Episode 364: The Fierce Battle at the Festival

「Oh, there it is, there it is!!」

Finding a single stall along our path, Natsumi-senpai let out a joyful cry.

Since we’d done nothing but make detours until reaching this point (I won’t say who was responsible), it was no surprise that it took us longer than expected.

「Oh, welcome!」

The one who called out to us from across the counter as we swarmed the front of the tent was a bearded old man with a truly solid build.

For a moment, I felt a sense of deja vu as if that guy’s father were greeting us… but that was surely impossible.

「Well, there’s no way, right?」

「Yuji…」

Apparently Yuji was thinking the same thing. He muttered that softly and looked at me with a wry smile. After all, what happened back then was a shared, vivid memory for the both of us.

「Old man, for three!」

「Gotcha. So that means only the young men are playing?」

「Correct. This is a battle between men.」

「Hoh, that sounds interesting. And with a lineup of beauties like this, as a man, you can’t afford to lose even if it kills you!」

The old man let out a hearty, booming laugh at Hanako-san’s blunt explanation. He then turned a probing gaze toward the three of us, as if he were sizing us up… now then.

「Yo, Takanashi!! What a coinciden, whoaaa!?」

「S-Satsukawa-senpai is in a yukata!?」

「Wh-Whoa… sh-she’s beyond just being pretty…」

「Wh-What’s with this situation!? This is too insane!!!」

Suddenly, some very familiar faces… and some unfamiliar ones, called out to us. It was a group of guys consisting of several of my classmates and presumably some from other classes. And among them…

「H-Hanasaki-san…」

One man was completely transfixed by Hanako-san, ignoring everything else. It was, of course, our class’s own legendary(?) character, Yamakawa.

「What?」

「…Th-That yukata, it, it, it’s very…」

「I know. Thanks.」

「Way too blunt!!」

「I’m not particularly happy about it.」

「Gaaaan!!」

Hanako-san’s response was a super salty rejection, leaving him absolutely no room to move. The sight of Yamakawa dropping his shoulders in defeat was a familiar scene… even though he must have known it would turn out like this from the start, he’s as much of a challenger as ever.

「S-Satsukawa-senpai!! That yukata suits you amazingly well!!」

「Totally, totally!! Seriously, you’re way too beautiful!!」

「I’ve seriously never seen anyone this pretty until…」

「U-Um!! I-If you’d like, we can join you…」

「Oh, is that so? That’s enough flattery for now. It’s just irritating.」

「「Irritating!?」」

Sara-san’s cold, absolute rejection far surpassed Hanako-san’s; it wasn’t even at the level of a salty response anymore. It was a frozen, ruthless dismissal. And since she threw it at them with a completely expressionless… emotionless face, I could almost understand how those guys felt as they hit their knees… ah, wait, actually I don’t.

Because Sara-san never makes that kind of face or says those things to me… yeah.

「Takanashi, are you guys doing the shooting gallery?」

「Yeah.」

「…Alright, then I’m gonna do it too.」

「Yamakawa?」

His usual cheerfulness was nowhere to be found, replaced by a strangely meaningful air as Yamakawa suddenly announced his entry. And for some reason, that look seemed directed at me rather than Hanako-san… was it just my imagination?

「Oh, what’s this? Is this an appeal to Hanasaki-san?」

「Wrong, it’s not like that.」

「…Why are you getting so serious, man?」

「Shut up!! Anyway, I can’t back down either!!!」

He seemed completely fired up now, barking loudly as if he had no intention of retreating.

But if what he said was true and Hanako-san wasn’t the reason… and if that weird feeling I got wasn’t just my imagination, then I really couldn’t think of a reason at all.

「Well, it’s fine, isn’t it?」

「I don’t particularly mind. What I do won’t change.」

「…If you two say so.」

Well, I didn’t have a specific reason to refuse, and as long as they didn’t get in our way, it shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, I was a bit curious about Yamakawa’s meaningful behavior.

