I Reincarnated as the Villain in a Rom-Com but I’m Enjoying Youth with My Favorite Heroine - I Reincarnated as the Villain in a Rom-Com but I’m Enjoying Youth with My Favorite Heroine chapter 68

68. Summer Festival ②

The sound of drums and the melody of flutes echoed from somewhere. The lanterns hanging down began to glow brightly, and numerous stalls lined the shopping street.

As night approached and the air started to cool, many people gathered in front of the stalls, and the delicious scents of yakisoba and takoyaki wafted through the air. Excited by the lively and dazzling atmosphere of the summer festival, we walked through the crowd.

“Whoa! Look at this! They have everything! Shooting games, ring toss, and yo-yo fishing!”

“Hey, Nishikawa, you’re way too hyped. What’s with the ‘whoa’? I’ve never heard that voice before.”

“Ryuusuke, you should remember this. Kyouya makes weird noises when he gets too excited.”

“Hey, don’t say weird stuff, Reo. I’m just caught up in the festival atmosphere.”

“Isn’t that what people generally call being hyped?”

“Shut up. You were just saying, ‘Wow, candy apples!’ a moment ago.”

“W-Well, it’s not a big deal. What I say doesn’t matter…”

“Ha, coming from someone who’s always had a habit of changing their eyes when it comes to sweets since childhood, that’s rich. You glutton.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Nishikawa, who was excitedly bouncing around, and Reo, who was talking more than usual. Mashiro also giggled at their exchange.

After going to the gathering place in the square with Mashiro, Reo and Nishikawa joined us, and we headed straight to the summer festival venue.

The two were completely captivated by Mashiro in her yukata, and Reo complimented her cuteness over and over again.

As expected of Reo, who was the ideal friend character for boys, his compliments were natural and devoid of any sarcasm.

Mashiro seemed a bit embarrassed by such sincere praise, but her expression was filled with happiness as she laughed, making her even cuter and causing me to be entranced as well.

Nishikawa was so overwhelmed by Mashiro’s cuteness that he became tense, moving like a robot. It took quite a bit of effort to bring him to the venue, but now, looking at the lined stalls and the bustling crowd, he seemed to be regaining his composure.

And now, the four of us stood amidst the clamor of the summer festival.

As Nishikawa mentioned, various types of stalls were lined up.

Of course, there was the classic goldfish scooping, along with cookie cutting, super ball scooping, and shooting games, all of which both adults and children were enjoying with enthusiasm.

There were many food stalls in Frankfurt, including grilled chicken and cotton candy, and the tantalizing aromas made my stomach growl.

With the unusual sights of the city, our spirits were only rising.

“Alright, alright—Nishikawa-kun and Reo-kun, that’s enough. We’re here to enjoy the festival, so no fighting. Look, how about we have a competition at the goldfish scooping over there?”

“That sounds great, Mashiro. Competing to see how many we can catch with one scoop seems like fun, doesn’t it?”

“That sounds fun. I definitely want to join in.”

“Not a bad idea. Alright, I’ve always been good at this sort of thing, so I don’t feel like I’ll lose.”

With Mashiro’s suggestion, we headed towards the goldfish scooping stall.

There was a large tank filled with beautiful red and black goldfish swimming around. The sight, like jewels scattered across the water, made Mashiro’s clear blue eyes sparkle.

“Wow, that’s amazing! Look, Ryusuke! This one is super cute. That one over there looks kind of dignified!”

“Yeah, it really is beautiful. Even though they’re all the same kind of goldfish, they somehow feel different.”

“You’re right, Ryusuke and Mashiro. Even if they look the same, each has its own personality, and there’s something strangely charming about that.”

“Hmph, I’m definitely going for the black one. It has a lone wolf vibe that I think is cool.”

We four stared into the tank, and then we paid our money and received our scoops and bowls.

“I’ll go with this one. Its tail is fluttering, and it’s so cute!”

“I think I’ll choose this one. It looks the most confident, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a big one.”

“Huh, Reo is as usual. Well then, I’ll take this black one. It seems the liveliest. Alright!”

After picking out the goldfish we wanted, each of us took our positions and started scooping.

Nishikawa had mentioned that he was good at goldfish scooping, and he wasn’t lying; with skilled hands, he scooped up the black goldfish and struck a victory pose.

Reo was being cautious, seemingly waiting for the right moment to scoop.

On the other hand, Mashiro—she aimed her scoop at the surface, but ended up creating a large hole and letting the goldfish escape.

Watching the goldfish swim away effortlessly, Mashiro’s shoulders drooped in disappointment.

“Oh no, it tore… Ryusuke, my scoop tore… My little goldfish…”

“Even though you have good athletic skills, you’re surprisingly not good at this sort of thing, huh, Mashiro? Alright, leave this to me. I’ll catch it for you.”

“Okay! Thank you, Ryusuke…”

Saying that to the sadly pouting Mashiro, I took the scoop in hand and seriously observed the movements of the goldfish.

Even though I had said to leave it to me, the truth is I hadn’t done much of this myself.

I’m good at games, but when it comes to goldfish scooping, I’m a total novice. Even tracing back my memories from my previous life, I hardly had any opportunities to see goldfish up close like this.

Still, Mashiro was relying on me like this. Having vowed to create the best summer memories for her, I couldn’t afford to slack off here.

From noble mtl dot net

I focused all my attention on the goldfish with the fluttering tail that Mashiro wanted. And as that goldfish rose to the surface and paused its movements—I aimed for the moment.

“—Here!”

—

Without straining, I smoothly glided the scoop across the water’s surface to catch a goldfish. Just before the lively little fish could break through the paper and fall, I quickly transferred it into a bowl filled with water.

“Ryusuke, that’s amazing! You’ve already caught one!”

Mashiro’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at my hands. Her face lit up, and she clapped her hands together in joy.

Feeling a bit shy under her gaze, I peered into the bowl, where the goldfish swam energetically, its long tail fin swaying.

I was relieved… I had managed to catch the goldfish that Mashiro wanted, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Then, I handed the bowl to the vendor, who placed the goldfish into a plastic bag filled with water.

I then passed that plastic bag to Mashiro.

“Here, Mashiro, this is for you. Take good care of it.”

“Really? Is it okay, Ryusuke?”

“Yeah, of course. I caught it for you, so don’t worry about it.”

“Ryusuke… thank you. I’m so happy, really. I’ll cherish it.”

Looking at the goldfish sparkling in the plastic bag, Mashiro smiled brightly, her joy evident.

Her genuinely happy smile made all my efforts feel worthwhile.

Mashiro looked so cute being happy that I momentarily forgot we were in public and gently patted her head as usual. She responded by relaxing her cheeks and nuzzling against my hand like a cat.

Nishikawa and Reo watched us with amused smiles.

“I know you and Mashiro get along well, but it’s really a heartwarming relationship. I can’t help but feel envious.”

“Totally. It’s almost embarrassing to watch. You two are just naturally lovey-dovey.”

Hearing that made my face heat up… It felt incredibly embarrassing to be called out like this.

Maybe because Mashiro is my childhood friend, I can do things like this without much thought. But from a third-party perspective, we probably look like a couple.

Realizing that now, I felt my face grow even hotter.

Mashiro was blushing just as much, and when our eyes met, she turned even redder and looked down. She looked so cute, curled up like a small animal, but if I indulged her here, Reo and Nishikawa might say something unnecessary, so I held back.

In the end, without worrying about winning or losing, the four of us enjoyed ourselves, each catching the goldfish we had our eyes on before leaving the stall.

The goldfish in the plastic bag swam energetically, and we watched them with satisfied smiles.