Ever since I confessed, she has been acting strange. - CHAPTER 4: THE DUEL BETWEEN THE YOUNG LADY AND THE SINGER

Episode 19: First Step – Otoha Habane (Part 1)

Attractions that seemed straight out of a picture book.

The park was filled with background music that added to the atmosphere, and the roller coasters screamed out screams that lived up to the park’s reputation as one of the best in the world.

The costumed characters performed with remarkable precision, delighting the crowds.

“…Amazing. It looks so real.”

“Is this your first time at this theme park, Otoha?”

“Yes, it’s my first time. That’s why I’m really looking forward to it.”

Otoha’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the attractions and brochures around her.

It was a pity that the young lady wasn’t here. She would have enjoyed this even more if she had been with her friend. …No, there was no point in dwelling on that. The young lady had urgent business to attend to. If anything, that meant it was my duty to make sure that Otoha had a wonderful time in her place.

“Is there somewhere you want to go?”

“What about you, Eito?”

“Don’t worry about me. Today is all about making sure you have fun, and I’ll do everything I can to make that happen!”

At that moment-

“……?”

Otoha’s slender, pale forefinger pressed gently against my lips.

“There’s no point if I’m the only one having fun.”

With her finger resting there, I couldn’t move my mouth to speak.

If I tried to say something carelessly, I might accidentally put her delicate finger in my mouth.

As if she had foreseen this possibility.

No, as if she didn’t care if it happened, Otoha made no move to pull her finger away.

“Today is our date, Eito. We have to enjoy it together.”

She was right. The way I had acted – as if I was only here to entertain her – wouldn’t let Otoha enjoy herself to the full.

She was too nice for that. Instead of relaxing, she’d probably start worrying about me.

That was my mistake.

Letting her point it out felt pathetic.

No, I could think about it later. If I didn’t change gears quickly, I’d only end up making her feel more self-conscious.

“…Okay?”

Her finger finally left my lips, freeing me to speak again.

“…You’re right. I apologize – I almost slipped into work mode.”

“…That’s just like you, Eito. But today – no, whenever you’re with me – forget about work. I’ll forget it too.”

With that, Otoha took a step forward, stood on her toes, and whispered sweetly in my ear.

“Today, I’m not the ‘songstress.’ Before you, I’m just Habataki Otoha.”

The voice that had captivated the world murmured softly, just for me.

“Eito, just for now… forget that you serve Hoshine. When you’re with me, I want you to be nothing but Yagiri Eito.

…So, this is the power of a “Songstress”. A sweet, electric chill ran down my spine at the sound of her voice.

Until now, I had always thought of Otoha as something like a fairy – ethereal, delicate.

But as she pulled away from my ear, a slightly mischievous smile on her lips, just for that moment… she reminded me of a little devil.

If her fans saw this side of her, they might be a bit surprised. But even this – this unexpected charm – was just another part of her charm.

“Understood. If that is what you wish, Otoha-san, then I will accompany you for now as nothing more than Yagiri Eito.”

“Yes. Please do.”

She took my outstretched hand with a gentle smile.

(…As nothing more than Yagiri Eito, huh?)

In other words, a version of myself that does not serve my lady.

To be honest, I can hardly imagine such a thing. From the day my family abandoned me and my Lady took me in, she has been my everything.

Even now, and always, I have vowed to serve my Lady, to dedicate myself to being useful to her. I decided long ago that this would be the life I would lead.

…So, if that part of me were taken away – if I were to become “just Yagiri Eito” – what would be left of me?

(I need to get my head in the game).

What Otoha-san wants now is just that-just Eito Yagiri.

If I want her to enjoy today, I have to give it my all.

☆

“That was amazing! It went zoom, then boom, and then bam…!”

Having just ridden one of the world’s most famous high-speed roller coasters, Otoha-san was absolutely thrilled.

All those sound effects… Yeah, I get it. She really is the intuitive, instinctive kind of genius.

Even when she was practicing basketball, she would say things like, “Seion passes too fast. She needs to go more ‘grr’ and then ‘shwoop’ or I can’t keep up. And my lady, who is also an instinctive player, would shoot back, “What are you talking about? I just go ‘snap,’ and you go ‘zoom,’ and that’s it.”

That said, it’s not like I came here today without a plan.

To make sure that both my lady and Otoha-san could enjoy themselves to the fullest, I had already done my research on this Wonderland Festival.

And just in case, I had prepared an itinerary – good thing I did.

We had already gone through several attractions, and it seemed that Otoha-san was satisfied.

“It’s almost noon. Let’s go to one more attraction, and then we can have lunch. My lady will be joining us soon.”

Yes. Everything went according to plan.

Of course, I had already decided on the next attraction and even had lunch arrangements in mind.

“Ah, this one?”

Otoha-san pointed to a specific spot on the map of the theme park printed in the brochure.

It was the newest attraction, built just last year – a state-of-the-art horror house. In other words, a haunted house.

“You’re interested in something like that?”

“Yes. I’m very interested.”

“I see. This attraction is quite popular.”

Otoha-san, who had been so excited about the previous rides, suddenly stopped at the mention of noon.

“…Is something wrong?”

Then, without answering my question, she pointed to the haunted house and made her request.

“You knew about this?”

“Yes. Especially that it’s very popular with couples.”

It seemed like Otoha-san had done her research beforehand. She must have been really looking forward to today.

“Understood. Then let’s go there right away.”

“You don’t like them? You’re really bad at horror?”

“Not just bad. I hate them.”

Wait, what?

I couldn’t help but blink in confusion at her unexpected answer. If she hated horror so much, why would she choose a haunted house?

