"Mutsumi-chan, I'm going out for a bit. You can sort out your own dinner."
Kitahara Makoto put away his phone, greeted Mutsumi, and then quickly traveled to Kita's house.
As soon as he stepped out of the full-length mirror, the clear, bright, and energetic voice of a girl rang out:
"Kitahara-kun, good afternoon~"
"Good afternoon."
Kitahara Makoto looked up at Kita, and his eyes couldn't help but light up.
Unlike the simple designs of men's yukata, women's yukata come in a rich variety of colors and styles. Kita was currently wearing a yukata with a moon-white base adorned with various vibrant floral patterns. In her left hand, she carried a small and exquisite handbag, and in her right, a delicate, easy-to-grip printed fan. Her hair was styled into a cute bun, making her look exceptionally delicate and lovely.
"Eh heh~"
Noticing Kitahara Makoto's admiring gaze, Kita wasn't shy at all. Instead, she triumphantly raised her hands and spun around in front of Kitahara Makoto:
"How is it? How is it?"
Kitahara Makoto naturally knew what Kita wanted to hear and didn't hold back his praise:
"Today's Kita is the cutest in the world."
"That's too exaggerated." Although she said it was exaggerated, Kita's eyes curved into crescent moons, clearly enjoying the compliment. Her voice was clear as she said, "This is a yukata I bought with my mom last year when we went to the fireworks festival. I tried it on this afternoon, and it still fits perfectly."
"Is there a possibility…" Kitahara Makoto murmured, "that the reason it fits is because Kita hasn't grown at all in a year?"
"…"
Kita immediately stopped giggling.
"Kitahara-kun, that's so mean!"
Kita's cheeks quickly puffed up, like a squirrel whose chestnuts had been stolen.
"I've grown a lot, okay!"
Kitahara Makoto raised his hands: "I take back what I just said."
Kita's cheeks puffed high:
"It's too late to take it back now!"
Kitahara Makoto stepped forward:
"Then I can only use my body to make Kita stop being angry."
"Eh?"
A bad premonition surged in Kita's heart, and she quickly tried to retreat.
But it was too late.
Kitahara Makoto reached out and gently embraced Kita, pulling her into his arms, then quickly kissed her.
"No, no kissing…"
Before she could finish, the rest of her words were muffled.
Kita's small face quickly flushed red, and she finally shyly closed her eyes.
Foul play!
Too much foul play!
If you make someone angry, you should cheer them up, not kiss them!
Several minutes later.
"Kita-sama, are you still angry now?"
Kitahara Makoto released the limp Kita and asked softly.
"Hoo… hoo…"
Kita took two breaths, puffed out her cheeks, and looked over:
"Still angry…"
Kitahara Makoto said directly:
"Then one more kiss."
"No, no more." Kita quickly shook her head, "It's getting late. If we don't leave now, we'll be late."
"But I haven't cheered Kita up yet…"
Kissing can't be considered cheering up!
Kita complained in her heart, but said aloud:
"I'm not angry anymore."
Kitahara Makoto asked:
"Really not angry anymore?"
Kita quickly nodded:
"Absolutely true."
Kitahara Makoto smiled faintly:
"Then Kita has to prove it to me."
"Eh?"
"Kiss me." Kitahara Makoto pointed to his cheek, "Prove that Kita is really not angry anymore, otherwise I'll continue to cheer Kita up."
Kita: "…"
(Too much!)
(Absolutely too much!)
(He actually made me kiss him back. Kitahara-kun's skin is really too thick!)
Although she really wanted to refuse, it was indeed getting late and they couldn't delay any longer. Kita had no choice but to puff out her cheeks, stand on tiptoe, and offer a kiss.
"…Take advantage of!"
Kitahara Makoto said righteously:
"In psychology, there's a term called cute aggression, which roughly means that when people encounter cute things, they can't help but want to take advantage of them. So, if you want to blame someone, blame Kita for being too cute, which made me want to take advantage of Kita."
Kita: "…"
A moment later.
The two of them tidied their clothes.
