Chapter 183: Tanabata Festival Is Approaching
At the beginning of July, the muggy air hit the nose with every gust of wind, making the whole body heat up along with it.
In addition, there was the loud, incessant buzzing of cicadas.
Living underground for five years, only to come up to the surface during summer, would drive anyone insane — what the hell are those creatures living for? What is the point of their existence, anyway?
Sakurai Saki was pedaling up a slope while pondering that philosophical question.
By the time he reached the school gate, he still hadn't come up with an answer.
Today wasn't Miko's turn for gate duty, so Sakurai didn't linger.
He wheeled his bike to the bicycle parking area, then grabbed his written apology and headed to the teachers' office.
After being lectured for a while with words that were both heartfelt and annoyingly tedious, Sakurai returned to class.
The moment he stepped into the classroom, the whole class erupted into cheers.
"General affairs Sakurai, you're awesome!!"
"Did your confess to Hayasaka-san have reciprocated yet?"
"…Hayasaka Ai——!! I-I! I love you the most!!" Sitting in the front row, Toyosaki Saburou shouted in an extremely poor imitation.
The whole class burst into loud laughter — his impersonation was terrible!
Sakurai could only sigh helplessly. These guys were way too idle.
He glanced at Hayasaka Ai and saw that she, unusually, had a blushing and flustered look.
Hayasaka: (⸝⸝⸝>﹏<⸝⸝⸝)
She was probably remembering what happened last week during the sports festival — he had confessed to her in front of everyone, which in hindsight was pretty dumb.
Sakurai walked over to her and set down his bag.
"So now I'm popular, happy now?" Hayasaka Ai said, blushing and annoyed.
Although she really liked romantic moments, and Sakurai's confession that day nearly made her want to record it and listen to it a thousand times, she had been enduring the curious stares of the whole class — no, the whole school — all week.
Someone had even asked her directly — "Ai-chan, did you accept General Affairs Sakurai's confession?"
Hayasaka Ai didn't dare answer that question. She was afraid that if she answered, it would just make things explode further.
But… not answering was practically the same as admitting.
Now the entire school had defaulted to thinking that she and Sakurai Saki were dating.
'So the one who ruined my plans the most isn't [Variable F] (Fujiwara Chika), it's Sakurai-chan!'
Chika, at most, would randomly appear when Hayasaka was trying to gather intel.
But Sakurai was a whole different story — one move from him, and Hayasaka had no way to hide anymore.
If, before, Hayasaka had 100 points in stealth skills, Sakurai had slapped her with a debuff that subtracted 90 points — and it couldn't be removed!
Now you're famous, how wonderful ૮₍ ˃ ⤙ ˂ ₎ა (emotionless tone).
"It's not a bad thing. At least now we can eat together comfortably," Sakurai said.
"After school you can invite Kaguya-san too, we can all hang out together." He said this quietly, only loud enough for Hayasaka to hear.
"Just the two of us is better." Hayasaka refused.
She didn't want to go on a date with a third wheel tagging along.
But… speaking of dating, a thought suddenly popped into Hayasaka Ai's mind:
'Tanabata Festival is coming up.'
At the Shinomiya estate, no one really celebrated Tanabata.
Last year, Hayasaka Ai had helped Kaguya hang a few wish tags on bamboo branches, then they had dinner like any normal day.
This year… it might be nice to invite a few more people. Like the student council members — it could be considered a small family gathering.
She could try discussing it with Kaguya-sama tonight.
Wait!!
Hayasaka Ai suddenly snapped back to reality — just now, she had been daydreaming about being lovey-dovey with Sakurai Saki in front of Shinomiya Kaguya, completely forgetting that she was still hiding her Herthaka-kun identity from Sakurai Saki!
Moreover…
There was also Fujiwara Chika. Last time, Hayasaka Ai had deceived her using the Herthaka-kun identity.
This time, although Sakurai Saki already knew she was a maid, the other student council members didn't. Therefore, Hayasaka Ai couldn't appear in her maid persona.
She had to conceal her identity and also make sure Sakurai didn't sense anything strange.
