May. Right in the middle of Golden Week.

Our group had arrived at the large amusement park 'Fantasy Land', about an hour's drive from the city.

"Wow... Shizuku-chan, there's a huge Ferris wheel!"

"H-hmph. It's smaller than the one in the Hojo garden, but well, I suppose it's acceptable for a commoner's entertainment facility."

"Shizuku, c'est incroyable! (Shizuku, it's incredible!)"

Passing through the entrance and facing the park grounds resounding with parade music, the three beautiful girls' eyes sparkled. There was Aoi, fully recovered from her recent cold; Anju, as indirect as ever; and Lise, the silver-haired transfer student who had taken a complete liking to me.

My mom, accompanying us as a chaperone, and Aoi's mom, were already overwhelmed by the dazzling aura the three beauties radiated—and by the distinctly different handsome aura I alone gave off at their center.

"...Hey, Hoshikawa-san, I'm already tired. Mind if we rest on a bench?" "Absolutely, Nanase-san, my stomach already hurts..." The adult team retreated from the front lines early, sipping coffee with distant eyes.

"Mom, we only just entered the park… Come on, you three. Since we made the trip today, make sure not to get separated."

Switching into the 'dependable organizer mode' I used in my past life when shepherding a group of ladies to festivals or events, I quickly swept my eyes over the three's outfits.

"Anyway, you three are really dressed up. Anju, that dress is all-out ladylike elegance and it suits you perfectly. Lise, your frilly outfit is just like a fairy, adorable."

"Hyaa!? I-I wasn't particularly dressed up! This just happened to be the first thing in my closet..."

"Merci, Shizuku! (Thank you, Shizuku!)"

Anju turned away with her face bright red, while Lise smiled with an “ehehe.” Then, finally, I turned to Aoi, who was wearing the most dressed-up spring-like floral pattern dress, and gave her head a pat.

"Aoi, I'm so glad your cold is completely better. As I thought, your cheerful smile is the best. That outfit is incredibly cute on you."

"...♡ Shizuku-chan..."

Her affection for me, already maxed out after being nursed through her cold, had Aoi covering her face with both hands and flinging herself against my chest.

Alright, perfect compliments for everyone. The skill drilled into me in Sales Department Section 2 back in my past life—"within five seconds, give the highest praise for a girl's battle outfit"—was being demonstrated flawlessly even through the body of a seven-year-old.

"Now then, what ride shall we start with? The classic merry-go-round first?"

It was just as I was about to open the brochure. An announcement came over the park speakers: 'A parade will soon pass through Main Street,' and the surrounding guests all began moving at once.

"Whoa, that's a lot of people! Don't push!"

This insane world with a 1:15 gender ratio. An amusement park is also a battlefield where women who've brought rare men (boyfriends or sons) compete for status. The wave of the crowd rushing to secure spots for the parade threatened to swallow us seven-year-olds in an instant.

"Kyaa!?"

"Shizuku..."

Pushed by the human wave, Anju and Lise stumbled. In an instant, I threw aside the brochure I was holding and moved.

"Don't any of you leave my side!"

With my right hand, I firmly gripped Lise's small hand, and with my left, I tightly grasped Aoi's. But I only had two arms. The remaining Anju was about to be swept away by the crowd.

"N-Nanase-san..."

"Anju, over here!"

I forcibly pushed my way through the gaps in the crowd and reached for Anju. Then, pulling her arm toward me, I wrapped it firmly around my left arm, holding her close to my chest as if embracing her.

"Hold onto my arm tightly. I definitely won't let you fall."

Amid the commotion of the crowd, my husky voice fell right by Anju's ear. Shielding the three—Lise with my right hand, Aoi with my left, and Anju on my left arm—I used my back to absorb the adult wave as we moved to the safety of a corner of the plaza.

"Phew... that was dangerous. Is anyone hurt, you three?"

Having escaped the crowd, I breathed a sigh of relief and turned around.

"————!!"

All three beautiful girls had faces on the verge of boiling over, frozen in place as they let out completely silent screams.

'Wha-wha-wha... Me, on Shizuku's arm... I wasn't told about being escorted so forcefully like this!!'

Still clinging to my left arm, Anju trembled like a boiled octopus.

'Ah... Shizuku-chan protected me... I will never let go of this hand. I won't let it go for my whole life...'

Aoi pressed my left hand tightly against the valley of her chest (still none), a melting smile on her face.

'Shizuku est mon prince...♡ (Shizuku is my prince...♡)'

Lise cradled my right hand in both of hers, her blue eyes shining dreamily.

