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It’s the second day of the harvest festival, you know?

We met up at around the same time as yesterday. Then we walked around the main street. How could I say this? I felt like doing the same thing two days in a row made this a bit too dull.

By the way, we were planning to look around since there was a music competition. I felt like there would be a lot of flags in the beauty contest, so I definitely had to avoid it.

There were many exhibitions on the second day. Naturally, there were many venues here and there. Additionally, I could see many street performances around the venue. I guess they were aiming at the large number of people who couldn’t enter the venue.

Also, many stalls sold foods that you could eat while sightseeing. Because of that, the road became narrow and it was a mess…

Yeah, someone bumped on us and dirtied the clothes with the broth of their food.

Ah, no. It’s not my clothes, but Triela’s.

I felt bad leaving her like that, so we moved to the toilet at one of the corners of the venue to change her clothes… but it was very crowded.

Since there were mirrors in the toilet, most of the people inside were using it to do their makeup and change their clothes in the toilet stall… They were probably the participants of the beauty contest.

Apparently, the preparation room participants could use had turned into a big battlefield. That’s why the participants for the preliminary contest couldn’t use the facility.

Actually, we were going to go to the venue for the performing contest next to this one, but it looked really crowded so we went here. This is the worst.

“Ren, it’s okay. It’s very crowded here. At this point, we’re only going to bother other people.”
“No. Girls have to be clean.”
“That’s right, Triela!”

I wouldn’t allow her to walk around with the front part of her coat sticky with meat soup. But the toilet was too crowded and there were no empty stalls to change her clothes… I proposed to clean the dirt using [Wash], but they rejected it because it would make us stand out.

“…I think our surroundings think that we are participating in the contest too. They look bothered.”
“Eh? Why did it become like that?”

The gaze of the women around us was very sharp, so I had that kind of feeling… Most likely, I was right.

No, it’s not only my fault. I think Triela and Rico were also the cause of this.

Look, I renovated their house, right? That time, I made them take a bath, remember? I taught them how to use rice bran to make them look even prettier. Thanks to that, both of them had shiny hair and good skin complexion.

In the first place, only wealthy people could take a bath every day. Most of the commoners would boil hot water and wipe their body with that. It would be even more difficult if you were an adventurer since you wouldn’t earn much.

That’s why, Triela and Rico’s hair and skin couldn’t be compared with the women around us. Looking at them standing side by side would make those women look dull…

I think if we told them that we weren’t participants in this situation, they wouldn’t believe us at all. Hahaha… Haa.

Since we had no other choice, Rico and I forcibly made space by linking our arms. Triela finally managed to change her clothes. After that, we had a hard time going out… I knew that they were trying to decrease their rivals, but they were honestly scary.

In the end, someone who looked like the steering committee of the contest barged in and released us from that mess. But then, another problem surfaced.

The committee had an eye on us, and they insisted on encouraging us to participate in the contest… Especially me.

No, no! I’m not joining it!

Then, I received an unexpected ambush. Yeah, it’s Rico.

“What a shame… Ren, we’re already here anyway. Why don’t you join?”
“Hey, Rico! Ren already said that she doesn’t want to. Don’t force her!”
“But Ren would definitely win if she participates! Triela, you also think so, right!?”

Triela understood my personality, so she tried to warn her. Even so, it didn’t have any effect… Rather, the committee insisted, even more, to make me participate in the contest after hearing Rico’s words. I started to feel irritated.

Uhh… No matter how much I asked Rico to stop, she still wouldn’t listen to me. I didn’t want to stand out, and joining a contest was too troublesome. I almost forgot about it, but I still had a problem with the merchant with a frog face…

Moreover, Rico was being completely selfish this time. She didn’t act like this often, so it’s not like I didn’t want to listen to her. Even so, no matter how much I considered her as my younger sister and pampered her, that’s still a bit too much…

When I was just about to open my mouth to scold her and make her give up,

“Huh? What are you guys doing there?”
“Eh, Ryuu? What about you?”
“I’m with Boman and his friends to watch the beauty contest, but I got lost. So what are you doing here? Looks like you’re arguing here…”

For some reason, Ryuu happened to pass by in very good timing and meddled in. How could I say this, I knew that the probability of meeting an acquaintance at this kind of scene was high, but I never expected it to happen today.

I lost the timing to speak and ended up keeping my silence, but the conversation continued.

Ryuu had listened to the story from Triela, but… Somehow, Ryuu started to preach to Rico after knowing the situation. Wait, what’s with this situation?

“Hey, brat! You’re being too selfish, you know! Think about the inconvenience you’re causing for Ren!”
“Why does Ryuu have to tell me that!? It has nothing to do with Ryuu!”
“You… Even if she pampers you a lot, you shouldn’t act too wilful, right? Ren has given you a lot of things, but this matter is completely different, right?”
“Hmph! It’s not only me who received many things from her! Triela also received it, but why did you all have to scold me alone!?”
“Triela has always restrained herself. And from what I heard from Maricle, she never said anything selfish to her, you know? Don’t get ahead of yourself because Ren is nice to you. Ren doesn’t like it too, so stop forcing it.”
“Shut up! In the first place, it’s mostly Ryuu who keeps bothering Ren!”
“Ohh, that’s right! That’s why I can say this! I’m reflecting on that, and I won’t do that kind of thing again for the second time! How about you? You’re planning to act so wilful and end up making Ren hate you like how she hates us? If you don’t, then stop acting like that.”
“That’s…”
“Unlike me, you have done well until now. Try to cool down your head. Don’t be mistaken because Ren has always taken good care of you. She’s scary when she gets angry, okay?”
“……..I’m sorry.”
“You shouldn’t say that to me, though?”
“Ren, I’m sorry.”

