Chapter 94: The Outcome of the Confession
“Ko-chan…”
Otama-chan also stared intently at me.
I didn’t look away, waiting for Otama-chan’s answer.
My heart was pounding, and my whole body felt hot.
Then…
“Ko-chan, I—”
—Booooom!
The loud sound of a firework drowned out Otama-chan’s voice.
Otama-chan’s mouth was moving, but I couldn’t hear her.
“I—”
—Booooom!
Another firework boomed.
It must have been time for the rapid-fire sequence, as fireworks were launched one after another.
The timing couldn’t have been worse.
I couldn’t hear Otama-chan’s voice.
Unable to bear the pounding of my heart any longer, I loosened my grip on Otama-chan’s hand.
…And then, as I calmed down, a sudden fear washed over me.
I’d confessed on impulse, but what if she rejected me?
Would our group dynamic become awkward again, and would we drift apart?
As I was thinking such things…
“――――”
Otama-chan moved closer to me and hugged me tightly.
“Ah…”
Then, she whispered in my ear.
“…I love you too. Can you hear me now, Ko-chan?”
“Yeah… I heard you. Thank you. I love you too.”
—Booooom!
A firework lit up the sky, illuminating Otama-chan’s face.
I could see a glint in Otama-chan’s eyes and realized she had been crying.
“Otama-chan, are you crying…?”
“Because… I’ve been waiting for so long. For so, so long… If I’m this happy, of course I’ll cry…”
The arms wrapped around my back squeezed me tighter.
“Otama-chan…”
I hugged Otama-chan back tightly.
As the fireworks continued to burst overhead, I savored the happiness of having a girlfriend for the first time.
I would surely never forget this moment for the rest of my life.
Never.
☆★☆
“Otama-chan, on the way back, could you come by my Home for a bit? There’s something I want to give you. It’s your birthday today, right?”
“You remembered? I’m so happy…”
“Of course, it’s the birthday of the person I love.”
However, I couldn’t bring myself to buy a “heavy” present like a necklace or a ring.
I thought it would be a bother to receive something like that from someone she wasn’t even dating.
In the end, I bought a small exploration tool.
That’s why…
“So, how about we go out for a meal together some other time? I want to celebrate properly. Sorry it’ll be after your birthday…”
“Really? I’m looking forward to having dinner with Ko-chan.”
As we descended the stone steps, Shi-chan and Manamin were waiting for us.
Shi-chan was holding a candy apple in a clear plastic bag.
“Natsume-kun, that’s amazing! I managed to buy something at a festival stall! As expected, metallic items are… huh?”
“Ko-chin’s acting kinda… Aha, don’t tell me you confessed? Hmm, who confessed to whom? Did you kiss?”
“Ah, well…”
Manamin’s lack of delicacy is a problem.
As I struggled for an answer, Otama-chan said.
“Um… we’ve started dating. Ko-chan confessed to me…”
“Keh keh, good for you. Your dream came true.”
“I see… So I lost, huh…”
Shi-chan murmured sadly.
“—But this is still just the First Leg.”
“Hmm…?”
A race? What was she talking about?
Then, Shi-chan approached me and, looking up at me, said.
“…Natsume-kun. I’ve fallen for you too. I want you to go out with me as well.”
“Wh-what? Shi-chan, what are you saying…”
“Is it… no good…?”
Shi-chan gazed at me with tear-filled eyes.
She looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
But…
“I’ve just started dating Otama-chan, so with you, Shi-chan…”
“So, it’s no good… sob sob…”
“…………”
Shi-chan pressed a handkerchief to her eyes and started crying.
Then, Manamin said.
“Hey, Ko-chin. You’re the worst! Do you hate Shi-chan or something?”
“No, I don’t hate her, I like her, but I just started dating Otama-chan, so…”
“Huh? That makes no sense. That’s not what we’re talking about.”
“Ko-chan, I’m really happy you’re saying this for my sake, but… you can’t make Shi-chan cry.”
“Wha-what…? Why is Otama-chan…?”
“Sob sob… So I’m no good, huh…”
I couldn’t understand what was happening.
Manamin placed a handポン on my shoulder.
“Let me ask you again, Ko-chin. Do you hate Shi-chan? Do you feel no attraction to her whatsoever? Do you not want to be with her?”
“I told you, I… I do find her attractive, she’s smart and reliable, and I do want to be with her. But I just started dating Otama-chan, so…”
“Huh? Then why don’t you date them both?”
“Wh-whaaat? B-But, isn’t that against the rules…?”
I glanced at Otama-chan. She was holding the crying Shi-chan’s shoulder and staring intently at me.
Her face seemed to say, “You have to cherish Shi-chan too, or it’s not okay.”
Wait, am I somehow the bad guy here?
This is probably…
“…Manamin, you set this up, didn’t you?”
“Keh keh keh, what are you talking about? I just had a little chat with the girls’ group.”
I vaguely remembered Manamin saying something incomprehensible when I installed the wind chime we got at Dungeon Hote in my Home.
Something about a second partner…
“If all parties involved agree, you can have any kind of relationship, y’know. Only marriage has legal regulations.”
