Chapter 43

Today is the last day of July, and it is also the day when the all-girls dormitory of Tokiwadai Middle School opens its doors to the public once a year. It is commonly known as the "Midsummer Festival."

On this day, students from Tokiwadai can invite their friends to visit, and Tsukino Tsukiko is one of those invited.

How to put it, each invitation can bring one person. Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko invited Konori Mii and Shokuhou Misaki, who in turn brought along Kurogiri Himuro and Saten Ruiko, but they forgot about Tsukino Tsukiko. Whether it was intentional or not, who knows? However, what the two overlooked was that Shokuhou Misaki personally handed her invitation to Tsukino Tsukiko.

Everyone who came here could see a group of girls standing together at the entrance, seemingly waiting for something.

"Huh? What are they doing?" Shokuhou Misaki looked at the crowd at the entrance, feeling puzzled.

"I don't know..." Looking at the group of girls in maid outfits, Saten Ruiko couldn't help but feel a strange sense of tension.

At this moment, Tsukino Tsukiko also arrived nearby. No matter what, this was the first time Shokuhou Misaki had taken the initiative to contact him in several months. Regardless of the outcome of this visit, he would come as agreed. "I hope I won't die too miserably."

As Tsukino Tsukiko approached the entrance, the many maids at the door seemed to receive some surprising instructions and all looked stunned. However, they still followed the queen's command, standing neatly on both sides of the entrance and bowing together as Tsukino Tsukiko passed by.

"Welcome, Mr. Tsukino."

For a moment, everyone was stunned, and Tsukino Tsukiko didn't expect Shokuhou Misaki to make such a big fuss. Could it be arranged by someone else? He knew it was impossible.

At this point, the maid at the head of the right row stepped forward and bowed to Tsukino Tsukiko again. "Mr. Tsukino, please follow me. The queen is waiting for you."

Tsukino Tsukiko sighed helplessly. "Is it really necessary to make such a big deal?" "Okay, please lead the way."

However, what Tsukino Tsukiko didn't know was that Shokuhou Misaki deliberately made such a big fuss to let everyone see, especially to let Saten Ruiko see. Now, for her, the biggest rival was no longer Misaka Mikoto but Saten Ruiko, who was ahead in the race to win Tsukino Tsukiko's heart.

In fact, as Shokuhou Misaki wished, Saten Ruiko, who was not far from the entrance, saw everything from beginning to end. By the time Tsukino Tsukiko and the maid entered the dormitory, Saten Ruiko was already burning with anger.

"Hey, Shokuhou, let's go in quickly." If it weren't for her sullen face, Shokuhou Misaki might have thought Saten Ruiko was as excited about the "Midsummer Festival" as she was. Given the current situation, perhaps...

"May Mr. Tsukino have good luck."

Tsukino Tsukiko followed Shokuhou Misaki's subordinate to the top floor of the dormitory building—the rooftop terrace.

Opening the door, Tsukino Tsukiko saw Shokuhou Misaki, dressed in her Tokiwadai uniform, sitting on a white chair and drinking tea. To his surprise, after the maid who led the way left, only he and Shokuhou Misaki were left on the terrace.

"Shokuhou, what did you call me for?"

"Can't I just want to see you?" Shokuhou Misaki felt annoyed at this. If she didn't take the initiative, he probably wouldn't have contacted her at all.

"How frustrating, such a passive man is really annoying."

But even so, Shokuhou Misaki still liked Tsukino Tsukiko, which was a fact.

"Not at all, you can always find me whenever you want." Tsukino Tsukiko felt somewhat guilty towards Shokuhou Misaki. After all, they weren't together, and he was partly to blame. If he had been more proactive...

But the fact was that he was already with Saten Ruiko, and what was done was done... probably.

Shokuhou Misaki was somewhat pleased with Tsukino Tsukiko's response, but thinking about their current situation, she also felt a surge of anger. "That sounds nice." However, she could only complain like this. Tsukino Tsukiko's slight resistance was still felt by Shokuhou Misaki. She could now guess his thoughts quite accurately.

But knowing his thoughts made her even more desperate. Unless time could be reversed, their relationship could only remain as it was.

"Should it end like this? Become friends? No! Absolutely not! What determination did I have when I invited Tsukino? How can I stop here?"

Knowing the deep-seated gentleness in Tsukino Tsukiko's heart, Shokuhou Misaki made a decision.

"I will wear down your defenses!"

In fact, Shokuhou Misaki's strategy was not wrong. Although Tsukino Tsukiko deliberately tried to distance himself from her to maintain his relationship with Saten Ruiko, deep down, he still had a place for Shokuhou Misaki. How could he really be so heartless?

Thinking and acting, Shokuhou Misaki stood up and hugged Tsukino Tsukiko's left arm, her body tightly pressed against his. "Tsukiko, will you accompany me to the 'Midsummer Festival'?"

Feeling the softness of her arm, Tsukino Tsukiko's heart rate quickened. "Sure, but Shokuhou, can you let go of my arm?"

"No way!" Shokuhou Misaki knew that at this moment, she couldn't back down. She had no more retreat.

In the end, Tsukino Tsukiko gave in. After all, he couldn't be so heartless.

On one side, Tsukino Tsukiko agreed to Shokuhou Misaki's invitation, while on the other side, Shokuhou Misaki and Saten Ruiko were being led by Misaka Mikoto to tour various exhibits inside the Tokiwadai dormitory.

Shokuhou Misaki was amazed by the depth of the exhibits at Tokiwadai, but Saten Ruiko was somewhat distracted, especially when the three of them, at Shokuhou Misaki's insistence, tried their hand at sewing. Saten Ruiko made several mistakes.

"What's wrong, Saten?" Misaka Mikoto noticed her friend was not in the right state and asked.

Saten Ruiko was like this because she had seen Tsukino Tsukiko being invited to Shokuhou Misaki's place. Knowing she was at a disadvantage in terms of figure, Saten Ruiko was very worried. Although she should trust Tsukino Tsukiko, considering his recent shameless actions, she was afraid that their old feelings would reignite. Although she said Tsukino Tsukiko's current girlfriend was her, she also knew that he couldn't really be so heartless towards Shokuhou Misaki. So now, Saten Ruiko was very anxious.

But how could she talk about such personal matters with others? Even with her best friend, some things couldn't be fully disclosed.

"Nothing, just a bit distracted. Maybe I didn't rest well last night."

Misaka Mikoto looked at Saten Ruiko, somewhat worried. "Saten, although I'm an outsider and shouldn't say much, we are still young, and some things... should be more restrained..."

"Eh?..." Instantly understanding Misaka Mikoto's words, Saten Ruiko's face turned red. Although her words were somewhat ambiguous, it wasn't that serious!

"Stop talking nonsense! I just didn't rest well! There's... no such thing!"

Her hurried defense only confirmed Misaka Mikoto's suspicions in her eyes. Suppressing a strange sense of discomfort, Misaka Mikoto just sighed.

Saten Ruiko, seeing Misaka Mikoto like this, was also helpless. She knew that no matter how she defended herself, it wouldn't help.

As for Shokuhou Misaki, she was confused the whole time, not understanding the implications of their conversation, so she was always puzzled.

Leaving the sewing room, Misaka Mikoto checked the time. It was already close to 1 PM, and they hadn't eaten lunch yet. Looking back at the two, she asked, "Hey, are you hungry?"

Saten Ruiko and Shokuhou Misaki had been touring all morning and were also a bit hungry.

"Does Misaka have any recommendations?"

"Sure, I'll take you to the cafeteria here."