The Handsome Boy I Saved from Getting Beaten on the Train… Turned Out to Be the “Prince” of an All-Girls School - V1 Chapter 28: Guys’ Hands Are… Really Big

Chapter 28: Guys’ Hands Are… Really Big

“Haa… haa… you’re pretty good, Rinna-chan.”

“Pant… you too… wimpy prince…”

After charging through all 50 obstacles in the athletic field course non-stop,

The two of them collapsed onto the grassy rest area, soaked in sweat.

It seemed like after that serious showdown,

They had started to gain a little respect for each other.

Honestly, they really did feel like elementary school kids.

“Here, both of you—EAA drink. Good for recovery.”

“Thanks, Saito…”

“What’s EAA? …Oh, but it tastes good.”

Well, yeah.

After all that exercise, anything cold would taste amazing.

Glad I brought it from home.

“In the end, round one ended with me and Rinna-chan tied at 25 wins and 25 losses…”

“Why’d they make the total number of obstacles even? Ugh, the people running this place have zero sense of drama.”

I mean…

Pretty sure they didn’t design this place expecting girls to have a pride battle on it,

So maybe let the staff off the hook.

“But Rinna, you really can move, huh?”

“Yeah, I was honestly surprised. I mean, I used to do figure skating, so I thought I’d have the edge with stuff like balance and body control.”

“Things like this are all about finding the rhythm. Once you do, it’s easy.”

Now that I thought about it,

Rinna was kind of a sports all-rounder.

She often got asked to sub in for school club teams when they were short on people.

“I see. So you’re not just a spoiled rich girl after all. Alright then—once we’ve had a short break, let’s settle this in round two.”

“Bring it on.”

Even though they were still dripping with sweat,

The two of them were already completely locked into battle mode.

But they were so focused on their match, they didn’t notice what was going on around them.

“Okay, hold it—both of you. Look around for a second. The place is packed now.”

““Ah…””

Right in front of us,

At the starting point of the course, a group of elementary school kids were squealing and laughing,

Running around the playground equipment.

During the first round, we’d come right after the place opened,

So the park was still pretty empty.

Rei and Rinna had blasted through the course so fast,

They always stayed ahead of the crowd without getting in anyone’s way.

But now, with the park full of kids and families,

There was no way they could do an all-out time attack without causing chaos.

“Yeah… If we ran full speed around kids this small, someone’s definitely getting hurt.”

“Aww… so what do we do about the match?”

“Let’s just enjoy the course like normal people for now.”

Rei puffed her cheeks in protest,

So I suggested a temporary ceasefire.

“Wait, Saito. You just wanna play on the equipment yourself, don’t you?”

Rinna shot me a knowing smirk.

“Of course I do. I had to play the referee the whole first round, and now I’m itching to move my body too!”

Since I was the judge for their match—

Timing, calling out the start, and deciding who crossed the finish line first—

I’d been stuck doing that the whole first round.

Honestly, by the second half, I was getting kinda bored.

I mean, I paid the entry fee for this athletic field too.

Of course I want to have fun.

“But… what about the match between me and Rinna-chan…”

“Come on, Rei. Cut me some slack. I’ve always kinda dreamed of doing something like this—you know, like an athletic course date.”

“D-D-Date!? Bwuh-huh-bluh!?”

I bowed my head, and Rei let out a weird noise and turned beet red.

“Saito… seriously? A date with one guy and two girls? That’s pushing it.”

“Wait, really? I thought it was kinda like a group date vibe or something.”

“A date… A date… I got a present today too… So today’s our first date… I have to vacuum-seal these gloves with the dirt still on them…”

“Looks like ‘group’ completely flew past this dumb prince’s ears.”

Rinna jerked her chin toward Rei,

Who had gone full blush-mode and was now quietly muttering to herself with a dazed look on her face.

She didn’t even flinch when Rinna called her a dumb prince.

Also—
Stop counting the gloves as a “present,” seriously.

“Come to think of it, there was an area we skipped since it didn’t really suit the competition.”

