“Hey, hey, Ii-kun! This water slide is amazing!!”

“Yeah, Haruka. Though a lot of people are riding in pairs…”

“Of course we’ll ride together too~”

Isamu and Haruka created a lovey-dovey atmosphere as they happily watched the guests ahead of them at the water slide.

Most people who came to the pool were probably there for this water slide. A simple water slide that started with a smooth slide, then had a black zone and a rainbow-colored section. There were other types too, with eight different water slides to enjoy, including ones with inner tubes.

Seeing Isamu and Haruka having fun made me feel relieved. After all, they were my favorite couple.

I shifted my gaze to the side. Then looked forward again. Shifted. Looked forward. Shifted…

“Sigh…”

What should I do…?

Nanaka beside me lacked energy. In a way, we were rivals. And seeing one half of that rivalry so dispirited…

But this outcome was what I had been aiming for: Nanaka withdrawing from the two of them, or becoming someone else’s girlfriend.

This was my happy ending route.

But… ah, damn it!!

“Hey Nanaka, are you okay with this? Isamu is getting all lovey-dovey with Haruka, aren’t you going to interfere?”

“…What do you think I am?”

“A man-stealer.”

“You’re as irritating as ever. Besides, real stealing is what that guy does… I’m different from him!”

“Oh, you mean your brother? Yeah, his girlfriend-stealing habit is terrible. And his technique is as careful and skillful as a con artist’s. Compared to him, Nanaka seems decent.”

“…How do you know about him?”

“Ah…”

Crap… I’d accidentally…

Nanaka looked up at me with suspicious eyes.

“Now that I think about it, there are many mysteries surrounding you. When we first met, you immediately knew I liked Isamu-senpai, and with the café incident, you were already working at the café I was aiming for… Could it be that you…”

…Gulp. What? Could she possibly realize that I retained memories from my previous life and possessed Shotaro’s body—

“Are you my stalker?”

“…Huh? No, I’m not!!!!”

Well, I had been doing stalker-like things!!

“Next guests, please step forward!”

The staff member’s timing was perfect.

“Look, it’s our turn. Ah, I’m so excited~”

“…”

I ignored Nanaka who was giving me a suspicious look, and moved forward. Isamu and Haruka went down first.

“Kyaa, Ii-kun, that tickles!”

“S-s-sorry!”

It seemed they were sliding with Isamu hugging Haruka from behind. Yeah, that was nice. They really looked like a couple.

“Hey, look at that guy… he’s with super beautiful women.” 

“Wow, he looks like such a player…”

The guests behind me were talking about something, and I turned around curiously.

And in the back was…

“I’ll be sliding with Tatsu-kun!” 

“No, I will!” 

“Come on, don’t fight over me~”

…Tatsu was there. He had 11 beauties attending to him. He had a better harem than any dense protagonist.

Wait, this was no time to be dumbfounded!!

“RIAJUU EXPLODE!!”

“Kyaaaa!!” 

“Waaaa!!”

Sorry to interrupt your lovey-dovey moment, but hurry up and go, Isamu and Haruka!

I pushed Isamu’s back as he was hesitating. Phew, this way Haruka’s existence was still unknown to Tatsu.

“I’ll go down first, so make sure you follow after me!”

I grabbed the bar installed there and crouched on the slide, about to follow after Isamu and Haruka, when the staff member stopped me.

“Excuse me, sir. We need at least two people to slide together for efficiency reasons…”

Well, that made sense. It would take too much time if people went one by one.

Which meant…

Chapter 24

I slowly, very slowly turned around to face Nanaka behind me.

“W-what?”

“…Nothing. Never mind.”

No, that’s not it!!

“Excuse me, customers…”

“Ah, yes, yes, we’ll ride! Together!”

If we didn’t get on now, we’d be told to leave and would end up passing by Tatsu and his group behind us.

I looked at Nanaka again, and she had a sullen expression.

“I don’t want to.”

She crossed her arms, firmly refusing to go together.

As other guests’ eyes started gathering on us, I said in a voice only Nanaka could hear:

“Your brother is behind us, you know? If we don’t get on now, we’ll be sent away… and you’ll… meet him?”

“!”

Nanaka finally seemed to understand the situation. She told the staff member we would ride and pushed my back.

With Isamu and Haruka, Haruka was in front and Isamu behind, but… I should ask Nanaka too.

“Which do you prefer, front or back?”

“…Back. I want the back. I don’t want you hugging me from behind.”

“Ah, I see. I don’t want to hug you either.”

With that, I sat on the slide first. Nanaka got behind me. We were ready to slide.

“Off you go~”

Pushed by the staff member, we moved forward. Our speed increased rapidly. Rainbow-colored sections and dark zones came alternately. The rush of air was intense.

Both of us were too busy enjoying ourselves to talk. This was convenient.

In no time, we landed in the pool below with a splash.

“Pwah!!!”

Water went into my mouth and nose… cough cough…

“That was quite thrilling.”

“…Yes.”

Wringing out her soaking wet hair, Nanaka said with a somewhat dissatisfied face.

Was she that upset about sliding with me? I guess she really did hate me. Not that I minded.

“Well then, let’s quickly follow Isamu and Haruka…”

Just as I was about to get out of the shallow pool, I was pulled back from behind. It was Nanaka.

“Huh, what?”

“You said it earlier today, didn’t you? That you’d listen to my complaints.”

“Alright. I won’t force you. But if you’re going to make a gloomy face in front of Isamu and Haruka, I think it’d be better to talk to me and clear your mind a bit.”

Ah, I did say something like that. I thought it was okay to interact with her as long as it wasn’t about stealing someone’s partner…

“Isn’t there a proper way to ask for something?”

“You! …Sigh, fine. I’ll give in this time.”

My, how obedient. Nanaka took a breath and said, “Would you please listen to my complaints… I mean, my story, Shotaro-senpai?”

“Who told you to suck up to me? Well, it’s fine.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

That was a quick switch from fake sweetness to her real self. Come to think of it, only her player brother and I had seen her true face, right? Well, whatever.

I couldn’t see Isamu and Haruka anywhere, but Nanaka was with me, and her player brother was still at the slide, so it should be fine to take my eyes off them for a bit.

“Then, shall we go to that shaded area?”

I went with Nanaka.

The reason why I brought Nanaka this time was to divert attention away from Haruka and toward Nanaka instead.

That idea hit the mark perfectly. But I never expected—

“Hmm, so that’s the guy Nanaka is after, huh…”

I had been marking Nanaka so much that I never realized Tatsu had recognized me as her target.