"Oh."

"Ah."

As they were traveling through the festival, Takei and Akari encountered some of their friends from earlier. It looked like they were waiting in line for the hot cocoa stall that was attracting several dozen people to wait in a long line that wrapped around the store.

"Got room for two more?" Takei asked Eiji who they had bumped into first.

"Of course, hop right on in."

Takei was worried that he and Akari would have to wait in the long line, but it seemed that his worries were for naught due to Eiji and the rest of his friend's benevolence. Instead of having to get in at the end of the line, they managed to be able to jump in near the front because his friend group had already secured a good spot.

"Nice to see ya, Takeichi! Have you and Akarin been flirting a lot?" Helena asked.

"Of course not. We won't do something as embarrassing as flirting in public," Takei denied.

"Then why is Akarin blushing right now?"

Takei turned to his right and confirmed that Helena was indeed not lying. Akari was averting her gaze away from him with flushed cheeks. The obviously bright shade of red that adorned her cheeks was a surefire sign that they had indeed been flirting.

"No comment."

Rikka saw Takei refuse to acknowledge Helena's statement and smiled mischievously at him. "What a gentleman~ What have you two rascals been up to?"

"Probably doing naughty things in a locked storage room," Eiji interjected.

"Oi."

Takei glared at Eiji, but he turned around and chatted with Ryuto as if nothing had happened. Seeing this act, Arisa giggled and patted Takei's back.

"Do your best now~"

Takei felt demoralized by all this teasing, so he dug his face into Akari's back and ignored everyone else.

"Oh? Looks like he went into spoiled child mode..." Akari said as she happily ruffled his hair.

Eventually, they reached the very front of the line where the actual stall was located. There were many drinks served at this stall, but the one that attracted the most people was the hot cocoa.

For a measly sum of a few dollars, you could put an unlimited amount of toppings on the hot cocoa for no charge. It was an amazing deal for this chilly night to say the least.

"Ah, two hot cocoas please. Both with marshmallows and... What else did you want with yours?"

"Chocolate syrup, a cracker, and whipped cream!"

"Exactly what she said, please."

Takei ordered two hot cocoas for him and Akari once it was their turn. He was quite excited to see the taste since everyone was raving about it.

"Here you are, sir and madam. Please enjoy your drinks."

An employee of the stall handed over the drinks to Takei and Akari. They bowed and thanked the employee for his hard work before they got out of the line to try the hot cocoa.

"Bottoms up!" Akari said as she slipped on her hot cocoa.

Takei didn't say anything in response and just quietly sipped his hot cocoa. The hot cocoa was quite hot at first, but it quickly simmered down as he blew on the drink more and more.

"Delicious."

He ordered only a normal hot cocoa with marshmallows, but the taste was still amazing. Sometimes simple was just better than anything too grand and extreme.

"Mmmm! This is soooooo goooood!"

Akari's expression melted into one of extreme pleasure and happiness. She was quite literally melting from the strong yet delicate taste of the hot cocoa.

Takei glanced at Akari's drink and realized how much sugar was in it. She has ordered a lot of add-ons to the drink, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the sugar content rise significantly.

"Aren't you going to get fat from drinking all of that?"

"Tch tch tch. You messed up rule number two. Don't bring up a lady's weight while she's trying treats!"

"What's rule number one then?"

"It's a secret~"

As they bantered back and forth, Ryuto walked up to Takei and whispered into his ear. "Y'know, I heard something interesting about a marriage jinx on the way here. Wanna hear?"

Takei didn't really care or believe in jinxes, but he was curious nonetheless. "What is it?"

"They say that if you profess your love to your significant other at the large bell near the shrine, then you two will be tied by the red string of fate until the end of time."

Red string of fate, huh? That sounds really cool, but there's no way such a thing could exist. It just sounds like some baloney someone made up to make a quick buck.

"Thank you for telling me," Takei responded. "I don't know if it's true or not, but I'll think about it."

"No problem," Ryuto waved goodbye. "Me and the rest of the group are going to different stalls to play now. Would you like to come?"

Takei glanced over at Akari real quick and saw a slight hint of fatigue in her expression. It was understandable though, they had been walking around immensely since earlier.

"I think we're good for now. Thank you though."

"See you soon."

With that being said, Takei and Akari were now alone together again.

He went over to Akari who looked exhausted and extended his hand. "Do you want to go sit down somewhere? It's a bit crowded in this area."

"Yes, please."

Akari accepted his hand and followed Takei to an area with less people. She loved how thoughtful he was and how he could sense what she was feeling immediately.

I hit the boyfriend jackpot!

While they were on their way to a secluded area, a little girl with brown hair grabbed onto Takei's yukata and wouldn't let go.

"Papa? Mama?"

What did we get into now...

—

Supreme Idiot Couple Meter: 90 -> 93%

A suspicious child enters the fray!

Serious-san: Let's adopt a kid!

Sugar-chan: Wow, really~?