Vol 7 Chapter 6 (1/1)

Chapter 6

Adolescent Adam 7: Chapter 6 - The Curtain RisesIt was the day of the cultural festivalMegutono Acadeh school, so events like this always had tons of participantsThey were blessed with nice weather and the school was filled with students and visitors hoping to enjoy the dayThe helicopter in the sky may have been for publicity purposes That was how busy it wasWorking your way through the waves of people could be difficult“Gwohhhhh, Mutsuki! Mutsuki, I’onna be crushed! Get the takoyaki to safety!”“Yes, yes”“Okay, okay Good job, Private Mutsuki-kun! Next up is the crepes by the third years I hear they’re good”“R-right Yes, sir”Of course, it was pri themselvesMutsuki had been busy visiting stands all ed him around“Ah! They’re selling cotton candy over there…and it’s cheap!”

“Wait, Miss Round and Jiggly! Cotton candy is as voluminous as you Try to walk around with it in this crowd…and you’ll be in trouble!”“I- I see It would be painful to lose my mobility here… Not bad, Tomono-kun”“Heh I’ a friend’s future is a simple task”“For once, your big mouth was actually useful But”“Hm?”“Who are you calling round and jiggly!?”

Their usual routine was even etic than usualThe three of theh the crowd to visit the stands They were mostly ones Saya’s research said had tasty treatsAnge had gone to do the play and Lucia ith that band, so Mutsuki was alone with Sakae and Saya today“Here, Mutsuki-kun This takoyaki is a Say ah”“Um, yes Thanks, Kurikara-san”“You put too much mayo on it These are more like mayonnaise balls than octopus balls”“Shut up They taste great this way”Mutsuki ate one of the takoyaki that was indeed covered instandsSaya and Sakae were not the only ones enjoying the a blastYou could really tell that a long-awaited day had finally arrived“Oh, Katsue-sensei Hi!”Saya noticed soThere was a eway they caular patrols to look for anyone needing directions and their honShe see with a small child in a mask who irl in a fox irl directions because she ignored SayaSakae and Saya continued on without thinking much of itBut it bothered Mutsuki a bit that Schwarze of all people had not noticed so out to her“Phew…”

AtSaya started helping another class and Sakae said there were sos he wanted to check out, so they were not with him He was alone nowThis school building was being used for preparations, so it was off limits for outside visitors and there were not many people inside It was the perfect place to relaxEverything felt different while a step removed from all the hustle and bustle of the festivalSo for a festival and Mutsuki was exactly that type of personHe did enjoy the actual festival, but he would pour all his energy into the preparations and feel the exhaustion during the festival itselfEspecially this year because there had been some trouble related to the Serpent’s Eye and some conflict with the Student Council PresidentHe wanted to go see Ange’s play and Lucia’s band, so he used this time to rest He made his way to their classroom which he assumed would be emptyHowever…“Ibekusa-san?”Someone was already thereMachina sat in her usual seat all alone She was not doing anything and she showed no interest in all the noise out theShe just stared blankly forward“Want to go enjoy the festival?”“Nn No…yes”“?”

