"There's no parking lot nearby, but there's an empty spot behind the flower bed over there. You can park there, Komoe-sensei."
Sonoko Natsume thought for a moment. It was true there weren't any parking lots near the student dorms, but fortunately, a temporary space had been designated nearby.
"Behind the flower bed?" Komoe-sensei sounded a bit puzzled.
"Then I'll take you there, Komoe-sensei. Guiding guests is part of our job, after all."
Sonoko Natsume set a stack of brochures on the ground, seeming to have found a valid excuse to leave her post, and volunteered herself.
As the car started up, Sonoko sat in Komoe-sensei's vehicle, curiously examining the interior modifications.
Since Komoe-sensei's feet couldn't quite reach the pedals, the brake was actually installed on the steering wheel, and it seemed an electronic parking brake had been added too.
The gearshift and accelerator had also been altered. The gearshift was now much smaller, and the accelerator was positioned within Komoe-sensei's reach.
'This is a pretty well-modified car,' Sonoko thought.
"Hmm, so Natsume-san, which way should we go now?" Komoe-sensei gripped the steering wheel, leaning forward to peer at the road ahead, her feet dangling slightly above the seat.
"Head towards the back. There's a small path there that'll get us there quicker."
"Alright, I'll speed up a little then."
"Whoa."
They arrived at the area behind the flower beds. Sonoko exchanged a few words with the Tokiwadai student responsible for managing the parking spaces, then guided Komoe-sensei to drive into the designated spot.
"Back up... a bit more... okay, stop. We're here." Sonoko directed Komoe-sensei's reversing, ensuring she didn't bump into anything.
Once the car was safely parked, Komoe-sensei began eagerly taking in the surroundings of Tokiwadai's dormitory.
"How lovely. You can even smell the floral scent in the air," Komoe-sensei said happily.
The weather was fine, the warm sunlight bathing everything.
She'd heard that a moderate amount of sun helps with calcium absorption and boosts the body's metabolic cycle.
The diligent Sonoko Natsume stood under the sun, working hard for over an hour until she finally finished distributing the entire thick stack of brochures.
By this time, the flow of visitors for the Midsummer Festival had gradually slowed down. It seemed most of the expected guests had already arrived.
Based on Sonoko's observations during her time back at her post, a total of four hundred and eighty-two people had entered Tokiwadai's main gate. The vast majority of them were girls.
'It figures most people's friends would be girls.'
"All done, time to pack up."
Sonoko checked the position of the sun. Her duties as both doorkeeper and brochure distributor were finally over.
Back inside the main hall, Misaka-senpai's work seemed to be mostly finished too.
Misaka-senpai's job was similar to Sonoko's, just located in the student dormitory's main hall instead.
Glancing around, she was surprised not to see Shirai-san anywhere. It looked like she'd probably been dragged off to help in the restaurant by Tsuchimikado-san. She recalled Shirai-san's earlier confident promise to help with the food preparations.
"Finally, no more people." Misaka-senpai let out a sigh of relief, leaning wearily against the railing at the edge of the hall.
She was wearing a proper maid uniform. It seemed Shirai-san had managed to prepare at least one normal version.
"Natsume-san, are you finished on your end too?" Spotting Sonoko, Misaka-senpai called out from a distance. Her expression seemed somewhat distracted, as if something was on her mind.
Sonoko gave a thumbs-up and nodded back. She planned to find a place to rest for a bit.
"Natsume-san."
She had only been sitting on a chair for a short while when Sonoko heard someone call her name.
"Juufuku-san? Aren't you here to look around?"
Sonoko turned her head slightly and spotted Juufuku Miho, wearing her Sekisho Junior High School uniform.
Juufuku-san blinked her curious eyes, her bright gaze fixed on Sonoko.
"Well, I'm not sure what there is to see," she said, her tone becoming a bit hesitant as she spoke somewhat sheepishly.
"Is that so? I can take you to see the handmade cake exhibition later. They have cakes of all kinds there."
Sonoko remembered a good spot – the exhibition hall set up by the seniors from the Culinary Arts Club.
As for Sonoko's own Urban Legend Investigation Club, with only four members, three of whom didn't live in the dorms, they naturally didn't have an exhibition space.
