I Was Reincarnated as a Mob, and After I Kept Listening to the Losing Childhood-Friend Heroine’s Complaints, I Somehow Maxed Out Her Affection Rating - 27

Chapter 27: The Battle Over Movie Theater Seats and the Arcade

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It was the day we went to see the movie and I was standing in front of the ticket gates at the station. Even though it was way more crowded than I expected for a weekend morning, my mind was busy in an entirely different direction.

“…No matter how I think about it, isn’t this a date?”

No, no, that wasn’t it. Definitely not. Just a movie. Just a weekend. Just friends (?). No—just someone who listened to her complaints. But…

“Going to watch a movie together, just the two of us… That’s totally a date template…”

As I was arguing with myself, a familiar hair color appeared at the edge of my vision.

“Ah, Yuuta-kun.”

The moment I turned toward her, my thoughts stopped for about three seconds. No, it was Kaede. It was definitely Kaede, but… Something was different.

“…Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh?’ me. What’s with that face? Is it weird?”

“It’s not weird. It’s just… I dunno, your vibe is different?”

After saying it, I realized how dead my vocabulary was. But Kaede only tilted her head in confusion.

“Really? I’m totally normal though… Wait, what? Am I that weird today?”

“No, not weird. More like… Stylish, or…Mature…”

“Heh… R-really…?”

Kaede glanced away for just a moment. That gesture alone was so unlike her that my brain short-circuited again. Her makeup was more detailed than usual. Her clothes were calmer than before, but not loud. It was just… More put together.

Wait. Isn’t this the “I put effort into my look” kind of thing?

The moment that thought hit me, my heart rate sped up on its own.

“…You look like you want to say something?”

“Look, the train’s coming. Let’s go.”

I passed through the ticket gate, practically trying to dodge the topic.

“You dodged it, didn’t you?”

“You’re imagining things.”

“Sure sure.”

And with that exchange, we got on the train and headed toward the shopping mall. We arrived at the movie theater. There were way too many people.

“At this rate… We can’t get seats, right?”

While I fiddled with the machine, Kaede peeked in.

“Let’s see… Ah, no good. There are seats left, but they’re all separated.”

As expected on a weekend, almost everything was taken.

“I should’ve reserved it through the app…”

“Yeah. I didn’t think that far ahead either.”

We could reserve with the app nowadays, but I had foolishly assumed we’d be fine. And after this, Kaede would probably come to my house. If we chose the next showing, she’d get home late.

“Hmmm… If we take the next showing, we’ll get home late… Should we take the separate seats?”

“…Huh?”

“Huh?”

The moment I suggested it, Kaede froze.

“No no no, why separate? Normally people sit together for this. Wait, do you not want to sit next to me?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to sit next to you!”

“Really?”

Her slightly pouty tone made me panic.

“Y-you know… Besides,  Hiiragi-san was the one who said ‘we might as well,’ so, yeah. Sitting together might be better…”

“…Hmm. Then we’ll sit together.”

What was this exchange? It felt like something out of a couple’s conversation. No, no, definitely not.

“Okay, then let’s go with another time. The next showing? Are there seats left?”

“…Looks like it. And two seats together. Barely.”

“Then let’s do that!”

Kaede nodded with a mix of happiness—and what felt like embarrassed relief. Seeing that expression, my heart thumped.

No no, calm down. It’s just a movie… It’s just…

I told myself that while staring at the reservation confirmation screen. But I couldn’t shake the awareness that this was totally a date. If I said it out loud, something would definitely change, so I barely held it in. But looking at Kaede’s profile…

No, seriously, this is a date no matter how you look at it.

There was an hour before the movie. Long enough to kill time, but not long enough to wander too far.

“So… What should we do? Kill some time?”

When I asked, Kaede twirled around, touched her chin as if thinking, and—

“How about the arcade?”

“The arcade, huh? Sure.”

“Yay.”

With that enthusiastic reaction, we headed to the game center. The arcade inside the weekend shopping mall was overflowing with kids and young couples, game sounds echoing nonstop. Well yeah, this was a classic date spot.

No. Stop calling it a date yourself, idiot.

I followed behind Kaede, mentally scolding myself.

“First is… It’s definitely the UFO catcher, right?”

We stood in the UFO catcher section. As we looked over the prizes, Kaede’s eyes were instantly drawn to something.

“Oh… This is cute…”

I looked in that direction and there was a small, round, ridiculously charming teddy bear plushie.

Soft-colored, fluffy-looking—the embodiment of “girls will love this.”

“You want it?”

“No, um… I just thought it was cute…”

She looked away as she said it, but the way her shoulders moved and her eyes returned made it painfully obvious.

“I’ll get it for you.”

“Eh? No, you don’t have to. It costs money.”

“It’s fine. I’m pretty good at this stuff.”

I stepped up to the machine. But… First try: The claw touched it and the bear just spun around. Second try: It slid uselessly to the side. Third try:  It lifted for all of three centimeters before falling.

Wait. Isn’t this claw really weak?

Damn, this machine… The settings were brutal. But I was a man. Giving up now would be like awarding myself the title of “pathetic.” Just watch. Sometimes brute force—meaning money—was justice.

Fifth try: The bear moved slightly. Tenth try: It somehow drifted farther away. Fifteenth try:  Finally, a corner lifted by a tiny bit.

“…Hey Yuuta-kun, this is… Pretty hard, isn’t it?”

Kaede was clearly panicking.

“H-hey, if it’s impossible you can give up, okay!? I mean, spending that much money for me—!”

“No. At this point it’s about my pride…!”

Even the nearby kids started giving off cheering vibes. There was no going back now. And then…. On the twenty-somethingth try,  the bear finally lifted—

“…Come on…!”

Plunk.

It fell into the chute.

“I got iiiit…!”

“No way…!?”

I clenched my fist, and Kaede looked genuinely shocked. The bear I pulled out of the prize slot looked several times cuter than before.

“Here. For you.”

“…Is it really okay?”

“It’s fine. Actually, I’d be troubled if you didn’t take it.”

“…Okay.”

Kaede accepted it with both hands, and her cheeks softened warmly.

“Thank you… I’m really happy.”

The moment I saw that smile,  I didn’t regret the stupid amount of money I spent—not even a little.

“Man… I’m glad I managed to get it…”

“Hey, Yuuta-kun.”

“Yeah?”

“…I’ll take good care of the bear, okay?”

Something in the way she said it resonated oddly deep in my chest, and I looked away a little. I didn’t know why, but… Today, Kaede’s smile was far more dazzling than usual.

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