Chapter 4: Individual Dates with S-Class Beauties!?
The time when the sun began to tilt and the sky was shifting from madder red to wet-feather color.
Haruya, heading to the fireworks festival venue, was stunned by the overwhelming number of people beyond his imagination.
No matter which direction he looked, his view was filled with people.
The air had become somewhat heavy due to the crowds.
It was probably due to the summer heat, but combined with the stuffiness from all the people, it created an unpleasant, humid atmosphere.
He unconsciously took shallow breaths as he headed toward the venue.
He arrived at the venue while being conscious not to get separated from the other members.
If he got lost in this crowd, it would surely be quite a struggle to reunite with them…
The stone steps were decorated with lanterns, and the unpleasant air naturally transformed into pleasant aromas from the food stalls.
“Wow… It’s a fireworks festival…”
Rin said with sparkling eyes.
“What kind of obvious comment is that?”
Yuna swayed her shoulders as she delivered the retort.
“No, really, that’s exactly it.”
Kazamiya laughed cheerfully, kukuku, deeply empathizing with Rin’s comment.
“It’s beautiful.”
Sara quietly murmured to herself.
Haruya felt relieved that he had managed to reach the venue without getting separated.
Sara and Kazamiya, who were walking at the front, turned around to confirm that everyone was together before heading to a spot where they could see the fireworks easily.
They were going to lay out a picnic blanket to secure seats.
There was concern that with so many people, they might not be able to secure a place to sit, but securing the spot seemed to go smoothly. After spreading out the picnic blanket and securing their seats, Kazamiya called out to them.
“…Well then, you two should go around together.”
He had been thinking of taking a rest and relaxing, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen. Sara and Yuna were both nodding in agreement.
“What are you guys going to do, Kazamiya…?”
When Haruya called out, Kazamiya answered somewhat casually.
“We’ll also wander around appropriately.”
Sara and Yuna both nodded at his words.
“…That’s right. Have fun, Rin. Akasaki-kun.”
“Yes. We’ll be fine.”
They said this and waved as they were about to see them off.
Suddenly, his sleeve was tugged gently.
Rin was standing behind Haruya.
In other words, this meant he would be going around the food stalls alone with Rin.
The message sent from Rin at the kimono shop read:
[Akasaki-kun. I want to express my gratitude, so please go around the fireworks festival with me, just the two of us.]
It was a simple message. He didn’t think he had done anything worthy of such gratitude though…
Even so, he thought.
(I wish Kazamiya had refused…)
He lowered his eyes and reflected on the exchange that had taken place when they were heading to the fireworks festival venue.
Since everyone had gathered together, she probably couldn’t avoid sharing it with Kazamiya.
Suddenly, the girls had asked Kazamiya, “We each want to express our gratitude to Akasaki-kun, so would it be okay if we made time to go around with him alone?”
To that, Kazamiya said “Akasaki… I’m jealous, you bastard” while readily agreeing to their request.
It was the moment when individual dates between Haruya and the S-class beauties were confirmed.
When he looked back and opened his eyes, his sleeve was being pulled gently.
Haruya resigned himself and turned toward Rin before saying:
“…Well then, shall we go around?”
“Y-yes…”
Kazamiya directed a grinning expression toward them as if to say they looked like an innocent couple.
Haruya inwardly cursed at Kazamiya.
Thus, Haruya ended up going around the food stalls with Rin for the time being.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
“If there’s any food you like, let’s go there first.”
“Yeah. Thank you for taking the lead, Akasaki-kun…”
When they reached the center of the food stalls, Haruya immediately called out to Rin.
Perhaps because she still couldn’t shake off her embarrassment, Rin seemed restless, her eyes darting around.
The sound of her geta clattering as she followed behind him.
“Um… Since we’re making time alone together so I can express my gratitude to Akasaki-kun, please don’t hesitate to say if there’s anything you want too.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Haruya nodded at Rin’s consideration.
That said, there weren’t any products that particularly caught his interest at the moment.
If there were any novel items, he would have been drawn to them, but everything was just standard menu items.