「Alright, then I’m in too!」

「Me too!!」

Following Yamakawa, a duo suddenly announced their entry as well… these guys were easy to read. They were talking to me, but in reality, they were casting quick glances at the girls on our side. It was completely obvious what they were thinking.

That said, letting them join for such a ridiculous reason was…

「Oh, then you three use the table on the left. We can fit up to six people.」

「Roger that.」

「Let’s get right to it.」

「Takanashi, it’s a match!」

Just as I thought that, the shop owner said it for me, so I couldn’t really interject. Now that it had come to this, we just had to move forward.

Well, it hasn’t changed the fact that they’re completely out of my sight anyway, so I’ll just have to ignore them and focus on the match.

「Yuji!! Don’t you dare lose!!」

「Yeah, yeah…」

「H-Hayato-kun, fight!!」

「Yeah, thank you, Marina-san!」

Receiving cheers from their precious persons, the two showed expressions of intense focus (though Yuji’s was a bit subtle). And then…

「Kazunari-san…」

Sara-san gently leaned against my right arm and squeezed my right hand as if to envelop it. Then, she slowly lifted that hand to the level of her own face…

「Sara-san…」

「Hehe… after all, a victory blessing is necessary this time too, isn’t it?」

「Eh?」

With a sudden mischievous expression, Sara-san slowly brought her face close to the right hand she was holding up.

As I was captivated by those glamorous lips drawing closer, eventually they…

「Mnh…」

Chu…

Lightly touched the back of my hand…

The soft, warm sensation of her lips rushed through my entire body in an instant, as if an electric current had hit me…

「Please do your best… Dear?」

「Y-Yes ma’am!!」

A smile and a gentle kiss from Sara-san, who was overflowing with kindness, love, and beauty like a true goddess!!

This was absolute for me, a great blessing that guaranteed victory!!

That’s why there’s absolutely no way I could lose this match. No matter what anyone says, the winner will be…

「Guaaaaa!!??」

「What the hell was that!!!!」

「’Dear’!? A kiss!!!!?」

「D-Dammit!!!! The atmosphere is completely different from a second ago!!!!」

「I-I’m definitely not gonna lose!!!! I’m absolutely not losing to Takanashi!!!!」

…Well, setting that aside, it seems like those guys over there got fired up in a different sense.

Well, even if that’s the case, I’m definitely not losing, so it’s fine… I guess.

「Ah… thanks as always.」

Paying the old man who wore a somewhat subtle smile… well, I knew the reason… the three of us took our spots at the right counter while Yamakawa’s group took the left, and in the end, the six of us were settled for the match.

「Now then…」

I immediately picked up the gun placed in front of me and began my usual pre-shooting routine… checking the feel of the gun by dry-firing it while simultaneously starting a check of the prize shelves.

First, I ignored all the large items on the top shelf since they were just for decoration, and just like last time, the mid-sized ones were going to be the key… since it was highly likely that the match wouldn’t be decided by easily taken small items (especially for me and Yuji), it wasn’t an exaggeration to say this judgment would separate victory from defeat.

So, utilizing my past experience and data…

「Here you go, five shots.」

The old man brought over the cork bullets on a small plastic plate, so I naturally began checking those too… wait, this one is out already.

「Old man, please exchange this and this.」

I picked up two cork bullets with small chips and held them out to the old man. I secretly wondered what kind of reaction he’d show… but then.

「Hoh… you got it!」

With a smirk that was almost nasty, he quite easily exchanged them for other bullets he had ready under the counter.

I did a check on these too… they seemed to be fine.

「Hmm… you look like you’ve put in some work, kid.」

「You think so?」

「Heh, playing dumb… well, I guess with a super-beautiful girlfriend like that, you’d be fired up.」

「Haha… I won’t deny that.」

「Oh, listen to you. But seriously, I’m honestly jealous. I’ve seen all sorts of people in this business, but I’ve never seen a beauty like that…」

「Sir, please exchange the bullets on this side too.」

「…What, over there too? Got it!!」

Once the old man was called away by Yuji (probably for the same reason), I did my last bit of underhanded work… though that sounds bad… I’d secretly been allowed to use some of Sara-san’s hand cream earlier, so I did some quick rubbing.

