The "replay" segment went unexpectedly smoothly and didn't take much time.
By the time the two of them put the scooped goldfish into plastic bags, there was less than thirty minutes left until the agreed meeting time.
"It's about time to head back." Imaizumi Keita glanced at the time on his phone.
"Yeah."
Shioyaki Lemon nodded, the excitement and joy on her face gradually fading.
Both of them knew in their hearts that this "replay" of a date was built upon the "absence" of another girl.
The two walked side-by-side on the way back to the station.
At a fork in the road where the crowd was relatively sparse, Shioyaki Lemon stopped in her tracks.
"Kin-chan, you go ahead."
She let go of his hand and proactively distanced herself from him.
Imaizumi Keita looked at her with some surprise.
"I'll wander around a bit more and buy some things,"
She pointed to a souvenir stall in the distance and reminded Imaizumi Keita, "That way, when we run into each other at the station later, it won't look like we came back together."
"Alright." Imaizumi Keita nodded, "Then... be careful on the way."
"You too." Shioyaki Lemon waved at him, "Don't let Anna catch you doing anything suspicious, my... boyfriend."
She smiled and turned to merge into the crowd on another path.
The sunflower-yellow Yukata quickly disappeared into the crowd, and she didn't look back at Imaizumi Keita again.
Imaizumi Keita stood there for a moment before turning to walk toward the station alone.
The evening breeze, carrying the bustle of the Festival, brushed against his cheeks, gradually cooling his somewhat heated head.
The warmth in his left hand and the heat in his right...
Although handling the relationship between two girls was a bit pathetic, it was still quite enjoyable...
As for the trouble caused to the girls, Imaizumi Keita could only respond with even more sincere and genuine feelings...
He took his phone out of his pocket, and a series of unread messages and missed call notifications from Yanami Anna suddenly popped up.
The signal was intermittent, and the messages were received sporadically.
The first few messages still had a tone of acting spoiled and complaining.
[Keita? Where did you go? (＃?Д?)]
[There are so many people, come back quickly, or I'm going to be squashed into a meat patty! (＞д＜)]
[Hey! Reply to me when you see this!]
But as time passed, a hard-to-conceal anxiety and unease began to permeate between the lines of the messages.
[You're with Lemon-chan, right?]
[Why aren't you replying to my messages? I can't get through to your phone either...]
[Reply to me when you see this...]
[Keita...]
[Where are you?]
[I'm waiting for you over by the station.]
The last message was sent over ten minutes ago, leaving only a message that sounded like a plea.
[Are you still not coming back?]
Every single message was beyond Imaizumi Keita's expectations.
He had thought that Yanami Anna would be very angry after finding out about this.
The memory of her intense reaction, nearly draining him dry after he confessed that Lemon had confessed and kissed him, was still fresh in his mind.
Since he had left without a word this time and had been "out of contact" for so long, he estimated that Yanami Anna's actual reaction would be much stronger than the messages.
Although he had already told her about himself and Lemon to reduce the risk, this kind of thing still needed to be accepted slowly...
Imaizumi Keita hurried toward the station while quickly calculating a strategy in his mind.
A direct apology was necessary; there was no doubt about that.
But what after the apology?
Telling the truth would be like adding fuel to the fire.
But if he lied... one lie would require countless more to cover up.
With Anna-chan's sensitivity, she would likely find flaws from the slightest clues.
At that point, the nature of the problem would escalate from "infidelity" to "deception," and the consequences would only be more severe.
His principle in dealing with girls had always been to be as honest as possible, without resorting to deception or concealment...
Only when the girls' psychological expectations of him were lowered could he capture more of their bodies and hearts...
Yes.
Imaizumi Keita was a greedy man.
He didn't just want to possess the girls' bodies; he wanted to possess their hearts as well.
This was an adjustment to his life creed after some reflection following the acquisition of his Succubus physique and abilities...
It really was... a bit of a headache-inducing situation.
Dating was indeed joyful, but resolving the hidden dangers brought about by that joy was indeed a bit troublesome.
He rubbed his throbbing temples, and his pace couldn't help but quicken a bit.
Regardless, letting Anna-chan wait alone in anxiety for so long was ultimately his fault.
When Imaizumi Keita arrived at the agreed-upon station ticket gate, he immediately saw that solitary figure standing outside the crowd.
Yanami Anna wasn't looking down at her phone, nor was she looking around; she just stood there quietly, lost in thought.
That dark blue goldfish-patterned Yukata looked somewhat lonely under the bright surrounding lights.
She seemed to sense something and slowly raised her head.
