Having finished messing around with Erina's hairstyle, Yuiko rocked Erina's shoulder while whispering, "Erina, you should get up now, we're leaving soon."
Stirring from her sleep, Erina mumbled, "I wanna sleep more..."
Seeing the sleepy Erina that she doesn't see that often, Yuiko giggled a bit before continuing, "Erina, did you forget today's the test? You know, the Magic Measurement test."
Bolting up in her seat, Erina yelled, "WAIT, TODAY'S THE TEST! I forgot! I'm awake now I'm awake!"
Collapsing into fits of laughter from Erina's actions, Yuiko reassured, "It's fine Erina, we aren't going to leave you behind. I think we are leaving in like 15 minutes? Let's go ask the parents."
Getting up from the couch, Erina walked out rushed ahead of Yuiko towards where all the other parents were sitting.
Seeing Erina run ahead of her, Yuiko muttered, "I wonder if she even noticed that I changed her hairstyle, I bet Ms. Noragi would love it though."
Taking a sip of water, Yuiko took her time walking towards where the parents were chatting with a wide grin on her face.
Running into the room where the parents were chatting Erina asked, "Hey Mama? Do you know when we are leaving?"
Turning around, Miyuki replied, "Hm? Oh I think we're leaving in like 15 minutes. Also, nice hairstyle by the way! Did Yuiko do it for you?"
Confused, Erina raised her hand and felt her hair and realized it was different from how she had it earlier in the morning. Flushing like a tomato, Erina ran out of the room while pulling along Yuiko who had just entered the room.
Seeing Erina run out of the room with a red face, Emily turned towards Shousuke who was sitting next to her, whispering, "I am willing to bet that eventually Yuiko and Erina will start going out. Like 200% sure."
Nodding, Shousuke added, "I bet it'll happen before they turn 18."
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Running out of the room, Erina clung onto Yuiko with tearful eyes while asking, "Why didn't you tell me you changed my hairstyle?"
Laughing, Yuiko answered, "Well because it's fun to mess with your hair! It's easier than doing my own hair too, so I just keep my hair in a ponytail all the time, and whenever I have the chance, I mess with your hair!"
Patting Erina's head, Yuiko continued, "By the way, that expression isn't going to change anything~. Here's a mirror though, so you can take a look at the hairstyle."
Taking the mirror, Erina looked at herself and marveled at Yuiko's handiwork, "Wow... amazing... how did you do this? I could never do this... Isn't this hairstyle called the side braid?"
Nodding, Yuiko replied, "Yeah it's the side braid, though it's not exactly it. I braided only the hair on the right side of your head, nothing else, but I think it should still be considered a side braid... you look very cute though, Erina!"
Blushing a bit, Erina responded, "En... you really did a good job. I'll keep it for the banquet and the test."
Spending some more time outside the room chatting, Yuiko and Erina were called back when everyone was getting ready to leave for the banquet.
Seeing that Erina didn't change her hairstyle, Miyuki smiled with 'that' look, asking, "So, Erina... I guess you've decided to keep the hairstyle, eh?"
Ignoring the teasing look on Miyuki's face, Erina replied, "Yeah it looks good so I decided to keep it."
Leaving the house, Erina decided to sit down in the seat next to Yuiko, "So do you think we'll bump into Haizaki again?"
Thinking for a bit, Yuiko replied, "I think we'll probably see him... I think the question is if he's going to make a scene during the banquet..."
Looking out the window, Erina added, "Yeah... I wonder if he's going to be surprised that we are actually part of the same age group he is in. He probably thought that we wouldn't be in testing group as him..."
Pointing at a waterfall outside the window, Yuiko agreed, "That's true, because I feel like if he knew that we were going to be tested at the same time as him he would've treated us better..."
Nodding, Erina mentioned, "Apparently this year there's going to be about 5 people tested, a lot more than usual."
Surprised, Yuiko replied, "Yeah that is a ton... not as much as the 8 from Shousuke and Suzuki's year, but still more than 2 years ago where there was literally 1. I felt bad for that guy... all the attention was on him..."
Turning her attention back inside the car, Erina mused, "At least he had a complex element, which made it so he was respected... god knows how much he would've been made fun of if he didn't get a complex element."
Seeing that they pulling up to the royal palace, Yuiko asked, "Ne, Erina? Are you ready?"
Smiling, Erina replied, "Of course I'm ready!"
Looking at the decorations on the royal palace, Yuiko muttered, "I don't know how they manage to make it better each year, but they do."
Pulling Yuiko out of the car, Erina answered, "Well probably because they hire top-tier designers. But who cares about that? Let's go eat!"
Getting out of the car, Yuiko agreed, "Yeah, who cares about decorations when you have food?"
Running ahead and twirling around in her dress, Erina added, "And dessert!"
Catching up to Erina, Yuiko held onto Erina's hand as they walked into the expansive banquet hall. With people all around them, Yuiko and Erina waited by the main door for the parents and the siblings to join them before going to greet the hosts. Seeing the people they were waiting for, Erina waved before pulling Yuiko along to join them in the line.
"Have you spotted Haizaki yet?" Erina asked once they were waiting in the line.
Shaking her head, Yuiko replied, "No I haven't, but knowing the Hanamiya family, they'll probably arrive late..."
"True, true. I'll continue looking for them later." Erina reasoned, before focusing back on the hosts as they arrived at the front of the line.