“But, is it really okay to date two people? Isn’t that wrong…?”
Then, Otama-chan said.
“Ko-chan, thank you. But it’s okay. Because, it’s Shi-chan we’re talking about. If it were some random person I didn’t know, I wouldn’t like it, but…”
“Natsume-gkun, d-did you hate me? You don’t want to date a shorty like me…? I don’t have much of a chest… and I’m not cheerful… sob sob… waaah…”
“See, Ko-chan!”
“Keh keh, man up!”
“Ugh…”
Aargh, to hell with it all!!!
“Alright, Shi-chan. I like you too. So, let’s go out.”
“…Really?”
“—Yeah.”
“…Really, really?”
“Yes.”
My brain was pretty much bugging out and couldn’t keep up, but today I somehow ended up with two girlfriends.
“I’m so happy…!”
Shi-chan jumped into my arms.
Being short, her head hit my chest.
Shi-chan looked up at me and said.
“Natsume-kun… then, I want you to kiss me too. Just like Tama-chan…”
“H-Hey, I haven’t kissed him yet! Ko-chan, wait!”
“Ah, yeah…”
I no longer knew what the criteria for anything was.
I needed to cool my head for a bit.
“S-Sorry. With everything that’s happened, my heart’s pounding so much I don’t think it can take it! Let me sort things out a little.”
“Okay, Natsume-kun…”
“Ko-chan… you’re cute.”
“Oi, Manamin. Come over here for a sec.”
“Keh keh, you gonna adopt me?”
“Just come.”
The two of us moved behind a festival stall.
“What on earth did you talk to them about? I can’t understand any of this anymore. What’s this ‘First Leg’ Shi-chan was talking about?”
“Keh keh, the First Leg is the midpoint—dating. The Second Leg is the final goal, marriage. After that, regardless of the outcome of the contest, the plan is to live together under the same roof as mom friends, in the spirit of ‘no side’.”
“Mom friends? Under the same roof…? And the other father is…?”
“Huh? Who else would it be but you?”
“…My head’s starting to hurt.”
Mom friends? Is that what that means?
“…Never mind Otama-chan, but how did you manage to talk Shi-chan into this…?”
“…You’re naive too, Ko-chin. It’s because it was Shi-chan that I could talk her into it.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Shi-chan probably had a feeling she’d lose the First Leg. But if she couldn’t get between Tamama and Ko-chin, Shi-chan would only end up as a ‘friend from their single days.’ That’s why she accepted my proposal. To keep her chances alive. Something like that, I reckon.”
“Manamin, you’re preying on people’s weaknesses… I still can’t just accept all this…”
“Keh keh keh, well then, why don’t you just dump one of them? If you can, that is.”
“Ugh…”
My chest ached.
And if I made that decision, I’d be resented by both Otama-chan and Shi-chan.
I don’t know what the right answer is anymore.
My head’s starting to overheat…
Then, I heard voices from the direction of the shrine path.
“Ko-chan, what are you doooing? You can’t kiss Manamin, okay—!”
“Natsume-kun, come play at the stalls with us too! I brought a little Dungeon Platinum, so I can buy things too!”
“Keh keh, see? Go on! No point hanging around with me!”
“Seriously, Manamin…”
“Let’s keep hanging out as a group of four. And have fun.”
Without finding an answer, I walked towards the brighter lights of the street.
And there stood two girlfriends in yukatas.
“Ko-chan!”
“Natsume-kun.”
“Ah…”
Looking at them again, they were both cute.
I felt like I didn’t deserve them.
But…
“Let’s go, Ko-chan!”
“I’ll take your left side, okay?”
Otama-chan and Shi-chan linked their arms through mine.
—Flowers in both hands.
Such a classic proverb popped into my head.
“Look, Natsume-kun. There’s a person with a black silhouette at the stall. It’s a little scary, but if you give them money, they give you items like normal.”
“Ah, this chocolate banana seems to have an HP recovery effect. And this taiyaki over here says it enhances swimming. It’s strange, isn’t it? We don’t have any items to use as money, so we can’t buy them, but I’m curious.”
“Tama-chan, if you’d like, I can buy them for you. I brought some Dungeon Platinum too, just in case Natsume-kun’s gold coins weren’t enough.”
“Yay, Shi-chan, thank you! I love you!”
“Fufu, you’re welcome. I’ll buy some for Natsume-kun too.”
“Ah, thank you…”
“That’s Shi-chan for you!”
“Not at all. Tama-chan, you accompanied Natsume-kun on his Ota Dungeon investigation, right? We’re helping each other out.”
For some reason, Otama-chan and Shi-chan had gotten even closer.
I was about the only one who couldn’t keep up with the situation.
“I want to try the lottery where you can win a Medusa-girl figure…”
“Use your own money, Manamin.”
“I wonder if festival lotteries actually have any winning tickets in them…”
“Please, someone, money…”
And so, everyone had fun exploring the Private Dungeon.
I didn’t know whether I should be angry at Manamin or grateful to her, but there was no doubt I was feeling happy.