Traveling With a Beautiful Girl - Chapter 49: Just My Imagination....

Following Nanase’s lead, I conducted an online search and discovered that there were flower gardens and amusement parks around Lake Hamana. My preconceived idea of it being just a lake was completely overturned, and anticipation and excitement set in.

Since it was predicted to rain in the evening, I bought a plastic umbrella from the convenience store within the station before boarding the Tokaido Main Line.

After leaving our luggage in the coin lockers at Bentenjima Station, our nearest station, we arrived at our destination after being rocked on a bus heading to the flower garden for just over 10 minutes.

“Wow, it’s so laid back, I love it.”

Hamana Lake Garden Park was a lush urban park, where the lake shore of Lake Hamana and the natural openness harmonize. As it was a Sunday, the park was moderately crowded with people. Since it was around lunchtime, as soon as we arrived, we decided to get something to eat.

We had agreed beforehand that we would eat eel at night. The eel restaurant I had my eye on was only open in the evening, and we both agreed that eel was something we wanted to eat at night rather than during the day.

This was rare. For lunch, we decided to change it up a bit and take it away from a mobile stall within the Garden Park. It’s the kind that you see at event venues, where the car and the stall are combined. The menu included yakisoba, pizza, and frankfurters, a lineup that offered quick bites and a slight festive mood.

I decided on the limited-time Mayo Char-siu bowl based on my gut feeling. I prioritized the absolutely delicious combination of mayonnaise and char-siu over the festive atmosphere.

“I’ll have that too.”

I was surprised. I had thought she would definitely order something like yakisoba, which had a “Recommended!” sign dancing on it.

“What led to this change of heart?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you usually eat the representative dish of a restaurant, but now you’ve chosen a limited-time item.”

“Ah…”

Nanase seemed to realize what I was talking about.

“There are days when I’m in that kind of mood.”

Her answer was vague. Again, there was a sense of discomfort. It seemed as if Nanase’s usually firm rational decision-making resources were being used somewhere else…

“Here you are, two Mayo Char-siu bowls, thank you for waiting.”

After receiving our order, we ate lunch in the dining area set up nearby. The Mayo Char-siu bowl was just as expected. The combination of grilled char-siu and mayonnaise, as well as the rice soaked in sweet and spicy sauce, was delicious.

However, I couldn’t focus on the taste. I was worried about her. She was clearly speaking less than usual.

“Hmm… It’s quite good…”

She occasionally reacted, but her chopsticks moved slower than usual. The discomfort that had been throbbing deep in my chest since morning…

… It’s not just in my head, is it?

The sky was gradually being covered by dark clouds.