“Um… Then why did you choose this attraction?”

“…… Because it’s popular with couples.”

Otoha-san looked away slightly and grabbed the hem of her sleeve.

I stiffened slightly at the unexpected closeness.

“If you’re so scared, maybe we should choose another attraction…”

“… (No).”

Her answer was immediate.

“…… Because I want to go. With you.”

There was no hesitation in her voice, just quiet determination.

At this point, I couldn’t refuse.

“Understood. If anything happens, I’ll be here to protect you.”

“… (Yeah),” she murmured, squeezing my arm a little tighter as we entered the haunted house.

“Um… I don’t mind, but if you feel uncomfortable, you can always step outside…”

“…There’s no need to leave. I’m fine.”

“O-Oh, I see…”

Still, isn’t there something that could be done about this position? I completely understand that I shouldn’t think about such things when it comes to the young lady’s friend, but still… Otoha is quite well developed, and with her pressed against my arm like this…

“…Eito. How is it?”

“What do you mean ‘like’?”

“…My chest, it doesn’t lose to Hoshine’s, right?”

“………………………………”

What an incredibly difficult comment to answer…! Sure enough, judging by the sensation pressing against my arm, the volume is on par with the young lady’s… No, no, no, no, no. What the hell am I thinking?

“…Besides, I put extra effort into my lingerie today.”

“I-I see… That’s… uh, good for you…”

Why does she sound so proud?

“Anyway, we can continue like this, right?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

But why would she go out of her way to enter a horror attraction she’s not good at…?

…Wait a minute. This attraction is very popular with couples.

And Otoha chose to come here with me. She wanted to…

I see. When I connect all the dots, there’s only one possible answer.

(-Otoha tries to overcome her weakness…!)

If that’s the case, it all makes sense.

This attraction requires two people per group.

But at the same time, she wouldn’t want to show a pathetic side of herself in front of her friend, the young lady.

It would be unsettling to go in with a complete stranger. Besides, Otoha is a well-known figure.

If she stood in line alone, she would stand out too much.

That’s where I come in. By standing in line with me, a guy, she can blend in with the surrounding couples and not draw attention to herself.

That way, she can concentrate on overcoming her fear.

(Even though it’s a holiday, she’s using it to challenge herself and face her fears… Otoha is such a hard worker).

She must have put in this kind of effort countless times to become known as a “diva”.

Maybe that’s why she gets along so well with the young lady.

“Understood. Otoha, I’ll go with you!”

“…I feel like you’re misunderstanding something, but…yes. Let’s go together.”

With Otoha by my side, we entered the dimly lit Western-style mansion.

The interior was so realistic that it was hard to believe it was just a set. If you blindfolded someone and brought them here, they might actually believe it was real.

I could hear the creak of the floorboards and even feel a subtle chill in the air.

The BGM was perfectly tuned, making it easy to forget that this was just an attraction.

“…………”

Otoha, who was walking beside me, didn’t seem particularly frightened.

But she was still clinging to my arm, so she must have been suppressing her fear.

I had to do my best to support her as well.

With deep respect for Otoha’s determination to overcome her fear, we continued deeper into the mansion.

-Clatter… Clatter… Clatter… Clatter.

From the depths of the dim darkness came a sound.

Something was moving.

Combined with the incredibly realistic interior of the mansion, it created a very eerie atmosphere.

I was fine, but this might be a bit difficult for Otoha.

“Are you okay, Otoha?”

“What do you mean?”

Tilting her head slightly, Otoha gave me an adorably confused look.

She didn’t seem to understand what I was asking… or maybe she was just pretending not to.

There was no need to press the issue. She was probably putting on a brave face.

If I made her too aware of it, it might only increase her fear.

“As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters. Shall we continue?”

“Mm.”

Otoha nodded. Since there didn’t seem to be any other way, we continued.

The sound we had been hearing grew louder and louder… until we finally reached its source.

Sitting on a table in the hallway was a bl00d-stained Western-style doll.

It rattled and shook of its own accord, laughing eerily.

Hmm. Still doesn’t bother me.

After dealing with people who target the Tendou family, I’ve seen a lot of things like this.

Now that I think about it, one of the intruders who tried to sneak into the mansion the other day used a similar kind of dummy.

They had knives and guns hidden in it, which was a bit of a hassle.

But after I knocked them all out and closed in for a melee, I took care of them in a heartbeat.

Not much of a threat, really.

But no matter. Even Otoha must be at least a little confused by this doll…

“…………………… (stare)”

Otoha just stared at the bl00d-soaked doll.

She didn’t seem afraid at all.

If anything, her reaction was completely neutral – more like, “Huh, that’s a pretty detailed doll.

“Otoha?”

“What?”

“Um… are you okay?”

“With what?”

Otoha blinked at me in confusion.

She didn’t hide her fear… No, that wasn’t it.

Yes. This was definitely different.

“Ah, no, I was just wondering if you weren’t afraid of that doll…”

“……! (Gasp!)”

For some reason, Otoha suddenly gasped at my words as if she realized something.

“……K-Kyaa. So scary~”

It was the most monotonous voice I had ever heard.

“Otoha, you’re not really scared, are you…?”

“That’s not true.”

“No, I mean, that was completely flat…”

“…I was so scared, so terrified, that I ended up sounding monotonous.”

Can fear really make someone sound so emotionless?

“…Look. You, see? I’m so scared that I’m holding on to your arm.”

“You’ve been doing that from the beginning…”

“…have I?”

Yes, you have.

After everything you said earlier, there’s no way I would forget.

“Well, anyway… shall we continue?”