Chapter 373

As soon as the curtains are opened, sunlight floods into the room, a bright white Rising Sun, making the curtains seem to bend under the light.

At this moment, Ilya was sitting at the table by the window doing her homework, waiting to go to today's festival after she finished.

But plans are one thing, and implementation is another. After doing some homework, Ilya rested her cheek on her hand, her shadow falling on the plastic True Magic beside her.

The girl couldn't help but feel as if she were sitting in a classroom, even though the furnishings were completely different.

Like when Ivia transferred to his school and they became acquainted early in the morning or after school, sometimes he would sit alone in the classroom waiting for him, feeling that lonely feeling.

"Oh dear, it's a festival today, and there's Fireworks Festival tonight. It's so pitiful that little Ilya has to go alone. Sigh, even though she and Kuro have this kind of relationship, there's still such a big difference between them. Waaah, the purity of Magical Girl can't compete with the swift advances of a hot girl. There's nothing we can do about it, waaaah."

Sunlight shone on the wooden floor, gradually warming the bare toes. The girl turned around by the window, grabbed the chattering Ruby, and glared at Ruby fiercely.

"Don't disturb me while I'm doing my homework, Ruby."

However, Ilya sensed that the atmosphere had been a bit strange lately.

It wasn't Chloe, whom she was used to, but Miyu. However, she couldn't quite put her finger on what was strange about it. She simply felt that this usually aloof Black-Haired Girl seemed to be in a much better mood lately. After all, they lived across the street, and she could see her from time to time.

Miyu was perfectly fine before her Birthday party at the beach, could something have happened that day? But she really resisted when invited to play volleyball... Ah, I really can't figure it out.

But in any case, this should be considered a good thing. This way, when school starts, Miyu in this state should be able to communicate with Ivia He. As long as they can communicate, they should be able to find a solution to any problem.

That's what Ilya thought.

Then, after an unknown amount of time, perhaps because there were no curtains to block out the light, the increasingly intense glare made Ilya, who was doing her homework, stop writing. Thinking that she should be done for today, Ilya asked Sella to help her put on Yukata so she could go out to attend today's festival.

"Hehehe. Ilya so cute! Pink is the Perfection color for you. If you tilt your head slightly and make a victory sign, you're just irresistibly adorable."

After stepping outside, Ruby circled around Ilya was wearing a pink Yukata, and called out happily.

"... Shut up, Ruby."

That's what she said, but in reality, Ilya still imagined herself doing that. After all, although Ruby always spoke in a very inappropriate way, it was indeed a cute thing to outsiders, which Ilya had to admit. It was just too Shame and hard to accept.

It was only 3 p. m., but stalls had already been set up, offering activities like goldfish scooping, target shooting, and prize draws. Many people strolled around chatting and laughing. Even though some preparations were still underway, the festival itself seemed to have already begun.

In the distance, the sound of drums could be heard.

The thumping sound continued incessantly.

This wasn't the first time Ilya, who lived in Fuyuki, had heard such a sound, nor had she ever seen such a view.

Even so, the girl suddenly felt a sense of loneliness. Although she had gotten used to coming here to participate in the festival every year on this day, she felt a little lonely today because she was alone. She had thought of inviting Ivia when she went out, but she thought that with Kuro's personality, he would definitely bring Ivia along.

So they came first, but from another perspective, it seems like they backed down.

Am I backing down...?

Ilya suddenly realized that ever since Kuro came, especially after learning her true identity, she had been unconsciously regressing.

Perhaps it was because Ilya felt saddened by Chloe's fate that she wanted to make amends.

"Ilya?"

Suddenly someone shouted.

Ilya was startled and turned around to see Miyu wearing a blue Yukata.

"Hey, Miyu? You're here too?"

"Um."

To be honest, Ilya never expected Miyu to attend the festival, especially since she was alone like herself. What a coincidence! Could this be the bond between Magical Girl?

In fact, Miyu's idea was the same as Ilya's: to wait here for Ivia to come. However, unlike Ilya's 'retreat,' Miyu just felt that this was a 'surprise,' which is why she did it this way.

After that day at the beach, Miyu and Ivia had essentially 'reconciled.' As for the past, she had no intention of delving into the truth. That was enough; the girl believed that things were as they were.

During this period, Sapphire, which had previously suffered many "blows" from Miyu, also received a sincere response from Miyu:

"I'm sorry, Sapphire. You really meant well for me before, but I'm sorry I did what you did."