I didn’t go this far for the school festival gallery, but this was a festival gallery. And since it was a serious match, I wasn’t going to hold back. Besides, I was sure Yuji would do it too.

「Alright, are we good?」

At the old man’s final confirmation, everyone looked at each other and nodded. All preparations were complete. All that was left was to start the match.

「What do we do, everyone fire at once?」

「Yeah, I don’t mind.」

「That’s fine with me too.」

「Then Kazunari, if you please?」

「A-Ah, alright. Then, let’s start?」

For some reason, the role of the starter fell to me, so I called out to everyone, took a breath, and picked up my gun.

「Yuji…」

「Hayato-kun…」

「Kazunari-san…」

With the voices of my precious persons at my back, I first began loading the cork bullets.

This simple task, which I don’t know how many hundreds of times I’ve repeated, has an absolute rule:「pull the lever before loading the bullet.」So I did that reliably as well.

「Ready?」

「Yeah!!」

「Anytime, man.」

「I’m good over here too.」

After confirming everyone was ready, it was finally time.

I held the gun with both hands… for a certain reason, I wouldn’t be using「that shooting style」from the school festival where I aimed at the very edge of the prize with one hand. I’d be going with a standard「two-handed style.」And the first prize I aimed for was a boxed item (content unknown) on the bottom shelf with just the right thinness and size. That one would fall easily no matter where it was hit, so it was perfect for an initial test shot.

「「One, two!!」」

A moment after my call, and right after everyone’s shout synchronized, I pulled the trigger.

Holding the gun firmly so it wouldn’t shake, the cork bullet that flew out with a light「pop!!」went straight toward the target I’d aimed for… or so it should have.

And the answer was the sight of the prize falling over quite easily right in front of me.

That’s the first one…

「Alright!!」

「That’s how it’s done!!」

「Nice!」

Joyful voices rose from the left counter. It seemed those guys over there had all succeeded as well. Furthermore, that duo was casting smug looks at the girls on our side… but unfortunately, everyone was only looking at us, so sorry about that.

「Well, I guess that’s about right.」

「Now then…」

Yuji and Hayato, who had also succeeded, looked quite calm without showing much joy. Moreover, Yuji was already setting up his next shot… he really is stoic when it comes to this kind of thing.

Well, since we’d likely aimed for something easy to test the waters, I guess it was only natural that we both got it.

「Alright!! Sara, just watch, okay? This time Yuji will… wait, Sara?」

「It’s no use talking to her. The wife only has eyes for Kazunari.」

「Kazunari-san… wonderful…」

I could hear voices from behind that were either excited or not… but for now, I’ll just focus on the match. I’ll prepare for the next one too.

「Here we go?」

「Anytime!!」

「Hurry, hurry!!」

After finishing preparations for the next shot, I held the gun with both hands and gave everyone the signal to confirm… not that I needed to, as everyone already seemed ready.

「「One, two!!」」

Along with a slightly out-of-sync shout, consecutive popping sounds echoed through the tent. The cork bullets released from each gun headed toward their respective targets…

And…

The one released from my gun also aimed for a prize one size larger than before…

And its destination was…

「Alright!! Perfect score so far!!」

「Though you’ve only been hitting super easy small items, haven’t you?」

「If anything, it’s like you’re supposed to hit those.」

「Shut up!!」

With that, the fourth shots were over. The current scores were Hayato and Yamakawa tied at the top with perfect scores. Following them by one item were me and Yuji, and behind us by two items were the remaining two guys.

