Chapter 103 Summer Festival (1)

"Tomorrow is a two-day holiday for the Obon Festival. Everyone should use the last time before the training to change your mindset and give your body a good rest." At nine o'clock in the evening on August 14, Kiyono Rin announced to the wind orchestra.

"Long live!!!" Ikki Aoi raised his arms and shouted.

Everyone who had been exhausted for a long time now showed excitement. They packed up their musical instruments and discussed where to go for fun tomorrow.

Watanabe Toru turned his stiff neck, and the bones made a crackling sound, which scared Hayami Kaoru who was standing beside him.

"Are you okay, Watanabe-kun?"

"It's a little sore, but it's okay, just move around."

"Thanks for your hard work."

"What's the big deal?" Watanabe said nonchalantly, "I only plan to work hard until I'm 25, so I'll just endure the hardship of the rest of my life."

"25 years old?" Hayami Xun tilted his head in confusion, but soon stopped dwelling on it. "What are your plans for tomorrow, Watanabe-san?"

"Read, study, and... clean the house. I'll accompany my girlfriend to the Obon Festival in Hibiya Park in the evening." Worried that Hayami Kaoru would fall in love with him, Watanabe Toru deliberately used the word "girlfriend".

Maybe it's a bit narcissistic, but everything is possible. Besides, he still receives love letters in his shoe cabinet every day, proving that the probability of this possibility is extremely high.

"It's like this." Hayami Xun didn't notice the strange expression on her face, and continued, "I have an appointment with several other girls from the wind band to go swimming in the swimming pool. This is a rare opportunity, so I wanted to invite more people to go."

"Me? I'll forget it."

"You can see a lot of cute girls in swimsuits." Hayami Kaoru was like a kindergarten teacher persuading children to eat well.

"I'm not interested in these." Watanabe Toru replied in a flat tone.

Of course he was interested! Extremely interested! What man wouldn't be interested?

The main thing is... he doesn't dare .

"The three beauties in the wind band: Mai-senpai, Asako-san, and Tamamo Yoshimi-san, they will all be there. As a boy, Watanabe-san, are you really not interested?"

These three people are very troublesome, but it is undeniable that they are beautiful. If you only look at them, they are quite tempting choices...

etc.

It was true that he was popular, but that was among the girls outside of the wind band—at least that was the case on the surface. There was no reason for the people in the wind band to invite him when they went out swimming, and to go to so much trouble to do so.

Toru Watanabe looked at Hayami Kaoru with suspicion.

Hayami Kaoru covered her mouth with her hands, smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "Actually, we want Watanabe-kun to help persuade Kiyono-san to go with us."

"Kiyono Rin? Why did you invite her?"

"We are grateful for her help. Kiyono-san seems to be alone all the time, so we would like to invite her to hang out with us on holidays."

"Forget about the sympathy."

Kiyono Rin doesn't need sympathy - that's what Toru Watanabe thinks.

"It's not sympathy, Tamamo-san and I want to be friends with her, and... although Kiyono-san's breasts are a little small, she has a great figure and will be very cute in a swimsuit!"

"...Can this be your reason to invite her?" Toru Watanabe emphasized her gender.

"Watanabe-kun," Hayami Kaoru said softly like a teacher who is patient and persuading, "Even if they are girls, they like cute girls."

“…”

There is something wrong with this woman.

If we use the [detector] to check, it is definitely another weirdo.

But then again, everyone has some unknown quirks, right?

"Then why don't you go and invite her yourself?" Toru Watanabe glanced at Kiyono Rin who was being asked questions by a group of girls on the podium.

Hayami Kaoru showed a wry smile on his face and looked at Kiyono Rin: "We tried to invite her, but Kiyono-san said she didn't like group activities and rejected us."

"Oh, that guy hates humans and doesn't really like group activities."

"So we would like to invite you, Watanabe-kun, first."

"Why?" Watanabe Toru asked in surprise.

