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Chapter 39: Friends

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Friends

"Then let’s go have fun, just the two of us. And Pochita too," Kotone Asaba said to Kobeni Higashiyama.

"O-okay!"

After spending more time around Kotone Asaba, Kobeni Higashiyama was gradually becoming less shy than before, though her expression was still somewhat flustered, and as always, her cheeks reddened very easily.

As they walked, Kotone Asaba chatted with Kobeni Higashiyama.

He learned that Kobeni Higashiyama’s ticket had been given to her by Rika Matsumoto. Rika said she had won two tickets in a free raffle, so she gave one to Kobeni and came to the amusement park with her.

As for whether those tickets had really been won for free, Kotone Asaba figured that was probably something Rika Matsumoto had made up. Most likely, she had spent money on them, and only said she had won them for free so Kobeni would be more willing to accept.

He had to admit, Rika Matsumoto really was a very thoughtful friend. Kobeni definitely did not have the money to come out and have fun by herself. Forget amusement park tickets, she could barely afford to casually buy something to eat.

Taking Kobeni out to the amusement park also meant Kobeni would not be so bored at home.

What Kobeni Higashiyama was too embarrassed to tell Kotone Asaba was that Rika had originally planned to give her both tickets and have her invite Asaba.

But Kobeni did not have a phone, nor did she know Asaba’s number or where he lived. She had no way to invite him, and she also did not have the courage.

Since they had come to the amusement park, naturally, a roller coaster would usually be a must.

Unfortunately, in this world, amusement parks were not allowed to have roller coasters, nor were they allowed to have haunted houses, because devils existed.

Projects as exciting as roller coasters could easily make people panic over heights and weightlessness, and haunted houses went without saying. Both kinds of attractions would make people feel fear.

Roller coasters had evolved into aerial tour cars instead, vehicles that could circle most of the amusement park from above, but without the thrilling rises and drops.

Haunted houses had evolved into mazes, where visitors searched for the exit inside a huge labyrinth.

In any case, the elements that could easily make people afraid had all been removed.

Still, no matter what, Kotone Asaba first asked Kobeni Higashiyama for her opinion. "Which attraction do you want to try first?"

"Huh? Me? ...Maybe you should choose first, Asaba..."

In truth, Kobeni Higashiyama had never been to an amusement park before, so she did not know which attraction she would like.

Although she had once learned about amusement park attractions from TV and books, having never experienced them herself was still completely different.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Kotone Asaba asked.

"Afraid of heights? I probably... shouldn’t be?"

Kobeni Higashiyama had never felt afraid of heights before, but she was not completely sure either. If it was too high, she would probably still be a little scared.

"Then let’s ride the aerial tour car first. That one over there. How does that sound?"

As he spoke, Kotone Asaba pointed toward the area where the aerial tour car attraction was located.

Unless someone had a fear of heights, this attraction basically no longer had anything that could make people feel fear.

"Okay."

Kobeni Higashiyama nodded.

When they were about to board, the staff specifically asked whether anyone had acrophobia. If someone with acrophobia hid it and something happened, they would be responsible for the consequences.

Once everyone fastened their seat belts, the tour car set off.

As for Pochita, Kotone Asaba held him in his arms and fastened the seat belt around them together.

Normally speaking, this attraction would not allow pets to ride along, but Pochita was a devil. Coupled with Kotone Asaba’s special status, the staff did not dare interfere too much.

The tour car looked fairly similar to a roller coaster car, but the track was almost entirely flat. Only when leaving and returning did it have a long, very gentle slope.

Even the angle of the slope was not made too steep, so the slope was quite long.

This attraction was basically about enjoying a tour of the amusement park from midair.

"Um... Asaba, this probably isn’t your first time at an amusement park, right?"

While they were in midair, Kobeni Higashiyama thought for a moment and took the initiative to find a topic.

"No, I’ve never come to an amusement park to have fun before," Kotone Asaba replied.

"Huh?"

Kobeni Higashiyama felt a little surprised.

She had not expected that it was also Asaba’s first time at an amusement park. In her own case, it was because she had never had the means to come. She simply could not afford the ticket.

"I didn’t expect it to be both our first times," Kobeni Higashiyama said in a surprised tone.

"An amusement park isn’t that interesting if you don’t come with friends..."

Kotone Asaba sighed with feeling.

In his previous life, his family had not been interested in amusement parks, so he had never gone as a child.

After he grew a little older, middle school and high school became more and more demanding. Even when his classmates had free time, they were busy playing on their phones or computers, so basically no one would invite others to go to an amusement park together.

On top of that, he himself had not wanted to go that badly. He was too lazy to invite anyone else, and going alone would have been boring, so he had never gone to an amusement park even once.

However, Kobeni Higashiyama slightly misunderstood Kotone Asaba’s casual sigh.

She mistakenly thought that Kotone Asaba had not had any friends before.

Because of that, an expression of wanting to say something but hesitating appeared on her face. Her heartbeat sped up slightly, and after silently cheering herself on for a while, she finally gathered the courage to speak.

"Then! ...Then I’ll be your friend, Asaba..."

Her voice was actually quite loud when she first opened her mouth, but the further she spoke, the quieter she became. In particular, the word "friend" was almost inaudible.

Fortunately, this was a tour car rather than a roller coaster. Otherwise, even if Kotone Asaba leaned close to Kobeni Higashiyama’s face, he would not have been able to hear her clearly.

Now that she had finally said it, Kobeni Higashiyama felt as though she was about to suffocate, and her heartbeat grew faster and faster.

Although all she had said was "friend," this was still an important step for her. Even just this required enormous courage.

She was afraid Asaba would think she was a frivolous girl, so she only dared to think of starting as friends first.

But now, what she was even more afraid of was whether Asaba would reject her.

"Sure."

Although Kotone Asaba felt there was something strange about the way Kobeni said that, as if she had misunderstood something about him, he did not think too much about it.

Kobeni Higashiyama immediately could not help smiling happily.

The heart she had been holding in suspense finally settled back down.

Kobeni Higashiyama’s Affinity increased by 5%.

Seeing the words appear before his eyes made Kotone Asaba a little surprised.

Just becoming friends made Kobeni this happy? Her Affinity had even increased.

If he remembered correctly, Kobeni Higashiyama’s Affinity progress had already reached 45%. With another 5% increase, the fifth page of the Codex could be unlocked.

The fourth page of the Codex being Reze had already pleasantly surprised him, so he could not help being curious about who the fifth page of the Codex would be.

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