My Ex-Girlfriend Who Dumped Me, the Top Student, Is at Risk of Failing and Repeating a Year—but I’m Too Busy Tutoring a Former Shut-in Beauty To Get Back Together With Her - 25-26

Chapter 25: In Preparation for the Summer Festival

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Around the time summer break had passed its midpoint. To be precise, around the time I had finished a lesson at the Kisaragi residence as usual and entered a break.

“Hey, Sensei.”

Kisaragi smoothly slid a flyer onto the table. It was a local community newsletter. A large photograph of multicolored fireworks blooming in the night sky was printed across the front page.

『This weekend! The 30th Seiryu Summer Festival Fireworks Display!』

“……Fireworks, huh. It’s already that time of year, huh?”

“Yeah. ……I want to go.”

Kisaragi looked up at me with upturned eyes while tracing the edge of the flyer with her finger. I was not so dense that I couldn’t perceive the meaning behind that gaze.

“Are you okay with crowds? Since it’s a local festival, there will be quite a crowd.”

“Ugh…… That part is still a bit scary for me, but……”

Kisaragi looked intimidated for a moment, but she immediately gripped my sleeve tightly.

“But if Sensei is with me, I’ll be fine. …You’ll protect me so that no bad bugs get to me, right, Sensei?”

“……Am I a bodyguard?”

“No. You’re a knight.”

I let out a small sigh at her as she smiled mischievously, though I didn’t see much of a difference. Since the incident on the night of the typhoon, Kisaragi’s degree of dependence—or rather, her level of trust—toward me had risen beyond measure. It was probably not a lie that she wasn’t afraid of any place as long as I was beside her. It was also true that there was a part of me that felt it was a bit pleasant.

“Alright. A break from studying is necessary, too.”

“Yay! It’s a promise, okay?”

“Yeah. However, don’t let go of my hand so we don’t get separated.”

When I said that, Kisaragi muttered, “I wouldn’t let go even if you didn’t tell me,” and happily wrote 『Fireworks ♡』 on the calendar.

“Ah, that’s right, Sensei. ……Can I wear a yukata?”

“A yukata? You have one?”

“Yeah. My mom bought it for me last year, but I didn’t have a chance to wear it……. I want to show you, Sensei.”

Kisaragi in a yukata. Just imagining it caused a vivid image to flash through my mind. She had that much destructive power in a casual dress. On a day when she wrapped herself in a glamorous yukata and showed the nape of her neck, my reason might evaporate.

“……I think it would suit you.”

“Ehehe. Then, I’ll have it fitted to look the cutest. ……Just for you, Sensei.”

Kisaragi showed a melting smile. I pretended not to notice the weight behind those words and downed my iced coffee.

(This is bad. I can’t even taste the coffee because of my delusions.)

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That night. I was at home, checking the weather for the weekend. The forecast was clear. It looked like it would be perfect fireworks weather.

“……A yukata, huh.”

It was a fact that somewhere in my heart, I had a longing for a “yukata date”. Who would’ve thought that I would fulfill that longing not with my ex-girlfriend, but with my student, Kisaragi.

“……No, it’s not a date. I’m just serving as an escort for her.”

I muttered as if to convince myself. I was taking an underage student out to a night festival. A guardian-like sense of responsibility accompanied it. I was absolutely not excited about a yukata date with a beautiful girl. ……At least, I shouldn’t be.

My smartphone buzzed. It was a LIME from Kisaragi.

『I’m choosing a hair ornament to go with the yukata right now. Sensei, do you like blue or red better?』

The attached photo showed Kisaragi taking a selfie through a mirror while holding two hair ornaments in her hands. Even though she wasn’t wearing the yukata yet, she was already cute.

『Blue, I guess. I think it would look cool and suit you.』

When I replied, it was marked as read instantly.

『Roger! I’ll make it Sensei-color (blue)! (Cat dancing stamp)』

(……What even is “my color”? Well, if she seems to be having fun, I guess that’s fine.)

I placed my smartphone by my pillow and closed my eyes with anticipation for the weekend in my chest.

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Meanwhile, around that time. Rina Aikawa’s room was overflowing with clothes and cosmetics.

“……Not this one. Something more eye-catching……”

She was pulling a yukata she had never once worn out from the back of her closet. It was a design with large peony flowers set against a flashy pink color. In the past, when Kashiwagi said he “wanted to see her in a yukata,” she had refused, saying it was “troublesome,” but she had bought it just in case.

“I’ll wear it for you. …You’ll definitely be happy, won’t you?”

Rina held the yukata against her body in front of the mirror and struck a rapturous pose. She covered the dark circles under her eyes with a thick layer of concealer and disguised her gaunt cheeks with blush. Her eyes were shining with an abnormal intensity.

“The reason you won’t answer the phone is surely because you’re shy. You’re still holding a grudge because I said such horrible things.”

Inside her mind, the phone call on the morning of the typhoon—the incident where she heard Kisaragi’s voice—had been conveniently altered.

(That was Kisaragi’s trap. Kashiwagi-kun is just being deceived. If we meet in person, he’ll surely notice my charm.)

“The summer festival…… this is where I settle things.”

