Chapter 27: The "Sleepy" Special Drink.
....
Kihara wasn't good at board games.
Or rather—
As a straightforward, brute-force kind of guy, anything that required strategy and thinking was completely outside his skill set.
After several rounds of Flying Chess…
He had come dead last.
Every single time.
"Wow~ Kihara, you lost again. Are you just bad at these kinds of games?"
"Of course he is," Rikka Takarada chimed in with a smug smile. "Honestly, I feel like even an elementary schooler could beat him easily."
"I object!" Kihara shot back immediately.
"Bring me a silver-haired, red-eyed magical girl, 133 cm tall, 29 kg, eleven years old, born July 20th, Cancer sign—and I guarantee she'll walk in standing and leave lying down!"
The absurdly detailed description made things… very suspicious.
Rikka slowly turned her head, staring at him like he'd just confessed to a crime.
"…Kihara. Have you been lurking around elementary schools or something?"
"Absolutely not!!"
"A magical girl, huh…"
Akane Shinjo studied him thoughtfully.
There were no such girls in this world, that much she knew.
But Kihara wasn't from this world.
Which meant…
He might actually be talking about someone from wherever he came from.
Shaking off that thought, Akane caught onto something else far more interesting.
"Rikka, why do you call him 'blockhead'?"
"Because he's as dense as one in certain areas."
Akane nodded in full agreement, even giving a thumbs-up.
"That's a great nickname. Kihara, can I call you that too?"
"Uh…" He glanced at Rikka.
She gave a small nod.
"…Sure, go ahead."
"Great! Then you can call me Akane, Little Akane… or even 'baby,' if you want~"
"Let's… not go that far," Kihara replied dryly. "I don't want Rikka getting jealous."
"Pfft—HAHA! Rikka, he says you're the jealous type!"
Rikka just shook her head with a helpless smile.
Now she understood.
Why Kihara insisted on playing a game he was terrible at.
It was to ease the tension between her and Akane.
And… it worked.
For the moment, they really did feel like normal friends joking around.
"Blockhead, pass me those chips."
"Here."
"Thanks~ But my hands are a bit dirty. Can you feed me?"
"…Huh? Why not just go wash your hands first?"
"I can't wait~ Come on, hurry~ I want it—ahh~"
Akane leaned forward, supporting herself with both hands, her posture… extremely deliberate.
She opened her mouth slightly, even sticking out her tongue a little, waiting.
Rikka's expression went completely blank.
The paper cup in her hand, filled with soda—crumpled instantly under her grip.
Then she casually tossed it into the campfire.
Scratch that.
She's still the same shameless fox trying to steal my boyfriend.
Time to strike back.
Without hesitation, Rikka sat down beside Kihara, snatched the chips from his hand, and finished them in seconds.
Cheeks puffed, she turned to Akane.
"Sorry. They're gone. You should go wash your hands first."
"What a shame."
Akane narrowed her eyes slightly, clearly intrigued by Rikka's sudden counterattack.
Then she stood up and casually walked toward the river, her movements slow and confident.
Rikka immediately reached over and pinched Kihara's side.
"Snap out of it!"
Kihara laughed awkwardly and looked away.
Then he noticed something.
A tiny crumb at the corner of Rikka's lips.
He glanced quickly toward Akane, who was washing her hands by the river and in a flash, leaned in and cleaned it off.
Rikka froze.
Then quickly checked Akane's position.
Only to realize she hadn't noticed.
Face burning red, she lightly punched his shoulder.
"Don't do that out of nowhere!"
"Hehe. I didn't have anything else to wipe it with… Besides, I think you kind of liked it."
"I—I don't hate it, but Akane is right there! Be a little more careful, okay?"
"Got it. I'll be careful next time."
Rikka puffed her cheeks, glaring at him.
"You're planning a next time?"
"Very much so."
"…You're impossible."
Around noon, Kihara went to collect the ingredients and showed off his cooking skills.
Before long, three plates of fragrant curry pork cutlet rice were placed before them.
Akane ate with surprising enthusiasm, praising it nonstop.
Watching her, Kihara couldn't help but feel a bit… sympathetic.
What does she usually eat…? She's this happy over curry rice…
I should make something even better for dinner.
The afternoon passed peacefully.
Fishing, wading in the shallow river, eating chilled watermelon, splashing water at each other.
As the only guy there, Kihara thoroughly enjoyed the view, committing every detail of their swimsuit appearances to memory.
Then—
About half an hour before dinner.
Akane quietly approached him and slipped a suspicious-looking drink into his hand.
"Akane… what's this?"
"Hehe~ a special drink I made."
She gave him a meaningful gesture and winked repeatedly.
"You two are planning that tonight, right? I made it just for you."
"R-Really?!"
Kihara was instantly moved.
So all her teasing earlier…
was to help him succeed tonight?!
Without a single shred of doubt.
He tilted his head back and drank it all in one go.
Smacking his lips, he commented:
"…Not bad. Kinda tastes like a yogurt drin—"
Thud.
He collapsed instantly.
Rikka rushed over, eyes narrowing at the empty bottle in his hand.
She looked up at Akane, who was smiling mischievously.
"…What did you make him drink?"
"What if I said it was poison?"
Akane watched her curiously.
as if certain Rikka wouldn't truly hate her.
Rikka pulled Kihara protectively into her arms before answering coldly:
"I don't know why… but I can't bring myself to hate you."
"But if it is poison—"
"I will do everything I can to make sure you end up in prison."
"…Interesting."
Akane smiled.
"Relax, it's not poison~"
Then, tilting her head slightly, she continued:
"Rikka… how about a little debate?"
"If you win—I'll give you a reward you won't be able to refuse."
"But if I win…"
She smiled like a blooming, deadly flower.
"Kihara will be my boyfriend for one day. Deal?"
Her smile was beautiful.
And dangerous.
Like a flower that bloomed only to lure others to their ruin.
.....
Thank you for reading.