Published at 16th of August 2019 9:31 pm

Volume 6, Chapter 7: Roller Coaster

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

Monday, December 21

Since Kiriha had apprehended Shijima Tayuma, his plan had completely failed. Karama's and Korama's records served as proof that backed up Kiriha's testimony. He was now awaiting investigation and trial.

And with Tayuma's plan exposed to the world, Kiriha's political rivals, the radical faction, temporarily stepped out of the spotlight. Since the underground people's opinion had changed, nothing they did would work out well. Even if Kiriha was to die now, the radical faction would be blamed. They had to wait out the storm before they could make any further moves.

As a result, Kiriha's surroundings became peaceful again.

As for Kiriha who had survived the crisis, she used the winter vacation and headed to the amusement park together with Koutarou once more in order to thank him.

“You don't really need to thank me.”

However, to Koutarou, he hadn't done anything that required thanking. Since he had become friends with Kiriha, it was only obvious that he would help her.

“Don't say that. I love this place. There're lots of rides I haven't tried yet.”

However, showing her thanks was most likely just an excuse. In reality, Koutarou was just a bonus, what she really wanted to do was ride the roller coaster. Since Tayuma had appeared, she had missed her chance of riding it. She had decided that she would definitely ride it today, and had been enthusiastic since the morning.

“Well, in that case...”

“Good. I'll be happy if you enjoy it alongside me.”

“Leave it to me. Playing around is my specialty.”

The two were walking through the park heading towards the roller coaster. However, just before it, Koutarou stopped for some reason. Noticing that, Kiriha stopped too and called out to him.

“What's wrong?”

“Over there. I was just thinking that the hole is already fixed.”

Koutarou moved his face a little to point towards the area he was looking. He was looking at the place where Tayuma had appeared on the underground submergence boat, creating a big hole in the ground. There were several workers that were working on fixing the pavement after filling up the hole.

“Koutarou, having a big hole like that here would be boring.”

“As long as there are happy memories being made here, everything is fine, right?”

“That's right.”

“And now you want to some happy memories regarding the roller coaster?”

“Of course.”

Giggling to each other, the two of them begin walking through the roller coaster again.

Thanks to Yurika's magic, the events regarding that incident had finished up quickly. Having cast a ward to keep people away at the same time as the Sun Rangers appeared, no one could see their fighting. And the event was covered up as a mysterious sinkhole suddenly appearing.

Koutarou and Kiriha had no idea what Yurika had done, so Koutarou just figured they had been lucky. Kiriha had assumed that the surface government had regulated the information. They had a difference in assumption, but they were both happy that the incident had been safely resolved.

“As long as happy memories are being made, huh... Koutarou are you happy being here with me?”

Walking next to Koutarou, Kiriha suspiciously looked at him. They were closer than ever. So while he would normally panic from this situation, today there was no sign of that reaction as he instead smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. With you right now, it's not that bad. I don't have to worry about any weird intentions, since I already know what you really want.”

Up until now, Koutarou had been panicking because he didn't know her intentions. For example, in the past when she had been trying to seduce him, he didn't know if she was kidding or if she was serious. But things were different now. Knowing that Kiriha had someone she loved, it was obvious that she wasn't serious about her seduction. In fact, Kiriha would be troubled if Koutarou took her seduction seriously.

On top of that, Koutarou completely trusted in Kiriha. She might play jokes, but he believed that she didn't play around with people. So even if he was with Kiriha, he wasn't anxious. Like with Kenji, he was able to enjoy Kiriha's words and actions.

“It sounds like you're calling me a flimsy woman though.”

“If it sounds like it, it's probably the truth. But I like that kind of person.”

“Fufufu, then I'll take it as a compliment.”

“Yeah. If you hadn't chosen a man you'd want to be with, I would like to make a move on you.”

“Quit your lying, Satomi Koutarou. That's far too transparent.”

The two headed towards the roller coaster while joking around. This was a refreshing sight for those two. Everything up until today had led to a change in their relationship.

