Unlimited Fafnir Vol 11 Chapter 4.2
Part 2
"Th-This is... goldfish scooping...!"
Next to the water tank with little fish swimming about, holding a goldfish scooping tool in her hand—the paper net—she was shaking in excitement.
"Well, more precisely, its tropical fish scooping."
Standing behind her, I calmly corrected Iris.
The small fish swimming in the tank were not goldfish but tropical fish such as guppies.
Bringing live animals into Midgard from outside was very difficult, so these were probably acquired locally.
"Thats fine too! Ive always wanted to try it."
With heightened spirits, Iris held her paper net.
Iris had suggested for our cla.s.s to set up a goldfish scooping stall for the school festival last time. Although her idea had not been used at the time, it looked like it had taken root deeply in her heart.
Walking around together this whole time, Tia, Firill and Jeanne also expressed their interest.
"Looks very fun! Tia will do it too!"
"...How amusing. I will have a go, as a sort of life experience."
"Its not a chance that comes up every day, Ill give it a try. But... What do we do after scooping them up? Eat them?"
Hearing Jeannes question, Iris looked back and smiled.
"Jeez, Jeanne-chan, youve gotten it all wrong. You take these fish back home to keep as pets. I cant believe youre such a glutton, Jeanne-chan."
"Well, Iris, you made the same mistake before too."
Iris explained proudly, but her face suddenly turned red when I reminded her.
"J-Jeez, Monon.o.be! Dont reveal that—"
Listening to our conversation, the female staff pointed to the back of the stall.
"For the convenience of customers who succeeded in catching fish, we have prepared fish tanks that can be purchased using coupons. In addition, you may also choose to exchange your fish for other prizes based on quant.i.ty."
As expected of a festival operated by Charl, the after-sales was very well-prepared. Those who found keeping fish a ha.s.sle would be pleased too.
"Hmm, should I exchange for prizes..."
Seeing Iris hesitating, I sighed.
"Iris, why dont you worry about it after youve caught the fish? Itll probably turn out to be harder than you think, you know?"
"G-Got it. Ill give it a try!"
Iris answered happily and aimed for the tropical fish.
Tia, Firill and Jeanne also arrived at the fish tank, holding paper nets.
"Tia will haul in a large catch!"
All fired up, Tia targeted a swimming guppy with full force.
Although it was a good choice of target, her paper net broke before it touched the guppy when she smashed it into the water.
"Eh—Why did this happen?"
Looking at the broken paper net, Tia c.o.c.ked her head unhappily.
Seeing Tias failure, Firill murmured seriously.
"Its just like in books... The paper net breaks easily. Those scenes where the male protagonist tried to show his cool side to a girl—I remember its important to avoid the waters resistance as much as possible..."
Making use of her knowledge gleamed from stories, Firill slid her paper net sideways into the water and scooped up a guppy.
"Wow, I did it. Perhaps... I might have talent in this area."
Firill cheered. Watching her, Iris and Jeanne started to imitate.
"Yes! I got one too!"
"—Its not that hard once you get the trick."
The two of them caught guppies splendidly and made their second attempt in the same manner.
"If only Tia can be as good as Firill..."
Already out of the game, Tia slumped her shoulders in disappointment.
However, Firill, Iris and Jeanne all had tiny holes appearing in their paper nets when scooping their third fish.
"Oh... It broke."
"Well, its made of paper after all."
Iris and Firill failed respectively on their fourth and fifth fish.
Jeanne kept going, using the edge of her paper net to catch her ninth fish, but finally lost at the milestone of the tenth fish.
"Captain, this is a pleasure of hunting that can only be realized in a nonflowing fish tank."
Displaying her accomplishment to me, Jeanne said contentedly.
Despite having been told that the fish were not meant to be eaten, Jeanne seemed to have caught her fish with a hunting mindset.
"Would you like to take your fish home? Or exchange them for prizes?"
When the female staff asked us, the girls thought for a while before giving their respective answers.
"Hmm... Its a rare chance, lets buy a fish tank together."
When Iris said that, Firill clapped her hands together.
"Then lets buy a bigger fish tank to keep them together. Putting it in Mitsukis dorm might be a bit tacky... But it might be nice as decoration for the dining hall. What do you think, Jeanne?"
"Yes, Zwei would like it too."
Jeanne agreed with delight. Imagining Shions smile, her expression turned gentle.
After buying a fish tank using coupons, the three girls decided to make a trip back to the dorm.
"Monon.o.be, Tia-chan, well be right back. Just wait for a moment!"
Pushing a cart loaded with the fish tank, the three girls left in the dorms direction.
"Hmm..."
Left out because she had failed to catch any fish, Tia was pouting with a bit of a sulk.
"How about we go check out other stalls first?"
Patting Tias head with her little red horns, I suggested. Tia nodded lightly.
Normally, she would instantly show joy when I patted her head, but she was currently quite demoralized.
At that moment, I remembered the j.a.panese brooch I had won at the ring toss stall, so I took it out of my front pocket.
"Here, Tia, I have a present for you..."
"A present?"
While she was tilting her head in puzzlement, I brought my closed hand in front of Tias face and opened it.
"I saw this at the ring toss stall. I thought itd look good on you so I won it."
"Wow! Its so pretty!"
Seeing the red maple brooch, Tia smiled with happy radiance. I was relieved to see her reaction.
"How about putting it on if you like it?"
"Of course! So happy!"
Finally smiling, Tia reached out with her hand but stopped halfway.
"...Whats wrong?"
I made a questioning gaze and Tia looked up at me awkwardly.
"Umm, can Yuu put it on for Tia?"
