{Satou-san’s themed Park Do-over (2-2)}

Fortunately, Satou-san seemed to genuinely love thrill rides. After calmly conquering all seven roller coasters, we took a late lunch and challenged ourselves to a river rapids ride. Then we rode go-karts together, pedaled happily on a cycle monorail, and wandered aimlessly in a mirror house—thoroughly enjoying the amusement park until dusk.

Finally, we took a ride on the Ferris wheel.

There wasn’t much time left until the bus home, but Satou-san insisted she wanted to ride it. I felt it would be a shame to leave without experiencing it, so I decided to accompany her.

As the sun dipped, the vast amusement park was bathed in a soft orange glow.

We admired the sunset from the gondola.

From the outside, it looked elegant, but inside, the gondola creaked with each ascent, diminishing the elegance.

“Wow…! The view is amazing!”

We still had a long way to go to the top, yet Satou-san exclaimed in delight, having only climbed halfway.

She pressed her face against the glass next to her seat, joyfully gazing outside.

“If we keep going up, we might even see the peak of that mountain over there, right?”

“Well, that’s probably pushing it.”

The lush summer mountains were tinted with the colors of twilight.

After watching the mountains for a bit, I suddenly turned to Satou-san across from me and asked,

“Didn’t you ride the Ferris wheel last time you came?”

“Nope. Did you, Yamaguchi-kun?”

“I didn’t either.”

With that group, I didn’t want to confine myself further in a Ferris wheel. Plus, riding with just guys wouldn’t be fun at all.

Satou-san, sitting across from me, swung her legs in leggings.

“Someone once said, ‘Ferris wheels are meant to be ridden with someone you like.’”

“Was that during the overnight training?”

“Yeah. I forgot who said it… so I didn’t ride it then.”

Satou-san turned away from the window and faced me.

“I wanted to ride it with you, Yamaguchi-kun.”

She said it shyly.

I silently stared back at her. There was no trace left of her tears from the haunted house. It felt like I had gotten a little sunburned from all the fun today. And there was the usual cute Satou-san.

But she also seemed a little different.

“Um, Yamaguchi-kun…”

Satou-san dropped her gaze to her lap before continuing.

“It’s a bit embarrassing, but on the night of the overnight training, I talked about you.”

“My story? Huh, what do you mean?”

Not grasping her meaning, I asked back, and she lifted her gaze slightly.

She looked up at me.

“W-Well, actually… we gathered in a room just for girls to share secret stories.”

Was it what they call girl talk? I was curious but also scared to hear what it entailed.

But if Satou-san talked about me, I couldn’t let it slip.

“Oh, that’s classic.”

I nodded like a sympathetic guy.

“What do girls talk about in those situations?”

“Um… it might be a bit awkward for boys, but…”

Satou-san hesitated before explaining.

“If we had to choose a type we like from the boys in Class C, who would it be…?”

Wow. Girl talk can be surprisingly intense.

I mean, guys have those conversations too, but it shocked me that the seemingly calm girls from Class C were engaging in such evaluations. It’s kind of scary, girls.

“N-No! It just turned into ‘if I had to choose’! Like, if I had to pick someone…”

Seeing my reaction, Satou-san started to panic.

“We weren’t speaking badly of the boys! In fact, I think we praised them quite a bit!”

“I-I see…”

Given her flustered state, I decided not to press further.

What I was most curious about was how Satou-san had answered that question. That was my only focus.

“I said Yamaguchi-kun.”

Satou-san squinted her eyes as if recalling memories from three years ago.

“I felt it would be rude to call it a ‘type’… but back then, I thought it would be a nuisance if I liked someone, so I really didn’t want to answer. But if I had to say someone, the first person that came to mind was you.”

I knew how Satou-san felt about me back then.

She thought I was someone who could do anything, like a person from a different world. That wasn’t true, though.

So I felt complicated. Being mentioned in girl talk should be something to celebrate. I should smile and say it’s an honor, acting like a mature adult.

