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“That was delicious!”
“Happy to hear that.”

Orgo had paid for both of them in the restaurant. Just as the date-manual had said.

“Going on a date is so much fun! Like when we played just by the two of us.”
“You got a point there… well, going on a date still is different in some ways, isn’t it?”
“You think so?”

They were talking as they walked through the streets again. Killing time while frequently looking at shops and stalls. Myuri was still half a step behind Orgo.

“Which shop should we look at next? How about the one over there?”
“That one?”

Where Myuri was pointing stood a pet shop. Orgo considered it a good idea and decided to go there with her.

“So cute. Would you look at that Ododo chick? It is adorable!”
“What was I supposed to say again in such a situation again? Y-You’re much more adorable-”
“Oh, rabbits!”

He sighed in relief when he saw her enjoy herself, likely having accustomed to the thought of being on a date. It helped him calm down. The couple left the pet shop and started walking again.

“It might be nice to have a pet.”
“But there’s already lots of horses at the castle.”
“That might be true… I am hardly a specialist on horses, but would they be able to get along¹ with other animals?”
“Same for me, I usually walk.”

The two of them kept walking, on the lookout for anything interesting. Finally, the spied another couple. The way said couple held hands was different, more like a hug. They looked rather intimate. It was as if their seniors in love were giving them a pointer.

“M-My, should we also do that?”
“Y-You don’t need to force yourself.”

At Orgo’s reply, Myuri came to a halt. She seemed to give the matter some serious thought.

Orgo swallowed. A conflict between wanting to hold hands in that manner and the fear of losing control due to that was raging within him.

Myuri seemed to come to a conclusion.

“O-Orgo… Could you…”
“S-Sure.”

He held out his hand towards her. She took his big, rugged appendage into her own slender one and hugged his arm.

“L-Like this?”
“I-I-I-I think so.”

For the two of them, this was an act of bravery. Orgo tried to hide his blush, while Myuri got so embarrassed by hugging him like the other couple, she seemed to reach the other side and calm down.

“Orgo… you have not been neglecting your training.”
“Course I haven’t. I’m a swordsman.”
“Somehow, this feels nostalgic.”

She almost unconsciously tightened her hold. Among their acquaintances, the tenderness of her chest was only second to Alim’s, which Orgo now keenly felt.

“For some reason, hugging while holding hands seems to have a calming effect.”
“W-We did hug this morning, right?”
“…You are right! But back then, it happened practically unconsciously. Holding you tight as your girlfriend… eh-heh-heh, it feels nice.”

Her unusual behavior made him blush even more. The two of them side by side, their bodies pushed close together. He didn’t even realize that this fulfilled the quota he had set himself for that date.

“…Orgo.”
“Wh-What is it?”
“I would like my chest to be a bit bigger, after all.”
“Nah, I don’t care about that.”
“It vexes me how it does not feel all squishy when I hug you.”
“S-Squishy…?”

It actually it did feel so, but he couldn’t say that out loud.

After looking a little sullen for a moment, she seemed to change her mind, showing a bright expression as she hugged him again.

“That reminds me. In the past, you often carried me on your back, did you not, Orgo? The feeling resembles those times.”
“Now that you mention it, we did that.”

Right now, this was no longer something he thought he could do nonchalantly.

She seemed to remember something else.

“…Do you still have that old scar? Or was it healed when Alim brought us back?”
“For some reason, it’s still there.”
“I see…”

She ended her embrace and looked up at his face while still holding his hand. He couldn’t look anywhere but into her eyes, which were shining strongly with a hint of melancholy.

“I understood when I boldly decided to hug you. I love you, Orgo. Probably since back then.”
“…Right.”
“Heh-heh, I read a book about love the other day.”

The though of her having read similar books as him, made him sigh inwardly. She was still gazing at him.

“Could you bend down a bit?”
“You want me to bend down?”

He did as she had asked him to. She then cupped his face with her free hand, gently pulling it closer until he felt a soft sensation on his lips.

“…This was the first for both of us, was it not?”
“…Yes.”

The couple continued their date, now walking side by side.

1. The verb 掛け合わせる used in the original is closer to “crossbreed” than “mingle”. Context makes the latter more probable, though it is possible that she’s so much of an airhead, she’s wondering whether a bird can produce offspring with a horse.

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