I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Once she reached his side, Tenkuji Yuu slowly began to speak:

"This is my first time going to a temple fair with a girl. If I do anything wrong, please forgive me."

"Ah, this is the right way." Because he used honorifics, Iroha reflexively replied respectfully, "This is also my first time going shopping alone with a boy. I've always gone with everyone before—wait! Senpai, is this your first time?! You're so popular!?"

The speed at which her tone shifted so drastically was probably only rivaled by the legendary racer of Mount Akina.

"Don't shout so loudly, are you trying to kill me?"

Tenkuji Yu looked over with a smile, a vein throbbing on his forehead, and he faced several curious yet teasing gazes, speaking in a very friendly tone.

"Oh no!" Iroha's face turned pale. Sensing that her life might be in danger, she hurriedly tried to cover it up, "I-I mean, is this your first time going out with a girl, senpai?"

It would have been better if he hadn't said it, because as soon as he did, someone nearby couldn't help but laugh.

"Pfft, it's their first date... How cute."

"He seems so outgoing and successful, but he's actually a pure and innocent virgin...?"

"Could it be that he's never even touched a girl's hand before...?"

Iroha Iroha naturally heard these comments, but she didn't dare to step forward and tell them to shut up. After looking around helplessly, she finally looked at Yuu Tenkuji with her apologetic and aggrieved eyes and said weakly:

"Um, I really didn't mean it, I was just really surprised... Hehe?"

"Hey, you're kidding me!"

You dare to tilt your head and act cute at a time like this? Do you think I'll forgive you just because you stick out your little tongue?

With a twitching smile on his face, Tenkuji Yu reached out and poked her forehead hard with his finger.

"What, were you so excited about our date that you forgot to bring your brain with you today?"

"N-No, that's not how it is!" Iroha cried out as she was poked, but feeling guilty, she dared not dodge and could only crouch down to cover her head in defense. "I still have a brain! It's all because of Senpai..."

"So, it's all my fault then?"

Tenkuji Yu raised an eyebrow and gave her a friendly look, indicating that she had better come up with a plausible reason, or else he would poke a third eye out of her forehead today.

Iroha didn't dare look at him either. She just covered her forehead and closed her eyes, muttering with a full sense of grievance, "Who told you to suddenly be so serious and ask me to take care of you? I have no experience in how to take care of someone... so I panicked..."

"This is just pre-disinfection, strictly speaking, it can also be classified as polite talk, why are you panicking..."

Yuu Tenkuji sighed and rubbed his forehead. Looking at her pitiful appearance, all his embarrassment and anger had long since vanished.

Most importantly, there are people around now, so it's not appropriate to continue teasing her.

He sighed, hastily wiped his smooth forehead, which he had poked red, and then casually tidied up his messy hair, making the cute look cute again and the dignified look dignified once more.

"Never mind, let's go."

"Huh? Is that okay?"

As if she had survived a disaster, she raised her bright and mischievous eyes and quickly regained her composure, as if her previous grievances were all an act.

Tenkuuji Yu said helplessly, "What else can I do? Spank you here?"

Iroha Isshiki quickly covered her bottom, her face flushed and her lips pursed, her moist and alluring eyes sparkling with desire: "Hentai, senpai, so you like this kind of thing? It's one thing in private, but it's impossible in public!"

Hey, so it's okay to do this in private?

Yuu Tenkuji silently complained, then looked up at the sky and sighed, "Don't worry, I don't want to hold it against you. If we don't go to the temple fair soon, I'll just leave you behind."

"Ugh, isn't that incredibly illogical? Senior, you have such low emotional intelligence, you're such a blockhead!"

Isshiki Hachiman immediately followed, her guilty expression vanishing, and she started chattering away again as before.

However, the girl's voice was so beautiful that even if she talked a lot, it wouldn't be annoying. Sometimes it was clear and crisp, sometimes it was coquettish, just like her ever-changing personality. Perhaps you'll never get tired of it.

"By the way, senior, shall I treat you to fried noodles as an apology?"

“No need. If you really want to apologize…” Tenkuji Yu glanced indifferently at the crowd and suddenly said to her, “Hold out your hand.”

"Huh? He's not going to slap me, is he..." She couldn't help but shrink her shoulders, watching his expression timidly, slowly extending her palm in unease and fear, ready to retract it at any moment.

Ignoring her overly fearful behavior, Tenkuji Yu simply took the girl's soft, cool hand in his, waved it in a certain direction, and raised his eyebrows as if deliberately provoking her.

Caught off guard by this turn of events, Isshiki was led towards the shrine by him, asking in a daze, "S-Senpai, what is this...?"

“There was this guy who laughed at me, saying I’d probably never even held a girl’s hand.” He said coldly, his voice low. “I’ll make that bastard know that I’ve not only held a girl’s hand, but the girl I held was hundreds of times prettier than his girlfriend!”

"Ah, hahaha... Senior really holds a grudge..."

Unable to believe it was for this reason, Iroha Isshiki couldn't help but twitch her lips and chuckle dryly as she muttered a sarcastic remark.

As for romantic phrases like "hundreds of times more beautiful," they're nothing compared to the current situation.

"Speaking of which, senior, your hand..."

Without turning his head, Tenkuji Yu asked, "Who suggested the date?"

"It seems to be me?"

"Is there a problem with holding hands on a date?"

"Uh, no, no..."

Tenkuji Yu turned his gaze, looking at her still dreamy and somewhat dazed appearance, and couldn't help but smile, saying happily:

"Let's hurry up and go, the festival has only just begun."

"what……"

Ichiro stared wide-eyed, his pupils like the surface of a lake, reflecting his smile.

Like the glow of sunset shining through the water, its bright yet gentle warmth penetrates deep into the water.

