Uneasy daily life

"Are you really satisfied with simply going through the motions of previous years, relying on your father's and family's authority, appointing the same people who organized the fireworks festival last year, and repeating the same things over and over again? Do you think you've achieved your purpose?"

With her hands behind her back, Bai Ying asked with a pained expression, "Brave warrior, what exactly is this fireworks display to you? A mission objective? A practice session? A test? An opportunity? A mechanical task of following the guide and doing the bare minimum?"

"Haku-kun." Yukino Yukinoshita, at least, had some resistance to psychological attacks. She didn't panic, but instead became serious and said, "What's your opinion? Just say it."

"This is a fireworks display, a festival, an opportunity for everyone to have fun," Bai Ying said earnestly. "You hold great power, have you forgotten that this is a festival and a celebration? Or is your impression of a fireworks display simply watching some colorful things explode in the sky, surrounded by a lot of people and a lively atmosphere, without any other feelings?"

Yukinoshita's father's gaze shifted subtly for a moment before he averted his glare at the traitor.

Yukino Yukinoshita pondered, savoring the words: "A...festival?"

"Festivals, celebrations and activities. I still vaguely remember the joy of festivals when I was a child, but later I gradually lost that joy. I thought about why—because during festivals, I could eat delicious food, play with friends I didn't see often, throw firecrackers to fry fish, my parents and elders would become more tolerant and kind, and I could receive pocket money to exchange for snacks and toys, so I felt happy."

The white figure began to speak softly, taking steps forward.

"Later things changed. If you weren't happy during holidays, it became a sin. If you couldn't feel joy, you'd be laughed at and criticized. The lively and amiable atmosphere made everyday life seem even colder, to the point that it made you feel depressed and unable to express it. Or is it because we know too much that we've lost the pure joy? Or is it that we can't escape the conventional anguish, yet we still have to fulfill the conventional happiness?"

"A festival shouldn't be a time when everyone has to laugh. It should be a time when people naturally laugh. It shouldn't be a time when people are finally happy or have to be happy, but a time when people are happy and can create memories. I think that's the standard for judging whether a fireworks display is better."

Bai Ying laughed brightly: "Why would I do that?"

He gave an answer.

"Of course, it's to make the fireworks display even more spectacular! More fireworks, more dazzling colors, and more deafening explosions! To illuminate life in splendor and color! How can such an important event be conducted in a conventional manner, like year after year, where the fireworks display means we have to be happy, instead of being made happy by the excitement of the fireworks display?"

"What do you think, hero?"

The white figure revealed bright eyes.

Yukino Yukinoshita paused for a moment, her thoughts involuntarily wandering... Of course, even she herself had little awareness of her own thoughts, which could not escape Haku-kun's eyes. Haku-kun wanted to help me make the fireworks festival even better? Did I want to make the fireworks festival better?

My memories of fireworks displays are always filled with my mother. I wouldn't say I was happy; at most, I knew it was a special event where the sky would explode with many dazzling colors...

Were the people attending the fireworks display happy? Why were they happy?

do not know.

It seems difficult for me to be happy.

Those special days were nothing special; they were just uneventful events, nothing more than the words "fireworks festival" written in black and white.

A successful fireworks display should be one that makes people happy and laugh, shouldn't it?

If I simply follow the steps and try to complete this task, making sure there are no mistakes, will I be able to put on a successful fireworks display?

No way, at most I'll just pass, meet the task targets, and feel like I've done the same thing as my sister. Maybe that would make me happy... That kind of thinking has nothing to do with the fireworks festival itself.

Is that enough?

"Simply setting off more fireworks is probably far from enough."

Yukino Yukinoshita's voice softened slightly: "There's still a lot to do."

A tacit agreement? The little goddess actually tacitly agreed to the rebels' deception and was fooled by them? She was happily fooled?!

Yukinoshita's father's face twitched, and he cast a murderous glare at the white figure, but he couldn't speak, no matter what.

We, along with the great goddess, do indeed owe the little goddess a happy fireworks display, and perhaps even the middle goddess a joyful one.

The young goddess is under a lot of pressure, she knows that herself. It would be strange if she didn't feel pressure, as it's the first time she's seriously taken over her own work.

Aside from standing in my office, expressing my support, providing background information, and suppressing the rebels, I really don't know how to comfort or guide them. I can only hope that everything goes smoothly and that nothing goes wrong...

but!

Why was it you, a traitor with ulterior motives, who turned the little goddess's pressure into positive motivation?!

