Cultural Festival Events

"Airi, can you lay your head here?"

After the meeting with Kazuma and Momose, it was time to go home and rest.

Because Minato wanted more details about the information Momose had given him, he tapped his knee lightly, being conscious of his beaming smile.

And perhaps since it was an action that Minato wouldn't normally take, Airi was alarmed.

"Um, why is that? I haven't done anything."

"Because I want to, is that a no?"

"…Minato-san doesn't usually do such things. You're up to something, aren't you?"

He tried to imitate Airi, but it seemed to be no use. He thought her level of alertness had gone up a notch.

However, he had no intention of backing down here, so he decided to be a little more aggressive.

"I see, Airi doesn't like my lap pillow…"

When he made a blatantly sullen voice, Airi froze, as if choking.

It was a rather cunning trick, but it seemed to have worked on her, and she approached timidly.

"Um, it's embarrassing, are you going to do something terrible?"

"I would never do that, and if I did, you could slap me with everything you've got."

He responded honestly to Airi's words because he was completely aware that he was doing something completely out of the ordinary.

In the first place, Minato didn't want to hurt her, and he could understand why she didn't tell him about the details, so he wasn't even mad at her.

When he tapped his knee again and urged her, she put her head on it gently.

Immediately, he restrained Airi's cheeks so that she couldn't move.

"I knew there was something going on…"

But since he didn't firmly restrain her, Airi could easily escape from Minato's hands if she really wanted to.

He was glad to see that she wasn't even pretending to run away, even though she did have something to say about it. He was glad to see that even in a situation like this, her trust in him didn't waver.

However, he tried not to be too overbearing, and kept the warm feeling in his heart to himself.

"I've only been in trouble once so far, and Airi has only been talked about on the first day, don't you think that's strange? Why is it that the crowd-pleasing Airi and the reserved me get the same frequency?"

She must have understood what Minato was trying to say from just a few roundabout words.

Staring into the fixed Airi's face, her gaze wandered and didn't meet his.

"That's because my explanation was so brilliant that I only had to do it once. Isn't that great?"

While Airi's response to her surroundings was not stinging, her relationships with others were by no means positive.

Even though she would relax her guard somewhat when talking to girls, she would still be keeping her distance compared to when conversing with Momose. And when it came to boys other than Minato, it was already obvious.

It was very unlikely that such an Airi could give an explanation that would convince everyone at once, and even if it came from her, the people around her wouldn't be convinced. Rather, the story was already out there, so it would be obvious that she was putting on a bluff.

Although her proud face was adorable, the situation was getting nowhere, so he lightly threatened her.

"…Hmm, you're serious about that, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm serious. Well, Shiori was there, too… Eh, Shiori-san?"

Airi's face paled quickly, as if she had realized that Minato had an insider.

"You finally noticed. Momose is your friend, but she is also my childhood friend. Don't think you can hide anything from me through Momose?"

"Terrible! You tricked me!"

"Don't talk nonsense, it's your fault for keeping quiet."

"I didn't keep quiet about it, I just had no problem with it because Minato-san spoiled me. To begin with, even Minato-san didn't tell me the details of the other day."

He became weak when he was told that. It was true that Minato didn't tell her the details either, and for that matter, didn't even try to rely on her.

As a result, he was forcefully spoiled and turned into a sludge, but let's leave that behind at this point.

"…That's certainly true. Then next time, you better tell me properly, and I'll tell you too."

"Yes, that's why if you're hurt, I'll heal you."

"No, I think if anything, it's more pain… Well, okay, I get it."

In the first place, it started out as a way to thank Airi for getting angry at the boy who reproached Minato, so he accepted the slight unreasonableness and patted Airi's head.

Then her earlier caution disappeared in an instant, and she smiled radiantly and indulgently.

He didn't ask her for details, and he didn't want to question her again, but perhaps he should thank her.

"…Thanks, you got mad for me, right?"

"It's only natural. If someone said to me, 'What's so good about that dull senior?' of course I would get angry. Appearances are not everything when it comes to how good or bad a person is."

That was what Airi had told him many times, that's why he wouldn't leave her just because of their different looks.

