I Can't Stop Laughing

--So finally, the day before the festival arrived.

The past week in particular was hectic and busy, but everyone worked together and somehow managed to get the festival ready in time.

Thanks to everyone's help, we will be able to open the festival tomorrow without any problems.

(I haven't had much time to talk with Shiho, though...)

That is my only concern.

However, Shiho has become very quiet thanks to my patting her on the head the other day. She used to pout and twitch her lips, but recently her expression has been calm. When our eyes meet, she gives me a small wave and seems to be more patient than before.

Thanks to this, it looks like we will be able to celebrate the festival without any trouble, which is good.

The only relief is that Shiho is at peace.

On the other hand, the Ryuzaki camp seems to be in a rough spot.

After all, the harem members seem to have broken up. Recently, Ryuzaki has been sticking to Mary-san all the time.

Yuzuki and Kirari, who had managed to keep up with him in the past, are now completely out of the picture. The situation is probably worse than the last time when Ryuzaki confessed his feelings to Shiho.

Kirari, in particular, was completely out of it.

If I thought she was not in high spirits since she ran into me at the bookstore,... she must have lost sight of herself after being cut off by Ryuzaki this time.

This is the end of a girl with no identity.

She is a shell, unable to become anything, existing only as a ghost.

At this point, it is more than sad, it is painful.

But I can't bring myself to reach out to her. I could be kind to Azusa because she is my sister, but she is a stranger. It may sound cold, but I can't bear her feelings.

Besides, if I comfort her here..., it is more and more likely that she will do what Mary wants.

In her scenario, it seems that 'Ryuzaki's harem members will fall in love with me'. I was afraid that if I approached Kirari, who apparently has a tendency to be dependent, she would become attached to me as it were.

If that happened, Shiho would surely be sad.

If I befriended another girl, I would hurt her.

I didn't want to do that, so I made sure to keep my distance from Kirari.

Huh... If this continues, it's just like Mary's plot.

There was a hint of a collapse in the beginning, but thanks to Shiho's flair, her story picked up. Since then, it has remained as stable as an airplane that has taken off.

If the weather gets rough, or she might lose her position. If there is trouble, she could crash-land. But so far, there was no sign of anything happening, and the story goes on.

"Nihihihi. I can't stop laughing... Everything is exactly as I want it to be, right? Hey, Kotaro? Don't you think so?"

Mary is in a completely good mood.

She was smiling with satisfaction in the limousine. She was leaning back in her seat with her legs crossed and hands folded, like she was slumped over.

“Yes, yes. I guess I was wrong. I'm sorry... Are you satisfied now? If so, I'd like you to let me go home."

Today, again, I was taken in forcefully.

Since it was the day before the school festival, the school would silently allow us to stay in overtime even after school dismissal time. So, I stayed until 8:00 p.m.

Shiho had a curfew and had already gone home.

I was going to go home alone right away, but Mary caught me on the way.

“Tomorrow, I will finally finish my big project, you know? I can't help but get excited. You know, the work that is about to be completed is the most exciting to finish, isn't it? It's just like that."

"... I'm not a creator, so I don't know how that feels."

"Well, well, well, don't get so frustrated, will you? Now, you just have to go along with my conversation. Even you, Mr. Mob Character, can do that, can't you?"

As usual, Mary is a bad character. Just conversing with her is kind of tiring.

Sigh... I can't wait to get home...