The streets were illuminated by lanterns, bustling with activity, and couples walked side by side.

Coming to my senses, I gripped the warmth in my hand tightly, as if I would never let go.

She squinted her crescent-shaped eyes, her cheeks seemingly reflecting the firelight, and smiled with a rosy blush.

"Yes, senior!"

Chapter 51 It seems I can no longer hide my identity as a member of the One Color Party.

The sky gradually darkened.

The lanterns, like fruits hanging on trees, illuminate the path leading from the riverbank to the shrine from above. The warm, orange-yellow light meanders upwards, like a fire dragon lying on the mountainside, its burning body climbing from the foot of the mountain to the summit.

Although it is a mountain, it is less than 100 meters high and the slope is not steep. As long as you do not take the stairs but follow the winding road upwards, you will not feel tired from climbing the mountain.

The stalls lining both sides of the road, like building blocks, make you feel like you're walking uphill without even realizing it, and before you know it, you've arrived at the shrine on the mountaintop.

Soon after nightfall, tourists came and went, filling the air that should have been peaceful and tranquil, like nocturnal insects.

Yuu Tenkuji dodged a group of kids waving balloon mallets and playing around, while pulling the little hand in her palm a little closer to herself so that Iroha Isshiki could avoid the young man in front of her who was busy chatting and hadn't noticed her.

"That's exactly why I held your hand," Yuu Tenkuji said calmly. "So, don't misunderstand."

"Senpai, the tsundere attribute is outdated. If you're not a blonde and don't want to be a loser, then..." As always, she responded with a calm and collected tone, before offering him a candied apple. "This apple isn't sweet at all. Senpai, have a taste."

Avoiding the tiny teeth marks that seemed to be deliberately facing him, Tenkuji Yu took a bite of the candied apple, crunching and chewing the sugar coating and fruit pulp. After licking his lips, which were still slightly sweet, he gave a fair assessment:

"It's alright? The sourness and the sweetness of the coating are well-balanced, and it hasn't been left out for too long to cause moisture loss."

But it's only at a level that's generally palatable.

This kind of snack doesn't require much skill, and there's not much room for improvement or change. As long as the ingredients aren't too different, they taste basically the same, so there's really no need to nitpick.

Anyway, it won't taste as good as what he makes.

"Really~" Twisting her soft, glistening lips, Isshiki Hajime looked at the apple candy that had been bitten twice with some lingering resentment, and suddenly started to nibble at the spot where he had just taken a bite.

Her mouth was small, unable to hold anything too big, yet she always paid attention to the elegance and cuteness of the beautiful girl eating.

So when eating candied apples, she would gently bite them with her pearly white teeth like a hamster, and then cover her mouth with her little hands to chew them carefully—it looks very troublesome, but according to her, girls are just such troublesome creatures.

Especially the beautiful junior girls who come to the fireworks festival on a date with their seniors, they are the most troublesome of all. No matter what, they must not make a fool of themselves!

After swallowing the candied apple with the elegance of a young lady, she pursed her lips, her delicate tongue quickly scooping up the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, then frowned, looking quite conflicted.

"Hmm... how should I put it..."

Tenkuji Yu was a little puzzled: "It's just a candied apple, is it really necessary to care so much?"

Without even looking up, Isshiki Yu said, "Huh? Apple candy tastes good no matter what."

"?"

Then what the hell did you ask?

Tenkuji Yu glanced at her sideways, his gaze lingering on her adorable profile, which was glistening in the lamplight, his mind already conjuring up the scene of kneading dough.

Unaware of the danger in his gaze, Isshiki sighed helplessly and twirled the bamboo stick of the candied apple: "I was just thinking that using candied apples to create the feeling of an indirect kiss is not romantic at all, and it doesn't make my heart race."

"Think of it this way," Yuu Tenkuji kindly said to her, "My saliva contains a powerful virus that can mutate people on the spot. Eating anything I've eaten will turn you into a Licker who kills with his tongue—how about that, is your heart racing?"

"...Will I step on you with my clogs?"

The vibrant young woman squinted, her icy gaze piercing his thick-skinned face.

The crisp tapping sound of wood on the floor became noticeably heavier at this moment, as if it contained a strong killing intent.

Yuu Tenkuji looked away and said innocently, "In the end, only Japan would consider such unhygienic behavior as a romantic thing, right? Even putting aside customs, it's common for boys and girls in sports clubs to take each other's water bottles and drink directly from them, and they never seem to feel shy about it."

"Can this even be compared... Forget it, there's no point in talking to a primitive like you who doesn't understand romance!"

His little mouth pouted as if in a huff, and Iroha handed him the apple candy, humming twice: "Help me finish it! I want to eat other things, I'm afraid my stomach will be too full."

"Your senior isn't your garbage can."

Tenkuji Yu rolled her eyes, but didn't seem to care much. She quickly finished the remaining apple candy and put the bamboo stick into the plastic bag.

Anyway, he was already used to dealing with his sister's uneaten food, and he disliked wasting food even more—the apple candy that the pretty girl had taken two small bites of was still within his acceptable range, but any more would really be unhygienic.

By the way, there are no trash cans along the road leading to the shrine, so you have to carry your own trash with you or take it down the mountain to dispose of it.

"What kind of ordinary senior would stroll through a temple fair hand-in-hand with a female junior?"

Isshiki spoke softly, as if complaining, but her ears, hidden in her flaxen hair, inexplicably flushed red, and the shyness she had finally gotten used to resurfaced.

To distract herself, she looked up and around, then suddenly pointed to a stall to the side, her eyes brightening as she looked at him, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

Yuu Tenkuji thought she was going to say something like, "Hey, are all those guys over there virgins?"—a classic line—but it was just something ordinary: