Shido and Chinatsu rode the train in silence.
(Shido's heart was still racing from Chinatsu's "anywhere is fine" comment earlier, while Chinatsu was resting her eyes, though in reality, she was mentally rehearsing various scenarios that might occur at the Amusement Park and their corresponding countermeasures.)
They finally arrived at their destination—Amamiya City Amusement Park. The huge Ferris wheel and roller coaster tracks stood out against the blue sky, radiating an atmosphere of joy.
As the two approached the ticket gate, preparing to queue, a familiar figure emerged from the side, as if she had been waiting for a long time, and blocked their path.
It was Tobiichi Origami.
She was still in casual clothes, her face devoid of any expression, as if her presence here was the most natural thing in the world.
"Itsuka Shido, Phoenix-in Chinatsu."
She greeted them calmly, her light gray eyes sweeping over both of them before settling on Shido's face, directly posing the core question.
"Why are you two together? Coming to the Amusement Park together today. Is it a date?"
(! Origami?! She really came!)
Shido's heart tightened; he didn't know how to explain this situation, which clearly looked like a date.
(Here it comes! The classic "Master catches the cheating couple" moment!) Chinatsu's mind instantly went into Make complaints mode.
However, perhaps due to her lingering male mindset, when asked directly "Is it a date?", her first reaction was absolutely—
Deny! Must deny! Dating a man? What a joke!
So, before Shido could speak, Chinatsu, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, reacted with an emphatic response!
"Who, who's dating this guy?!"
But then she seemed to realize something. As if to add more conviction, she suddenly crossed her arms over her chest and forcefully turned her head away.
Leaving Origami and Shido with a clearly flushed profile, her voice slightly raised due to excitement, full of tsundere flavor:
"I, I just happened to see the Amusement Park had a discount yesterday and bought two tickets!"
"And... and then Classmate Itsuka just happened to come to my house yesterday, and I thought it would be a waste not to use the tickets... so I just invited him along! It's not a date at all!"
After she finished speaking, she even lightly stomped her foot, as if to emphasize her "unwillingness."
However, Origami's next words instantly froze the expression on her face.
After listening to Chinatsu's explanation, Origami's expression remained unchanged. She simply continued to ask in her calm, unruffled tone:
"Is that so. Then why didn't Chinatsu invite me yesterday?"
(...Huh?)
Chinatsu was momentarily speechless.
(Why would I invite you?! And weren't you here to "monitor" yesterday?!)
But the words were out, so she could only grit her teeth and continue to cover it up. The blush on her face seemed to deepen (this time, half acted, half from exasperation):
"Who, who told you to leave so fast yesterday! I... I couldn't invite you!"
The more she spoke, the more she felt her reason was flimsy, so she could only shift the "blame" to Shido, her tone becoming even more "pouty":
"Be, besides! If it weren't for not wanting to waste this ticket... I wouldn't have invited Shido!"
(Excellent! Attributing the reason to "not wanting to waste the ticket" instead of "wanting to come with Shido" creates a logical loop!)
Chinatsu inwardly praised herself for her quick-witted addition.
But she never expected that this would play right into Origami's logical trap.
Origami, upon hearing this, nodded very naturally, as if accepting the explanation, and then said in a factual tone:
"Is that so. I see."
She took a step forward, very naturally extended her hand, linked it with Shido's other arm, and pressed herself against him.
"Since you two aren't on a date, I'll come along too."
She raised her light gray eyes, looked at the stiff-faced Chinatsu, then at the bewildered Shido, and calmly added:
"With three people playing together, the tickets won't be wasted either."
Chinatsu: "!!!"
Shido: "!!!"
(A miscalculation—!!!) Chinatsu let out a silent wail in her heart.
(Damn it, I only thought about denying the date to avoid awkwardness, but I forgot that this instead gave Origami a legitimate reason to intervene!)
(Because it's not a date, she's not a third wheel; she's just here to "play together"! Now there's no reason to make her leave!)
Watching Origami tightly holding Shido's arm, looking determinedly as if to say, "I'm staying here," Chinatsu felt a lump in her throat, unable to go up or down.
This was truly digging her own grave!
"Um... Classmate Origami... this..." Shido looked at Origami, who was pressed tightly against his left side, then at Chinatsu, whose face was alternating between green and white, clearly suppressing her anger on his right. He felt like he was caught between two mountains, cold sweat trickling down.
He could only chuckle dryly, trying to smooth things over: "S-since Classmate Origami also wants to play together... then, then we'll just..."
Before he could finish, he received a cold glare from Chinatsu, which scared him into swallowing the rest of his words.
(You idiot! This is all your fault!) Chinatsu conveyed the message with her eyes.
(I, I didn't want this either!) Shido responded with an innocent gaze.
Ultimately, what was originally planned as a "two-person date" officially turned into a bizarre "threesome," thanks to Chinatsu's tsundere denial backfiring.
Shido was stuck in the middle, with the expressionless but intensely present Origami on his left, and the low-pressure, "I'm unhappy" Chinatsu on his right, entering the Amusement Park gates with an incredibly heavy and awkward feeling.
(It's over... Will today's date... even be able to continue smoothly...?) Shido was in tears in his heart.
And Chinatsu, in her mind, once again cursed Aha and Fraxinus.
(It's all your fault! If you hadn't caused so much trouble, how would I have ended up in this situation?!)
The joyful atmosphere of the Amusement Park formed a stark contrast with the subtle and tense aura between the three. It was foreseeable that the rest of their outing would be anything but peaceful.
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