Chapter 16

I had come to the shopping mall near the station with Saionji.

If you were to ask about a hangout spot for students around here, this would be the first place that comes to mind.

It had absolutely everything, from a movie theater, CD shop, and bookstore to a game center, clothing stores, and shoe stores. At the food court, you could enjoy a wide variety of meals, from trendy drinks and junk food to high-end eel and sushi.

“Whoa…! There are so many people!”

“Well, it’s a holiday.”

Being a holiday, the shopping mall was packed with families, couples, and women who had come to window shop.

Looking at the crowd before us, Saionji wore an ecstatic expression.

For her, a magical girl raised in a garden of women, a sight like this—which a normal person might find overwhelming—must seem fresh and exciting.

“So, where do you want to go, Saionji?”

My role here today is to be Saionji’s bag-carrier.

She must be planning on doing a lot of shopping if she felt the need to bring a guy along for help.

I had come almost completely empty-handed so I could carry as much as possible.

“Wh-Where…? Um, wh-where do I want to go…?”

“Huh…?”

I thought for sure she had already decided what she was going to buy, but she wore a troubled expression.

“This is my first time coming to a place like this… I don’t really know what I should do first, or where I should even go… Ugh, if I knew it would be like this, I should have asked her…”

Saionji held her head in her hands.

I pulled her over to where a map of the mall was displayed and gave her a rough explanation of what was inside.

“If you look at this, you can generally see what’s sold where. If you want to buy clothes, that’s the third floor. Cosmetics are on the fourth floor, the food court is on the second, and it looks like shoes and hats are on this floor and also on the fifth.”

“Ooh…! They sell so many different things!”

Saionji’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the mall map.

“What is this ‘game center’!?”

“It’s a place with a bunch of different arcade cabinets. You can play stuff like crane games, shooting games, rhythm games, things like that.”

“Ooh…! That’s amazing…!”

Saionji’s voice was filled with excitement.

“I want to try it! I want to go to this game center!”

“Huh? What about the shopping?”

“We can shop later! We came all the way to this fun place, so I want to enjoy it to the fullest!”

“I guess you’re right. Alright, I’ve been to an arcade a few times, so I’ll show you around.”

“I’m counting on you!”

I led the very excited Saionji to the game center.

“…!? What is that sound!?”

Saionji was startled by the explosive noise coming from the arcade cabinets the moment we walked in.

The first thing that caught her eye was a shooting game.

“This! I want to try this!”

“A gun-shooting game, huh. Looks like it’s for two players. Wanna play together?”

“I do!”

“Alright.”

I put the money in, and Saionji and I started playing cooperatively.

For her first time, Saionji was quite skilled at taking down enemies, and the two of us somehow managed to reach the first boss.

But the boss’s attacks depleted our lives, and we got a game over.

“Grr… That was a tough one… It’s so frustrating that I can’t use magic!”

“Hahaha. Just be careful not to get ticked off and fire a spell at the game screen.”

I laughed as I warned Saionji, who was now completely absorbed in the game.

“One more time, Toujou! I feel like we can win if we try again!”

“Got it. One more time.”

We challenged the game again in co-op mode.

Having learned the enemy patterns from our previous playthrough, we worked together effectively to defeat them, and this time, we were able to beat the first boss with just a few lives to spare.

“We did it!! We beat it!!”

“Yeah, we did. You were pretty good for your first time, Saionji.”

“It’s thanks to your support! Toujou!”

We exchanged a high-five.

After that, I walked around with Saionji, looking at all the different arcade cabinets.

And whenever Saionji took an interest in a game, I would show her how to play it.

Saionji was completely engrossed in the games, as if she had become a child again.

She had an innocent smile on her face that was unthinkable from the Saionji I knew at school.

“Saionji. Sorry, I gotta use the restroom.”

“Ah, okay. I’ll be here playing this ‘crane game’ thing! I feel like I can get it in one more try!”

“Roger.”

The arcade’s overactive air conditioning had gotten to me, so leaving Saionji absorbed in the crane game, I rushed to the restroom.

“Hey, cutie, you’re seriously cute. Got a boyfriend? Why don’t you hang with us?”

“We know a place that’s way more fun than an arcade. Let’s go there. C’mon, it’ll be fun.”

“What do you want!? I’m at a crucial part right now! Don’t bother me!”

When I came back from the restroom, I found Saionji surrounded by two rough-looking guys.

They were persistently hitting on a clearly annoyed Saionji.

I stepped between them and Saionji and spoke to the two guys.

“Excuse me, this girl’s my girlfriend, so could you stop trying to pick her up?”

“Huh? You’re her boyfriend?”

“Seriously? She has a boyfriend?”

The two of them clicked their tongues and walked away, looking disappointed.

When I turned around, Saionji was tilting her head with a blank look on her face.

“What did you mean by ‘girlfriend,’ Toujou?”

“It means we’re a couple. Those guys looked like they were hitting on you, so I pretended to be your boyfriend to drive them off.”

“A-A-A couple!?”

Saionji’s face turned bright red as she looked down.

“Hey, it was just a lie to get rid of them, you know?”

“I-I know that much… A-Anyway… thank you, Toujou. They were being very persistent and unpleasant. I’m glad you chased them off.”

“Well, you’re cute, Saionji. You’re probably going to get hit on like that a lot, so you should be careful.”

“C-Cute!? Me…!?”

Saionji turned red again and looked down.

Maybe she’s not used to being complimented.

Her ears were bright red, too.

“D-Don’t just say things like that so easily! What is wrong with you!”

“Hey, I was just telling the truth…”

“…Quiet, quiet, quiet! A-Anyway, I’m done with the crane game!! If I keep playing, I’ll just lose more money, so let’s go!”

“Okay. Where to next?”

Following Saionji, who had started walking off briskly, I left the game center.

◆

“Just as planned… everything is proceeding just as planned…! Gweheheh!”

A shadow was observing Saionji and Toujou from behind an arcade cabinet as they left the game center.

It was, of course, Yuki Takanashi.

Takanashi watched the two of them grow closer through their cooperative play in the arcade and smirked.

“Two people deepening their bond through co-op play. And then, Toujou-kun saves the President, who was surrounded by shady guys! His manliness and kindness make the President’s feelings for Toujou-san grow even deeper!! Ahh, the love story I’ve seen in manga is happening right before my eyes!!”

The situation unfolding before her was like a scene straight out of one of her favorite romance mangas, and Takanashi’s excitement was at an all-time high.

Watching their retreating backs, she savored the joy of seeing exactly what she had hoped to see.

“I wonder if I’ll ever have a romance like that someday…”

For a moment, just for a brief moment, Takanashi imagined if she were the one next to Toujou right now.

Falling in love with Toujou, going on a date, and enjoying a holiday together.

What would it be like if a romance like the ones she admired in manga happened to her?

“No, no, that’s bad, me. What am I thinking? Toujou-kun belongs to the President, right? I’m supposed to be supporting the President. Just being able to watch their romance this closely is amazing enough.”

She shook her head, forcibly pushing away the thought that had led her astray for a moment, and prepared to resume tailing them.

“Oh, Yuki-chan? What are you doing in a place like this?”

“Yuki. Why are you here?”

Gulp!?

Suddenly, her name was called from behind by familiar voices.

Like a child caught doing something wrong, Takanashi timidly turned around.

“Mikan-chan, Chiyo-chan…”

“Hmm?”

“Hmm?”

Standing there were Kisaragi Mikan and Usami Chiyo, their faces clouded with suspicion.