Our pleasant time at the pet shop had come to an end, and after a quick lunch taken during a break, we were back to our shopping date. We were enjoying ourselves immensely, but unfortunately, we still hadn't achieved our primary objective. We spent the afternoon browsing through several promising shops, but we hadn't made any particularly noteworthy discoveries.
Consequently, we decided to drop by a famous electronics store on a whim, even though I was skeptical about whether we'd find anything there.
"I'm sorry, Sara-san..."
"Kazunari-san, you haven't done anything wrong. Therefore, apologizing is a... no-no, okay?"
"Ugh... s-sorr— mmph."
"Hehe... no-no♪"
Sara-san lightly pressed her finger to my lips, playfully showing me her "no-no" pose.
It was nothing short of a reward. I found myself completely captivated by her smile and that incredibly gentle reprimand.
"...Kazunari-san, I think you might be overthinking this just a little."
"Overthinking?"
"Yes. You have such a strong sense of duty. You feel as though you absolutely must find 'something satisfactory' no matter what..."
"......"
Her words hit the nail right on the head.
It was true. The thought that I simply had to find something I could be satisfied with was driving me, and I was just searching blindly for it. If I couldn't figure out what I actually wanted or enjoyed, I should have started by re-examining myself.
"...I am so sorry. You probably feel this way because Mother and I made such a fuss about it..."
"N-No, that's not it at all! This is... it's my own fault..."
"No, one shouldn't have to force themselves to find something like this. Yet, because we pressured you... it has only caused you more unnecessary worry..."
"........."
What was I supposed to say? I wanted to tell her she was absolutely wrong, but I couldn't find the right words. It was true that the whole thing started with Mayumi-san's suggestion, but both she and Sara-san had only said it because they were thinking of me. It certainly hadn't been a matter of being forced or coerced.
"Kazunari-san, just for my reference, may I ask what you usually did with your time in the past? I mean, before last year."
"Before last year...?"
"Yes. It could be a hobby or just something you did for fun. Was there anything you were particularly absorbed in or played with in your daily life? I'm certain there must have been something..."
"Something I did for fun..."
When she asked about how I spent my time back then, the first things that came to mind were...
The game centers where I used to hang out with my classmates, and the console games I played at home with Yuji and the others. Then there were darts, which I started after getting into shooting galleries, and the survival games I'd joined in on to be social... Hmm?
Wait, now that I really think about it, it was all just games.
"Haha..."
"Hehe... did you think of something?"
"Yeah... looking back, it really was nothing but games for me."
"Games?"
"Yes. Well, there are all kinds of games, of course, but if I had to pick, the ones I played at home with Yuji and the others were the most frequent."
"I see. So, you mean home game consoles?"
"That's right. Consoles!"
Come to think of it, the consoles I used back then were still tucked away in the closet at my family home. After that one incident, I'd lost all motivation to play and just shoved them in there and forgotten about them.
Well... they were already old models even when I was using them, so there probably isn't much point in playing them now.
"Are you good at games, Kazunari-san?"
"I wonder... I'm confident I could still play reasonably well. Oh, but there are definitely certain genres I'm confident in!"
I'd played a wide variety of games, but I was particularly skilled at racing games and action games. Conversely, the one genre I could almost never beat Yuji in was fighting games... that guy was just way too specialized in those.
"Hehe..."
"Sara-san?"
Sara-san, who had been watching me intently, suddenly let out a giggle. For some reason, she looked delighted as she reached out to playfully poke my cheek.
What was that for?
"Have you noticed? You look so happy right now while you're talking, Kazunari-san."
"Eh? Me... really?"
"Yes. While you were speaking about games, you looked truly joyful."
"Um... really that much?"
I wasn't doing it on purpose, but if Sara-san said so, it must have been true. Though, if you asked me, I thought Sara-san looked far happier right now than I did.
"Kazunari-san... would you please teach me how to play games?"
"Eh?"
"Actually, Natsumi once hosted a game contest at her house... but since I have no experience with such things, the results were quite disastrous. Furthermore, Natsumi laughed at me over and over again... I was just so, so frustrated."
"I-I see. That does sound frustrating."
Losing helplessly in a field you're already bad at is torture enough, but to be laughed at so bluntly—"frustrating" didn't even begin to cover it.
"Yes. So, in order to get my revenge on Natsumi one day, would you please teach me?"
"I mean... but games take up so much time..."
I was worried that if I started gaming again, I'd get too absorbed and waste time I should spend on other things. Besides, I felt that if I had time for games, I should be using it to study. At the very least, I shouldn't let my guard down until my grades were safely in the range for my target university...
