"But I didn't expect to actually be able to dance with Takuma-tan—" Yuigahama Yui said with a look of satisfaction. "It looks like I really have to thank Hina-chan this time."
"Who is that? It sounds like they'd go well with rice."
"That sounds like something Anna-chan would say..." Yuigahama Yui giggled and bumped her head against Asakura's chest. The strands of hair on the top of her head brushed past Asakura's chin, making him feel a bit itchy. "Seriously, Takuma-tan, you should at least remember the names of your own classmates."
"Oh, you mean Ebina-san... Hmm, it feels like I have even more of an appetite now."
After all, "Ebina" means shrimp, and usually refers to the large kind like Spiny Lobsters.
"Then should I call Hina-chan over?" Yuigahama Yui asked with a straight face.
"It feels like it would be very awkward, so let's forget it."
Asakura shook his head. "But why do we need to thank her?"
"Because Hina-chan gave me the Chocolate Marshmallow Holy Grail from the Manga Research Club, so now I actually have a designated ticket too."
"Even without that kind of thing, if Yui wanted to dance, I wouldn't refuse." Asakura asked, puzzled.
"That's different..." Yuigahama Yui puffed out her cheeks. "Takuma-tan is so popular, there would definitely be many people wanting to dance with you. If I didn't have a designated ticket, I..."
"Where am I as popular as you say? It's not like I'm that Hayama, Haya—" Asakura's brain short-circuited for a moment, and for a while, he couldn't remember the person's name. "...Konoha Hayato?"
"What is that? It sounds like a ninja!" The girl giggled. "It's Hayama, Hayama."
"It's more or less the same." Asakura didn't think much of it.
"Even though Hayama-san is indeed very popular, if Yumiko is there, most girls wouldn't dare get close."
Perhaps feeling that it wasn't good to talk about her friend behind her back, Yuigahama Yui stood on her tiptoes and leaned into Asakura's ear to speak in an extremely low voice. The warm breath made Asakura feel like his ears were becoming sensitive.
"She really has a strong desire for monopoly." Asakura tried his best to keep his expression normal as he spoke.
"A girl can become very strong for the sake of her own love!"
The tail end of the music rose slightly, then gradually leveled off.
Along with the end of the music, Yuigahama Yui also let go of her hands at the right time.
"Alright, Cinderella's time is over. If I stay here any longer, I'll be exposed and turn back into Cinderella." The girl said with a bright, charming smile. "Next, I'm going to find Hime-na and the others."
"It's so straightforward that I feel a bit like I've been abandoned." Asakura subconsciously clenched his palm, which had become empty, and said helplessly.
"If Takuma-tan wants to dance, I will definitely accompany you, but you should have others you need to dance with now, right?" The girl with the bun-style hair said softly. "Don't worry, no matter how long it takes, I will wait for you."
"That's not necessary, I don't like dancing that much—" Asakura shook his head.
"Not just dancing, it's the same for other things too." The girl waved her hand at him, left a meaningful smile, and then walked into the crowd.
Asakura watched the girl's figure disappear into the crowd, scratching his head in a somewhat lost manner.
Anyway, let's go find the others first.
After circling the campfire on the playground once, Asakura was unable to find anyone else from the Magic Club.
"Hana-mi should still be in the infirmary. As for Ruri, her sisters are there too, so it looks like she won't be able to dance—meaning, is there only Asagumo left?"
Asakura counted on his fingers while muttering.
"As for Asagumo-san, she shouldn't be on this side of the playground." Suddenly, a cold voice rang out, causing Asakura to raise his head blankly, only to find that the person speaking was Yukinoshita.
"Oho~ is that how you say it? Yukino's friend is very interesting." Beside her, there was also an enlarged version of Yukinoshita.
"Is Asagumo not here?"
Asakura ignored Yukinoshita Haruno and asked Yukino with some surprise.
If he remembered correctly, back during the School Festival, he had agreed with her to dance the folk dance together, so Asakura had originally planned to use dancing with Asagumo as a baseline activity for today.
"If the Asagumo you're talking about is that one—" Yukinoshita Haruno compared her height to her own forehead. "That somewhat cute child, then because she lost miserably to Yukino in the Nerve Breakdown activity, she should be in some corner right now, sobbing while experiencing the taste of a defeated dog."
"Asagumo isn't that fragile of a child."
Asakura shook his head.
In his impression, Asagumo Chihaya could be said to be the most mature person in the entire Magic Club. He estimated that even if her favorite manga author suddenly did a terrible job and ruined the ending, she would only treat it as a joke to use as tea-time conversation.
Even if she lost to Yukinoshita Yukino, she probably wouldn't have much of an emotional fluctuation.
Besides, they had already agreed to dance together, and Asagumo Chihaya had no need for the Holy Grail anyway.
"That's hard to say. Many people who look strong on the surface will actually suddenly break down over some insignificant little thing." Yukinoshita Haruno said meaningfully.
It's just that the meaningfulness from Yuigahama Yui gave off a beautiful aftertaste, while the meaningfulness from Yukinoshita Haruno only made Asakura have the urge to turn her into a snake.
"She seems to have walked toward the school building."
Yukinoshita Yukino took a step forward as if casually, shielding her sister behind her before speaking softly.
"Thanks, Yukino."
"No need to thank me~" Yukinoshita Haruno said with a beam.
Asakura and Yukino rolled their eyes at the same time.
"Speaking of which, Yukino, that ticket you got from the Student Council, aren't you using it now?" Yukinoshita Haruno seemed completely unaware that she was being despised by Asakura and her own sister, and continued to stir the pot.
"Yukinoshita, you—" Asakura looked at Yukino with a surprised gaze.
The expression on the latter's face didn't change at all, only her earlobes turned a bit red.
She glared fiercely at her own sister before following up with: "Don't listen to my sister's nonsense. What I exchanged from the Student Council side was a budget increase voucher for the club."
"Oh, that's good then."
"..."
Looking at Asakura, who was patting his chest with a look of relief, Yukinon for some reason showed an expression of gritted teeth.
"Not dancing? What a shame." Haruno pulled out a compact digital camera from the cleavage of her chest. "I was originally planning to film Yukino dancing—today's harvest is quite a lot from the corners Yukino can't see~"
A cross-shaped vein popped up on Yukinoshita Yukino's forehead.
"I'm leaving."
Asakura waved his hand and left quickly.
However, after walking a distance away, he heard a scream of "Snake!" from Yukinoshita Haruno, followed by "Ah, my camera!"
Good, it seems she has already smashed that digital camera. This time, Yukino owes him a favor.
Asakura then showed a satisfied smile.
After walking a few steps, he remembered one more thing.
The Service Club... seemed to be a club that wasn't truly recognized in the official sense because the number of members didn't reach the requirement, so how could the Student Council have given them club budget fees?