In a blink of an eye, the summer festival is here.

Kato Yusuke put on his yukata, came to a shrine near Takadanobaba, and waited quietly in front of the torii gate.

It is now five o'clock in the afternoon, and there is still half an hour before the scheduled meeting time.

Although it is already late summer, the sunset is still early.

Children ran around the shrine grounds with marshmallows and apple candies in their hands.

In the park adjacent to the shrine, several couples in junior high school or high school were chatting and laughing shyly.

In previous years, this festival would have ended long ago, but this year it is said that the scale has been expanded, so the opening date has been postponed.

Kato Yusuke looked around, thinking that it would be very interesting to end August with a festival.

After waiting for a while, others also arrived.

"Yusuke! Here we come~"

Ying Lili was the first to notice him, her two thin white calves crossing each other quickly, running towards him like a deer in the jungle.

Hasumi Kanoko and Shiyu followed her, walked slowly and leisurely, and stopped under the torii gate.

Hasumi Kanoko: "I'm sorry, Kato-kun, for keeping you waiting."

Shiyu: "It's only five-twenty now, Yu-chan, are you here early?"

Kato Yusuke looked at the three of them blankly, and said dumbfounded: "...Didn't I tell you to wear a yukata? Why are you all in casual clothes??"

Seeing his reaction, Hasumi Kanoko smiled a little guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I met with the game designer before I came here. It was too late to change into my yukata when I got home, so I had to come here like this."

"Huh?" Kato Yusuke twitched his eyebrows, "You mean the designer named Matsumoto? Is there something wrong?"

"No, that's not the case." Hasumi Kanoko shook her head, "I briefly explained our conditions to the designer, and he said he would think about it and give me a reply later."

"It's pretty cool." Kato Yusuke said casually and looked at the other two people with a sigh, "What about Shi and Eiri? Did you forget to wear a yukata?"

Shiyu folded his hands on his chest and said calmly:

"We are a unit, and we should take care of each other no matter what we do. Since Kano-chan can't wear a yukata, Sawamura and I can't just care about ourselves. That's unfair."

"?????"

Kato Yusuke listened to this with a confused face, couldn't help but speak loudly, and was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

Hasumi Kanoko said in a troubled manner: "Actually, I also said that there is no need to be like this, but Shi-chan is very slender in this place, so I'm sorry, Kato-kun."

Kato Yusuke came back to his senses, scratched his cheek and said: "Well, although it is indeed a bit regretful, there is no need to apologize..."

Hasumi Kanoko smiled and said a little slyly: "In order not to spoil the atmosphere, we still choose a nice dress and come over. What do you think, Kato-kun?"

Kanoko Hasumi wears a shirt and skirt in the light mature style, Shiba wears a white dress in the pure lust style, and Eiri wears a British style dress.

The three women stared at someone with intense eyes, either curious or looking forward to his answer.

Kato Yusuke's eyes turned around on them, and then he dropped his shoulders feebly.

"That's not the point. If someone told you that today's dinner is crabs, and what you are served is crab sticks, would you accept it?

Of course, you are all dressed up beautifully, but as a layman, I have too high expectations for yukata, so I’m sorry that I can’t express my better thoughts for the time being.”

Seeing his extremely disappointed look, the three girls couldn't help but look at each other and burst into laughter.

Hasumi Kanoko: "Sure enough, boys still like yukata~ Otherwise, how about the three of us wear yukata and accompany him to the festival next time?"

Yinglili couldn't help but nodded, agreeing with this statement.

Shiyu curled her lips and said, "...Senior Nakano hasn't arrived yet? Maybe someone else will come wearing a yukata later."

Just as he was talking, the voice of the person involved came from behind.

"——I'm sorry, everyone, have you been waiting for a long time?"

Ryoko Nakano walked in, wearing a light green cardigan and a double-breasted dark blue skirt, which looked very stable. She was also dressed in casual clothes.

"...Nakano-senpai?"

"Ah, it's Nakano-senpai here."

"Long time no see, Nakano-san~"

Shiyu, Eirili, and Renjian Kanoko turned around in response and greeted each other.

Nakano Ryoko smiled and greeted them, and then said: "Thank you for inviting me to the festival today. I hope I won't disturb you."

Shiyu immediately replied: "Senior, you're welcome. We are very happy that you can come. To be honest, Yuu-chan is looking forward to seeing you."

