In the evening, Minamiya Natsuki came home looking exhausted.
Because of the Festival, mixed crowds were everywhere; operatives like Natsuki were extremely busy, keeping constant watch on incoming tourists to prevent bad actors from slipping in.
"Natsuki, thanks for your hard work. Have some black tea first." Shichen handed her a cup he'd brewed.
"You made this?" Natsuki sat down in her usual spot.
"Yep."
"What's with the sudden kindness? You haven't made tea for me in ages," she said, taking a sip—familiar, but somehow better than usual. Recently Tritos's group or Astarte had done most of her tea. Same flavor, but this cup tasted… nicer.
"Come on, don't say that. You had a rough day—figured I'd make you a cup," Shichen said cheerily, moving behind her to massage her shoulders. With her petite frame, kneading her shoulders took no effort—felt more like playing with a porcelain doll.
"You're so lazy that when you act nice, it makes me think you did something behind my back," Natsuki said, looking over her shoulder.
"As if," Shichen denied with righteous indignation.
"I don't buy it… Did you sneak something with those girls?" She turned her head toward La Folia and the others. They were still intact, but she wasn't clueless.
"Natsuki-nee, sadly Shichen didn't do anything to us. I rather wish he would~," La Folia answered with a smile.
"You're very direct."
"Well, I've already set my heart on Shichen~"
"I—I'm fine with it too," Kanase Kanon said softly, but firmly.
"Don't you jump in—you haven't even finished undergrad," Natsuki said, unbothered.
"Eh?" Kanon looked a little hurt.
"What about us, then?" Avrora asked, hopeful.
"Same for you. Is your homework done?"
"Aw, come on… there are still so many days off," Avrora pouted.
"Finish it early and you can play early. Tritos's crew is done, aren't they? You're sisters—how are you lagging so far behind?"
"Mm…" Avrora had no rebuttal.
"Hehe~" Shichen couldn't help laughing at the scene.
"What are you laughing at? You're definitely hiding something. Otherwise you wouldn't be so nice as to make me tea—especially with Tritos and the others at home," Natsuki said, rolling her eyes at him.
"Wrongly accused—I just wanted to make you tea, nothing else."
"I almost believed you."
"What about trust, between us?"
"No trust. Only coercion."
"Mm? If you put it that way, I won't be polite," Shichen said, lowering his head toward her.
"What are you doing?" Natsuki tensed immediately. "Everyone's watching."
"You're the one who doesn't believe me." He leaned closer; his breath reached her youthful cheeks.
"Alright, alright—I believe you," she conceded, helpless. She had no desire for him to do anything in front of La Folia & co.—far too embarrassing.
"That's better." He straightened and let her go, smiling.
"Hmph. Be careful these days. Itogami isn't exactly safe right now—don't fool around," Natsuki warned.
"Not safe? Because of the festival?" La Folia asked.
"Mm."
"Oh~ maybe there's something I can do," La Folia said with a sly smile—clearly plotting something.
"You…" Natsuki began, then let it go, remembering the princess's status.
"Onii-chan, are we going to the festival tomorrow?" Kanon asked gently.
"Of course. On a day this lively, staying home would be boring."
"Should we prepare costumes?"
"Costumes… up to you. Better to prepare ahead."
"Do you want to see us in them?"
"Of course I do."
The Hōryūin Festival is much like Halloween; "costumes" are basically cosplay. Kanon and the rest in cosplay would be quite a sight.
The next morning after breakfast, Shichen headed out with Yukina and the others to shop for outfits.
During the festival, schools and companies have holidays—it's an island-wide celebration. Early in the day the streets were already packed, malls crowded with people in outlandish dress.
"Sensei."
At the meeting point, Kojō and friends arrived; Tokoyogi Yūma was with them.
With the crush of people, Shichen quietly opened a barrier around the group to keep hands off. The girls with him were all delicate and adorable; it was hard to keep people's thoughts pure.
With girls together, there's never a shortage of things to talk about; Yukina's group quickly dove into costume ideas. Everyone had their own vision.
Shichen and the boys followed along, letting the girls lead. Costumes weren't their wheelhouse, nor where to buy them. Asagi knew best—she took point.
"Weird—why hasn't anyone tried to squeeze past us the whole way?" Nagisa noticed something off as they neared the mall.
"You'd have to ask a certain someone," La Folia said, glancing back at Shichen.
"Was it you, Sensei?" Nagisa asked, delighted.
"Who can say." Shichen smiled.
"Honestly, Sensei—can't you just tell the truth?" Nagisa pouted.
"Isn't this better? No one crowding us—why overthink it?"
"That's true…"
"Tokoyogi, why are you staring at me?" Shichen noticed Yūma's eyes on him.
"Nothing—just realizing you're not ordinary, Sensei," Yūma replied with a bright grin.
"Only just realized?" Shichen quipped.
"Yeah. Is that a problem?" Yūma asked evenly.
"No problem. Let's keep moving—we're almost there."
In a bit they reached the mall entrance—more people still; they couldn't get in right away. After ten-plus minutes stuck, they finally filtered into the atrium—and then the strange thing happened.
"Sensei, everyone's gone!" Nagisa cried.
She didn't need to say it; he saw it. Aside from him, only Asagi, Kojō, Yaze Motoki, and Yūma were present. Yukina and the others were all gone—including Avrora's group.
"Sensei, what's going on?" Asagi pressed close.
"There's a spatial issue," Shichen said. He'd clearly felt a fluctuation just now. Not just here—the whole of Itogami's space was unstable.
"Space? Then Avrora and the others…" Asagi worried.
"It's fine—come this way."
He led them into a corner, set a human-blocking barrier, then reached out to pull Yukina and the rest back. Everyone was still on Itogami. He stretched a hand into the void; space rippled, and he drew Yukina out.
"Sensei!" She exhaled in relief. One by one, he brought La Folia and the others back.
"What exactly happened just now?" La Folia asked as soon as they'd regrouped.
"Sensei says the island's space glitched," Asagi answered.
"Space? If anyone on Itogami handles space, it's Natsuki-nee, right?" La Folia said. With Shichen right here, it couldn't be him.
"Is something wrong with Minamiya-sensei?"
"Is Natsuki okay?"
"Natsuki will be fine, but we should head back today," Shichen said with a shake of his head.
"Agreed. With space this unstable, we could be shunted away at any moment."
"Then why are we okay?" Kojō asked.
"It's probably tied to mana or spiritual power—space 'reacts' to those with stronger signatures," La Folia analyzed on the spot.
"Could my Schneewalzer cut it?" Yukina asked.
"No. We don't even know who caused it. We should ask Natsuki-nee what's happening… Come to think of it, didn't she say last night something might happen?"
"Because of the festival?" Sayaka asked, annoyed. Couldn't people behave for once? She couldn't even enjoy the celebration properly.
"Let's head home first."
Shichen took everyone straight back to his house. As expected, Natsuki wasn't there—and even after waiting all day, she didn't return.