"... Waaaaah, Miyu, you've finally figured it out! Sapphire, I'm so happy!"

"No, that's not what I meant..."

"Isn't that right?"

"No, not really..."

"I understand, no need to say more, Miyu- sama."

In fact, Sapphire always knew that when Miyu lied, she felt a thin sheet of paper stuck deep in her throat, making obvious sounds of tension.

Therefore, at that time, Sapphire made up his mind to be a 'Transfer-Student Faction' person:

I'm sorry, sister, but for Miyu- sama's sake, I can't let you and Ilya- sama win.

However, Sapphire still had an unresolved question in her heart: why didn't the Od from the Dragon Flower Bodhi Tree in the elementary school flow to Miyu...?

Back to the present, after meeting Miyu, Ilya's initial joy turned into awkwardness because she couldn't find anything to talk about.

Miyu must have noticed her embarrassment, so she spoke first, pointing to a small stall and asking:

"Ilya, what is that?"

As expected, Ilya began answering the question without any doubt.

"That's a candy called Cotton Candy; it's soft and sweet."

"But that should just be a very simple food made by melting sugar and adding it to Cotton Candy. The cost of sugar alone is only a few yen, and even with the packaging bags, it would only be a few dozen yen at most. Even if the food store's cost ratio is 25%, the selling price would only be a few hundred yen at most. This price is obviously set too high."

For Ilya, who was terrible at math, she was already somewhat stunned when Miyu uttered those words.

"But why are so many people still buying so much?"

"Wait, wait a minute! I don't understand Miyu you're saying, Miyu!"

"Sorry, I'm just giving a brief summary."

Miyu pointed at the stall again, "That's a complete rip-off, isn't it?"

"Hey, Miyu, festivals aren't something you think about like that..."

Ilya looked worried, after all, Miyu had just spoken the words "black shop" quite loudly, and it was obvious that someone had heard it, which was not good.

"Then how should we think about it?"

"Just play around freely, that's all you need to think about."

Just as the two were having a meaningless conversation, a voice came from behind them again. Because they were so familiar with it Ilya Miyu didn't need to turn around to know it was Ivia. Ilya, Miyu mind was momentarily blank and didn't know what to say, immediately turned around quietly.

"Yes, um, I'm very sorry."

"No, there's nothing to apologize for. By the way, so you guys came to the festival too."

"Ha, isn't that obvious at a glance?"

Holding Ivia's hand, Chloe, dressed in a black Yukata, muttered a quiet complaint.

Chloe wasn't surprised at all by Ilya's arrival; after all, it would have been strange if she hadn't come. The same went for Miyu. However, Chloe was slightly puzzled by this, as Miyu's attitude towards Ivia had suddenly become much better, unlike her previous cold demeanor.

Immediately, Chloe felt a level of wariness towards Miyu that far exceeded that towards Ilya, given her drastic change in attitude.

After all, she had long seen that the relationship between Ivia Miyu was not so simple. In the context of manga and games, it would be equivalent to a significant increase in favorability once the relationship was resolved. Therefore, for Chloe, who already regarded Ivia as her only family, Miyu was more threatening than Ilya in some ways.

"Alright, since we've run into each other, I'll treat you to Cotton Candy."

After saying this, Ivia walked towards the shop that Miyu had pointed out and quietly apologized to the stall owner for Miyu's use of the word "shady shop."

"Could you give me three, no, four?"

"Of course, two hundred yen will be enough for me. After all, it seems like this is your first time here. I know Fuyuki very well, especially the people who attend the festival, so consider this a special offer."

The stall owner chuckled again, then, as if noticing the gazes of the three people not far away, casually asked, "Actually, it's not easy to communicate with overly serious people, especially children. They can easily become serious and start arguing, right?"

"Indeed, but with me here, I should be able to handle it. I'm quite confident in that."

"Haha, confidence is a good thing. By the way, if I can see the four of you every year, I'll still pay the same price."

The stall owner probably says this to the children who come in groups every year. After all, how can a person's memory remember so many people? So it's probably just something he does to make the children happy at the festival.

Amidst the clamor, Ivia returned to where the three were, carrying four Cotton Candy, one for each of Cotton Candy.

"So sweet."

Unlike Ilya and Chloe, who were used to eating Cotton Candy, Miyu gently took the Cotton Candy from Ivia with her fair fingers, carefully took a bite, and couldn't help but murmur like this.