She was being unusually noncommittal, so Mutsuki tilted his headAnd the girl closed her mouthMutsuki briefly tensed up Since they were alone, he thought she would kiss hiainBut she made no attempt today She just stared quietly at him like she used to“Umm”He did not knohy, but he could tell she was not going to do it today He relaxed and approachedShe said nothing and it was i In a way, that was completely ordinary, so he did not think about it too much“U else to do, how about it? Why not go around with me after this?”He kneas , but he felt it would be a waste if she stayed here for the entire festival“Nn…um”“Let’s go watch Ange’s play And we can get a bite to eat first”“…Okay”She did not declineSince they had a plan, Mutsuki gestured outside He was sure to enjoy doing this with Machina, so he was all for it“…”And he failed to notice the tension on the girl’s faceHe considered himself luckyHe knehere all the best stands were after Saya showed him earlierHe could not iine what Machina would enjoy at a festival like this, so he decided the food stands were the safest optionThe two of them each held a crepe in one hand as they wandered aimlessly around the festival“There sure are a lot of people, huh?”“Yes”It had been busy in thearound was difficult now that it was the afternoon Even when they parted the crowd, more people would press in and they were nearly carried awayAnd they had to avoid people even more now that they had crepes“Whoops…oh”“Wait”When he was nearly swept away by a wave of people, he felt a tug on his elbowMachina was pulling on his sleeveHe naturally followed her guidance and oddly felt like the wave of people had weakened There were just asout the location of the next obstacle and then avoiding it“Ha ha That sure is convenient”“There is a pattern to the flow of densely-packed people”It was a lot like a witch’s power and it was honestly quite helpfulThat was all well and good, but…(…Sh-she’s a little close)Because Machina had pulled hih that her hair tickled his face(She se)His face grew red and he desperately tried to focus on so elseJust like during the test of courage fro alone with the girl he liked“…”He did not notice that Machina’s expression was similarly stiff“Th-this crepe sure is good”The silence was painful, so he attempted some small talk“Ibekusa-san, you got apple cinnaood”“It is”“I got blueberry Ha ha I had strawberry earlier, but it’s a hoo berries can be so different”“…”“Oh, do you want a bite?”“Are you sure?”“Yeah …Ah”Mutsuki froze up when he realized he had just offered to give her an indirect kissBut before he could panic, Machina estion“Then here”She took his blueberry crepe and handed him hers“Th…thanks”They had traded crepesThat did seeood, so Mutsuki sestion and he took the apple cinnamon that Machina’s lips had touched“Ahood”Machina did not seem bothered as she took a biteIt would be weird if he focused on it too much, so Mutsuki made up his mind and took a bite“Do you like it?”“Y-yes It’s good You can really taste the cinnamon, can’t you?”

He feigned cal to find the flavor of her lips within the apple and cinnamon(I’ve gotten a lot )

Until the spring, he would have been too ehtIt had been less than half a year since then and he thanked the Serpent’s Eye power for allowing hirow like thisAnd…“Fujita and Miss-…and Ibekusa You’re together?”“Senpai”They ran across shi+rohara RenShe called out to them, but she also could not look the incidentIt could be hard to tell when he mostly interacted with her as FeTUS’s Lavriel, but she was popular as the Student Council President A lot of friends were following her as she went around inspecting things“Hey, hey Ren, is this the Fujita boy you’re always talking about?”“Ha ha♪ He’s so cute”The third years surrounded hi much, but he was trapped now“Hht Ren wasn’t interested in boys at all, but this is the exception, huh?”“But I understand how she feels~ This looks like just the kind of boy she’d fall for”“U-um”Ever since his experience with Micha, Mutsuki had trouble around older girls, so he was overwhelmed while completely surrounded like this With as popular as Ren was, it was apparently well known that he had been hanging around with herMachina and Ren were left outside of the circle of girls“I do not reco others know about your contact with Fujita-kun”“I-I know that I didn’t mean to let anyone know It just kind of came up in conversation”Machina’s tendency to completely shut out others was a problem, but this seemed to be a problem as well“…Where are Jiyuuni and the others?”“At the play We are on our way to watch it”“Oh, right I’ll be patrolling around, but you keep him safe, Miss E”“Positive”They left no opening as FeTUS members“By the way, that crepe looks good”“Have a bite”“Yes Ahhh”Ren took a bite of the blueberry crepe that had originally been Mutsuki’sApparently Saya and Sakae were not the only ones overly excited about the cultural festivalThey walked around, ate, and enjoyed themselvesThat was all there was to do for those like Mutsuki who had finished their jobs in the preparation phase, but the students perfor had to take today especially seriously“ ‘Wh-where is the crosswalk?’ ”Ange was the most prominent example as the lead in the play“She’s kind of nervous”Mutsuki watched from an audience seat a short distance away Machina nodded in the seat next to him“But that is not a probleh to affect the performance”“Right …Break a leg, Ange”It was a short traffic safety playBut even if it was short, it was nerve-racking when so He quietly cheered her onIt was the standard story of Ange, as playing an ele a scary experience, and learning the importance of the rules But the effort that went into it behind the scenesperformance for MutsukiIt was already hard to find a girl willing to play the part, so Ange may have been the perfect choice since she took any job seriously The play was perfor and thrice in the afternoon People had enjoyed the twoperformances, so there were more people there for this afternoon one It was not exactly a play worthy of a standing ovation, but ruh the high school“Oh, yeah Ibekusa-san, you adjusted Ange’s costume, didn’t you?”Ange had e for now, so he whispered to Machina“Yes”“Thanks I could have done it, but Ange wouldn’t have asked”Everyone had been in charge of e could not sew, so she had let Machina do it That had probably happened while Machina was helping with her nighttiThey were ene at clothes together“You sure are getting along ith Ange”“…”