Jealousy burned fiercely, and demonic thoughts surged, raging like wildfire!

The middle-aged man, who seemed to be burning with pitch-black flames, staggered and followed the two away.

"..."

Houtarou Oreki pondered for a moment and said, "Hachigaya, do you know something?"

"The minister wasn't lying..."

Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes twitched slightly as he stared intently at a collection of fireworks stored in a spot in the warehouse. The fireworks were wrapped in paper and looked no different from other fireworks, and indeed they were no different in appearance, except that they could be launched at people.

Like ginger in a dish, it disguises itself as the color of meat.

"So what did Bai Ying do?"

"Oreki Houtarou asked curiously."

Fireworks for people... The box of fireworks the minister gave me is already at home. If I can trick Oreki into going to the designated activity area... I can kill two birds with one stone, brilliant!

Hachiman Hikigaya replied meaningfully, "Oreki, how do you express your curiosity? Try asking like Chitanda, 'I'm curious.'"

He leaned closer, widened his eyes, and shouted at Hachiman Hikigaya with great emotion.

Houtarou Oreki briefly imagined it, then suppressed the idea.

"Forget it then, I'm not that curious." Oreki Houtarou closed the warehouse, sat back in his designated slacking spot, and asked listlessly, "So? How are you going to deal with Yuihama's confession?"

"Actually, thinking about it carefully, it's possible that the minister is lying to me..."

"Even if the white shadow is lying to you, the fact that you're still troubled by it shows that you can indeed get into trouble over similar things," Oreki Houtarou said succinctly. "If Yuihama were to confess her feelings to you, how would you react?"

Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes twitched, and he said earnestly, "Is it possible that the issue we're discussing seems very presumptuous?"

Houtarou Oreki gave him a strange look: "Aren't you just a very self-righteous person?"

"?"

"The common definition of arrogance is believing that one possesses greater power, but in reality, one's influence and abilities are detached from reality," Houtarou Oreki commented casually. "Your arrogance is believing that one possesses weaker power, but in reality, one's influence and abilities are still detached from reality."

"I'm just overly self-conscious," Hachiman Hikigaya said, slightly annoyed. "So you think Yuihama will confess?"

"All I know is that she might like you, but you don't like her and think that her liking is not what you want."

Houtarou Oreki said, "Anyone who likes you must have something wrong with their thinking, and someone with something wrong with their thinking definitely doesn't really like you—is that what you mean?"

"Hey, hey, I didn't think that way!" Hachiman Hikigaya retorted. "Didn't you ever suspect anything? Suspect your relationship with Chitanda?"

"Doubts about the relationship? What if I wasn't the one caught by Chitanda? What if I wasn't the one who solved Chitanda's problem? What if there's someone more capable than me that Chitanda can rely on?"

"Correct!"

"Isn't that a white shadow?"

Hachiman Hikigaya leans back.

"Relationships are relationships, and opinions are opinions."

Houtarou Oreki asked, "Is there any absolute connection between one's opinion of another person and the relationship between them? Would you praise someone because you have a good relationship with them, and vilify someone because you have a bad relationship with them? What kind of attitude and opinion do you express based on the relationship?"

“I hate those fake relationships, where you have to lie, cover up, coerce, or compromise to maintain them.” Hachiman Hikigaya hesitated, then sighed and said, “Maybe I just like to take things too seriously.”

The type who jumps out to argue with anyone who is friends with someone else—of course, as someone who understands the atmosphere, I'll just grumble to myself rather than say it out loud, waiting to see the fun of them turning against each other and having a falling out.

...Huh? Have I become the butt of this joke?

"Defeatism?"

Pessimism is the source of clarity.

"So it seems you're an energy-saving person too," Houtarou Oreki asked. "Very energy-efficient in interpersonal relationships, probably related to your string of unfortunate social experiences? But thinking about it carefully, you're actually very energy-consuming in interpersonal relationships. You get caught up in what counts as a friend, what it means to like someone, you always have to find fault with your relationships, and even when you have a plan, you're still analyzing yourself, constantly proposing arguments and then constantly contradicting yourself..."

"Tsk, I just have no interest in associating with those teenage idiots." Hachiman Hikigaya clicked his tongue, then suddenly became alert. "Are you trying to trick me?"

Houtarou Oreki: "I'm just trying to analyze it for you, aren't I?"

Who are you analyzing? Are you analyzing me?

