"Th-This is... goldfish scooping...!"
Next to the water tank with little fish swimming about, holding a goldfish scooping tool in her hand—the paper net—she was shaking in excitement.
"Well, more precisely, it's tropical fish scooping."
Standing behind her, I calmly corrected Iris.
The small fish swimming in the tank were not goldfish but tropical fish such as guppies.
Bringing live animals into Midgard from outside was very difficult, so these were probably acquired locally.
"That's fine too! I've always wanted to try it."
With heightened spirits, Iris held her paper net.
Iris had suggested for our class to set up a goldfish scooping stall for the school festival last time. Although her idea had not been used at the time, it looked like it had taken root deeply in her heart.
Walking around together this whole time, Tia, Firill and Jeanne also expressed their interest.
"Looks very fun! Tia will do it too!"
"...How amusing. I will have a go, as a sort of life experience."
"It's not a chance that comes up every day, I'll give it a try. But... What do we do after scooping them up? Eat them?"
Hearing Jeanne's question, Iris looked back and smiled.
"Jeez, Jeanne-chan, you've gotten it all wrong. You take these fish back home to keep as pets. I can't believe you're such a glutton, Jeanne-chan."
"Well, Iris, you made the same mistake before too."
Iris explained proudly, but her face suddenly turned red when I reminded her.
"J-Jeez, Mononobe! Don't reveal that—"
Listening to our conversation, the female staff pointed to the back of the stall.
"For the convenience of customers who succeeded in catching fish, we have prepared fish tanks that can be purchased using coupons. In addition, you may also choose to exchange your fish for other prizes based on quantity."
As expected of a festival operated by Charl, the after-sales was very well-prepared. Those who found keeping fish a hassle would be pleased too.
"Hmm, should I exchange for prizes..."
Seeing Iris hesitating, I sighed.
"Iris, why don't you worry about it after you've caught the fish? It'll probably turn out to be harder than you think, you know?"
"G-Got it. I'll give it a try!"
Iris answered happily and aimed for the tropical fish.
Tia, Firill and Jeanne also arrived at the fish tank, holding paper nets.
"Tia will haul in a large catch!"
All fired up, Tia targeted a swimming guppy with full force.
Although it was a good choice of target, her paper net broke before it touched the guppy when she smashed it into the water.
"Eh—Why did this happen?"
Looking at the broken paper net, Tia cocked her head unhappily.
Seeing Tia's failure, Firill murmured seriously.
"It's just like in books... The paper net breaks easily. Those scenes where the male protagonist tried to show his cool side to a girl—I remember it's important to avoid the water's resistance as much as possible..."
Making use of her knowledge gleamed from stories, Firill slid her paper net sideways into the water and scooped up a guppy.
"Wow, I did it. Perhaps... I might have talent in this area."
Firill cheered. Watching her, Iris and Jeanne started to imitate.
"Yes! I got one too!"
"—It's not that hard once you get the trick."
The two of them caught guppies splendidly and made their second attempt in the same manner.
"If only Tia can be as good as Firill..."
Already out of the game, Tia slumped her shoulders in disappointment.
However, Firill, Iris and Jeanne all had tiny holes appearing in their paper nets when scooping their third fish.
"Oh... It broke."
"Well, it's made of paper after all."
Iris and Firill failed respectively on their fourth and fifth fish.
Jeanne kept going, using the edge of her paper net to catch her ninth fish, but finally lost at the milestone of the tenth fish.
"Captain, this is a pleasure of hunting that can only be realized in a nonflowing fish tank."
Displaying her accomplishment to me, Jeanne said contentedly.
Despite having been told that the fish were not meant to be eaten, Jeanne seemed to have caught her fish with a hunting mindset.
"Would you like to take your fish home? Or exchange them for prizes?"
When the female staff asked us, the girls thought for a while before giving their respective answers.
"Hmm... It's a rare chance, let's buy a fish tank together."
When Iris said that, Firill clapped her hands together.
"Then let's buy a bigger fish tank to keep them together. Putting it in Mitsuki's dorm might be a bit tacky... But it might be nice as decoration for the dining hall. What do you think, Jeanne?"
"Yes, Zwei would like it too."
Jeanne agreed with delight. Imagining Shion's smile, her expression turned gentle.
After buying a fish tank using coupons, the three girls decided to make a trip back to the dorm.
"Mononobe, Tia-chan, we'll be right back. Just wait for a moment!"
Pushing a cart loaded with the fish tank, the three girls left in the dorm's direction.
"Hmm..."
Left out because she had failed to catch any fish, Tia was pouting with a bit of a sulk.
"How about we go check out other stalls first?"
Patting Tia's head with her little red horns, I suggested. Tia nodded lightly.
Normally, she would instantly show joy when I patted her head, but she was currently quite demoralized.
At that moment, I remembered the Japanese brooch I had won at the ring toss stall, so I took it out of my front pocket.
"Here, Tia, I have a present for you..."
"A present?"
While she was tilting her head in puzzlement, I brought my closed hand in front of Tia's face and opened it.
"I saw this at the ring toss stall. I thought it'd look good on you so I won it."
"Wow! It's so pretty!"
Seeing the red maple brooch, Tia smiled with happy radiance. I was relieved to see her reaction.
"How about putting it on if you like it?"
"Of course! So happy!"
Finally smiling, Tia reached out with her hand but stopped halfway.
"...What's wrong?"
I made a questioning gaze and Tia looked up at me awkwardly.
"Umm, can Yuu put it on for Tia?"
