Trial Lover 35 (Patreon)

Main Story 34 - The Thanks for the Haunted House

RAW

“Wow~, the haunted house was fun-ssu!”

When we reached the exit and left the haunted house, Hazuki-san said that in satisfaction. She was in high spirits from beginning to end. Because she was there, even when ghosts and specters appeared, my fear and surprise quickly disappeared.

“We made it to the exit safely I see...” (Hiori)

“I-it's over, right? No matter how many times I come to this haunted house, it's always scary.”

Hiori and Himura-san seem relieved that we made it out. But, compared to before they entered the haunted house, the two of them look more tired. I wonder if it’s because they screamed at a high volume every time a ghost or specter appeared. They are probably tired because of that.

“I'm glad Hazuki-san enjoyed it. Hiori and Himura-san, thank you for your hard work.”

“How was it for you-ssu, Kamitou-kun?”

“I also enjoyed it quite a bit.”

Sometimes I was surprised when I saw ghosts and specters appear in unexpected ways.

Also, Hiori and Himura-san relied on me after all. Besides, it was my first time going into a haunted house with someone who was always so excited and someone who screamed all the time, so it was refreshing.

“It was scarier than I expected. I screamed a lot.” (Hiori)

“I screamed a lot too. If Kamitou wasn't by my side or I couldn't hear Saaya's happy voice, I might have given up halfway through.” (Kyoko)

“Me too. Also, it was nice to have someone like Kyoko-san shout with me.”

“I thought that too. It made me realize I wasn’t the only one who was scared.”

“Isn’t it?”

After saying that, Hiori and Himura-san look at each other and laugh peacefully. Their friendship and camaraderie may have deepened after sharing their fears and screaming a lot together.

“Akito-san, Saaya-san. Thank you very much.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

Hiori and Himura-san thank us in soft voices. Himura-san is also being honest, probably because Hiori said her thanks.

“No, no.”

“I didn't do anything worth saying thanks-ssu. I was just having fun. Kamitou-kun was the one who supported the two of you-ssu.”

“I was hugging Akito-san's arm tightly after all. Even though I screamed a lot of times, he didn't show a displeased face even once.”

“I screamed a lot too after all. I grabbed him by the shirt and huddled behind him. He was very reliable. ...I'm grateful.”

Hiori, who is smiling kindly at me, is obvious, but Himura-san, who is shyly glancing at me with red cheeks, is also quite cute.

“I'm glad I was able to support the two of you.”

Hiori and Himura-san being scared of ghosts and specters were cute anyway. Besides, I got to have close contact with Hiori by her hugging my arm tightly. It made me like haunted houses more.

“...Ah, that's right. I borrowed the cardigan from Akito-san. Thank you very much. Thanks to this cardigan, my body didn't get cold. Also, since I was wearing a one piece dress with almost no sleeves, it felt very comfortable against my skin.”

“That's good to hear. But, before you take it off, can I take a photo? It looks good on you, and it's a memory of today.”

“Me too!”

“That’s fine.”

After that, Himura-san and I take photos of Hiori wearing the long cardigan with our smartphones. Himura-san also takes a two-shot selfie with Hiori.

I take several good photos, including Hiori giving the peace sign and a three-shot with Himura-san and Hazuki-san.

After the photo session is over, I get my long cardigan back from Hiori and put it on again. The moment I put on the cardigan, I smell Hiori’s sweet scent. I also feel Hiori's warmth through my shirt. I feel like I'm being enveloped by Hiori. Aah, I'm happy. I wonder if Hiori felt like this when I lent her my cardigan at the haunted house.

From now on, when I look at the photo or wear this cardigan, I'm sure I'll vividly remember today's haunted house.

I send a message to the group chat, saying, [The haunted house is over. We’re near the exit]. Then, sit on a bench near the exit.

Maybe it's because it's almost noon, it's more crowded compared to when we arrived here.

“Hey, everyone!”

“Thank you for your hard work at the haunted house!”

Kazuo and Shimizu-san are coming towards us while waving their hands. Kazuo's huge body can be easily recognized even if there are many people around.

