What an odd interaction that was. I'm not sure if I have enough stamina to hang out with Olympia. Maybe I should tell her how exhausted I am to gift her with my presence still.
Yeah, there's no way I'm telling her that.
Our rendezvous spot, the arcade, should be just around the corner. Ah, there it is. I think. I can't tell what the sign in front says. Well, it wouldn't have mattered if I could have read it. For some reason, Olympia never gave me the place's name, just the address. What would I have done if I had gotten lost?
I'm honestly really nervous to enter.
I know I can talk to her, but hanging out with Olympia—the school's top student—is still intimidating. Do I even deserve this? I'm a coward. I let myself get killed once; now I have a second chance, and I can't even handle playing video games with her.
The only way out is in.
As I was about to enter the arcade, a cold poke on my back made me jump. A shiver runs down my spine.
"Hello, Kiyomi. I didn't know you could scream like a little girl like that. It's kinda moe," Olympia says.
"I didn't scream like a little girl!" Okay, maybe my scream was a little feminine, but I'd never admit that to her.
"I've been waiting a while for you. How dare you make a girl wait on you? You are a player, huh?"
"I got here five minutes earlier than the allotted time. How did I make you wait?"
"I tend to get to places thirty minutes earlier than the agreed-upon time. I prefer being the first one to arrive."
You really are perfect, I think to myself. I shouldn't let this thought outside of my head.
"Well, shall we go in?" Olympia suggests.
It's just an arcade, albeit a super-fancy one. But I hesitate to respond. Do I deserve to enjoy myself with Olympia? I'm a coward, aren't I? I'm the type of person to let myself get killed so I can have another shot at life. Isn't that pathetic? I didn't do the right thing the first time, and now I'm given a second shot that I don't deserve. Jeez, all I need to do today is play video games with her, but I'm too much of a coward to even do that.
Just as I was about to turn around, without a word, she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the arcade. That little pull? It meant more than she knows. I'll always be grateful for this little act. This little act means the world to me. I don't say it now, but thank you, Olympia.
"Quite monologuing, and let's play!"
"Say that again."
"Ciao."
"I was playing around! See what I did there?"
Olympia exits the scene.
"Don't make me beg!"
…
"Olympia, Olympia. Where art thou, my Olympia?"
"Hello, Kiyomi. Sorry for making you wait. Shall we get straight to playing?"
"Let's. But before we settle down, can you show me around the place? This is a rather large arcade."
Rather large is nowhere near an apt description of this place. The arcade looks futuristic, filled with the latest consoles—but the place is eerily empty. No staff. No other players. I'd expect a place like this to be filled to the brim with people, but I'd go so far as to say this place is desolate. I don't see an owner or even workers. How does this place stay open?
"My dad owns this place," Olympia informs me. I don't know how to respond. How rich is her dad? How rich is her family?
"My dad opened up this arcade just for his little princess. He noticed my love for video games and decided to open this arcade for me. Isn't he the best?"
"Just how much do you enjoy video games?"
"I love, love, love them! I love getting lost in a game and losing track of time. I often notice myself staying up until 3:00 am."
"3:00 am? I thought someone like you would spend most of your time getting plenty of beauty sleep."
"Why would I need to spend time getting beauty sleep? Am I not already beautiful enough?"
"..."
"This is where you give me a heartfelt compliment."
"If you were to give me wings
"I would fly for you
"Even if the entire land
"Were to sink underwater
"If you were to give me a sword
"I would stand up and fight for you
"Even if this entire sky
"Were to pierce you with its light."
"Wow, heartfelt! Too bad you totally ripped that from Bleach. Could've at least put your own spin on it."
"How do you know I'm not the author of Bleach?"
"I know you're not the author because Bleach is a good manga."
"..."
Why must she assault me with her words all the time? Can I take this up with the law? They'd probably laugh right in my face.
"Well, The Awful Author, shall we finally start playing? I've been itching to find some emeralds in Minecraft."
"Emeralds? Easy to get if you set up villager trades. You're acting like you don't know Minecraft basics."
"Hey, I want to make emerald armor because green's my favorite. Don't judge!"
She is such a noob! I'm going to have so much fun trolling the living nether out of her.
…
I'm such a geek… And I wonder why I still don't have a girlfriend. But it seems that Olympia is geeky like me. At least a little, I think to myself as I'm standing inside the arcade her dad made for her.
"Well, vanilla Minecraft doesn't make use of emeralds for things other than trades. They can be used for powering up beacons, however. But other than that, you can't make tools or armor out of emeralds."
"Hmm, emeralds don't serve much of a purpose. Just like a certain someone I know…"
"That person must be very little to you."
"I'm an ender dragon, and they're an endermite."
"How do you know these terms!? Are you a Minecraft veteran?"
"You'll just have to find out. Now, come on, let's not leave the readers waiting. Let's play!"
She brings me along with her to a fancy-looking TV connected to a PlayStation 5. And for seats, what's available to us are bean bags…
We settled into bean bags in front of the big screen. This can't be good for my back, but hey, it's all worth it to spend time with Olympia.