For a fleeting moment, she wanted to talk about how such sweetness would affect the human body, and what the long-term effects would be. She had a lot to say, but when she saw Ivia smiling as she savored the Cotton Candy, she dismissed the thought.

Next, the four of them participated in shooting games, goldfish scooping, water balloon scooping, ring tossing, and other small games. They also watched festival performances, such as the Mikoshi procession and Taiko Drum. In addition to Cotton Candy, they also ate Takoyaki, grilled chicken skewers, pancakes, and other foods.

As night fell, the sunset faded, leaving only a few faint stars twinkling. The air was filled with the warm, characteristic scent of midsummer, and an occasional breeze carried the moist fragrance of grass from the riverbank.

The fireworks festival is about to begin.

"It's finally starting! Let's watch the fireworks!"

Ilya had specially found a good spot to watch, gazed excitedly at the night sky. Beside her were Miyu and Chloe, while Ivia went to buy them Ramune.

"Don't get so excited, it's not like you don't know."

"That's the kind of shouting we should do at times like this; that's how we create the atmosphere."

Throughout the journey, Ilya felt somewhat out of place with Ivia, Chloe, and Miyu, as if an atmosphere of 'I'm not good enough' surrounded her. Even though she was trying her best to eat, catch goldfish, and shoot, unlike the other two who needed to be taught step-by-step...

But why is this atmosphere getting stronger and stronger? She really doesn't understand.

"... oh."

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Chloe spoke again, "Speaking of which, I inherited this habit from you Ilya, didn't I?"

"Hmm? What habits?"

"It's just wearing Yukata... Oh well, no one will see it anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Chloe's words confused Ilya, who didn't know what she was talking about, but the Ruby that then appeared made it clear to her—

"Because you actually need to wear underwear under your Yukata, otherwise people will think you're a pervert, little Ilya ~"

These words struck the silver-haired girl like a bolt of lightning; she truly felt as if the sky had fallen again. For so long, her understanding of Yukata was that nothing was worn underneath. Now, Ruby had suddenly revealed this, making her want to die.

"It's nothing serious, just a small matter."

"This is no small matter!"

Ilya hurriedly grabbed the sides of her Yukata to prevent it from falling off. She hadn't thought about it before, but after Ruby told her, she became increasingly worried that the Yukata might fall off, and she was extremely anxious.

"If you don't take it off, it won't be exposed, so there's no problem."

That's what they say--

Before Ilya could finish speaking, she was interrupted by the Ruby held close to her ear.

"The area within dozens of meters has been shielded by the Ruby, so go for it, Ilya! This is the stage I specially chose for you, a stage of certain victory! Childhood friends are invincible! Those who suddenly appear out of nowhere are nothing but cowards, not worth mentioning!"

"Huh? What do you mean--"

Before she could finish her confused words, Ilya felt a chill run down her back. In other words, the bow on the back of her Yukata had been pulled open by Ruby. The bewildered silver-haired girl hurriedly ran away, shouting.

"Don't look at me!!!!! Ruby, you bastard!!!!"

Meanwhile, on the other hand, Ivia, who had just returned from buying Ramune, happened to see Ilya running towards her.

A blushing silver-haired girl jogged along in the gentle breeze carrying the delicate fragrance of cherry blossoms, her vibrant silver hair swaying softly. The pale moonlight filtering through the bright moonlight illuminated her snow-white skin, which she wore in a bright pink Yukata.

To avoid falling like fragments, I held the sides of my clothes tightly.

But it stopped abruptly, because it bumped into Ivia. Whether the unconscious girl bumped into her accidentally or Ivia deliberately caught her is another matter. Time slowly passed, and Ilya, buried in Ivia's chest, felt her cheeks burning slightly. Trying to hide something, she whispered:

"No, don't look."

"My eyes are closed."

Upon hearing this, Ilya suddenly raised her head and glanced at Ivia beneath her. She found that Ivia's eyes were indeed closed, just as he had said. For a moment, Ilya thought that it wouldn't be a problem if Ivia opened them, but even as she thought this, the girl's eyes, which were as bright as dazzling lights, remained fixed on him.

Time seemed to stand still; how long did the girl gaze at it? She herself didn't even know.

"I'm so sorry, it's all Ruby's fault, I'm very sorry..."

Coming to her senses, Ilya uttered this sentence, but she couldn't find any other words.

"How can you say it's all my fault?! You were happy too, Ilya! I was only doing this for your own good!"

The Ruby that jumped out looked utterly dejected.