“How was the haunted house?”

“It was really fun-ssu! Hiorin and Himuko were so scared that they clung to Kamitou-kun the whole time-ssu.”

“It was quite scary.” (Hiori)

“It was scary. It was the right decision for Shimizu and Kuraki to not enter.” (Kyoko)

“I-I see.” (Miu)

“So it was the right decision to go get some soft serve ice cream, huh.” (Kazuo)

Kazuo and Shimizu-san's faces turn pale and their bodies start shaking little by little. They really are a matching couple. If they react like this just by hearing our story, they might have screamed even more than Hiori and Himura-san if they entered the haunted house.

“So the two of you went to eat soft-serve ice cream.” (Akito)

“Yeah. They were selling it near here after all. I got the chocolate flavor and Miu got the milk flavor.” (Kazuo)

“It was cold and delicious, wasn’t it?” (Miu)

“Yeah! We even exchanged a bite.” (Kazuo)

“Yup! The chocolate flavor was delicious too!”

“And the milk flavor was awesome too!”

Kazuo and Shimizu-san talk happily. Apparently, they both had a good time too. I suppose entering attractions is not the only way to enjoy an amusement park.

“I'm glad you two had a good time too. Now then, what do we do now? It's already past noon, so should we have lunch? But you two just ate soft-serve ice cream.” (Akito)

“No, I got hungry after eating the soft serve ice cream.” (Kazuo)

“...You ate soft serve ice cream, right?”

“After eating the soft serve ice cream, my appetite really kicked into high gear.”

“I see. So that's how it works.”

So it stimulated his appetite? How very Kazuo-like.

“Everyone, what do you think? Especially Shimizu-san who ate the soft serve ice cream.” (Akito)

“After all the screaming at the thrill rides and the haunted house, I got hungry.” (Kyoko)

“I feel the same way. Screaming takes a lot of energy, I see.” (Hiori)

“I’m hungry too-ssu.”

“The only thing I ate with Kazuo-kun was soft serve ice cream after all. I can have lunch no problem.”

“Is that so? Then, shall we go get lunch now?”

We leave the haunted house behind and head to the food area where the restaurants are gathered.

They have not only directly managed restaurants, but also a number of stores that are part of a nationwide chain. Seeing them, Himura-san and Kazuo, who are both hungry, get excited.

Because it’s lunchtime, every shop is crowded.

But, the chain restaurant which has hamburger steaks and steaks, even from outside, we can see that it has a few empty seats here and there. Everyone likes meat dishes, so we decided to have lunch at this restaurant.

When we enter the restaurant, we luckily find a table for 4 people and a table for 2 people, empty and next to each other. The restaurant is kind enough to move the table for 2 so that 6 people can eat together.

The seating order is me, Hiori, and Himura-san on the window side. Kazuo, Shimizu-san, and Hazuki-san are sitting across the table from me.

Each of us orders a menu we like, and they bring them to our table after about 15 minutes. By the way, what I ordered was the chicken steak set.

“Everyone's order has arrived too, so let's eat it! Itadakimasu!”

[Itadakima─su!]

At Kazuo's signal, we start eating lunch.

I use the knife and fork and cut a bite-sized piece of the chicken steak. I dip the cut up steak into Japanese-style grated sauce and put it in my mouth.

“Hot... Aah, delicious.”

It's a Japanese-style sauce, so it's refreshing. I can feel the sweetness and flavor of the meat and it’s very delicious. Because it's a soy sauce-based sauce, it also goes well with rice.

“The hamburger steak is delicious too.” (Hiori)

“I see. That's good.”

When I say that, Hiori smiles gently and eats the hamburger steak with demi-glace sauce.

Himura-san and the others are also smiling, perhaps because the food they ordered is delicious. It seems like choosing this shop was the right decision.

“Kazuo-kun, I’ll give you one slice of my sliced steak!”

“Thank you! Then, I’ll give you a bite of my hamburger steak as a thank you.”

Saying that, Kazuo and Shimizu-san exchange bites of the menu they each ordered. They often exchange side dishes when eating lunch at school, so this is a familiar sight for us. They really get along well with each other.

