Can you play with me again in the future?

"I'm not going for a walk today..."

On the way home, Ren realized that he hadn't managed to go out for a walk today.

He obviously wanted to go out today and wanted to hang out, so why would he go teach Asumi for no reason?

This is very strange.

However, he didn't hate it.

After all, he could go for a walk at any time.

He looked up at the sky and found that it was not completely dark yet, Ren slowed down his walking speed.

It's still relatively late in the afternoon, so it's not too late to come back later. He could only use this time to wander around for a bit.

As he was thinking about this, he suddenly saw a very familiar figure in the garden.

"Ogata-san?"

Seeing Rizu sitting on a chair in the garden, Ren stopped subconsciously.

"Kamikawa-san?"

At this time, Rizu also saw Ren standing on the side of the road and calling her name.

"What are you doing here?"

Ren asked curiously as he approached and looked at the cards on the table in front of her and the cards in her hand.

This was his first time seeing these strange cards.

"I just finished delivering takeaway food, so I'm going to take a short break before coming back."

Seeing him coming, Rizu put the card in her hand on the table, pointed to the food box on the ground, and explained.

"Oh."

Ren knew what Rizu's family did, and he had ordered takeout from their house, so he wasn't surprised.

Pointing to the card she placed on the table, Ren asked, "What is this?"

"The board game, 'Who is the Minotaur King' game, is suitable for two to ten people to play together."

Seeing him ask about this, Rizu became interested and introduced him with great interest.

"Two to ten people?"

Ren looked for a long time and didn't find anyone playing with Rizu.

"Yeah, it's just that I'm playing alone now." Rizu nodded, but she sounded very lonely. "I'm the only person around me who likes board games. No one else is interested in board games. No one can play with me."

"I see."

Talking about board games, Ren remembered the board game club Chika was in.

"Um... Kamikawa-san, do you want to play?"

Seeing that Ren had no intention of leaving, Rizu invited him.

Although she could play board games alone, it was not as good as having someone to play with.

"I don't know how to play board games."

Ren didn't mind playing board games with her, but he had never played before and was a little worried about not being able to keep up.

"No problem, it's very simple. I am just telling you the rules."

Seeing that he didn't refuse clearly, Rizu excitedly pulled him to sit next to her and started explaining the rules of this board game to him.

······

"I win."

After calculating the points from the cards in his hand, Ren said softly.

"Well, this way we get ten wins, ten losses, and one draw," Said Rizu very happily.

"That's right."

Laying down cards, Ren agreed.

Maybe because he was an Esper, this was his first time playing this game, but he had been winning consecutively since the start.

This resulted in him having to control the number of wins he won later, otherwise he would have won all twenty games.

After all, ordinary people would never be able to win twenty games in a row when they first played a new game, and their opponents were people who played the game often.

Therefore, he controlled it to ten wins and ten losses, a very normal record.

"I really didn't expect Kamikawa-san to be as weak as me."

After sorting a deck of cards, Rizu had a smile on her face that she had never seen before.

"Weak?"

Ren paid attention to her choice of words.

"Yeah, although I really like board games, I am very weak at board games. Basically, I can't beat anyone else." Rizu was still happy about her ten wins, "This is the first time I can beat someone else in a board game ten times."

"…"

After listening to the explanation, Ren finally knew why he could always win.

It turned out that it wasn't because he was too strong, but because Rizu was too weak, so weak that even a beginner who had just played board games could beat her.

In other words, he must not lose ten times, but win twenty times in a row to be considered the same as ordinary people.

Thinking about this, Ren's eyes changed as he looked at Rizu.

"Do you want to continue?" After arranging the cards, Rizu continued to ask questions.

"No."

Realizing that he had accidentally exposed an unusual side of himself, Ren was no longer in the mood to play.

"Um, it's not too late now. It's almost time to go back to the shop."

Rizu was very satisfied that Ren could play with her for a long time, so she packed up the board games, took the food box, and prepared to leave.

"It's time for me to go home."

Seeing she actions, Ren stood up.

Since they were both going to a place very close to each other, they happened to be on a trip and could travel together.

"Kamikawa-san, do you know why I chose liberal arts?"

Perhaps because of the many wins just now, Rizu talked more on the way home.

"Don't know."

Ren only knows that Rizu wants to study psychology, but he doesn't know why she wants to study it.

"Because I want to win at board games," Rizu answered honestly.

"…"

Rizu said slowly: "I'm very bad at things that can't be answered using probability and calculations, especially things related to 'human emotions', so I can never win a game against other people."

"So I thought, if I can better understand other people's minds, even though I'm very bad at playing now, I might be able to win games in the future."

"Very good."

Ren feels there is nothing wrong with her purpose, as long as it is her own choice.

"I have arrived."

After continuing to walk for a while, Rizu stopped and pointed at the Ogata Udon sign.

"See you."

After saying goodbye, Ren had just turned to leave, but Rizu reached out and grabbed the corner of his clothes.

"?"

Sensing her movement, Ren turned his head and looked over.

Facing his gaze, Rizu gathered her courage, raised her head and looked at him and said, "Kamikawa-san, can you play board games with me again in the future?"