Three girls, three different ways of breaking their limit. Tilting my head, I asked, "...Hm? What's with you guys, do you have a fever or something?" but they just shook their heads.

* * *

After that, we enjoyed relatively peaceful attractions like the merry-go-round and the teacups.

The trouble started in the afternoon.

It was when we had come to the front of the haunted house, the park becoming a bit dim.

"...Say, Nanase-san. I-I'm not in the least afraid of such a kid-fooling attraction, but I wouldn't mind skipping this one, you know?"

"Shizuku-chan... it's dark in there..."

"J'ai peur... (I'm scared...)"

The eerie atmosphere drifting from the entrance had the three completely frightened. Having been completely fine with horror genres since my past life (or rather, I know it's all fake so it doesn't startle me), I felt sorry for making the girls scared.

"You don't have to force yourselves. Want to ride something else?"

"Wh-Who said I was forcing myself!? As a woman of the Hojo family, I cannot simply tuck tail and run from mere ghosts! We're going in!"

Anju's mysterious pride had been ignited, and in the end, the four of us entered. (The chaperone moms, waiting outside on a bench, had said, "We'll be here eating churros, so come back alive.")

The haunted house's interior was more serious than expected. Pitch-dark corridors. Ominous sounds. A few minutes after we began, the moment we turned a corner, a blood-soaked zombie (a mannequin) dropped from the ceiling with a tremendous crash.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!!?"

Screams that seemed to pierce through our eardrums. Instantly, I stood in front of the three, spreading both arms to shield them from the zombie prop.

"It's alright! It's just a prop. Here, I'll act as your shield, so keep your eyes shut."

I pulled the panicking three together into one huddle, gently patting their trembling backs and heads.

"If you're scared, you can hold tight to the hem of my clothes. I'll guide us to the exit."

My low, calm voice resounded in the darkness. The 'voice of a leader that gives absolute reassurance' I'd used to calm junior girls who started crying during courage tests in my past life.

"...Sh-Shizuku..."

"Shizuku-chan..."

"Shizuku..."

The three desperately clung to the hem of my hoodie and my arms, following me at the front as we proceeded through the dark corridor like a centipede race.

* * *

[Hoshikawa Aoi's Perspective]

Within the darkness of the haunted house.

Gripping the hem of Shizuku's clothes and gazing at Shizuku's back, Aoi's lips curved into a smile for a reason entirely apart from fear.

'...Ah, this is the best. What a blissful space.'

After being nursed through her cold, Aoi's 'love for Shizuku' had fully evolved into 100% pure dependence, and then, it had mingled once more with the madness of a special-grade yandere.

A dark, enclosed space. Eerie screams and sounds all around. A place that would normally inspire terror now felt, to the current Aoi, like nothing but a sweet, locked room isolated for just Shizuku-chan and themselves.

'...Look. To protect me, Shizuku-chan is speaking to me so kindly. In this utter darkness, Shizuku-chan's presence alone shines overwhelmingly bright...'

Aoi tightened her grip on the hem of Shizuku's clothes with a fierce squeeze.

'...Hey, Shizuku-chan. If only we could never find the exit, like this forever. In this dark, narrow place, just me and Shizuku-chan, all alone together... Then, Anju-chan and Lise-chan, I could just... fufu...'

Amid the groans of zombies, a low, sweet, madness-filled laugh leaked from the back of the blonde angel's throat.

'...Maybe next time, I'll remodel my room into a haunted house just for Shizuku-chan and me. A sealed chamber of eternal love that can never be opened from the outside... ahah, ahahahaha♡'

In the unordinary space of the haunted house, the oblivious salesman's 'perfect escort' had poured massive gasoline onto the yandere childhood friend's 'confinement desire', becoming an irreversibly igniting accelerant.

* * *

"Hey, we're at the exit. You can open your eyes now, it's fine."

Once we emerged into the bright sunlight outside and I called out, the three finally breathed a sigh of relief and separated from me. Anju's legs were wobbling, Lise was teary-eyed, but for some reason Aoi alone, her cheeks flushed glossy pink, wore a beaming smile: "That was so much fun, Shizuku-chan♡"

'...Huh, Aoi's got a surprisingly high horror tolerance. Did she shed a skin after catching that cold?'

Completely off the mark, I admired her, then suggested, "Alright, let's grab some cold drinks and take a break," and started walking to where the moms were waiting on the bench. Unaware that behind me, the three heroines were reigniting their bloody cold war: "I was the one Shizuku hugged the most," "No, it was I," "Shizuku est à moi! (Shizuku is mine!)."

The Golden Week amusement park, thanks to my skilled escort abilities, concluded with the heroines' passions growing heavier and higher than the great Ferris wheel.