The Charm of the Popular Beautiful Succubus in Class Doesn't Work on Me ~ For Some Reason, This Beauty Keeps Trying to Hold My Hand ~ - 52-53

Chapter 52: Today Is Special, Since It’s the Last Time

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I waited for Kisara in front of the ticket gate at Hiroshima Electric Railway Miyajimaguchi Station. Today was the long-awaited day of the fireworks festival. The Miyajima Fireworks Festival, the most crowded event in Hiroshima. The fireworks would be launched offshore, beyond the torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine. To see them, we had two options: take a ferry to Miyajima or stay on the mainland and find a good spot. After discussing it with Kisara beforehand, we decided, “Since this is our first and last fireworks festival together, we might as well go to Miyajima.”

I checked the station clock.

14:30…

Our meeting time was 15:00, so I had arrived a little too early. The festival wouldn’t start until 19:30, but on this day, the ferries got so packed it felt like they might actually sink. There was no way I was letting Kisara get on one of those. The ferries were basically an open invitation for gropers, so I had set our meeting time early. Fortunately, today was a weekday, so there weren’t any major crowds yet. I let out a breath of relief.

“Michihito-kun…?”

“O-oh.”

Hearing her voice, I instinctively lifted my head—then held my breath. She wore a white yukata, embroidered with orchids in soft shades of purple and blue. Her obi was a deep blue, flowing like a gentle stream between the flowers. Her hair, usually falling to her waist, had been neatly braided on both sides and gathered into a bun at the back, adorned with a delicate white flower. Tonight, Kisara looked like someone from another world—so breathtakingly beautiful that I couldn’t even think of her in a lustful way. She was stunning, yet fragile, as if she might shatter at the slightest touch.

“Ah~ I’m glad it’s really you, Michihito-kun. You look so different today, I didn’t recognize you at first. If you were going to wear a yukata, you should’ve told me in advance.”

Her cheeks were slightly flushed as she let out a relieved smile.

“Kisara, you… You really look amazing. I mean… Umm… You’re really cute.”

“Hehe, it’s rare for you to compliment me so honestly like that.”

“Can’t I do that once in a while?”

“You can. I’m happy. Thank you.”

Her straightforward reaction was almost blinding. Flustered, I scratched my cheek to hide my embarrassment.

What the hell is that reaction? That smile? Usually, she’d throw some snarky remarks back, but if she’s just going to be that honest about being happy, it totally throws me off.

“Then maybe I should’ve asked first if you’re wearing anything underneath.”

I cracked a joke to cover my embarrassment.

“I’m wearing my best underwear, of course. Idiot.”

“Wha—?! B-best underwear…? H-hey, wait—”

“Fufu. Look at you, turning bright red~”

“Well, that’s because you said something like that!”

“I already knew you’d say something like this, Michihito-kun. How many months do you think I’ve been your girlfriend?”

“Then today, I’ll come at you from an angle you won’t expect.”

“Oh, so you’re planning to peek at my underwear from a weird angle? Pervert.”

“…Kisara, that yukata really suits you.”

“…Eh?”

“And your hairstyle… It looks great on you too.”

“A-ah… thank you. You’re complimenting me a lot today.”

“I figured I’d be honest for once.”

“I think your hairstyle looks great too, Michihito-kun. The way you’ve got your bangs up—it’s really cool.”

“For real? Kokubun taught me how to do this, and I gotta say, he’s a damn good teacher.”

“You’d look even cooler if you changed your hairstyle more often. Next time, I’ll do it for you.”

“…Next time?”

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. Because by saying “next time,” I had let myself expect that there would be one and Kisara must have felt the same way. She smiled faintly, as if trying to brush off those words, then stepped closer and gently took my hand into hers.

“Shall we go?”

To be honest, I was a little surprised. During this whole period of “pretending to be lovers,” we’d done plenty of couple-like things, but for some reason, we’d never held hands. I had assumed Kisara simply didn’t like holding hands.

“So, today we’re holding hands, huh?”

Even I thought it was a pointless question. But Kisara responded without hesitation.

“Yeah. Today is special, since it’s the last time.”

With a bright smile, she pulled me along and started walking.

“Hey, I’m wearing a yukata. Don’t rush me so much.”

“It’s the last time, so we have to enjoy it to the fullest!”

The last time…

Hearing it put into words made reality feel suffocating.

It’s okay. I’ve thought about this over and over again until now. I’ve already made up my mind. All I need now is just a little bit of courage. Don’t you dare make me regret this, the me in a few hours.

Hand in hand, Kisara and I boarded the ferry to Miyajima.

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Chapter 53: If I Told You, Would You Make My Wish Come True?

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“I want to eat fried momiji.”

“Oh, good idea. You can’t come to Miyajima without having fried momiji.”

While munching on the hot, crispy treat, we made our way toward Itsukushima Shrine. Seeing Kisara’s blissful expression as she savored the fried momiji, I couldn’t help but smile too. Fried momiji was a specialty snack of Miyajima. It was basically a deep fried manju shaped like a Japanese maple leaf. People from outside the prefecture often dismissed it with comments like, “It’s just deep-fried manju, right?” But I really wanted them to try it at least once before they said that because… It was ridiculously delicious. A crispy batter enveloping the soft, sweet red bean filling. This was the pinnacle of flavor.

