Part-3 Ch-05 Ep-08

Achoo.

The small, soft sneeze came from Maki, who was sitting right beside me.

Even though the days were still warm and lingering with heat, the season itself had already shifted into autumn. The nights had started to grow noticeably colder, carrying a chill that felt cool against the skin.

“Are you okay?” I asked, and then gently draped the fortune-teller’s robe I was still wearing over Maki’s shoulders.

“Thanks.”

As I listened to her quiet reply, I turned my gaze back toward the stage set up in the gymnasium.

The entire day had passed by in what felt like the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, all the students in the school had gathered inside the gym.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the performances being held on stage as part of the after-festival event.

Bands, comedy duos, and various other acts that had been prepared specifically for the after-festival were now being performed, separate from the main stage of the cultural festival.

Near the front rows, there was a lively and energetic crowd of students gathered close to the stage, while others who preferred watching from a distance were scattered throughout the gymnasium, sitting down casually and relaxing as they watched.

Maki and I belonged to that latter group. We had taken a seat in an open space inside the gym, enjoying the uniquely lively and slightly chaotic excitement of the after-festival in our own quiet way.

In contrast to the stage, which was brightly illuminated by strong spotlights, the audience seating area where the students sat was dimly lit, making it rather dark overall.

Thinking that this much should probably be fine, I reached out and gently took Maki’s hand.

Her hand immediately responded, naturally tightening around mine, and the warmth of her palm made my chest tighten with a faint, sweet ache.

『Alright, everyone, it’s time to announce this year’s voting results!』

The program on stage had now moved on to the voting announcements for Miss and Mister of the school, along with the Best Couple award.

Back in our first year, Maki had been chosen as Miss.

I found myself wondering how things would turn out this year as I focused my full attention on the stage.

『This year’s Miss is…… Ichinose Maki-san from Class 2 of the third years!』

The student emcee’s voice rang out clearly and loudly across the gym.

“Ugh…… ehh~, again?”

Maki muttered under her breath in a slightly displeased, reluctant tone.

Perhaps because she possessed all the qualities of a typical heroine, she was already used to standing out in everyday life. But when it came to her actual personality, Maki didn’t really like being the center of attention.

Even so, when applause began rising from the people around her, she forced a soft, gentle smile onto her face and said to me apologetically, “I’ll be right back,” before standing up and heading toward the stage.

As I watched Maki step up onto the stage, I couldn’t help but think to myself, Yeah… I figured that’s how it’d turn out.

Compared to most people, she really was overwhelmingly cute. That much was simply undeniable. My childhood friend, after all.

The fact that someone like her was my girlfriend still felt almost unreal to me, like something out of a dream.

Watching my girlfriend being gazed at with envious and admiring eyes by the other students, I felt a small, sharp twinge of jealousy.

……Maki is dating me, you know.

I muttered those words quietly inside my heart.

『―――……san!』

Up on the stage, the announcement for the Best Couple award was continuing.

I idly wondered who might have been chosen this year.

I hadn’t been paying attention at all.

Thinking that, I lightly clapped my hands along with everyone else around me, but then I suddenly noticed that the students sitting in front of me had begun turning around to look in my direction.

『Huh? Is Nagase-san here?』

For some reason, my family name was being called from the stage.

“Huh?”

The emcee on stage was calling out my name while scanning through the audience, clearly searching for me.

Oh no… I really wasn’t listening at all.

As I sat there blankly, still trying to process what was happening, I eventually saw Maki on stage let out a visibly exasperated sigh.

And then, almost immediately afterward, without any kind of warning, she lightly hopped down off the stage with a soft tap. She walked straight toward me without hesitation, stopped right in front of where I was sitting, and said, “You didn’t properly hear the announcement just now, did you?”

“U-……yeah.”

When I nodded honestly, she gave me a slightly fed-up, almost resigned smile and held her hand out toward me.

“…I’ll take you there, so come on.”

“Hae?”

Without really thinking, I reflexively took the hand she offered, and she gently pulled me up to my feet.

The way her back looked as she led me along felt confident, and somehow, it seemed larger and more dependable than usual.

Being guided like that, I moved through the crowd of people and ended up stepping onto the stage together with her.

Wait… onto the stage?

By the time I realized what was happening, it was already far too late.

Bathed in the blinding brightness of the spotlights, I looked out toward the audience and saw an overwhelming number of students spread out below us.

A wave of tension surged through me all at once, and I completely lost the ability to say anything at all.

