Uneasy daily life

Sushi cart stand!

"Mmm... Just the right bite-sized sushi, the size is perfect."

"As you bite into the seaweed, the soft yet distinct grains of rice burst open in your mouth, bursting forth to their limit and breaking through the outer layer—diced shiitake mushrooms, dried radish, shrimp, and fish floss dance together between your lips and teeth, soft, chewy, crisp, and bouncy! Your mouth actually starts moving on its own. After multiple textures, the aroma of mountain delicacies, the saltiness of pickled vegetables, the sweetness of shrimp, and the freshness of fish floss, all mixed with the unique salty and savory flavor of seaweed, are simply a double bomb of texture and taste!"

Other customers who were eating sushi couldn't help but chew a few more times... It seemed to make sense?

The students, dressed in chef's uniforms and looking like chefs, couldn't help but look at their own hands.

Do I possess such talent?

"Go for it, future sushi master!"

The white figure quickened her pace, continuing to follow the direction in her memory, tracing Kita Ikuyo's trail.

New events have emerged; how can we remain stagnant...?

Hmm? Exploring the truth of the universe, questioning the meaning of life, and searching for the true essence of existence—a fun and philosophical question-and-answer game?

Extravagant words hung from the tablecloth, and a crystal ball sat on the table. A person wearing a hooded black robe sat quietly behind it, waiting, looking quite mysterious at first glance.

The white figure stopped and sat down, asking, "Why should I ask you questions?"

The man in black robes seemed surprised that someone had actually spoken to him. After a slight pause, he immediately replied, "Because I will engage in a question-and-answer session with you—why would I engage in a question-and-answer session with you?"

"Because you acted on a whim, and then belatedly realized you'd gone too far with your immaturity." The white figure answered instantly, then launched into a surprise question, "How quickly do humans regret their actions?"

The man in black robes was thrown into a panic and mumbled, "I don't know, do you know?"

"Now."

Bai Ying asked a series of questions: "What's it like to like (parentheses) between opposite sexes?"

"Uh... my parents forbid early relationships." The man in black robes struggled to come up with an answer, throwing the question back at him. "What does it feel like to like someone?"

"When I think of liking someone, I think of you."

The white figure answered instantly once again, asking in a flash, "In what aspects is human growth manifested?"

"That's really impressive."

The man in black robes sighed, took off his hooded robe, and seemed to have lost his Dao heart: "Indeed, I still need more training before I am qualified to become the drama department's go-to scriptwriter—this outfit is your prize, please accept it."

"Concession."

Bai Ying took the hooded black robe and asked curiously, "Where does your drama department hold events?"

"The official performance is in the gymnasium this afternoon, and everyone is rehearsing."

The white figure donned a hooded black robe and set off with a dashing air.

The drama club at Shuka High School... no, we should now trace Kita Ikuyo's footsteps and find out what happened.

Could it be that Brave Pro is risking his life and resolutely preparing to postpone the cultural festival performance?

That being said, Bai Ying realized that she had underestimated the level of Xiuhua High School. The school was indeed very impressive, with students possessing remarkable imaginations and creativity.

No, no, I need to go find Kita Ikuyo first.

Wow! That ghost face mask is pretty good!

"Gurgle—Ugh! Caw—!! Awooooo—!!"

At the mask stall, a man dressed in a black robe put on a mask and suddenly began to convulse, struggle, and let out a series of inhuman roars.

The stall owner was stunned: "Hey, are you alright?"

"It's a huge problem."

The white-clad figure abruptly removed the mask, still shaken, and said, "It's unbelievable! This mask actually possesses a magical power. Wearing it evokes a surge of emotion within me, making me want to unleash it loudly... Could you perhaps be a descendant of the legendary exorcists?"

The stall owner hesitated and said, "It shouldn't be."

"Hmm? You know what your ancestors did?"

"What I mean is—the masks are unsold products from the fireworks festival, they come from the factory, and I just brought them from home to use for the cultural festival."

"You won't do business like this—I'll buy the mask, Bao."

Bai Ying put on the ghost mask, then remembered her business and hurried on her way.

Hmm? Is that a calligraphy exhibition over there? There are quite a few people writing calligraphy.

"Excuse me, what are you doing here?"

A ghost mask, a hooded black robe, and a hoarse voice.

The girl with the ponytail was startled by his unfriendly appearance, but then, remembering it was a cultural festival, everything made sense: "This is a literary club event where you can do calligraphy and create, whether it's writing haiku or prose, but it's best to keep the word count short. Also, there will be an exhibition of works from our club."

"Give me some paper and a pen."

"It's 100 yen, I'll give it to you after you finish writing, or you can leave it without paying."

"interesting."

Bai Ying pondered for a moment, then picked up a brush and, with swift and decisive strokes, left her mark on the calligraphy paper.

The black horse's tail sways, willow catkins flutter in the air. Autumn wind blows down snow, the seasons are truly at odds.

"They insulted my scalp by saying it looked like willow catkins falling in the snow and mocked me for being out of place. These customers are really petty," the girl complained. "So, it's 200 yen."

"keep the change."

"Would you like another one written? This time, we won't charge for the brush, ink, paper, or inkstone, but the guest's handwriting is truly terrible."

"Then I'll have a little more—if someone asks you for it later, I'll give it to them; if not, it's fine. It's hard for anyone to accurately identify all the pitfalls."

Bai Ying, in a cheerful mood, picked up her pen and began to scribble wildly again.

My brush cannot form a single character; my inkstone is covered in snow. What use is ink for longing? So much white space on this sheet of paper.

