"Everyone, are you ready? We're heading out!"
On the day of the Miyamizu Shrine festival, around a little past one in the afternoon, Sato knocked on each of the guest room doors in turn.
From the two rooms came the voices of the girls.
"Just a second! We're coming out soon! We're changing clothes!"
"Ugh… Ui, my head won't come out!"
"Big sis, slow down, I'll help you!"
"Huh? Mio, your chest looks much bigger than it does from the outside…"
"K-Koto… Kotobuki-san, what are you saying!"
Inside the room, Mio glared at the curious Kotobuki Tsumugi in embarrassment and indignation, then called out toward the door, "Don't eavesdrop!"
Like I even need to eavesdrop for this?!
Sato muttered in the hallway. But from their conversation, he seemed to have learned something rather shocking.
Could it be that Mio is actually hiding…
Well, forget it.
Sato shook his head, his face slightly red, and went downstairs. If he kept thinking about it, it would get a bit inappropriate.
…
After waiting downstairs for more than ten minutes, the girls finally came down.
He looked them over and couldn't help but frown. "You don't look any different from usual. Why did it take so long?"
Ritsu and the others all rolled their eyes.
How did they not notice before that Nohara was this dense? Has he always been like this here?
"Let's just go. Onee-san and the others are already waiting for us."
"Wait, Senpai!"
Hirasawa Ui suddenly called out to Sato. She glanced inside the house and asked curiously, "Where are Uncle and Auntie? Aren't they coming with us?"
"My dad and the others? They said they've been to the festival so many times it's not interesting anymore, so they went to do some farm work."
"Let's go."
…
At the same time, in the Nohara family's field.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Nohara Tsuru grabbed Nohara Ginnosuke, who was trying to slip away.
Ginnosuke stiffly turned around, scratching his head as he laughed awkwardly. "Old lady, I just wanted to go check out the festival…"
"What for? To play the third wheel?"
"Today you're staying right here. I absolutely won't let you ruin Sato's big chance."
Nohara Ginnosuke: "…"
…
Sato drove the family car and met up with Miyauchi Kazuho and the others at the village entrance.
At the roadside, Miyauchi Kazuho and the others were waiting outside their car. Before he arrived, a few of the girls had been gathered around a small roadside stream, looking at something.
Sato parked by the side and greeted them with a smile. "Kagayama-senpai is here too? Not watching the shop today?"
Kagayama Kaede replied, "There are barely any customers all day anyway, so I decided to come along with you today."
After saying that, she glanced curiously at the car. "Are those your classmates? Why are they all girls?"
"That's not something I can control," Sato replied helplessly.
Kagayama Kaede greeted the Light Music Club girls. "Hello everyone, I'm this guy's senpai, Kagayama Kaede!"
"Hello, Senpai!"
After greeting her, Ritsu's eyes lit up. "Kagayama-senpai looks really cool!"
"Oh? Really?"
Kagayama Kaede was taken aback and seemed a little embarrassed.
"Hehe, after all, the candy shop's our big boss!" Koshigaya Natsumi jumped in and said proudly.
"Who's your boss!"
Kagayama Kaede twitched at the corner of her eye and shot Natsumi a glance.
"Alright, alright, get in the car. Before the festival, we can go check out the crater near Itomori."
Miyauchi Kazuho urged them.
"A crater?!"
The Light Music Club girls in the car looked at each other.
Seeing this, Miyauchi Kazuho's half-closed eyes turned toward them in confusion. "Didn't Sato tell you? We're going to see the crater near the shrine first."
All eyes turned to Sato.
He shrugged and smiled. "I was planning to give you a surprise. The scenery there is really nice."
"Oh? Sorry, sorry!"
Realizing she might have ruined his plan, Miyauchi Kazuho apologized.
"Oh? So Nohara can give surprises too?"
Fujimiya Konomi looked at him with a bright smile.
Her smile was truly beautiful, as if the phrase "a smile like a blooming flower" had been made for this moment.
But Sato suddenly shivered, feeling a chilling sensation that made his spine tingle.
He forced a laugh as he looked at Fujimiya Konomi's firefly-purple eyes.
Miyauchi Kazuho and Kagayama Kaede seemed to notice something, their gazes turning a bit strange as they looked at Fujimiya Konomi.
Even the way she addressed him had changed to Nohara. That level of jealousy was terrifying…
They both gave Sato a look that said, good luck.
…
After Kanna and Miyauchi Renge got into Sato's car, the two cars set off together toward Itomori.
Asahigaoka and Itomori weren't very far apart, about a twenty-minute drive, both being villages deep in the mountains.
However, compared to Asahigaoka, a sparsely populated village, Itomori was a relatively larger town. Though remote, it had a decent population.
With two adorable little girls added to the car, the Light Music Club girls' attention was naturally drawn to them.
They chatted nonstop, like five hundred ducks quacking. After listening for a while and starting to feel a headache, Sato quickly shifted his attention elsewhere.
Once the car crossed over a mountain ridge, the scenery ahead suddenly changed.
Amid the rolling mountains, a mirror-like expanse appeared.
In the distance lay a vast lake nestled among the peaks. Its calm surface reflected the blue sky and white clouds, like a piece of the sky had fallen into the forest.
"Everyone, we've arrived at Itomori!"