Chapter 516

After chatting and laughing around the campfire for a while, the most anticipated activity of the night seemed to be about to begin.

The class monitor gathered the interested students and they started to sit around the campfire.

Firstly, it seemed to be the kind of folk dance where a group of people dance and spin around a campfire. Because there were so many people, it was a bit crowded, so they simply watched and didn't join in.

In the darkness of night, people's figures were somewhat hazy and indistinct, their outlines blurred by the firelight.

They seem quite happy.

Takanashi held the cola cup with her slender fingers, then suddenly thought of something and said:

"There's a similar party in R'lyeh, shall we go together?"

"Good."

I want to go.

"I want to too."

"It's settled then." Takanashi remembered this.

However, compared to the party in this city and this school, the Bonfire Party in R'lyeh is probably much noisier and more dazzling.

Surprisingly, she preferred Earth's party.

To be honest, although it was supposed to be a gathering with friends—which might sound like she'd forgotten her friends for the sake of a pretty girl—she hadn't seen Haihara much these past two days, which made her quite regretful.

I wonder if I'll be able to bring Teacher Haihara along to visit R'lyeh.

Well, considering her status as her adoptive mother, sugar daddy, and lover.

Gazing at the roaring campfire in the distance, the slightly bored Takanashi drifted into a daydream.

Cangyue Yuri didn't have that idea. She had already spent some time with Haihara today and had a very happy and fulfilling day with both of them.

Sakaki Chika and Kuroki Yuka are taking photos and videos of the traditional folk dance performed around the Bonfire Party.

Kirishima Ai was also taking pictures of this scene and sending them to her younger sister.

As she was taking pictures, something suddenly occurred to her.

"Um, everyone."

The girl looked up at the others around her.

"What's wrong?"

"Um?"

What are you doing?

At that moment, Kirishima Ai picked up her phone, adjusted the camera, switching from taking a night view to a selfie, and said:

"How about we take a group photo or something? I mean, just the few of us."

Problem Child, I blinked and thought the suggestion seemed reasonable and interesting.

Haven't they taken many photos together?

Let's take a picture then.

To be fair, they all have pretty faces. Even with Kirishima's camera without any filters, they still managed to capture several decent-looking young women.

Kirishima Ai discovers that, despite it being her own phone, she seems to be the least photogenic person in the picture.

Are these people I know a little too good-looking?

However, after admiring the photos together, the others also gained some insights and reflections.

"Wow, Kirishima is so beautiful!"

After seeing the photo, Takanashi suddenly realized this.

"Ai has always been beautiful."

Sakaki Chika smiled affirmatively, as always.

"Hmm... I admit I'm about 70-80% as attractive as I am after a shower," Kuroki Yuka rarely praised.

"Oh? So, Kirishima's face is the type that's popular in R'lyeh."

Cangyue Yuri offered a fair assessment.

Kirishima Ai was quite pleased with the compliments.

She coughed twice to hide her blush, and was about to say something when the others' attention was drawn to something else.

"Wow, the ball's starting! Chika, come with me!"

Takanashi noticed that the ball for couples had already begun, and many men and women were dancing under the firelight, with the music becoming even more cheerful and romantic.

She quickly called to her dance partner Sakaki Chika, to join in the fun with a perfunctory dance.

Kuroki Yuka course, also joined in the fun:

"Oh, right? Well then, goodbye Kirishima."

"Ah?"

Kirishima Ai was stunned for a moment.

"Let's go, Cangyue! Let me show you my amazing dance moves that I practiced for three days and two nights."

Kuroki Yuka clenched her fist with absolute confidence, then grabbed Cangyue Yuri from behind and ran, while Cangyue Yuri herself blinked;

"Wonderful...? I have a bad feeling about this."

As they spoke, their figures disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.

First, Takanashi dragged Sakaki Chika away, and soon after, Kuroki Yuka also waved and left Kirishima Ai's side with Cangyue Yuri.

After they left, only the girl remained standing there.

Kirishima Ai, who had remained where she was, then remembered her earlier arrogant and awkward remarks.

Now that things have come to this, it seems too late to explain or admit wrongdoing.

Kirishima Ai scratched her head.

Let's... go over and take a look?

Maybe a dance partner will become available later.

She casually tossed away the empty Coke cups on the ground, then slowly walked over with a glow stick that someone had given her, though she didn't know who it was.

