"It's not too late yet,"
Tsukinoki Koto glanced at the time on her phone, then looked toward the brightly lit stall area ahead and took the initiative to suggest.
"The station must be packed right now. Why don't we browse the Festival stalls for a while longer?"
She paused and added another sentence, giving everyone maximum freedom.
"After all, everyone comes out to a Festival to have fun."
"Everyone can move freely for a while. If there's something you specifically want to play or eat, you can also split up. Let's agree to meet at the Station's Ticket Gate before 9:30, how about that?"
This proposal was immediately agreed upon by everyone in the Literature Club.
"Yay! I saw a Shooting Game stall over there just now, and the prizes looked super great!"
Shioyaki Lemon was the first to respond, her face full of eagerness.
"Th-that... I want to go see the Cotton Candy stall again."
Komari Chika also added softly.
"No problem! Then Komari, do you want to go Goldfish Scooping after buying the Cotton Candy? This time I'll definitely help you catch the biggest and most beautiful one!"
Shioyaki Lemon enthusiastically grabbed Komari Chika beside her.
Komari Chika was a bit overwhelmed by her enthusiasm but still responded softly, "U-uh-huh..."
Yanami Anna naturally had no other objections.
On the way to the Commercial Area, a few stalls were scattered about, catering to the needs of passersby.
Yanami Anna looked at the stalls on both sides with great interest, reaching out to point out her discoveries to Imaizumi Keita.
"Keita, look at that Mask, it's a Tengu! So cool!"
"Ah, there's a Shaved Ice stall over there, it looks delicious..."
Imaizumi Keita let her hold his arm, extending his hand to prevent her from being bumped by the surging crowd.
After successfully reaching the Commercial Area, Yanami Anna's footsteps suddenly stopped.
"Ah! Goldfish Scooping! Keita, look!"
Her eyes instantly lit up, her gaze firmly attracted by the Goldfish Scooping stall on the corner, which was surrounded by people.
In the pool, the colorful goldfish looked exceptionally lively and cute under the reflection of the lights.
The scene where Imaizumi Keita helped her scoop goldfish earlier was still fresh in her mind, especially since the sight of Shioyaki Lemon holding two goldfish had stimulated her, reigniting her competitive spirit to challenge it herself.
When they reached the stall with the flow of people...
She subconsciously let go of Imaizumi Keita's arm and leaned forward a couple of steps, wanting to see more clearly.
"This time I must catch one myself! I'll choose that one with the prettiest tail..."
Just as she let go, a surging crowd poured out from a nearby intersection.
"Hey! Anna!"
Imaizumi Keita's heart tightened, and he subconsciously tried to squeeze through the crowd.
However, after the bobbing heads and shoulders separated the two, Imaizumi Keita felt like he was surrounded by tourists heading the other way.
It would take a lot of effort to cross through this crowd...
"Tsk..."
Imaizumi Keita frowned, preparing to squeeze through the flow of people.
Before he could reach out his hand, a warm and strong palm grabbed his hand without allowing any argument.
Eh?!
What's going on?!!
Imaizumi Keita turned his head and saw Shioyaki Lemon's sparkling eyes.
She had squeezed to his side at some point, her face full of pride and a cunning expression.
Immediately after, a force pulling in a different direction from where he intended to go came from his hand.
Shioyaki Lemon pulled him along, joining another crowd surging toward a side path without a word.
With this, Imaizumi Keita's distance from Yanami Anna grew even further...
Imaizumi Keita opened his mouth, but the idea of calling out Yanami's name to tell her to wait for him was immediately dismissed.
Seeing Shioyaki Lemon's secret joy, he felt he couldn't bear to interrupt the girl's little thoughts of secret happiness...
Forget it.
Anyway, the meeting time and place were already agreed upon.
With the President and Senior there on Anna's side, nothing should go wrong.
Besides, this feeling of being forcibly "abducted" seemed... quite interesting.
He stopped resisting and let Shioyaki Lemon lead him through the crowded throng.
The two soon broke away from the most crowded area and came to a relatively quiet side road.
...
On the other side.
The surging crowd finally began to disperse, and Yanami Anna patted her chest with lingering fear, preparing to share her "thrilling" experience with Imaizumi Keita.
She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly freezing.
Eh?
Where's Keita?
There was no one beside her.
Imaizumi Keita, who she had been holding onto just a moment ago, had disappeared from her side at some unknown point.
"Eh?"
A look of confusion appeared on Yanami Anna's face.
She stood on her tiptoes, anxiously searching through the passing crowd, but she couldn't see Imaizumi Keita's familiar dark gray Yukata.
Nothing.
There were only bobbing heads and unfamiliar faces everywhere, but no sign of Imaizumi Keita.
A wave of inexplicable panic surged in her heart.
Yanami Anna's heart skipped a beat as a thought that made her even more uneasy surfaced.
She turned her head and quickly scanned the crowd not far away.
Senior Tsukinoki and President Tamaki were still there, standing in front of a stall selling Candy Apples.
Komari-san was also behind them, holding a stick of freshly bought Cotton Candy.
Only...
Only Shioyaki Lemon's figure was also gone.
This discovery made Yanami Anna's mind go blank.
Was this a case of strict defense, or did she fail to hold the line...
With a guy like Keita, if you feed meat to his mouth, can he choose not to eat it?
If he could really restrain himself to that extent, he wouldn't have coaxed her into kissing him...
Yanami Anna knew Imaizumi Keita's nature best...
She was worried to death, complaining about Imaizumi Keita's rotten luck with women while praying for Shioyaki Lemon to hold firm...
Please, Lemon.
You absolutely mustn't give it to a guy like Keita...
That guy is so gluttonous he'll never stop eating...
With these thoughts in mind, Yanami Anna ignored the passing crowd and hurried to Tsukinoki Koto's side.
"Senior! A crowd just came and separated me from Keita..."
Her voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling due to anxiety.
"I don't see him now. Did you see where he went?"
"Hmm?"
Tsukinoki Koto also showed a surprised expression upon hearing this.
"There were too many people just now, I didn't notice..."
Tsukinoki Koto comforted Yanami Anna, "But you were just separated by the crowd, so there's no need to worry so much."
"But..."
"Don't worry," Tamaki Shintaro also chimed in from the side.
"Imaizumi isn't a child anymore; he'll definitely be fine. Yanami, don't be so anxious."
"True, I'll give him a call!"
Yanami Anna realized she was indeed a bit too agitated and quickly calmed down.
To avoid them finding out that Keita might have disappeared with Lemon, which would be quite troublesome.
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