About an hour later, Kanade and Reiji left the arcade. They walked hand in hand toward the exit of the mall.
Apart from a brief incident with a redhead, the time they spent at the arcade was memorable, especially for Reiji, who managed to resolve a doubt that had made him want to visit this place.
Outside the mall, the cloak of night had already enveloped the sky.
Gazing at the almost cloudless sky, Reiji reflected, 'So, I can conclude that whenever I participate in a game with someone, like air hockey, it can be considered playing a game...'
At the arcade, he had managed to accumulate 2 action points by [Playing].
'In that case, I'll get a dartboard for my home...' Reiji thought carefully. The idea of playing darts with someone and earning action points was too tempting to ignore.
He considered that playing basketball with a full team, football, etc., could generate even more action points. However, he wouldn't always have the opportunity or time for such activities. If he wanted to engage in this daily, he would need to join a sports club, which didn't fit his current schedule.
In the end, the option of the dartboard seemed more appealing, even though it would yield fewer action points.
"Reiji?" Kanade called him with her melodious voice.
Turning his attention to her, he smiled gently and said, "Sorry, I got distracted thinking about something."
"Ohh." She slightly opened her mouth, making a sound of understanding, and then laughed softly, "Reiji, I noticed today that sometimes you get like this, lost in your thoughts."
"That much?" Reiji asked.
"Well, it's not a little, but it's also not too much?" She replied, seeming uncertain, and added, "I'm not complaining or anything, just observing."
"I understand." He stroked her head with his free hand, "Lately, I've had a lot on my mind. You know, living alone can be complicated. Especially after receiving my paycheck, I start thinking about what I need to buy, the bills to pay, and so forth."
Kanade felt a twinge of compassion upon hearing him. She didn't quite know what to say to comfort him.
"You don't need to look at me like that." Reiji smiled enigmatically, "Things will get better for me, and that's one of the reasons why I think so much. Hmm, can you keep a secret?"
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"Is it about you becoming a model?" Kanade asked, recalling.
"That will also help my financial situation, but it's not just about that." Reiji responded, wrapped in an air of mystery as he took out his smartphone.
As he fiddled with his smartphone, he heard Kanade say, "If it's something you'd prefer I didn't share with others, of course, I'll keep it a secret."
"Haha, it's nothing too confidential, I just prefer it not to become general knowledge for now." Reiji smiled, "You'll be the first to know about it."
'The first...' Kanade murmured with a touch of sweetness in her mind.
Reiji accessed the Webnovel page, found the novel he was writing, and then showed the smartphone screen to Kanade.
"Look, do you see this novel here? Yes, I'm the one writing it," Reiji explained calmly, "If everything goes as planned, I'll be able to sign a contract with this site and start earning some extra income from this novel."
"Ohhh, I didn't know you were a writer, Reiji!" Kanade expressed surprise, her purple eyes shining under the artificial street light. She was enchanted by the news, especially since she was the first person he decided to share this information with.
"Haha, I still have a long way to go before I'm considered a writer, but yes," he became a bit more serious, "I hope to make it one day."
"I know you'll make it, Reiji!" Kanade expressed, without a hint of hesitation in her voice, and continued: "Look, you've posted what, 5 chapters? And already have over 100,000 views! Isn't that incredible?"
She said this to motivate him, though she truly believed in him. However, when mentioning the number of views, she herself was surprised by the amount. Since she was not familiar with the site and everything was in English, she couldn't interpret the details, but at least she understood the numbers.
"I guess so." Reiji smiled again and said: "As you can see, I chose to post in English rather than on a national site."
"May I ask why?" Kanade inquired, driven by curiosity.
"Sure." Reiji explained: "It's mainly because of the dollar to yen conversion. As you can imagine, receiving in dollars and converting to yen, even as a newcomer, the amount I'll receive is higher than what I would get on a national site."
"I think I understand." Kanade agreed, somewhat uncertain. She had never been involved in something like this, so she wasn't sure.
"Anyway, I just wanted you to know." Reiji put his smartphone back in his pants pocket. "Whether it becomes a successful novel or not is still unknown, but at least I should be able to make enough to generate some extra income."
"Mm, but I believe it will be something positive, even though I haven't read it yet." She smiled at him.
Reiji stroked her head again and said: "If you want, I can send you the link to the site. Even though it's in English, you can use Google Translate to read it if you have difficulty with the language."
"Although I recognize many words, English isn't exactly my strong suit..." Kanade blushed slightly: "I'll try reading it in English first, if that doesn't work, I'll take your suggestion and translate the page."
"Understood." Reiji took out his smartphone again and sent her a message with the link to the novel's page.
Kanade felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, took it out, opened the link, and quickly saved it. Then, she looked around.
Realizing where they were, she pouted upon seeing that they were very close to her house, just a block away...
'Why did I have to live so close?' She reflected: 'It would be perfect if we could continue this for at least one more, no, two, no, three more hours!'
She was enchanted by the idea, especially imagining both of them walking along the beach, with the moon reflecting on the water...
"We're here," Reiji announced softly.
Looking at her house and then back at him, Kanade seemed reluctant to say goodbye. She got so lost in her imagination that it seemed to shorten the time she could spend with him even more.
Noticing her hesitation, how could Reiji not understand?
Pulling her close, with one hand on her waist and the other around her back, he smiled slightly, bringing their faces closer: "Don't you want me to leave?"
"Mm~" Kanade hummed melodiously in agreement, resting her hands on his firm chest, and as he pulled her by the waist, causing her to lean in slightly, her breasts pressed against his chest, while her hands, one holding a plastic bag, slid up almost reaching his shoulders. Soon, she saw him lean forward, lowering his face towards hers.
When their lips touched, it was as if electric currents ran through their bodies.
Kanade surrendered to the kiss, and the taste of green apple with a light refreshing touch emanated from his mouth. Perhaps not; it was certain she would say that it was because of the green apple Halls candy Reiji had bought earlier.
'I never imagined that, just because he was sucking on a Halls candy, the kiss would change so much...' She reflected in her mind, but then she gave in to the taste and sensation of the kiss, wanting to think of nothing else.