───● The Bookish High School Girl Peeps ●○●

The time known as summer vacation had begun.

Being a high school student, I was no exception, and I was currently enjoying my summer break.

Today, I was having lunch with my friend, Mitsuaki, at a fast-food restaurant.

I feel like if I were to sue them for calling me out in this scorching heat with the utterly selfish reason of “Come over after practice,” no one would complain.

The incident happened right then.

Patali, went the sound of my phone falling over.

N-no way… I thought, looking at the phone I’d let go of in despair. Mitsuaki, sitting across from me, picked it up.

And that jerk mercilessly opened my phone screen.

“Rejected! LOL! Of course, he has other girls!”

“Yeah… I guess he would…”

“Did you know and ask anyway? That’s hilarious. I’m gonna share this with the others.”

Mitsuaki laughed, taking a picture of my phone and my crestfallen face. This guy is, as always, a complete bastard.

““Shiori tried to invite her tutor-bro to the summer festival and got shot down, lololol”…”

“Do you people have hearts?”

Mitsuaki laughed mockingly and handed my phone back. I opened the social media screen.

Comments were already pouring in on the photo Mitsuaki had just shared.

Mana:”Of course that was the outcome, lol”

Hatsumi:”I don’t know why she thought it would work”

Ah, these people really don’t have hearts.

I was an idiot for hoping for anything.

…Though, honestly, I pretty much accept this result.

Since that time, my relationship with Masato-san has changed.

I no longer have to strain myself to pretend to be pure, and I speak to him mostly as my true self.

I’m aware that I sometimes speak without much restraint, but for some reason, Masato-san seems happy about it.

And since that makes me happy, I keep doing it… and the loop continues.

I’m fine because I’m having fun… but is Masato-san really okay with it?

And above all… there’s that “mark”.

There is a woman near Masato-san. No doubt about it.

He said he didn’t have a girlfriend… so is it what they call a purely physical relationship?

Gulp, I swallowed.

Um, could I join in too, please?!

I’m so envious. Friends with benefits? Absolutely fine. Nothing beats physical desire.

That whole mindset of starting with a pure, proper relationship disappeared when I was five.

Can I please be included in that starting rotation (suggestive meaning)?

“Hey, you got a message from Mana.”

“Huh?”

Mitsuaki flicked my forehead while I was blankly thinking that and sucking on a vanilla shake straw.

I opened my phone.

Mana:”Then Shiori, wanna go to the festival with me? The guy I met on an app dumped me, so I’m bored”

Hatsumi:”You never learn… Oh, I’m free too, so I’ll go. Maybe we can hook up with some guys.”

“Oh, by the way, I’m going with my boyfriend. Too bad for you.”

“Oh, I didn’t ask you.”

I ignored the person across from me who was in a fulfilling relationship. The Kojiki says you should never entertain people in fulfilling relationships.

Now, about the summer festival invitation.

Wha—. What kind of miserable person would go to a festival with three girls to lick each other’s wounds? Absolutely not.

Shiori:”NOPE! I’d rather play games at home than have a pity party like that!”

Mana:”Okay, meet at Station at 6 PM. We’re picking up guys, so wear a yukata”

Hatsumi:”Got it~”

…Is it possible that I speak a different language than these two?

On the day of the summer festival.

“Alright! Let’s go hunting for guys!”

“I wonder if that’s really going to work…”

In the end… I came. I even wore a yukata because I thought it would be weird if they were both wearing one and I wasn’t.

“Stop moping, Shiori. Let’s go!”

“Ehh… are we really going to hit on people?”

“Of course we are! Why else do you think we came all this way…”

Mana said, walking energetically.

Mana is the most current girl among us. She’s a complete normie. I honestly don’t know how she ended up being friends with someone like me.

“Well, I’m not really into it either…”

Hatsumi followed, saying that. She’s a healthy, boyish girl with a short haircut. She looks like she’s high on the school social hierarchy.

I wish they’d consider what it’s like for me, surrounded by high-spec girls.

Hah… Are they planning to use me as a decoy from the start…? What trashy people… Maybe I should stop being friends with them…

Thinking thoughts I didn’t truly mean, I followed the two of them.

“We can’t find anyone!!!”

“Well, yeah.”

About an hour into the festival.

In the end, we hadn’t met many guys.

The overall number was small to begin with, and most guys were already accompanied by women.

It was extremely rare for guys to be there alone.

“You guys need to put more effort into finding someone~”

“Ehh~ even if you say that~ and besides, I’m hungry~”

Hatsumi sat down on a bench set up in the venue.

Now that she mentioned it, we hadn’t eaten anything or even been to the food stalls yet.

“You’re right. Should we get something to eat?”

“I guess we have no choice. Let’s just eat something normal.”

Mana, too, seemed to realize that it would be difficult in this crowd.