"Let's go, let's go." Kita's voice was clear, "Hurry up, or we'll be late."
The two left the house together and took the train to Adachi Ward.
The journey was silent.
Upon arriving at the fireworks festival viewing spot, it was indeed packed with people, exceptionally lively.
"Oh, so many people…"
Kita sighed, then took out her phone and started taking selfies, click, click.
Kita loves uploading photos to Instagram and occasionally live-streams to share her life. In short, she's a true super normie.
"Kitahara-kun, come here, come here~" Kita said in a clear voice, "Come take a few photos together and record a short video. When I have time, I'll organize them into a photo album, and when next year's fireworks festival comes, it'll feel really special to look back at them."
Kitahara Makoto stepped in front of Kita:
"I regret it."
"Eh?"
Kita looked at him with confusion.
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"I didn't realize Kita was so excited about the fireworks festival. I should have asked Kita out earlier."
"…I wasn't that excited at all!"
Kita's small face flushed slightly, her words contradicting her feelings, unwilling to admit it. She held up her pinky finger:
"Just this much excitement."
"Only as much as a pinky finger, isn't that too little?"
"It's already a lot, hurry up and take the picture… Raise your hand, first make a peace sign."
"…"
Click, click.
Kita activated burst mode.
"That's enough."
After taking quite a few photos, Kita finally put away her phone, satisfied:
"It's still too early for the restaurant. Shall we go for a walk in the park first?"
Kitahara Makoto nodded:
"Then let's play for a while."
The two walked into the park together.
It was almost six o'clock in the evening; the sky hadn't darkened yet, but the park was already packed with tourists who had come to see the fireworks festival—adults, children, and seniors, a veritable sea of people.
"Oh!" Kita's eyes lit up. "It's apple candy!"
Apple candy is a sweet treat made by coating an apple with melted rock candy and inserting a stick into it as a handle. Simply put, it's a variation of candied hawthorn.
However, while candied hawthorn made from hawthorn berries can be eaten in one bite, apple candy cannot. Such a large one is very difficult to eat; it's basically just for show.
Kitahara Makoto looked over:
"Does Kita want to eat it?"
"No."
Kita shook her head decisively:
"Apple candy is so big; you'd have to open your mouth wide to eat it, which would look too ugly."
That was true.
Although apple candy is often seen in anime, anime heroines only lick it; there's never a heroine who opens her mouth and bites directly into an apple candy.
Kitahara Makoto said speechlessly:
"Why does Kita look so expectant if she's not going to eat it?"
"Because I want to take pictures with it! Without buying an apple candy, I just feel like the summer festival isn't complete," Kita looked up, pouting, "After I finish taking pictures, I'll ask Kitahara-kun to eat the apple candy."
Goodness, she's even thought about how to dispose of it afterwards!
"Please, Kitahara-kun."
Kita put her hands together, looking at him expectantly.
"…"
Faced with the small, pleading Kita, Kitahara Makoto, as expected, couldn't refuse and silently bought an apple candy.
"Eh heh~ Thank you, Kitahara-kun."
Kita took out her phone and happily started taking pictures.
After the photos were taken, the apple candy's mission was complete. Kita extended the tip of her tongue and gently licked it, like a cat drinking water:
"Hmm, it tastes like childhood."
After tasting it, Kita handed the apple candy over, her voice clear:
"Kitahara-kun, you eat it."
Kitahara Makoto said faintly:
"You give it to me after you've licked it…"
Kita quickly puffed out her cheeks:
"Is Kitahara-kun disgusted with me?"
"Not at all," Kitahara Makoto said calmly, "What I meant to say was, please lick it a few more times."
Kita: "…"
Kitahara Makoto took the apple candy and found that it was indeed quite cumbersome to hold. He didn't have the idol burden of a girl, so he simply opened his mouth and ate it directly, finishing the entire apple candy in no time, leaving the several elementary school students nearby wide-eyed and amazed.
Next, the two continued to stroll.
Although there were many food stalls in the park, they were going to a restaurant for dinner later, so they didn't eat anything, only visited various entertainment spots.