Hachiman Hikigaya scoffed, "In that case, what suggestions have you come up with?"

"Accept Yuihama's confession."

"why?"

“Because you definitely won’t do that,” Oreki Houtarou said matter-of-factly. “You don’t listen to my advice, you feel bad about refusing, and you can’t blame me for it.”

Hachiman Hikigaya silently gave him the middle finger. He realized that this guy was deliberately attacking him!

Damn it! Don't let me catch you!

……

……

After discovering Bai Ying's unauthorized actions at the first stop, Yukino Yukinoshita was in a good mood. She inspected the announcements in various areas, occasionally grabbing a lucky person along the way to ask if they knew where the fireworks festival was being held. After the inspection, she found that everything was going smoothly, and some people seemed to be looking forward to this year's fireworks festival.

What is the meaning of this mysterious event on the flyer?

"It means a secret event—don't ask, the answer is a surprise."

"Hmm... Does everyone usually look forward to the fireworks display this much?"

"It's mainly because the brave man organized and promoted it well."

"It's probably not that bad. It's more likely a bias in the sampling, or a response based on social etiquette."

Yukino Yukinoshita would occasionally ask questions, and the white figure would answer them smoothly, appearing as a loyal subject.

Yukino's father, driving the car, said coldly, "Is it because you've been secretly doing something you don't want Yukino to know?"

"Everything is to make the fireworks display more spectacular," Bai Ying said righteously. "We're all trying to make the fireworks display better, but Big Brother is resorting to conspiracy theories, questioning this and that. It's disheartening!"

Yukinoshita's father sneered dismissively. If you don't doubt, doubt, and doubt again when it comes to your enemies, do you still care about chivalry?

"I originally disagreed with any band performance."

Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly, "Fireworks festivals attract people of all ages. Band performances are too geared towards young people and could easily lead to awkward silences..."

“I just love band performances,” Yukino’s father tried to persuade her indirectly.

“Now, if we want to do something, we have to take some risks. As long as we keep the risks within a controllable range, we can accept it,” Yukino Yukinoshita said. “Father, please inform my sister. I want to see her and the End Band’s performance. I’m sure my sister has some plans as well.”

"Uh... well."

Yukinoshita's father agreed.

He glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the white figure grinning at him with undisguised malice. His grip on the steering wheel tightened involuntarily.

Those despicable traitors!

Yukino's father suddenly said, "Yukino, just do it!"

“That’s right!” Bai Ying followed closely, encouraging, “Go and verify any ideas you have, seize any opportunities you have, and do your best in thinking and acting to make this fireworks festival even more spectacular! Even if we fail or something goes wrong, it’s not a big problem. As long as we push our older brother out to take the blame, everything will be fine!”

Yukinoshita's father: "?"

"I don't want to fail. Don't underestimate me, Bai Jun."

Yukino Yukinoshita let out a soft hum.

"Good good..."

The white-clad figure nodded kindly repeatedly.

Yukinoshita Yukino: #!

Damn it! All the credit went to the rebels, and I'm left to take the blame. This is outrageous!

No way! I have to show off my adult strength!

After a moment's hesitation, Yukinoshita's father began to speak: "Experience is the replication of success. Perhaps in the sciences, experience is clear and straightforward, allowing us to build ever taller structures and support skyscrapers. But in other areas, experience is more of a basis for judgment and cannot adapt to changing environments..."

"Father, we have arrived."

In the back seat, Yukino Yukinoshita saw her apartment and gave Bai Ying a subtle look.

Yukino's father was a little annoyed, but he still parked the car on the side of the road and watched Yukino and Shirakage get out of the car... Wait a minute!

"Why are you getting out of the car?" Yukinoshita's father laughed. "Little brother, I'll take you home. You don't need to take a taxi or bus on the way."

Bai Ying honestly said, "It seems the hero has something to say to me, and he gestured with his eyes for me to get off the vehicle."

Yukinoshita's father stared wide-eyed, rolled down the car window, and leaned out to show his intense concern, ready to plead with her at any moment!

"..."

Faced with her father's blatant and strict surveillance, Yukino Yukinoshita was speechless for a moment. She had originally wanted to try to press him, launching into a three-stage attack: "Are you helping me?" "You want to help me but are too embarrassed to say it directly?" "You're so tsundere." But she thanked Haku-kun for his reminder and advice.

My father is still a bit of an eyesore.

Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated for a moment, smoothed her hair, and said softly, "Haku-kun, let's make the fireworks festival a memory."