I’m a Shy Loner and I Was Confessed to by a Beautiful Girl Who Has All the Boys in School Smitten, but It Turned Out to Be a ‘Fake Confession,’ So I Politely Declined. As a Result, I Ended Up Learning About Her Hidden Side and She Started to Cling to Me

“Um, Kuroki-san… The curry roux and rice are bright red.”

“That’s right. They are red.”

“Uh, Kuroki-san, just the smell is making my nose and eyes hurt.”

“Yes, it’s painful, isn’t it?”

“Kuroki-san! The curry roux is boiling!”

“It looks like magma boiling, doesn’t it?”

“Kuroki-san!? I’m not confident I can finish this!?”

“What a coincidence, neither am I.”

“Then why did you bring me here!?”

“Sigh… Obviously, it’s so you can finish it all if I can’t.”

“Are you a demon?”

We look at the curry the waiter brought us.

The menu says “Blazing Hell Volcano Ultra-Spicy Curry.”

A curry that lives up to its blazing name. The kind of dish you’d see comedians trying to eat on TV shows is right in front of us.

“I’ve wanted to try this curry for a while.”

“…You like spicy food?”

“I quite like it. To be honest, I might prefer spicy food over sweet. Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold.”

We join hands and pick up our spoons. To be honest, my hands are shaking. Sorry, I feel like I’m going to choke just by smelling it. Kuroki picks up her spoon with a smile on her lips.

Kuroki dives in without hesitation, and I timidly follow. The moment it hits my mouth, sweat bursts out.

It hurts…!! My tongue is in extreme pain!! This is beyond just being spicy!

In contrast to me, who is shaking, Kuroki seems to be enjoying the curry despite its spiciness.

I’m sweating, but is it just my imagination that she looks somewhat sexy?

I can’t take it anymore! Water!!

I gulp down a glass of water.

“Don’t drink water like that; it resets your mouth.”

Why didn’t you tell me that earlier!?

“Phew, it’s quite spicy, isn’t it? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, it’s spicy and my tongue hurts, but it feels good? It’s addictive and refreshing, I guess.”

I’m sorry, I’m lying. It’s too spicy; I’m just putting on a brave face.

“See, I told you! This will make it even spicier!”

Wait a minute, what did you just add?

I look at the container of the spice that Kuroki added, and it says, “Ultra-Spicy! Blazing Magma Habanero.”

Oh my God!! A demon! A devil! A sadist!!

“Wow… I’m delighted.”

I continue to eat the now even spicier curry while tears stream down my face. This is really bad; the sweat won’t stop. Not just my tongue, but my lips are starting to hurt too. Why do I have to pay to experience this pain?

“Phew, that was delicious—thank you for the meal.”

Eh!? You’re done already!? That was fast!? I still have about half left!?

“Hm? Your spoon has stopped.”

“Uh… yeah.”

I might as well be honest. I can’t take it anymore. Please eat the rest.

“Geez, you’re hopeless…”

Though annoyed, Kuroki starts to hold my spoon.

Kuroki… She sensed that I’m at my limit…!!

“Open your mouth, Jubei-kun.”

Wrong!! I want you to eat it, not feed me!!

I catch a glimpse of a gleam of delight in the depths of Kuroki’s eyes.

Could it be… Kuroki!!

“Gah!?”

Kuroki forcibly stuffs the curry into my mouth with a smile.

“Jubei-kun! You can do it♡ You can do it♡”

“Wow! Bro!! A cute girlfriend is feeding him while cheering him on! He has to finish it!!”

Shut up, you waiter!!

Surrounded by people and with no way out, I somehow manage to finish the curry. I step out of the restaurant, filled with a sense of accomplishment.

“…Spicy food isn’t so bad after all.”

I thought it would be painful, like a punishment game, but it was actually delicious in its own way.

“Heh… Then let’s go eat spicy food again sometime. I still have more than 10 places I want to go.”

…What? Over 10 places? Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.

“So, where should we go next?”

“Somewhere with fewer people, please.”

“There’s no such place in Shibuya.”

So we move to an amusement facility in the station building as Kuroki suggests.

It’s the weekend, so it’s crowded with high school students, couples, and working adults. The booming bass from the games and the flashing lights are overwhelming.

I follow Kuroki, who walks with a confident stride. What game is she going to play?

Is it a UFO catcher? That’s about all I can think of as a socially awkward person.

“Okay, we’re going to play this.”

She leads me to a zombie shooting game.

Somehow… it fits the image I had of her yelling, “Die! Die!” while she kills zombies.

“Aren’t you thinking something rude?”

We enter, and it’s dimly lit with a somewhat horror-like atmosphere.

“The graphics look pretty old.”

“True. But don’t you think older games are less scary?”

“Yeah, that makes sense… Wait, the person dominating the ranking with the initials ‘K.N.’—is that you, Kuroki?”

“Heh. Yes, it is.”

Wow, you’re really into this, aren’t you?

“Let’s get started. The difficulty is set to Inferno, and we’re not stopping until we clear it. If you die, you’ll have to pay.”

What? That’s like melting money!

So, it was my first time playing a gun shooting game at an arcade. I died within the first minute, spent about 1000 yen just on Chapter 1, but by watching Kuroki’s gun skills and play style, I got the hang of it and was able to kill the enemies without losing lives.

Hmm, this is surprisingly fun.

“Ah, that was fun.”

We successfully clear all the chapters and watch the ending.

“…Well, yeah. It was fun.”

“You look somewhat dissatisfied, though?”

“I wanted to see you get flustered and killed by zombies, but it felt like you were better than me by the final chapter and it’s annoying!!”

“Eh…”

Apparently, she’s dissatisfied for a very unreasonable reason.