Chapter 57

"Hey Yui, let's do a photo sticker!"

"I have no interest in that kind of thing."

But the reply she got was this cold response. Recently, she had started to realize that this girl, in fact, had low JK (high school girl) skills. She might seem like a typical high school girl, but she always missed the mark.

"…Why not?"

"You can take photos with your smartphone, and what's the point of paying money to take a picture of an alien? Besides, it costs 400 yen? I could buy a manga with that."

"True. Yui is good at selfies, after all."

"…Did you delete the photo?"

"I didn't delete it."

"Delete it right now."

"Deleting that would be out of the question."

Yui insisted that it wasn't an important item, and a mysterious staring contest ensued. When Yui didn't back down, Yui Miki suddenly broke into a grin and tilted her head with her signature smirk.

"Hmm? Does that mean you like it, Yuki-kun? The cute photo of Yui?"

"Sure, I might set it as my wallpaper."

"Stop it, please, really stop it."

She won. Yui Miki, seemingly not wanting to talk about the selfie photo anymore, glanced at the photo sticker machine and said,

"Well… if Yuki-kun really wants to take one, I wouldn't mind."

"Why me?"

"Because it would be super funny if Yuki-kun said, 'I want to take a photo sticker!'"

"I want to take a photo sticker."

"What's with that soulless way of saying it?"

"It's not me, but look, Rion wants to take one."

She then turned to Rion, who had been standing there like a statue the whole time. When the others' gazes turned to her, Rion's face turned red, and she burst into anger like a raging fire.

"I didn't say that! Don't just assume things!?"

She clearly wanted to take one, so why was she reacting like this? Thinking it was time for a lecture, Yuki tried to take her to the bathroom, but Yui Miki quickly intervened.

"Oh, are you the Rion language interpreter? Do you have a license for that?"

Even though it was such an easy language to understand, why couldn't she understand it? It might be faster to take Yui Miki to the bathroom instead.

"No, um…"

"Generally, Rion wouldn't be interested in something as vulgar as a photo sticker, right? I know that."

"You'll get scolded for saying that. By a lot of people."

"Ah, but that's true, right? Right, Rion?"

"Y-Yeah, yeah, it's pointless."

Rion lightly nudged the corner of the machine with her toe. Maybe it would be better to call a staff member and complain.

"So, let's forget about the photo sticker and look over there?"

As if to say, "I told you so," Yui Miki turned around and walked away from the photo sticker corner. On the other side, Rion stood there with an indescribable expression. It was time to say something.

"What are you doing?"

"Ugh, ahhh…"

Rion made a strange sound, scratching her hair and holding her head. It seemed she was aware of her actions but couldn't help herself. The buildup of past experiences had led to Rion's character being fixed in Yui Miki's mind, which was painful.

"Alright, it's fine! Next time, next time for sure!"

Rion clenched her fists and looked forward determinedly, then walked past the photo sticker machine and followed Yui Miki with large strides. They arrived at a corner with crane games.

Yui Miki, who had been peering into the glass of one of the machines, was waving her hand and beckoning them over with a smile. When they approached and looked inside with Rion, they saw a few palm-sized stuffed animals scattered around. Yui Miki pointed to a stuffed panda with a jutting chin.

"Look, look at that, isn't it cute?"

"Cute…?"

"It's cute. I want to pat its head."

Despite her incomprehensible "Yui Miki language," Yuki recognized the stuffed animal. He remembered that Rui had once gotten a similar keychain from a gacha machine at a nearby supermarket. She had been persistent until she got the panda. Rui had also wanted a stuffed animal but didn't come to game centers often because they were full of demons.

"Oh, that's the one Rui likes."

"Really? Then I'll get it as a souvenir for Rui."

"Can you get it?"

"Heh, watch the God Arm Yui Miki in action."

Yui Miki licked her lips and inserted a 100-yen coin. Despite hesitating about the photo sticker, she was generous with her money here.

Yui Miki crouched down dramatically to check the position of the stuffed animal, then confidently operated the lever. The arm stopped above the target and slowly descended, but instead of grabbing it, it gently caressed the surface and lifted back up.

"Your touch is so gentle, God Arm."

"No way! I said I could do it!"

She might be a poor player, as usual. Yuki didn't know the technical details, but Yui Miki failed again with the second 100-yen coin she inserted. When he looked at her profile, she met his gaze silently.

"I can't get it because Yuki-kun is watching."

"…What do you mean? Shouldn't you aim for the loop, not the body?"

"No, no, that's a trap. I should aim for the chin…"

"Wait, I'm good at UFO catchers!"

Suddenly, Rion interrupted the conversation. She inserted money and took over the position in front of the lever.

Ignoring Yuki's shock, Rion stared intently at the target and operated the lever, pressing the button forcefully. The arm grabbed the panda by the chin and brought it back. When the arm opened, the stuffed animal fell into the retrieval slot.

"Got it, I got it!"

"Wow, impressive. Rion got it on the first try."

Rion clapped her hands and happily retrieved the stuffed animal, then handed it to Yuki.

"Here, this…"

"Sure, thanks. My sister will be happy."

"…Y-Yeah, that's good."

When Yuki thanked her and smiled, Rion blushed slightly and smiled back.

"Smiling is better than being angry, after all."

"W-What do you mean! It's like I'm always angry…"

"Look, you're angry."

Rion realized and blushed, then quickly composed herself and fell silent. Suddenly, she felt a gaze from the side and turned to see Yui Miki staring at her, as if she wanted to say something.

"…What?"

"Nothing."

Yui Miki averted her gaze. She seemed to be in a bad mood because she couldn't get the stuffed animal herself. Still, it was thanks to Yui Miki for finding it in the first place.

"Thanks, Yui."

"Huh? What for?"

"For trying to get the stuffed animal."

When Yuki thanked her, Yui Miki mumbled, "U-uh, yeah…" and looked up at him with a hint of something she wanted to say but didn't.

"Well, it's a shame I couldn't see the God Arm in action."

"Right! I'm sorry I couldn't get it!"

Yui Miki, in a burst of energy, smacked the head of the stuffed panda Yuki was holding.

"Hey, what's with that jutting chin?"

Rion, for some reason, mimicked her and smacked the panda's head too. It was completely unreasonable. The panda, expecting a warm welcome, was shocked. Yuki covered the panda with his hand and patted its head, saying, "There, there, it's scary, isn't it?"

The button to smack the jutting-chinned panda is right here.