CH 128

The results of the final exam, the last obstacle before the summer vacation were out. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

It was neither too good nor too bad.

I did not receive any answer sheets with particularly high scores.

However, this meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about being called in for supplementary lessons during the summer vacation.　

Sometimes people would say, “I’m doing supplementary lessons!” I would like to know what are they so excited about?

But unfortunately, the students around me scored nearly perfect marks, so I’ll leave that question for some other day.

…Be it years or so.

The mood in the classroom will now be completely focused on the summer vacation.

Since the worries are over and they can start planning in their earnest.

As soon as the bell rang to mark the end of the school, Shizuku sat down on the empty seat in front of me, as usual, with some kind of advertisement in her hand.

Looking closely, I noticed that it was an advertisement for this year’s fireworks display.

It’s no surprise that it looks familiar to me, I’ve seen it in the morning newspapers recently and it’s also has been posted all over town.

It was easy to see that Shizuku had come to discuss the plans for this weekend, even without me asking her.

When I unconsciously shifted my gaze to the advertisement, I saw that it had a very typical sales pitch: “The Biggest Shoot Off Ever.”

This kind of advertisement is usually said ‘The Biggest’ ever every year.

I’m kinda worried that a day would come when the whole town will be burned down.

Aside from my unnecessary worries, Kirasaka next to me kept her gaze downcast as before.

However, she was turning the pages slower than usual, perhaps because she was reading while listening to our conversation.

Shizuku continued to spin her words.

“The time of the fireworks is same as that of last year, so if we go to the stalls before six o’clock, before it starts to get crowded, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“I haven’t said that I’ll be attending yet… I haven’t even contacted Kaede yet.”

“If it’s Kaede, I contacted her and got her approval, okay?”

She tilted her head and looked as if to say, “Is there some issue?” She looked as if she was going to say, “I’m sorry,” and proceeded to talk.

Her brother hasn’t received any such notice…

Even so, she has taken the initiative with this.

I was casually thinking of an option to have Kaede refuse, but I don’t think that would be possible, and since Shizuku and Kaede were in contact beforehand, it would be even more difficult now.

Childhood friends can be very troublesome, huh.

Kirasaka, who was sitting next to me, was also listening to what Shizuku had to say.

I can’t expect any help since this person is also in her faction this time.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately that these two might actually be kindred spirits. But I feel like there are a lot of situations that make me wonder if they are actually on the same page or not.

Shizuku explained the route she wanted to take, predicting the layout of the stalls based on previous years’ trends.

“There aren’t many stores in front of the station, so let’s go around the main shopping street …and then the street where the stores are often set up in the outer yard of the shrine.”

“…I’m not complaining as long as I can buy takoyaki and yakisoba.”

It’s also hard to leave out buttered-potatoes and okonomiyaki.

I understand that it is a safe choice, but I buy the same food each time, probably since I am defensive and don’t want to feel like I lost money by trying something unique and later it turned out to be bad.

After all, it’s called safe because it’s popular, and you can even say that buying it is an inevitable part of a festival.

“Let’s buy scallop skewers sold at fish store! It’ll also contribute to the store since the owner’s been so kind to us.”

Shizuku clenched her fists in front of her chest and made a proposal that was full of kindness.

It was a little …disappointing that the old man was cooking it, but nevertheless it was delicious.

I was about to say that the Shinra family contributes to sales on a weekly basis, but I forced those words down.

While Shizuku took out a highlighter from her bag and colored the route to make it easier to understand, I checked the schedule on the advertisement once again.

It’s the same every year, so there’s nothing new on the schedule.

Just the start time and date of the festival, the location, and the time of the fireworks were provided.

On the day of the event, all I had to do was carry the belongings.

In the end, a man’s role is simple, straightforward, and yet unsatisfactory.

Towards the end of the conversation, as the atmosphere was starting to break up, Yuuto walked up to me from the circle of classmates.

With a few students behind him looking dejected and disappointed, I had a rough idea of what to expect.

“Do you mind if I join?”

“…There’s no reason for me to say no, but you’ll have to carry half the luggage.”

As the conversation progressed, I knew he would be there.

Of course, Yuuto had already anticipated that he would be joining us.

Most importantly, I don’t think I would leave him out of this event with Shizuku around.

“So, for the …festival, I’ll also ask Kaede to join this group.”

The time and the fate of the event have now been decided.

The only thing left to do was to go with the flow on the day.

The summer of the second year of high school, which by itself sounds like one of the biggest events of the year, was just around the corner.

And with the summer festival as a signal, our school, Sakuranooka Gakuen, will start its summer vacation.

Author’s note: The Summer Festival’s story will be in the next update!

TL/N – My semester exams ended so I’m back and will be translating as usual. If you didn’t know about, how about joining my discord, there’s no one who chats so you won’t disturbed anyways.

Alright so… Cheers! Since my exams ended.