Can I brag about my very devoted wife to you?

Just for you to have fun…

The train ride took thirty minutes. The moment we arrived at our destination safely and saw the entrance of the facility, Riko shouted with joy.

“Fureai Farm”! [TN: A farm where you can pet animals. http://fureai-farm.com/] Sounds fun! I’m surprised you brought me to a place like this…! Thank you so much, Minato-kun…!”

“Y-you’re welcome. Was my surprise a success…?”

“It was a huge success! I was really surprised!”

I had been anxiously waiting for her reaction, but when I saw her eyes shining brightly, I let out a sigh of relief.

I’m glad… It looks like I made the right choice of destination…

Incidentally, this was a petting farm on the outskirts of Kanagawa Prefecture. Originally, I hadn’t given this place much importance at all, and had put it on my list as a possible alternate, but when I showed her the list of destinations for our date, Asakura said, “By far, Fureai Farm!”

“Seriously, Fureai Farm…? Wouldn’t you rather be at Disney, a cinema, or Hakkeijima Sea Paradise?”

“Disney is the worst place for a first date.Can you keep Riko occupied during the long wait?”

“Ugh…that’s… I can pay for it out of my part-time job!”

“No, no, not like this. Even if you weren’t to ask her to pay for it, any sane person would shy away from the fact that it’s expensive. Especially since Riko is a caring person, she would definitely say she’ll pay for it herself.”

“Indeed… But what about the cinema? It’s a very conventional date destination, so I thought it would be a better choice.”

“And that’s why! It’s so common, there’s nothing fresh about it. And you can’t communicate at all while you’re watching the movie. It’s like you’re wasting almost two hours of our time together. I think it’s fine if you’re a couple who’ve gotten used to each other, but on a first date, that’s a bit much.”

“I-I see. I now get that those two are no good. But there are many more options…”

“The Fureai Farm is definitely better than any other place. It has a novelty that you would never expect, and you don’t usually get a chance to see animals on a farm, right? So I think everything you see will be a fresh surprise for Riko. Even if you don’t try, Riko will be surprised and happy. To put it another way, Fureai Farm fits the image of you and Riko as a heartwarming couple.”

“A heartwarming couple…”

“Wait, what are you turning red for? I’m starting to feel embarrassed too!”

“S-sorry…”

“It’s even redder now! You’re too much of a pure-hearted boy-!!”

–After such an exchange, we decided on Fureai Farm as our destination.

I bought the tickets for a reasonable price and entered the park. As Asakura had expected, Riko didn’t accept me paying for her ticket, and if anything, she tried to pay for mine, which I had to stop her from doing. I’m so glad I didn’t choose Disney. Thank you, Asakura…

We walked through the trees, past a boardwalk where we could watch birds, and arrived at a fenced pasture. On the left side of the fence was a large area where horses carrying visitors roamed leisurely. On the right, there were a few gazebo-style benches [TN: Some stylish benches.], and beyond them, there should be a fenced area with ponies.

I knew all the facilities in the park from the maps posted on the Internet, and I had a good plan based on them.

The first thing we did was to go to the area on the left to experience riding a horse, and after that, we would feed the ponies. We could probably play here for almost two hours. There was a horse-drawn carriage in the vast park, and it went around the facility every two hours. The carriage would be passing by just as we would be done playing, so we would take it to get to the next area.

Riko clapped her hands together and squealed with joy the moment she saw the horse walking around with its hooves clicking.

“Wow…! I’ve never seen a horse like this before…”

“Yeah, me too. It’s bigger than I thought.”

“Truly! How amazing.”

Riko let out an excited sigh and admired the horse as it strutted along nimbly. She seemed to have a good grip on the horse for now. If Riko liked the horse, the the riding experience would be a great memory for her.

“Riko, I heard this place also offers horseback riding. Would you like to go for a ride?”

“Oh…um, I wanted to get in, but I’m in a skirt today…”

“Ah…! I see, you’re right…!”

Of course it’s impossible to go riding in a skirt. I’m such a failure that I didn’t even realize it.

“I’m sorry about this wasted opportunity…! I wore a skirt without thinking, I’m such an idiot… I should have come dressed in something I could easily move in.”

“No, Riko’s not wrong at all! Besides, that dress was really cute!”

“T-thanks…”

“Yeah…”

Riko was embarrassed, which infected me, and we both blushed. It was Riko who broke the silence first.

“… Um, if you don’t mind, just go riding, Minato-kun. I’ll be right here watching you!”

“No, I’m fine too.”

“It’s fun to watch, so don’t be shy.”

I was honestly touched to hear such a healthy thing said.

Anyway, we had to get back on our feet somehow. Oh, yes, the ponies! Feeding them shouldn’t be a problem in a skirt.

“Riko, over here. I heard you can pet the ponies, so let’s go.”

“Really!”

“It’s said we can hand feed them.”

“Great! I wonder if they’ll eat right out of my hand.”

“Riko, you’ll be absolutely fine. I’ll guarantee it!”

We laughed at this exchange, bought some food for the ponies, and headed to the fence.

The ponies, which are more than a size smaller than horses, were just adorable. Their calm and clear eyes were especially impressive.

When I was about to pick up a carrot stick from the cup to feed it, I noticed–

“Eh… Wait, what?”

For some reason, all the ponies inside the fence started to gather in front of me. Even though there were many other tourists and some of the ponies were in the middle of being fed, all the ponies came towards us at a glance.

“Whoa! Minato-kun, they’re all here!”

I was surprised, but Riko seemed to be enjoying herself. I couldn’t understand what was going on and was left bewildered. I mean, why me?

“No, no, no… You don’t have to come closer to me…!”

I’d rather you coming to Riko! Then I’m sure Riko will be happy…

I tried to wave them away, but the ponies didn’t pay any attention at all and looked up at me.

“…Huh, what’s going on with this…”

“Minato-kun, you’re amazing! You’re like the leader of the ponies. I’m so impressed…!”

Riko was clapping her hands and smiling, and the tourists around her were applauding along with their admiration.

“How did this happen?”

“Hehe. Minato-kun, you’re probably the kind of person that animals like, huh?”

“I’m sorry, Riko. I didn’t mean to interrupt your feeding.”

“Why are you apologizing? I think it’s great that animals like you.”

“…”

I wanted to entertain Riko, but I froze up by hearing her compliment me…

I really don’t know how much of a good girl she is…

I was supposed to be trying my best to make her like me, but instead I’m falling more and more in love with Riko.

I wish I could be as attractive and loved as Riko. To do that, I have to somehow make up for the mistakes I’ve made so far.

After all that, the ponies didn’t seem to leave my vicinity at all. I had no choice but to give up feeding the ponies and leave the area, as this would be a nuisance to the other customers. Riko laughed and said it was fun, but secretly I was disappointed in myself.

After so much planning, the morning train, horse riding, and even feeding the ponies didn’t work out…

Moreover, there was still more than an hour left before the carriage would arrive.

I’m stuck… Of course Riko would be bored waiting here for an hour.

“It’s quite a distance to the lake we’ve decided on as our next destination, is it okay if we walk there?”

I asked, and Riko nodded with a happy expression on her face. Even though the date didn’t go well at all, the only thing that saved me was the fact that Riko was smiling at me the whole time.

Translator & Editor: Riciel