Upon seeing Imaizumi Keita, a surge of complex emotions appeared in her eyes.
There was grievance, anger, and unease, but more than anything, a sudden display of dependence and relief.
Yanami Anna didn't say anything.
Nor did she rush up to question him or give him a punch, as Imaizumi Keita had expected.
She had originally planned to tell him how much of a bastard he was, how bad she felt, how cunning Lemon was, and so on, once he arrived...
But in the end, she simply stepped through the sparse crowd and ran toward him at a quick pace.
Before Imaizumi Keita even had a chance to apologize, she dove into his arms.
Her movements were forceful, as if she wanted to rub her entire self into his body.
Imaizumi Keita could feel Yanami Anna's body trembling slightly in his arms.
He instinctively reached out to wrap his arms around her back and patted her gently.
"I..."
Just as he was about to speak, Yanami Anna buried her head even deeper, her muffled voice coming from his chest.
"Don't talk."
She just held him, without saying a word.
People came and went around them, with occasional curious glances, but they were quickly drowned out by the bustle of the station.
Imaizumi Keita had rehearsed his opening lines and excuses countless times in his head.
However, in the face of such a wordless embrace, they seemed exceptionally insincere.
In the face of absolute emotion, any verbal tactics lost their meaning.
After an unknown amount of time, Yanami Anna's emotions gradually calmed down.
She let go and took half a step back from his arms, but her hands still clutched his sleeves, as if afraid he would disappear again.
She looked up with red-rimmed eyes, but there were no tears on her face.
"I'm sorry."
Imaizumi Keita looked into her eyes and ultimately chose to give up on other explanations, offering a sincere and straightforward apology.
"I shouldn't have suddenly left without saying anything and made you worry."
Hearing his apology, Yanami Anna's lips moved, but in the end, she still didn't say anything.
Seeing this, Imaizumi Keita thought she was still bothered by the matter with Shioyaki Lemon, so he prepared to proactively confess what had happened according to his previous principle.
"Just now... I was with Lemon-chan..."
"I don't want to hear it!"
He had just started when Yanami Anna urgently interrupted him.
Her voice wasn't loud, and she expressed her request to Imaizumi Keita with a serious face.
"I don't want to know where you went, and I don't want to know what you did."
"Keita, it's enough as long as you can ensure you're good to me."
"As long as you're still here, as long as you still need me, I can ignore everything else..."
"Do you think I haven't thought about the things you said? The reason I'm still standing here is because I love you."
Imaizumi Keita looked at the Yanami Anna before him.
She was clearly the Yanami Anna who would be jealous for half a day just because he said one more word to another girl, the girlfriend who would confidently assert her dominance over the phone.
Now, she was actually expressing such a request...
At that moment, Imaizumi Keita began to wonder if his principle of being honest would really make Anna-chan feel any better...
"Alright, I'll be good to you."
"I love you too, Anna."
Imaizumi Keita nodded vigorously, giving his promise to Yanami Anna.
Looking at her like this, Imaizumi Keita only felt his heart softening completely.
What else could he say?
The two hugged for a while longer, and Yanami Anna finally couldn't suppress her feelings, reminding him in a low voice.
"Um... Keita."
"Hmm?"
"I... don't want to go home today." She repeated, "It's already so late anyway. If I go back now, my parents will definitely start prying."
Imaizumi Keita looked at her.
"Anna-chan," he said somewhat helplessly, "the number of times you've stayed out overnight this month is almost catching up to the number of times I go to the convenience store. Won't Uncle and Auntie really suspect something?"
"It's fine," Yanami Anna immediately came up with an excuse. "We already agreed to hang out today. I'll just tell them the Festival ended too late and there were no more trains, so I'm staying at a hotel around here for the night. That's reasonable, right?"
She took a step forward, leaning half her body against him again, looking up at him with a softened tone.
"Is that okay? I just... want to stay with you a little longer."
Facing Yanami Anna like this, Imaizumi Keita couldn't bring himself to refuse.
He sighed and reached out, habitually stroking her hair.
"...Alright."
Having received permission, a triumphant smile immediately appeared on Yanami Anna's face, and her previous pitiful look vanished completely.
Seeing her ability to change faces in a second, Imaizumi Keita couldn't help but marvel in his heart that a girl's mood really changed faster than summer weather.
But he soon thought of a more practical problem.
"What... should we tell the seniors?" He pointed toward the gathering spot not far away.
"They'll be here in a moment. We can't just say we're going to stay at a hotel, right? Wouldn't that be the same as telling everyone what we're going to do?"
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