He felt lightened by her cheerful attitude of not worrying about such things.

"So let's work hard until the cultural festival. And after that too, of course."

"Yeah, I know."

The goal was not to get closer and go around together before the festival.

The essence of this story was that in order for Minato to be able to stay with Airi outside, he would continue to stand next to her, even if it was painful for him.

"By the way, have you decided what you're going to do for the festival? Ours is probably going to be a haunted house."

The word 'cultural festival' came up and a question popped into Minato's head.

Although he and Momose didn't talk about this, since Minato's class had almost been decided, it wouldn't be surprising if Airi's had been decided as well.

In fact, with a little more than three weeks to go, they wouldn't be able to offer anything elaborate if they hadn't already made up their minds.

And Minato's class haunted house was a major one, even with no particular elements to it.

So he wondered about Airi's, and asked her the question, but her body shivered.

"Airi?"

"…Coffee shop. Hah~, I didn't want to remember it, it's so depressing!"

She must really dislike the idea, as she sighed at the thought of it.

With Airi's looks, she was sure to be a waitress, and it was possible that the coffee shop was set up for that purpose in the first place.

And perhaps she couldn't refuse. The fact was, right now, Minato and the others weren't in a situation where they could make a bad impression, and with her personality, Minato didn't think she would forcefully reject the idea.

But the idea of a coffee shop was an intriguing one.

"By the way, do you have a specific outfit or something?"

"It's just an ordinary waitress, I asked them not to elaborate on it. What's with the maid uniforms, aren't they ridiculous?"

"Well, it's romantic… As a man, it's something I can't deny."

He thought that every man must have longed for a maid at least once. Especially if you are a subculture-oriented person like Minato.

The sad part, though, is that it is almost exclusively boys who are happy about it. Some girls might be happy about it too, but if he were to go into that, it would complicate the story, so he cut off the thought.

"Do you think it's a good idea too, Minato-san?"

Perhaps curious about what Minato muttered, she asked in a whispered voice.

Unlike the look of disgust on her face earlier, Airi looked up at him curiously.

"Well, I guess I yearn for it. But I don't think you should force yourself to do it."

It was hard to choose a suitable attire for that kind of outfit.

Though he was sure Airi would have no problem wearing it, she probably wouldn't like to dress for show. In the first place, there would be no opportunity for her to do so.

When he shook his head and emphasized that he had no intention of forcing her to wear clothes she didn't want to wear, she surprisingly gave him a beaming smile.

"I'd be happy to do it for you, Minato-san, if you'll have me."

"I doubt that opportunity will ever present itself, though."

"…You didn't have to say that so easily."

Perhaps she was trying to tease Minato, but he responded so casually that she became mushy and sulky.

He was by no means uninterested, so he lightly patted Airi on the head to encourage her.

"Well, if I had the chance, I'd like to see it. Besides, I might get to see you as a normal waitress at the festival."

Since he couldn't let Airi walk around by herself, Minato had to coordinate his free time so that he could pick her up from her classroom.

Therefore, it was enthralling to think that he might be able to see her in a waitress outfit if only the timing was right.

However, Airi's face instantly contorted in disgust, as if she didn't like being drawn back into the cultural festival again.

"I'm not for show, though… Most of the boys will probably come, and that's just the worst!"

Those words chilled his thoughts as if water had been poured on them.

If Minato could see Airi waitressing, then naturally others could see her as well.

And many people would probably call out to her. Minato frowned at the thought of that scene.

"I wonder if you can reduce the time you spend in the café… Probably not, huh… After all, they're counting on Airi to be at the coffee shop."

"Well, I'm not going to respond to anyone who calls out to me, though. The only one I will respond to is you, 'Master.'"

From the phrase "maids are a man's romance," Minato had determined what would make him happy.

Just the short words released from her nasty smile made Minato's heart leap.

However, it was too destructive. He was relieved that it didn't turn out to be a maid café, but he had to get back at her for teasing him, so he moved his hand to do so.

"Don't make fun of me. …Though I'm happy."

"Hiiii, it hurts!"

Both of them smiled as he tugged a little on Airi's smooth, mochi-like cheeks.