But that was strictly in terms of「numbers.」When you considered the actual prizes obtained…

「Wait, isn’t Takanashi way too good at this!?」

「The other guy too, he’s been taking down big ones in a row.」

「Why are they hitting those normally even with that kind of shooting style!?」

Until this point, I (and Yuji too) had been raising the difficulty of the prizes we aimed for each time, while also testing the gun for the final match. So, compared to Yamakawa who was prioritizing a perfect score and consistency, or Hayato who was aiming for relatively safe zones, the sizes of the prizes we’d obtained were significantly larger.

If this match were only about the number of items obtained, it would be a different story, but we’d also agreed that big items meant high scores… so to be honest, even if we were losing in numbers, there was no need to panic.

However, depending on the final result, things could go either way.

「T-Takanashi-kun and Tachibana-kun failed!?」

「No, that was probably a setup for the next one.」

「The prize’s position shifted a lot with that last shot. The next one will decide the match.」

It was exactly as Hanako-san and the others said. That last shot was a setup to take down a big item next. I’d mostly grasped the feel of the gun and the bullet’s drop during the first three shots, so I made my move starting from the fourth as planned… but it looked like Yuji had come in with the same pattern.

Well, from the moment we both chose the two-handed style, I knew it would turn out like this.

「By the way Sara, you’re doing something rare, aren’t you?」

「Am I?」

By the way, Sara-san currently had her smartphone camera pointed at me and was apparently busy filming. I didn’t hear any shutter sounds, so it seemed to be in video mode. Of course, that itself wasn’t particularly unusual, but since it was「Sara-san」doing it… it was indeed a bit rare.

「I want to record this properly as an important memory.」

「I see. And then in the future, you’ll enjoy looking at memories of Papa with your child?」

「Wh-Wh-Why are you suddenly talking about that!?」

「Well, I mean… Hanako-san, what do you think?」

「…She doesn’t seem to mind.」

「Th-That’s, well, um… wait, even Hanako-san!?」

At Natsumi-senpai’s extremely sudden leap in logic, Sara-san looked unusually flustered. As for the content of the conversation itself, I had no comment, but Sara-san was being dangerously cute in all sorts of ways today… in short, what I’m trying to say is that Sara-san is so cute I’m in trouble too!!

「S-Satsukawa-senpai’s child!? But Takanashi is her fiancé, so… eh!? Th-That means… that meaaans!!??」

「Ugyaaaaaa!! Don’t say any more than that!!!!」

「Ooooooh, Satsukawa-senpaiiiii!!!!」

「I don’t want to think about it!!!!」

「S-Sara and… Takanashi-san’s… ch-ch-chi… child…」

「Hieee!? N-Nishikawa-san, that’s scary, so please don’t think about it anymore!!」

Various screams and other noises rose from throughout the tent, and gazes gathered on me in all sorts of ways (presumably). Furthermore, Sara-san, one of the main culprits, was casting quick, shy glances at me… even looking up at me through her eyelashes… in other words, being shown that kind of gesture in this flow is even more dangerous!!

「Takanashi-kun, do your best!!」

「Vice President, fight!!」

「「Ha, ya, to!! Ha, ya, to!!」」

「Don’t you guys lose to that Vice President!!」

「Satsukawa-san in a yukataaaaa!!!!」

「Move!! I can’t see!!」

「N-Nishikawa-san… as beautiful as ever…」

「Huff, huff… a young angel, at the very peak!!」

「What’s this, are they doing something?」

「No idea. Something about an idol being here…」

「Whoa, they’re all super cute girls!!」

「Crap! That girl with the long black hair is totally my type!!」

As a bonus, I just noticed… what’s with this crowd of people!?

Without me realizing, a barricade unit (presumably Nishikawa-san’s associates) had formed a wall of people behind us, and there was a huge number of spectators beyond them!!

