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There were no benches or anything of the sort here. Umi said that the people of the shrine didn’t prohibit entry to this area. They wouldn’t do anything unless we caused them troubles like littering everywhere or being too loud.

“Over there, Maki. It’s a little dark right now, but you can see the sky from here.”

“You’re right… We can see the riverbed from here too… Huh, could it be? The reason we came here really is for tomorrow?”

“I told you~ When I told my mom that we’re going to see the Fireworks Festival, she told me about this place. She said that this is the place she went to pray for my safe birth a little before I was born.”

I looked toward the direction Umi pointed at. There was a large river which reflected the lights coming from the various buildings on its surface. It was the same river where the Fireworks Festival would be held.

The festival was the only large-scale event this town had, so I had been bracing myself for the inevitability that was being crushed by the crowds of people. However, if we were to watch the festival from here… It was a distance away from the riverbank, so it wouldn’t be ideal to come here for people who wanted to see the fireworks up close, but we should be able to watch the entire thing from here. Since there wouldn’t be anyone else who’d come here, the five of us would be able to watch the fireworks in peace.

Also, when Umi and I were walking through the shrine, I managed to find out that aside from selling charms for childbirth, they were also selling charms for a successful exam. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for us to visit the shrine while we were at it.

“It’s getting a little chilly… Maki, can I snuggle closer to you?”

“Mhm. Also, you can wear my shirt. It’s a ¾ sleeve shirt but it’s better than nothing.”

“Thank you… Hehe… I never expected I’d get to wear your shirt in a place like this~ It looks a little lame though~”

“Well, I didn’t expect that we’d come here in the first place. Also, if you don’t like it, give it back to me.”

“I never said I don’t like it~”

Because of the darkness, I couldn\'t tell what kind of expression she had. But, it was obvious from her tone that she was happy.

…I just hope that she could stop sniffing on that shirt’s collar… I actually got goosebumps from seeing that…

“You know, Umi? This is a nice place.”

“Right? This is my first time coming here so it surprised me too. The air is clean and the place is quiet~ Well, we wouldn’t be the only ones here tomorrow, so it might not be as quiet.”

Watching the fireworks while being surrounded by a crowd of people didn’t sound too bad, but honestly, watching it from a quiet place like this suited me better.

Tomorrow, our usual group of five would come here with us, so who knows how rowdy it would get compared to this moment.

I tried to imagine Umi and I here by ourselves, watching the fireworks… Wait, no, if I were to continue it, I’d start thinking in that direction again.

“Ah, you are about to think something perverted again.”

“How did you—? Are you sure that you’re the only one who’d notice me doing something like this? Are you sure that no other people are aware of my habit or whatnot?”

“Don’t worry about it, unless they’re watching your face closely on a regular basis, they won’t know. If you still doubt me, why don’t you ask your mother? She might be able to tell that you’re thinking about something weird, but she won’t know the details.”

“…The details…?”

It seemed like this matter went deeper than I thought.

…I wonder how far Umi could read my thoughts?

Honestly, I didn’t plan on keeping any secrets from her, but it seemed like if I were to actually do it in the future, she’d be able to tell anyway.

As expected, I was no match for her.

After spending more time together, cuddling while admiring the starry sky, we headed back to the way we came, the shrine’s grounds.

Half an hour had passed while we were flirting in that place. The flame had reduced by half of its original size and the atmosphere of the place had calmed down a little.

“Maki, while we’re here, why don’t we make a prayer? We didn’t get to have a proper hatsumode this year because you were sick, right?” (T/N: Hatsumode is the first shrine visit on the new year. It’s a tradition for the Japanese that they make a visit to a shrine on the first few days of the year to pray.)

“Good idea. Let’s buy some charms too. I still have leftover money, we can get one for my mom and one for your mom too.”

“…By the way, what kind of charm should we get? Academic success? Love? Health? Or maybe, a safe childbirth?”

“It’s really hard to choose from those three options… It isn’t like we could just get all three either…”

“Hey, don’t ignore the obvious one! Don’t belittle the worth of that charm for the new moms!”

“Whatever you say.”

…Eventually, I’d be ready for that…

Both financially and mentally…

“…Anyway, we should buy three charms for good health. Health is the most important one out of the other two options anyway.”

“Okay. We’ll buy them after we’re done with our prayers, then we’ll go home.”

With that, we went to the line for the prayer and ended our very, very late hatsumode.

