“Still… thinking about it now, I’m glad we made it back in time.”
“…That really was cutting it close.”
Arisa replied with a reflective expression.
At the moment, the two of them were in the boys’ room at the hotel.
They had just returned, finished dinner, taken showers—
And gathered in the room shared by Yuzuru, Soichiro, and Sei.
“Maybe it’s not such a good idea to go off-plan like that… should we revise tomorrow’s schedule now?”
“Why not leave tomorrow for tomorrow? A school trip should have a bit of spontaneity, right?”
Amaka and Ayaka chimed in.
The “off-plan” part they were referring to, of course, was stopping by Kiyomizu-dera.
It had taken longer than expected to get from there to the hotel—
And they’d ended up checking in at the last minute.
A teacher had given them a mild scolding about managing their time better.
“Well, no use worrying about what’s already happened. Let’s just enjoy the moment.”
Saying that, Chiharu opened her backpack—
And tipped it over.
A mountain of snacks and games spilled out.
“Chiharu-san… that’s a bit much, isn’t it…?”
Arisa gave a wry smile, as if to say there’s no way you’ll finish all that.
Chiharu, meanwhile, beamed.
“We’ve got three more nights left. This is perfectly normal. What about you, Arisa-san? Did you bring anything?”
“Well, rather than bringing… I bought something…”
What Arisa took out was—
“Oh? Pickles?”
“They looked good, and I thought we might get tired of just sweets. …Would you have preferred snacks?”
They were the pickles they’d bought at Kiyomizu-dera.
Separate from the souvenirs—these were for tonight.
She’d heard in advance they’d all gather in the hotel room to eat snacks and play games—
And had chosen pickles as her contribution.
“I think it’s great! I like it.”
Chiharu smiled brightly.
Sei, however, looked serious.
“Pickles, huh…”
“…Do you not like them?”
“No, just… I should’ve thought of that. I only bought the usual stuff.”
From his bag, he pulled out yatsuhashi.
At that, Amaka made a face.
“…Sei-kun, you too!?”
“…Don’t tell me you as well.”
“W-well… yeah…”
Apparently, she’d bought yatsuhashi too.
The two of them looked around, as if asking, anyone else?
…Fortunately, no one else had.
They both sighed in relief.
“Well, don’t you two make a perfect pair…”
Ayaka teased them with a grin.
Both turned away, looking annoyed.
“Well, one’s the original and one’s the ‘authentic original’, so it’s fine, right? I was curious anyway—let’s compare them.”
Yuzuru laughed.
They were both yatsuhashi, after all—just different brands.
“Anyway, what should we play? …I’d like to try mahjong.”
Soichiro picked up a set of mahjong cards Chiharu had brought.
Instead of tiles, it used cards.
“Mahjong, huh? Sounds good.”
“Shall we bet snacks on it?”
Ayaka and Chiharu seemed interested, but—
“Sorry, I don’t know the rules.”
“…Me neither.”
Arisa and Amaka looked apologetic.
Soichiro grimaced.
Apparently, he’d assumed everyone knew how to play.
“Then let’s skip it. How Mafia? There’s an app—it’s easy to play.” Also known as “Werewolf” in some countries. The mafia are the same as the werewolves, and the innocents are the same as the villagers. The objective for the bad guys is to eliminate the good guys, while the good guys try to figure out who the bad guys are and eliminate them first.
Sei showed them his phone.
Arisa and Amaka nodded—they knew that one.
And so, the long night began.
“…Yuzuru-san, you’re really not lying?”
“I-I told you, I’m an innocent.”
“Are you sure? Look me in the eyes and say that.”
Arisa stared straight into his eyes.
Even Yuzuru couldn’t hold her gaze and looked away.
“Ah! You looked away!! He’s the mafioso!”
“That’s false accusation!”
“Then why did you look away?”
“That’s because… your eyes are too dazzling.”
“…Do you really mean that?”
“A-Arisa, don’t stare so much… isn’t this unfair?”
He protested the rule violation—
But Ayaka and the others just burst out laughing.
No one came to his defence.
As a result, Yuzuru was eliminated that round.
“See? I told you he was the mafioso.”
Arisa puffed her chest out smugly.
It was undeniably cute—
But also a little irritating.
And soon enough, he got his chance for revenge.
“…Arisa. Are you sure? You’re not the mafioso?”
Yuzuru pressed his forehead against hers as he asked.
Arisa’s face turned bright red.
“I-I told you I’m not…”
She tried to pull away, flustered—
But he held her chin firmly, not letting her escape.
“Look me in the eyes, Arisa.”
“P-please stop… this is embarrassing…”
“Nope. You did this earlier. Now say it properly while looking at me.”
At his insistence, she met his gaze—
Her voice trembling, but clear.
“I-I’m… not the mafioso.”
“…Really?”
“Y-you doubt me…?”
She put on a hurt expression—
But Yuzuru didn’t relent.
“Yeah. When you lie, the corners of your mouth twitch a bit.”
“Th-that’s not true…”
She instinctively covered her mouth.
Yuzuru smiled.
“Gotcha.”
“Ah—n-no, that was just—”
Her defence fell flat.
Everyone voted for her.
And just like that, Arisa was eliminated.
“T-that’s so mean… Yuzuru-san!”
“You did the same thing to me.”
After the game, the two of them started arguing.
Ayaka and the others clapped and laughed.
“Alright, alright, calm down you two.”
“Reading expressions is a valid strategy, but doing it repeatedly gets stale. Let’s ban it from next round.”
Ayaka and Chiharu mediated, still laughing.
Yuzuru nodded and backed down—
But…
“That’s not okay. Even if it’s just a game, it’s not good for you to lie to me… and you shouldn’t doubt me either…”
“Sorry… alright, let’s both stop doing it from now on?”
Arisa pouted and lightly thumped his chest.
Yuzuru gently stroked her head, trying to calm her.
“No… I’m hurt. I won’t forgive you.”
She puffed her cheeks.
She didn’t seem truly angry—
But she’d definitely entered a slightly troublesome mood.
“…So, what would it take for you to forgive me?”
“…Kiss me.”
“…Seriously?”
Yuzuru blinked in surprise.
Arisa leaned against him, tilting her face up like a fledgling bird—
Completely asking for a kiss.
“I-I mean… here?”
Even Yuzuru found that a bit embarrassing with everyone watching.
He looked around for help—
But then—
“…Arisa-chan, isn’t your face a bit red?”
“…Now that you mention it…”
Yuzuru placed a hand on her forehead, frowning.
She felt warmer than usual.
“Um… I’d rather not jump to conclusions, but…”
Chiharu gave a wry smile—
And pointed at some alcohol-filled chocolates.
“Arisa-san… you’re not drunk, are you?”
