If you ask whether the cherry blossom festival is such an extraordinary event that people stay for two nights and three days or three nights and four days… my answer would naturally be no.
In the end, the essence of the cherry blossom festival is basically flower viewing. No matter how beautiful it is, if you keep looking at it for more than two days, three days, or four days, you’ll inevitably get tired of it.
However, what was important for me was not that. Even during my last trip with Noa and Haruna, the main purpose was to celebrate Haruna’s birthday with a food journey, and the festival was just an afterthought.
In other words, the cherry blossom festival was more of an excuse for me.
It played the role of helping my lovers build friendships and provided the perfect excuse for everyone to gather together!
Today, instead of wandering around the city as soon as we arrived at the airport, we headed straight to our accommodation. At the end of our journey awaited a familiar onsen ryokan to welcome us.
Honestly, I liked the place so much when I stayed here with the other kids last time that I reserved it again right away. Just in case, I booked a month in advance because I was worried about it being fully booked during the White Night period.
Since we planned to wander around the festival grounds, I didn’t change clothes and simply unpacked our bags for the time being…
“Hey, you two.”
“Yes, Misono Mika.”
“…Don’t stare at me like that.”
Feeling Hina’s evasive gaze as I shot her a reproachful look, she said that. Nagisa was just shamelessly grinning.
…When did her mental state become so resilient? Where did that timid girl from before go?
“Heueng. How am I looking at you both? I have no idea. Nope, not a clue.”
“Will you at least join us?”
“Hey, Kirihouji Nagisa. Can you be quiet for a second? I’m really unsettled right now.”
“…Mika.”
“Hina-chan, just because you look at me with those pleading eyes doesn’t mean I’m a fool who’ll grant your every wish.”
…Nagisa’s smile didn’t fade even after we stepped outside the ryokan.
In other words, I became a fool yet again.
If I keep giving in like this, the kids’ habits are bound to get worse. But since Nagisa gives in on the most important matters, I find it hard to resist. Hearing her soft voice makes it all too easy to be persuaded.
And Hina, who subtly takes advantage of the situation alongside her, is a bit annoying. Not too much—just a minuscule bit, like a speck of dust.
“Seriously, Misono Mika, why are you sulking so much?”
“I’m not sulking.”
“Sorry, but… it looks like you’re sulking to anyone who sees you, Mika.”
“That’s wrong.”
Okay, honestly, to say I’m not at all sulking would be a lie. But what I’m really concerned about isn’t that.
Hmm, I thought festivals usually provided festival attire… Like renting a yukata or something. Was that only for fireworks festivals or something?
Looking at the tourists on the streets, most of them were dressed in casual clothes. Anyway, the sight of the two in yukata would be something to look forward to this evening, but…
Hmm, a fully decked-out festival outfit feels a bit different. It’s kind of disappointing for no reason.
“By the way, this isn’t a cherry blossom festival…”
“It’s a people festival.”
“…It’s suffocating.”
Like Nagisa said, the streets were packed with people. If someone were to recognize me and ask for an autograph, that would be so awkward.
So I purposely changed my hairstyle and donned fashion glasses to alter my appearance.
I admit that glasses can have a negative effect, but there’s no other fashion item that changes one’s impression quite like them.
Aside from the throngs of people, the cherry blossoms blooming vividly filled my view. Especially when a gentle breeze flowed, the petals scattering was a beautiful sight.
Ugh… This is why people go flower viewing, right?
Now, if we could just find a nice spot, lay down a mat, and enjoy some snacks while sipping tea while appreciating the flowers, that would be perfect…
“The problem is, I think we won’t be able to find a spot like that. Hmm.”
“Considering it’s the weekend, lots of students from other autonomous districts and general citizens seem to have crowded here. This might get a bit troublesome…”
“Hmm. Mika, what if we enjoy flower viewing at night instead?”
“At night? Hmm…”
That doesn’t sound bad at all. Nighttime flower viewing does have its own charm. The blend of darkness and lights would present a kind of beauty that doesn’t exist during the day.
It would probably be quite a different experience from flower viewing right now.
“B-but, we can’t go at night.”
“…”
Nagisa said that bluntly, and when she caught my gaze, she quickly turned her head away.
Yeah, of course, we can’t go at night. Seriously, how did our girls turn into such creatures ruled by their desires?
At least Hina seemed normal—
“…Mika, thinking about it again, enjoying the festival at night doesn’t seem like such a good choice. Let’s look for a spot a bit longer.”
I was relieved that Hina seemed sane—only to find out that even you could betray my trust so easily.
“You guys, this isn’t okay. It’s not that I dislike your relationship, but… it’s like, when you’ve gone on a trip together, I feel like there are some priorities to consider. Right?”
For example, if you went on a trip with lovers, but one person kept looking at their phone the whole time, that wouldn’t look good at all.
Of course, the situation is slightly different. What those two want is fundamentally just to spend time with me.
