I’m an Introvert, but After Taking Care of the School’s Most Beautiful Girl Who Lives in an Apartment When She Was Sick, She Became Attached to Me and Started Inviting Me Over to Her Place! - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

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“Oh! I can see the boarding area now!”

“Huh? It hasn’t even been two hours yet, right?”

“Maybe the flow of people moved faster than expected.”

About ninety minutes had passed since they started lining up. Whether because the queue moved faster than anticipated or not, the boarding platform of the roller coaster they were aiming for had already come into view. It felt slow, yet fast, steadily drawing closer.

The roller coaster, launching one train after another filled with riders, overflowed with all kinds of screams, stirring an exhilarating sense of challenge. However, while everyone else waited in restless anticipation, there was exactly one person who had turned deathly pale and was slumped weakly against the crowd-control railing.

“Haa… Haa… my heart’s pounding…”

“Hey, you haven’t even ridden it yet. You’re exaggerating.”

“So you really are bad with roller coasters, Sorato? Sorry, but this is kind of hilarious.”

“Don’t find it amusing… I really am bad with them…”

“I’m sorry. But I agree with Tenma. It’s a little funny.”

“Yeah, yeah! Sorato-kun kinda looks like he’d be good with horror movies too, so I thought he could handle stuff like this!”

“Don’t treat people’s suffering like it’s fresh entertainment… And I’m bad with horror movies too…”

“Hehe, since you cut your hair, I can really see your face now.”

Even Sorato, who usually drifted through things effortlessly, naturally had things he was bad at. Horror movies and roller coasters, of course—but even airplanes. The first time he rode one on a school trip, the sensation of his body floating up, similar to a roller coaster, hit him hard, and he came to dislike them. Even ghost movies left him so scared that he couldn’t go to the bathroom alone at night afterward. Everyone was deeply intrigued by this rare side of Sorato.

“Don’t all stare at me… Why are you all fine with this anyway…”

“Sure, it’s nerve-wracking, but compared to the rush when you drop, it’s totally fine.”

“And that slow climb before the drop? That suspense is my favorite part!”

“I’m not especially good with them either, but I like them relatively well.”

He tried to get someone to agree with him, but everyone turned out to be perfectly fine with roller coasters. At this point, Sorato had no allies. Even though he had resolved himself to ride, fear was still fear and that was human nature. As Sorato let out a resigned sigh, the line suddenly surged forward and the attraction staff asked for their number.

“Can we have six guests waiting to board next?”

“Ah! Yes, that’s fine! Thank you.”

“Does that mean it’s almost our turn?”

“Looks like it. The line really does move faster than you think.”

“Hehe, Suzuya-kun. Are you okay?”

“Thanks for the concern you absolutely don’t mean… I might’ve taken it sincerely if you weren’t grinning like that…”

Kaon had been the first to show concern, but when Sora turned toward her with just a hint of expectation, her expression was the exact opposite of her words—she was grinning shamelessly.

“Thank you for waiting. For safety reasons, please place your bags, pocket items, and valuables into these lockers, then proceed to board from this entrance.”

“Oh! Here it comes!”

“Yay!”

At last, it was their turn to ride. Following the staff’s instructions, they placed their valuables into the nearest lockers. The ride had five rows of three seats, so they split up by gender as they boarded.

“Then, please enjoy your ride.”

Psssh. 

With a steam-like sound, the roller coaster launched along with the staff’s voice.

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Clatter clatter clatter…

“Uwaaa… The countdown to heaven is getting closer…”

“I’m getting pumped!”

“Man, if there were a camera right now, I really wanted to take a picture of that face of yours, Suzuya-kun.”

“Hyaa! So high!”

“Think we could spot people from our school from here?”

“What a nice view.”

“Why is everyone so calm about this…?”

Now fully in motion, the roller coaster began by climbing a terrifying incline, slowly but surely stoking the riders’ fear. As it creaked upward at an annoyingly slow pace, everyone except Sorato gazed at the scenery below or amused themselves by watching Sorato tremble in fear, showing an impressive amount of composure.

