Chapter 95: Summer Festival ④

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Translator: Soafp

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After finishing at the shooting gallery, we wandered around the festival stalls.

We tried goldfish scooping and ring toss, but as expected, Nodoka’s interest remained firmly focused on food.

Before anyone noticed, she was carrying a stuffed animal in one hand and several bags of festival food in the other.

“Nodoka, you’ve got sauce on your face.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Hold still.”

I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the stain from her cheek.

How focused did she have to be on eating to get sauce all the way there?

Watching us, Airi let out a small laugh.

“Nodoka-san really is like a spoiled pet being pampered by her owner.”

“That’s true! Nodo-san is more like a cat than a pet!”

“R-Really? What part?”

“The way you’re always prickly and nagging everyone, but the moment your master isn’t around, you get all depressed?”

“Putting everything else aside, I do not nag that much!”

So she was admitting she was prickly.

“Ehhh? You nagged me before.”

“That’s because Kokoa-san never cleans properly! Nobody could stay quiet after seeing that mess!”

“At least my dad doesn’t nag me like that.”

Suddenly dragged into the conversation, Burn-san flinched.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward him, and he awkwardly scratched his head.

“W-Well… actually, I’m not very good at cleaning either…”

“…”

“…”

So that was hereditary too.

At least it meant it wasn’t a psychological issue.

Nodoka and Yui both wore identical exasperated expressions.

Burn-san awkwardly changed the subject.

“E-Everyone, shouldn’t we start finding a place to watch the fireworks soon?”

“Ah, don’t worry.”

I pulled a ticket from my pocket.

“I reserved seats beforehand. They’re assigned seats, so there’s no need to rush.”

“Waaah, Ren-sama is the best!!”

Nodoka’s eyes widened.

“Huh? We didn’t know about that.”

“I knew.”

“Senpai!? Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“Because I wanted to see that reaction.”

“You’re the worst!!”

Well, I didn’t think it was worth mentioning, so I just kept quiet…

“Then, then, Ren! That means I can go buy more food from the stalls, right!?”

“Nodoka-san, if you eat that much you’ll gain weight. Are you planning to show Ren-kun your round belly later?”

“Ugh… Couldn’t I just say I’m pregnant?”

“…Sometimes I think you’re actually more dangerous than I am, Nodoka-san.”

And then it happened.

“Senpai, senpai! Isn’t that Kokoa-chan!?”

A girl’s voice I didn’t recognize came from the side.

So people really did recognize Kokoa-san.

Thinking that, I quietly took a step back to avoid creating misunderstandings—

And then…

“Hm? Kokoa-chan? What’s that supposed to mean?”

A familiar male voice, cold enough to freeze my blood, pierced my ears.

“Senpai, you don’t even know? She’s a super popular idol these days!”

“Oh? Really? Then maybe I should ask for an autograph.”

“Would that be okay? It looks like she’s here enjoying her private time.”

Slowly, I turned toward the source of the voice.

—As expected, it was Nagasawa-senpai.

Nodoka noticed too.

“Eek!”

She immediately hid behind my back.

Airi let out a sigh and frowned in disgust.

“Hm? You look familiar…”

The girl talking with Nagasawa-senpai stared intently at Yui’s face.

She was probably a member of the photography club.

Yui’s appearance had changed so much that she hadn’t recognized her at first glance.

Yui didn’t seem eager to answer and kept her lips tightly shut.

Then—

“Ah! You’re Yuzuki, right!? Wow, what happened? A makeover? I didn’t recognize you at all!”

“Ah… y-yeah. Something like that.”

After Yui reluctantly answered, the other girls behind Nagasawa-senpai also approached.

“Huh? Yuzuki?”

One was the photography club president.

The other was the girlfriend of the second-year boy who had helped us before.

“It really is Yuzuki! So what happened? Did you get back together with your boyfriend?”

“Waaah! Your old style was nice too, but this one suits you way better!”

In no time at all, the three photography club girls had gathered around Yui.

Apparently Nagasawa-senpai and the others had come to the festival as well.

The fact that none of the male club members were present suggested that Nagasawa-senpai had only brought along the girls he’d stolen.

(Which means that first-year girl took Yuzuki’s place…)

Judging from how casually Yui spoke with her, she seemed to be a fellow first-year student.

