The climax of the summer festival.
A sea of people filled the riverbank.
BOOM!
The sound thundered overhead as a massive firework blossomed across the night sky.
"Wow... It's beautiful..."
"Fireworks really make it feel like summer, don't they?"
"This is totally Instagram-worthy! ♡"
The heroines, all dressed in yukata, felt their hearts racing.
Of course— their eyes weren't really on the fireworks.
They were on Takuma Kunimi.
Mikiko:
(...Now's my chance. I just have to say, "The fireworks are beautiful," and then we can look up at them together...)
Urara:
(Maybe I'll hold his hand when the next firework goes off. ♡)
Shiori:
(If I can get him to say I look good in this yukata, that's basically a total victory...!)
However—
Takuma himself was busy with something else entirely.
"Mmph... So good. Festival yakisoba really is on another level."
A frankfurter in the other.
His eyes weren't on the night sky.
They were fixed firmly on the sauce-covered noodles.
"Hey, Kunimi! That last firework was shaped like a heart!"
"You didn't even SEE IT?!"
"Seriously?! You've got a whole group of girls standing here in yukata, and you're ignoring ALL OF US?!"
The girls all shouted at him at once.
Takuma blinked.
"Huh? ...I heard the explosion, but aren't fireworks basically all the same?"
"THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!!!"
The Tachibana sisters watched the disaster unfold from behind them.
"...Honestly, a guy this completely devoted to food over romance is almost refreshing."
"No kidding. Ignoring an entire group of girls in yukata just to concentrate on yakisoba..."
Momiji shook her head.
"...That's legendary."
"The King of Obliviousness among Kings of Obliviousness. There's no stopping him anymore."
"But you know what's really amazing?"
"What?"
"...Good point."
Then came the grand finale.
A massive firework shot into the sky.
"Takuma! Look!"
"Come on, watch this one with us!"
"Now! This is the one!"
The heroines desperately tried to get his attention.
But Takuma— his cheeks stuffed full of yakisoba— looked perfectly content.
"...Man, festival food really is the best."
BOOM!
The night sky erupted in brilliant light.
And Takuma Kunimi had somehow reduced the entire spectacle to— background scenery for his dinner.
Mr. Oblivious himself.
The man capable of turning even a fireworks festival into nothing more than a meal scene.