“There are quite a lot of stalls around here. Want to try something?”

“Hmm, since we’re in Miyajima, why don’t we stop by Itsukushima Shrine and pay our respects first?”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Most people don’t actually visit the shrine even after they’ve come to Miyajima.”

“Exactly. Miyajima is so close that we end up neglecting the shrine. Typical Hiroshima local thing.”

However, when we finally arrived at Itsukushima Shrine, we were stunned by the sheer length of the line for prayers.

“Whoa… Well, that’s expected on the day of the fireworks festival, but this is worse than I imagined.”

“Yeah… What should we do?”

“How about I go grab some drinks while you wait in line?”

“……No.”

Kisara lowered her gaze slightly, then gently tugged at the hem of my yukata.

“We don’t need drinks. Let’s just wait together. Time will pass quickly if we talk while we queue.”

“Ri-Right…”

Th-There’s no way I can say no when she looks up at me like that.

With a satisfied smile on her face, Kisara and I lined up at the back of the queue.

“Alright then, let’s decide where to watch the fireworks.”

“Yeah. With this crowd, we’ll have to secure a good spot in advance.”

I unfolded the map we had picked up from the tourist information center earlier. Kisara wrapped her arm around mine, leaning in to look at the map with me.Normally, I’d react with something like, “M-My chest!” But today, I decided against making a fuss.

She can use my arm as much as she wants for today.

“Let’s see… Most of the spots around Itsukushima Shrine are already taken and the rest are mostly reserved seating, so we’ll have to look elsewhere.”

I pointed to a relatively open area as a possible alternative.

“Michihito-kun, are you really familiar with the Miyajima Fireworks Festival?”

Kisra peered up at me curiously.

“Not exactly, but I do come every year, so…”

“Ohh, that sounds fun. I wonder who you came with~?”

The moment she heard my answer, the aura around Kisara changed.

Uh, Kisara-san? Why did your tone suddenly go completely monotone?

Her voice had taken on an unsettlingly lifeless quality to it.

And why do your eyes look so dead? You look seriously terrifying.

“W-With friends. Obviously.”

“Ohh~ and these ‘friends’ you came to the fireworks festival with… Were they girls, perhaps?”

“N-No… You know, like Kokubun and—”

“‘And’? Does that mean Akari was there too, hmm?”

There was no way I could hide anything from Kisara today. In just a few months, she had really come to understand me.

“Alright, fine. I’ll confess. Last year, I came with Kokubun and Akanashi.”

She shot me a deadpan stare, as if to say,’You should’ve said that from the start.’

“So, where exactly did you see them last year?”

I hesitated before pointing at the map. 

“A-around here, I think…”

“Oh? That’s the spot you just said looked relatively empty. I see… So you were planning to take me to the same place where you watched the fireworks with Akari last year?”

“…Ahaha.”

“Yeah, no thanks. Rejected. I’d rather walk a bit if it means finding a spot without people.”

Snatching the map from my hands, she pointed to the opposite side of the island. 

“How about here?”

“It’s pretty far from the launch site, but there probably won’t be many people. Not a bad idea.”

“Alright! Then this will be Michihito and Kisara’s exclusive fireworks viewing spot!”

Now that our little princess was satisfied, the line had moved quite a bit, and before we knew it, we had reached the offering hall. Kisara and I each took out coins from our purses. I stole a glance at her hand and sure enough, she was holding a five-yen coin.

“Oh, the five-yen coin for go-en—‘good fortune,’ huh?” (five yen=五円= go-yen; ご縁=goen)

“Even a beautiful girl like me has times when she wants to make a wish to the gods. The gods can be cruel, after all.”

“Pretty sure that’s the kind of thing you’re not supposed to say here.”

She let out a soft chuckle before tossing her coin into the offering box with a ‘there we go!’ gesture. I followed suit, tossing mine in as well.Then, I closed my eyes and silently repeated my wish over and over. Maybe it was presumptuous of me to ask this of the gods. But today…I really wanted today to be special. If this wish could come true, I’d do a hundred shrine visits if I had to…

When I opened my eyes and looked to the side, Kisara was still standing there with her hands pressed together, her eyes shut in prayer. I thought I had taken quite a long time making my wish, but Kisara was still at it, murmuring something to herself. Bathed in the evening sunlight, her profile looked almost angelic. Then, she slowly opened her eyes, and our gazes met.

“Why are you staring at me? Were you so captivated by my beauty?”

She smirked teasingly as she took my hand, intertwining our fingers.

“I was just thinking… How many wishes do you even have?”

“Just one. But it’s a really important one, so I made sure to be extra thorough.”

“You’re surprisingly devout, huh?”

“Aren’t you curious about what I wished for?”

“You want me to ask?”

“If I told you, would you make my wish come true?”

As she said that, she squeezed my hand tighter, gazing straight into my eyes as if trying to read my thoughts.

“…That’s—”

“Fufu~ I’m kidding. What, did you actually take me seriously?”

“……”

“Michihito-kun, you should focus on working hard to make your own wish come true. I like people who put in the effort.”

She paused for a moment, watching my reaction, then continued.

“And besides… If you listened to my wish, you’d end up throwing your whole life away.”

With just those words, she tugged at my hand and started walking. Her hand, still intertwined with mine, seemed to be trembling a little.

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