Sora felt the embrace loosen as the intoxicating softness and sweetness suddenly vanished. Immediately after, the familiar clamor flooded into his ears.
"What is going on?"
Opening his eyes in a daze, Sora was shocked when he saw the surrounding scenery.
"The roller coaster?"
"Everyone is in line, preparing to ride the roller coaster?"
"I was clearly kissing Mahiru in the restroom... was everything just now an illusion?"
Sora pressed his hand against his brow, momentarily unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy. But the residual softness and sweetness on his lips were incredibly clear.
"Hah... hah..."
The sound of a girl's rapid breathing suddenly reached his ears.
Sora instinctively turned his head and saw Angel-sama with her pink lips slightly parted, her teeth visible, and her eyes glazed and bewildered. They were filled with moist mist, like a lake shrouded in vapor on a winter day. She was so cute he could not look away.
Their eyes met.
Mahiru's face flushed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Her neck, the tips of her ears, and even her hair seemed tinged with a crimson hue as she shamefully looked away.
"It wasn't a hallucination..."
An epiphany soon formed in Sora's heart.
The sudden bashfulness of Angel-sama proved that the kiss just now had truly happened; it wasn't fake.
"Could it be... Time Reversal?"
Sora took out his phone and checked the time:
"Did Mahiru and I go back thirty minutes?"
"To be able to reverse time after a kiss, that is way too exaggerated..."
"..."
"Mahiru, what happened to you?"
Anna's crisp, pleasant voice rang out as she looked at Mahiru with concern:
"Why did your face suddenly turn super red?"
"I... I am fine..."
Mahiru shamefully looked down at her toes, her eyes searching for a crack in the ground to crawl into.
(What happened just now... was definitely not a hallucination!)
(I really kissed Sora-kun, and... and it was the kind of kiss only couples do...)
(But why are we back at the bottom of the roller coaster?)
(Could it really be as Elf said, that kissing allows time to be reversed?)
(And that expression on Sora-kun's face just now... he clearly has memories from before the reversal, right?)
"Stare—"
Yanami Anna crossed her arms and rested her chin on her hand:
"I feel like Mahiru is acting strange."
"..."
Mahiru's heart jumped, and she lowered her head even further, almost thinking the secret was out.
But clearly, Anna did not have memories from before the reversal. She simply reached out her right hand and pressed it against Angel-sama's forehead:
"Mahiru, you couldn't have caught a cold or a fever, could you?"
"With a face that red, it really does look like a fever." Gokou Ruri crossed her arms, her tone confused.
"But everything was fine just a moment ago."
"I don't have a fever." Mahiru shook her head rapidly.
"I just suddenly feel a bit unwell... I won't be riding the roller coaster."
"Eh, don't do that." Anna widened her eyes.
"We worked so hard to get to the front of the line. It would be a waste to quit now. Ride it, Mahiru, you might find you like it!"
"I am sorry, I don't like it at all."
Mahiru complained silently in her heart.
I only found out after getting on that I am afraid of heights. Not only that, but I would even leak... anyway, now that time has reset, I will not ride the roller coaster again no matter what!
Angel-sama clutched her skirt. With time reversed, although her panties had returned, she was still worried. She stammered out an explanation:
"I don't know why, but just thinking about getting on makes my breathing heavy and my whole body tense. I feel uncomfortable all over."
Anna blinked at those words: "Mahiru, are you afraid of heights?"
Mahiru bit her lower lip: "A little bit."
"If it's a fear of heights, then never mind." Anna's tone was regretful.
"You really shouldn't ride it then."
At that moment, Sora spoke up:
"I'm not riding it either."
"Eh?" Anna turned quickly, looking at Sora in confusion.
"Sora isn't afraid of heights, why aren't you riding with me?"
Sora clutched his stomach:
"My stomach suddenly hurts, and I need to go to the restroom. I'm worried I won't be able to hold it in mid-air..."
"Don't say another word!" Anna glared at him affectionately.
"If your stomach hurts, hurry up and go to the restroom!"
Seeing that Sora and Mahiru had both changed their minds, Ruri also began to back out:
"Um... maybe I shouldn't ride it either?"
"No way!" Anna grabbed Kuroneko's arm.
"Riding a roller coaster alone is way too lonely... Ruri-chan is the legendary Black Cat of the Dark Night, surely you wouldn't be afraid of a mere roller coaster?"
"O-Of course I'm not afraid!" Ruri turned her face away, speaking against her heart.
"It's a mere human creation. Before the great adventures I have experienced, it is as insignificant as dust, not even worth mentioning."
"Good." Anna urged, "Get on, get on. Please let the Black Cat of the Dark Night accompany this insignificant human."
Ruri: "..."
She had given her word, and she had to follow through even with tears in her eyes.
Ruri could only bite her lip, her face pale as Anna pulled her onto the roller coaster.
Watching the ride start, Sora walked toward Angel-sama.
Mahiru's heart rate accelerated again as she remembered the soul-shaking kiss in the restroom. She flusteredly took half a step back.
Sora stopped and said in a low voice:
"Were we just in the convenience store restroom...?"
"D-Do not say it!"
Angel-sama interrupted shamefully, looking up.
Mahiru was never the type of tsundere who would deceive herself. A kiss was a kiss, and liking someone was liking someone. She wouldn't pretend nothing happened, but discussing it directly was still way too shameful.
"It seems it wasn't an illusion." Sora said softly, "So, time really did reverse?"
"It seems so..." Mahiru's tone was slightly uncertain.
"After all, it is my first time experiencing this too."
"I just checked my phone. We seem to be back thirty minutes ago." Sora lowered his voice.
"So what is the side effect of Time Reversal? Do you need help purifying your magic power?"
"I feel like everything is normal..." Angel-sama looked up, her face flushed.
"It seems there are no side effects?"
Sora withdrew his right hand in surprise: "For such an incredible ability like Time Reversal to have no side effects... Mahiru-san could rule the world now."
Mahiru bit her lower lip and gave him an affectionate glare: "That sounds exhausting. I don't want to rule the world."
"It is best if there are no side effects." Sora let out a soft sigh.
"But if you feel unwell, do not hesitate to tell me immediately."
"Okay..."
Mahiru looked down at her toes and shyly agreed.
The conversation ended.
A subtle atmosphere quietly permeated between them.
Sora could not help but recall the kiss from before, and his gaze involuntarily fell on Angel-sama's pink, moist lips, which were as enticing as jelly.
Sensing Sora's gaze, the temperature on Mahiru's face rose rapidly. She said shamefully:
"P-Please do not look at me..."
"What should I do if my eyes aren't under my control?"
"Then cover them with your hands..."