After school, we came to hang out near the station, and the first place we decided to go was the arcade.

“Waaah! There are so many games! I see, so this is where everyone puts in money and has fun.”

“What is that reaction? You sound like royalty seeing a town for the first time.”

Ayase looked around the arcade with great curiosity, fascinated by all the games.

Seeing her reaction like this, it really makes me think she’s a proper rich girl after all.

“That’s a UFO catcher, right? I’ve seen it a lot in shoujo manga! It’s always like the main character wins a prize for the heroine.”

“Shoujo manga? Huh, you read that kind of stuff, Ayase?”

“Huh? Y-yeah. Is that strange?”

Ayase tilted her head slightly as she said that.

“It’s not strange, just a bit unexpected. Are you interested in romance, Ayase?”

“I-I am! Just because I’m always surrounded by girls, people tend to misunderstand, but I want to experience romance like in shoujo manga too!”

Ayase said that with a slightly shy smile.

Since she plays the role of a Prince for girls, I thought she might not be interested in romance at all… but it turns out she actually likes it.

“B-by the way, Saijou-kun, have you ever come to an arcade with a girlfriend?”

“Huh? A girlfriend? I’ve never had one in my entire life.”

“R-really… I see. Hm.”

Ayase fiddled with her medium-short hair while glancing at me.

What’s with that reaction? Is she trying to say something about me being unpopular with zero romantic experience?

“Forget about my lack of popularity. Let’s just start playing already.”

“R-right… then how about that one?”

Ayase pointed at a typical racing game.

I’ve played that machine before, so I can give her some tips.

“This one just uses the accelerator and steering, so you should be able to handle it, Ayase. Let’s go with this.”

“Do I just sit here?”

Ayase smoothly sat down in the racing game seat… but her chest was so big that it looked a bit cramped when she held the steering wheel.

W-what kind of size is that?

At this point, she could probably steer just using her chest if she tried…

“What’s wrong? You’re staring at me.”

“Ah, no, it’s just…”

“Oh! Why don’t you play next to me too, Saijou-kun? Let’s compete.”

“Y-yeah. Sure. Let’s go, Ayase.”

“Okay!”

I inserted 100 yen into both machines and started a versus race.

Then, as if her earlier excitement was a lie, Ayase suddenly became serious and started handling the wheel with surprising skill.

“…Here.”

She widened the gap at every corner like she was pulling off a pro-level drift straight out of a manga.

Wait, isn’t she insanely good!?

The gap only kept growing, and by the end, I lost completely, about half a lap behind.

“Yes! Saijou-kun, you’ve still got a long way to go.”

“T-that’s not fair, Ayase! How are you taking those corners like that!?”

“Huh? I just tried it randomly.”

A genius… seriously?

Maybe she’s just naturally skilled, considering how she effortlessly handles all those girls around her.

“Hey, let’s try the drum game next, Saijou-kun. Another match.”

“C-can you stop crushing my spirit already?”

“Come on, come on. For some reason, beating you feels really satisfying.”

“What, are you secretly sadistic!?”

After that, I kept getting completely destroyed by Ayase, who had suddenly become weirdly competitive.

* * *

After playing around at the arcade, we left and started walking along the main street near the station.

“Sorry, Saijou-kun. I guess I was just too strong.”

“I don’t need your pity! Listen, Ayase, next time I’ll win!”

“N-next time? You’ll go out with me again?”

Ayase tilted her head, looking puzzled.

Why is she asking something so obvious?

“Of course. I’m not the type to let someone get away with a win.”

“…Hehe, yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”

Ayase said that with a gentle smile, like when she acts as the Prince.

W-what’s with that face… well, whatever.

“Alright, Ayase, where should we go next—”

That was when—

“Eeh!? W-why is Reiya-sama h-here!? Here of all places!?”

““Huh?””

A long-haired girl appeared in front of us.

The moment she saw us, she dropped the blue shopping bag she was holding to the ground.

That’s right, while we were walking near the station, we ran into Satou-san, our classmate and one of Ayase’s followers.