Chapter 169The Missing Little Sis
"The Future" is the theme of this Cultural Festival. However, I think that's a bit too much, even for the stalls here. Despite their rather airy exterior, the stalls are just selling ordinary, easily available snacks like French fries and seasonal shaved ice. It can't be helped that the conceptual image of the stalls during the Summer Festival or when you visit the shrine for the first time during the New Year (Hatsumode) always remains the same.
"Is it delicious? Ichinose-san."
"Delicious..."
How cute.
Ichinose-san seemed very happy and easy to understand. I got the same impression as when she was reading a book, she seems to be the type of person who tends to concentrate on what's in front of her, so she gave me very honest feedback. I wonder what kind of feeling this is... ...Law, science, the laws of the world — Even if I decide to break the collective power of all that logic, I'll never be Ichinose-san's dad... ...Sh*t... ...Sh*t....
"These crepes are delicious too!"
"Isn't this batter a bit thick?"
"It feels nice and chewy in the mouth, doesn't it?!"
Sasaki-san, who deliberately imitated Ichinose-san's style with a slurred voice, was also very cute. Yuki-chan, who also ate the same crepe, ate her crepe with gusto despite not feeling satisfied. If I really didn't feel satisfied, I probably would have given a much harsher judgment. Well, although it's a crepe stall, it's a crepe stall made by amateurs, so I'll give them a chance. Come to think of it, it already meets the standards of the Department of Health and selling that alone is a challenge. I think it would be great if it was different from the others.
Yuki-chan opened her eyes wide. I think she just activated her "search eyes". I think if Sasaki is within a fifty meter radius of here, Yuki-chan's eyes will light up. I wonder... ...I think I'll get more new skills that are much more useful if I just go to Yuki-chan instead of going to Shinomiya-senpai's family's spirit-filled dojo.
"Is it possible that he's there?"
This wasn't Yuki-chan's prediction, but if the Soccer Club acted as a group, we could predict the range of Sasaki's activities here. The only place where everyone could go together and be able to relax during lunch was the schoolyard.
"Wow...!"
Sasaki-san cheered as if making an excited sound. The schoolyard was bustling with activity in a way that she had never seen during the School Visit Trials. There were more benches than usual, and the sight of so many visitors sitting and chatting on the grass of the schoolyard, which had been beautifully prepared and arranged for today's event, was like Central Park. I'm sorry, it's like a crowded campus building. The purpose was to create an atmosphere similar to that of a college campus.
Ichinose-san looked rather uncomfortable, probably because she didn't want to see too many people around her. If only this were Central Park, it would certainly seem nicer for her to sit alone in the middle of nowhere reading a book while there were no people around. Eh, is it rude of me to think like this...? In that case, you can slap me.
"Mmmm... ...-mmm."
"Oh, that group over there..."
"Is Yuki-chan's big bro among them?"
"...?"
I noticed that there were a few people from the Soccer Club that I recognized in the distance. I think I might be able to recognize them right away if they were from the Soccer Club even though they might not know me very well. There was something mysterious about them. Next to the Baseball Club, they are the ones I can recognize the most easily. By the way, shaved heads and tanned skin are the characteristics of the Baseball Club, shaved heads and smooth white skin are the characteristics of the Kendo Club, and slim builds, tanned skin and long hair are the characteristics of the Tennis Club. If there's a yankee girl with a group of handsome boys, that's a characteristic of the Student Council.
"...There's a doggy!"
"That dog is walking here..."
As I walked down the path in the schoolyard, a girl who was sitting on a nearby bench pointed her finger at me and chuckled with excitement. When I waved at her, she smiled happily at a casually dressed young mother sitting next to her.
Hehehe... ...I seem to be a popular boy nowadays. I'm sorry, Ichinose-san, I'm getting a lot of attention from everyone because I'm so close to the star, right? Think of it like you're walking a variety of rare breed dogs. Worst case scenario, you might as well put me on a leash.
Feeling superior for attracting so much attention from everyone around me, I approached the members of the Soccer Club to show myself off to Sasaki proudly. At that moment, I realized that something was strange.
"Who are you, —huh? I thought you were someone else... ...It turns out that you're just Sajou. What kind of costume are you wearing? Is that for the electric parade?"
"Oh, Sudou."
Sudou was a first-year student and a member of the Soccer Club, just like Sasaki. To me, he was already like a "friend of a friend". We've talked a few times in front of Sasaki. We're not very close, but I think he understands that I'm that weird guy who often sticks to Natsukawa and follows her around.
"Where is Sasaki? I thought he was wandering around with his friends in the Soccer Club."
"If it's that boy... ...Huh?"