「Hmm, it was like this during the School Festival too, but I guess it turns out this way after all.」

「It seems we stood out a bit too much. And the commotion has grown so large that even people who don’t understand the situation are gathering out of curiosity…」

「No, Eri-rin, this isn’t the time for calm analysis…」

「Honestly… so noisy. Kazunari-san won’t be able to concentrate on the gallery.」

「An eyesore. If you get in Kazunari’s way, I’ll force you out…」

「You’re right. Maybe we should just clear everyone out at once…」

「Wait, you guys are seriously saying that, aren’t you!?」

「Of course.」

「Of course.」

Setting aside the dangerous conversation of Sara-san and the others, things behind us were seriously getting out of hand!!

Of course, there were likely many people just stopping out of pure curiosity, but when a commotion grows this large, it can spiral into a vicious cycle where people draw more people, reaching a level that can’t be contained!!

「Hahaha, this is amazing!! Are the kid’s girlfriends celebrities or something?」

「No, no, it’s not that light of a story…」

「Well, whatever. But for us, it’s not a problem at all since it’s good advertising.」

「Sigh…」

It’s true that from the shop’s perspective, having customers drawn in for any reason isn’t a bad thing… but if we left things like this, there was a good chance it would develop into unnecessary trouble.

「Crap, I’m getting fired up!!」

「Takanashi!!」

「I gotta nail it at the end!!」

But from the perspective of those guys over there, this situation was actually a tailwind. The duo especially seemed to be in high spirits, posing with their guns and even appealing to the audience… though no one was watching them.

「Kazunari, it’ll be faster if we just finish this quickly, right?」

「Let’s do it, Kazunari.」

「…Alright.」

It’s true that now that things have come to this, deciding the match quickly would be the fastest way.

In that case… we just have to do it.

「Alright, last shot!!」

I steeled my resolve and called out to everyone once more.

The fact that I had to do this in such a noisy situation was one thing, but to be honest, having my concentration broken right before the end was a significant blow… but everyone was under the same conditions.

「Ssssh…」

「Haaa…」

Yuji, whose concentration had likely been broken as well, closed his eyes and began to take deep breaths. I also took a large, slow deep breath… capturing the gun in my hand and the target visible beyond it in my sight, focusing my mind while visualizing the expected trajectory.

Alright… I’m calming down.

I can see the path too… I can still do this…

「Kazunari-san…」

The noise of my surroundings vanished, and in my calmed consciousness, only the voice of my beloved Sara-san could be heard clearly. It made me feel a definite increase in concentration, and at the same time, it made me recognize once again just how precious and special Sara-san was to me…

So I’ll…

Take this love, and these feelings…

「Kazunari, this time I’m going to win!!」

「Yuji, the winner is me!!」

Not wanting to lose to Yuji’s spirited cry, I shouted back with even more intensity. The overall match and the gallery were secondary; right now, I was only putting my all into the match with Yuji!!

And for Sara-san’s sake… no, together with Sara-san!!

「「One, two!!」」

The shouts of everyone, which had been out of sync until now, perfectly aligned. At that moment, my perception began to move slowly, as if in slow-motion.

Tucking my elbows in tightly and stabilizing the gun so the muzzle wouldn’t shake, I aimed for just one point, the upper right corner of the prize which already had half its body lowered!!

The angle had changed and the difficulty had increased accordingly… but I should be able to do it. No, I will!!

I aimed for that tiny sniping point and was about to pull the final trigger… at that very moment!!

Sara-san’s smile…

I felt like I could definitely see it…

So…

The aim is right here!!!

「!!」

I focused all my nerves on the aim and pulled the trigger decisively!!

My core was fine, the aim was good, and I felt no shake in my hands. All that was left was to witness the result, but I had a good feeling about the impact. Even if this failed, I could proudly say it was undoubtedly the best shot among all the galleries I’d experienced so far.

「Ah!!」

Someone let out a short cry, and the position of the prize I’d aimed for shifted significantly. The right half, which had been in front, dropped back all at once until it was aligned with the left half… in other words, it dropped to a position right on the edge of the abyss behind it. It seemed I’d successfully hit the intended point. Furthermore, it seemed to have exceeded my expectations…

「A-Ah!!」

「I-It’s falling…」

The right half of the prize, which had dropped, continued past the parallel line and protruded slightly over the back of the shelf. Having already lost its balance and then losing even a small part of the floor’s「support,」combined with its size, there was no way its body could remain in place.