"Hehe... it makes me very happy that you're thinking so seriously about the future. I understand your feelings, Kazunari-san, and I do agree that you should stay focused on your goals."
"Right? And my grades weren't that high to begin with..."
"However! I believe this falls under the category of maintaining a healthy balance. Naturally, playing too much is no good, but you've already found ways to study more efficiently during class so that you can maintain your personal life, haven't you?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
It was true that, following Sara-san's advice, I'd been focusing on taking better notes during class. That made my review at home much more efficient, which in turn secured more free time for me.
"In that case, this is simply part of that balance. It's a way to refresh yourself and aim for even greater efficiency—it's by no means a bad thing. And above all, you love games, don't you, Kazunari-san?"
"Ugh..."
While she asked with a soft smile, Sara-san's eyes were locked onto mine. It was as if she were sincerely asking for my honest feelings, refusing to let me hide behind any excuses or lies. When she looked at me like that, I just...
"...I suppose I do like them. No, I love them. Yeah."
"Hehe... well said♪ Good boy."
Sara-san stood on her tiptoes and gently patted my head.
I felt a bit like I was being treated as a child, but since it was Sara-san, I knew she didn't mean anything demeaning by it.
"Then it's decided. This will be our purchase for today. We're already at the electronics store, so let's go buy a game..."
"Wait, what!? You mean we're buying the whole console right now!?"
"Of course. Since this is something you truly want to buy, Mother will surely be satisfied. In fact, I'll make sure she is. Please, don't worry."
"No, that's one thing, but the cost..."
I wasn't sure which of the major consoles she intended to buy, but usually, a console wasn't something you just bought on a whim.
"Ah, you're right. I hadn't considered the price of the console."
"Exactly. I don't know the exact price either, but both are probably around forty to fifty thousand yen..."
"Are there two types? In that case, let's just buy both."
"Ehhhhhh!?"
Sara-san said it so casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Buying both? If you factor in the games as well, just how much was that going to cost?
"It's not a problem. I was told to use the remaining budget at our own discretion... and to be honest, it looks like quite a lot will be left over anyway."
"Oh, is that so? ...Wait, that's not the point!!"
Buying two consoles and games and still having a significant budget left? Just how much money had Mayumi-san given her!?
"Kazunari-san... I understand how you feel, but if it's something you need, it's important to be bold with your purchases sometimes. That is why we are frugal in our daily lives, after all."
"Ugh... w-well, when you put it that way..."
Since I essentially left all the financial management to Sara-san, it felt a bit presumptuous for me to question our "household" spending policy.
"Please, rest assured. I am well aware that such reckless shopping isn't usually something to be praised. This is strictly a special occasion, and I will continue to manage our daily expenses strictly."
Sara-san looked so dignified and confident as she spoke that I didn't feel like I could say anything else. To be honest, given the amount of money involved, I felt a bit hesitant to just agree, but...
"...Alright. I'll make sure you're trained perfectly so you can definitely win against Natsumi-senpai."
"Yes, please do. Well then, let's go..."
"Whoa, hang on. We really don't need both. One is plenty."
I stood my ground on that point. Since family-oriented games would likely be our focus, this one console would be more than enough.
"Are you truly sure?"
"I'm truly sure! It's what they call genre segregation!"
"Hehe... I understand. I'm a novice, so I'll leave the decision to you, Kazunari-san."
"Please do. Now, for the software..."
"Ah, in that case, please get the car racing game as well. Um... the one with the bearded brothers and the princess..."
"Ah, was that the one Natsumi-senpai laughed at you for?"
When it came to that world-famous racing game featuring the bearded brothers, only one came to mind. And even though it had been an older model, that was one of the games I was best at. This was perfect.
"Yes. I want you to give me special training in that game, Kazunari-san, so that one day I can finally make Natsumi cry uncle!"
Sara-san's "cry uncle" was incredibly adorable, but the way she clenched her fists in front of her chest—the "effort" pose she'd shown me back at the sports festival—was even better. Everything she does is so cute it's almost cheating.
Anyway, if that's how it's going to be...
"Understood. Leave it to me!"
"Yes. I'll be in your care... Teacher♪"
And so, although I felt like Sara-san had cleverly talked me into it, we managed to successfully achieve our objective for the day.
Part of me wondered if her wanting to learn games was just a pretext to get me to make a decision, and if she was just being incredibly considerate...
But if that was the case, I wanted to make sure she enjoyed it as much as possible. And I wanted to enjoy it, too.
"Hehe... special training starts tonight! I won't lose this time, Natsumi..."
...Wait.
Sara-san seems surprisingly motivated for this.
Well... I guess that works for me.