Chapter 36 : Haunted House? It’s Nothing!

You can’t ride if you’re under 150 cm? Why?

Why, why on earth…

Pfft.

“Hoo-hoo.”

As I was struggling in despair, unable to accept this, I heard the commander uncle laughing behind me.

I also heard Nunu unnie’s quiet laughter.

When I turned around, I was greeted by their smug smiles, as if they had expected this.

…Somehow, it felt suspiciously easy to get on, even though it looked really dangerous.

They must have known about the height restriction. That’s just too much!

I climbed onto the commander’s shoulders and puffed up my cheeks.

“Ah, Maru turned into a balloon.”

“Badaya, she’s not a balloon, she’s pouting.”

“Oh, I see.”

To emphasize that I was sulking, I rested my chin on the commander’s head and puffed up even more, but the reaction was lukewarm.

Badaya kept poking my puffed-up cheeks with her soft tail, and the commander uncle was casually saying things like, “Do you want some pudding?”

Does he think he can solve everything just by giving me pudding?

Om nom nom.

“Oh, as expected, pudding. It works like a charm.”

“… “

…What? Why?

Okay, fine. Maybe pudding does solve everything.

But it’s not my fault that pudding is just too delicious.

No matter how angry I am, a bite of sweet, soft pudding makes my anger melt away.

That’s just the nature of pudding.

But commander, where did you even get this pudding?

“Hm? There’s a world snack discount shop over there. I bought one from there.”

“Aha.”

So there was a place like that.

I’ll have to drag the commander over there on the way back.

A place filled with snacks from all over the world—there might even be a giant pudding!

One as big as me.

I think I saw something like that in a manga once.

It must be delicious. It must be amazing.

I can’t wait.

“By the way, pfft. So there really was a height restriction, huh? I didn’t even know.”

“It’s too late. You’ve already been caught, commander.”

“Ahaha, sorry, Maru. I was just too curious about your reaction.”

“…Hmph. Is there anything I can ride?”

I pouted and rubbed my cheek against the commander’s head.

It felt rough, but in a strangely pleasant way.

Like rolling around on an old carpet.

Still, even if he keeps acting so smug, I can’t hate him.

Maybe it’s because he’s too good-looking.

Or maybe it’s because I know he’s doing this because he cares about me.

“Hmm… Maru’s too tiny to ride much. Maybe just the Ferris wheel?”

“…Ah, seriously. Commandeeer!”

“Pffft, okay, okay, I’m sorry. But your reactions are just too good. Ahem… I’ll find something for you, so wait here.”

Still, I am a little annoyed.

I relieved my stress by plucking at the commander’s hair.

Thinking about making him go bald with my own hands made me smile.

“Oh, this looks good! A perfect ride for little but fearless Maru.”

“What is it? What is it?”

“Oh ho, knowing in advance would ruin the fun. Come on, let’s go this way.”

When I tried to sneak a peek at his phone screen, he swiftly turned it off.

…Suspicious.

It better not be something like a merry-go-round.

If it’s a kiddie roller coaster or something, I swear, I’ll smack him.

I will smack him!

And so, I followed the commander to…

“The greatest terror on earth! Come experience the newly opened [Haunted House]!”

“Opening event: Half-price admission!”

…The haunted house.

A classic-looking one, too.

The entrance of an old, rusted, abandoned hospital greeted me.

At the entrance, flashing lights and creepy ghost projections appeared and disappeared.

“This… is the ride that suits me best?”

“Of course! It’s going to be fun. I hear it’s really scary.”

“…You just want to see my reaction, don’t you?”

“Well… half of me does. But the other half is serious.”

So he does just want to see me shaking in fear.

Sigh.

He wasn’t like this when we first met—how did he turn into such a prankster?

“Well, fine. But I’m not going in alone, right?”

“Nice!—Uh, I mean, of course. It’s a two-person entry anyway, so don’t worry.”

Phew, good.

There’s no way I’d go in there alone.

I may not be the type to scare easily, but… well, being alone would be lonely.

That’s all.

It’s definitely not because I’m scared.

Even though just looking at the screen outside is already making my arms tremble—

But that’s just because it’s cold.

