It Turns Out That I Have a Fiancee, but She Is the Famous “Villainess” of the School. What Should I

“Ne~, Higashi kujo-kun.”

“What’s up?”

It’s a Sunday afternoon, I’m lying in bed watching TV. I’ve had pasta for lunch, which has filled me up nicely, and while I was  relaxing a voice called out to me. It was Kiryu’s.

“Aren’t you looking forward to this?”

“This?”

I looked at the “this” that Kiryu held out to me. There, in colourful script, was a flyer titled “The 8th Niitsu Hometown Festival.””

“Hometown Festival..”

“This event is going to be held today. It’s in the park where we played basketball the other day. Why don’t we go there?　It’s close by.”

“Ah right. Close enough.”

It’s not that far from here. It’s not, but…

“Uhh… Will it be okay? Going out when you’re sick.”

“How overprotective are you? It was just a cold and I’m all better now. Since it’s close by, let’s just have a quick look around. Ne~, let’s go!”

Saying that, Kiryu tugs at the sleeve of my shirt. 

You’re stretching it.

“I’m okay with it… but why? Didn’t you say you read books on your days off?”

Since when did you become such an active kid? Well, I don’t know how she was before, so I can’t really say much.

“Well, yes, but don’t you think a festival date is the standard?’

What do you mean standa-? Ah..

“In terms of romance novels?”

“Or shoujo manga.”

“Well, it’s a common development.”

“Right? I always longed to go to one. Besides, I’ve never been to a festival.”

“Really?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I misspoke. I’ve never been to a festival, With friends.”

“…”

“I went to festivals with my parents, but I was very young. When you get to upper elementary school or junior high school, you go to festivals with your friends, right? That’s why it’s been so very long.”

“Isn’t going alone an option?”

“Not really. I might encounter my classmates. They will then make fun of me, for sure.”

Well, she has a point.  Especially Kiryu, who stands out quite a bit and with how her personality is, she probably would not be able to stand it if they were to say something like, “Kiryu-san, you came here alone, didn’t you?” 

“Have you ever been to the hometown festival here when you lived at your parents’ house?”

“Nope.”

Hometown festivals have the image of local festivals. I don’t think I would go out of my way to go to something like that.

“Well, if we do see someone, why don’t we just say, ‘We just happened to meet there, so we’re going around together?’ Ne~, Higashi Kujo-kun!　Let’s go!”

“Ha…. I understand, but let’s not stay too late, okay?”

“Yay!”

I smiled at Kiryu, who was  jumping up and down with joy, and left the living room to get my wallet from my room.

◆◇◆

“Higashi Kujo-kun!　Where shall we start looking around first??”

The hometown festival held in the park where we arrived was quite a hit. 

I smiled at Kiryu, who was looking pretty excited

“Calm down a little. How excited are you, oi?”

“I’m so excited! You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve been to a festival!”

“I know, I know. Just don’t be too excited and fall down, okay?”

“I’m not a child, I won’t stumble! Well then! Where shall we go first?”

“Hmm.”

I look around. Just within sight, there are food stalls offering takoyaki, yakisoba, candy apples, and crepes, as well as amusement stalls such as target shooting, goldfish scooping, and yo-yo fishing. Well, the standard festival stalls are lined up, but…

“For now, let’s just not go to food stalls.”

“Eh? Ehhh?! W-Why?! Food stalls are a must!”

“You just had lunch a few minutes ago, and you’re not hungry yet, are you? If you eat at this hour, Kiryu, you’ll probably say, ‘I don’t want dinner’ when we come home.”

It’s bad for your health if you don’t eat three meals properly.

“I-It’s okay!　Yakisoba at a festival is something else!”

“What’s with the “sweet is another stomach” theory? I’ve never heard of it. Anyway, no.”(E/N: Kek, idk why he mentioned that when it’s not even a dessert, but I guess it’s because it has a sweet taste to it?)

“Uhhh..then… yeah! Goldfish scooping! Goldfish scooping is great!”

“Of course not.”

“Right! Then…. wait! No?! Why?!”

You know what?

“Have you ever raised a living thing? You can’t just scoop up a goldfish and just release it, can you? Can you take care of it properly?”

I know some places are catch and release, but… I’m not sure what the fun is in that. If there is no deliverable, I guess.

“Ughh… I haven’t. But can’t you raise them, Higashi-Kujo-kun? I’ll help you, let’s raise them together! It’s a fruit of love!”