"Hmm?"
Passing by a mask stall, Kitahara Makoto suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Kitahara-kun?" Kita asked curiously.
"I saw a very interesting mask."
Kitahara Makoto's gaze fell on a white fox mask.
On the stall, one of the masks was emitting a faint glow, clearly an optimizable item.
Meeting it was fate, so he certainly couldn't miss it.
Kitahara Makoto stepped forward, clearly intending to buy the white fox mask.
"Eh…" Kita blinked, then quickly understood, "Is it one of those amazing special items?"
"That's right."
Kitahara Makoto paid with a normal expression, successfully gaining ownership of the fox mask.
The moment his finger touched the mask, a prompt popped up in front of him:
"You have discovered an optimizable item. Would you like to optimize it now?"
Kita looked over curiously, raising her hand to cover her mouth, and whispered:
"Kitahara-kun, what's the mask's effect?"
"Wait a moment."
Kitahara Makoto was also a bit curious. This thing was like opening a blind box; once he got his hands on it, he naturally couldn't help but want to open it immediately. Conveniently, the sleeves of a men's yukata were very wide, perfectly capable of concealing the faint glow during item optimization.
Stuffing the fox mask into the wide sleeve of his yukata, Kitahara Makoto silently activated his ability:
"Optimize."
After a few seconds, the mask was optimized.
Kitahara Makoto took out the fox mask and checked its optimized attributes.
[Item: White Fox Mask]
[Current State: Optimized]
[New Trait: Echo of luck. When you wear this mask, you will receive the protection of Inari Okami, and you will gain luck for a short period. Please note, if you exhaust the accumulated luck, you will be plagued by bad luck for a short period.]
[New Trait: Dexterity. When you wear this mask, your body's flexibility will greatly increase. The side effect is that after wearing it for an extended period, your body will undergo a period of fox transformation.]
Kitahara Makoto's eyes lit up:
"I actually got two traits, that's pretty good."
Although the second trait was a bit of a filler, the first trait, luck, was quite good. After all, luck is an ethereal thing, and any item that can temporarily boost luck is clearly valuable.
As for the side effect of being plagued by bad luck… things in the world are inherently about give and take; just be mentally prepared.
"Kitahara-kun, how is it?"
Kita looked over curiously.
Kitahara Makoto leaned close to Kita's ear and whispered.
"Eh, it sounds amazing!"
Kita stood on her tiptoes to listen, exclaiming softly:
"It feels like a super practical item!"
Kitahara Makoto retorted:
"It's amazing, yes, but I wouldn't say it's practical, would you?"
"Of course it is!" Kita said, hands on her hips, "It's much better than that washing machine that just traps people inside."
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
"Let's hurry and look around; maybe we can find more useful items."
Kita rubbed her hands together, full of enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, their luck had run out. The two continued to browse all the stalls but didn't encounter a second optimizable item.
"Special items are inherently rare, so it's normal not to find one," Kitahara Makoto reached out and ruffled Kita's small head, "One must be content and not too greedy."
"Alright then…"
Kita sighed regretfully, her voice suddenly becoming resentful:
"Someone's scooping goldfish up ahead."
Kitahara Makoto looked over curiously:
"What's wrong with scooping goldfish?"
"I loved scooping goldfish when I was little," Kita's voice grew even more resentful, "For so many years, from childhood until now, I've played the goldfish scooping game at almost every fireworks festival, but all these years, I haven't managed to scoop up a single goldfish."
If you haven't scooped up a goldfish in so many years, you should consider your own problems!
"I want to play!"
Kita suddenly clenched her small fists, her eyes sparkling:
"I couldn't scoop goldfish before, but as long as I wear Kitahara-kun's fox mask and get the luck buff, I definitely won't come up empty-handed, right?"
Seeing Kita's expectant face, Kitahara Makoto naturally wouldn't be a spoilsport:
"Then let's try playing for a bit."
