~ Support & Read 18 Advanced Chapters on Patreon

❁❁❁❁

'Did I really have to be this forward?'

'Hmph, I was caught off guard! It's not my fault!' Kotori instantly lost her composure, unable to process what I had just done.

She just stared at me, her face flushed with a mix of defiance and embarrassment.

"Oh, is that so?" I replied, a smirk playing on my lips.

"In that case, you won't mind if we do it again, will you?"

Without waiting for her to respond, I leaned in and gently kissed her forehead.

A few moments later, our eyes met again, both of us looking a little dazed.

"See? You've definitely gotten more comfortable with this, Looks like we'll need to spend more time together!" I remarked, my voice laced with amusement as I gently patted Kotori's head.

"I'll bite you!" Content originally comes from Nove1Fire.net

Seeing me tease her again, Kotori puffed up her cheeks and playfully bit down on my finger.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!!!"

"I'm sorry! Let go, Kotori-chan!"

I gasped, but I was afraid of hurting her if I pulled away too forcefully, so I could only plead for mercy.

"Hmph!" Hearing my cries, Kotori finally released her grip, letting out a proud snort.

She shot me a defiant look, as if to say, 'See if you ever tease me again,' then turned to eat her chocolate-covered banana.

"Ouch... She really bites hard," I muttered, looking at the small marks on my index finger.

'What kind of determination does she have, anyway? To be able to get back at me like that...'

———

Not long after, Tohka and the other girls returned.

However, Kurumi, Sawa, Kaguya, and Yuzuru were nowhere to be seen.

They were probably still wandering around somewhere else.

Once Tohka and the others had regrouped, I opened the plastic bag and said, "Here's the yakisoba I bought for you. You can share it."

Looking around, I spotted an ice cream shop nearby with a few empty tables outside. Pointing in that direction, I added, "Let's eat over there. You can all take a break too."

The girls nodded in agreement.

After they sat down at the tables, the girls began to eat their yakisoba with happy expressions.

Meanwhile, Kotori looked at me, sitting beside her.

She took out a small paper fan that Tohka had bought for her and began to gently fan me with it.

Noticing Kotori's thoughtful gesture, I couldn't help but smile.

'Just a moment ago, she was all tsundere and throwing a fit. Now she's fanning me.'

'Kotori-chan really is sweet at heart.'

———

Looking around, I noticed that all the girls had beads of sweat on their foreheads.

With a snap of my fingers, the scorching heat instantly cooled, and a gentle breeze swept through the area.

"Mmm, That smells so good!"

Tohka, having finished her yakisoba at lightning speed, patted her small belly in satisfaction.

"Tohka, you've got some sauce on the corner of your mouth,"

I looked at the innocent Tohka with a caring expression and reminded her.

Then, I took out a tissue and gently wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth.

After I finished wiping, Tohka giggled and scratched her head.

"Thanks, Kyoya."

"Strange, where did Kurumi and the others go? They've been gone for so long."

Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, then shook their heads in confusion, indicating they had no idea.

"We should go look for them. It wouldn't be good if we got separated."

"Mm!"

———

Walking through the night market, the group began to search for Kurumi and the other three girls.

Just then, a series of excited comments from nearby caught their attention.

"Wow! That twin-tailed beauty is incredible..."

"Not only that, the girls with her are also really skilled."

"They're hitting almost every shot! They've won most of the prizes."

"Those girls are amazing!"

"..."

Following the voices, they saw a shooting gallery stall not far away.

A large crowd had already gathered around it, and at the very front of the stall stood four beautiful girls in kimonos.

It was Kurumi, Sawa, and the Yamai sisters.

"I was wondering why you hadn't come back. So you were playing a shooting game!"

Hearing the voice from behind, the four girls turned around.

Seeing who it was, they put down their air rifles, picked up their bags, and walked over to me and the others.

"Sorry for making you worry!"

However, seeing the four girls' happy expressions, I just smiled and didn't blame them.

Just then, Tohka noticed the bags in the four girls' hands and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Eh, Kurumi, what's in your hands?"

Seeing Tohka's curious expression, Kurumi smiled and lifted the bag in her hand. "This? These are the prizes we won from the shooting game just now."

"Wow, Kurumi, you're all so amazing!"

Hearing Kurumi's explanation, Tohka looked at them with admiration.

Even the other girls beside her were somewhat surprised.

Judging by the bulging bags in their hands, there were probably quite a few prizes inside.

Seeing the envious gazes of the other girls, the four, though a bit embarrassed, still had a hint of pride on their faces.

"I'm pretty good at shooting games."

"Correction. Kaguya actually missed many times."

"Wuu... Don't always undermine me, Yuzuru!"

"Clarification. I'm just telling the truth!"

"..."

Watching the exasperated Kaguya and the calm Yuzuru, everyone present was amused by this bickering pair.

Hearing about the shooting game and seeing the prizes in their hands, many of the girls became interested.

The naturally energetic Tohka was the first to speak up excitedly. "A shooting game? And you can win prizes?"

"Kyoya, I want to play too!"

"No problem."

I naturally wouldn't refuse the girl's request.

'After all, there's still plenty of time before the fireworks festival begins tonight. A little more activity would be nice.'

"We should probably find another stall... the prizes at this shooting stall have almost all been won by Kurumi and the others."

'Actually, that's just one of the reasons.'

'The most important reason is that I'm afraid the owner of this shooting stall is probably stressed out!'

'You can't keep winning everything from the same place. You have to leave them some prizes!'

'Anyway, there are plenty of shooting stalls at the summer festival. It'll just take a little time to find another one.'

Hearing my words, Kurumi and the other four girls finally reacted, sticking out their tongues playfully.

They had been so caught up in the fun that they had forgotten to hold back a little, almost winning all the owner's prizes.

Regarding my suggestion, all the girls also nodded and readily agreed.

❁❁❁❁

~ 18 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)