"Sure, no problem—"
Nodding, I bent down. At that moment, I realized why Tia was feeling shy.
She was wearing a yukata with thin fabric. The size was just right and the weather was relatively hot, so the yukata was clinging tightly to her body. If I had to pin the brooch on to the chest of the yukata for her, my fingertips would unavoidably touch her.
"Umm... Where do you want to wear it?"
"How about here?"
Just in case, I confirmed, but sure enough, Tia pointed to her right chest.
Frozen in my posture, kneeling in front of Tia, I noticed the surrounding gazes all gathering upon me.
From the perspective of others, me bending over reaching out for Tia's chest must look rather bizarre. As a guy, I was already very conspicuous and this might cause unexpected misunderstandings.
"L-Let's do this somewhere else."
I stood up and holding Tia's hand, I started to look for a place less conspicuous.
"Yuu is holding tia's hand... Yuu so aggressive today, Tia so happy!"
Holding my hand, Tia smiled and spoke in a bouncy voice.
There were female students all over the place along the coastal road, so I took Tia through the stalls to enter the dense jungle.
With leaves blocking the sun, it was relatively dim and quiet. No one would discover us if it was here.
"Okay, I'm going to put it on."
I let go of Tia's hand and stooped down in front of her.
"Y-Yes... Please go ahead."
Blushing, Tia nodded, staring intently at my hand that was holding the brooch.
I nervously reached for the right of Tia's chest, feeling like I was committing a crime.
Hesitation was not going to change this weird atmosphere, so I mustered my determination and touched Tia's yukata.
"Mm—"
While the soft sensation of the mild bulge from her chest was transmitting to me through the thin fabric—Tia moaned lightly.
In order to secure the brooch's pin, it was necessary to lift the yukata's fabric, but I had trouble pinching the thin fabric up.
"Y-Yuu... It tickles..."
When my fingertip rubbed against her chest, Tia trembled and moaned passionately. Her reaction was making my heart beat faster and faster.
At this rate, it was almost like I was teasing Tia. Although I was hesitating whether to use more strength since I was touching her chest, letting this drag on would be a bad idea.
"Sorry, I'll get it done straight away."
Ignoring the fact that I was touching her chest, I pinched the fabric hard with my fingertips and lifted the yukata forcefully.
"Ah—Hyah!"
Tia cried out sharply and her delicate body jumped.
It looked like I had touched her somewhere sensitive, but at least I managed to pinch the fabric so I immediately secured the brooch.
"D-Done."
Having finished Tia's request, I wiped sweat from my brow.
"Yuu... Thank you."
Blushing, Tia touched the brooch and thanked me.
"You're welcome."
"Yuu's present... Tia will treasure it. Tia has been treasuring the flower brooch from last time too."
While she was holding the maple brooch tightly, Tia's eyes turned watery.
"Really...? I'm happy to hear that."
I felt happy but also a little embarrassed.
"Umm, Yuu—Does it look good on Tia?"
Tia let go of the brooch and asked for my opinion.
"Yes, very good."
Just as I had expected, the red maple brooch was a good match for Tia's hair and the floral patterns on her yukata.
"Really? Come closer for a look. Is it straight?"
"I really think it's fine—"
Tia gestured for me to come closer so I bent down to inspect the brooch on her chest.
But in that instant, Tia took a step forward and leaned against my face.
While the soft and slightly moist sensation surprised me, Tia stepped back slightly and smiled shyly.
"Unless Tia did this... Tia could not express thanks completely."
Saying that, Tia hugged my arm tightly.
"But Tia is not done expressing, so this will continue! Let's go, Yuu!"
Pulling me by the arm in this manner, Tia walked towards the road packed with stalls.
"It's hard to walk if you cling so tightly."
"Don't worry. If it's hard to walk, we can walk slowly."
Flustered, I pointed out it was hard to walk like this, but Tia had no intention of changing posture.
"—Got it. I'll go along with this."
Since it was Tia's wish. I nodded with a wry smile.
Back to the festival, walking together this intimately, we instantly gathered stares. However, it was pointless to be bothered by them, so we walked around the stalls together like this.
It looked like Tia had completely forgotten about failing to catch a single fish. She was very excited right now.
"Yuu, are you happy?"
Holding a water balloon from a vendor, Tia asked.
"Yeah, I'm happy."
After I replied instantly, Tia looked at the sky where the sun was sinking gradually.
"Tia is happy too, but—Tia worries whether being this happy is allowed."
"...Why?"
Tia mumbled when I asked.
Seeing the slight anxiety on her face, I instantly knew what she was thinking about.
"Don't tell me you're worried about the ninth calamity? Vritra said there was no urgency yet, you know?"
"Yes—She said the same to Tia, so Tia did not think about scary possibilities at all. But... is that really okay?"
Seeing the unease surface in Tia's eyes, I nodded firmly.
"Yes, at least for today, you won't need to be punished for enjoying yourself."
I asserted strongly and reached out to pat Tia's head.
Naively pushing things on the back burner would definitely be bad, but there should not be any problem with waiting until the festival ended.
"...Thank goodness. Tia thinks so too."
Tia smiled with relief.
It was probably due to her extreme joy at the moment that made her so concerned about summoning the seeds of calamity.
Even if told there was no urgency, it was true that a crisis was approaching. Perhaps there would be no choice but to confront it soon.
At Vritra's request, I had not spoken to the others about this... However, I decided that the minimum necessary information should be shared with them, after all.
While deciding in my thoughts to have a good discussion with Vritra about this after the festival, I continued to visit the stalls along the road with Tia.
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