Vol. 2 Chapter 50 – Summer Festival (1)

The sight of my girlfriend clad in a yukata stole my eyes and heart in an instant.

“Heeey… what’s wrong…?” (Hikaru)

Concerned by my stunned silence, Hikaru peered into my face.

“Whoa…!” (Reiya)

I flinched, taking a step back.

“Whoa…? Hey, that’s not quite the reaction I was hoping for…” (Hikaru)

“S-Sorry… But I really wasn’t expecting you to wear a yukata…” (Reiya)

I offered an explanation as Hikaru pouted, her brow furrowing slightly.

“Well, I agree with that part. I didn’t think you’d have one ready for me, either,” (Hikaru)

“…What do you mean?” (Reiya)

“My mom brought it over from home when she was running errands, so it was a surprise for me too.” (Hikaru)

“Ah, so that’s how it was…” (Reiya)

I nodded, understanding both the sight before me and the words I’d heard earlier.

So that’s what she meant by a ‘reward’…

“So, let me ask again… how is it?” (Hikaru)

“Of course, it looks amazing on you.” (Reiya)

“Hearing you say that is a relief~. I always thought Japanese clothes didn’t really suit my type.” (Hikaru)

“No, no, that’s not true at all. How should I put it… It feels very… ‘Summer!!'” (Reiya)

I replied with a compliment utterly lacking in vocabulary.

It’s true that when you think of traditional Japanese wear, the image of a graceful, dark-haired beauty often comes to mind.

But seeing a bright girl like Hikaru wear it strongly evokes the feeling of summer in its own way.

“Ehehe. I only wore this once for a photoshoot last year, but I kept it thinking maybe I’d get another chance. Never thought I’d use it for a date with a boy, though.” (Hikaru)

Hikaru laughed, looking slightly embarrassed.

Just moments ago, I’d said I liked her smile, but combined with the fresh outfit, her expression was exceptionally cute.

Is this what they call falling in love all over again?

Feeling like I was reliving that first moment of love at first sight, we simply stared at each other for a while.

“W-Well then, shall we get going…?” (Hikaru)

“Yeah!” (Reiya)

Trying to hide my own blush, I held out my hand, and she happily placed hers on top.

And so, taking her hand, we walked towards the shrine where the summer festival was being held.

“Ah, I can see it!” (Hikaru)

After walking for about twenty minutes, a familiar scene came into view in the distance.

The path leading to the shrine was bustling with crowds of people.

On either side, the lights of stalls stretched far into the distance.

“Whoa! It’s a festival!” (Hikaru)

Hikaru’s excited voice was swallowed by the festive clamor.

As if mocking the term “declining birthrate,” crowds of local students and families walked about.

“Should we start from the stalls closest to us and work our way down?” (Reiya)

“Yeah! Oh, in that case, first up is…” (Hikaru)

Just as we were about to blend into the crowd, Hikaru, her geta clacking, ran towards the mask stall nearest us.

Following her, I stopped at the storefront too.

“Hmm, which one should I choose…?” (Hikaru)

She scanned the numerous masks lined up, deliberating over her choice.

“Why a mask?” (Reiya)

“Hm? Well, you know… Ah, I’ll take this one, please!” (Hikaru)

“Right, that’ll be 1,000 yen.”

Hikaru took a thousand-yen bill from her wallet and handed it to the stall owner.

“See? This way, it won’t be like the zoo incident, right?” (Hikaru)

Hikaru smiled from beneath the ‘Dekkawa’ mask she’d just received.

Apparently, learning from our previous experience, her first thought was countermeasures against being recognized.

It’s true that with this many people, there was a risk of being swarmed by fans again, preventing us from having a proper date.

But—

“Maybe you don’t need to go that far today?” (Reiya)

“Eh? Why not?” (Hikaru)

Sliding the mask aside, Hikaru looked up at me curiously.

“Well, it’s just, you’re wearing such a lovely yukata… It seems like a waste not to see your face…” (Reiya)

“Does that mean… you think I’m cuter without the mask?” (Hikaru)

“Mm… Well, simply put… yeah. Sorry, even though you just bought it…” (Reiya)

“Geez… If you’re going to say that, Reiya, I guess I have no choice…” (Hikaru)

When I answered honestly, Hikaru moved the mask she’d just bought to the back of her head.

“Ah, that actually looks even better, more festive.” (Reiya)

“What’s that supposed to mean?” (Hikaru)

Hikaru chuckled at my words.

“Okay, so if things get like last time, does that mean you’ll protect me today?” (Hikaru)

“Protect you…? It probably won’t get that bad.” (Reiya)

“You never know! We might get surrounded by so many people we can’t move. If that happens, you have to take responsibility and pull me out, saying ‘She’s off duty right now,’ okay?” (Hikaru)

“…Alright. If it comes to that, I’ll play the bad guy.” (Reiya)

Having reached an agreement, we stepped into the bustle of the summer festival.

