CH 80

“So, when did you come here after all?”

“The last time I was here was when I was in kindergarten. I remember it well because it was my first festival and I was wearing my first yukata and I was just so excited.”

“Kindergarten ……?”

What suddenly came to my mind was a picture of Rin from her childhood that Lisa had shown me before….

If that super cute girl had been wearing a yukata and acting all fancy, she would have been a real eye-catcher!

I saw a picture of her at her graduation ceremony.

She was a deity, to say the least.

I would love to see her in the yukata from that time…….

I’m sure Rin wouldn’t let me see it even if I asked her. ……

She was so shy the last time.

If I have a chance to meet Lisa, I might ask her for help.

Although I’m afraid she might call it an “exchange” …….

“What’s wrong, Towa-kun?”

“No, it’s …… nothing. I was just thinking about something.”

“Thinking about something ……?”

“Yes. It’s rather important.”

Rin stared into my eyes.

Then she lowered her eyes.

“I see. I’ll tell my mom not to show you the pictures next time.”

She said this in a smooth, intonationless tone.

Goddamn ……, you esper. ……

How can you read me like this? …….

“…… Apparently, I’ve got the right answer. What is it about pictures that you want to see so badly?”

“Hmmm. ……. Well, I’m curious. It’s like the same feeling you get when you see a dog or a small animal. ……”

“Soothing ……?”

“…… See, cute things are soothing to look at, right? I don’t mind that kind of thing.”

I find it soothing to watch videos of animals.

I don’t get tired of watching them and it’s nice to just stare at them.

I used to look at them quite a bit after I worked or something. ……

I don’t think I’ve watched anything lately…

“…… Cute. Oh, but with animals …… mmm. But I’m pretty sure you said it was cute. …… I don’t dislike …… it, I like it in a roundabout way …… ehehe~”

She’ s mumbling something and her expression is changing in an interesting way.

I don’t know about this, but …… it’s kind of interesting.

It’s not something I’d be able to see at school.

Rin looked a little distressed, then gave a small nod.

“The photos need to be reviewed.”

“Well, it’s okay if you don’t want to, okay? I don’t want to force you.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I’m embarrassed. ……”

You’re usually not shy about it and you don’t often care about it. …… You only care about the pictures from your childhood. ……

Yeah.

I’m not sure what her standards are.

I don’t want to force her, so let’s just leave it at that.

“Yes, Rin, back to the festival. This is the second time for Rin to attend this festival, right? I’ve never been to a festival with anyone, so I don’t really know what I’m supposed to enjoy.”

“Well, ……. I’ve never been to a festival with anyone before, so I can’t tell you much about it, but I can tell you about the stalls and the fireworks at the end.”

“Ho-ho-ho. ……. So, it looks like that’s what you wanted the last time you were here?”

“Yes, I did. …… We went around the stalls and ate cotton candy and apple candy. …… We also did a Bon dance. By the way, Kotone was with me.”

“Oh, really? Fuji-san was also with you. So the reason why you looked so sad and distant was because you were nostalgic about the past?”

“That’s part of it, but it also reminded me of how I cried at the festival. ……”

“Well, is that because you got lost?”

“No. …… Well, I was scooping goldfish.”

Goldfish scooping?

I tilted my head.

I’ve never tried goldfish scooping ……, but I have an image of people paying around 300 yen for goldfish that cost a few dozen yen to purchase…

I don’t think it’s possible to catch them with that tool called “poi”.

“It looks surprisingly difficult, doesn’t it, scooping goldfish? A child might not be good at it.”

“That’s true. No matter how many times I tried, the goldfish would slip away and I was given a goldfish as a bonus. I felt so frustrated. ……”

“So that’s why you cried.”

“Yes, ……. I regretted saying, “I don’t want it!” to the kindness of the shopkeeper. I regret that I said that. I wish I had just taken it honestly. ……”

‘It’s just childhood, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is ……. But after that, I went home. …… That was the only time I went to a festival. So I remember the sad memories more vividly than the fun memories. ……”

Rin is smiling, but her eyes look somewhat sad.

It’s just a childhood thing.

Children are selfish, tearful and stubborn.

To be honest, it was unavoidable and the people around her probably understood that.

That’s why Rin usually didn’t care about it.

However, when she came to a place that she had memories of, she could not help but remember.

Only the things that left a lasting impression on her at the time came back to her like a rush of air.

–Things that were fun.

–Sadness.

–Regrets.

There is nothing she can do about the past. ……

Even so, she can’t help but remember and think about it.

And if it’s the only festival she’s ever been to, that’s even worse. …

So…

“Well, I’ll have to make sure you enjoy it this time. I want you to enjoy it so much that you’ll be able to rewrite your previous memories. ……”

Subconsciously, my hand reached for her head.

I stroked Rin’s head gently.

One pat on the head and Rin narrowed her eyes in a pleasant way.

But in a second, I regretted …… it.

“Why am I doing this……?”

This is something that the shady guy in the class should not do.

This behaviour is only allowed for good looking people …….

“Sorry …… about …….”

Before I could hastily remove my hand from his head, Rin grabbed my arm and tilted her head as if to urge me to pet her more.

“Don’t stop, Towa-kun… just a little bit more. I’m going to go out of my way to help you…”

I can’t look directly at her as she mumbles to me with her sweet voice, so I look away.

“Oh…”

“Thank you …”

I tried not to look at her and continued petting her until she was satisfied.