'…Forget it.'
It was best not to hold a Tanabata event. It was just a minor festival anyway.
Besides, what's the point of praying to Orihime and Hikoboshi? If they could really grant everyone's wishes, then why were they only allowed to meet once a year?
...
(Note google: Tanabata, also known as the Star Festival, is a Japanese festival that celebrates the meeting of two star-crossed lovers, Orihime (represented by the star Vega) and Hikoboshi (represented by the star Altair), who are separated by the Milky Way. They are only allowed to meet once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month.
The festival is based on a Chinese legend and involves writing wishes on colorful paper strips (tanzaku) and hanging them on bamboo branches. Tanabata is celebrated in various ways across Japan, with some regions holding large-scale festivals with elaborate decorations. )
...
After school, Sakurai Saki went to the student council room.
"Good afternoon, Shirogane."
"Oh, it's Sakurai, good afternoon." Shirogane Miyuki sat in the student council president's chair, not even bothering to look up, still staring intently at a pile of documents.
Sakurai didn't bother him.
Instead, he turned to look at Shinomiya Kaguya nearby.
"Kaguya-san, what are you doing?"
In front of him, Shinomiya Kaguya was holding a note paper, writing something on it.
"A Tanabata wish. Sakurai-san, do you really not even know about this?"
She gave Sakurai a glance as if she were looking at an idiot.
"Only four more days until Tanabata, and you're already writing your wishes?" Sakurai sat down in front of her. "Let me ask you something, Kaguya-san—do you believe in Santa Claus?"
Kaguya didn't answer. She simply continued staring at him with a look of disdain.
Kaguya: (·•᷄ࡇ•᷅ )
Tch, that face really gets on people's nerves.
Sakurai really wanted to punch her face.
"…Tch tch, don't believe in Santa Claus, but you believe in Tanabata." Sakurai Saki picked up the usual tea cup and poured himself some black tea brewed by Kaguya. "So belief nowadays depends on nationality, huh."
Japanese people don't believe in foreign gods! True national identity right there!
"Tanabata is a traditional Japanese festival, while Christmas is an imported one," Kaguya calmly explained.
"So that's why you skipped Christmas last year to compete in an archery tournament?" Sakurai lifted the cup and took a sip.
Probably not...
If Shinomiya Kaguya had someone she liked, or a boyfriend, then Christmas would definitely rank higher than an archery competition.
"I was the national individual champion last year," Shinomiya Kaguya said, without stopping her writing.
Archery, huh. As long as you have arms, you can shoot. The basic eight steps—stance, posture, nocking, raising, drawing, aiming, release, and follow-through—she had them all memorized. She could hit the bullseye with her eyes closed.
So saying "as long as you have arms, you can shoot" wasn't wrong at all.
If one day Sakurai Saki ever betrayed Hayasaka Ai, Kaguya-sama wouldn't even need a gun. One arrow would be enough to send him straight to hell.
"Tanabata, huh…" Sakurai Saki muttered.
He kind of wanted to spend the festival with Hayasaka. Chika would be fine too.
"What's this? Sakurai-san, you want to celebrate Tanabata too? From what you said earlier, I thought you didn't care about it at all," Shinomiya Kaguya asked.
"I want to celebrate it with my girlfriend," Sakurai Saki replied.
Upon hearing that, Shinomiya Kaguya stopped writing.
In her mind, a memory of last year's Tanabata surfaced—just her and Hayasaka Ai. Though it wasn't lonely, it still felt a bit quiet.
After thinking for a moment, she spoke: "This year for Tanabata, would you like to come to my house?"
Feeling that her words might be misunderstood, Kaguya quickly added—
"Of course, with everyone from the student council! Kei-chan can come too!"
"Sounds good," Shirogane Miyuki chimed in.
On Tanabata, Shirogane Papa wouldn't be home, so it would be just him and Kei-chan.
Sakurai didn't object either.
In the hallway, while talking to a friend, Hayasaka Ai suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
'What the hell was that?'
Σ(°△° ꪱꪱꪱ)