As we passed through a large torii, with Umi leading the way, a warm and lively atmosphere greeted us.
The sweet smell of candies and the savory smell of soy sauce tickled my nose. At the same time, I heard a quiet rumbling noise from my stomach.
âHehe, since weâre already here, why donât we eat something? You brought some money, right?â
âYeah. I only brought the usual amount though.â
I was talking about the money my mom gave me for food and for having fun with Umi. She had been giving me the same amount of money ever since she found out about our relationship. However, since Umi was the one who invited me today, we decided to split the bills.
We both grabbed some food from the stalls, I bought some yakisoba and ikayaki, meanwhile Umi bought a whole box of takoyaki and some drinks. The two of us then slowly walked up the hill while eating our food little by little.
âIâve never expected that theyâre holding a festival in a place like this. Considering this shrine isnât exactly a big oneâŠâ
âRight? I didnât know about it either, my mom was the one who told me. Apparently, this shrine always held a festival around the same time every year. Today is the main event, but I heard that theyâll hold some kind of event tomorrow too. Anyway, I thought itâd be nice for us to come to check the place out before tomorrowâs Fireworks Festival.â
âI see. But, you know that the Fireworks Festival will be held over there, right?â
âI know that! âŠAnyway, can we talk about that later when we finally get to the top? Also, do you want some takoyaki? Thereâs one left for you~â
âYeah, sure, butâŠâ
We gently climbed the stone steps while Umi was feeding me the takoyaki in her hand. Eventually, we reached the top of the hill and the shrineâs main building came into view.
There was a large bonfire in the center of the grounds. People were surrounding it while throwing something, probably old good-luck-charms or something similar to that. Maybe it was a part of a burning ritual or something?
We settled on a bench in the corner of the ground, watching the flickering flame while munching on our food.
The yakisoba and ikayaki were more flavorful than the meals I usually ate, but that was probably because of the overall cheerful atmosphere of the place.
Honestly, this kind of atmosphere wasnât bad at all. That would be an unthinkable opinion to have if I were still the same person as I was a year ago.
Well, actually, I would probably think the same way about all sorts of places as long as Umi was with me.
âCome to think of it, we were so busy during this summer vacation. We couldnât even go to a festival like this, huh?â
âYeah, cram school, Sports Festival⊠Next year, it will be the Cultural Festival instead of the Sports Festival, so, technically speaking, we should have more time, but we will be too busy studying by thenâŠâ
Looking back, it really felt like we hadnât had enough fun together. For me especially, since I had always spent most of my summer vacation at home, I had fewer good memories of it compared to most people.
Still, the summer vacation this year was quite nice.
If there was a memory Iâd cherish the most, it would be back when I went together with Umi and her family to her hometown. đ«âŻđđđžđâŻđïŒđŹđžđ
Well, I couldnât remember too many details because things were a little hectic, but it was around the time when Umi and I finally became physically and mentally connected. There were also times when we were together by ourselves during the trip and honestly, I still found myself grinning whenever I remembered those occasions.
ââŠYouâre imagining something perverted arenât you, Maki?â
âN-No? Iâm just looking at the fire!â
âLiar~ Thereâs no use trying to deceive me~ I can tell from your expression what youâre thinking about, you know~?â
âR-Really?â
âYes~â
ââŠCan you specify what kind of expression?â
ââŠHeheheâŠâ
It seemed like her words were true, but she was the only one who could tell as I didnât even realize it.
âTell me, please.â
âHehehe, no~â
âUgh⊠Why are you so mean to me?â
âHehehe~ Donât worry about it too much. I said âexpressionâ but itâs really just a little change from your usual ones. Only someone like me, someone whoâs always staring at your face, would be able to tell that~â
âIâll trust you thenâŠâ
âYou know, Iâve noticed you were doing this quite frequently recently. But only when weâre together.â
So, apparently she figured out about every thought that I thought I had kept hidden.
Like whenever I thought about those kinds of things whenever we were alone. Or whenever I was thinking about other girls like Amami-san or Nitta-san.
I guess because she figured out that I did about the former more than the latter, she didnât find it necessary to point it out to me sooner.
âW-Well, letâs forget about that and get going already. We donât come here just to eat some yakisoba and takoyaki, right?â
âAh, right. Now that weâve filled our stomach, time to do what weâre coming here for.â
Ignoring the bonfire, which already got bigger before we noticed it, we went to the back of the shrine.
We entered the pitch-black space, away from the hustle and bustle of the festival, where no light could get through.
âThereâs a festival outside, so it feels fine and all, but imagine if there isnâtâŠâ
âThe atmosphere here feels great, isnât it? Right, why donât we do a test of courage here later? Itâll be a nice way to celebrate the end of our summer vacation, donât youââ
âHell no.â
It wasnât like I believed in ghosts or something like that, but the horror genre wasnât exactly among my favorites. The Fireworks Festival tomorrow would be good enough to celebrate the end of the summer vacation or whatnot.
But, from the flow of our conversation so far, it seemed like it would be inevitable for us to come back here tomorrow⊠Hopefully, we won't actually do a test of courage or something similar tomorrowâŠ