"Ah, is that so? Yu-kun." Ryoko Nakano blinked and looked towards Yusuke Kato.

"...Well, although that's true, it's because we are talking about a certain topic."

"That's it~ What are you talking about?"

"Oh, that's it, senior." Shiyu teased: "Someone here is complaining because he didn't see the girl's yukata."

Kato Yusuke: "Little poem!?"

Nakano Ryoko couldn't help but laugh, looked at him up and down, and said: "...Yu-kun is wearing Jinpei, it suits you very well."

Kato Yusuke lowered his head, and a black yukata with hexagonal snowflakes printed on it came into view, and there were wooden clogs on his feet.

He originally wanted to cooperate with everyone, so he wore a yukata, but he didn't expect that it made him special.

"...Thank you, senior, this is the gift Yinglili gave me last year."

He raised his head and looked at Yinglili with some nostalgia, recalling the promise made on New Year's Eve last year.

"Even if you are going to the festival with others, you must first see you wearing this yukata! Absolutely!"

Speaking of which, when he joked about not inviting her to the festival, Yinglili became angry.

I don't know if she thought of the same thing, but Ying Lili wrinkled her nose at him, then turned away with a hum and the corners of her mouth slightly curved upward.

Hasumi Kanoko said gently: "Well~ the performance here seems to start in an hour, let's just take a stroll first."

Everyone nodded and walked towards the shrine together.

There are rows of stalls on both sides of the passage, and the afterglow of the evening sun shines on the simple stone steps of the shrine, adding a bit of haziness and poetry to the prosperous evening scene in front of you.

People dressed in festive yukatas, old and young, came out in large numbers. There was a huge flow of people, and the atmosphere was full of excitement for the festival.

Although the dusk period has just begun, the vendors setting up stalls have already started lighting up.

The streets were very lively, with vendors shouting and shouting. Tourists wandered between stalls, and there was laughter and laughter everywhere.

Kato Yusuke looked at this grand scene, and distant memories suddenly emerged in his mind, reminding him of the light-footed girl he once was.

The next second he shook his head, shook off those inappropriate thoughts, and took the initiative to ask: "Everyone, is there anything you want to eat?"

Shiyu gently pinched his chin and thought: "It's still a little early, isn't it? Food should be eaten during the fireworks show."

Hasumi Kanoko said: "If someone feels hungry, there is no need to worry too much, just eat what you want."

Yingli looked around, her eyes wandering between the food stalls, "I can eat something plain, like grilled chicken skewers."

Shiyu was speechless: "Is that something innocuous to you?"

Yinglili said: "Otherwise, chicken cakes are also okay, just so everyone can share them."

Shiyu said: "I want to save this kind of food that can be shared for later."

Yinglili was annoyed, "Why are you so particular? We are visiting a festival now! It's so disappointing."

Ryoko Nakano watched their interaction with a smile and said, "Kasumigaoka-san and Sawamura-san have such a good relationship."

"

That’s not good.””

Shiyu and Yinglili retorted in unison.

At this time, everyone was laughing happily.

In the end, they didn't buy food. Instead, they went to play target shooting and caught a lot of bouncy balls. Finally, they bought a few bottles of drinks from the stall because they were thirsty.

As time goes by, the festival music that resounds throughout the shrine becomes more enthusiastic.

Kato Yusuke looked at his phone and found that it was already 6:15, so he suggested: "Let's just stop here first and let's go watch the show."

"Oh." Shiyu lifted her hair from her ears and said with her usual expression: "Speaking of which, it seems that Shinjou-san will dance at the festival?"

"Huh?" Erili opened her eyes in surprise, "Shinjou-san is here too!?"

"Yeah, otherwise why do you think Yuu-chan would come here specifically for the festival?"

Hearing Shiyu's words, Kato Yusuke couldn't help but rub his nose angrily, "...Anyway, should we go there directly? Or should we buy something to eat?"

Yinglili thought for a while and said, "I just saw a stall selling waffles. I want to eat that...but there seems to be a queue there."

"Otherwise, this is better." Hasumi Kanoko said, "Kato-kun, you go buy waffles, and I'll go find a seat at the performance venue first."

Nakano Ryoko said: "It's hard for Hasumi-sensei to occupy a seat alone, so I'll go with you."
To be continued...