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
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
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 Noyes
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
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
Nnum
Let’s go watch Ange’s play And we can get a bite to eat first
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
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
Whoopsoh
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)
Because Machina had pulled him to her they were now close enough that her hair tickled his face
(She smells so sweet Ah Ibekusa uses the same shampoo as Ange)
His face grew red and he desperately tried to focus on something else
Just like during the test of courage from before he could not help but tense up when walking alone with the girl he liked
He did not notice that Machina’s expression was similarly stiff
Th-this crepe sure is good
The silence was painful so he attempted some small talk
Ibekusa you got apple cinnamon right It looks good
It is
I got blueberry Ha ha I had strawberry earlier but it’s amazing how two berries
can be so different
Oh do you want a bite
YeahAh
Mutsuki froze up when he realized he had just offered to give her an indirect kiss
But before he could panic Machina made a further suggestion
Then here
She took his blueberry crepe and handed him hers
Ththanks
They had traded crepes