Somehow, I ended up wandering the amusement park with the Commander.
It’s not like we came here specifically for fun, but still, it felt a bit awkward to be walking around together.
“Lindera, want to check that out?”
“…Do you think I’d go to a haunted house when I’m scared of horror movies?”
What the Commander pointed to was, of course, a haunted house.
And naturally, I had to refuse.
Ever since I got scared by a horror movie because of the Commander, I wanted nothing to do with anything horrifying.
“What a shame.”
“…Let’s skip the weird stuff and grab lunch instead. Haven’t we been wandering around without eating?”
“Are you not full from those churros?”
“Of course not! We’ve been walking around, and I didn’t even eat breakfast!”
“True. Actually, I’m a bit hungry too.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Huh? Just curious?”
“……..”
I thought he might be seeing me as a big pig who eats a lot.
Just curious, huh?
I couldn’t help but glare at the Commander a little.
Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve joked around like this, but still…
“Sorry, sorry! You know I was just joking, right?”
“…Let’s just go eat lunch.”
“Yeah, what should we eat?”
“Let’s go with whatever you want, Commander. I don’t mind. I won’t eat much anyway.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go to a place where you can eat a lot.”
Seriously.
I didn’t care, after all.
I wasn’t particularly hungry, either.
“……….”
So, I moved with the Commander to a restaurant.
It was a decent restaurant in the amusement park.
Not exactly a full-on restaurant, just… one that served Western food.
There were other types, but since the Commander suggested this one, we went here.
“What do you want to eat, Lindera?”
“French fries.”
“…That’s not really a lunch, is it?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“………..”
“I’m not a pig, and besides, I had snacks in between, so why would I be that hungry?”
I said this while smiling.
Honestly, I wasn’t upset at all.
“…Then how about I order a steak, a salad, and… soup?”
“Do as you wish.”
“R-right.”
The Commander looked at me hesitantly while ordering.
Why is he looking at me like that? He really doesn’t need to.
Anyway, I was fine with just the fries.
I wasn’t hungry and certainly wasn’t one to eat a lot.
We were waiting for our food while facing each other.
By the way, why did he order so much?
Why’s he being so cautious?
Seriously.
I really don’t get it.
“Haha…”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Haha…”
The Commander looked like he did something wrong.
I knew why he was that way, but I pretended not to.
Honestly, I was a bit upset.
I wasn’t really a pig who ate lots, so why say things like that?
If it were any other time, I could have let it slide, but this time, I really didn’t like that joke.
Why did he say I wouldn’t be satisfied with just churros?
“Hmph.”
“…Sorry.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
The Commander finally came to his senses and apologized, but I acted like I didn’t hear him.
Of course, I still felt a bit weird about it.
For a moment, he really made me feel like he thinks I eat a lot.
I mean, sure, it was probably just a joke, but I didn’t like it.
He did apologize, though… so I decided to let it go.
Honestly, we ended up wandering around the amusement park for what was supposed to be a date, and it would be silly to stay upset.
*
“Commander.”
“Yeah?”
“Look, it’s Midori!”
“Well, what a coincidence.”
While we were continuing our date, we spotted Midori.
She was a bit far away, surrounded by other people, but her distinct appearance made her hard to miss.
White hair isn’t exactly common, so I recognized her instantly.
“Should we go say hi?”
“No, let’s not. They seem to be enjoying their date. No need to interrupt.”
Honestly, I wanted to say hi, but I chose not to.
And it made sense since…
“Nana, should we go see the animals? There’s a small zoo over there! What do you think?”
“If Midori wants to see them, of course we should go. Is she that eager to see them?”
“Absolutely! We’ve tried almost all the rides already!”
“Then let’s check out the animals. If Midori likes it, I’m in too.”
“Hehe…”
It seemed like they were having a great time.
Honestly, I couldn’t even figure out why they’d asked me for help.
I didn’t know if they usually acted like this, but if they did, then it was clear that Midori had a crush on Nana.
Even though I was just an ordinary girl, I actually felt like Nana was leading their date.
Nana led by holding Midori’s hand and even affectionately ruffled her hair.
“Let’s go somewhere else. They seem to be having fun.”
“If you say so, then so be it.”
