The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 138: A Morning Date with Kumiko?!

The next day, Higo woke up quite early, when the sun hadn’t even risen properly over the horizon. The weather was still quite nice, with the sunny atmosphere of the summer, but also without the hot temperature when noon came.

He was alone right now, since the others were still sleeping soundly back in their room. While all of his friends were dead tired from the game yesterday, it was embarrassing for him to say that he himself still had a lot of energy building inside him. That was why, even though it was still half-dark outside, he woke early, wanting to use this peaceful time for a little walk.

Much to his surprise, though, it seemed he wasn’t the only one who thought that.

"Kumiko-chan? What are you doing here?" The boy blinked in confusion at the sight of the girl leaning against the door as if she were waiting for someone.

"Of course, I am here for you, Silly." Kumiko’s eyes lit up immediately when she saw him coming. "I know that you will be uneasy after not doing anything yesterday, and I know you are going to take a quick walk to spend the morning here, so why don’t I just join you?"

Higo was so touched when he heard that. This was also why he was head over heels when it came to Kumiko. The girl would always be able to make him think that she cared a lot about him, and even though he himself didn’t know whether this was real or he was just being overthinking, what kind of a teenage boy didn’t appreciate when a girl was so concerned about him?

"Well, of course, I don’t mind, but you know that I don’t know where to go, right?" He asked once again for confirmation.

"Don’t worry, just go where you want to. I will always follow your path." The smile radiating from her face was so blinding, giving Higo a heart attack on the spot.

It also didn’t help that what she said was like a confession. I mean, go wherever he wanted, and she would always follow? Wasn’t that something that a wife would say to her new husband after the marriage ceremony was over? How could Kumiko say something like that to Higo so casually?

"Urgh... My heart cannot take it anymore..." Higo groaned, clutching his heart in pain. "Anyway, let’s just move on. Maybe we can find a good place if we explore smart enough."

"Sure!" The girl chirped with a nod.

After that, their unexpected date officially began. At first, they just strolled around the peaceful neighborhood, enjoying the breezy air of summer in tranquility. Once they were close enough to the entrance gate, though, both teenagers could see a bustling alleyway with so many people selling things over there.

"Come on, boys and girls! Buy the latest fortune and tie it to the branch of that tree!" The man who was running the nearby stall pointed at the tree behind him enthusiastically. "That way, all of your unluckiness and misfortune will go away! You will tie them to the tree, let the mother of nature take away your bad luck!"

"Charms! Charms! Brother, do you want to confess to your crush but are too afraid to do it?! This courage charm will give you the boost you need!" Another man came out of the next stall with his own offer.

"Hey, young lady! Do you want me to see your fortune? Study? Love life? Come on, I can do it all!" An old woman also joined the fun there.

Both Higo and Kumiko just smiled while also politely rejecting the offer. However, this had been going on like this up until the edge of the alleyway, and only when they were out were they not getting chased anymore.

"What... What the hell is that?!" Higo blinked confusedly; his hair was so disheveled from the chaotic scene unfolding before his eyes.

"It seems..." Kumiko glanced around while also trying to fix her messy hair here. "We are so close to the Hakusan Shrine, a famous one that has been visited by a lot of prominent celebrities in the past. I heard that it’s a love charm that works quite well to encourage young men and women to confess their love, but I don’t think they will be so... Barbaric in selling this."

There was no hint of disdain, though, just shock and amusement in her tone. If Higo didn’t know better, he would think that the girl was enjoying this experience.

Higo just rolled his eyes in exasperation, still too speechless to say anything else. He glanced back at the alleyway, looking in pity at another teenager who had been dragged by those stall owners.

"Still, there are a lot of people here, right? I mean, it is still a few minutes past seven, for God’s sake." He shook his head in wonder.

"Well, maybe, because this is a summer break, and a lot of schools go here for their trip?" Kumiko offered an idea. "Anyway, let’s forget about them. How is your study? Finding anything interesting?" She asked curiously.

Higo’s forehead wrinkled immediately as if he had just swallowed a whole sour lemon by himself.

"Urgh... Don’t mention it! Flexion, extension, abduction... What the hell is that?! There is also the physics part of the study, where I have to learn about force, torque, vectors, and so many things! This is definitely not something a normal human could learn!" He groaned, starting to rant unconsciously.

Little did he know, though, that Kumiko was smirking. This was the effect she wanted when the girl asked him to study this matter.

Of course, she could just give a bunch of football videos and let him learn directly from them. However, Kumiko knew that Higo was still struggling to decide what he should study in the future, so she gave him a difficult problem to pique his interest.

’It seems the first phase is successful here. Now, how should I handle the next part?’

As she pondered, though, Higo’s gaze sharpened out of a sudden. Kumiko didn’t notice it, but the boy suddenly stopped her and used his hand to shield the girl. This startled the girl, but before she could ask a question, Higo had already made his move.

BAM!