『Yes! And now, this year’s Best Couple has been decided! It’s Ichinose Maki-san and Nagase Mari-san!!』

“…Aeh?”

Amid the loud cheers echoing throughout the entire gymnasium, Maki stood right beside me, wearing a bright, genuinely happy smile.

Best Couple? What do you even mean by Best Couple?

『Mari and I are very close, so it’s a little embarrassing to be seen that way, but I’m really happy. Thank you very much.』

In contrast to me, who still hadn’t managed to catch up with the situation at all, Maki spoke clearly into the microphone with a slightly bashful smile.

Ah… so she’s going to keep the fact that we’re dating ambiguous… wait, no.

It seemed that Maki and I had actually been chosen as this year’s Best Couple.

Eh?

The temperature of my face shot up instantly, as if something had suddenly exploded inside me.

At this rate, I seriously felt like I might die from embarrassment, like my head was going to burst open.

I covered my flushed, burning face with the hand that wasn’t holding onto Maki’s.

“Mari, it’s over now, so let’s go down,” Maki said, once again taking my hand and gently pulling me along.

Even after we stepped down from the stage, my face stayed unbearably hot. I kept my head lowered, unable to lift it up for quite some time.

“Congratulations.”

“Wah!”

“Oh, if it isn’t Seishuku-san.”

I had finally started to calm down a little in a corner of the gymnasium when someone suddenly spoke to me, making me jump in surprise. When I looked up, I saw Seishuku-san standing there with a bright, cheerful smile for some reason.

“Was it your fan club members who voted for us?” Maki asked.

“Yes, actually,” Seishuku-san replied without hesitation.

“You did a good job.”

“Hehe.”

Still unable to keep up with the flow of their conversation, I could only let out a weak, confused voice and ask, “Why…?”

“When I was voting, I couldn’t think of any other best couple. So I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to eliminate the other capture targets,” Seishuku-san whispered in a low voice so that only I could hear. “When I asked the fan club members, they all felt the same way I did, so they agreed to cooperate.”

“You’re seriously such an extreme and troublesome otaku.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“No, I wasn’t complimenting you.”

“Anyway,” I said while continuing to talk with Seishuku-san, glancing over toward Maki.

Maki was looking toward the stage, her eyes shining even brighter than before, clearly enjoying everything that was happening.

As I gazed at her profile, softly illuminated within the dim lighting of the audience area, I said, “Thanks. It looks like Maki was really happy.”

When she had been called up for the school’s Miss and Mister, she had gone onto the stage wearing a forced smile. But when she had gone up together with me, she had shown a completely genuine smile.

Just that difference alone made me feel incredibly happy.

“I thought she had a really nice smile too,” Seishuku-san said.

“Right?”

I replied to Seishuku-san and smiled as well.

“You too, Nagase-san.”

“……Yeah, thanks,” I answered.

Maki really has grown up… I thought to myself.

When she took my hand earlier and led me up onto the stage.

When she confidently answered the interview questions without hesitation.

I had felt it clearly in both of those moments.

Even though she used to want to make our relationship public so badly before, the fact that she kept things vague in her answer this time was probably out of consideration for me.

It was in these small, subtle moments that I could truly feel Maki’s change and growth.

She had always been the kind of girl who could suddenly act incredibly mature at the most unexpected times.

Like that time when we went to the sports park together and I ended up getting badly injured.

Just a few days before that, she had been a girl who spent her time collecting pill bugs with me. And yet, when I woke up in the hospital bed, she had become shockingly mature.

I had a feeling that I might have planted some kind of trauma in her back then.

But that was simply who Maki was. She was the kind of person who could suddenly climb the steps toward adulthood all at once.

Leaving me behind in the process.

It felt like I had been desperately chasing after her this entire time, trying not to fall behind, trying to stay right beside her.

Though, to be honest, I didn’t really know how she herself felt about it.

I need to grow up too.

So that I won’t be left behind by Maki, and so that I can continue to stay by her side forever.

“Choo.” Maki let out another small, quiet sneeze.

“Are you okay? Did you catch a cold or something?”

“Hmm… I’m not really sure…”

The way she sniffled her nose now looked completely different from before, almost childish in a way, and I couldn’t help but smile a little.

Maybe I had been overthinking things after all.

Because my Maki was still right here beside me.

“I’ll warm you up.”

In the dim shadows of the corner of the gymnasium, I gently pulled her into an embrace.

And just like that, our final high school cultural festival came to a close, leaving behind a truly precious memory for the both of us.

End of Chapter 5