There was no response that timeAs a FeTUS member, she may not have been able to say any h that she did not deny it“Oh, right You ith her last night, weren’t you? Ange was acting a little weird when she got back, so did so happen?”

“Nn…”“Oh, Ange is back”The play’s lead was back, so he focused on the stage againHe failed to notice Machina hanging her head next to himThere were still two e as the curtain lowered and then they moved to the music roomIt was approaching ti Unlike Ange, Lucia had insisted Mutsuki coood spotThe band only clus, which was about what you could expect froet people excited It was said the visual was 90 of whata cute boy like Lucia in a unisex costuathered a lot of attention“That seelad”He had not been worried, he was glad to see hoell it went“Lucia-kun is a really good singer …Oh”He did not knohen Lucia had practiced or if he had even needed to practice, but his performance had been incredible for someone who only joined on recently“Heyyy, Mutsuki-kuuun!”“…H-hi”The way he had readily waved to Mutsuki after spotting hi was adorable, but it had been aard for Mutsuki when everyone’s attention gathered on himAnd that had not lasted long Niki Hozun and he had iirl kneork with him“…”That scene hadThe concert had been extended by 5 minutes due to the encore, but they walked outside after watching it through to the end“Um, what should we do now?”“…”They had already gone to both of the events they were invited toIt would be sad to just say bye now that that was over, but it would be rude to keep her with him just to wander aimlessly around He was not sure what to doEspecially when…“…”“Ue”“Oh”Machina seemed somewhat out of itShe was acting weird She had been acting weird a lot lately, but especially today Even dense Mutsuki had noticed by now“You kind of zoned out there”“Sorry”With this and the fact that her sudden obsession with kissing had gone away, so had definitely happened He also realized she had been blatantly avoiding eye contact for a while“Wh-what is it? Um, did you feel like I forced you to do all this festival stuff?”“It isn’t that”She did not sees She simply would not tell him what it wasNoas not sure if he should ask her to keep going But he was also hesitant to leave her, so they were just kind of stuck there“Oh, Mutsuki-kun and Machi-nyan Perfect ti”They were saved by a familiar cheerful voice“Kurikara-san …What is that?”Mutsuki sounded puzzled as soon as he turned to face their Goddess of salvationHe could not help hiy self that , but she had shed her skin in an odd way this afternoonThe skin-tight white dress was certainly part of it, but she ings that strapped onto her shoulders and a halo made of wire that floated over her head On her back, she wore a bow and arrow seely made of silver paper The arrowhead was shaped like a heart“Eh heh heh~ A, isn’t it?”“Yes, it is…but what is it?”“You can’t tell?”

“Not a bit”“I’m Cupid Cupid of Love”“…”It could be easy to forget when you lived with angels, but the wings strapped to her shoulders did indeed look like the usual depiction of an angel“The wings are ser when IIt’s called the Cupid Café and it’s for couples only”She pointed to the café with one of her usual over-the-top posesThere were a lot of places with showy exteriors for the festival, but one place still ed to stand out The entrance was ate and the inside was almost entirely pink There were lamé heart stickers all over and the tablecloths were pink“Cute, isn’t it?”“It looks like a brothel”“They asked me for some help and I said yes since the outfit is so cute It’s an a place There’s a jinx that says a couple will have a lifetime of happiness if they overcoo in”“Even though it’s only open today?”“This is perfect I’ll take you to a table for two”She forcibly pulled on their handsMutsuki and Machina were both unable to fight back at times like this“There’s a special seat called theto sit there But it’s so great Just sitting there makes you happy~”