“Where do you want to go? We’ve almost tried all the roller coasters… the drop towers… hmm…”
“The haunted house?”
“…What’s wrong with you? Seriously.”
“Doesn’t it sound fun?”
“I don’t think it’s fun.”
“………”
Why does the Commander want to keep going to the haunted house?
I never thought he was into horror or scary stuff.
Why on earth?
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out why the Commander keeps wanting to go to the haunted house.
He doesn’t even play those kinds of games usually.
“Do you really want to go?”
“Yeah.”
“……….”
But since he keeps insisting, it felt a bit bad to only keep rejecting him.
He looked so eager, it was almost sad to keep saying no.
But at the same time, I could clearly see it would be scary, so I didn’t want to go.
“Can’t we not go?”
“………”
“I’ll lead, okay? Just once. We’ve done almost everything else anyway.”
“Well…”
“We came all this way to the amusement park, shouldn’t we at least give it a shot?”
“…Hah.”
I sighed.
Honestly, I was pretty scared.
Last time’s horror movie was already terrifying, and I dreaded how much scarier this would be.
But the Commander was so eager.
It felt almost like managing a kid who wanted a new game console.
“Fine. Let’s go… just once. But if I get scared… I’m running away. Seriously.”
That was a clear warning.
I would truly bolt out of there.
“Hah…”
“Are you really worried?”
“…Yes.”
Of course I was.
I was already scared just walking toward the haunted house.
I was terrified of horror movies, so there’s no way I wouldn’t be scared here.
Even though I had a bit of drink last time, it was just pure fear that made me act that way.
I practically threw myself into the Commander’s arms, acting super pathetic…
“…Huh.”
“We’re here. Should we go in?”
“…Yes, let’s go in. Anyway, there’s no one waiting…”
-Screeeech!!!!!!!!!
“…Eep.”
At the entrance.
While I was half-listening to the staff, I heard a scream.
Oh god, I really don’t want to go in.
But the Commander and I were already at the entrance of the haunted house, listening to the staff.
There was no way to back out now…
“Phew…”
And so we stepped into the haunted house.
From the moment I entered, eerie music played, and the sound of rain echoed.
Moreover, the interior was pitch black, and the only illumination was a faint crimson light just enough for us to see our surroundings.
“Ugh……..”
“Are you okay?”
“Still hanging in there…”
I clung to the Commander’s hand from behind as I slowly walked.
Nothing had popped out yet, but I was already terrified.
“Seriously… why did we come to a place like this?”
“Haha…”
I could feel the Commander’s hand sweating in mine.
No kidding, it probably was!
I was holding onto him super tightly.
Seriously, why is this happening because of him…
-Whirrr….
“Eep…”
“That’s just the wind.”
“B-but… it’s so sudden…”
As I was slowly walking while hiding behind him, I heard a sudden noise that startled me a little.
Just a little…
“Don’t worry too much about it. You’re positioned behind me, so you can’t see anything anyway, right?”
“That’s…”
“So don’t get too scared, okay?”
“Okay…”
What he said wasn’t wrong.
Of course… I was still scared, though.
“Eugh…”
So I started walking again.
The Commander strolled ahead nonchalantly, but I was still hiding behind.
Honestly, I wanted to close my eyes.
I wanted to plug my ears and just go into denial, but if I did, I wouldn’t be able to hold onto the Commander’s hand and would get left behind…
“Eugh…”
“But seriously, there’s nothing much, right? Apart from some decorations on the walls or ceiling, there’s nothing else.”
“Is that so…?”
I peeked around a bit, slightly opening my eyes from the squint.
And true to the Commander’s word, it wasn’t that scary.
There were just fake spiders and skeletons, nothing else terrifying.
The atmosphere was still foreboding, though.
“So, how about you keep your eyes open and walk? You could trip or fall otherwise.”
“…Got it.”
“Yeah, I’ll hold you up, but it’s still risky.”
“Ha…”
All I could hear was our footsteps, thump-thump, and nothing else made a sound.
Not even wind sounds, or eerie music, just silence.
As if something was about to appear…
-Bang!!
“Eep!?”
A sudden loud noise startled me.
And right after…
-Thud!!
Something dropped from the ceiling right nearby.
It looked like a human head… and it was covered in blood…
“AAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
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