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As we had expected, the lower-level is large, and even if we were to head straight for the middle-level, we would still need to walk a considerable distance. There were also a good number in our group, and with each of us taking interest in stalls along the way, our progress has been rather slow.
Though I say that, we werenāt really in a hurry, so we proceeded at a leisurely pace, enjoying our time with each other.
At the beginning of the festival, we were faced with two stray children, Tre-san and Fors-san, but no matter how big the festival was, it wasnāt so often youād meet someone you knew at a large, crowded venue.
Of course, with a festival of this magnitude, many of my acquaintances would definitely attend, but Iāve already met two of them, so meeting a third is ratherā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦Welcome. Iām the best when it comes to compatibility readings, youāre in the right place.]
(Note: She says āOkaerikudasaiā)
[ā¦ā¦Ah, thatās right. Excuse meāāā]
[Ahh, sheās telling peopleās fortunes! That looks interesting! Kaito, letās have her check our compatibility!!!]
When my gaze happened to turn towards a stall, my eyes met with the owner, who was my acquaintance, and for a momentā¦ā¦ after having this very unpleasant look for just a moment, the sales smile on her face returned and she indirectlyā¦ā¦No, she rather straightforwardly told me to āgo homeā.
(Note: Kaito interprets it as āKaerekudasai.)
Knowing Elise-sanās personality pretty well, I thought Iād just pretend I didnāt notice her stallā¦ā¦ but at that moment, Tre-san suddenly appeared.
Just like that, Tre-san pulled the hand of the surprised me and walked towards the front of Eliseā store.
The look of murderous intent on her face that I saw just now for just a moment might have been a hallucination, but the way she greeted me with her radiant smile made me feel like I had just witnessed the brilliance of a businesswoman.
[Iād like to have our compatibility read.]
[It will be 2R. Yes, indeedā¦ā¦ Please pick out what you like here.]
[ā¦ā¦Whatās this, a heart? Then, a crescent moon? Anyhow, this is quite a large cookieā¦ā¦]
[Itās called a fortune cookie, a cookie with a piece of paper inside that has the results of your compatibility reading written on it. It can be divided into two halves right in the middle, so both of you can also eat the cookie afterward.]
[Heehhh, that sounds interesting! Well then, you choose, Kaito.]
I see, a cookie with a piece of paper with the result of fortune-telling written on it beforehandā¦ā¦ It kinda feels like the omikuji fortune-telling at the shrines back in Japan.
This way, even at a crowded festival, she would be able to spend less time per couple, and at about 200 Japanese yen, itās affordable and people wouldnāt mind buying it.
The cookies were individually wrapped in translucent plastic-like wrapping, which were apparently hygienically safe, and the wrapping also had cute patterns on it that women would like.
Elise-san did mention that her store was quite prosperous, and indeed, it seemed like she had a good business acumen.
(Note: Itās those paper slips given in shrines when you draw a bamboo stick lottery from a shrine maiden)
[Errr, I choose this thenā¦ā¦ Weāll be a nuisance if we open it here, so letās go back to the others before opening it.]
[Alrighty, Iām looking forward to it~~]
For the time being, I could feel Elise-sanās emotions gushing towards me, telling me āto quickly get out of hereā, so I left the stall with Tre-san and returned to where Lilia-san and the others were.
Even so, itās rare to find someone like Elise, whose radiant smile and the emotions conveyed were completely different. Her sales smile is quite an impregnable fortress.
As I had these thoughts in mind, I split the cookie in two and handed the paper I took out from inside to Tre-san. I wonder how they put the paper inside this though?
Whether she put the paper in before baking the dough, or she put the paper in after baking itā¦ā¦ I donāt really know, but this was kinda interesting.
[Ahh, look here, Kaito, it says weāre perfect for each other! I knew it, this really is fate! With that being the case, should we go look for a wedding venue?]
[Thatās strange. Even though the fortune-telling said weāre perfectā¦ā¦]
[Rather, itās written on the paper, isnāt it? āForcing it is a bad idea, just take your time and develop your bondā.]
[ā¦ā¦Thatās right. I guess weāll have to take it slowly. Well then, for the time being, how about we start as lovers?]
[No, no, thatās too fast of a start! Arenāt you supposed to say āHow about we start as friendsā here?]
[Fumu, well, if thatās what Kaito says, Big Sister will concede. It canāt be helped, Kaito is still inexperienced after all.]
[No, no, why are you nonchalantly making it look like Iām the one being selfish here?]
I really canāt be too careful around herā¦ā¦ Well, I could see the teasing smile on Tre-sanās face, so I guess she was enjoying her interactions with me.
Well, to be honest, I also think this kind of exchange is quite fun.
[Anyway, sorry for the detourā¦ā¦ Letās go?]
And so, we started walking towards the middle-level againā¦ā¦ is what it should have been, but the girlish Hina-chan and Aoi-chan apparently also liked fortune-telling, so the two of them brought me back to Elise-sanās stall again.
The two of them had normal fortune-telling, and they also started buying the accessories that were sold together.
That in itself was no problem at all, but the whole time we were in front of the store, Elise-san was giving me this āYou again!ā kind of feeling, so standing there while the two shopped made me feel troubled.
She still had this radiant smile on her face, and her tone was cheerful and politeā¦ā¦ but well, she gave me a misanga bracelet-like accessory as a bonus, so I guess she really isnāt mad at me.