The Carnivorous Beast Beauties Are Dying to Devour This Herbivorous Beast Me - 82

Chapter 82: The Summer Festival 5

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“My apologies, I’m a little late.”

Arriving a few minutes after the meeting time, Sumeragi-senpai had her proud black hair tied up and decorated with a kanzashi, carrying an ethereal beauty that looked as if she had stepped straight out of a storybook. Not only I, Shuuya, and Kento, but even the girls were entranced by her. For a while, no one spoke, and silence lingered between us.

“…What is the matter with everyone?”

“Ah…! N-no, um… it’s just that Sumeragi-senpai is so beautiful we couldn’t help but stare…”

“Fufu… You sure say such pleasing things, Arisugawa-kun.”

““““…………””””

As Sumeragi-senpai chuckled softly, I snapped back to myself. My face was heating up. I had blurted it out without thinking, how embarrassing… As for the four sharp, piercing stares I felt from the side… I decided to pretend I didn’t notice them.

“It’s rare for you to be late, Senpai.”

Shuuya, the first to recover, asked the question that had been on all our minds. Even Shuuya, the leading member of the “Miran faction,” looked flustered, which spoke volumes about the power of Sumeragi-senpai’s yukata.

“Ah, it’s nothing serious. I had brought the equipment back to school, but the cleanup took longer than expected… By the time I finished, it had already gotten this late.”

“Eh… So in the end, Sumeragi-senpai, you were working again?”

“Yes. I am the student council president, after all.”

“Senpai… we wanted you to enjoy the festival too, but if you keep putting work before everything, our effort will be in vain then…”

“Haha, sorry. But that’s simply the kind of person I am.”

Sumeragi-senpai said it so matter-of-factly. As always, she seemed to be a workaholic.

“Good grief… Fine. In that case, we’ll just have to make sure even Sumeragi-senpai forgets about work and enjoys herself.”

“Now that everyone is here, shall we get going?”

Impatient, Chinatsu suggested it, looking as if she could hardly wait any longer.

Well, true enough. Standing around here chatting forever wouldn’t do us any good. Naturally, no one objected to Chinatsu’s idea, and so we decided to start making rounds at the festival stalls.

“Arisa-senpai, Seira-chan, Miran-chan, and even Chinatsu-chan… I never thought the day would come when we’d go to a festival with all four of the school’s great beauties at once.”

“Aren’t we racking up some crazy experience points as high school guys right now?”

“We’ve gotta brag about this to Kakeru and the others later.”

“What are you two babbling about?”

“Uwah!?”

“When did you get behind us!?”

“I just walked over normally. What’s with the overreaction like you saw a ghost…”

“S-sorry! We were just startled, that’s all…”

“Hmm, I see. …Anyway, here, I bought you two candied apples, so eat these, okay?”

“Eh… Seriously?”

“Are you sure…?”

“Well, you guys helped out a lot today. …Would you have preferred something else?”

“No way, I love candied apples!”

“I’ll gratefully take it!”

“Fufu, what’s with that way of talking… You’re so weird.”

“…C-cute…”

“Haru, you saw that, right? I got a candied apple from Miran-chan herself!”

“Kento, that’s what you call a flag, you know?”

“What are you talking about? Miran-chan only has one left, and it’s obviously for herself—”

“Of course this last one’s for me to share with Haru. Right, Haru?”

“”　“”

“See… What’d I tell you.”

“Then I’ll buy some takoyaki for you.”

“Thank you, Seira-chan… Seriously, food like that is really appreciated!”

“Wait—you bought three? You’re planning to share them with Haru again, aren’t you!?”

“Hmm… That’s not the case this time.”

“Really!?”

“See, Haru, this time we’re winning for sure—”

“They’re not for sharing. These are all for feeding Haru-kun myself. Here, Haru-kun, say ‘ahh~’ ♡”

“”　　“”

“Class President… Haru is bullying meee…”

“Why is it only Haru who’s so popular…”

“Well, he is a squirrel beastman. To be more attractive than him, you’d have to look even more delicious to beastmen.”

“So we humans have no chance!?”

“W-what… You mean we were destined to lose from the start…?”

“You’re not bad people, so I’m sure you’ll have a good encounter someday. Here, have a frankfurter from me. Eat.”

“Thanks, Class President~…”

“Delicious… Yeah, this is the best…”

“I feel like I’m looking after little kids.”

“You senpai are kind and popular, so it’s kind of a waste, really.”

“Chinatsu-chan, you think so too! As expected of Chinatsu-chan!”

“Well… What I just said was basically the kind of thing a girl with zero interest would say, though.”

“Yeah…It’s hard to go against my Onii. After all, he’s quite literally a ‘walking feast’ for us. But still, my Onii understands us really well. Right, Onii? …Huh?”

Chinatsu, who had been chatting with Shuuya and the others, turned her head suddenly—but Haru was nowhere to be seen. She tried to track his scent instinctively, but with the crowd and all the stall aromas, it was almost impossible.

“Seira-san, Miran-san, do you know where Onii went?”

“Haru? …Now that you mention it, where did he go?”

“I haven’t seen him either.”

“M-me neither…”

“If even Anjuu-chan doesn’t know…Could it be that he’s lost…?”

“He’s not a kindergartener, and he’s a beastman. He’ll be fine.”

“…But I can’t help having a bad feeling about this.”

At Seira’s muttered words, Miran, Chinatsu, and Anjuu looked at each other uneasily. And Hinako thought to herself.

(Come to think of it, there’s one other person missing too…)

As she scanned the area, she alone felt a thrill of anticipation, thinking this was about to get interesting.

♢♢♢♢

A little ways off from the crowded main street of festival stalls… I was walking with Sumeragi-senpai, just the two of us, separated from the rest.

“Sorry for suddenly pulling you along, Arisugawa-kun. Thank you for coming with me.”

“No, it’s fine. …But it’s unusual for you to want to talk alone like this, Senpai.”

“Fufu… Yes, but there’s something I absolutely have to tell you.”

As she said this with a gentle smile, Sumeragi-senpai’s cheeks were faintly flushed. Bathed in the glow of the festival lights, she looked truly radiant.

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