A man she wants to be with huh...

Once the roller coaster was right in front of them, Koutarou stopped moving once more, he repeated his own words on in his mind. He then looked over to the sign near the roller coaster.

'You must be at least 140 centimeters to ride this attraction.'

Koutarou then looked up towards the cars running on the railroad.

Hmm, something just feels wrong...

Imagining himself and Kiriha riding the roller coaster together, he felt like something didn't quite click.

“Kiriha-san.”

So Koutarou stopped Kiriha as she was about to cross the entrance to the ride.

“Yes?”

Kiriha quickly turned around. Her eyes were sparkling, like a child really looking forward to riding the roller coaster.

“We should probably not ride it.”

“Koutarou?”

Kiriha's expression clouded instantly. Since she had been so excited for today, she was very disappointed.

“Why would you stop now that we've come this far?”

“Hmm... how could I put this...”

‘It doesn't feel right’ wouldn't work as an explanation. Thinking about what to say, Koutarou racked his brain, before explaining to Kiriha.

“I really think you should ride it with your first love.”

“...Koutarou...”

At that moment Kiriha became aware of her own feelings, and her eyes opened wide in surprise.

Am I confusing Koutarou and that person...?

Until Koutarou had pointed it out, Kiriha had felt like she was about to ride the roller coaster with her first love. That's why she noticed that she was confusing Koutarou with her first love.

Taken aback by her own feelings, Kiriha looked up at the roller coaster. The complexly intertwining railroads looked like her own feelings to her.

“Either way, no matter what happens, that way would be for the best. Since you've waited this long, there's no need to compromise now.”

Koutarou lined up next to Kiriha and looked up at the roller coaster with her. But unlike Kiriha, Koutarou had no hesitation.

“I'll help you look for him, so let’s find that person.”

“...Yeah, thank you, Koutarou.”

Looking at Koutarou's smiling face, Kiriha noticed another possibility.

No... It might not be that I'm confusing Koutarou with that person, but rather that I...?

However, Kiriha couldn't reach a conclusion yet. To her, both possibilities seemed correct but at the same time wrong. Her feelings at the moment were very complex.

However there was one thing she knew for certain.

“What if we couldn't find that person, even then?”

Kiriha wanted to ride the roller coaster with Koutarou. She wanted some memorable experiences with her new found friend. So Kiriha couldn't stop herself asking that.

“Then ride with me. I'm actually very interested in roller coasters as well.”

“...I got it. Then I'll endure for today.”

Satisfied by Koutarou's answer, Kiriha agreed with him.

Regardless of who I ride this with in the future, I just hope my feelings are clear by that time...

Kiriha didn't know what would happen in the future, but she was mysteriously cheerful.

Part 2

“Right then, what to ride next...”

Leaving the roller coaster behind them Kiriha walked around the amusement park looking for the next attraction.

Attractions she'd been on, attractions she hadn't and attractions she’d been on but wanted to get on again. There were a ton of attractions that attracted Kiriha's attention.

Oh yeah, there was something I had to say...

Looking at Kiriha look around the area, Koutarou remembered that there was something he needed to tell her. It was something he had been thinking about since he had seen Kiriha fight Tayuma.

“Hey, Kiriha-san.”

“Yes?”

As Koutarou called out to Kiriha, she continued moving around the area while looking back at him. She moved around, almost as if Koutarou himself was one of the attractions.

“There's something I want to apologize about.”

“Apologize? What for?”

Kiriha tilted her head. She couldn't remember Koutarou having anything to apologize about. She could come up with a lot of things that she could apologize for, but nothing that he could.

“When we first met, I said some horrible things to you, right?”

Koutarou wanted to apologize for what he had said when they had first met. Having no way of knowing her intentions, he had called her an idiot amongst other things. But having learned of her intentions, Koutarou noticed that what he had said probably hurt her.

“Of course you did. I'm an invader after all.”