“Alright then, let’s start with that spot—the one neither of you played in yet.”

“Come on, quit daydreaming and get moving, Wimpy Prince.”

“Hehehe… A date… A date with Saito…”

Still lost in her fantasy world,

Rei had to be physically pulled along as we made our way to the untouched section of the athletic course.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Whoa! This part has a whole water field!”

The section we skipped during Rei and Rinna’s showdown

Turned out to be a course built over a pond.

There was one where you sat in a big basin and pulled yourself across the water with a rope—

Kind of like a modern-day Thumbelina floating along in a bowl—

And another area where you had to leap across stepping stones to get to the other side.

It all looked like something straight out of an action game.

“That basin one looks so fun! Saito, go to the other side and pull me across!”

“You got it!”

Finally back in reality,

Rei asked with a big smile, so I jogged around to the far side.

Time to put all that muscle training to good use.

“Waah~! So fast, so fast!”

With each tug of the rope,

The basin with Rei in it zipped across the water toward me.

“That was so fun~!”

Once she reached my side,

Rei stood up from the basin with a huge, childlike grin on her face.

“Kyah!”

“Whoa—You okay, Rei?”

As Rei stood up from the basin, she lost her balance and stumbled.

I quickly grabbed her hand and helped pull her up onto the bank.

“T-Thanks, Saito.”

“No problem. You almost took a dive and ended up looking like a soaked rat.”

“Yeah… Wait—our hands!? We’re holding hands!?”

“Huh? O-Oh, yeah… It just kinda happened in the moment. Sorry.”

Once she was safely up, I quickly let go of her hand.

“Ahh… Guys’ hands are so big… this was my first time…”

“Come on. We were both wearing gloves, remember?”

Okay, sure—grabbing her hand without asking was technically on me,

Even if it was just to keep her from falling into the pond.

But still, Rei’s reaction felt just a bit over the top.

“I’m never washing these gloves. They’re going straight into my collection.”

“No, please wash them. They’re covered in mud.”

Actually, gloves are supposed to be disposable anyway.

Just toss them when they’re dirty.

“T-Then… Next time, will you hold my real hand?”

“Huh?”

I had been smiling at Rei,

Amused at how much she was treasuring a pair of muddy gloves—

But then she suddenly looked up at me with serious eyes.

“I mean, you already link arms with me when we go to school, right?”

“T-That doesn’t count! Linking arms doesn’t involve skin contact! But holding hands? That’s special for a girl!”

…Is that really how it works?

But when Rei called it something special,

It made me way more conscious of it than I wanted to be…

“Mm…”

While I stood there hesitating,

Rei quietly took off her “treasured” gloves and held out her bare hand to me.

“Hey, mister! Let me go next!”

“Me too, me too!”

“Huh? What’s going on over here?”

“This guy pulls the basin super fast across the water!”

“Whoa, really!?”

Caught up in the moment with Rei,

I hadn’t even noticed we’d been surrounded by a bunch of sparkly-eyed kids.

“Alrighty~! Anyone who wants the nice big brother to pull them across—line up over here! Take turns, okay?”

“””Okaaay!!”””

Rinna’s voice rang out loud and clear like a pro teacher,

And just like that, all the kids sprinted to the other side of the pond.

“Wait—Rinna!?”

I raised my voice toward her,

Now standing smugly on the far bank after making that announcement all on her own.

Wait a sec.

Does that mean… I’m officially the rope-puller now?

More and more kids were joining the line,

Drawn in by the crowd and the fun.

“Time to show off all that muscle training you’ve been doing, right Saito?”

“Haha… guess I have no choice now.”

“Ugh… Rinna-chan totally ruined the moment…”

Rei puffed up her cheeks and glared across the water at Rinna with a pouty, vengeful look.

But honestly…

I was kind of grateful.

In my heart, I gave Rinna a quiet thanks.

-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-+:-+:-+:-+:-+

A love comedy that all started with a pair of gloves.

Someone needs to write a whole story about that.

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