"Hmm..." Hayami Kaoru said thoughtfully, "How should I put it? There is no specific reason. If it is Watanabe-kun who invites, Kiyono-san will definitely come. That's the feeling I have."

"...You think too highly of me." Watanabe Toru waved his hand, "Besides, there's no way I'm going. I'm not the kind of person who would go out with other girls when I have a girlfriend."

Asako Hanada, who was observing the situation here, seemed to want to say something, but with her cute little face blushing and her little fists clenched, she held back with great difficulty.

"That's great!" Hayami Kaoru suddenly clapped his hands together and said happily, "Call Kujo Miki along too! She has big breasts!"

“……” Toru Watanabe took off the reed of his oboe, packed up and prepared to go home.

He can't talk to people who don't like legs.

Besides, Kujo Miki is his girlfriend. Whether her breasts are big or not is her business alone, right? What does it have to do with other people?

"Wait, Watanabe-kun, please! We really want to be friends with Kiyono-san." Hayami Kaoru sat in his seat and bowed slightly to Watanabe Toru.

Watanabe Toru sighed, "It's not easy to become friends with her just by hanging out a few times."

Given Kiyono Rin's dislike for lying, the longer they spend together, the more impatient they will become with the people around them, right? This is also the reason why she lived alone in high school and always stayed alone in the activity room to read books at noon... probably.

"How do you know it won't work if you haven't tried it?" Tamamo Haomei came over at some point, and her pretty face peeked out from behind Hayami Xun's shoulder.

"How can you say such a thing?" Toru Watanabe glanced at her heavy chest pressing on Hayami Kaoru's thin shoulders.

"You, what do you mean? Are you looking down on me?"

"Wait, don't cry, don't cry, I don't mean to look down on you!"

"Cry? Who would cry? She's so beautiful that she won't cry!"

Tamamo Yoshimi put her hands on her hips with a menacing look, and in order to look up at Watanabe Toru as much as possible, she pushed her chest high, showing off her plump curves to the fullest.

"Yes, yes, you won't cry. Tamamo-san is the best."

Tamamo Yomi puffed out her cheeks, very dissatisfied with the tone of his coaxing the child.

"Watanabe-kun, can you please help me?" Hayami Kaoru brought the topic back to where it had strayed.

"Let's try it." Watanabe Toru sighed and said, "But there's a high probability that it won't succeed."

"It's okay, as long as you try to help make an appointment!"

Hayami Kaoru and Tamamo Yomi both looked happy, and it seemed that they really wanted to make friends with Kiyono Rin.

Having agreed, Toru Watanabe started to take action on his way home.

First, call Kujo Miki.

"What's the matter?" Kujo Miki's voice came over in a commanding tone with a hint of coquettishness.

"What are you doing?"

"Why? Did you miss me?"

"No. Are you free tomorrow during the day? Can we meet early?"

Miki Kujo laughed twice contemptuously, and her voice became even more lazy, sounding as if she relaxed her body and leaned back in the chair.

"How about going swimming during the day tomorrow?"

The sound of pen tapping on paper came from the phone, probably someone was thinking.

After a while.

"My private beach in Minami-Izu is under maintenance. The one in Okinawa is too far away. It takes six hours to fly there and back."

Are all rich people like this, or is there something wrong with Kujo Miki's way of thinking?

Watanabe Toru leans towards the latter, but he won't actually ask.

There has to be a limit to one's own death, not to mention that people should not be destroyed when they are in trouble. Maybe Kujo Miki will feel disappointed when she finds out that her brain circuits are different from those of ordinary people?

Just kidding.

"That's not what I meant. It's at the pool near Yotsuya Station. Two hours is enough."

"Yotsuya Station? That kind of public swimming pool?" Kujo Miki's disdainful laughter came over.

“…You’re not going?”

"Lost? How about this, I'll take you to my beach when I have time, and then I'll let you help me apply sunscreen."

The image of Kujo Miki's slender waist, which he wished he could hold tightly in his arms, and her long, white legs flashed through his mind, and Watanabe Toru's breathing instinctively became a little heavier.

