The Gal Game Heroines Who Were Supposed to Die Somehow Learned My Secret ～By the Way, Where Did My [Diary] Go?～ - EX 3: Book Release Celebration – Shuna Nanjou

EX 3: Book Release Celebration – Shuna Nanjou

“It’s so hot… and she’s late.”

Beyond the riverbank, the summer festival was in full swing—bright stalls, music, and the lively chatter of festival-goers filled the air.

Shuna was nowhere to be seen, even though our meeting time had already passed.

Today, I had been invited to her family home.

Considering I was apparently the reason her family business made a miraculous recovery, refusing wasn’t really an option.

Since I was already there, we decided to check out the summer festival together.

But for some reason, we agreed to meet at the festival instead of going together.

Just as I was about to message her—

“Oooi! Sorry I’m late~!”

Shuna’s lazy-sounding voice called out.

Good.

For a second, I thought something had happened, but thankfully, I was just overthinking things.

I turned toward the sound of her voice—

And froze.

“Well? What do you think~?”

She spun around once, giving me a full view.

“You look… amazing.”

Her yukata was adorned with delicate floral patterns in shades of orange, yellow, and brown—perfect colors for summer, giving her an elegant, mature vibe.

Her brown hair was styled in a half-updo, gently gathered at the top of her head.

So this was why she had taken so long to get ready.

“Ehehe~ I’m so happy~!”

…She was adorable. I just fell for her all over again.

“Still, you were really late. Did something happen?”

Shuna might seem laid-back, but she was the type who was always punctual.

Which made it even more unusual.

“Hmm~? I was planning to cash out some winnings for the festival, but it turns out today isn’t a payout day~.”

“Wait… what does that—”

“Come, come, let’s get going~.”

Before I could finish, Shuna turned her back and started walking down the riverbank.

But I didn’t miss the small movement she made.

Her right hand subtly mimicked gripping a steering wheel—giving it a little twitch, twitch.

…So she lost, huh?

Yeah. I was definitely taking charge of her wallet for the night.

◇

The festival lights glowed brightly, filling the air with a mix of sweet and savory scents.

Everywhere I looked, people were caught up in the excitement.

“Ooh! Candy apples~!”

“Hey—wait!”

Before I could react, she had already bought two.

Taking them from the stall owner, we each took a bite.

The crisp crunch of the candy coating, followed by the fresh sweetness of the apple, filled my mouth.

“Hmm, should I get a mask too~? Ooh, goldfish scooping! Oh! Shooting games!”

“Calm down.”

“Mmph?”

I silenced her excitement by handing her a stick of cotton candy.

She took a bite, her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk—

Then, with the softest, happiest smile, she kept munching away.

…Yeah. Absolutely adorable.

“Sorry~! It’s my first festival with you, Satoshi-kun, so I got a little too excited~.”

Shuna giggled, flashing an innocent tehe smile.

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but feel the urge to pat her head.

“H-Hey~! W-What do you think you’re doing~?”

“Oh, my bad.”

“Mouu~“

She puffed out her cheeks in protest—

But honestly, that just made her look even less intimidating.

If anything, it made me want to poke her cheeks instead.

Then, suddenly, Shuna’s expression shifted as she noticed something.

“Hmm~? Satoshi-kun, look at that girl.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Following her gaze, I spotted a little girl wandering around, looking like she was about to cry.

Judging by the situation, she must have gotten separated from her parents.

Shuna turned to me with an apologetic look.

“…Sorry~.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll come with you, so do whatever you need to do.”

“Okay!”

I smiled and ruffled her hair.

For a brief moment, she relaxed, leaning into my touch, her expression turning hazy with contentment.

Then, snapping back to reality, she turned and jogged over to the lost girl.

“Hey there~! Are you okay~?”

No matter how broke she got, no matter how much trouble she found herself in—

Shuna would always be someone who put others first.

And that’s exactly why I fell for her.

◇

Festivals like this usually have a lost child center.

We walked the girl over there, and sure enough, her parents were already waiting with worried expressions.

They had probably been on the verge of making an announcement.

“Thank you so much! Please, let us repay you—!”

“Oh, no… I didn’t really do anything.”

It wasn’t false modesty—I genuinely hadn’t done anything.

Since I wasn’t great with kids, I had just followed along while Shuna handled everything.

The whole time, she held the girl’s hand, keeping her calm and talking to her.

Even though she didn’t have siblings, she was surprisingly good at this.

I glanced at Shuna from the side—

She was crouched down to meet the little girl’s eye level, speaking gently.

“Thank you, Onee-chan!”

“You’re very welcome~! Saying thank you like that makes you such a good girl~!”

Shuna patted her head, making the girl giggle and squirm from the ticklish feeling.

Then, the girl suddenly pulled something from her pocket and held it out to Shuna.

“I’ll give you this!”

“Eh~? You sure~? That makes me so happy~!”

Shuna took the small plastic ring from her hands—

The kind you could find in any toy vending machine.

Still, she slipped it onto her ring finger and smiled, ruffling the girl’s hair once more.

The little girl’s parents bowed deeply, expressing their gratitude until the very end.

As we watched them walk away, the child now tightly holding onto both of her parents’ hands—

A heartwarming sight—

Shuna and I quietly turned in the opposite direction and laced our fingers together.

“Sorry again~. I know we were on a date and all…”

Shuna looked at me apologetically, but I simply tightened my grip on her hand.