"...Sh*t..."
"Eh, what...?"
When Sasaki's name was mentioned, Sudou sighed as if he was a bit tired. The boy next to him, who had never spoken to me before, lamented Sasaki in frustration. And the others also reacted in the same way. Eh... ...Is Sasaki dead? Did he face a big bad guy but he was no match for him and died in such a heartbreaking way, that they all mourned him?
"If the person you're looking for is Sasaki, he's being invited to go around together by a girl from the same class as you."
"What?"
"—..."
One of them, who didn't seem to have much envy, said so to me in an ordinary tone.
I couldn't help but make a voice that sounded like the voice of a commentator character in a shounen manga when he first witnessed an enemy attack. This hatred rose from my inner being... ...I think the time has come for me to fall to the dark side as well. I envy him. Sh*t....
"...Hey, are you popular too, Sajou?"
"Eh?"
"I know that you've been dumped by Natsukawa-san from Class 1-C, though... ...But for some reason, you're often surrounded by many girls."
Sudou's eyes looked around me. Sasaki-san was on my left, while Ichinose-san was hiding behind me on the right, using my back as a shield. Well, it's true that I'm the only boy in this group today dealing with several girls at the moment, and this is something to be thankful for, but in the first place I'm doing this solely to guide Sasaki-san around, not to be popular among girls....
"Huh... ...I think I should do some cosplay too..."
"Don't call this a cosplay. Just call it a costume."
I wasn't trying to make myself look like a real dog. I was just wearing this costume to advertise Class 1-C and aim to make me look like a mascot character. I couldn't deny that I felt like I was having fun at an amusement park.
"—Hey, are you okay?"
"Hmm...?"
While Sudou was striking a strange adventurous pose towards me, the boy who told me about Sasaki's whereabouts earlier, peeked out from behind Sudou.
"What's wrong?"
"One of your girls, she's gone somewhere."
"Eh...?"
When I turned around and looked back, Yuki-chan was no longer there. Instead, there was a triangular part of her crepe, which had touched the ground deeply, pointing its snout at me. If I moved even a little, I felt like I was going to be shot by a bullet.
"Eh, eh!? Yuki-chan!?"
"Sh-She's gone...!"
"..."
The three of us looked around us, but we couldn't see anything because the street had just gotten crowded with many people passing by. We continued to look around for a while, but in the end we still couldn't find Yuki-chan, not even a glimpse.
'—If the person you're looking for is Sasaki, he's being invited to go around together by a girl from the same class as you.'
"Oh no!"
Yuki-chan has also realized that she's a brocon, so I think she seemed crazy and was even joking a bit. But she must have been acting impulsively enough that she dropped her crepe wrapper and just walked away towards her brother! Oh no... ...I can't predict what Yuki-chan would do when something like this happens! That's why I haven't mentioned Natsukawa's name at all in my routine reports to her about Sasaki's school life!
"Let's find Yuki-chan right away!"
"Y-Yeah!"
"...!"
♦
It was impossible for me to run around with Sasaki-san and Ichinose-san to find Yuki-chan. It's natural for both of us to be worried about Ichinose-san's physical fitness, but if Sasaki-san is the one running around, that alone would make her a target of the 15 years old and above age group. I'm saying this from someone who has seen it three times from the front, so there's no doubt about it.
For that reason, we were divided into two groups and I ran through the schoolyards alone. I apologize that my original intention was to show Sasaki-san around this school. But I had no choice but to prioritize it, since it might cause new problems.
Yuki-chan was already determined to meet Sasaki with her persistence. — I had a mysterious confidence and thought that it would be faster to find her if I found Sasaki first.
That boy was being accompanied by a girl.—Yuki-chan was probably heading to a place frequented by couples. With that in mind, I ran up the stairs from the piloti near the schoolyard to the Student Council Office and ran to the South Building where the Home Economics Room was located. If I'm not mistaken, they seem to be holding a "Drawing and Cooking" event there. Apparently, you can draw on a piece of paper and put it into a special machine, and it will bake cookies in the shape of your drawing automatically. You can even draw patterns on it.
As I approached, I could smell the savory aroma of cookies in the air. Gosh, what kind of delicious scent is that... ...I feel like I'm going to forget about Sasaki. My dog instinct is to look for food. If Natsukawa told me to "Lie down!" right now, I would probably do it like I was breathing.
"—Oh."
Those were the only words I heard. As I turned my gaze from outside the window to the inside of the Home Economics Room in front, my eyes met the eyes of a pretty girl with her mouth open, and she was about to put the cat-shaped cookie into her mouth. Cookie, switch your position with me.
ED: Reeze27
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