This subtle change was clearly captured by the mobile phone and then transmitted to Kujo Miki's ears.

"Hmm?" Kujo Miki made a condescending and teasing sound, hiding a hint of smile.

"Why is it so hot? The cooling effect in the train is too poor." Watanabe Toru cleared his throat, "What time do we meet tomorrow night?"

"Seven o'clock. The outdoor music pond at Hibiya Park."

"Understood. By the way," Watanabe Toru pretended to be casual and said, "If you don't go, Miki, can I go swimming with some classmates?"

"Go ahead." Kujo Miki said casually.

"You really can't go?" Watanabe Toru confirmed regretfully, suppressing the corners of his mouth that kept rising.

"Didn't I tell you, I'm busy." Kujo Miki said with a slightly impatient tone.

"Well... okay." Watanabe Toru's words were filled with disappointment.

"You were kidding. I'll have someone book out the entire swimming pool tomorrow."

"ah?"

"Do you love me?"

"...Love." Watanabe Toru was desperate.

Miki Kujo nodded with satisfaction, not caring that Toru Watanabe couldn't see it at all.

"Um, Meiji, my classmates..."

"Kunii Osamu and Saito Keisuke? Get them out of here."

"...No." Watanabe Toru felt even more nervous than during the official wind instrument competition. He swallowed and chose his words carefully: "Actually, the suggestion of swimming was made by a senior from the wind instrument club. Of course! She's not the only girl going!"

"Can you say that again?"

"Miji, I love you." Toru Watanabe no longer cared about the strange looks from other people in the car.

"I want you to say what you just said again."

"As many times as you want. Meiji, I love you."

"Are you sure you want me to repeat myself for the third time?"

"Meiji, listen to me! When she invited me, I immediately told her: I won't go without my girlfriend's consent. And I want to take this opportunity to swim with you, Meiji!"

“…”

"…Meiji?"

"You have a good relationship with the girls in the wind orchestra." There was a chill in Kujo Miki's tone that was cold enough to freeze the entire carriage.

"No!" This was the only thing that Watanabe Toru was very confident about. "When I first joined the club, in order to draw a clear line between me and them, I said a lot of bad things to them without any hesitation. You will know when you come tomorrow."

"Tomorrow I will see with my own eyes how close you are. Well, if I am not satisfied, you can't stay in the orchestra."

"I swear to Yotsuya Station that if I lie to you, I will derail this train immediately!"

Clank, clank, the tram continued to move steadily in the designated direction.

"Slippery tongue." Kujo Miki sneered on the other side of the phone and warned: "If I find out that you are lying to me, committing suicide by lying on the railway tracks as soon as possible is your best choice."

After hanging up the phone, Toru Watanabe breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, in order to help Kiyono Rin, he deliberately worsened his relationship with the people in the brass band, otherwise tomorrow's Obon Festival would be the day of his death.

But I really didn't expect that Kujo Miki would suddenly agree. Could it be that the young lady really fell in love with him?

Watanabe Toru thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he simply gave up thinking about it.

After calming down, he used the call function on Line to call Kiyono Rin.

"Kiyono-san, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Read books, watch movies, and probably practice the piano."

"Piano." Toru Watanabe remembered that he had a privilege to exchange 5,000 points for a <Master Piano>.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking, I'm pretty good at computer games, so I must be pretty good at the piano, which also has keys."

“Hang up.”

"Wait a minute." Watanabe Toru hurriedly got down to business, "Senior Hayami invited me to go swimming tomorrow, do you want to go with us?"

"No."

The rejection was quite straightforward.

"That's true. You really don't seem like someone who likes group activities. I had to work hard to convince Meiji to let me go swimming. I wanted to see Miss Kiyono in a swimsuit."

"...Kujo is going too?"

"yes."

"Then I'll go too."

"Um?"

So, are these two the ones who really have a good relationship?