“Akito-san, shall we exchange a bite as well?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Seeing Kazuo and Shimizu-san made me want to exchange a bite with Hiori, so I'm happy that she suggested it. Besides, I’m also curious about what the hamburger steak tastes like.

Hiori cuts a bite-sized piece of the hamburger steak, adds a demi-glace sauce, and brings it to my mouth.

“Here, Aa─n.”

“Aa─n.”

I eat the hamburger steak Hiori feeds me.

Every time I chew it, the juices from the hamburger steak spread in my mouth. When those mix with the demi-glace sauce, their flavor increases.

“The hamburger steak is delicious, Hiori.”

“That’s good to hear. It's delicious, isn't it?”

“Yeah. Then, I'll feed you my chicken steak.”

I cut a bite-sized piece of chicken steak, add a Japanese-style sauce, and bring it to Hiori's mouth.

“Hiori, Aa─n.”

“Aa─n.”

Hiori eats the chicken steak I feed her.

Hiori slowly chews the chicken steak. Perhaps liking it, Hiori shows me her cute smile.

“It's delicious. Mine is a rich demi-glace sauce, so I think the refreshing Japanese-style sauce is great.”

“That's good to hear.”

“The couples, both the official one and the trial one, are showing off, aren’t they-ssu?”

“Well, that’s just how good they get along with each other.”

Himura-san and Hazuki-san are looking at us while smiling. Also, the Kazuo & Shimizu-san couple who finished exchanging a bite just before us are looking at us while grinning. I do have experience of being seen by everyone except Hazuki-san while being fed by Hiori, but it's a little embarrassing when everyone is staring at us. Perhaps feeling the same way, Hiori’s cheeks turn slightly red.

“H-hey. Kamitou.”

“Hm?”

Himura-san is glancing at me. I wonder what’s wrong?

“...I-I'll give you a bite of my beefsteak. Um... I relied on you a lot at the haunted house. This is a thank you for that.”

“Is that fine?”

“Yeah. I also use Japanese-style sauce, so the taste will be similar. But if you’re okay with that... I'll feed you.”

As Himura-san says that, her cheeks gradually become redder and redder, even redder than Hiori's. Hazuki-san is looking at such Himura-san with a grin on her face.

“I don't mind similar taste. I like this Japanese-style sauce anyway. But, I wonder if it's okay for you to feed me... Hiori.”

Even though it’s just a trial, I'm Hiori's lover. It's possible that Hiori doesn't like me being fed by other girls.

“At the haunted house, Kyoko-san was clinging to you together with me after all. If it’s as a thank you for that, I don’t mind if Kyoko-san feeds you.”

Hiori says that without showing any particular aversion to the idea.

“I got it. Then, I guess I’ll have you feed me.”

“I got it. It's hard to feed you like this, so come here a bit.”

“Yeah.”

I get up from my seat and walk right up to Himura-san. To make it easier for her to feed me the beefsteak, I crouch down a little bit.

Himura-san brings the beefsteak with Japanese-style sauce to my mouth.

“Kamitou, a-aa~n.”

“Aa─n.”

I eat the beefsteak with Japanese-style sauce Himura-san feeds me.

So this refreshing Japanese-style sauce also goes well with beefsteak. Very delicious.

“How is it? Kamitou.”

“It's very delicious. Thank you, Himura-san.”

“Yeah. Thank you for earlier, Kamitou.”

Himura-san shows me a very cute smile and gently pats me on the head. Such Himura-san makes my heart skip a beat, just a little. I'm happy that she starts to smile at me like she does to Hiori. Is this the result of the haunted house?

“I'll also pat Akito-san's head.”

Hiori says while looking at us. I wonder if looking at Himura-san just now makes her want to pat me too.

When I return to my seat, Hiori kindly smiles at me and pats my head. She also patted my head when we had an at-home date at my house, but she has a different expression now, and I feel her gentleness even more this time.

After that, we spend a fun lunch time talking mostly about the attractions we visited in the morning.

────

Previous | Next