And so, the next day occurred, at early noon.
A seemingly immeasurable number of students were roaming around the park sections of the La Luna Sangre Hotel.
The park was designed to evoke the vibrant, sensory atmosphere of a massive Japanese Yatai event festival.
It was filled with many kinds of colorful food stands, built-up entertainment districts catering to ages under 18, fun game stalls, and many other attractions.
The voices of thousands of people could be heard all across the park, random blabbering and excited chatter, sounds of loud, energetic music that nearly blinded the sounds of pure nature, a windy yet fun atmosphere akin to major festivals, and the rich, intoxicating aroma from Japanese foods and snacks that flew through the air.
In actuality, the entire thing was based on a Japanese Street Festival, purely designed by the great Yuri Calypso herself (Not really).
"A Japanese Street Festival…"
Trizha murmured to herself, glancing around while standing in the middle of the main path along with Zackier, Wyne, and Margaret.
Her eyes were narrowed, scanning the immediate vicinity for at least one Malaysian food stand nearby.
Unable to find a single one, she gave up and sighed dramatically.
"No good, everything here is completely foreign…! None of them even have my favorite Apam Balik," Trizha complained in a low, dramatic tone, sighing yet again.
Wyne patted her back to comfort her, understanding how crucial a good Malaysian snack was.
"Don't worry, this place is only a fraction of the entire park. And besides, we can try takoyaki later and… maybe go search for a secret Apam Balik stand after."
Wyne glanced around as well, searching for any Malaysian-related food.
Zackier then stepped forward, his hands tucked inside his pants pockets.
His tall stature towered over Wyne, and a slight smirk played on his face.
For some reason, he had a strange look on his face. As if he was confused, but that was instantly replaced.
"If the founder of the hotel herself originates from Japan, events such as this are expected," Zackier stated in a firm, almost detached tone. "But don't get me wrong, I didn't expect this level of devotion either."
Deep within that smirk, however, was a slight sense of 'confusion' that only Margaret, the keen observer, noticed.
Wyne sighed, placing a hand on her right hip.
"Oh well… let's just enjoy what we got and were given. And besides, Japanese food isn't that bad, it's 'superb' in its own ways. Right, Trizha?"
Wyne turned to Trizha. But all of a sudden, her eyes widened in profound surprise.
Trizha had already pulled out her phone and started a live video, the first stream she had started after a long absence.
Wyne's smile instantly faded, and she kept her eyes staring at Trizha's glowing phone screen before slowly taking a cautious step toward her.
"Tri… Trizha?" Wyne asked softly, her voice laced with worry.
Trizha lowered her phone slightly and turned to Wyne, her eyes clear. "Yeah? What's up? You look sick…"
Wyne stood straight, trying to find the words to express her deep apprehension. "...what are you doing?"
"Oh, this?" Trizha raised her phone, still on live stream, pointing a finger to it while keeping herself facing Wyne. "Making a live video to comfort myself, as usual, whenever I feel down at the moment. Is there… a problem?"
Wyne stayed silent for a few seconds, processing the lie.
She then forced a smile and shrugged it off, trying to save face. "Oh, it's nothing… I… I just thought that you—"
"What, changed? Did you think I changed because I haven't done any content in a while? No, I'm really just a bit tired over the last few days, that's all," Trizha said dismissively.
She then walked past Wyne, stopping next to Zackier, standing next to him proudly.
"But actually," Trizha continued, her voice swelling with cheerfulness. "Zackier inspired me to continue making videos and support my social media accounts last night. He was really helpful! He made me feel like I can continue pursuing my 'dreams' better than everyone else! Simply through just a few touches and a powerful talk."
Trizha happily wrapped her arms around Zackier, making herself comfortable as Zackier hugged her back possessively.
Wyne watched the two, her forced positive look completely gone, her head lowered slightly.
"Better… than everyone else, huh," Wyne murmured to herself.
Margaret, noticing Wyne's depressing and jealous look, knew she had to intervene.
As the girl who reliably stops arguments in the trio from escalating, she stepped forward and softly clasped her hands, yet loud enough for the other three to turn to her.
"Guys, how about we all split up, two by two, then meet up at a certain area after we have fun for ourselves?" Margaret suggested.
Zackier's face hardened, but it got soft and he smiled.
"That… seems like a great idea," Zackier agreed, his mouth curving into a satisfied grin.
He moved behind Trizha and hugged her from behind, leaning in close. He grinned over her shoulder to Margaret with a definite playboy attitude.
"Who knows? You might actually be leading us two to a free date. And that, I appreciate—"
"Alright, that's enough talk!" Trizha suddenly exclaimed, cutting him off with a surprisingly firm tone.
Trizha pulled Zackier off her by grabbing his wrist, then started walking off with him, her steps filled with excitement and cheerfulness.
Margaret watched the two disappear quickly into the crowd as her smile instantly faded as well, staring more to Zackier.
She then turned around to look at Wyne, who was watching her with a warm smile of appreciation, walking up to her with a deep sigh.
"Haah… thank you, Margaret. I really needed that distraction to calm myself down," Wyne said.
"Yeah, you're welcome," Margaret replied simply.
Wyne walked across Margaret, stopped behind her, and held both of her shoulders using both hands from behind.
A flicker of nostalgic relief washed over her face as she rested her head, claiming comfort from the familiar routine of holding Margaret's shoulders like a shopping cart to calm herself down even more.
"How I miss pushing you around like this…" Wyne sighed happily. "Oh, also, where are we supposed to meet up exactly?"
Margaret listened to Wyne for a second, her eyes narrowed in concentration before they widened in realization.
"Oops… I forgot to tell them. I'm sorry… we're supposed to meet up in the mirror maze house near the center of the park."
"Great, just when I was resting my head…" Wyne said in frustration, pulling away briefly.
Wyne took out her phone to send a quick message to Trizha. "I'll just send Trizha a message right now, since… she's now using her phone again after a while."
Wyne paused for a second, catching herself, then shook her head to snap out of it.
She quickly sent the message to Trizha, turned off her phone, and put it back inside her pocket.
"...There, I just sent her the location. Now let's go around, Margaret," Wyne said, turning back to her friend.
But to her surprise, Margaret was staring intently in a different direction, specifically at a dark alleyway off the main thoroughfare.
Wyne raised an eyebrow and also stared at the alleyway, before turning back to Margaret.
"Hey… what are you staring at?" Wyne asked.
Margaret snapped out of her concentration and turned to Wyne, a flash of embarrassment on her face.
She spoke in a gentle, soft tone. "N-nothing… I just saw a black cat hiding in that alleyway."
"Black cat, huh?" Wyne said casually. "Locals call them 'bad luck,' but it won't hurt to give it a petting. Treating it badly will probably give us bad luck. Now let's go, or else we'll miss out a lot."
"Agreed…" Margaret murmured.
Both Wyne and Margaret approached the entrance of the alleyway, patted the air near the shadow where the "cat" was supposed to be, and then proceeded to take their leave, with Wyne pushing Margaret around happily.
They disappeared into the excitement of the crowd.
Meanwhile… Nomoro Ketatsuki himself was hidden deep inside the same shadow of the alleyway, having heard the entire conversation.
He was watching the trio and Zackier, especially Trizha, with an intensity that bordered on pain.
"..." Nomoro stood there, silent, his fists loosely clenched.
As much as he kept watching on Trizha, he stayed cautious towards Zackier.