But in a sense, Hayami Kaoru's gaze was not wrong. After all, he was the only one who could call out Kujo Miki, and then Kiyono Rin would agree.

"It's settled then. Meet at Yotsuya Station at 10am tomorrow. I'm looking forward to your swimsuit."

"Don't bother. I'm hanging up."

"Haha, good night."

"Good night."

The next morning, Toru Watanabe went out for a run at six o'clock as usual.

A new batch of pigeons have arrived at Suga Shrine. No one knows whether they are raised by the shrine's chief or flew here on their own.

The group of old ladies were as energetic as ever, going up and down the hills effortlessly, preaching about everything, including Toru Watanabe.

Before ten o'clock, Watanabe Toru, who didn't want to study today, had nothing to do, and didn't plan to go out early to the library to read.

I had to watch TV for a while.

Television stations across the country are broadcasting the local summer events.

There were riverside competitions where people used their body temperature to melt ice, watermelon hitting competitions, and I even saw a skipping stone competition held in Kochi Prefecture, where the winner could get a local specialty.

Only TV Tokyo is broadcasting a food program titled "How to cook udon noodles at home that are as delicious as those in restaurants."

"… all-purpose flour with a protein content between 8.0-9.5. This time we used Canadian AP flour."

"Let's get started~"

"First, add 5% sea salt and 42% to 43% water..."

Toru Watanabe stared at the TV absentmindedly.

Before I learned how to make delicious udon noodles, I received a call from my hometown.

After talking about his recent situation, showing off the achievements of the wind band, and refusing the money his family wanted to send him on the grounds that he was working well part-time, Toru Watanabe got up and cleaned up the house.

Washing school uniforms, scrubbing the bathtub, sweeping the floor, etc. with the TV playing in the background.

After I finished cleaning, it was already half past nine. I turned off the TV which was playing a variety show called "Can I Go to Your House with You" and started getting ready to go out.

He changed into a white shirt and trousers, hesitated for a few seconds, and then put on the black Rolex diving watch that Miki Kujo gave him.

Because of the Obon holiday, the train to Yotsuya Station was packed with people. The station assistant had to push people in hard to force the train door to close.

In this situation, not to mention finding a seat to sit down, I couldn't even grab the hanging ring.

However, if you keep complaining just because the train is so crowded that you can't grab the hanging ring, you will definitely be laughed at by the office workers in Tokyo.

When they arrived at Yotsuya Station, Asama Kaoru and the others were already there, as were the department managers Komatsu Misaki and Ikki Aoi.

Carrying nice bags and beautiful life buoys, they attracted a lot of attention. People coming and going all looked at them with eyes that said, "These girls are so pretty."

"Watanabe-kun, where is your swimsuit?" asked Asahi Kaoru.

“I’ll buy it when we get to the swimming pool.”

After greeting them, Toru Watanabe didn't say another word, staring at the airplane clouds in the aqua blue sky in a trance.

The cicadas on the trees along the roadside chirped loudly, and the tall buildings in the distance seemed to be soaked in hot water, twisting from time to time.

Not long after, Qingye Rin arrived.

She wore a white shirt on the upper body and light blue jeans on the lower body, and she was also carrying a cute cloth bag in her hand, which had cute dolphins embroidered on it.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

"No, we're here too early! Kiyono-san is dressed very nicely today!"

"Just anything."

"She looks so good in any casual outfit! It must be because she's so pretty!"

"I don't deny that."

After Kiyono Rin arrived, one minute before ten o'clock, Kujo Miki got out of a business car.

She was wearing sunglasses, a white dress and a big sun hat, like a 19th century princess.

The robot Jingliu followed her, carrying a large black bag.

Miki Kujo first stared at Toru Watanabe, who was standing alone away from the girls, for a while, and then turned her gaze to Rin Kiyono.

"You're here too?"

"Yes, I'm here." Qingye Rin said coldly.

Miki Kujo lowered her eyes to Kiyono Rin's chest, which was not moving at all, and sneered.