Everyone is already enjoying the festival now, anyway….

“Alright, if that’s the decision, let’s go somewhere. Yakisoba? Takoyaki?”

“Both!”

“You’re a pig.”

“Shut up.”

Trading insults, we headed toward the food stalls.

“Yakisoba is delicious~”

“I never think about eating yakisoba normally, so why does festival yakisoba taste so good?”

I also took a bite of the yakisoba I bought.

Mmm. It’s delicious. The red ginger really rounds out the flavor.

“Let’s open the takoyaki too~”

Hatsumi opened the plastic container holding the takoyaki.

The smell of sauce immediately spread around us.

Mmm, this is what a summer festival is like.

The warm yet cool temperature unique to a summer night.

Even the chorus of insects that would normally just be annoying.

For some reason, they felt pleasant right now.

I was indulging in that rare sentimentality when.

“Hey, hey, even a middle school-looking girl has an older guy with her. Kids these days are getting ahead of themselves…”

“Maybe they’re just brother and sister. Even so, I wish I had a big brother like that…”

I looked where the two, who were stuffing their faces with takoyaki, were looking.

The moment I looked up to see this person who must have accumulated massive good karma in a previous life.

“…Tch!”

I gasped.

It was Masato-san. I couldn’t possibly mistake him.

Ah… the yukata suits him so well. That’s the power of a prince, I suppose.

But that wasn’t the problem.

The girl walking beside him… she didn’t look older than a high school student.

She looked about a second or third-year middle schooler.

His sister? No, that’s wrong. Masato-san said he didn’t have siblings.

Then who could it be…?

The two of them, walking close together, disappeared into the crowd.

My legs moved on their own.

“Hey, Shiori?! Where are you going?!”

“Sorry, I’ll text you later!!”

I started running. The yukata felt annoying, clinging to my legs.

I had to confirm.

Is that girl the culprit who put the “mark” on Masato-san?

I think the probability is low. She’s definitely too young.

Could she be a relative he’s looking after, or something like that?

Still, the possibility exists.

If, by some remote chance, that girl was the one.

Doesn’t that mean I have a chance, too?

Fortunately, I quickly found them.

The height difference between them made them stand out, and there’s no way I would miss Masato-san’s aura.

“There they are…”

They were talking happily.

The girl… I’ll call her the loli-girl for now. The loli-girl was handing the fox mask to Masato-san.

Strangely… I didn’t feel any jealousy welling up in my chest.

I didn’t know if that was because they looked like siblings, or if it was due to something else.

“We will shortly begin the fireworks display that concludes the festival”.

The announcement echoed from the speakers at the festival venue.

It’s that time already.

Everyone around us was moving toward the shrine grounds to get a better view of the fireworks.

This is bad. I wasn’t noticed when I was lost in the crowd, but it’s a different story when people leave.

Masato-san might notice me.

I quickly hid myself in the thicket of the side road.

Good. I can clearly see the two of them from here.

Masato-san seems to be crouching down.

Is he taking off the mask…? Their distance seems very close—.

And then, the next moment.

The loli-girl kissed Masato-san.

“Gah…”

I quickly hid behind the tree and covered my mouth with both hands. I was afraid I would make a sound.

No way. A-are they dating? That loli-girl and… but he said he didn’t have a girlfriend…

Cautiously, I looked at the two of them again.

The scene I saw then was even more stimulating.

The loli-girl pushed Masato-san down and dragged him into the thicket.

Then, she fiercely pulled off his yukata.

“Ah…”

I involuntarily crouched down.

I was too close to them now. Even a small sound could give me away.

I sat there, moving only my neck to watch their movements.

“H-hold on, Yuka…! You can’t do this…!”

“It’s Masato-san’s fault. For provoking me by showing me such an erotic sight…!”

…My heart felt like it was going to burst.

My beloved Masato-san was being attacked right near me by a girl younger than I was.

If I were a pure, righteous heroine, the right thing to do would surely be to go out and stop them.

What are you doing?

You mustn’t do that.

And yet.

Why was I so aroused?

“Haah… Haah…”

My breathing became ragged.

The fact that Masato-san was being brazenly ravished by a girl younger than me was incredibly stimulating.

I despaired over the fact that a girl younger than I was so far ahead of me.

Those should be opposing emotions.

Yet, the bizarre combination of these two feelings felt good.

I wanted to hear their voices more. I wanted to hear their ragged breathing more.

I wanted him to be more undone.

I stroked my lower abdomen.

That part of me was radiating an unbelievable heat.

Ah. I really am a truly hopeless creature.

My face was hot. My body was hot.

Yet, for some reason, tears wouldn’t stop falling.

To cool the overwhelming heat.

While listening to their cries of pleasure.

I reached a hand to my own body.