“Wasn’t Yuli afraid of the dark?”
We had barely escaped the haunted house and took a moment to rest before engaging in conversation. Usually, given Yuli’s timorous nature, even if she played the role of a ghost, staying in the dark for so long seemed unlikely.
“Hehe… Linne and Selian were with me too, and most importantly, I had a goal in mind, so I could withstand it.”
Indeed, people grow, and Yuli is surely taking steady steps forward compared to before.
“So, did you accomplish your goal?”
“Yeah! Even though it was too short, I’m satisfied enough.”
It’s fortunate that Yuli enjoyed herself. When we first met her at the beginning of the semester, she exhibited a lot of timid tendencies, but now seeing her with such a radiant smile fills me with pride.
“Are you two doing well? Enjoying your date thoroughly?”
Upon hearing the word “date,” as a lifelong singleton who’s never been in a relationship, I instinctively flinched, but I’m now more accustomed to talking with women, so I casually brushed off her teasing.
Of course, as a man, hearing the mention of going on dates with women does catch my attention, but from the perspective of friends, it’s just friendly banter among same-sex friends.
If I acted overly sensitive, they might get suspicious. Cutting off any potential doubts beforehand provides peace of mind.
“Isn’t it fun going with such a cute girl like Anne? Right, Anne?”
Unlike my calm attitude, Anne was clearly flustered by Yuli’s joke, her face turning bright red.
Well, at first, hearing the word “date” used to leave me speechless too.
Frankly, Anne finds it easy to joke around with others yet gets embarrassed and blushes when she herself is targeted—she’s endearing that way.
“…I think I can hold on until my turn with this. You two should continue enjoying the festival.”
Despite Celian’s comment, she hadn’t acquired anything, so what exactly is “this”? Whatever it is, if it helps her endure, that’s fortunate, but it does pique my curiosity.
If I knew exactly what “this” was, I would gladly give it to Celian if it could be of help, but it’s safer to let it pass without asking anything.
“Alright, then, I’ll go on a date with Anne. You two, take care!”
I waved goodbye as I made a joke in response to Yuli’s teasing.
“Now, Anne should say goodbye too, right?”
In the midst of all this, Anne, just like before, had her face down and blushed deeply.
I gently shook her hand, signaling her to reciprocate the gesture, and finally, she raised her other hand to wave at the two of them.
“…Well, it’s my turn tomorrow. See you tonight.”
Yuli’s slightly disgruntled voice sounded.
I suppose, with all their hard work, seeing us having fun in their presence could understandably irritate them.
Taking care not to cause any inconvenience, I quickly took Anne out.
“How’s your experience so far?”
Upon exiting the tent, Lena approached us to inquire about our thoughts.
“The makeup was incredibly realistic. Even the always fearless Anne got scared. It seems students of the Academy would fall for it.”
“…You really lack any sense of subtlety. But, from my perspective, that made it even more fun!”
“Huh? You think I lack subtlety? Oh, that’s funny.”
“…Alicia is always the same. Anyway, let’s consider this a joke then.”
Even though she looks like this, she was once an assassin, so she can be confident in her awareness.
Initially, an assassin needing to seize opportunities would have issues if they lacked insight.
Leaving Lena’s puzzling comment aside, I returned with Anne to continue enjoying the festival at its center.
“Everyone has probably returned to their rooms by now. Shall we head back too?”
After leaving the haunted house organized by our classmates and spending some time exploring other classes, the sun that greeted us earlier at the opening ceremony now painted the sky red as if it were heading to rest.
“Already?”
Despite wandering around for quite a while, Anne looked disappointed, seemingly not feeling any fatigue.
“Though it might be disappointing, today’s not our only day. The Celestial Festival is just beginning.”
“But… enjoying the festival with just you, El, is only happening today.”
Anne, with her head lowered, nudged the ground with her toes as she muttered.
Aware of her adorable pouting, I hugged her tight to comfort her.
I know I shouldn’t get used to embracing girls her age, but since we’ve hugged so often, it’s now become natural for both me and Anne.
Instead, she snuggled even closer.
“Isn’t the Celestial Festival the only festival? And even if it isn’t the Celestial Festival, what’s the problem? What’s important is enjoying time together. Let’s explore leisurely again when we have time. And we’ll visit your territory once more during the winter holiday, just like we did during summer.”
“Yes! You promised, right? You mustn’t forget! Got it?”
Anne, who had buried her face in my embrace, lifted her head to look at me while speaking.
Her eyes, filled with melancholy moments ago, now radiated with anticipation.
“Got it, got it. The kids are waiting for us too. Let’s go back quickly.”
“Yes! Hehe…”
Fortunately, Anne is straightforward and easy to appease with simple promises.
It’s not even a difficult promise; rather, I genuinely enjoy spending time with Anne.
I held Anne’s hand, who was sulking earlier, and returned to our room in sync.
“Finally, it’s my turn. Let’s quickly get ready to go out.”
Although not as early as the morning of the opening ceremony, Yuli got up earlier than usual, pulling me out of bed while talking.
I glanced around and saw Anne still sound asleep, having kicked off her blanket with her foot, while Celian had already risen, busy tidying up her bed.
Meanwhile, Linne, despite being a ghost, was yawning and rubbing her eyes.
“Hmm… It seems a bit early, but I understand Yuli’s feelings, so I’ll let it slide. Both of you, don’t skip breakfast.”
“Haha… Celian truly understands me.”
“Mm, it’s my turn tomorrow anyway. I can easily show such generosity.”
“Come on, come on. With that settled, let’s hurry up and get ready to leave.”
Yuli forcibly dragged me up from bed and pushed me into the bathroom.
After washing my face with cold water to shake off the sleepiness and casually washing my hair, I dried it as much as I could with a towel and stepped out.
Celian and Yuli were engaged in some kind of conversation when I rejoined them.
“Do you know the rules?”
“Of course. I remember them, so don’t worry.”
“…Given that it’s Yuli, I’m somewhat concerned, but on the flip side, it’s also Yuli, so I can trust her.”
“What are you guys talking about? What rules?”
Approaching them carefully so as not to disturb the water droplets, my sudden appearance made them slightly flinch out of surprise, but they quickly composed themselves.
“No, it’s nothing. Just some prior agreement we had between ourselves.”
“Yeah. It’s really nothing, so no need to worry. It’s entirely irrelevant to El!”
It seemed like they were trying to isolate me, so I silently pouted in protest, but they showed no intention of responding.
Tch. I tried my best to act sulky, but they aren’t buying it.
Anyway, since these two aren’t planning anything to isolate or harm me, nor are there any suspicious talks, there’s no need to dwell on it.
I quickly disengaged from their conversation and focused on drying my wet hair.
*
“Well, where should we go first?”
“Hmm? Let’s eat first, like Celian suggested?”
“How about that shop? It’s a branch of a store from our territory that opened here recently. I think El should like it.”
Yuli stretched out her hand and pointed to a nearby shop while speaking.
Since I wasn’t too picky about food this morning, I obediently followed Yuli’s recommendation and entered the shop.
Being the renowned shop Yuli recommended, there were already quite a few people sitting at tables and eating, despite the early hour.
However, the moment we entered the shop, we spotted an unexpected face among the many people inside.
“Father?”
“Oh dear… I was planning to approach you gradually, but it seems we met unexpectedly. Have you been well, Yuli?”
Sitting alone at the table closest to the entrance, carefully looking at the menu, was a middle-aged man—Craig, Yuli’s father, whom Yuli told us would visit during the festival period.
