, and it was the first time I heard such a pronunciation.

Usa…what?

“Hehe, it’s called Usabyan, Usabyan.”

“Usabian? (ビャ)”

“Close, it’s ‘byan’.”

“…It seems I need more practice with my pronunciation.”

It seemed like a difficult name at my level.

“By the way, it does match the current look of Raihara-san, the Jirai-kei (Landmine type) fashion.”

It’s cute, but it also has a slightly dark taste, which seems to be a common point.

“That’s right, it’s a standard item and I…um, so.”

“Yes.”

On the glass case, dance the words, ‘Limited Time Only Prize Exclusive Design!’

If it’s only available now, and only obtainable through crane games, it doesn’t seem like she already has the same one.

“That one..”

I wait patiently for her to speak.

The approach that worked at the movie theater, I decided to employ it again this time.

Raihara-san shifts her gaze between the crane game and me, back and forth several times.

“Um, well, …um, you see.”

She finally, while looking down a bit and looking up timidly,

“…I want…that one, …I want it!”

“Yes.”

“…I’d be really happy if you could get it for me, …no, um, I want to get it for me, please!”

She was speaking awkwardly but looking straight into my eyes.

“Yes, please wait a moment.”

Strictly speaking, the objective for today is already achieved at this point, but it doesn’t matter.

Of course, I simply want to get it for her.

Especially since she tried so hard.

I really appreciate my uncle at moments like this.

『There are two things worth practicing for a man. Unhooking a bra without looking and winning prizes in a crane game.』

My uncle used to say so… I’ll refrain from commenting on the first one, but the second one might be true.

At least, the training he instilled in me during my elementary school days seems likely to pay off right now.

“The claw of the arm is… Is it angled right? The others are…”

Picking the machine largely determines success or failure in this game, but from what I can see from this machine, including the positioning of the prizes, the conditions don’t seem too bad.

I put in a hundred yen and started on the first try.

The crane, moving to the target while playing characteristic music… managed to hook but didn’t lift it up.

“Ah, so close…”

“…The arm, it’s not very strong, is it. I see…then.”

With that, the stuffed animal I was aiming for toppled over, face down.

Of course, I was aiming for the product tag attached to its rear.

Second try, third, fourth.

“Wow, amazing!”

“It seems doable…Alright.”

The crane’s claw finally entered the tag as intended.

If it lifts it up as it is, the stuffed animal will surely rise.

Then, while holding it up, the claw moves toward the prize retrieval slot.