During the Obon holiday, not only he, but Rin also hadn't gone home, and neither of them had anything to do for the time being.
So, when they brought up the topic of the holiday, she suddenly invited him:
"In that case, why don't we go check out the Summer Festival?"
"A Summer Festival, huh..."
Hearing this, a flood of information rushed into his mind.
The Summer Festival has a very strong presence in various 2D works, especially for slice-of-life genres; it is essentially a fixed, recurring key event.
In galgames, once you reach this point, special plotlines are supposed to trigger.
Usually, it's either choosing one of several heroines to enter their individual route, or triggering a special CG as feelings for the heroine deepen.
In short, he was indeed interested in the Summer Festival, so he readily accepted the invitation.
And this afternoon was the day they were setting off.
After receiving an email from Rin, Akira checked himself in the mirror and prepared to leave.
His outfit was simple: a white T-shirt, off-white trousers, and black casual shoes—classic black, white, and gray.
Although the outfit was simple, thanks to his good looks, he ended up looking clean and handsome.
He came out of the elevator and didn't wait long at the entrance before Rin followed right after him.
Seeing her outfit, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment—
Rin was wearing a water-colored yukata today, decorated with a few cherry blossom petal patterns. The fresh and sweet style made her originally cool and aloof temperament seem much softer.
At the same time, her soft, thick, shoulder-length hair was tied up, fully revealing her exquisite, beautiful face and fair, slender neck, which was truly stunning.
The geta sandals on her feet made a "clack, clack" sound with every step, adding a touch of cuteness to her.
Seeing Akira's slightly dazed expression, Rin felt a mix of shyness and joy in her heart, but on the surface, she tried her best to act calm and said:
"Mochizuki-kun, let's go. Also, here's an umbrella."
"Ah, oh... okay."
Akira subconsciously took the parasol she handed him, and they walked side-by-side, sharing the shade.
For some reason, whenever they went out together now, him holding the parasol seemed to have inexplicably become an unwritten custom.
...Wait, no.
He snapped out of it and couldn't help but look at Rin beside him again. At that moment, it was as if she caught his gaze, for she looked back at him and asked:
"What's wrong?"
"Hmm, it's nothing..."
Seeing that his behavior had been caught, he simply smiled honestly and said:
"I was just thinking that Shimizu-san looks really beautiful today."
"Thank you."
Upon hearing this, Rin finally couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth slightly. Unable to suppress the joy in her heart, her eyes unconsciously curved into crescent shapes, making her look exceptionally sweet compared to her usual cool temperament.
Seeing this, Akira was dazed once again.
It must be said, he seemed to have inexplicably low resistance to Rin's smile.
Hmm...Hmm? No way...?
As they walked along the road, Akira kept thinking about his previous thought, but as he pondered, he suddenly thought of another question.
Looking at Rin, who was dressed in a yukata, he asked curiously:
"Speaking of which, there's actually something I've always been a bit curious about—"
"Doesn't it feel hot wearing something so thick in the summer?"
Although a yukata is a lighter style than a kimono, it's still long-sleeved and long-skirted, wrapping the whole body up tightly; it still looks a bit hot.
Rin was also slightly stunned; she hadn't expected him to ask such a question.
Then she nodded gently and said:
"Actually, it is indeed a bit hot, but it's within a tolerable range. And..."
Halfway through, she subconsciously glanced at Akira, then shyly looked away, and continued to answer as if nothing happened:
"Because I only wear it on rather special days, so it's fine."
"I see."
Akira nodded in realization.
Come to think of it, dressing up nicely when going out for a holiday or attending an event, and enduring a little heat for that, isn't really a big deal.
However, at the same time, seeing that Akira didn't seem to grasp the meaning she wanted to convey at all, Rin pouted unhappily.
The Summer Festival they were attending this time was called the Fukagawa Hachiman Festival, one of the three great traditional festivals of Edo in Tokyo, which holds large-scale sacrificial events on a three-year cycle.
This year seemed to coincide with the grandest year, also called the "Main Festival," where 53 mikoshi would parade together, which is also the biggest feature of this festival.
However, because the parade started at 7:30 in the morning—too early—neither of them was very interested in the parade, so they just headed straight for the evening session.
The evening festival was equally lively. In addition to the various food, drink, and game stalls common in anime, there were also a series of performances including folk songs, taiko drums, and jazz music.
Although it's said to be one of the three great traditional festivals, most of the tourists participating in the festival, including them, probably didn't know the meaning behind it; they mainly came to join in the fun and enjoy the festive atmosphere.
However—
"So lively... or rather, isn't it a bit too lively?!"
Looking at the crowded flow of people in the main street, Akira and Rin looked at each other.
Come to think of it, it's a holiday and a famous festival; what's the difference between this and going to a famous tourist attraction during a holiday in his previous life?
Miscalculation!
But since they were already here, and Rin had even dressed up carefully for this event, they couldn't just turn back.
So Akira prepared to bite the bullet and head inside, but at this moment, he suddenly felt something tugging at the corner of his shirt.
It was Rin's hand.
"What's wrong?"
He cast a questioning look at her. To this, Rin said, her eyes shifting slightly:
"There are so many people, I'm afraid we'll get separated."
"...Are you some kind of little kid?"
He was left speechless and didn't know whether to laugh or cry; besides, it wasn't convenient to walk like this.
So, looking at the parasol he was holding in his hand—which was already closed—he thought for a moment and offered half of it out:
"How about you hold onto this instead?"
"...Okay."
Rin let go of his shirt corner and grabbed the other end of the parasol, and the two of them walked into the lively main street holding onto it like that.
However, even though the main street was very lively, Akira's attention couldn't focus on enjoying the Summer Festival at all.
The main problem was that his left hand holding the parasol handle was just too distracting.
Although he and Rin weren't actually holding hands, the subtle force from her arm swinging gently was being transmitted through the parasol at every moment, a feeling that was quite hard to describe.
Rin, holding the other end of the parasol, was in the same situation at that moment.
Feeling the subtle force coming from Akira on the other end, her cheeks flushed slightly.
This feeling is just like actually holding hands with Mochizuki-kun...
At this moment, a child passed by them, looked at the two of them curiously, and then turned to their parents and asked loudly without any shyness:
"Mom, Dad, why are that big brother and big sister holding hands like that?"
The parents looked over, and upon seeing this, both of them smiled ambiguously in unison and said to their child:
"Well, you'll understand when you grow up and have someone you like."
...Huh?!
Hearing their conversation, Rin instantly blushed, but she had no intention of letting go with her right hand.
Hmm? Watching Rin's reaction, Akira somehow also became a bit nervous.
Then, pretending not to have heard the couple's remark, he decisively changed the subject:
"Um, do you want to eat something?"