“When you think of festivals, it’s gotta be candy grapes, right?” (Hikaru)

“Isn’t it usually candy apples…?” (Reiya)

“I just like grapes better! Oh, beef skewers! I wanna eat those too~!” (Hikaru)

We lined up at the various food stalls, eating different things—

“Ah, goldfish scooping!” (Hikaru)

“Wanna try?” (Reiya)

“Yeah! Let’s see who can catch more!” (Hikaru)

“Okay. Then whoever loses has to buy baby castella from the next stall.” (Reiya)

I accepted the challenge and, as expected, suffered a crushing defeat—

“Shooting gallery! A shooting gallery! I wanna do that too!!” (Hikaru)

“…Alright. Let’s compete: small prizes are one point, medium ones are two points, and the big stuffed animals are five points.” (Reiya)

In the revenge match where I intended to show off the aim I’d honed in FPS games, I still lost miserably.

“Nfufu~… Now all three are together.” (Hikaru)

“Even the stall owner was super surprised. He was like, ‘I can’t believe someone actually won this…'” (Reiya)

Hikaru hugged the tanuki plushie, the final member of the Dekkawa trio, with a satisfied expression.

I may have been utterly defeated in the games, but seeing that face felt like my victory.

“Okay, what’s next? Or do you want to eat something?” (Reiya)

“Hmm, the stalls are nice, but don’t you want to check out the events happening at the shrine too?” (Hikaru)

“True, I think the flyer mentioned something about a sparkler-making workshop over there…” (Reiya)

“Ah, I really wanna do that too!!” (Hikaru)

Taking hands again, we walked side-by-side towards the shrine.

So far, we’d been able to enjoy the festival just the two of us, without the interruptions we’d feared.

The best part was that we were far from our school district and hadn’t run into any classmates yet.

Our relationship at school was still far from being readily accepted.

Girls often viewed us with suspicion or confusion, while boys directed jealousy and anger our way, at least to some extent.

It bothered me less than before, but running into them would still likely make Hikaru feel unnecessarily self-conscious.

As I pondered this, I glanced sideways and met her eyes as she turned towards me a beat later.

“Hm? What is it?” (Hikaru)

My heart skipped a beat seeing Hikaru tilt her head cutely.

“It’s just… looking again, that’s a really nice yukata…” (Reiya)

“Ehh…? You’re complimenting the yukata, not me…?” (Hikaru)

“No, I mean, it obviously looks great on you, Hikaru, but the yukata itself is beautiful too…” (Reiya)

“That’s true, the colors are deep and really pretty, aren’t they? Apparently, the fabric is woven from natural fibers and then each piece is hand-dyed. It’s real craftsmanship.” (Hikaru)

Hikaru said this while pinching and smoothing the hem of her yukata.

The naturally lustrous white fabric was adorned all over with a floral pattern in a deep blue.

Combined with the crimson obi tied around her waist, it suited her so perfectly it almost seemed like it was made just for her.

“Wow… Hand-dyed… So, does that mean it’s really expensive too?” (Reiya)

“Umm… I got this one for the photoshoot, but I think she said it costs around 100,000 yen if you order it from a shop.” (Hikaru)

“One hundred thousand yen!? Whoa, that’s incredible…” (Reiya)

That’s enough to buy a mid-range graphics card.

It might be worth more than all the clothes in my dresser combined.

“Right? But, maybe you could start complimenting me instead of the yukata soon?” (Hikaru)

“I feel like I’ve already praised you plenty, wasn’t it enough?” (Reiya)

“Nope, not nearly enough. You need to tell me I’m cute at least once every minute.” (Hikaru)

Continuing our walk while I dutifully showered her with praise as ordered, we arrived at our destination, the shrine.

A stage for events had been set up within the shrine grounds, which were even more crowded with people.

It looked like it would take quite a while just to get to the back of the line.

“Should we pay our respects first? It’s a summer cooling festival, but maybe there’s some divine favor to be had.” (Reiya)

“Yeah, good idea. We need to thank the gods for holding a festival on the day you came to watch me practice.” (Hikaru)

And so, we started heading towards the less crowded worship hall—

“Eh? Is that…?” (Hikaru)

Just as we began to walk, Hikaru stopped, looking towards the crowd milling about.

Wondering what caught her eye, I looked in the same direction and, a moment later, spotted them.

A tall man with sharp features, and next to him, a woman with long black hair smiling elegantly.

“Big Brother…?” (Hikaru)

“Ichiru-san…?” (Reiya)

Two people we knew very well were walking together intimately, both dressed in yukatas.