That Sunday, I was out of bed by 6 a.m. That left me with two hours before my date with Elena—just enough time to put all that Kokoro had taught me about looking good into practice and reach the station closest to Dinkyland.
It only took me a few seconds to find Elena once I was at the station. She looked as beautiful as ever. Being able to go on a Dinkyland date with a girl so pretty was like a dream come true. Much to my horror, however, she was surrounded by a group of young men I’d never seen before. They were talking to her, but she was smiling back uncomfortably without a word.
Are they hitting on her?! She stands out even in a place this crowded, wow... Wait! What am I getting all impressed for?!
“M-Minami!” I called out as I got closer, and her face lit up.
“Ichigaya!”
“Aw, shoot. Must be her boyfriend,” one of the guys said.
“Tsk. Let’s stop wasting our time then,” another replied, and they all left.
“I-I’m sorry... It’s my fault you had to wait here by yourself,” I said, but Elena shook her head.
“Not at all! You’re right on time. Let’s go now!”
We walked out of the station and quickly reached the park’s entrance, where visitors were already lining up to buy their tickets. I hadn’t been to Dinkyland since I was in grade school, and I didn’t remember it being this crowded. It was on a completely different level from Fantastia Land.
Elena and I joined the line, chatting about anime and VTubers while we waited for our turn (also taking care not to mention any recognizable names, just in case). Our conversation was so much fun that the wait seemed to fly by.
I’d researched the cost of the park tickets before our date. In order to have enough money to buy one and have a little extra left over, I would have to use a good share of my savings. As Elena’s boyfriend, I’d have liked to be able to pay for her ticket too, but at the end of the day, I was still in high school, so such aspirations were beyond my financial reach. Anyway, Elena had a job, and I didn’t. I would feel ridiculous offering to pay for her.
I saw how much Nishina’s mom paid for our Fantastia Land tickets. Now that I think about it, those were really cheap...
Once we’d gotten our tickets, we went through the baggage check and entered the park. One look at my surroundings was enough to blow me away.
“Wow...”
The park’s buildings were of amazing quality, so much so that it felt like I’d suddenly stepped into another world. I didn’t remember much about my last trip here as a kid, but I did remember having tons of fun and liking it a lot.
“Look!” Elena squealed. “It’s Minky Mouse! Can we line up to get a picture with her?”
“Of course!” I replied, entertained by how adorable she sounded. This was probably the first time I’d seen her get so excited about anything not otaku-related.
Girls really do go crazy for this stuff, huh? That’s really cute.
After asking a staff member to take our picture together with Minky Mouse, we headed toward the attractions. Since I wasn’t that familiar with the park’s rides, I left the choice to Elena. Her choice was the newest attraction, based on a recent animated masterpiece from the Dinky Studios.
“A two-hour wait?!” I cried, shocked, when I saw how long the line was.
“Is that too long?” Elena asked.
“N-No! Not at all! I was just surprised!”
It’s crazy that there are so many people willing to stay in line for two hours to ride this... The waiting times for the attractions at Fantastia Land were fifteen minutes tops. The crowds there were nothing compared to this... just like the quality of the attractions.
Realizing that I had to adjust my standard of what a reasonable waiting time was, I lined up with Elena. At least being able to chat with her about otaku stuff turned an otherwise boring wait into a pleasant experience. She really is the perfect otaku girlfriend for me... There aren’t many girls around that I could have this kind of conversation with.
Even though adrenaline-inducing roller coasters were more my jam, I enjoyed the slow ride, which involved passing faithfully recreated movie scenes acted out by realistic animatronics.
“That was so cute! Did you like it?” Elena asked me with a smile once the ride was over.
“Yes! It was fun,” I said. To be honest, though, it was more fun seeing her enjoying herself so much.
We went on to try out a few more rides, taking short pauses between each to enjoy food from the various stalls. All the attractions had long lines, but Elena and I never ran out of topics to chat about, so I had tons of fun.
“I’m beyond happy to be here with you,” Elena said after we left our fourth ride.
“M-Minami...”
Seeing her smile at me, I was overtaken by happiness... and guilt. She was saying something so sweet to me, and yet I wasn’t completely focusing on her—part of me just couldn’t stop thinking about how Kokoro was going on a date with Yuya at that very moment.
Whenever Elena said things like this, I could tell she really liked me, even if I didn’t fully understand why. And, each time, I would wonder how we’d ended up together. How the voice actress behind Emily Saionji had told me to keep her secret when I’d found out. How I somehow became the only person she could ask for advice regarding her VTubing career.
This story explained how we had met each other, but it was missing the most important piece: how I’d managed to get to the point of being able to strike up a conversation with a girl and befriend her in the first place.
It’s all thanks to Nishina. She taught me how to dress, she taught me how to look half-decent for girls, and she gave me advice on how to act on my date with Minami. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have a girlfriend. More importantly, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.