She even designated a specific table for themEntering the café was fine given the atave him a reason to continue the conversation But…“I’ll show you two to your miracle happy seats”That was a “recom in Mutsuki’s gut, they were taken to an incredible table indeedA se space built a step higher than the rest of the café The chairs were close enough together that their knees would touch while they sat across fro was of course pinkWorst of all, it was right next to the , so everyone passing by outside could see themMutsuki gave Saya a look that said this si to work“Please use it~ They spent a lot on this, but the festival is going to end without a single couple sitting here”Saya clapped her hands togetherMutsuki had to wonder why they spent sotheir customers, but…“Then I will have the recommended tea”“Yes!”Machina generally could not refuse any request, so she sat downThere was no escaping it now The boy had no choice but to sit down across from her…Their knees were even closer together than he thought, so he turned his a bit to the side“Thank you too, Mutsuki-kun♪ I’ll pay, so order whatever you want”“Sure Then I’ll have the café’s most expensive drink and a bunch of other stuff that will leave your wallet hurting for a while”“…Gh”The waitress obediently wrote down his order and leftMutsuki and Machina now had to obediently waitPerhaps luckily, the people walking by could tell how bizarre the café was just by looking at the entrance sign, so no one gave any curious looks to the special seat It was only the other custoave them weird looks“Here’s your Darjeeling, Machi-nyan For both of you, I have our most expensive ite on it And here’s el Mayonnaise Toast”They were served more and more and the small table was quickly filled“Okay, Machi-nyan, Mutsuki-kun You take your time I wish you some lovey-dovey happiness Bakyuuun♡”It was not clear what thatthem with her bow and then left“Okay…we sure got a lot of stuff”Was she apologizing for this or did they have a lot of extra ingredients? The parfait was especially aThe large glass container containedon top and it was decorated with lots of sweets and fruits arranged like a parfait“It’s big and looks tasty”“Y-yes”

There was no way they could eat it all, but Machina readily started on itThe ice creaht, so the sweetness and tartness were just right They both used their spoons to bring down the mountain of ice creamIn a way, this gave them a chance to talk“I had coels are supposed to look like that”Mutsuki smiled bitterly as he looked over at Saya and the other waitresses“It is unclear how they ended up like that as Cupid is supposed to be a God, but that is the general iel”“Yet Ange would look completely normal if she didn’t shoot out fire”“Angels are a shape that fore, so their view of thereatly influences how they look There are apparently sos”“Really…? Ha ha When I first els don’t actually have wings”Fortunately, they were blessed with so to talk about“…It’s been nearly half a year since I e”“Yes”Thatsince heaven, earth, and hell had started fighting over him…And since Ibekusa Machina had become more than a classmate he was interested in“It went by so fast It doesn’t feel nearly that long”“A lot of it had to have been spent in danger”“That’s true, but now that I think back on it…”“?”

Machina did not seem to understand“Time always moves at a fixed rate”“Well, yes” He smiled bitterly at that nearly emotionless response that was so , I never would have i a parfait with you like this, but it feels like almost no time has passed since then”He took a bite of creamy ice cream“…”When he changed his phrasing, Machinafor a moment“Oh, this is really cold”Then he changed the subject The ice crealeMachina had tea, but Mutsuki had juice And the toast was covered into warm his mouth“There are wafers over here”“Oh, I’ll take that”There was soood by Machina, so he reached out for it“Here”“Uuh…”But the girl took the stick-like object and held it out towards his mouthMutsuki briefly hesitated, but she was only being nice, so it would be weird to get too worked up over it“Th-thanks”

He let her feed it to himIt really did feel like no tiBack then, he could not even speak to his crush, but now she was feeding him sweets“Um”She returned to the parfait as if nothing had happened, but the boy was blushi+ng He reached for the salty toast“I-if only things could stay like this”He returned to the previous topic“Ange and Lucia-kun are gettinghappens…”The play and the band had nothing at all to do with their jobs as an angel and a de their everyday lives Watching thes to do latelyHe wished nothing ever had to changeFrom the bottom of his heart“…”“Ibekusa-san?”