Kiriha smiled as if saying that there was no need to apologize. She was prepared for the consequences since she wanted Koutarou to resist.

“That might be true, but still, I'm sorry, Kiriha-san.”

But even then Koutarou apologized. When he had apologized, he felt a weight drop off his shoulders. It wasn't just for Kiriha's sake, but also for his own.

“That sounds like you want to be invaded to me.”

Kiriha smiled mischievously. Koutarou had been so harsh with Kiriha because he wanted to prevent an invasion. By apologizing, it was the same as if he was allowing the invasion, both of room 106 and the surface.

However, Koutarou's glance remained calm, even after seeing that smile. He had absolute faith in Kiriha.

“Feel free to invade if you want. The surface, or that room.”

“Wha...”

“If you seriously want to that is.”

Hearing Koutarou's response, Kiriha noticed how happy she was.

So you won't mind if I invade... Koutarou...

Kiriha was unbearably happy. Deep joy filled her heart, and it felt like it would burst at any moment.

She was so happy that Koutarou had accepted her as a true friend. That was also the answer she sought for in her invasion. It was as if his answer affirmed her goal and actions. She had gotten what she had wished for. The joy of that was deep yet intense, so the normally calm Kiriha was barely able to hold back her tears.

“...Koutarou, in reality you don't want me to find that person, right?”

As Kiriha said that, she wiped the corners of her eyes. Even with her strong will, she hadn’t been able to keep herself from tearing up.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Koutarou didn't notice her tears, and just smiled while looking at her.

“No, it's nothing.”

Kiriha grabbed Koutarou's hand while he tilted his head in confusion and began pulling on it as she started walking. If she had continued to face him, she would probably have cried.

“Let's go, Koutarou!”

“Yeah.”

Kiriha continued walking, heading for attractions she had never ridden with anyone before.

To make memories with the first real friend she had ever made on the surface.

Part 3

As the end of the year approached, even if the day was warm, the evening turned cold in a hurry. So to Koutarou, who had gotten another part-time job because of the winter vacation, this was a rough period.

“How about a cake for Christmas!? At the Harukaze Bakery, we're accepting reservations for Christmas cakes!”

Koutarou's new part time was handing out flyers dressed as Santa Claus.

Since the bakery by the station at the mall was selling Christmas cakes, Koutarou was in charge of the advertising. Today was December 22, and Christmas Eve was right around the corner. When it came to selling Christmas cakes, it had to be done today or tomorrow.

The most important time for advertising was when people were shopping or heading home. It was cold, but he had to work hard.

“How about a cake for Christmas!? At the Harukaze Bakery, we're accepting reservations for Christmas cakes!”

Handing out flyers to the people passing through the mall, Koutarou raised his voice.

A lot of necessities were required for the end of the year, so his part-time job excavating ruins wasn't quite enough. Because of Yurika, the food cost had risen, and because Theia was playing so many games, the electricity bill had also risen. And in the winter, the heating bill had increased, putting even more pressure on Koutarou.

Everything could work out if he relied on his father, but for him to acknowledge himself as an independent adult man he wanted to solve this with his own power.

“How about a cake for Christmas!? At the Harukaze Bakery, we're accepting reservations for Christmas cakes!”

There were a lot of people passing through. However, everyone looked busy, and only a few showed interest in Koutarou's flyers. He politely handed over flyers to those who would accept them. Amongst the people that accepted the flyers, only a few were actually interested in buying a cake. But it was important to think of everyone accepting the flyer as a customer.

After Koutarou had been struggling for a while, he heard an unexpected voice.

“Good evening, Santa.”

“Oh? Sakuraba-senpai?”

Harumi had called out to Koutarou. When he turned to the direction of the voice, he saw Harumi smiling in the cold winds raging through the mall. That smile felt like the spring sun to him. It was a welcome meeting that let him forget about the cold.

“Fufu, I think I've been a good child this year, so may I have a flyer?”

Smiling, Harumi was holding out her hands as if she asking for a present.

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