“How many times do I have to say it? Not everyone would have stepped up like you did. Honestly, I think you did great! If anything, I just fell for you all over again.”

“Satoshi-kun, you’re the only one who praises me this much~. It makes me really happy~.”

With a soft smile, she wrapped her arm around mine.

The warmth of her body against mine was comforting, making it easy to ignore how awkward it was to walk like this.

“…I’m really looking forward to the fireworks~.”

“Yeah… me too.”

Even without saying much, the feeling still got across.

Step by step, we walked through the lively festival street, searching for the perfect spot to watch the fireworks.

Then—

“Oh! Can we do that before the fireworks~?”

“Hm?”

I followed her gaze and saw a garapon lottery booth.

The kind where you spin the handle and hope for the winning ball to drop.

The grand prize was… a trip to Hawaii?

Pretty extravagant for a summer festival prize.

But—

“Nope. Absolutely not.”

“Whyyy~!?”

I could already see it—Shuna getting hooked and refusing to stop until she won.

And considering her terrible luck with these kinds of games, that was a disaster waiting to happen.

“Satoshi-kun, you really don’t get it~. Do you think I’d suggest this without a plan~?”

“Fine. I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

“Well, if you insist~.”

It was probably going to be some ridiculous logic, but—

Seeing her all smug and confident was kind of cute, so I let her talk.

“At this point in the festival, the top prizes almost never stay unclaimed, you know~? Which means a lot of unlucky comrades have already fallen before us. Their sacrifices can’t go to waste, Satoshi-kun~!”

“…They’re strangers. Why should it matter?”

“Ehh~? That’s such a cold way to look at it~! Thanks to all those poor fools, most of the losing tickets are gone. That means our chances are way better now! We have to take advantage of this, right~?”

“Oi, don’t say that out loud.”

Hearing something that ruthless from our so-called Saintess was not what I needed.

“Besides! I’ve got a good karma buff from earlier, so I know I’m going to win~! Just one try, okay~?”

“Can you not call it a ‘good karma buff’…”

If she really saved that lost child just to boost her luck for this moment…

I had very mixed feelings.

Still, she did do something good.

Shutting her down completely didn’t feel right, either.

“Fine. Just one try.”

“Yay~! Satoshi-kun, I love you~!”

…That was probably the most complicated “I love you” I’d ever heard.

“Alright then, can you step back and just watch from a distance? I tend to mess up when someone’s standing too close~.”

“As you wish. Do whatever you need to.”

Shuna took the 500-yen coin from my hand and eagerly handed it to the stall owner.

Then, with eyes sparkling with anticipation, she firmly gripped the garapon handle.

“Here I go~!”

The colorful balls spun wildly inside the machine, bouncing around like they had a life of their own.

Shuna leaned forward, holding her breath as she watched.

“Come on, come on, come on!”

The determination in her eyes burned like a true gambler—

Her entire focus narrowed in on the rolling spheres.

And finally—

One ball tumbled out.

The old man at the booth picked it up, carefully checking the number.

“Too bad, eighth prize!”

…Yeah.

Saw that coming.

Knowing how terrible Shuna was at anything involving luck, I wasn’t the least bit surprised.

Even if she had a 50% chance of winning, she’d still manage to lose.

I walked back over as she accepted her eighth-place prize from the stall owner.

“Tough luck.”

“Humm~?”

…Wait. She lost, right?

Normally, when she loses, she looks like the world is ending—

But right now, Shuna was grinning from ear to ear.

“Ta-da~! Now we match~!”

Shuna held out her prize for me to see—

A small plastic ring, identical to the one she had received from the lost child earlier.

“Wait… don’t tell me you were aiming for this all along?”

“Yep! I was going for the ring~!”

“I thought you were after the grand prize…”

She clicked her tongue and wagged her finger.

“Tsk, tsk. That’s actually the worst prize, you know~? If I really wanted to go on a trip, I could just ask Shino-chan, and she’d make it happen in no time. A travel ticket would just be a waste~!”

…Now that she mentioned it, she had a point.

Besides, she never once said that first place was her goal.

From the start, she had been aiming for eighth place.

Hard to believe, but for the first time ever—

Shuna had won at gambling.

Then, she gently took my left hand, lifting my arm before carefully sliding the tiny plastic ring onto my ring finger.

“Uh… isn’t this something I’m supposed to do for you?”

“Don’t sweat the details~. Ehehe~.”

Like a little kid, she giggled happily, admiring our matching rings.

Then—

A streak of light shot up, cutting across the night sky.

Both of us instinctively looked up.

BOOM!

A deep, echoing blast shook through our bodies.

…Looks like we had spent too much time messing around.

The fireworks had already started.

“We should hurry.”

“Yeah~!”

I firmly took her hand in mine, picking up the pace as we headed toward the best spot to watch the show.

“Satoshi-kun.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Shuna suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“This time… it was me who did it first, but~”

Before I could process her words—

She gently rose onto her toes and stole a kiss.

“…Someday, you’ll give me a real ring, won’t you~?”

Her cheeks flushed as she smiled—

And in that moment, she was brighter than any firework in the night sky.

“…Of course.”

Above us, the fireworks exploded in dazzling colors,

As if the universe itself was celebrating us.

━━━

If you enjoyed it, please scroll down and press the [⊕] under [★ for Honor] three times!

It would also mean a lot if you could leave a comment in the reviews section!