CH 85

“Hey Kenichi. I don’t remember festivals having such a bleak atmosphere.”

“That’s exactly what I was wondering.”

Kenichi and I took a step back and smiled bitterly, as though we were watching a fire on the other side of the river.

“I can’t lose this to Kotone either…..”

“I cannot afford to lose to Rin too.”

Beautiful girls holding guns and sparks flying.

Both of them have serious eyes …… and from the looks of it, there seems to be no way to resolve the issue through discussion.

Well, it’s not going to be violent.

Because…

“I’ll take that ‘Maneki Neko’!”

We’re just competing for a prize in a shooting game.

It’s possible that two people want the same thing…..

But I think it’s unusual for two people to not give it up.

I looked at Kenichi beside me who was yelling, ” Go for it!”

He seems to be enjoying the situation.

“What’s so fascinating about this?”

I poked Kenichi on the shoulder and pointed to the “Maneki Neko” that Rin and Fuji were after.

It’s a normal Maneki Neko, no matter how one looks at it.

It doesn’t look like an antique that would fetch a high price.

The only difference between it and a normal Maneki Neko is that it has a strange and annoying grin on its face.

“Oh, that. I guess we’ll have to wait and see!”

“Why don’t you just tell me?”

“Don’t be in such a hurry, you’ll see! Well, what I can tell you is that women are creatures that like to pray and tell fortunes.”

“Wishful thinking……”

Kenichi has a nasty grin on his face and seems to be enjoying this situation, though …….

Two people who usually get along well with each other have sparks flying between them. …… Hmmm.

I can’t describe the mood.

The audience is getting bigger and bigger and they’re making a lot of noise…..

Wouldn’t that make things worse between the two of them later?

If so, …….

“I can’t help it ……. Mister, I’ll play too.”

He handed me a gun and a low voice said, “Here you go.”

I put a five hundred yen coin in his hand.

“What……?　Are you going to do that too, Towa?”

Kenichi blinked and looked at me with a surprised face.

I saw something I couldn’t believe.

Well, it seems like it.

“You’re going to play too, Towa-kun!?”

“…… cheating. Strength in numbers is not fair……”

“Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fuji-san……”

Maybe she thinks I’m going to cooperate with Rin?

But I don’t intend to do that, you see.

I want a peaceful solution.

“Well, you don’t mind if I try, do you?”

“Of course, it’s fine if you do it, Towa-kun……”

I’m not sure if Rin noticed something or not, but she seemed reluctant to give up and shook her head.

As expected, the goddess… Did she sense my intentions?

But Fuji-san didn’t seem to notice and looked to Kenichi for help.

“…… Do you want to play too Kenichi?”

“I don’t think so. I’m not going to do it because if I do, we’ll have a numerical advantage. Good luck in the three-way battle! I’ll be rooting for you, Kotone, of course.”

‘Thanks, ……. I’ll do my best.”

Kenichi pats Fuji’s head, his cheeks blushing happily.

They trust each other.

I could feel the atmosphere there.

Rin looked at it with gentle eyes and smiled somewhat enviously.

“Well, let’s do it. Ladies first, okay?”

“I’m not going to lose to a …… chicken.”

“Towa-kun seems to be good at this kind of stuff…..”

This is how the shooting game with a vulnerable Rin and Fuji-san began….

◇◇◇

“Come on, kid, get it.”

A storm of boos erupted from the people around me.

If I’m not careful, I’m going to get in trouble.

“Thanks, Mister.”

I ignore the crowd and accept the “Maneki Neko” I won from the shooting game.

Rin and Fuji-san look at it regretfully.

No, I’m not going to give it to them even if they look like they want it.

I don’t want this to turn into a dispute between the girls……

So…

“So ……, I’ll give it to Kenichi.”

“What!? Me!?!?”

“Well, it’s a token of our friendship.”

I gave him a plausible excuse and handed it to him.

Yes, this is the choice I was thinking of making.

If I give it to either of them, it will cause a disaster.

That’s why it was an escape move.

If I give it to Kenichi, he’ll be able to follow up perfectly if something happens, and they won’t have to fight over it.

Well, …… the two of them won’t be able to achieve their goal, so they might be dissatisfied.

But this is the best choice.

But for some reason, Kenichi’s expression tightened and he looked uncomfortable, as if he wanted to say, ” This is not good.”

I tilted my head at Kenichi’s expression.

“Hmm? Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh, you know what, Towa? This is…”

“Towa-kun……?” “…… Tokiwagi-kun?”

“Yeah? What’s with the surprised look on your faces…?”

“” ……………… “”

Rin and Fuji both turned their heads in silence.

They didn’t say another word, so I looked at them to see what was wrong.

Then, gradually, both of them turned red and started to tremble with their bodies stiffening.

And then, after a lot of accumulation…

“” Bakaaaaahhhh!! “”

Rin’s tearful face …….

This was the only time I flinched for a moment.

Only Fuji-san is growling lowly, as if she is about to attack me.

“Confessing your love in public ……. This is worthy of …… extreme punishment.”

“Kotone? Towa has no intentions of doing that, so ……?”

“… Punishment for suspicion”

“When it comes to this, no one should be punished for being suspicious.”

“… The penalty for suspicion is extreme.”

“Isn’t it getting worse than before!?”

I heard later that the “Maneki Neko” is said to be beneficial for matchmaking……

After that, with Kenichi’s help, I managed to clear up the misunderstanding…… I don’t think it’s my imagination that Rin’s grip on my arm has gotten stronger.

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TLN: Side-stories after this Arc is over (aka one more chapter).