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Yuzuru immediately spotted a lone goldfish and carefully extended the paper net underneath it, slowly lifting it up.

Up to this point, everything seemed to be going smoothly. She even managed to scoop the goldfish completely out of the water.

However...

Perhaps because it was now exposed to the air, the goldfish began to struggle violently. The paper net, already as thin as a cicada's wing, became even more fragile after being soaked in water.

Plop!

Unsurprisingly, a hole tore through the net, and the goldfish fell back into the tank, splashing a few drops of water onto the ground.

"Failure. Yuzuru was careless!"

Although she had failed, Yuzuru didn't get as emotional as Kaguya, merely sighing helplessly.

However, seeing Yuzuru—who had just been mocking her—also fail, Kaguya instantly became smug.

"Kukuku, Yuzuru, and you were giving me a hard time! Didn't you fail too?"

Seeing Kaguya's triumphant expression, Yuzuru immediately covered her mouth and chuckled, retorting sarcastically, "Chuckle! At least I managed to scoop the goldfish up, unlike some people who didn't even get a single one out of the water."

"What's that, You didn't catch one either, Yuzuru," Kaguya pouted, dissatisfied.

"Refutation! If I try again, I will definitely succeed."

"What?? You want to go another round?"

"Challenge accepted. This time, allow me to show you my true strength."

The two girls' gazes met, sparks flying between them. Then they each took a new paper net and started catching goldfish again.

Watching the two of them bicker, I felt a strong sense of déjà vu. For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

However, when I turned my head and saw Nia standing there empty-handed, I asked with some confusion, "Eh, Nia, where's your paper net?"

"Here, I've already tried several times, and they all broke," Nia said, looking utterly dejected.

Looking down at the pile of torn paper nets beside her, I raised an eyebrow.

It seemed that the goldfish-catching game was indeed a bit difficult. Except for a few, like Origami and Kurumi, who had successfully caught some, the other girls had been almost completely wiped out.

———

On the other side, with another "plop," a goldfish also fell through a hole in a paper net and back into the tank.

Looking at the colorful little goldfish swimming freely, then at the torn paper net in her hand, Tohka pouted, looking heartbroken. "Wuuu, why is it so hard to catch even one little goldfish?"

Origami, who was beside her, saw this and the corners of her lips curled up slightly before she burst out laughing. "Heh~ Can't even catch a single one. As expected of a glutton,"

"Damn it, Origami! Stop laughing at me!" Hearing Origami's chuckle, Tohka stamped her foot angrily, shooting her a death glare.

Especially after seeing the three little goldfish swimming in Origami's bowl, Tohka felt as if she had taken a direct hit to the heart. Her eyes widened, and she looked at the smug Origami with disbelief.

"Wow, Origami did a great job! She actually caught three!"

"Amazing. As expected of Master Origami."

"Origami-chan is so amazing, don't you think, Yoshino?"

"Mm,"

Looking at her own empty bowl, Tohka's small face was filled with dejection.

However, when she saw me standing motionless on the side, her purple eyes instantly lit up.

Coming to my side, the girl's eyes took on a pleading look, as pitiful as a little kitten begging for food. "Wuu, Kyoya, I want a little goldfish too, a little goldfish..."

Tohka suddenly pounced on me.

The feeling of her soft body in my arms, accompanied by a fresh, sweet fragrance, was intoxicating. Seeing this, I lowered my head slightly. The first thing that entered my line of sight were two snow-white, full and round shapes, barely contained by her yukata.

It made my heart stir. After all, I had personally measured their size before. The feel was excellent.

'Ahem...'

'I'm getting off track!'

'Let's get back to the goldfish-catching game.'

Looking at this pure and cute Princess Tohka, now looking so pitiful—I revealed a doting smile, patted her small head, and comforted her. "No problem. Leave everything to me."

Seeing me so confident, many of the boys around sneered.

One of the middle-aged men with a receding hairline couldn't help but interject. "Catching goldfish isn't that simple. Even when I was young, I had to try a dozen times to catch just one."

"????"

Hearing this, I was bewildered and subconsciously replied, "Sounds like you were just getting ripped off."

The middle-aged man with a receding hairline: "..."

'Are you trying to be polite, kid??'

This middle-aged man with a receding hairline almost turned purple with rage after hearing my words. He immediately and resentfully moved away from this whole situation, two lines of imaginary tears streaming down the corners of his eyes.

Seeing this man so devastated by my words, everyone was utterly speechless.

Only the group of beautiful girls beside me, seeing this, could no longer hold back and covered their mouths, chuckling softly.

Simultaneously, the middle-aged owner of the goldfish-catching booth also kindly reminded, "Young man, You'd better be careful."

"Thank you for the reminder, owner. But I am exceptionally talented. Catching goldfish is a piece of cake for me." I smiled and thanked the owner, then dashingly took out a thousand-yen bill. "owner, give me ten more paper nets!"

The owner immediately took the bill with a grin and handed me ten paper nets.

'What a windfall! I didn't expect this young man to be a rich kid.'

And this scene, falling into the eyes of the other boys, instantly infuriated them.

'Damn it! Is it so great to be rich??'

'In a moment, we'll see who's laughing when you humiliate yourself.'

I ignored them, took the paper nets from the owner, and asked Tohka, "Tohka, pick a goldfish you like."

"Eh? I can even pick?" Tohka was somewhat surprised.

A confident smile appeared on my face. "Of course. As long as you like it, I'll catch it for you."

'Tsk, I bet you're just all talk.'

Hearing my words, many of the boys in front of the booth curled their lips in disdain.

"Mm... then I want this one." Tohka's lips curled into a slight smile upon hearing this, and she then pointed to a small goldfish with a whitish mouth and a reddish body.

"No problem." I nodded, then squatted in front of the water tank and got to work.

Without any extra movements, the paper net cut a perfect arc through the air and entered the water directly.

Seeing my vigorous movements, one of the boys who was preparing to watch the show couldn't help but blurt out, "His movements are so aggressive. That paper net will definitely break."

Just as his words fell, Origami looked at the man with a hostile gaze and unceremoniously retorted, "Shut up! Kyoya has just started, and you're already trying to jinx him."

Not just Origami, but all the girls beside her also showed clear hostility towards the boy who had just spoken. Even if they teased me themselves on a daily basis, they would absolutely not allow outsiders to speak ill of him.

Especially Kurumi; a palpable killing intent emanated from her wine-red eyes. The next moment, it pressed down on the boy who had just cursed me.

In an instant, that boy felt as if he had been targeted by something terrifying. His legs trembled slightly, and he couldn't help but retreat repeatedly.

"Hmph!"

After glaring at the boy, Kurumi immediately retracted her gaze. If it were her old, vicious self, she would have definitely taught him a profound lesson.

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