Still, since we’ve come to another autonomous district, I’d like them to prioritize other things a bit more.
“…I’m sorry, Mika. It’s just that my time with you is limited, so I was acting that way.”
“Hina-chan, I’m sorry. Should I stick my head in right now? No, I’ll just do it. Yeah. Even if I do that, it probably won’t ease your feelings.”
The moment Hina said that, I felt utterly powerless… after graduation, let’s just build a palace together, for real.
I’ll be your Sultan, no, your Sultan-na…!
“Mika, I think I qualify to say this.”
“…Nagisa. Haven’t you used that line too often?”
“If you don’t take another lover, then wouldn’t it be fine to continue saying it?”
“…”
I genuinely can’t argue with that. Alright, say it a hundred or a thousand times more. I’ll keep giving in.
“Okay, anyway.”
“Fufu.”
Even while pouting, when Nagisa linked her arm with mine, it was clear that a significant part of what she said was a hint for me to show her more attention.
Then, instead of a competition, Hina slyly grabbed my hand, as if to say she shouldn’t be forgotten either. She had been particularly sensitive lately; even such small gestures brought her joy.
“Let’s keep looking for a spot, and if we can’t find one, we’ll come out again at night. Okay? In the meantime, let’s also check out some snacks or festival foods along the way. I heard Yōyō Senbei is quite popular…”
“Hey, Mika. Suddenly, I feel lazy. Can’t we just go back to the ryokan?”
Ah… Hina’s laziness has popped up here.
“Should I pull out the secret weapon here…?”
“Secret weapon…?”
“Hina-chan, I’ll carry you.”
“…”
Hina, who momentarily seemed intrigued, shook her head and declined. No matter how you look at it, being carried must be a bit embarrassing for her considering her position and dignity, huh?
“If I carry you, Nagisa will be uncomfortable, so… it’s better this way.”
“Hina, you…”
“Alright, then I’ll carry Hina-chan, and Nagisa-chan can carry me.”
“Wha…?”
“Huh?”
“Aha! Just kidding☆”
No, even if it’s a joke, being looked at like a hopeless case makes me a bit hurt, Nagisa.
After that, we wandered the streets and made some quick purchases of snacks we could eat on the mat. We got some rice crackers called Yōyō Senbei, dorayaki, Sakura Mochi, and dango among other things.
As we moved away from the main area, the crowd noticeably thinned out. This side seemed to have a higher ratio of Hakgwiyaeng students, likely because it was a little further from the festival venue.
“Isn’t this nice? I actually like it better with fewer people around.”
“I agree. If we can enjoy flower viewing here without issues, there’s really no need to head back into that crowd.”
“Definitely. It’s much quieter than before, which I also love. So let’s look for a nice spot nearby.”
We began searching for a suitable place to lay down our mat. Even though we were moving further from the festival grounds, the cherry blossoms were vividly decorating our surroundings, allowing us to enjoy the view with joy.
The place we arrived at was peaceful enough, with no one around to lay down a mat nearby in the shade.
Even though the sacred tree of Hakgwiyaeng was partially hidden, it seemed like it was still visible enough to earn a few plus points.
We spread out our mat, each taking a seat and laying out our snacks. Once we poured ourselves some tea from the thermos, a cherry blossom petal fluttered down and landed on the tea I was preparing to sip.
“…Hmm, could this be a sign from the heavens saying I should drink this with cherry blossom petals as well?”
Fufu. “It seems that the cherry blossoms favor you, Mika. I’m getting a bit jealous unknowingly.”
“Nagisa, even if that’s the case, getting jealous over inanimate objects…”
“Imagine if those cherry blossom petals were your lips that I’m drinking instead of the tea, Hina.”
“…I’m feeling a bit jealous.”
“Wait a minute, you keep asking for kisses whenever you want and then talk about jealousy? If someone heard that, they’d think I’m a terrible person for not kissing you properly. Yes.”
“Then right now… Ugh.”
“Yep, lately, you’ve been wandering down a path students shouldn’t take, so eat this cherry blossom mochi and snap out of it.”
After feeding Nagisa a cherry blossom mochi, I turned my gaze toward Hina.
“Hina-chan, you’re part of the student council… is it okay for you?”
“…I’ll pass on commenting.”
“Well, Hina-chan is diligent, so it should be fine, right? Here, eat this with me.”
As I split a dorayaki in half and handed one part to Hina, Nagisa unexpectedly chimed in.
“Wait, hmm. Just a second. That sounds like you’re saying I’m not diligent.”
“Then Nagisa-chan, you expect me to look forward to your first exam results this year?”
“…”
See? I knew this would happen.
Of course, my influence in delegating about half of the student council work to Nagisa and Seiya from ages ago plays a significant role here.
Honestly, isn’t it their fault for unloading the host responsibilities onto me?
Yeah, it seems like it’s not my fault after all.
