Chapter 33 – Angel and Christmas

The following day, Mahiru arrived at the house, looking a little apprehensive.

She was nervous about going to the house of the opposite gender on a holiday…not. Mahiru was earnest in wishing that she got to play games, and she could not contain her excitement.

It was said this was her first time playing video games, and in this sense, one might call her a Princess oblivious to the ways of the world.

“I shall begin making lunch then.”

“Nn, cook the eggs a little more please.”

“I understand.”

Even though the customer was being extra demanding, her mood was not dampened as she hurriedly put on the apron, hurried to the kitchen, and began preparations for lunch. Surely she was in a really good mood.

He felt a little ashamed to know she was really looking forward to this, itchy even.

Well, she’s just looking forward to playing games.

Definitely not that she was looking forward to playing games together with him.

So he gave a wry smile as he stared at the swaying ponytail.

“…How do I control this?”

After lunch, they sat on the sofa before the TV, staring at the screen.

He tried asking her what games she wanted to play, but once he knew she had no idea of the genres, he had no choice but to choose a nationally famous 2D game, and handed her the controller…as expected, she was flailing all over, not knowing what to do.

“Erm well, first if you want to move, use this stick, and use this button to jump…”

That Mahiru was usually so poised, yet at this point, she was looking back and forth at the TV and the controller in confusion, controlling it, and Amane found it extremely rehabilitating for some reason.

She was not used to playing games, but it was the first time he saw someone play so casually.

After seeing her unable to evade the enemy’s attacks a few times and die, he realized that even the Angel herself had things she was bad at.

“…I cannot win.”

“You didn’t beat an enemy, let alone clear a stage.”

“You are noisy.”

“Well, just get used to it. It’s all muscle memory.”

Everything’s a challenge, once she heard those words, Mahiru got down to playing the game again.

He felt a little encouraged seeing Mahiru challenge an entertaining game with such a serious face, and showed a smile.

However, she always lost to the first enemy, and once he saw that she never progressed, he started to feel uneasy, rather than bemused.

She looked towards him.

Muuuu, he could hear the sound effect from her mouth, but he probably was thinking too much.

“Ahh see, this is how you do it.”

If they stopped here, her motivation would be drained, so he put his hands on the controller she was holding, demonstrating to her.

Amane himself had cleared this game a few times, and easily cleared the areas she had difficulty clearing.

In fact, she was really terrible at this, and even an ordinary person would not be stuck here…but he kept silent on this.

“Look, this enemy moves random at the same speed, but once you see it speed up towards your character, just time here and jump…”

He operated the controller, nearly covering her little hands as he made some explanation, demonstrating to her.

On the screen, the character did as Amane explained, and evaded the enemy.

It was not some amazing move, but it was a new experience for Mahiru who kept failing, “Woah.” so she blurted.

The eyes ornamented by her long eyebrows widened, her expression cheerful.

He smiled when he saw how delighted Mahiru was, and as they were too close to each other, he discovered that her lower eyelashes were really long, and smiled a little as he saw how elated she was.

He looked down at her nice sidelong face, and she might have noticed his stare, for she turned her eyes towards him.

He had leaned over to her before this, wanting to reach the controller in her hands, so they were closer than he imagined.

Their elbows were already touching, and they were so close, he could sense her breathing through his skin. Thus, her warmth and sweet scent reached him.

“Sorry.”

Once he noticed that his hands were about to wrap around hers, he hurriedly pulled his body back, and only then did she seem to realize, blinking a few times, her eyes starting to daze.

“It…It is fine. I should be the one saying sorry.”

Once he noticed her face starting to turn red, he felt regret.

She did not like body contact, and no matter how familiar the two of them were, she might feel displeased about having her hands touched.

She appeared to be a little bashful, but she did not seem repulsed.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Erm, I really do not mind, you know?”

“You don’t hate it?”

“…It shocked me, but not that I hate it. You are not someone I do not know after all.”

It appeared the magnanimous Angel had forgiven his insolence.

Since she decided to let bygones be bygones, he felt relieved, and they played the game again.

This time, he decided to let Mahiru play on her own, and looked towards the screen…only to see her die again. At that moment, he was seriously wondering how he should improve her gaming skills.

The result was that she managed to stumble past the first stage, and he decided not to play this game.

It was deflating for a complete novice to keep dying, so he intended for her to try a different game to reduce stress.

“Mahiru, you’re tilting your body.”

They decided to play a racing game, common in the real world…and Mahiru tilted her body.

This game was not controlled by gyro forces, and the controller itself had no gyro sensor.

There was no need for her to tilt her body…but it might be a subconscious act as she tilted left and right while holding the controller.

She was focused on the game, and did not answer.

This game seemed easier to pick up, unlike the previous one, for people these days appeared to have fewer chances of riding a car. Her skills were terrible, but at the very least, she could play.

She swayed her body with a really serious look, trying her best to move the car.

She’s really cute.

It was strangely cute to see Mahiru rolling around like humpty dumpty, and the serious look on her face as she struggled to play the game with all her might added to that.

Once there was a large curb, Mahiru naturally tilted her body greatly.

Pomf, once she landed on Amane’s thighs, the latter struggled not to laugh.

“…Actually, you don’t have to turn your body about, you know?”

“I-I am not doing this on purpose.”

“Yep, I know that, but you were tilting.”

He tried his best to stop his lips from shaking, and lifted her up.

But it was to be expected, given how fluffy and light she was. One reason was that she was petite, but her body was so slender, he felt it could snap at any moment, and he hesitated over whether he should touch her.

Mahiru, lifted up by Amane, was shivering out of shame with her cheeks red.

She truly was adorable like a little animal, and he finally ended up bursting out laughing.

“Are you taking me for a fool?”

“No no no, I just want to smile.”

“So you are taking me for a fool.”

“Do you think I will take a serious person as a fool?”

“I do not think so…”

“See? I just find you cute.”

“…The cute you refer to surely refers to how you want to smile at an adorable child.”

She appeared to be pouting as she said this, and might be really unhappy if he overdid it, so he decided to stop expressing his thoughts at this point.

It was fine for him not to show what he was thinking on his face, so he quietly thought.

She looked a little displeased, and when he smiled at her, she turned aside with a hmph.