The two arrived at the goldfish scooping stall. They could see that the basins were full of common goldfish, their reddish color particularly appealing. Kita paid, then happily squatted down with a group of elementary school students, rolled up her sleeves, and started scooping goldfish.
Kitahara Makoto wasn't very interested in scooping goldfish, so he stood by, holding his phone and recording.
Kita first tried on her own, but either the small fish jumped away, or the paper net broke directly. After busy for a long time, she didn't scoop up a single small goldfish.
"That's so unfair, it's exactly like every year. No matter what, I can't scoop up a small goldfish…"
Kita looked up at Kitahara Makoto with a wronged expression, seeking help.
"Here."
Kitahara Makoto handed over the white fox mask.
"Thank you, Kitahara-kun."
Kita thanked him happily, reached out to take the white fox mask, and carefully placed it on her face.
This white fox mask was originally a full-face mask, and Kita's face was very small. After putting on the mask, she seemed to become even smaller by several points, looking even more like an elementary school student.
"No special feeling…"
Kita muttered softly, took out her wallet, bought a new paper net from the stall owner, and continued to scoop goldfish.
And then…
Splash!
As soon as the paper net in Kita's right hand entered the water, a common goldfish suddenly leaped out of the water and directly into the small bowl in Kita's left hand.
Kitahara Makoto: "…"
"Eh eh eh?!" Kita looked over in shock, "Kitahara-kun, did you see that just now? The small goldfish jumped in by itself!"
Kitahara Makoto gently shook his phone:
"Not only did I see it, I also recorded a video of it on my phone."
To be able to make the goldfish jump directly into the bowl, the luck trait felt even more powerful than imagined.
In the following time, Kita seemed to have divine assistance. Every time the paper net went down, she would definitely scoop up a goldfish, and occasionally even two at once. Her main characteristic was never coming up empty-handed.
During this period, two more common goldfish even leaped out of the water and jumped into Kita's bowl by themselves.
Kita in her luck state quickly became the star of the show, with the elementary school students scooping goldfish around her all looking at her with admiration.
"Big sister is amazing!"
"Much better than mom and Dad!"
"I dub big sister the God of Goldfish Scooping!"
"…"
"Eh, hehe…"
Kita was incredibly pleased to hear the compliment. If she had a tail, it would definitely be wagging sky-high by now.
"Know when to stop," Kitahara Makoto reminded her in a low voice. "The mask can't be worn for too long."
"Got it~"
Kita reluctantly stopped. They still had to go to the restaurant for dinner later, and carrying the goldfish would be inconvenient, so Kita generously gave the goldfish to the elementary school students, once again receiving their worshipful thanks.
"Kitahara-kun, let's go."
Kita waved goodbye to the elementary school students and was about to take off her mask when a strange girl's voice suddenly rang out from behind her:
"Eh, Kita-chan?"
Kitahara Makoto followed the sound and saw that the speaker was an unfamiliar girl, clearly a friend of Kita. As a popular person, Kita could be said to have friends everywhere.
Slam!
Kita quickly pressed the half-removed mask back onto her face:
"I'm sorry, you've got the wrong person!"
The strange girl's voice was puzzled:
"But the voice sounds so much like Kita…"
"I'm sorry, I don't know the person you're talking about."
Kita quickly denied it, grabbed Kitahara Makoto's arm, and hurried away with him:
"Let's go, let's go."
"…"
Quickly diving into the crowd, Kita finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the strange girl had disappeared:
"That girl just now was Yumi-chan, she's in the same year as us. Good thing I was wearing a mask, otherwise I would have been recognized."
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"Does it matter if you're recognized?"
Kita heard this and shot him a resentful look:
"Girls love to gossip. Once Yumi-chan finds out about our date, all my friends will know we're dating before summer vacation even ends…"
Humans are social animals and are easily influenced by those around them.
If everyone knew about this dating thing, it would definitely attract a lot of criticism, right?
Not everyone has Yamada Ryo's carefree personality, able to ignore other people's gazes…
"Eh, eh, eh?!"
Kita suddenly looked back in a panic:
"S-something seems to be growing out!"