“I’m a bit tired…”
It was just past noon.
Having just sat down at a restaurant for lunch, Arisa muttered that with a sigh.
“Well, after getting that excited…”
Yuzuru replied with a wry smile.
Not just after entering the park—on the way there… no, even from the day before, Arisa had been buzzing with excitement.
It was only natural she’d get tired.
If anything, it was impressive she’d lasted this long.
“It’s my first time since primary school… I guess I ended up getting excited like a kid.”
Arisa shrank in embarrassment.
It seemed she’d only just realised how childish she’d been acting.
“…I see.”
Meanwhile, Yuzuru was struck by something in her casual remark.
Arisa’s parents had passed away when she was still in primary school.
So since then, she’d probably never been to a theme park.
Of course she’d be excited.
It wasn’t that she was acting childish—she’d simply never had the chance to grow past that moment.
“Shall we go for something more relaxed next? Take a bit of a break.”
Arisa had probably wanted to enjoy “proper theme park rides” since it had been so long.
So from the start, they’d been going on intense attractions—
Drops, spins, shaking, flashing lights, screaming.
Yuzuru liked those too, so he hadn’t complained—
But doing them back-to-back was exhausting, both physically and mentally.
“Yeah… maybe…”
“…Not a fan of the calmer ones?”
Her hesitant response surprised him a little.
He’d assumed slower, scenic attractions were more popular with girls.
“It’s not that I don’t like them…”
“Just want a proper break?”
Maybe she was getting sleepy?
But Arisa shook her head.
“It’s just… the queues are a bit much…”
“Ah…”
Of course—you had to queue for everything.
Standing for ages, surrounded by strangers—it was more draining than it looked.
“Then how about we watch the parade?”
“That sounds nice…”
As they spoke, their food arrived.
Arisa looked at it with wide, sparkling eyes—
Then muttered,
“This price for this amount and quality…”
“You’re not supposed to say that.”
Yuzuru hurriedly pulled her back from reality.
Despite her mood dipping for a moment—
“Aah! Did you see that, Yuzuru-san!? They waved at us!!”
By the time the parade started, she was fully energised again—
Jumping up and down, waving enthusiastically at the mascots.
“Y-yeah… I think they did.”
He was glad she’d perked up—
Though her excitement was a little embarrassing.
“This is the worst… we should’ve ridden it while it was still light out…”
Later, as night fell—
Arisa clung tightly to Yuzuru’s arm, grumbling.
“I told you we shouldn’t…”
Yuzuru sighed, looking at her.
Ever since they’d gone on the haunted attraction, she’d been like this.
It had been obvious from the start—it was a horror ride.
He’d even asked her beforehand if she’d be okay.
—“It’s for kids, right? I’m not so easily scared by something like that.”_
“…It was worse than I expected.”
Arisa shuddered.
To Yuzuru, it hadn’t been that scary at all—
But it seemed she’d imagined something even milder.
He couldn’t help wondering just how gentle she’d expected it to be.
“The timing didn’t help either… I think it wouldn’t have been so bad during the day.”
“…Does that really make a difference?”
“It does. …There’s a horror attraction tomorrow too, right? Let’s go on it while it’s still light.”
They were staying overnight at a hotel.
Tomorrow, they planned to visit another park with its own attractions.
“You really don’t learn, do you…? Just so you know, tomorrow’s is probably even scarier.”
“R-really? Th-then… I’m looking forward to it!”
“Your voice is shaking. …Maybe don’t?”
If it scared her that much, she didn’t have to go.
Yuzuru wasn’t particularly set on it.
If anything, he’d rather she didn’t push herself like this.
“You won’t know unless you try.”
Arisa was bad with horror.
But strangely, she didn’t dislike it.
For some reason, she’d want to see it anyway—
And then regret it afterwards.
“You’re really going on it?”
“Of course. What’s the point of coming if I don’t?”
“…I’ll never understand that.”
Wanting to see something you’re afraid of—
Yuzuru felt he’d never quite grasp that part of her.