While thinking this as he looked around the stalls, he noticed that Rin’s expression was naturally softening.
She was probably caught up in the heat from the stall vendors and the atmosphere of people enjoying the festival.
The unique atmosphere of the fireworks festival was brightening Rin’s mood.
“Ah, Akasaki-kun! Want to eat that!?”
Rin tugged at his sleeve while pointing.
Looking in the direction she pointed, there was a shaved ice vendor.
“…It makes me think a little of the Eika Festival.”
“That’s true.”
Come to think of it, as part of his committee patrol duties, Haruya had eaten shaved ice together with Rin at the Eika Festival.
Did she want to reminisce about that? Rin seemed very interested in the shaved ice.
“Then, let’s eat shaved ice.”
“Great! Then let’s taste each other’s!”
Haruya couldn’t help but smile wryly at Rin’s sudden enthusiasm.
“There wasn’t an extremely spicy flavor, Akasaki-kun.”
“If you’re going to say that, it would be the ??? flavor, right? That was probably only at the Eika Festival.”
Recalling the events at the Eika Festival, both Rin and Haruya smiled at each other.
After finishing their order, they moved to a secluded spot and ended up feeding each other shaved ice.
Rin ordered strawberry flavor, and Haruya ordered blue Hawaii flavor.
“…Here, strawberry is delicious too, Akasaki-kun. Say ‘ah’.”
Rin scooped up a spoonful and brought it toward Haruya.
Though she seemed embarrassed to say “ah,” it was the so-called “ah” feeding.
“Eh, um… Kohinata-san. I have a spoon too, so it’s okay.”
“No. This is my thanks, so please accept it… It’s also my feeling of gratitude for everything up until now.”
Rin held the spoon toward him, looking embarrassed.
With her saying this much, he couldn’t embarrass her, so Haruya put his mouth to the spoon.
“…Won’t you give me some of yours too, Akasaki-kun?”
Rin said pleadingly with melting eyes.
Perhaps she was feeling elated from being caught up in the festival atmosphere.
Haruya couldn’t help but comment on her unexpected change.
“Kohinata-san is busy being passive one moment and aggressive the next.”
“…A-a woman’s heart is complicated! But right now I’m working hard because I want to express my thanks.”
So she was acting spoiled.
This was probably also practice directed toward that person she was interested in.
Thinking this, Haruya’s feelings became much lighter.
“I understand. Then let’s call it an exchange.”
Haruya scooped up shaved ice with the spoon and brought it to Rin’s mouth in the same way.
─Chomp.
For a moment, Rin froze at the offered spoon, but she closed her eyes and vigorously put the spoon in her mouth.
“…This is many times more embarrassing than I thought.”
“Right?”
“…Hmph.”
Perhaps dissatisfied with Haruya’s seemingly relaxed attitude, Rin puffed out her cheeks.
She wanted to make Haruya’s heart race before expressing her gratitude, but it wasn’t going well.
She ended up getting embarrassed herself and giving in.
What should she do? As she was worrying, Rin seemed to come up with a great idea.
“…Akasaki-kun. After we finish eating the shaved ice, could you follow me for a bit?”
Where she led him was the mask corner.
There were many different types of masks, and they were reasonably expensive.
Rin looked at the masks with sparkling eyes.
“…Akasaki-kun! Which one do you think suits me?”
Apparently, she was going to buy whichever mask Haruya chose.
To be honest, since her face was well-proportioned, any mask would probably suit her. But that wasn’t the answer being sought.
“I think this animal mask suits Kohinata-san.”
“Then I’ll buy that one~”
Rin purchased the mask with raised spirits.
Now that he thought about it, Haruya’s eyes were drawn to her back view.
Perhaps because it was a hairstyle he didn’t often see at the coffee shop, her back view with her hair tied with a ribbon felt fresh and adorable.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
She probably noticed Haruya’s gaze.
Rin tilted her head while putting on the mask.
“…No, I was thinking that hairstyle suits you.”
“…………T-thank you.”
Rin hung her head while pulling the mask down deep.
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