After Becoming a Counselor for Girls, I Ended Up Producing a Lot of Potential Girlfriends Who Became Mentally Ill - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Dragon’s Sword Souvenir, Shizuku’s Move

Shizuku asked me for a matching strap.

Considering Shizuku, it would probably be right to agree, but I didn’t want to give off any hints of something like that, so my feelings were wavering.

“What if other people see it?”

“People usually don’t care about things like that. It’s just self-consciousness. Come on, let’s buy it! Buy it, Seii-kun!”

“You’re starting to look like a terrible, dishonest salesman.”

Muttering “I guess not,” Shizuku fell into deep thought. It was clearly pushing too hard. The heart that might have been wavering didn’t respond at all.

“If we put it on the bag…”

“Oh?”

“If we put it on the outside, it will stand out. But what if we put it inside?”

“You’ve thought about it.”

It seemed like Shizuku had compromised. She wanted to have matching things and wear them in the same place, but it seemed she couldn’t give up on that line.

“If we put it inside, it won’t be too obvious. It will feel like a secret just between us.”

“If it’s inside a designated bag, it won’t stand out, so maybe it’s fine.”

“Alright!”

Thus, I gave in to Shizuku’s suggestion.

“Of course, we’ll buy the Dragon’s Sword, right?”

“That choice is so cringe-worthy.”

“With this, we won’t feel like showing it off, and it will still serve as a stealthy item, won’t it?”

“At our age, the dragon one is embarrassing. You really know how to come up with ideas.”

“Of course, in my case, I wouldn’t be embarrassed even if people saw me wearing it!”

“I wish you’d pick up some general sense.”

So, instead of something specific to tourist spots, we settled on a Dragon’s Sword strap, something you could find anywhere.

I noticed the shop clerk had a slightly uncomfortable gesture, which I didn’t miss.

“This souvenir should be fine.”

“I’m relieved it doesn’t take up too much space.”

“Make sure it doesn’t crumble from all the moving around.”

“I’ve been thinking this since the Dragon’s Sword part, but I really don’t want you treating me like a grade schooler.”

“Is that not okay?”

“You’re admitting it so casually.”

After this silly exchange, we decided to do a little sightseeing.

The street lined with souvenir shops also had plenty of food.

“Shops like these are worth buying from, even if they’re a bit expensive.”

“We’ve already visited about three shops.”

We’d gone through skewers, rice crackers, and sweets. Over half of it was suggested by Shizuku.

“I don’t want to have any regrets. I don’t want to skimp on spending while traveling.”

“I feel the same.”

“It’s like buying all the limited edition goods at a big anime event. No hesitation at all!”

As expected, Shizuku often likened things to anime. There were other moments where she easily substituted things with anime-related concepts. As expected of Shizuku.

“Now, I’m getting hungry.”

“I feel like we’ve eaten a lot while walking around, but it’s still gone down.”

“Walking and eating is both calorie intake and consumption at the same time. In other words, you can keep eating without getting full.”

“That’s a bit of a wild claim.”

“That’s right.”

Though small in stature, it seemed she had quite the capacity for food.

“Seii-kun, you don’t look too eager for lunch yet, do you?”

“After all the eating while walking, maybe I’ll look around for a bit before lunch.”

“Maybe we should have a light lunch.”

“I’ll go with that.”

So, we continued to wander for a bit longer.

Since it was a popular tourist spot, there were many tourists around. It was hard to keep up with Shizuku’s energetic pace.

Since Shizuku had slept soundly on the bullet train, she was now showing remarkable stamina. I figured she’d run out of energy soon and collapse.

Eventually, the food in my stomach settled, and it seemed like it was time for lunch.

We managed to avoid the peak lunch time.

“I’ve been looking into it.”

“Did you already have a plan for where to eat?”

“Of course. I haven’t counted beyond Plan 10.”

“Really impressive.”

Apparently, Shizuku had already adjusted her plans, including accounting for me getting full from the food walks.

“From how crowded it is, it seems like the best place is a Japanese restaurant with delicious desserts!”

“You’re more focused on the desserts than the main dish.”

“Wanting to enjoy a fancy parfait is a natural wish for a girl, isn’t it?! And if a restaurant does a good job with the sides, the main dish is probably good too, right?”

“That’s some strong enthusiasm. It doesn’t look crowded, so let’s go to that place.”

“Hehe. This is the perfect trip…”

It was good to see Shizuku so excited.

While continuing to wander, my mood finally started to lift. Shizuku was already way ahead of me, and I had no chance of catching up.

Within a few minutes, we were able to get a table inside. For a tourist spot, that was pretty good.

“Alright, desserts, desserts!”

As soon as we sat down and opened the menu, she was already in this mood.

We were seated in a more secluded part of the restaurant, so it was hard for the other customers to see us.

“You’re completely ignoring the main dish.”

“I can’t stop being excited.”

“Then I’ll go ahead and order the main dish first.”

“That’s fine. I’ll order whatever’s next to the main dish you pick.”

“Such a careless way to decide.”

“It’s a calculated kind of carelessness.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what she was talking about, but I decided on what to order.

“Of course, seafood it is.”

“The one next to it is the highest-end option.”

“Hey, did you plan this? Are you trying to empty out my wallet?”

“It’s the one next to it.”

“The one with a lot of shrimp in it! Think about what I like!”

“After four years together, I think I can guess.”

Whether or not Shizuku had planned it, the main dish was set.

“Then, for dessert, let’s go with this. I’ve already decided.”

“Oh, that parfait…”

The parfait she pointed at had long chocolate sticks sticking out of it.

I froze.

Wasn’t this the same as “that” from the kissing incident?

The smile on Shizuku’s face looked meaningful. She must have some kind of intention behind it.

Even if it was just a coincidence, remembering that incident at the same time as this… what a strange thing.

“Doesn’t it look delicious, the chocolate sticks on top?”

“…!”

“If Seii-kun wants it, I wouldn’t mind sharing it. What do you think?”

She was definitely aiming for something.

What was she trying to get out of me? Shizuku had set a rule not to directly mention that incident.

Was Shizuku a strategist, like Kujo? Or not?