Thinking about it, the Urban Legend Investigation Club was still quite active during the holidays. It was just that Sonoko herself had been a bit lazy, mainly because there were no mandatory investigation tasks during the break.
'Guess I'm just a lazy member of a lazy club.'
She shook her head, feeling that she actually did put in a fair amount of effort.
"Natsume-san, are you okay?" Juufuku-san asked with concern, noticing Sonoko suddenly shaking her head for no apparent reason while they were talking.
"It's nothing, just my neck feeling a bit stiff from standing at the entrance for so long."
--+--
In the handmade cake exhibition hall.
Sonoko curiously reached out a finger and lightly touched the relief display. To her amazement, the entire relief was made of cake.
She suddenly felt the urge to see how the relief tasted, but she restrained herself. After all, these were the creations of the seniors.
"Huh? Is that really okay?"
Juufuku-san's voice came from nearby. Following the sound, Sonoko saw Juufuku-san, and also a girl in a nun's habit standing in front of a cake, her face already smeared with cream.
"Are these cakes for sampling?" Juufuku-san was talking to Index, her tone uncertain.
"Of course! This is called a tasting sample!"
Index nodded with great authority, placing her hands on her hips as if stating an obvious fact.
She had seen people sampling food here earlier. The sales assistant sisters at the supermarket said that as long as you queue, you can get food. She had queued for a while at the entrance too.
"Index?" Sonoko walked over.
"Ah, Sonoko!" Index looked delighted and immediately threw herself forward in a hug, resulting in a layer of cream being smeared onto Sonoko's maid uniform as well.
"Index, what are you doing here?" Sonoko glanced at the cream on her clothes, her expression somewhat resigned.
"Touma gave me this." Index produced an invitation, a proud look on her face.
"...Alright, but it's probably best not to sample the cakes here right now. After the Midsummer Festival ends, I can ask the seniors if they can give you a few cakes," Sonoko said seriously.
Then she remembered: Tsuchimikado's brother seemed to be classmates with Kamijou Touma, so it wasn't strange that Index knew Tsuchimikado-san.
"Really?" Index's eyes lit up.
"Of course it's true. Besides, the restaurant has unlimited food available. Let me check the time... it should start in about ten minutes." Sonoko checked the schedule before continuing.
"I want to go!" Index exclaimed happily.
"Natsume-san, the cream on your clothes...?" Juufuku-san pointed somewhat anxiously at the stain on Sonoko's uniform.
"It's fine."
Sonoko discreetly placed her hand over the cream stain. The cream instantly solidified and flaked off, falling into her palm.
She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Even though her actions were subtle, considering they were still within the dormitory grounds, you couldn't be too careful. The Dorm Supervisor could appear at any moment.
"Delicious! Another plate, please!" A tall stack of plates had already accumulated in front of Index.
At a table in the restaurant, Sonoko and Index sat opposite each other, with Juufuku-san beside them. In the corner of the four-seater sat Kamijou Touma.
She had originally planned to have lunch with Saten-san and the others, but plans always seemed to change. She'd have to apologize to them later.
"Hello, I'm Kamijou Touma." Kamijou sat somewhat awkwardly in the corner. He had no idea when Index had made so many friends.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Juufuku Miho," Juufuku-san replied politely from beside them.
"Kamijou-san... no, I should call you Senpai. Why are you acting like you don't know me?" Sonoko nibbled on a meatball, looking at Kamijou Touma with clear dissatisfaction.
"...Sorry, a lot's happened recently. It just slipped my mind for a moment," Kamijou said awkwardly, internally lamenting, 'So she's another acquaintance from before I lost my memory?'
In order to save Index and break the magical collar restraining her, Kamijou Touma had lost his original memories.
"That's a pretty arrogant way of putting it, Senpai. Did you ever find your bicycle?"
Sonoko recalled the bicycle she'd left near the student dorms. Ever since she got 'Shiro,' she hadn't ridden it much lately. But Sonoko wasn't the type to discard the old for the new. In her heart, her bicycle still held a significant place.
"My bicycle...?"
Kamijou was taken aback. So he used to own a bicycle too?
"...I found it." Kamijou managed to say with difficulty.
"That's good," Sonoko said.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.