Unlike his shrine, which was located in the middle of the city, the shrine in this town was located in the middle of the mountain. They needed to climb up a tall stair that seemed to be connected to the top of the mountain, and it was surrounded by a sea of trees, which gave off a sacred feeling, but really, those things didn't really matter.
"Haru-chan?" Nao looked at Haru for a while and wasn't sure what to say while. After all, she hadn't seen him for a long time. However, she still heard about his news and what he had done in the past year, which somehow made her realize that they were now in a different world. Still, secretly, in her heart, a part of her wanted to see him again, but she didn't expect that their meeting was so sudden, and she didn't know what to say.
"Nao, it has been a while," Haru said with a smile.
"Um." Nao nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, it has been a while, Haru-chan." She looked at his smile and somehow felt relief when she didn't change. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I came to watch the festival with my girlfriend since she's curious," Haru said simply.
"Girlfriend?" It might be because Nao's attention had always been on Haru, so she didn't notice the girl who had been standing next to Haru.
"Hello, I'm Maki Nishikino. I'm Haru's girlfriend," Maki said decisively while staring at Nao, but at the same time, she stared at Nao's breasts and frowned since it was huge.
"Ah, I - I see..." Nao was a bit overwhelmed by Maki's aura. After all, she could see that Maki was a beautiful girl, and there had this elegant aura around her, which made her feel a bit inferior. "Th - Then, I have to help with the preparation of the festival first, see you later, Haru, Nishikino-san." She bowed her head slightly then left.
"........" Kazuma and Ayumu, who had been standing there, were ignored for a while, but they didn't say anything since the scene in front of them was quite interesting.
"Kasugano-kun, do you know Yorihime-senpai?" Kazuma asked.
"Oh? You know her, Kazuma-kun?" Haru asked.
Kazuma nodded and said, "She's pretty popular at school. I have heard that she has a lot of fans."
"Including you?" Haru asked.
"No, no, I'm not." Kazuma quickly shook his head since, in truth, he had someone in his heart, but then he realized something and asked, "So what is your relationship?"
"......." Haru didn't expect that this guy was so sharp that Kazuma realized that he had changed the topic of conversation.
"She's his ex-girlfriend," Maki said curtly.
"......" Kazuma and Ayumu.
Haru stared at Kazuma, and Kazuma looked at Haru with an apologetic expression since Kazuma didn't expect Nao to be Haru's ex-girlfriend. If there wasn't Maki here, then it would be alright. The problem was there was Maki here.
"Well, then, Kazuma-kun, Ayumu-kun, we'll walk around the shrine first, sorry for bothering you," Haru said.
"Oh, oh!" Kazuma quickly nodded.
"See you later." Ayumu nodded politely.
Haru waved his hand then left with Maki while looking at Ayumu, wondering how a boy could be feminine. He shook his head then asked, "Is there somewhere that you want to go?"
"Let's go back," Maki said simply.
"Well, let's go back." Haru didn't think too much and decided to leave. After all, he knew that Maki's mood wasn't that good.
---
Even though Maki's mood was slightly bad, it was just because of her sudden meeting with Nao. In truth, she wanted to lash over Nao, get angry, scold her, etc... Still, when she thought calmly, it was simply useless, so she didn't say anything, and only held Haru's hand while introducing herself politely before, after all, even though she didn't seem to take Haru's rape case seriously, considering how naughty her man was, she still resented Nao, after all, he was only an elementary school student at that time.
Maki was sure that Haru probably wouldn't play around with girls during his middle school time if those things didn't happen.
Haru wasn't sure what Maki was thinking, nor he had a plan to peep into her mind. "Maki." He called out her name softly.
Maki didn't answer, but her head moved slightly.
"The night is coming, don't you want to see the stars? I have prepared the telescope here," Haru said with a smile.
"......" Maki was caught in a dilemma before she nodded. "Um."
"Come here." Haru then carried Maki directly into his embrace and carried her directly to the river, located near the inn.
"He - Hey, there are too many people, don't carry me like this..." Maki said shyly. After all, she could see that the inn guests, Senka, and Tsugumi looked at them with envious gazes, especially the women since they wanted to see how it felt being hugged by those strong arms.
"I don't care. If you're embarrassed, just hide your face on my neck," Haru said.
"Um." Maki was shy and nodded.
"Haru-kun, where are you going?" Senka asked.
"We're going to go to the riverside to watch the stars," Haru said.
"I see..." Senka then looked at Haru's back that slowly disappeared, and knew that it was already impossible.
---
Maki, who was in Haru's arms suddenly, realized something and asked, "Wait a moment, where's the telescope?" She was too shy before, but then she realized that Haru didn't bring a telescope with him.
"We don't need a telescope to see the stars that we're about to see," Haru said.
"Huh?" Maki was dumbfounded, but then she became even more curious. "What kind of stars?"
"Just be patient. We'll arrive soon," Haru said.
Maki nodded and waited for a while, and when they arrived at the riverside, she was dumbfounded since she really saw stars. "This... is this a firefly?"
"Yeah, have you seen it before?" Haru asked. The place where he brought Maki was the place where most fireflies gathered in this city. After all, unlike in Tokyo, there weren't many people here, and the forest was still lush, so it was quite common to see fireflies.
"Haru, Haru, let's take a closer look," Maki said excitedly like a child.
"Good, but don't get scared, alright? Even though they're beautiful at night, they're different from butterflies, and their appearance isn't that beautiful," Haru said.
"I know. I have seen their pictures on the internet. After all, don't treat me like a child, alright?" Maki pouted.
"You're not a child. You're a woman. I can assure you of that," Haru said with a smile.
"...Pervert." Maki was speechless, hugging his neck, letting him carry her.
"By the way, Maki, thank you for not being angry before," Haru said. When Maki met Nao, he could see that she wanted to get angry and lashed Nao, but she was holding back.
Maki looked at Haru and asked, "If it wasn't because of her, then we might be able to be together sooner."
Haru looked at Maki and said, "Don't blame her. Everything was my responsibility. It was my decision, and I wouldn't blame anyone for what we had done in the past." He was a man, after all, and he wasn't the type of person who would blame anyone for his past.
"Well, I know that you're a bastard," Maki said while pouting.
Haru smiled and said, "But I'm glad that we can be together."
"......" Maki looked at Haru for a while and kissed his lips. She snuggled into him and said, "Me too."
Both of them then watched the fireflies together in silence, feeling glad that they could be together.