…Eh, I was surprised by how Ryuu had considerably matured. He’s really Ryuu? For real?

Ah, I had to answer Rico for now. …Ah, but I had to make her reflect a bit more. I realized that I had pampered her a bit too much. So this was also my fault… Anyway, I didn’t say anything to her and only pat her head. Then I thanked Ryuu.

“Ryuu, thank you very much. It helps that you scold her for me. I don’t really like being angry…”

Because it was tiring…

Well, different from when we were in the orphanage, Rico was the youngest now… She was always patient back then, so I got ahead of myself and wanted to do this and that to make her happy.
“Don’t worry ‘bout that. She’s my party member too. It’s not like I can just leave it alone.”

Hmm, Ryuu’s growth was really amazing. He had worked hard, eh~

So for now, the case was closed. I didn’t want to participate. But since we already came to this point, how about having Triela and Rico join?

“Just like what you heard, this girl won’t participate!”
“What a shame…”

Ryuu explained the situation to the committee, but… Hmm…

“I can’t do it, but how about Triela and Rico giving it a try? You can think of this as an experience.”
“Eh? Us? No way!”
“…I’ll pass. Triela, why don’t you try?”
“No way! Especially if I’m alone! I don’t want to!”
“…Then, what if Ryuu participates with Triela?”
“What!? I’m a man, okay!?”
“It’s okay. I’ll do something about it.”

Hmm, Ryuu’s face was actually pretty well-proportioned… Right, I should be able to pull out something with the power of makeup!

“This is too absurd…”
“Then, as a token of gratitude for scolding Rico in my stead, I will give you a one-handed sword if you participate. How does that sound?”
“Uh… One-handed sword…”
“The one that you could use in real combat.”
“…With longer blades than Triela’s?”
“I think that will be better for Ryuu’s physique, but… I will make it according to your wish.”
“Uh~… Ah, I get it! Okay, I’ll participate!”

It’s all according to my plan!

The committee who heard our conversation became eager for some reason. They even gave us permission for using the special changing room.

This person was probably okay with anyone as long as they made the contest interesting, right? I feel like they tried to make me participate because it would make an uproar during the contest… Well, this should be interesting too.

“I can’t walk outside anymore.”
“Ryuu, cheer up. You can get a sword with this, you know?”

A few hours after that, Triela was consoling Ryuu who became extremely depressed.

Well, I was really surprised with the result! Yeah, I’ll just tell you how it ended. For some reason, Ryuu won first place in the ten-years-old-below category. I was a bit disgusted because he won by a wide margin of the votes.

I designed Ryuu’s female clothing, but I didn’t have much experience in makeup… That’s why I used [Disguise], [Concealment], and [Multi-task] to calculate and apply his makeup from every angle. As a result, he became an absolutely beautiful girl.

Originally, his skin was already shiny because he used rice-bran soap like Triela and the girls. Once he put on the wig, he already became a completely different person. Plus his body hadn’t developed yet, so no one would notice that he was a boy once he wore female clothing¹.

And when the contest started, Ryuu caught everyone’s attention! By the way, Triela decided to become Ryuu’s attendant and didn’t participate in the contest.

Even if Ryuu’s voice hadn’t changed, someone would definitely find out his gender if he spoke. That’s why Ryuu curled himself up on the stage, squirming without saying anything. Even so, people mistook him as an unsociable beautiful girl who was being shy. He ended up receiving very high praise.

And then, Ryuu suddenly ended up winning. What an interesting result.

When I was grinning alone with the unexpected victory, Boman was running towards us at a very fast pace. Since he was a guy who liked conserving his energy, it’s really unusual seeing him like that. Just what had happened?

“Triela, who is that girl from before!? Where did she go!?”
“Eh, what? What happened?”
“Tell me where did she go! Where can I meet her!?”

Huuuh? No way, did this become something troublesome?

…After listening to his explanation, it really was something unexpected. Apparently, Boman fell in love at the sight of Ryuu crossdressing².

He was watching the contest from the audience seat, then he thought Ryuu was very lovely or something like that… Sorry, it was a bit disgusting. Boman was acting really different from usual, too weird.

Boman kept giving praise to the mysterious beautiful girl, and Ryuu’s face paled. He looked so ghastly pale like he would collapse anytime soon… It’s okay, he wouldn’t find out… Maybe.

In the end, Triela told him that she made acquaintance with that girl by chance, so she didn’t know her name. Triela also said that the girl joined the competition because she wanted to cure her shyness, deceiving Boman with a lame excuse. After heating that, Boman ran away to look for that beautiful girl.

“…I’m sleeping in the same room with him. Will I be okay…? I feel like my body is in danger…³”
“It’s okay, he won’t notice anything. But if you’re still worried, how about putting a partitioning screen inside the room?”
“I’ll do that…”
“If anything happens, you can just stab him with your sword.”
“Ah, sword…”
“Hmm, to ensure your safety, should I give it to you after the harvest festival?”
“Yeah, that’ll help me calm down. Thanks, Ren.”
“No, no. Ryuu’s situation has become serious, so I’ll keep my promise and make sure to protect you.”
“Sorry, please don’t talk about that anymore…”
“Ah, okay.”

After that, we went for a culinary tour with Triela and the others to pull ourselves together and went to see the music contest.

The music contest… How could I say it? It’s normal…?

It wasn’t like I never thought listening to music or going to shows weren’t interesting at all in my previous life, but I didn’t want to do anything that would make me stand out in a bad way.

Such a troublesome thing happened. But then, the second day was tolerable.

1. Lilith: Hey look, a trap
   Silva: Silva approves
2. Silva: Yaoi? No please
3. Silva: Yaoi flag keeps rising~~