As we gave our offering and joined our hands together, I took a glance at Umi’s side profile. Thanks to the festival as a background, she looked even prettier than usual.

Once again, I got reminded of how cute my girlfriend was.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Maki? Have you finished your prayer yet?”

“Ah, yeah, I have. It’s been a while since I’ve done this so I didn’t know what I should do while waiting for you.”

“…You can just be honest and tell me that you were admiring my face.”

“…You aren’t wrong.”

“Hehe, you’re as cute as always, Maki~ Here, here~”

“Stop poking my cheeks!”

Despite the fact that we had been going out for a while, there were things that stayed the same. After that, we proceeded to buy the charms as planned and left the shrine.

Although we only stayed for an hour, it was the first time in a long while that we were able to have a date outside of our homes.

While spending our time relaxing at home together without worrying about anything might be the best thing to do, it still felt nice to enjoy the cool night breeze, leisurely watching the scenery outside while holding each other\'s hands.

There was still time before our curfew, but if we were to go back to my place and continue our date, we’d end up missing it, so we decided to go to Umi’s place instead.

On our way home, we rode the last bus for the night. There were more people compared to the previous time. Several seats were available, but there weren’t any ways for us to sit side by side, so we ended up standing up, with me holding the bus strap and Umi leaning on me.

“How was it, Maki? I know I dragged you outside on short notice, but did you have fun?”

“Yeah. It’s my first time going to a festival with someone else, it was fun…”

Because of my dad’s work, we had to move from city to city. My mom and I didn’t go out together that often when I was a child, so it felt refreshing to be among the crowds in that festival.

The foul smell and the shaking of the bus that I hadn’t felt for a while. The warm light that lit up the festival ground. The taste of the thick yakisoba and takoyaki sauce…

And more importantly, the warmth of the girl next to me. This would be a memory that I’d always cherish even in the future.

…But, there was one thing that kept persisting in my mind. A selfish thought that I couldn’t get rid of.

“…Umi. About the festival tomorrow…”

“Hm?”

“…What about we watch it from the festival venue instead?”

“Huh?”

At that moment, a hint of unease appeared on Umi’s smiling face.

It was understandable that she’d react like that. The reason why she brought me here was to check this place out for tomorrow. I had been giving her a positive reaction yet I suddenly said those words to her.

“Ah, sorry, I wasn’t saying the place was bad or anything, rather, it feels too good to be true. The thing is… I don’t really fancy the idea of everyone coming to that place…”

“…Are you saying that you want us two to monopolize that place?”

“Something like that.”

There was no doubt that it’d be great if we were to go watch the fireworks with everyone in that place. We could avoid the crowds, which meant we wouldn’t get into trouble. Objectively speaking, watching from that place was better than going to the venue itself.

But, when Umi and I were stargazing just a while ago, something came to my mind…

A desire to keep that place a secret just for the two of us.

“Since we’ve already planned things out with everyone, we couldn’t do it tomorrow, but there should be another opportunity next year, or the year after that…”

“If you say so, I’m fine with that, Maki, but, that means we have to prepare ourselves for some troubles tomorrow. The train is definitely going to be packed. In the venue itself, if we aren’t careful, we can get separated from everyone. We might also be unable to watch the fireworks because of the crowds.”

“…I guess you’re right…”

Even if the five of us were careful enough, there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t get into trouble. Since it was a big event, they’d definitely put up a security measure for it, but there were just some things that the security couldn\'t handle.

For the three girls especially, they’d definitely get called out by someone like back when we were going to the pool.

While that wouldn’t happen if Nozomu were there, if one of them got separated from the rest, it would be a different story.

“…Sorry, forget about what I just said.”

“Don’t be. I was exaggerating things a little. As long as we’re careful, we should be fine.”

“I know, but I kinda realized that I was a little too selfish.”

Though my time with Umi was more important to me than anything else, that didn’t mean I wanted to disregard everyone’s feelings for my selfishness.

“I see. Then, I’ll tell everyone to come here tomorrow. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah. Sorry for saying something weird.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know more than anyone else that you’re a selfish kid, Maki-chan~”

“…Now we’re back to treating me like a child again.”

“Am I wrong though? Like, the other day you were holding on my chest—”

“Let’s continue this conversation after we get off the bus, okay?”

Our first outing in a long while ended with a note of embarrassment for me. With that, the first night of the weekend was coming to an end.

I wonder what will happen during the festival tomorrow?

Hopefully, everything will end without any accident.