kscans

Chapter 110 - Eldorado

After driving for about ten minutes, we arrived at the first large shopping center. It doesn't really matter, but the president is damn good at parking... Since it's Obon, the place was crowded and only some really inconvenient spots were available, but he nailed it in one shot. He had a backup camera but didn't use it, just turned around and did it smoothly with one hand, which was subtly impressive.

"President, you've got some serious driving skills."

"Hehe, well yeah. I used to be something of a street racer back in my younger days. I could pull off drifts like nobody's business, you know?"

"So you're good at sliding... ah, that's why—"

"Don't you dare look at the top of my head."

My apologies for that.

"Besides, you're one to talk..."

"La la la, I can't hear you!"

"This guy... even kids don't pull that kind of nonsense these days..."

"We're about to return to our childhood, so let's keep things youthful."

"You've got an answer for everything, don't you? You've got the makings of a salesman... oh wait, you were a salesman."

This kind of light banter with the president has a different kind of fun compared to what I have with Takahashi and Suzuki. I can't explain it well myself, but I already feel like using up a precious day off was worth it at this point.

"Speaking of which..."

"What is it?"

"...When I decided to buy toys and play to my heart's content, I made another resolution."

"Oh?"

"I figured while I'm at it, I might as well do other things I've wanted to do but couldn't."

"What's that?"

"...You know how places like this have game centers?"

"They do indeed."

More like game corners, really?

"I want to play there."

According to him, this goes back to when his daughter was little. Whenever they came to places like this, his daughter would beg him, and he'd go play with her along with his wife.

"We set a limit of 500 yen. But you know how kids are, right?"

"500 yen wouldn't be enough to satisfy them."

"Exactly. She'd always throw a tantrum. Every time, I'd say we could do a little more. 'Let's play together with Daddy,' I'd say."

"Could it be..."

"Just as you're thinking. Watching my daughter play made me want to play too."

So the president tried to use his daughter as an excuse to legitimately have fun... But apparently his wife saw this as him trying to spoil their daughter. He actually was soft on his daughter, so that interpretation was only natural.

"So today, I'm doing it. I'm going to turn that lever around and around to make popcorn."

"Sure, sure, I'll keep you company. Shall we head over right away?"

"Of course."

We headed to the game corner, but...

"No no no, I want it! I want it! Get it for me! Get that one for me!!"

"Don't be so selfish... I don't have much allowance left..."

"It's because big brother is bad at it!"

An older brother who looked like he was in upper elementary school was arguing with what seemed to be a first-grader or kindergartner.

"Oh my, a common sight indeed."

"...President, wait here for a moment."

"Hm?"

We're about to become kids again, after all.

"Hey there, young lady, which one do you want?"

"Huh? That one, the bunny."

"I see. Wait just a moment."

Leaving the two bewildered children behind, I fed some coins into the machine. As expected of a place like this, the positioning was pretty easy. This would be a piece of cake.

"Here you go."

"Huh... is it okay?"

The fact that she didn't immediately go "yay!" suggests she's not just being spoiled. She probably acted up because it was her big brother.

"It's fine. But I want you to promise me one thing. You understand that your big brother was trying hard for you, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Then you need to apologize properly. If you can say sorry and thank your big brother, then I'll give this to you."

When I said that, the girl looked startled and seemed uncomfortable. Getting what she wanted probably helped her think clearly. And then the guilt for what she'd done started welling up... she really isn't a bad kid.

"Um, well... big brother, I'm sorry."

Then she bowed her head properly and said thank you. The big brother looked back and forth between his sister and me, not sure what to do.

"Good girls deserve rewards. Be nice to Mr. Bunny, okay?"

"Yeah! Thank you, mister!!"

"Um, uh... s-sorry! About the money..."

"It's fine, it's fine. I have a little sister too. She used to give me trouble all the time back in the day. This brought back some nostalgic feelings, so consider it my thanks for that."

I told a complete lie and threw in a wink. Without saying anything more, I waved and returned to where the president was waiting.

"Well done."

"Thanks. Now I'm going to play some games aimed at little girls, so you can go ahead and make your popcorn, president."

"Wait a minute! Come with me!"

"But I want to play too while I'm here."

"If we're going to split up here, what was the point of inviting you?"

"Geez... what a troublesome adult..."

"Huh? I'm the one in the wrong...?"

So I ended up having to accompany him to the popcorn machine.

"Oh! This is it! This is it! Huh, you can choose flavors too? That's amazing!"

"Look, it's free, so let's get this done quickly. We'll have to move if kids come over."

"Oh right, that's true... I'll go with caramel!"

Still... this brings back memories... It's not like they have the exact same machines from when I was a kid, but the atmosphere hasn't changed at all.

"Satou-kun, did your parents bring you to places like this when you were small too?"

"Yes. My dad would take me while my mom was shopping."

Thinking back, my dad seemed to enjoy it quite a bit too. He was probably the same type as the president.

"Ah, then you probably got away with being pretty selfish?"

"I wonder... about that. We did play, but I don't think I was that obsessed with it."

I was more demanding in the toy section. I remember having exchanges with my mom like "You already have that!" "No! This one is different! This one is different!" Adults wouldn't understand variations and stuff like that.

"What about you, president?"

"Me? Well, I..."

While we were chatting like this, the popcorn finished. The president, who had been enthusiastically turning the handle while talking, looked completely satisfied. After that, we munched on popcorn together and played a few other games before heading to the toy section.

"Whoa! This is it! This is it! It looks cool and fun too... it's invincible! No wonder kids buy these! Of course they do! I mean, it has nothing but elements that would make it popular!!"

The president immediately found his target battle hobby and got all excited. I was browsing around to see if there was anything interesting when...

"P-President! This, this!!"

"What is it, what is it?"

"This toy apparently lets you make cotton candy at home!!"

"Cotton candy? Huh, no way?"

"For real, for real. You can apparently make it by throwing in store-bought candy."

"...Today's toys are incredible— wait, look at that, look at that!"

"Ice cream too? These are toys, right?"

The toy section of the electronics store was a treasure trove.