“What’s with the fruit of love? It’s too much trouble, I don’t wanna.”

“Too much trouble?! The poor goldfish!”

“That’s right. That’s why I don’t want to keep it… Being raised as a pain is more pitiful than anything else, you know? For the goldfish.”

“That may be true… then what do we do?!”

“Right…”

Once again, I look around the stalls. Hmmm…

“I’m thinking… yo-yo fishing. It’s a water balloon, so I’m worried about it breaking… If you exclude food/creature-related items, this is the only way to go by process of elimination. Logically.”

(T/N: It’s a game where you have some water balloons in a pool of water attached to a string with a small loop. You try to fish it out using a string made of twisted paper called “koyori”.)

“Ne~, Higashi kujo-kun. Are you aspiring to be a science major?”

“I’m a humanities major.”

I don’t like books, but my math is at the level where I have to take remedial classes, so I want to be a humanities student.

“You sound like a science major though. Well, I hate science too

“Apologise to all the people of the sciences in the whole world!”

A bombshell out of the blue! She’s a frightening girl!

“Come on… we’ve come to a festival, why don’t we go around in a more… pleasant and harmonious way? Just the two of us…”

“Did you say something?”

“It’s nothing! Yoyo-fishing is fine! Come on! Let’s go quickly!”

Kiryu sighs as she heads toward the yo-yo fishing stall, shoulders hunched. I follow after her. 

The man at the yo-yo stall was a friendly old man, smiling and greeting us with a “Welcome!”

“Two hundred yen a round!”

“Then… Kiryu, you want to give it a go?”

I took out two 100 yen coins from my wallet and handed them to the old man. Kiryu, seemingly taken aback by my gesture, fishes around in the bag in her hand.

“I-I’ll pay for it myself!”

“This much is nothing. Go ahead.”

“T-Thanks.”

Kiryu smiles like a blooming flower upon receiving the koyori from me. The old man at the stall says, ‘Ahh youth~’ with a smirk on his face. Can you please stop that smile? Even though I agree that she’s cute. 

“T-Then, I will do my best!”

Then after making a triumphant pose, she looked into the tank where the yo-yos were floating. Her face was so serious, yet she had a smile that oozed joy. I felt glad that I had brought Kiryu along with me…

Until… thirty minutes later.

“Can I have another one? A “Koyori.” “

Although Kiryu was smiling, she seemed to have a wave of anger on her face. I broke out in a cold sweat. 

“Ahh! A-Again! Mo~….. Why can’t I get it! Another “Koyori” !”

Kiryu-san, showing poor manners, throws the koyori down on the ground. I mean why…

“Hey, Kiryu.”

“What!”

“Have you… ever tried yo-yo fishing?”

“It’s my first time! You know! I’ve hardly ever been to a festival!”

Ah, I knew it.

“You know what, Kiryu? See, “koyori” is made of paper, right? So if you soak it in… water, it will tear, okay?”

“How old do you think I am? You think I’m an idiot?!　I know that!”

If you know what you’re doing, don’t throw your koyori into the water so vigorously. Besides, if you put it in the water and wonder “Which one to choose”…..

“Ahh, mo~. Again!”

…… it would normally tear it right up. Why is she so smart, but so clumsy? Ah, is that it?　First she was too excited, now she’s too angry to be calm?

“Mo~! Why can’t I get it! I can’t get to it because this thing will tear right off! Is this a fraud!”

“Don’t say anything else because you’ll be sabotaging their business!”

In the first place, if it did not tear right away, there would be no business. You’re being absurd, Kiryu-san.

“Right!… I’m going to go and see if I can get a ten-pack of koyori!”

“Whoa!　Stop!　Don’t take a ten thousand note from your purse!　What are you thinking?”

“What! If you put ten of them together, they won’t tear easily even if you dip them in water!”

“Don’t let your wealth get in the way! That’s what makes you a villainess!”

I feel like I’ve seen this type of character somewhere before! I mean look! Look at that store owner, he’s laughing so hard! Oh, I’m sorry! I’ll take this idiot home right away!

“Hey, Higashi Kujo-kun! I haven’t even gotten one yet!”

“It’s fine. Let’s go!”

I leave the yo-yo fishing stall, dragging a reluctant Kiryu behind me.

“…”

I let out a small sigh, thinking the exact opposite of what I had been thinking thirty minutes earlier, that I should never have come.