Chapter 52 - Stroll at night in the deserts town (1/2)

「H-Hey, are we still doing this?」 (Hind)

「Of course we are! We said we would switch after doing one lap, right!?

「Since it has turned out like this, I should thank Claris for giving us this excuse.」 (Yumir)

「I mean, if it was just riding it together, if you told me, I wouldn’t have minded if…」 (Hind)

「Don’t lie! You would have postponed it indefinitely!

「Like a father that fails to set a date when he tells you that he’ll take you to the amusement park!」 (Yumir)

「Don’t struggle! Like I would do something like that. What are you, a kid!?」 (Hind)

If I had to say what I’m doing right now, I’m currently taking a stroll while Yumir is riding the camel in front of me.

What they demanded from me while being very angry was to 「Do the same thing I did with Claris-san」.

Yumir went first since she won in rock-paper-scissors and we gave a lap around the town while she was being noisy.

After that, I took a lap around town with Riizu.

From beginning to end, Riizu didn’t say a word and just absentmindedly looked at the beautiful moon in the desert.

Compared to the tempestuous Yumir, it was a quiet and calm stroll.

After that ended, I let Riizu off the camel and we meet with Selene-san in the town’s entrance.

Since we had some free time, I might explore the town.

Even Riizu who just got off the camel, went into town after leaving some words behind and opening her map.

「Good work out there, Hind-kun.」 (Selene)

「Ah, yes. The desert at night has its charm so I didn’t mind the stroll itself.

「Selene-san, you are not planning on going into town? You don’t have any particular issues with talking to clerks in shops, right?」 (Hind)

「That’s the case but…the truth is…」 (Selene)

Selene-san was squirming while hesitating to say something.

Before long, as if to ascertain her thoughts, she said this while doing some strange movements.

「H-Here!」 (Selene)

While I was still riding on top of the camel, Selene-san closed her eyes and extended her arms towards me.

Would it be easier to understand if I said it was the 「Carry me! pose」 a small child would make?

If I had to guess…it’s probably her saying “I want to get a ride too!”.

However, receiving such a surprise attack made me freeze for a while.

Because of the cuteness created by having an older girl do something like that.

「…On second thought, forget it…」 (Selene)

「…Ah, wait a moment! Eh…w-want to get on…?」 (Hind)

Taking my silence as a refusal, she lowered her arms while being disheartened.

In return, I held my hand out to her in a panic and Selene-san timidly grasped my hand.

Selene-san who was riding in front of me was red up to her ears and didn’t utter a single word.

Unlike the previous times with Yumir and Riizu, I was actually feeling nervous…but I was pretty calm now that I have seen her being far more nervous than me.

「I would have never thought that Selene-san wanted to do the same thing as those two.」 (Hind)

「…I might have admired things like riding together with someone?」 (Selene)

「That might have been the case, but if we are talking about this sort of thing, it’s usually done by riding on a horse with a prince.

「Leaving aside the fact that we are riding a camel, isn’t it somewhat lacking when I’m the one riding behind?」 (Hind)

「This might be weird coming from someone with a lack of confidence like me, but isn’t Hind-kun’s self-esteem really low?」 (Selene)

「No. The people that say they are cool when they are with those three, would only be narcissists.」 (Hind)

After Selene-san muttered…”that’s true,” she took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders.

Having the time to look around the surroundings, she let out a “the desert is lovely at night”.

「…However, even if a prince riding a horse appeared next to us, I believe I wouldn’t hesitate to choose to ride on the camel with Hind-kun.」 (Selene)

「Eh?」 (Hind)

「-Y-Yumir-chan and Riizu-chan would most likely say the same thing!? It wouldn’t be just me!」 (Selene)

Receiving such a bold confession, my heart started to race.

I’m glad that she can’t see my face right now…

Hearing Selene-san trying to hide her bashfulness, I was glad that I had her ride the camel with me.

「Though those two have always been like that.」 (Hind)

「…They like you, right? I heard that you are not related by blood to Riizu-chan…don’t you have any intention to respond to her feelings?」 (Selene)

「Even if she liked me, it’s a bit complicated because we’ve been together for so long.