A Delightful Tail
Despite the recent Mudwell incident, preparations for the fireworks festival were, surprisingly, proceeding without a hitch.
Adele had been put in charge of the festival for a simple reason: everyone had decided that a festival hosted by the outwardly clean Lucia Guild would look better than one thrown by a mafia organization.
At first Tania had thrown a fit, insisting she wanted to host it herself, but Elysia's offhand remark that "festivals are better when there's a big crowd" had finally made her yield the role to Adele.
Whether that had left Tania sulking or not, she had gone all quiet and gloomy… but one hug from behind and she had brightened right back up.
Anyway, before heading home from school today, I needed to go tell Siyun and Carmen when the festival was being held.
Haa… I had a date with Luna tomorrow, and at the fireworks festival I still had to go watch those two on their date. I really did live a busy life…! A happy one, though!
I asked some friends I ran into on the way whether Yi Siyun had already left school. Only after asking did it occur to me — what if this person didn't even know who Siyun was…?
"Ah, she's still in the cl-classroom…."
That was the answer I got.
Honestly, Siyun! I'd grabbed a random person and asked, and they still knew who she was — her popularity was no joke either. Well, of course. When you were that pretty, you ended up famous whether you wanted to or not. Just like me!
Exhibit A: the friend I'd just spoken to had recognized me and started stuttering like crazy, hadn't she? Or maybe she'd simply been so overwhelmed by my beauty that she'd panicked. The way she'd stood there trembling like a frightened little animal had been so cute that I'd laughed — and she'd promptly collapsed right where she stood.
Behold… the killer smile…!
A beauty really shouldn't go around smiling at just anyone… this was a problem. People already squealed just from me smiling — what were cute girls like me, who laughed all the time, supposed to do…!
The world was so unfair….
I was walking along, lamenting how hard it was for a pretty girl to survive in this world, when I spotted Siyun's back in the distance. She was walking side by side with Carmen — they must have just left the classroom and were about to head home.
Delighted, I was about to dash over and call Siyun's name at the top of my lungs when I stopped short.
Carmen and Siyun… something was off!
The space between them looked wider than usual, didn't it?
But according to the analysis of my maidenly-sensitivity radar, this was not a bad situation. The reason the gap between them had opened up a little was the mysterious, delicate current flowing between them…!
In other words: love!
The two of them were in the process of slowly becoming aware of the feelings each held for the other. After more than ten years as the closest of friends, realizing those feelings for each other now would naturally feel awkward. They probably didn't even fully understand what they were thinking, and spent all day distracted by thoughts of one another. Even once they fully recognized their own emotions, they'd still wonder how on earth to convey them. As I'd said, after ten years as best friends, trying to say "I love you" out of nowhere would only feel awkward and embarrassing.
So the two of them would keep going on like this, gradually learning what they ought to do. And then, when the moment was perfectly ripe, if just the tiniest little push came along…
I believed without a shred of doubt that that push would be the fireworks festival.
Just imagining myself watching it all unfold…!
"Haah…!"
A rush of pleasure hit me so hard my body shuddered. Yes… this was exactly what I had wanted. Each of them slowly recognizing her own heart, learning how to treat the other — and then, at the end, under a sky painted with fireworks, clumsily confessing those feelings to each other…!
I pressed a hand to my cheek. My face was burning hot. I didn't need a mirror to know it had gone bright red.
The only problem was that, watching the two of them now, it looked like it would still take a little more time before the moment was right.
In that case….
I pulled out my phone and called Adele. The ringtone had barely chimed once when she picked up with a click.
"What is it, Elysia?"
"Mm~ nothing big."
For a second I wanted to say I just called because I wanted to hear your voice! — but I held back, knowing full well the conversation would go completely off the rails if I did. Adele always looked so cool and composed, but the way she got flustered when you teased her like that was adorable~. Not many people knew this, but when Adele got embarrassed, only the tips of her ears turned red. And that was ridiculously cute….
"So? What do you need?"
I'd been lost in thought, and Adele asked again.
"Ah… could you maybe push the fireworks festival back a little? About two weeks?"
I asked a bit hesitantly, worried it might be too much to ask — but it must not have been that difficult, because Adele agreed readily.
"All right. It's not that hard — and more than anything, it's a request from you."
"Thank you!"
"But…"
Adele paused for a moment, then asked,
"Why do we need to delay it?"
"Uh… they're not ripe yet? Not at their tastiest?"
"……?"