Originally, Yuzuki should have been standing in that girl’s position.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, the girl’s face overlapped with the image of Yuzuki before her makeover.

“Ugh…”

Nausea rose from the pit of my stomach, and I instinctively covered my mouth.

Immediately, Airi whispered worriedly.

“Ren-kun, are you okay? Talk about bad luck. Running into them in a place this huge…”

“…Yeah. It’s a little early, but let’s head to our reserved seats.”

“Yes. That’s probably for the best.”

Nodoka had also fallen into a panic and was clinging to my back with trembling hands.

Yui looked uncomfortable as well.

There was no reason for us to exchange another word with these people.

Just as I turned around to leave—

“Let’s see… Fukagawa-kun, was it? Kitayama’s boyfriend.”

Nagasawa-senpai called out.

“You don’t look so good. What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

…It’s because of you.

That’s what I wanted to say.

But starting a pointless fight here would accomplish nothing.

“I just got a little overwhelmed by the crowd. Thank you for your concern.”

“Oh, is that all? I guess there are a lot more people than usual this year. Kitayama, you should take proper care of your boyfriend.”

The moment Nagasawa-senpai addressed her by name, Yui’s shoulders trembled.

But then she clenched both fists tightly and hardened her expression.

She marched straight toward him and blocked his path.

“I don’t want to hear that from you!! We broke up because of what you did!!”

“Huh? What exactly did I do? Honestly, isn’t Fukagawa-kun being a little narrow-minded? Making his girlfriend quit a club just because there were boys in it?”

“Stop it!! If you insult Ren any more, I really won’t show any mercy.”

“Oh? That’s scary. And what exactly do you plan to do?”

“I’ll kill you.”

The words made me gasp.

That wasn’t an empty threat.

No matter how far back I searched through my memories of growing up with her, I had never heard a voice like that before.

It was chilling to the bone.

“Your sick little sister living in that apartment too.”

“What did you just say…?”

“You destroyed something precious to me. So I’ll destroy something precious to you.”

Nagasawa-senpai’s face instantly twisted.

My eyes widened too.

When had Yui learned about his family circumstances?

Then Airi whispered quietly.

“Actually, I showed Yui-san the detective report the other day.”

“…Airi, you’re getting punished later.”

The detective report had briefly mentioned Nagasawa-senpai’s family situation.

It was a section I had skimmed over because it didn’t seem relevant to solving the “nightmare.”

Apparently, when he was young, his family had been involved in a major traffic accident during a trip.

His parents died on the spot.

His younger sister survived, but was left with severe disabilities that affected her daily life.

“Or maybe I should pay some blond guys like you a little money and have them visit your sister’s apartment. Tell them to give her plenty of attention.”

“You b***h…!”

“What’s with that look? Why don’t you just laugh it off like you always do?”

The veins in Nagasawa-senpai’s eyes bulged as he ground his teeth.

“There are things you should never say!!”

“Don’t you think there are things you should never do?”

Yui shifted her gaze toward the others.

“And aren’t you ashamed too, President? Betraying your boyfriend and going on a date with trash like this.”

“Y-Yuzuki? What’s wrong? Calm down, okay?”

“Ren even got down on his knees and begged you, didn’t he? And despite that, you were willing to hand me over to this piece of trash.”

“I-I didn’t do it on purpose…”

The club president looked away.

Yui stepped forward, grabbed her chin, and forced her to look up.

“That’s what people call being a coward.”

“Ugh…”

“I truly regret trusting your words. I thought you were a senior worthy of respect. Turns out you’re just a living fleshlight for a worthless man!!”

Overwhelmed by Yui’s intensity, the club president finally began sobbing.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“This sounds like some serious relationship drama.”

Damn.

We were standing right in the middle of the summer festival.

Without anyone noticing, spectators had begun gathering around us.

I needed to stop Yui—

Just then—

“D-Dad, put me down!”

“Huh? W-What’s wrong?”

“Hurry!!”

Kokoa-san, who had remained quiet the entire time, suddenly climbed down from Burn-san’s back.

Dragging her leg, she hurried toward us.

When she finally stopped in front of Nagasawa-senpai, she shouted:

“I-I knew it! Ko-kun! It’s you, isn’t it!?”

…Eh, what?