"This handwriting, like an earthworm struggling on a fishhook, could only be Bai Jun's..."

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but sigh, lamenting that someone who called himself a writer could only type on a keyboard and couldn't hold a pen anymore: "Was a strange person here?"

"It is quite strange indeed." The girl picked up the calligraphy paper with interest, rolled it up carefully, tied it with a red string, and asked with a smile, "Do you want it?"

“Hmm.” Yukino Yukinoshita calmly reached out her hand. “It might be useful to use it to mock Haku-kun if the opportunity arises.”

The girl blinked: "Does your name contain the character for 'snow'?"

Kazuha Toyohama, standing next to him, was a little surprised: "How did you know? You bastard, I mean, did that weirdo tell you?"

"Correct."

The girl gazed into the distance, seemingly lost in her own world, and murmured, "Snowflakes as ink, yet the ink cannot form characters, staining the entire paper, neither white nor not white... It does have a certain elegance. Should I wait for it to snow and collect snowflakes to grind into ink? But upon closer examination, it seems to carry a hint of teasing..."

Leaving the Literature Department's booth, Toyohama and Hana remarked subtly, "Aren't all people involved in literature a bit strange?"

From director Okita Masashi who locked himself in his little dark room, to the white shadow, and then to the girl from the literature club just now...

"If you don't find it strange, then you'll be very happy."

Yukino replied.

"?"

Toyohama and Hana felt that Yukino Yukinoshita was acting strangely.

But where did that bastard go off to play?

……

……

White Shadow, oh White Shadow! You can't keep going down this path of decadence! You can't lose sight of the bigger picture! If you keep wandering around like this, will you even be able to catch the Brave Pro's question mark incident?!

The masked man in black robes rushed to a secluded corner, leaned against the iron gate, and reflected on his actions.

However, the cultural festival at Xiuhua High School is really fun, and it provides so much inspiration! I can use it for light novel writing!

On the other side of the iron gate is a narrow courtyard where some cleaning tools are stored.

Oh, you can't keep hiding like this! You can't skip class activities and the cultural festival performance! If you keep lying here like this, how will you make it to the cultural festival performance?!

Goto Ichiri in maid outfit: _(:з」∠)_.

However, opening a maid cafe while dressed as a maid is just too terrifying!

I'll be performing at the school festival, but maid cafes and stuff...

Just lie there pretending to be unconscious!

I will definitely commit seppuku to atone for my sins! (Private Marseille!)

"call--"

"Ugh……"

The air suddenly became quiet.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Searching for Goto

"The cultural festival at Xiuhua High School is really lively, with all sorts of strange and wonderful activities..."

Emerging from a funhouse classroom, having enjoyed a delightful time, Yui Yuigahama was amazed and exclaimed, "High school cultural festivals are definitely much more lively than junior high school ones!"

"Ah."

Hachiman Hikigaya curled his lip, flicked the ribbon that had fallen onto his head, and muttered in a dark tone, "After all, it's not a high school focused on college entrance exams, so the school atmosphere is more casual and free. Once these people graduate, they won't be able to cause any more trouble, right? Hmph, enjoying the last bit of fun isn't such a bad choice..."

Oh no! Because Shiro wasn't around, and the overly cheerful atmosphere of the cultural festival caused Xiaoqi's youth-dislike disorder to relapse?!

Snapped!

Yui Yuigahama slapped Hachiman Hikigaya on the shoulder: "Hachiman! Wake up!"

"Ha, a bunch of boisterous social butterflies, when life finally severs those false bonds, they'll just be licking their wounds of helplessness in vain..."

Hachiman Hikigaya whispered.

Yui Yuigahama's eyes widened in surprise. Even Little Enterprise has Shiro Syndrome?!

As she brushed past the crowd in the corridor, Yui Yuigahama pondered seriously whether to call on Komachi to wake up Hachiman, or to call on Shiro to wake Hachiman.

Or how about we make a joke?

Yui Yuigahama laughed: "Then isn't Xiaoqi, who has someone who likes her, also a 'real-life' person?"

Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly froze, standing rooted to the spot, his expression contorted.

Yui Yuigahama's eyes widened: "Hey! What do you mean by this?"

"A stress reaction to a severe psychological attack?" Hachiman Hikigaya gave an example, "Like Yukinoshita and Miura suddenly becoming better friends than you and them..."

Yui Yuigahama's expression became subtle.

"Do you understand now?"

"I think I understand now."

As the two were chatting about strange topics, a somewhat familiar voice came from around the corner ahead.

"Is Pochi-chan really here?"

"Of course! I just sensed Goto's aura!"

"Huh? What's Goto's aura?"

"Whenever Goto starts cursing youth, the gloomy atmosphere he exudes makes him seem very unapproachable."

"Oh, so it's the Sutra of Loneliness."

"But for some reason, that aura just disappeared..."

The band, now missing one member, came out from around the corner and came face to face with Hachiman Hikigaya and Yui Yuigahama.

Kita Ikuyo glanced at the crowd around her and casually asked, "Hey, have you seen Goto-san again? She's the one with pink hair, and she's probably still wearing her maid outfit."

"I didn't see that, but what you were talking about earlier, the aura..."

Yui Yuigahama pointed to the side and replied with a laugh, "It must be something that Xiaoqi unconsciously exudes."

"Hey, don't slander me! I don't have any weird aura!" Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but retort. "An aura, as the name suggests, is something that can influence others. It's clearly someone like you, a popular person, who squanders your foolish aura everywhere..."

"I...I actually misjudged the situation?!"