…Right?

“Pfft, you really don’t need to shake so much.”

“Who’s shaking?!

If I went in alone, it’d be lonely, and also… if people go in one by one, it’d take too long, so others won’t get to enjoy the rides.

That’s definitely the only reason!

Absolutely, definitely not for any other reason, okay?!”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

I puffed my cheeks out.

It’s not because I’m scared, I just didn’t want to waste time.

Tch.

“Don’t worry, Maru. I’ll protect you!”

“Hehe, I’m here too.”

The two girls, Bada and Nunu, who had been looking at me with honeyed eyes, each poked my cheek and spoke to me.

Thanks to them, my cheek made a squeaking sound and returned to being soft again.

So, how should we divide the groups?

“Hmm… How about I go with Maru, and Bada goes with the commander?”

“Eh? Nunu, what are you saying? I want to go with Maru too! And… it’s a bit strange to be alone with this old man!”

“Ahem, ahem.”

“Ah.”

Bada quickly covered her mouth, as if she had made a mistake, but the water had already spilled.

The commander came to my side with a very gloomy expression…

Wait, why is he coming over to me?

Commander? Why suddenly… Ugh. What’s this! Ugh.

“Well, when I’m feeling down, I need some Maru ingredients.”

Suddenly, the commander grabbed both of my cheeks and started to fondle them.

Why is this old man suddenly doing this? And what does he mean by Maru ingredients? He’s only learned bad things from Nunu.

“Mm, ugh…”

At this rate, my cheddar cheese will turn into mozzarella cheese.

Stop touching me, you old man!

Commander, let’s go quickly. People are starting to gather around.

“Ah, Maru’s cheeks are so soft, I should stop.”

“Ugh…”

The commander touched my sagging cheek fat that had drooped.

It’s a bit warm. How much did he touch it in such a short time to make it like this?

…Anyway, just like Nuna said, if we don’t go quickly, people will crowd around and we won’t even enjoy it, so we should go.

I tugged at the commander’s collar. It was a signal to hurry up and give me a piggyback ride.

“Ugh.”

“Hehe.”

These days, I seem to end up on the commander’s shoulders quite often when we move.

It’s nice because I’m sitting higher than usual, so I feel like I have long legs, and I can’t stop doing it.

The main reason is that it’s just comfortable.

“So, who do I go with?”

“Do you want to go with me?”

“Let’s go together!”

“Let’s go with this old man.”

“Eh.”

I muttered the question, and the three of them immediately responded as if they had been waiting for this.

I thought about how ridiculous it was to get so heated over just going through a haunted house together, but then I remembered the wish-granting incident from before and nodded.

“Since it seems like everyone wants to go with me, can I choose?”

“Of course, it would be me that Maru chooses, right?”

“Commander, you think so? Of course, Maru would want to go with her best friend, me.”

“Hehe.”

Oh, come on. This isn’t ‘which do you prefer, Dad or Mom?’ yet everyone is puffing their chest out, acting like it’s obvious they should be chosen.

…Why is that old man standing so confidently after teasing me earlier?

“Hmm…”

He placed his hand on his chin and took a ‘thinking pose.’

He looked serious, staring at the ground as if he were contemplating something.

I need someone who can keep up with my pace, as I’ll be gone in the blink of an eye.

First, Bada.

It’s uncertain whether Bada can handle scary things, but cats tend to get startled easily, so probably not.

It would feel nice to hug her stiffened tail after she gets scared, but if she faints, I’d have to carry her, which would be tough.

So, Bada is a no-go.

Next is the commander…

It would be comfortable to travel while piggybacking, but if the commander gets scared and runs away, I’d end up hitting my head on the ceiling.

While it’s a good transportation method, remembering how he reacted during the tutorial, I don’t think he handles scary things well, so I’ll hold off on him.

Lastly, Nunu.

I can’t imagine her getting scared. She always has a warm demeanor, and when it comes to battle, she becomes incredibly serious and cool.

She would be the perfect partner.

But if I pick Nunu, that means the two scaredy-cats will have to go together…

Hmm…

Alright. I’ve decided!