PHASE 68 - DID I FORGET SOME KIND OF PROMISE?

It's an hour before midnight. Once all the clock's hand turns twelve, the city will be celebrating Dradecim Festival, which includes the glorious fireworks display. There are also stalls in the riverside where we can buy lots of useless souvenirs and some street foods.

Dradecim City always adheres to the Japanese way of celebration because this city was occupied by a generous and kind Japanese General during World War 2.

Tadaaa~ The more you know.

This is the first time I'm seeing this festival. I was never interested in it, but when I saw the videos, It certainly sounded fun.

"Hey, hey… Rikkun…" There was a soft pinch on my sleeve.

I turned to my date and was dazzled by her alluring looks. She's wearing a sky-blue yukata that has white Sampaguita symbols in it. Now that I'm seeing this, she certainly looks slim, except for her bust and thighs.

I'm not a fan of yukata, and honestly, her shrine maiden robe suits her better.

"D-Do you have some cough drops?" Tiara shyly asked.

"Here." I lent out a tamarind candy from my sleeve. I'm wearing a traditional robe too, but mine is just pure blue with white borders in it.

Tiara immediately put the candy to her mouth. "T-Thanks for this, Rikkun. I-I'm quite hungry so…."

Just how many stomachs does this girl have? We already had an expensive steak for dinner, had some spicy chicken wings during the karaoke, and now, that cough drop!

Anyway, I just remembered that we still have a lot of money on our voucher. Maybe it's better to feed this doggy. "Let's see if there are good snacks on those stalls," I said.

"Mmmm!" Tiara brightly smiled.

<>

Tiara is not that hungry.

We ate fried squid on a stick, two plates of takoyaki, one yakisoba bread, roasted sweet potato chips, blueberry taiyakis, and banana crepes. I know that her twin Diadem's Guardian Ability is but I think Tiara has that black hole too… Inside her stomach.

It's too hard for me to eat all these meals, but when the time was already quarter to twelve, Tiara made her clean-up duty to finish all the leftovers. She just swallowed everything whole. Then she took me to the uphill side of the river so that we will have a better view of the fireworks display.

"H-Hey, Rikkun. I know I'm selfish, but… I have another request…" Tiara hid her expression by bowing.

"What is it?"

"About the Mall Tour. We will be visiting a mall in Linder City… And from that place, there is a one-hour ride to… Brightmore Town… I would like to visit the place where I was born… But I don't have the courage, so… I-I think it would be good if I'm with you… B-But you don't have to come if you d-don't want to."

"I'll go with you," I said in a composed manner.

"E-Eh!?" Tiara was astounded. "A-Are you sure!? B-By the time we go to the Brightmore Town, it's already the third Friday, which means your will come! I might become a Cursed Guardian, y'know!"

"I don't care about the ." I pushed my face towards her and stared on her watery golden-brown eyes. "I will never let you become the witch. I know that a precious person like you will never be an enemy. I will trust you with all my heart and soul. "

"R-R-Rikkun…" Tiara's tears went racing on her cheeks. She began to weep, but she covered her eyes with her sleeves. "T-Thank you… For trusting me… Even though the world doubts me… Even though I don't trust myself… You're always there…"

Then she sniffed several times like a bullied kindergarten kid. I felt pity for her, so I gave her the warmth of a hug. There, I caressed her head as she wipes her tears on my chest.

"There, there… Stop crying, my cute Tiara-chan~" I said.

I wish I made the right decision. I just don't want her to be unhappy for the rest of her life. I only want to save her from her cursed fate. If I can prevent her from becoming a witch, nobody will ever suffer.

<>

After a while, Tiara finally calmed herself down. I released her from my grasps, and then examined my face. "I-I'm sorry about that, Rikkun." She said as she rubs her eyes again.

"I-It's okay," I said with a blushing face. I'm even scratching the back of my head due to embarrassment. "Y-You can have my free hug anytime you feel lonely."

I'll be real and frank about my intentions. I love her soft body, especially that bouncy chest. I'm a straight man, and I do have a desire to be cuddled by an adorable and sexy lady like her.

Suddenly, I realized that her blazing eyes are locked on me. It seems that she mustered all the courage she got and about to drop a bomb or a revelation or something. Her face was bright red, which makes her a lot cuter!

"R-Rikkun!" She shouted. "Do you remember the phrase 'toujours et a jamais'?"

BANG! All of the people were surprised when the first rocket went up in the sky and exploded with colorful sparks! Then it was succeeded by another barrage of missiles! It's the start of the fireworks display!

"What was that? Two doors and a jam cheese? Are you hungry again?"

"W-What!?"

The explosions of firecrackers are deafening. I couldn't hear Tiara's words even if she shouted with his full lung capacity. I asked her "What!?" several times, but I doubt she can hear me too.

I don't know why, but her face is fully red and her eyes are watery once again. It's like she's both ashamed and frustrated. Did I do anything wrong? What a crybaby.

So to finish this scary atmosphere, I held her hand and proceeded to watch the fireworks. It calmed her down immediately, and we both enjoyed the colorful flying sparks in the sky.

<>

The fireworks display lasted for thirty minutes. It was beautiful, and if there is something worth complaining, it's the smell of gunpowder in the air. They must have spent a lot of money just for those noisy rockets.

When the night became quiet, Tiara was finally able to talk to me. She looked at me in the eyes with a satisfied smile.

"It's like the fireworks display when we first met…"

"H-Huh?" I have this question mark on my face.

"N-Nothing! I-I'm just t-talking to myself! Ahahaha!" She softly knocked her head with an oblivious smile.

Wait, I'll process this. There's no way we could have met other than her first day at Dradecim National High School. She's a shut-in shrine maiden, and even her stepmother locked her up inside a house so there's no way we have seen a fireworks display other than this. I've been to Heightsburg City a lot when I was a kid, but I don't remember ever visiting their shrine.

Yep, Tiara's statement was pure idiocy.

But there's a lot of topics I wanted to discuss with her…

"What's that word again?"

It must be my imagination, but Tiara blushed for a second there. Then she continued to lead me to an infinite loop of worthless answers.

"W-W-What is it, I wonder? Ahahaha…. I-I f-f-forgot…" She started to waltz away from me.

"H-Hey!" I chased her, but she dashed back to gain distance.

She sticks out her tongue and continued to tease me. "Bleeeeeh! I won't tell you again! You should have listened carefully, Rikkun!"

Then she hopped jollily as she hums a song. Man, Tiara sure is unpredictable. Most of the time she acts shy like Onodera, but turns into boisterous Chitoge when pissed. Now that she's on her playful and teasing mood, I've run out of anime girls to compare her.

I lazily tailed her but then, I realized that I passed through a familiar man. That black jacket and red scarf…

"The witch's trial has begun. Good luck, Alaric Eisenhower." The Outsider whispered.

When I looked back, he was no longer there. He disappeared like a bubble.