“You were my admiration, Yamaguchi-kun, someone who could study and excel at sports, talking to anyone without discrimination.”

I could only listen quietly as Satou-san reminisced.

“So if I had to mention someone, it could only be you.”

Our gondola, which had been slowly ascending, was finally approaching the top.

“Recently, I recalled that and thought it was amazing.”

Satou-san looked outside the window.

From the highest gondola, the ground appeared far below. People looked like tiny specks, and buildings and roller coaster tracks resembled models. Everything was bathed in sunset colors, which felt oddly melancholic.

“To like someone I admired back then and still be together now… I wonder if that’s what fate is.”

When she said that, my heart raced.

Satou-san, who had just spoken the word “fate” while bathed in the sunset, seemed more mature than usual.

She looked completely different from the girl who had cried in the haunted house. Her face reflected nostalgia for the past and the joy of the present, and I couldn’t help but be captivated.

“Is it strange for me to say this?”

“No, not at all.”

When I shook my head at her question, she visibly relaxed.

“I usually try not to think about such things. If everything were predetermined by fate, I’d feel trapped. But…”

The gondola creaked as it began to descend slowly, just like when we had ascended.

“I think life has unpredictable wonderful things happening… at least, I feel that way about you, Yamaguchi-kun.”

Wonderful things, huh.

That phrase felt much more honorable than being mentioned in girl talk.

“That’s why I wanted to ride the Ferris wheel with you.”

Satou-san was staring at me intently.

Her eyes, reflecting the sunset, sparkled, but she gave a completely different impression than when she first suggested the amusement park. Was it the sunset’s influence?

Or was it because Satou-san was getting closer to being twenty?

To think a girl could have such different expressions in just a few days is amazing. I couldn’t look away.

“Thank you for inviting me.”

When I thanked her, Satou-san chuckled.

“No, thank you! I was happy to be with you.”

I wanted to see that expression up close, so I stood up in the gondola.

The gondola creaked as it tilted, and Satou-san looked at me in surprise as I sat down right next to her.

“Y-Yamaguchi-kun, is this okay?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Because if we both sit here, the gondola might tip…”

“Maybe, but I prefer sitting next to you, Satou-san.”

Gone was the mature expression from before, and Satou-san’s eyes darted in fluster.

“From the outside, won’t it be obvious that we’re sitting together…?”

“Is that a problem? I think there are other people sitting like this too.”

“R-Really?”

“Because Ferris wheels are for riding with someone you like, right?”

At my words, Satou-san fell silent for a moment.

But when I took her hand, she hesitantly rested her head on my shoulder. As we descended to the ground, we stayed close, hardly looking at the scenery outside.

At least for me, I was only looking at Satou-san.

On the bus ride home, Satou-san leaned against me.

She probably felt exhausted from all the fun. She looked very sleepy but seemed to be trying hard not to fall asleep.

“It would be a waste to sleep when I’m with you, Yamaguchi-kun.”

Despite her words, her eyes were glazed, and her eyelids looked heavy.

“It’s okay if you sleep.”

“No, I want to stay awake with you… more…”

I was happy to hear that, but I knew it must be tough for her to hold back her sleepiness.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be together for a long time.”

I whispered in her ear.

I wasn’t sure if it was fate. I wasn’t the type to believe in such things. But now that we were nearing our twenties, perhaps opportunities to feel fate would come in the future.

And if Satou-san felt that way, I wanted to cherish those feelings.

“Thank you…”

She murmured as she closed her eyes.

With a serene expression of comfort, she continued softly.

“You’re so kind, Yamaguchi-kun. I really rely on you.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“I just know that… no matter what happens, you wouldn’t rely on a devil…”

She left those words like a sleepy confession and began to snore.

“…Of course not.”

After confirming she had fallen asleep, I couldn’t help but chuckle quietly. The idea of devil worship in modern Japan is absurd. Besides, they probably wouldn’t even show up if you called them.

Even if they did, I wouldn’t rely on such things.

I will make Sato-san happy with my own hands. I’ve decided that long ago.