Although she was no longer as out of place as she used to be, Kirishima Ai hesitated slightly when she saw the other students having so much fun under the firelight in the distance. She watched them from afar, her pupils, illuminated by the firelight, flickering between light and shadow.

At that moment, she suddenly thought that it would be nice if someone were by her side.

She means someone she might like.

It's the kind of relationship that makes people envious. You dance together, or you simply stand with her and keep her company.

Or perhaps, someone with a similarly eccentric and difficult personality feels sad at times like this.

Suddenly, a boy and a girl, dancing so wildly they almost crashed into Kirishima Ai.

Seeing this, Kirishima Ai subconsciously took two steps back, only to bump into something very soft.

Kirishima Ai paused for a moment.

It seemed to be... whose body? It was a woman with a very generous heart, and she was very tall. Kirishima Ai thought that her neck was probably resting on the other woman's chest.

This height difference seems strangely familiar.

I've also smelled the perfume.

She was about to turn around and apologize when she heard a familiar voice—

"Kirishima, aren't you going to dance with someone?"

A cold, languid voice.

Yes, she knew exactly who it was.

Kirishima Ai turned her head and saw a very tall woman with a pale and gloomy face. Even in the light of the campfire, her eyes remained dull and lifeless, giving her an inexplicable and unremarkable appearance.

Teacher Haihara?

Kirishima Ai thought she wasn't coming.

"... No, well, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I don't have a dance partner yet."

She said it in a dry, unresponsive tone.

I felt quite embarrassed.

This is like saying she's unpopular, immature, and a Problem Child.

Upon hearing this, Haihara looked around at her classmates in the square and found that, apart from Kirishima Ai, there were indeed no one alone.

"By the way, teacher, what brings you here?"

Kirishima Ai had assumed that the teacher wouldn't be interested in this kind of activity.

Haihara thought for a moment and said---

"Check if any students in the class are missing while dancing, and come over to make up the numbers. Although it's actually a downer, that's the requirement, so there's no other way."

"Eh... so you mean...?"

Kirishima Ai blinked.

It seems she accidentally triggered a hidden event?

The bonfire dance party continues, the music still playing.

Kirishima, the lone Problem Child, seems to have triggered a special event due to her withdrawn personality?

Volume Four Does This Count as a Magical Girl??: Chapter 37 Ding ding dong

The night was dim, and if one were to breathe at this hour, one would exhale a wisp of white mist. Kirishima Ai's gaze drifted, sometimes looking at the dark and cold winter night, unable to distinguish between the indifferent starlight and snowflakes, and sometimes casually glancing at the woman dancing hand in hand with her.

The music at the ball was of unknown duration, and the firelight remained bright, illuminating one side of each of the two men. It made the woman's face appear exceptionally cold and pale, her pupils thin and Kirishima.

While the other students were dancing with their classmates, Kirishima Ai was dancing with her homeroom Teacher Haihara.

Although it wasn't really dancing, everyone was just swaying to the music and doing it as they pleased.

But it was surprisingly romantic and fun.

Kirishima Ai noticed that she seemed a little nervous, and her heart was perhaps beating a bit fast. How to put it? She hadn't expected her dance partner tonight to be Teacher Haihara. Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

She held hands with the woman in front of her whom she had never understood. Kirishima Ai wondered if her hands would sweat or something.

However, judging from her appearance, her expression was quite calm, no different from usual.

I feel like I should say something at this moment, but Kirishima Ai don't know what to say.

Before she knew it, Kirishima Ai wanted Teacher Haihara to dance along with her. So, she stood on tiptoe and applied a little force with her hands to see if Teacher Haihara would follow her. As it turned out, the woman in front of her really did move with her.

For some reason, Kirishima Ai felt inexplicably happy, and her heart started pounding.

Sometimes, she felt that Teacher Haihara was like a lazy, decadent big cat; although she had a likable appearance, her personality was terrible.

Suddenly, Haihara, who hadn't been paying much attention, casually asked:

"Feeling bored?"

Boring?

Kirishima Ai shook her head in confusion:

"Not at all, in fact... I'm quite happy?"

At the end, Kirishima Ai seemed a little embarrassed.

Haihara blinked at this.

The two continued dancing, not too close to the large bonfire in the center, but in a relatively dim corner. Even so, it wasn't bad; it prevented Kirishima Ai from feeling embarrassed by being stared at, and it also gave her a feeling of being alone with Teacher Haihara.

I wonder if Teacher Haihara will find it boring.

"Hmm, this is quite different from what I expected. Disappointing."

Haihara casually uttered capricious words.