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Chapter 225 – Going to the Pool with Everyone (3)
The moment Umi declared that we would be going together, Nitta-san glanced at the remaining members’ faces.
She stared at Amami-san, who was next to Umi and Nozomu who was right behind me. After that, she let out a sigh.
“Well, I can understand why the idiotic couple would pair up… But you know, I don’t really want to touch or be touched by Seki… You understand what I mean, right, Yuuchin?”
“I don’t mind going alone. You two can just pair up.”
“Jeez, that’s no good, Nozomu-kun! We’re here together, so we should go in groups! Besides, it’ll be more fun that way!”
“You’re right, but… You know… That’s kinda bad for me, um…”
“Huh?”
Amami-san didn’t seem to get it, but I, as a fellow man, understood Nozomu’s anguish.
If the three of them were to go in group, Amami-san would be sandwiched between Nitta-san and Nozomu.
If Nozomu were to go in first, then Amami-san would be hugging him from behind.
Meanwhile, if he were to go in last, then he had to hug her from behind.
This situation would be bad for Nozomu since he wasn’t used to girls to begin with.
There was no correct move to be taken here.
“Sorry, Umi, I should go with him. I think things will be better that way.”
“I guess so, huh? Alright, let’s go together, Yuu, Nina. Two guys and three girls, we can proceed with that.”
“But still… Are you sure you’re okay with this, Umi? Don’t you want to go with Maki-kun?”
“Mhm. We can just ride it again later with just the two of us.”
…Wait, again?
It took my all to muster up the courage to go up those stairs, but my lovely girlfriend said that we were going to do this again?
“Huh? Why do you look so surprised? Of course we wouldn’t be riding it just once. The line isn’t that long, we can ride it as much as we want.”
“B-But–”
“No buts.”
“…Okay…”
In other words, my fate was decided. But at least Nozomu would be safe for now.
And so, the three girls went ahead of us two boys to climb the long stairs.
“Sorry, Maki. But thanks, you saved me…”
“Don’t mind it. Are you sure you’re okay with this though?”
“…Well, of course not. I mean this is a once in a lifetime chance…”
After the Obon holiday was over, he would be busy with his club activities again. We could wait for next year, but we would be busy with exams, so this could really be a once in a lifetime chance for him.
Despite that, the look on his face wasn’t that of regret, but relief.
“The other guys would try to make excuses to touch her… Amami-san is a gentle person. As long as they don’t act like a creep, she won’t treat them like one, unlike Nitta.”
“If you know that much, then you should go for it in the first place. She had been treating you like one of her good friends, so it should be okay for you to do that much, you know?”
“I know, but… I don’t think it’s right to just go for it, you know? It feels like I’m taking advantage of her kindness…”
I could understand his feelings. Even though Amami-san was our friend, we couldn’t just ignore her beauty since she was just that pretty. It was hard to not be flustered when she made a certain gesture or said a certain sentence.
After all, I was also like that with Umi.
“Your looks are wasted on you. You’re too meek, Nozomu.”
“Speak for yourself. If it wasn’t because of Asanagi, you’d be the same as me.”
“I don’t have your good looks though. Well, I guess I gotta thank Umi for being my girlfriend then.”
People often say that what was important was their personality, but in truth, outward appearances mattered too. Thankfully I didn’t look that bad. I mean, Umi didn’t seem to be repulsed to see my face.
After that, we walked side by side while talking about random things until we reached the starting point of the water slide. After that we listened to the precautions from the staff while waiting for them to let us ride the slide.
“Finally, it’s our turn. Who will be in the front, Umi, Yuuchin? Should we decide by rock-paper-scissors?”
“I don’t really care, but I don’t mind doing rock-paper-scissors to decide. What do you think, Yuu?”
“I don’t mind either.”
As a result, Umi would be in the front, followed by Nitta-san and Amami-san. I heard someone from afar saying ‘I wish I could be that girl in the middle’. Sadly for him, that would never happen. I restrained the urge to click my tongue loudly.
“The water flows faster than I thought… Hold me tight, Nina, or else it’ll be dangerous.”
“‘Kay~”
Umi and Nitta-san sat down on the slide as the staff gave them the signal to go. Once they released their hands from the handrails, they would immediately slide down following the stream.
“C’mon Yuuchin, hurry up!”
“A-Ah… Yes…”
“Hm? What’s wrong, Yuuchin? Are you scared?”
“No, it’s just…”
However, Amami-san was just standing there listlessly. Umi said that she loved this kind of ride, so she definitely wasn’t scared.
“Is something the matter, Yuu? Should we just go down? We can go elsewhere if you want.”
“Ah, no, it’s just…”
After glancing at us, Amami-san approached the staff.
“Sorry, can I go with these two instead?”
““““Huh?””””
The four of us let out the same dumbfounded voice.
“Yuuchin, are you sure?”
“Mhm. Nozomu-kun looks down… I don’t want that…”
I was focused on talking with Nozomu, so I didn’t notice that Amami-san had actually been observing him.
Amami-san then turned to face us and said,
“Nozomu-kun, we came all this way to play together, so don’t hold yourself back, okay? I know you have reservations about me, but don’t worry, I won’t be mad even if you’re touching me.”
“B-But…”
“It’s fine. Since you’re the biggest out of us three, you’ll be in front, Nozomu-kun. I’ll be right behind you and Maki-kun should be last. The plan is to stick together and jump out at the last minute, okay?~”
“O-Okay…”
I understood what she was saying, but still, it was unusual for Amami-san to overturn a decision made by everyone at the last minute.
It was true that the atmosphere felt a little iffy after the groups were decided. I guess she couldn’t take it anymore and decided to fix it herself.
“Jeez, our princess is so needy. Alright, let’s just go quickly, Nina, we don’t wanna be a nuisance to others.”
“Hey hey~ Set sail~”
“Mhm. Prepare yourself when we get down, Yuu. Also, please take care of this idiot, Maki.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
We nodded to each other before she released her grip on the handrail and went down the slide. I could hear their voices echoing for a while after they went down.
“Alright, time to go, Nozomu. Lead the way.”
“Y-Yes… I-I’ll be in your care, Amami-san.”
“Mhm! Likewise, Nozomu-kun! Maki-kun, too!”
“…Mm. Excuse me…”
I sat right behind Amami-san, who was currently embracing Nozomu’s waist. I tried to do the same with her while keeping a little distance, but her waist was surprisingly thin, so I decided that I should get closer to her instead, or else it’d be dangerous.
…After that, I tried to focus on enjoying the slide instead of anything else.
“Alright, let’s go! Don’t hold back, Nozomu-kun!”
“Am I in heaven?… Alright, let’s go!!”
“!”
Because of Nozomu’s lead, the three of us managed to catch up with the two who went ahead of us.
“Uwah! W-What is this?! It’s too fast!! I’m going to die!”
“Kya! It’s going too fast! Hahaha!”
I was relieved to see Amami-san back to her normal self even though she had to be sandwiched between two guys as a price… I should help her apologize to Umi afterwards.
Overall, I thought that things would go poorly, but somehow, the problem was resolved and everyone was happy. (T/N: Dude forgetting about his possessive gf.)