"Sure, no problem—"
Nodding, I bent down. At that moment, I realized why Tia was feeling shy.
She was wearing a yukata with thin fabric. The size was just right and the weather was relatively hot, so the yukata was clinging tightly to her body. If I had to pin the brooch on to the chest of the yukata for her, my fingertips would unavoidably touch her.
"Umm... Where do you want to wear it?"
"How about here?"
Just in case, I confirmed, but sure enough, Tia pointed to her right chest.
Frozen in my posture, kneeling in front of Tia, I noticed the surrounding gazes all gathering upon me.
From the perspective of others, me bending over reaching out for Tias chest must look rather bizarre. As a guy, I was already very conspicuous and this might cause unexpected misunderstandings.
"L-Lets do this somewhere else."
I stood up and holding Tias hand, I started to look for a place less conspicuous.
"Yuu is holding tias hand... Yuu so aggressive today, Tia so happy!"
Holding my hand, Tia smiled and spoke in a bouncy voice.
There were female students all over the place along the coastal road, so I took Tia through the stalls to enter the dense jungle.
With leaves blocking the sun, it was relatively dim and quiet. No one would discover us if it was here.
"Okay, Im going to put it on."
I let go of Tias hand and stooped down in front of her.
"Y-Yes... Please go ahead."
Blushing, Tia nodded, staring intently at my hand that was holding the brooch.
I nervously reached for the right of Tias chest, feeling like I was committing a crime.
Hesitation was not going to change this weird atmosphere, so I mustered my determination and touched Tias yukata.
"Mm—"
While the soft sensation of the mild bulge from her chest was transmitting to me through the thin fabric—Tia moaned lightly.
In order to secure the broochs pin, it was necessary to lift the yukatas fabric, but I had trouble pinching the thin fabric up.
"Y-Yuu... It tickles..."
When my fingertip rubbed against her chest, Tia trembled and moaned pa.s.sionately. Her reaction was making my heart beat faster and faster.
At this rate, it was almost like I was teasing Tia. Although I was hesitating whether to use more strength since I was touching her chest, letting this drag on would be a bad idea.
"Sorry, Ill get it done straight away."
Ignoring the fact that I was touching her chest, I pinched the fabric hard with my fingertips and lifted the yukata forcefully.
"Ah—Hyah!"
Tia cried out sharply and her delicate body jumped.
It looked like I had touched her somewhere sensitive, but at least I managed to pinch the fabric so I immediately secured the brooch.
"D-Done."
Having finished Tias request, I wiped sweat from my brow.
"Yuu... Thank you."
Blushing, Tia touched the brooch and thanked me.
"Youre welcome."
"Yuus present... Tia will treasure it. Tia has been treasuring the flower brooch from last time too."
While she was holding the maple brooch tightly, Tias eyes turned watery.
"Really...? Im happy to hear that."
I felt happy but also a little embarra.s.sed.
"Umm, Yuu—Does it look good on Tia?"
Tia let go of the brooch and asked for my opinion.
"Yes, very good."
Just as I had expected, the red maple brooch was a good match for Tias hair and the floral patterns on her yukata.
"Really? Come closer for a look. Is it straight?"
"I really think its fine—"
Tia gestured for me to come closer so I bent down to inspect the brooch on her chest.
But in that instant, Tia took a step forward and leaned against my face.
While the soft and slightly moist sensation surprised me, Tia stepped back slightly and smiled shyly.
"Unless Tia did this... Tia could not express thanks completely."
Saying that, Tia hugged my arm tightly.
"But Tia is not done expressing, so this will continue! Lets go, Yuu!"
Pulling me by the arm in this manner, Tia walked towards the road packed with stalls.
"Its hard to walk if you cling so tightly."
"Dont worry. If its hard to walk, we can walk slowly."
Fl.u.s.tered, I pointed out it was hard to walk like this, but Tia had no intention of changing posture.
"—Got it. Ill go along with this."
Since it was Tias wish. I nodded with a wry smile.
Back to the festival, walking together this intimately, we instantly gathered stares. However, it was pointless to be bothered by them, so we walked around the stalls together like this.
It looked like Tia had completely forgotten about failing to catch a single fish. She was very excited right now.
"Yuu, are you happy?"
Holding a water balloon from a vendor, Tia asked.
"Yeah, Im happy."
After I replied instantly, Tia looked at the sky where the sun was sinking gradually.
"Tia is happy too, but—Tia worries whether being this happy is allowed."
"...Why?"
Tia mumbled when I asked.
Seeing the slight anxiety on her face, I instantly knew what she was thinking about.
"Dont tell me youre worried about the ninth calamity? Vritra said there was no urgency yet, you know?"
"Yes—She said the same to Tia, so Tia did not think about scary possibilities at all. But... is that really okay?"
Seeing the unease surface in Tias eyes, I nodded firmly.
"Yes, at least for today, you wont need to be punished for enjoying yourself."
I a.s.serted strongly and reached out to pat Tias head.
Naively pushing things on the back burner would definitely be bad, but there should not be any problem with waiting until the festival ended.
"...Thank goodness. Tia thinks so too."
Tia smiled with relief.
It was probably due to her extreme joy at the moment that made her so concerned about summoning the seeds of calamity.
Even if told there was no urgency, it was true that a crisis was approaching. Perhaps there would be no choice but to confront it soon.
At Vritras request, I had not spoken to the others about this... However, I decided that the minimum necessary information should be shared with them, after all.
While deciding in my thoughts to have a good discussion with Vritra about this after the festival, I continued to visit the stalls along the road with Tia.