Rina took out her smartphone and checked a local community SNS board. 『 Seiryu Fireworks Display, Recommended Spots for Couples』

Since Kashiwagi was the serious type, he would surely avoid the crowds and go to a little-known spot around the riverbed. If she appeared there while pretending it was a coincidence and apologized while crying——

“A perfect scenario.”

The corners of Rina’s mouth twisted.

The final gamble of an abandoned ex-girlfriend. Mistaking the rope she was using to strangle herself for a decorative cord, she was about to step into the decisive battle of the weekend.

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Chapter 26: On Festival Night, We Interlace Our Fingers

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The day of the summer festival. The clock tower plaza, our designated meeting spot, was overflowing with people dressed in multi-colored yukatas. What stood out most were, predictably, the couples. Men and women walking happily while holding hands. Watching that scene, the fact that I was about to become a part of it myself rushed over me with a belated sense of reality.

(Calm down, Minato Kashiwagi. This isn’t a date. This is strictly an escort duty for a student’s extracurricular activity.)

I checked the time while chanting those words in my mind like a spell. It was five minutes before our scheduled meeting. For her, someone who usually made it a rule to arrive ten minutes early, it was rare that she hadn’t arrived yet. I wondered if she was having trouble with her fitting.

“…Ah.”

Suddenly, I felt the surrounding clamor recede for just a moment. Clack-clack, clack-clack. The atmospheric sound of geta sandals echoed, cutting through the bustle. The wave of people parted, and I saw a single girl walking from the other side.

“—!”

I forgot to even breathe, my eyes glued to her figure.

“…Sorry to keep you waiting, Sensei!”

It was Kotone Kisaragi. However, her atmosphere was completely different from the school uniform I knew, or even the dress from the other day. She was draped in a yukata made of deep azure fabric, adorned with glamorous white lilies. The calm color scheme made her translucent white skin stand out like the moon floating in the dark night. Her obi was a vivid red, emphasizing her tightly cinched waist.

And more than anything, it was her hairstyle. Her lustrous black hair, which she usually wore down, was gathered up in a soft updo today. Her exposed white, slender nape—the line from there to her collarbone was healthy, yet emitted an undeniable sex appeal.

“Cute” wasn’t a strong enough word to describe her. She was enchanting, fleeting, and overwhelmingly beautiful. I could tell that all the men passing by were following her with their eyes.

“…Sensei? It’s embarrassing when you stare at me that much.”

Kisaragi stained her cheeks with a faint vermilion and hid her mouth with her sleeve. With that single gesture, my heart beat like a fast alarm.

“Ah, no… sorry. It’s just that your atmosphere was so different from the usual you.”

“Fufu, I worked hard on it. …Since you said you like blue, Sensei, I tried making myself Sensei-color. …How is it?”

She performed a quick pirouette right there. Her sleeves danced elegantly, and a sweet scent drifted softly.

“…It suits you. To be honest, you’re so beautiful I can’t look at you directly.”

“Really!? …Ehehe, it was worth making myself cute just for you, Sensei.”

At my honest impression, Kisaragi broke into a smile, looking truly happy from the bottom of her heart. The destructive power of that smile was such that my reason felt like it was about to explode into pieces before the fireworks even went up.

“Well, shall we go? It’s about time the food stalls started selling.”

“Mhm!”

We stepped out onto the festival’s main street. However, after taking only a few steps, we were blocked by a crowd that exceeded my imagination. People pushed in from the front, back, left, and right; it felt as though we would be separated immediately if we let our guard down.

“…Kisaragi.”

“Ah, Sensei…!”

Kisaragi, looking like she was about to be tossed about by the wave of people, reached her hand toward me anxiously. Without hesitation, I grabbed that hand.

“Don’t get separated. I don’t want to have to put in a call for a lost child, after all.”

“Mhm…!”

At first, I was grabbing her around the wrist, but the pressure of the crowd was relentless. This felt unreliable. The moment I tried to readjust my grip, Kisaragi slid her own fingers between mine. With a firm squeeze. Fingers intertwining with fingers—a so-called “lover’s hand-hold.”

“…With this, we definitely won’t get separated, right?”

Kisaragi whispered mischievously with upturned eyes. Her body heat and the soft sensation transmitted through her palm and more than anything, the “special feeling” this way of holding hands carried made my face heat up all at once.

“…Well, the festival is very crowded after all. It can’t be helped.”

“Fufu, you’re making excuses. Your ears are bright red, Sensei.”

Having my secret exposed, I cleared my throat and looked forward. I couldn’t deny it. I had been talking about escorting a student and acting as a guardian, but right now, no matter who saw us, we were exactly like “a couple who came to the festival.”

“Let’s go. You want to eat takoyaki, don’t you?”

“Mhm! I want to share it with you, Sensei!”

With our fingers still intertwined, we walked toward the heart of the swirling heat of the festival. I was consciously aware only of the heat of our joined palms, so much so that the surrounding clamor didn’t bother me.

And…

We were not yet aware that there was a gaze staring intently at our backs from a distance.

“…Found you.”

In the shadow of the crowd. Rina Aikawa, wearing a flashy pink yukata, was clenching her back teeth hard.

“Holding hands and everything… That’s as far as your getting carried away goes.”

Forgetting even to fix her messed-up makeup, she began to tail us with the eyes of a hunter stalking its prey.

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