In other words…

After that, it just followed gravity…

「I-I-It fell!!!!」

「Whoa!! You can actually drop that!?」

「Yay!!!! Takanashi-kun is amazing!!」

「Vice President, you’re so cool!!」

A massive cheer rose all at once from the gallery behind us, making me realize all over again just how impactful an event it was.

But more importantly than that right now… how about Yuji!?

「Phew… I guess it’s no… use.」

With a heavy sigh, Yuji looked up at the sky. In front of him… the prize sat perfectly parallel to the edge of the abyss, remaining in place while skillfully maintaining its balance.

Really, just a bit more… to the point where it looked like it would fall easily if just one person jumped in this place, yet it was still standing firmly.

「Aaaaah… so close…」

「This is… it’s on the edge, but it looks like a failure.」

「A match is a match. But it was seriously close.」

「You’re right. As expected of Tachibana-san… I suppose?」

Honestly, I wondered how it was even standing. It was truly in a critical state.

At this point, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that my win was just luck; it was that much of a serious, close battle.

But a win is a win.

「…Hey now, you really took that down alone?」

「…Haha, I just got lucky.」

「Luck, huh… well, it was good advertising, so I don’t mind.」

Normally, the strategy for prizes of that class is for two or three people to cooperate and aim at the same time, so it was no wonder the old man was surprised. But it’s not like it’s impossible… and though I can’t say it out loud, I guess the effect of my「underhanded work」probably helped too.

「Ah… we’re seriously just background characters.」

「Well, it can’t be helped. We were completely defeated.」

「Dammit… dammit.」

I don’t know yet how Yamakawa’s group turned out in the end, or what the win-loss result was. But the look of intense frustration Yamakawa directed at me seemed to tell the story of the match…

「You’re as amazing as ever, Kazunari.」

「Congrats on the perfect score, Hayato.」

「Ahaha… I think I managed to create a highlight in my own way… maybe?」

On the other hand, Hayato, who was laughing somewhat embarrassedly, had a perfect score without any complaints. It seemed he’d made a bit of a move at the end, as a mid-sized stuffed animal, like the ones we’d gotten halfway through, had fallen down.

Looking at it this way, Hayato might have an unexpected talent for this.

「Yuji…」

「Kazunari… it’s my loss again.」

「Yeah. Though in a way, it’s actually amazing that the prize didn’t fall even in that critical state.」

「True. I didn’t think it would stay stopped like that either… but a loss is a loss.」

Perhaps he was truly, seriously frustrated this time, as there was a clear shadow on Yuji’s face. But in such a close battle, especially when the end came down to something close to luck… well, even so, from my perspective, even that「luck」could be called Sara-san’s protection.

「Yuji, that was too bad.」

「Natsumi-san, I’m sorry…」

As expected, Natsumi-senpai didn’t seem to have the intention of saying anything unnecessary after seeing the situation… wearing a gentle, affectionate smile as she consoled Yuji…

「Now then, I wonder what the penalty game for the loser should be♪」

「Eh!?」

…Never mind!

As expected of Natsumi-senpai, she’s absolutely merciless. In fact, she looks like she’s having a lot of fun, and Yuji’s smile is completely twitching… oh.

「Kazunari, congrats on the win.」

「Thanks, Hanako-san.」

On the other hand, my big sister Hanako-san wore a beaming smile and grabbed the sleeve… of my right hand. She pulled on the sleeve, making her usual「lean forward」appeal… but, um, that’s a bit, right now.

「Muu… a reward from your big sister…」

「What reward would that be, Hanako-san?」

「N-Nothing…」

Receiving an intense pressure (which I felt a bit of too) released by Sara-san for an instant, Hanako-san hurriedly let go of the sleeve she was holding. Sara-san herself wore her usual smile, though I felt like I could see a seven-colored aura behind her.