I still hadn't told friends like Tania or Adele anything about Siyun and Carmen becoming that kind of couple. It didn't really seem like the sort of thing you went around telling people anyway. Adele, long used to my nonsense, simply moved on to the next topic as if nothing had happened.
"The festival will run for about a week, Elysia."
"Hm?"
"You'll spend at least one day with me, right?"
"Yeah! Let's all have fun together!"
"……."
From the other end of the line came a soft "Haa…", followed by a voice that sounded like it had given up.
"Fine…."
What was that about? Was one day not enough?
"…Want to hang out for two days?"
A brief little snicker came through the phone.
"Let's do that."
"Okay! I'll hang up then?"
"Ah. One more thing I forgot to mention."
"Hm?"
"I invited the Koko-chi stall owner to the festival too. I figured you'd want to eat some."
In that instant, my head went blank as if I'd been hit with a hammer.
"…Adele."
A cold, serious voice I could hardly believe had come from my own mouth.
"Yes?"
"Have I ever told you I love you?"
"…Huh?"
"I don't think I have! Adele, I love you…!"
"……."
"Adele?"
"……………."
"Adele~."
"……Ah, sorry. I was just handling something for a second. I'm hanging up now."
"Okay!"
Adele really did live a busy life! As the second daughter of the Moonlight family, the backbone of the Lucia Guild, I just had to understand.
I stared at the disconnected phone for a moment, then turned my gaze back to Siyun and Carmen.
Two beautiful girls trying so hard to act normal, flinching the moment their fingertips so much as brushed…! Just looking at them made my heart race — a warm, beautiful sight.
Barging in right now to tell them the date of the fireworks festival would be a stupid thing to do. I'd just text Siyun about it later… and for now!
Shashashak!
Time to move while staying hidden, so Siyun and Carmen wouldn't notice me, and enjoy the show! I couldn't let an opportunity this good slip away!
All those techniques I'd learned from Cecilia-sensei had included stealth movement as well. All for the sake of secretly watching those two at the fireworks festival… I hadn't expected to use it first like this, but… heheh.
"I'm so glad I learned it…!"
With my skills, there was absolutely no way those two would catch me.
All right — time for some delightful shadowing! Yahoo!
Carmen was in an extremely foul mood.
As if things weren't bad enough already — her relationship with Siyun had been strange lately, and she couldn't figure out the right distance between them at all, leaving her on edge….
Tak! She lightly stamped one foot, and the person kneeling in front of her let out a rather cute "Eek!" and gave a little tremble.
"So…."
"Y-yes…?"
"Why did you follow us all the way here, Elysia-sunbae?"
"Mmm…."
Looking thoroughly embarrassed as she knelt there, Elysia seemed to ponder something for a moment — then simply chose to smile.
"Ehehe."
"What are you laughing about! I asked why you followed us!"
"Mmm~ secret!"
"Argh!"
And standing a short distance behind, watching the whole scene with awkward discomfort, was one more person….
"Ca-Carmen. That's enough — let's just go home…."
None other than Carmen's closest childhood friend, and the person who had been occupying her thoughts lately: Yi Siyun.
When Siyun lightly tugged on the tip of Carmen's sleeve, Carmen's heart gave a hard thump. From that tiny pull on her sleeve, she felt a strange flutter she couldn't quite name.
Lately, Carmen had been struggling to understand her own feelings. She had come to realize that what she felt for the childhood friend she'd known for so long was not simple "friendship." The dissonance of discovering that what she'd believed was friendship was actually something else — and Siyun's oddly distant behavior on top of it.
After countless thoughts, Carmen had finally figured out what her feelings were… and chosen denial!
This has to be some kind of illness…. Or maybe a curse.
Denying her feelings like that was the first stage of reality rejection. The second was—
Grab!
"Eek!"
—acting even more boldly than in the old days, hypnotizing herself into believing nothing had changed!
Siyun's body went stiff the moment her hand was suddenly taken. In the past, holding hands had been nothing — they'd even slept tangled together in nothing but underwear, bathed together, and played all sorts of pranks. But for the two of them now, both deep in confusion, even holding hands was something that required resolve.
And that included Carmen, who was desperately trying to deny reality.
"I… uh… haa……."
Sounds that never quite became words slipped from Carmen's mouth. Every nerve in her body was locked on their joined hands, and she had gone completely rigid.
And the only one standing there with a bright, beaming smile was Elysia, who had been caught mid-tail.
"Ehehe."
"Wh-why are you laughing!"
"Ehehehehe."