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When you think of a summer festival, you think of eating, drinking, and playing.

As we arrived at the entrance to the main street, we were greeted by a sea of colorfully decorated shops. The bright lights cast a dreamy, hazy glow over everything.

Various stalls lined both sides of the street, mostly selling snacks, toys, and offering games. The air was filled with a bustling cacophony of voices, a constant rise and fall of noise that only highlighted the liveliness of the festival.

On the crowded street, you could see young girls in yukatas, their wooden clogs clicking on the pavement as they walked in groups of three or five. There were couples, friends, and families—in short, everyone wore a happy smile.

Looking at the large group of vibrant and beautiful girls beside me, I smiled and asked, "Is there anything you all want to play?"

Hearing my question, the girls looked around excitedly.

Kaguya's eyes lit up, and she pointed at a nearby booth. "How about we go catch goldfish?"

Everyone followed the direction of her finger. Not far away, there were two rectangular blue plastic tanks filled with dozens of colorful little goldfish.

Catching goldfish, one of the most classic summer festival games, was naturally very popular. A circle of people had already gathered around the two tanks. The sight of the various kinds of small goldfish swimming in the water made many of the children's eyes sparkle.

There were even many couples there, with the boyfriends trying to catch a goldfish for their girlfriends. After all, if they succeeded, they could not only make their partners happy but also earn some admiration from the onlookers.

It was a win-win situation.

Upon seeing the goldfish booth, the other girls' eyes also lit up. Those colorful little fish were undeniably cute, perfectly appealing to their tastes.

Since the girls wanted to play, I naturally wouldn't disappoint them. I smiled and said, "No problem. Since everyone wants to play, I'll join you."

Hearing my words, the girls' lips curled into happy smiles.

Then, with me in the lead, our group made its way towards the goldfish catching booth.

"Splash!!"

At first, seeing a large group suddenly descend upon his booth, the owner was startled. For a second, he thought someone was about to cause trouble.

But when he saw the large group of charming girls, a wide smile immediately spread across his face.

'Looks like a group of young ladies out to catch some goldfish.'

As expected, a group of so many beautiful girls of various types naturally attracted the attention of everyone nearby. However, as people got a closer look, they realized something was off.

In the middle of this group of beautiful girls, right at the center, was a boy.

'Is this the legendary popular guy??'

Witnessing this scene, even the owner of the goldfish booth couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. But he quickly shook it off. After all, what did it have to do with him?

As long as there was money to be made, it was all good.

———

Walking up to the front of the booth, I immediately took out a three-thousand-yen bill and handed it to the owner.

Taking the money, the owner's smile widened even more as he handed each of us a small bowl and a total of thirty paper nets.

"Seeing as there are so many of you, I'll throw in two extra nets for free. But after that, it's back to the original price of one hundred yen per net."

"Thank you, boss," I said, then turned to look at the girls with a grin. "You all give it a try first. If you can't catch any, I'll help you."

Hearing my words, the girls all nodded eagerly.

However, my confident declaration, falling on the ears of the onlookers, made them secretly sneer. Especially the guys who were there by themselves; their hearts filled with a bitter mix of envy and jealousy.

'Why can't I even get a single girl to go out with me, while this guy gets to be surrounded by so many beautiful girls—and each one is more beautiful than the last, a mix of cute lolis and stunning older girls?'

'And he even had the nerve to boast—If you can't catch any, I'll help you—What a show-off...'

'If goldfish were really that easy to catch, wouldn't the owner have gone bankrupt by now?'

Thinking this, some of the single guys immediately decided to stick around and watch me make a fool of myself.

Even some of the guys who were there with their girlfriends had the same idea. After all, they had just failed miserably at catching any goldfish and had been embarrassed in front of their partners.

———

Ignoring the others, Kaguya took a paper net and a small bowl and immediately challenged Yuzuru. "Kukuku~ Yuzuru, let's have a match! Let's see who can catch more goldfish."

Perhaps because the two of them were always competing, or because they had never tried this before, Yuzuru was also intrigued and nodded. "Challenge accepted. I will play with you."

Nearby, Tohka also turned to Yoshino. "Hey, Yoshino, let's go catch goldfish too."

"Mm-hm~" Yoshino smiled and nodded.

"Catching goldfish, catching goldfish, Yoshinon wants to catch some too..."

The other girls exchanged glances, then all slightly lifted the hems of their yukatas, squatted down by the blue plastic water tank, and began their attempts.

———

Don't be fooled by Kaguya's usually carefree demeanor. When it came to a duel with Yuzuru, she always became exceptionally serious.

Kaguya focused her attention on three small goldfish swimming together, probably planning to catch all three at once to secure a decisive victory.

The next moment, she made her move. The paper net in her right hand blurred through the air, scooping swiftly towards the three small fish. Her movements were incredibly fast, and she actually managed to get all three of them into the net.

Seeing this, a triumphant smile appeared on Kaguya's face. She was just about to lift the three small goldfish out of the water when disaster struck.

The paper net broke, and the three small goldfish slipped right back into the water.

"Eh? How could this happen? This paper net actually broke," Kaguya complained, looking at the gaping hole in her net.

Hearing this, I smiled and shook my head.

'These paper nets are usually made of extremely thin paper, as delicate as a cicada's wing.'

'While they don't dissolve on contact with water, they're not far from it.'

'Catching even one fish at a time is a challenge with these things. Trying to catch three at once is just wishful thinking.'

Looking at Kaguya's dejected expression, I gently patted her head. "Don't be so discouraged~ Kaguya, you still have plenty of nets left. Keep trying!"

Just then, Yuzuru couldn't help but speak up from the side. "Mockery. Kaguya was too greedy, which is why she failed. Watch how a true master does it!"

Saying this, she took out a fresh paper net and began her own attempt.

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