「If we are talking about a reward for Kazunari-san, that is my role. To begin with, this match itself started from my selfishness…」

「Sara-san, I didn’t think it was selfish at all…」

「Hehe… since you are kind, Kazunari-san, you say that… but as for me…」

「Sara-san?」

Muttering something, Sara-san, who had flushed red, stared at me with enchanted… slightly moist eyes, and this time she leaned her whole body against me from the front.

U-Um…

「Kazunari-san… you were truly wonderful. No, you are always wonderful, but, um… I…」

Shyly, embarrassedly… Sara-san kept staring into my eyes with her cheeks flushed. She leaned against me as if spoiled, entrusting her weight to me…

「Kazunari-san, congratulations on the win. I believed that you would definitely win.」

「Thank you. But the reason I could win was thanks to you, Sara-san.」

「No, that was your skill, Kazunari-san…」

「To me, you are the Goddess of Victory, Sara-san. That’s why I can demonstrate more than my actual ability, and even luck is on my side… it’s all thanks to you after all.」

「I’m so happy… in that case, I will always be for you…」

「Sara-san…」

Sara-san’s moist eyes, flushed cheeks, and glamorous lips… caused the love for her inside me to overflow all at once. If it stayed like this, just simply leaning against her wouldn’t be enough…

「Hehe… whatever the case, first is the reward, right?♪」

Whether she noticed my internal state or not, Sara-san softly lifted her face and wore a supreme, soft smile…

「Mnh…」

Chu…

In the instant I was distracted by her dazzling smile, she quickly brought her face close, and by the time I realized it, I was filled with Sara-san’s beautiful face and the soft warmth I felt on my lips…

「Hehe… you were truly wonderful, you know? My. Dear.♪」

「S-Sara-sa…」

「「G…」」

「「GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!」」

「「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!」」

A dark scream smeared with sadness, despair, and various other things pierced the heavens, along with a bright yellow cheer similarly smeared with various other things in a different sense!!

They boiled up all at once from behind us, and the voices of the outsiders that I’d unconsciously been blocking out flowed into my consciousness like an avalanche!!

Ah, crap…

「Ooooh!!! Someone erase my memory!!!!」

「Dammit!!!! What’s with that guy!!!!」

「What was that just now!? What’s with the ‘Dear’!?」

「H-Hey, that girl’s ring finger!!!!」

「Hah!? No way, does ‘Dear’ seriously mean that!?」

「You gotta be kidding me!? And then she suddenly disappeared from the ranking site…」

「That was a treat!! Man, those two are amazing!!」

「As expected of the legendary stupid couple!!! The name of the Miss Contest Crasher isn’t just for show!!」

「Seriously, Satsukawa-san has changed!!」

「That’s completely a maiden in love!!」

「No, no, it’s not love, it’s ‘love’ between those two!!」

「Uuu… Takanashi-kun…」

The surroundings were enveloped in a scene of pandemonium reminiscent of the tragedy at the Miss Contest, and there was no sign of the commotion dying down at all!!

Furthermore, my dependable friends, starting with Natsumi-senpai, looked completely fed up… wait, aren’t you guys slowly moving away from us!?

「Sigh… maybe we should just withdraw like this…」

「Wait, Nishikawa-san!?」

Nishikawa-san, who was completely enveloped in a black「something,」stared blankly with eyes as black as the night at somewhere other than here… no, really, please come back, I’m begging you!!

「Dear…」

But Sara-san, the center of the explosion(?), looked very happy… without paying even a modicum of attention to her surroundings, she softly leaned against my chest in a spoiled gesture… i-if you do that, I… I… !!!!

「「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!」」

「「E-E-ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!」」

And once again, the dark soul screams of the guys and the bright yellow cheers of the maidens in love were launched high into the festival night sky like fireworks… and so the story goes.

By the way, after that, some security guards intervened and the crowd that was causing the congestion was forcibly dispersed… but that’s a story for another time.