15 - If we're going to hang out in the city, it's easier with the same sex (Patreon)

RAW

All of my assignments are done and Hiuri is out, so I can’t play with her, that’s why I’m just lazing around at home.

Suddenly my smartphone vibrated.

[Kazuki, let's hang out]

It was a message from Tadashi.
He said he’d hang out with me during summer vacation, but I didn't think he would actually contact me. I wonder if he is doing his assignments properly... probably not...

[I’ll go if you finish your assignment]
[You’re free anyway, aren’t you?]

Well, that's true but.

[Or maybe you’re in the middle of a date?]
[That's not true. House]
[It can’t be, you’re doing that already!?]

What the hell is this guy saying?
I did create my house and invited Hiuri in once in the dream, but in real life she doesn't remember that, so she never comes to my house.

“Well, I'm bored, I guess I'll go.”
[OK. let's hang out]
[You should just say that from the beginning. Let’s meet in front of the station after eating lunch, around 1 o'clock.]

I wonder what will happen if we use an estimate for the meeting time.
I'm worried about Tadashi's progress on his assignment, but I decided to hang out anyway. But first, shall I have lunch?

...

“Oh—, you're here.”
“Yaa, Tadashi. How is the progress of your assignment?”
“None at all!”

Tadashi said that while smiling. That's no laughing matter, you know.
I don't know if third-year high school students have assignments for summer vacation, but I wonder if he’ll do the same next year. I won’t care if you don't finish it and your grade drops.

“Let’s go to the city.”
“Why did you go out of your way to call me? Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“None!”

So it’s none.

“Well, let's think about it when we get there.”

Tadashi and I buy tickets and take the train to the city.

There are no places to play in these residential areas. There are some old-fashioned candy shops left, but it's a bit lacking for high school boys. That's why when we want to play, we always go to the city.

“Come to think of it, how much did you bring today?”
“Nn? I think I have about 5,000 yen.”
“Excellent.”

Once we arrive at the city, we first go to the arcade.

An arcade is the perfect place to play while thinking about other things we want to do. Tadashi isn't the type of person who reads much, so he's not interested in bookstores or anything like that.

I don't play games that often, but I like coming to arcades like this. The type of game I'm best at is called gun shooting, it’s a game where you aim a gun-shaped controller at a huge screen and shoot enemies.
Tadashi, on the other hand, is good at simple crane games. Apparently, he takes the prizes and sells what he doesn't need on online flea market apps.

The first thing we tried was... a crane game. It's the perfect game to play while talking. If it was a gun shooting, we can't help but get desperate.
What’s more, what we choose is not the big one, but the type that uses small arms to scoop up sweets that are spinning around. I think this probably falls under the category of crane games, but maybe there's another name for it?* (T/N: I don’t know about this thing, does anyone know?)

“Then, let's take a look at Tadashi-sensei’s skills.”
“You say that, but you’re not going to try it, are you? Well, that's fine though.”

Tadashi puts in 100 yen and music starts playing.
The target is sweets. Taking things that are difficult to carry around would only be a hassle, so we decided to take things that we can consume.

The arm scoops up what looks like candy and crackers.
It rides on a platform that moves back and forth in front of us, and it pushes out the other sweets on the platform... and then, nothing falls down. The sweets that were pushed out fell to the side and melted among the masses.

“Sensei?”
“Shut up! The one I'm good at is that crane game over there! I don't know about this one!”

Tadashi gets angry while pointing at a large crane game.
The sweets at the large crane game are usually big, so they get in the way, and other than that, it would be figures or cushions, so I don't need them.

Since it can’t be helped, I decided to try it as well.
This time there are no crackers, and it scoops up three pieces of candy.

How should I put it, even if I manage to get what I scooped up, getting three pieces of candy for 100 yen honestly feels like a loss. Well, I guess it's wrong to seek profits in an arcade.

The candies pushed out the other sweets, and two pieces of candy fell into the prize outlet on the outside. 50 yen apiece huh...

“Oh, there’s one for each of us. I'll take this fluffy one.”
“Then I’ll take the grape flavored one.”

...

We walk around the city while licking our candy. After that game, I tried playing some gun shooting, but I wasn't feeling well and couldn't progress at all. Feeling deflated, we leave the arcade and walk around the city.

“So, you don't have a date with the Black Thorn Princess?”
“I've been saying this a lot, but no.”

Tadashi asks about me and Hiuri every time. It would be nice if we could go on a date, but in real life, we're just friends, so we can’t just go any further.

“Or rather, shouldn’t you just confess? The Black Thorn Princess might actually give you an OK, you know?”
“No, I don’t know about that...”

In the dream, Hiuri said, “If you confess, the me right now might actually refuse.”
If I get rejected even once, I don't have the courage to try again, so I don't plan on confessing until I get permission from dream Hiuri.

“Besides, aren’t there people who go out with someone of the opposite sex even when they aren’t lovers?”
“That doesn’t mean I won't have a hard time inviting her out.”

How do the [men and women who are only friends] in the world ask people out?
If I could easily invite Hiuri out, I would be happy because I would be able to spend a lot of time with her not only in the dream but also in real life...

“If you need anything, you can consult me, you know.”
“I don't think I'll get any useful answers.”
“Well, I guess so. I've never had a girlfriend after all.”

This guy is unreal. Well, if he wasn’t, wouldn't he try to get in contact with Hiuri in various ways?
Hiuri's appearance is extraordinarily good. Because of that, she attracts the attention of boys... but it seems that boys that have a girlfriend don't cheat on their girlfriend. They probably see their lover as cuter.

“If you come to consult me, I’ll know that something happened, right?”
“I will never consult you.”

I decided not to say anything to Tadashi until the end.

――――

(T/N: ‘hang out’ and ‘play’ is actually the same word; 遊ぶ. I just think some words are more suitable in some situations.)

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