“…Phew.”
Left alone, Ange looked up into the sky.
A refreshing wind blew down from the perfectly clear and starry sky. But unlike before, it felt a little chilly.
“Mutsuki and Ibekusa…hm?”
Ange thought back on the topic that had come to the forefront.
She had ended up pushing things in that direction for Machina and Mutsuki.
“But that’s fine. It’s…not a problem.”
Assisting an enemy organization was careless, but heaven still had not settled on a course of action vis-a-vis FeTUS. She would not be reprimanded for this.
“…”
Only then did she realize she was thinking about this in relation to her position and not her own feelings.
Just like Machina had been prioritizing FeTUS’s decision over her own feelings.
(How do I feel about him?)
How did she feel about what she had just done?
How did Jiyuuni Ange feel about supporting Machina and Mutsuki?
“…”
The girl gave a lopsided frown.
The wind once more brushed across her skin.
It had to be as refreshing as before, but she could not feel it.
The feelings roiling inside her kept her from feeling any kind of refreshing feeling
that only went skin deep.
“I don’t care what Mutsuki does.”
Chapter 6
It was the day of the cultural festival.
Megutono Academy included an elementary, middle, and high school, so events like this always had tons of participants.
They were blessed with nice weather and the school was filled with students and visitors hoping to enjoy the day.
The helicopter in the sky may have been for publicity purposes. That was how busy it was.
Working your way through the waves of people could be difficult.
“Gwohhhhh, Mutsuki! Mutsuki, I’m gonna be crushed! Get the takoyaki to safety!”
“Yes, yes.”
“Okay, okay. Good job, Private Mutsuki-kun! Next up is the crepes by the third years. I hear they’re good.”
“R-right. Yes, sir.”
Of course, it was primarily the students enjoying themselves.
Mutsuki had been busy visiting stands all morning since Sakae and Saya had dragged him around.
“Ah! They’re selling cotton candy over there…and it’s cheap!”
“Wait, Miss Round and Jiggly! Cotton candy is as voluminous as you. Try to walk around with it in this crowd…and you’ll be in trouble!”
“I- I see. It would be painful to lose my mobility here… Not bad, Tomono-kun.”
“Heh. I’m Tomono Sakae, the man with an observant eye. Predicting a friend’s future is a simple task.”
“For once, your big mouth was actually useful. But.”
“Hm?”
“Who are you calling round and jiggly!?”
Their usual routine was even more energetic than usual.
The three of them worked through the crowd to visit the stands. They were mostly ones Saya’s research said had tasty treats.
Ange had gone to do the play and Lucia was with that band, so Mutsuki was alone with Sakae and Saya today.
“Here, Mutsuki-kun. This takoyaki is amazing. Say ah.”
“Um, yes. Thanks, Kurikara-san.”
“You put too much mayo on it. These are more like mayonnaise balls than octopus balls.”
“Shut up. They taste great this way.”
Mutsuki ate one of the takoyaki that was indeed covered in mayonnaise. Then they continued on to some other promising stands.
Saya and Sakae were not the only ones enjoying themselves. The entire school was having a blast.
You could really tell that a long-awaited day had finally arrived.
“Oh, Katsue-sensei. Hi!”
Saya noticed someone and waved over at the school building.
There was a map posted at the passageway they came across. The teachers would go on regular patrols to look for anyone needing directions and their homeroom teacher was standing by that one sign.
She seemed to be on the job because she was speaking with a small child in a mask who must have been a visitor from outside the school. It was a girl in a fox mask. Their teacher must have been giving the girl directions because she ignored Saya.
Sakae and Saya continued on without thinking much of it.
But it bothered Mutsuki a bit that Schwarze of all people had not noticed someone calling out to her.
“Phew…”
At midday, Mutsuki went inside their school building.
Saya started helping another class and Sakae said there were some other things he wanted to check out, so they were not with him. He was alone now.
This school building was being used for preparations, so it was off limits for outside visitors and there were not many people inside. It was the perfect place to relax.
Everything felt different while a step removed from all the hustle and bustle of the festival.
Some people said they most enjoyed preparing for a festival and Mutsuki was exactly that type of person.
He did enjoy the actual festival, but he would pour all his energy into the preparations and feel the exhaustion during the festival itself.
Especially this year because there had been some trouble related to the Serpent’s Eye and some conflict with the Student Council President.
He wanted to go see Ange’s play and Lucia’s band, so he used this time to rest. He made his way to their classroom which he assumed would be empty.
However…
“Ibekusa-san?”
Someone was already there.
Machina sat in her usual seat all alone. She was not doing anything and she showed no interest in all the noise out the window. She just stared blankly forward.
“Want to go enjoy the festival?”
“Nn. No…yes.”
“?”
She was being unusually noncommittal, so Mutsuki tilted his head.
And the girl closed her mouth.
Mutsuki briefly tensed up. Since they were alone, he thought she would kiss him again.
But she made no attempt today. She just stared quietly at him like she used to.
“Umm.”
He did not know why, but he could tell she was not going to do it today. He relaxed and approached.
She said nothing and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. In a way, that was completely ordinary, so he did not think about it too much.
“Um, if you don’t have anything else to do, how about it? Why not go around with me after this?”
He knew he was meddling, but he felt it would be a waste if she stayed here for the entire festival.
“Nn…um.”
“Let’s go watch Ange’s play. And we can get a bite to eat first.”
“…Okay.”
She did not decline.
Since they had a plan, Mutsuki gestured outside. He was sure to enjoy doing this with Machina, so he was all for it.
“…”
And he failed to notice the tension on the girl’s face.
He considered himself lucky.
He knew where all the best stands were after Saya showed him earlier.
He could not imagine what Machina would enjoy at a festival like this, so he decided the food stands were the safest option.
The two of them each held a crepe in one hand as they wandered aimlessly around the festival.
“There sure are a lot of people, huh?”
“Yes.”
It had been busy in the morning, but just walking around was difficult now that it was the afternoon. Even when they parted the crowd, more people would press in and they were nearly carried away.
And they had to avoid people even more now that they had crepes.
“Whoops…oh.”
“Wait.”
When he was nearly swept away by a wave of people, he felt a tug on his elbow.
Machina was pulling on his sleeve.
He naturally followed her guidance and oddly felt like the wave of people had weakened. There were just as many people around, but it felt like she was calculating out the location of the next obstacle and then avoiding it.
“Ha ha. That sure is convenient.”
“There is a pattern to the flow of densely-packed people.”
It was a lot like a witch’s power and it was honestly quite helpful.
That was all well and good, but…
(…Sh-she’s a little close.)