Kaon, seated in front of Sorato, kept glancing back during the long climb, laughing teasingly. Seeing Sorato this scared must have been quite a rare sight.

Clack-clack—

“Ah—”

Gara-rararararara!!

“““““Wahhhhhhh!?”””””

Sorato had been so distracted by Kaon’s cheerful smile right in front of him that he hadn’t noticed the roller coaster had already reached the top. When the car tilted and the sensation of his body floating struck him, a cry finally escaped his throat. In an instant, everyone’s high-pitched screams roared together. The scenery spun wildly. The cool, fast wind rushing past his face felt pleasant. The fear he’d felt just moments ago was flung away by the speed of the descent.

“Yahhoo!!”

“Uweeeeei!”

“Woohoo—!!”

“What a view!”

While everyone raised their hands and shouted in excitement, Sorato clung to the safety bar with every ounce of strength he had, resisting the roller coaster as it twisted and turned freely in all directions.

“Nooooooo!?”

…Wait, but this is actually kind of fun!?

As everything gradually blurred together, he began to feel enjoyment in the free, airborne sensation of the world spinning around him—racing upside down, looping in wide circles.

Maybe I can actually get over my fear of roller coasters—

♢♢♢

“Ughhhh… My head’s spinning like crazy… I feel so sick…”

“Sorato, are you okay?”

“Ahaha! You…! How do you end up this wiped out just from riding a roller coaster…! Ahaha!”

“Is it because you don’t exercise enough?”

“No, that probably has nothing to do with it…And Kohaku, remember this…”

He had ended up riding the roller coaster he’d always feared, resigned himself completely, and once he did, the fear was only at the beginning. After that, the rushing wind and freely spinning scenery felt exhilarating. He might have reassured himself that he’d just exaggerated childhood memories and been overly scared, but he never imagined he’d suffer afterward in a completely different way.

No… I didn’t expect I would get motion sick from that… Is my inner ear really that weak…?

About a few minutes earlier…

After stepping off the attraction that ended in the blink of an eye, while everyone chatted happily about it, Sorato felt something off the moment his feet touched the ground. A floating sensation lingered in his body, and his head felt muddied, swaying like distorted waves.

After passing through the exit gate, he finally reached the limit of his forced composure and was allowed to rest on a nearby bench. Because he had actually found it a little fun, he now regretted the weakness of his own body.

And so, at the present moment, the group took a break alongside Sorato, who was frozen pale-faced in a pose like The Thinker. Kohaku, apparently having found Sorato’s extreme condition hilarious, had been clutching his stomach and laughing nonstop ever since he understood what happened.

“Suzuya-kun, are you okay?”

“I’ll go buy some water~!”

“Then I’ll go with you. Saki looks like she might get lost.”

“Huh!? Don’t treat me like a little kid~!”

Compared to the relatively detached male members, the girls seemed genuinely worried about Sorato’s condition. Saki and Kaede ran off together, map in hand, to search for the nearest vending machine.

“Should we grab something too?”

“Yeah, that might be good. Let’s just buy some food.”

“No… I’m not that bad off, so I’m fine… And Kohaku, you just want something to eat, don’t you…”

“Oh, you caught me? Well, whatever. I’ll just line up and buy something for everyone.”

“Then I’ll go with Kohaku.”

“Thanks. I’ll give you the money later.”

“I’ll pay you back later too! Thanks in advance!”

“Leave it to me. Natsuki-san, please take care of Sorato.”

“Got it!”

They followed the guidance to explore a nearby food stand, hoping to put something light in their stomachs before the crowds grew. Naturally, that left the two of them alone together for the first time since that day.

“Hey… Suzuya-kun?”

“Ugh… Hm? What is it, Natsuki-san?”

As if she’d been waiting for just this moment, Kaon began to speak.

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