But when he said that, soed with MachinaShe stopped eating the parfaitShe stared at him with a troubled look on her usually expressionless face“…You would prefer that nothing happens?”“Eh?”“Sorry But I e soon”She spoke quietlyMutsuki was confused She usually agreed with anything he said, but now thisHe could tell this was no trivial matter“S-so weird Are you worried about so?”He decided noas the tiShe must have been hesitant because she bit her lower lip“Um, is it about those people? Those Kurosaki people?”That group opposed FeTUS and they had attacked before, so he assu her However…“Negative That hastens things, but they are not directly involved”“Then…what?”“The problem is FeTUS’s…no, it is me”She spoke calmlyHer tone was plain, but she was clearly not her usual self She was usually businesslike and did not allow es she had to say But now she was hesitatingThis was not like her and she could not hide the emotion of hesitation“I e To you and to me”“Wh-what?”Puzzled by her unusual behavior, Mutsuki told her she could tell hi“…”

But that kindness made her hesitate even more“I doubt you will refuse once you have heard everything You will be unable to So you shouldOr at the very least, Miss A thinks so”Her voice was so quiet he had troubleabout“I agree with her” Her voice was quiet and she did not sound at all confident “But I am afraid to ask”“…?”“I have never felt this way before It is a necessary thing, but I am afraid to do it”“…”She said nothing moreMutsuki tilted his head and stared at her hanging headShe was facing down and her expression was as stiff as a Noh maskHer long eyelashes would occasionally waver, so she“…Ibekusa-san”Fortunately, the past half a year had taught the boy what to do at times like this“Sorry, but I don’t knohat you’re talking about”

He gently wrapped his hands around hers which had frozen with the spoon still in its grasp“But you can tellI’ll help you in any way I can”He was grateful for how close together the seats were He could easily hold her hand on the heart-shaped table“If so you trouble, I want to help you”“…Fujita-kun”She looked upShe was back to her usual lack of expression, so he could not tell what she was thinkingThat was enough Having her back to norh“Oh, but does this have to do with the recent kissing?”“A bit”“Then, u, but I’ll do what I can”He did not sound all that reliable anyot it out thereMachina thought on his boyish words and then noddedShe did not seem afraid anymore Her expressionless face really was backShe could once more face him more directly than anyone“The wind sure is strong”“Yeah, I can’t hear what people are ordering”Saya held her hair down against the strengthening wind and returned her tray to the kitchenA break in the work had just arrived She set down her bundle of sales slips and took a break with the other Cupid-cosplaying waitressesMore than just the foot traffic outside, there was apparently a helicopter flying nearby“Saya, the two you invited seem to have hit it off”“Hht”“They’re holding hands What’s with that? I thought you said they weren’t a couple”“I didn’t think they were…but maybe they are”She had forgotten all about Mutsuki and Machina in the special seatThey were holding hands and looking each other in the eyeThere was tooand she did not want to interrupt theain, it looked like they were only staring at each other without talking(Those two really do make a cute couple)The wind grew even stronger, so she narrowed her eyes as she thoughtShe had noticed during their suood atetherAfter all, Mutsuki had always been looking at her since the spring(It’s a little too late for Ange-chan to join in Although I personally would have preferred it if he hooked up with Lu-kun)She brushed her hair out of her face(Those two must already feel the same way about each other…)“Saya! Run away!”“Eh?”

Only then did she realize the as too strong It was so strong it was about to blow her awayAnd things were far too noisy It wasthe festivalThe sound of a helicopter’s rotors was abnormally loudAnd both the wind and the noise were co from directly overheadThe helicopter see this way at only 5 meters upAnd the Gatling gun below the cockpit had its three muzzles aimed her wayThe helicopter’s rotors, the wind, and the screaunfire