Following the crowd, Chisato and Kazusa soon arrived at their destination.
The street ahead was lined with food stalls of all kinds, each surrounded by eager customers.
The air was filled with a mix of delicious aromas, teasing their senses.
Seeing this lively scene, Kazusa's excitement surged like never before. Without hesitation, she grabbed Chisato's hand and eagerly pulled him toward the nearest stall.
It was an apple candy stall, also selling an assortment of hawthorn skewers and fruit-based sweets.
Most of the crowd in front of the stall consisted of children.
Kazusa belatedly realized this fact and felt slightly embarrassed. However, her gaze remained fixed on the glossy, crimson-coated apple candy.
It was a treat typically found only at festival events, and she had never tried it before.
But squeezing into a crowd of kids just to buy one? While there was nothing inherently wrong with it, she couldn't shake off a lingering sense of awkwardness.
So, she turned her head toward Chisato, tightening their interlocked hands slightly.
"Which one do you want?"
"The biggest one."
An immediate response.
"There are still plenty of other delicious things to try later. Are you sure you can finish it? Shouldn't you save some room?"
Chisato voiced his concern out of consideration, but Kazusa looked at him as if he had just underestimated her.
"As long as it's sweet, I can always eat more."
Oh, right. He nearly forgot—this girl was an absolute sugar addict.
Logically speaking, someone who ate that much sugar should have a body heading toward disaster.
Yet, Kazusa showed no such signs, just like her ridiculously blessed mother.
"Alright, wait here."
With that thought in mind, Chisato stepped forward and, towering over the group of children, handed the vendor some money.
He soon returned with a bright red apple candy in hand.
When he handed it to Kazusa, her eyes curved into crescents, her face beaming with joy.
"What?"
"Nothing. I'm just going to enjoy this now, so I'll leave the ice cream to you."
"Yeah, yeah~"
Hand in hand, the two leisurely continued strolling through the festival.
Chisato couldn't help but chuckle at the way Kazusa ate her apple candy.
The candy-coated apple was too round to bite into easily. Normally, people would take their time, licking it bit by bit.
But Kazusa was impatient—she wanted to take a big bite. As a result, her lips ended up smeared with a ring of sticky red candy.
"The taste is good, but it's kind of hard to eat," Kazusa remarked, giving her honest assessment.
"You should try it too, Chisato."
Chisato glanced at the apple candy she was offering.
Then, his eyes drifted to Kazusa's unconcerned, naturally innocent expression and the way her pink tongue lightly flicked at the sticky candy around her lips.
His breathing hitched slightly.
But he forced down any stray thoughts and instead leaned in, opening his mouth wide to take a big bite out of the apple candy.
With a chunk missing, the newly created edge made it easier for Kazusa to eat.
"It's good, right?"
"Yeah."
Chisato did his best to suppress the overwhelming sweetness that flooded his mouth, nodding in agreement even though he didn't particularly enjoy it.
"Chisato, what's that?"
"A ring toss game. See the plastic rings in the owner's hand?
You pay for a set number of tries, and if you manage to toss a ring around one of the prizes on the table, you get to take it home. Want to give it a shot?"
The outcome was obvious.
Kazusa had invited Chisato out today because she wanted to have a great time—so much fun that it would become a cherished memory she could revisit again and again.
There was no way she'd pass up anything that piqued her interest.
Chisato handed the vendor 1,000 yen and received 20 rings in return.
He wasn't particularly interested in the prizes displayed on the table. To him, the fun of playing a game didn't come from the game itself—it came from who he was playing with.
After splitting the rings evenly, he went first to demonstrate.
Out of ten attempts, he successfully landed two, earning himself a fox mask and a small clay figurine.
A decent result.
Kazusa went next. Since it was her first time playing, she had no prior experience to rely on, so she missed every single throw.
But she wasn't particularly disappointed. She didn't care much about the prizes—what mattered to her was the experience itself.
After that, they visited several other stalls.
They bought cotton candy, tried their hand at goldfish scooping, shared a plate of yakisoba and takoyaki, and played a random string-pulling lottery game.
Perhaps it was the infectious atmosphere of the festival, but from the moment they arrived at the fireworks viewing area until now, Kazusa's smile had never once faded.
It had been a long time since she had felt this happy.
And then—
"Whoosh—"
A brilliant streak of light shot straight into the sky, accompanied by a sharp, distinctive sound. The bright glow gradually dimmed, disappearing for a few seconds before—
"Boom!"
The night sky erupted into a dazzling display of fireworks.
Everyone instinctively looked up. After a brief moment of awe-struck silence, the crowd's excited chatter surged once more.
Laughter rippled through the festival grounds, and many people took out their phones to capture the moment.
Kazusa gazed at the sky, entranced.
Chisato, on the other hand, only glanced at the fireworks briefly before shifting his gaze to Kazusa.
To him, the most breathtaking sight was not in the sky—it was his girlfriend, dressed up beautifully for the occasion, sitting right beside him.
Sensing his gaze, Kazusa turned her head to meet his eyes.
"The fireworks show has started. Let's find a quieter spot to watch."
"Alright."
Their hands never once loosened their grip as they left the main road and found a grassy hill with varying elevations.
Though many others had already occupied the area, it was still less crowded than the densest parts of the festival.
They chose a sloped spot and sat down together, fingers still intertwined.
They watched as firework after firework shot into the sky, bursting into colorful rain before gradually dissolving into wisps of white smoke that drifted into the night.
It was a lively scene, yet Kazusa suddenly found herself feeling something entirely different.
Would her relationship with Chisato be like these fireworks—brilliant and dazzling, only to fade away once it reached its peak?
"Whoosh—Boom!"
The first round of fireworks came to an end, with the next set scheduled to begin in ten minutes.
Looking up for so long had made many people sore, and they took the break as a chance to stretch.
Chisato considered pulling Kazusa up so they could stroll through the food stalls one more time—the distance wasn't too far.
But Kazusa shook her head slightly, tightening her grip on Chisato's hand. She had no intention of getting up.
Now was the time.
She had decided from the start that she would tell him tonight.
In such a lively setting, perhaps the bittersweet feelings wouldn't be as overwhelming.
So she met Chisato's puzzled gaze and spoke.
"Chisato… there's something I need to tell you."
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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