That being said, simply telling them about the afternoon's activities in advance didn't really count as an apology.
After Asakura argued with Amakusa Shino, she said mysteriously, "Although it officially starts in the afternoon, there are already Holy Grails available as rewards that can be obtained in advance."
Asakura pondered for two seconds, then squinted at her, "So, you'd rather send Student Council members to that kind of place than find someone to relieve me earlier?"
The Student Council President guiltily averted her gaze: "Alright, I'm going to stand guard at the entrance. You two hurry up and leave!"
As she spoke, she shooed them away with a 'shoo shoo~' sound, as if driving away animals.
Although Asakura wanted to continue grilling her, Asagumo Chihaya smiled and pulled him away.
While greeting guests at the entrance, Asakura had already felt the lively atmosphere of this school festival, but it wasn't until he walked through the front garden that he gained a more intuitive understanding of the number of guests at this school festival.
"Even if it's because of Hitori, this number of people is a bit too much, isn't it?"
As far as the eye could see, there were dense crowds of moving heads. Even 'shoulder to shoulder' felt like an understatement. Asakura had only seen so many people during the Spring Festival travel rush in his previous life.
"I feel like most of the stalls will run out of ingredients before afternoon, if this keeps up..." Asagumo Chihaya also nodded, then she hooked her arm through Asakura's.
Asakura instinctively looked at the girl, only to find that she was looking straight ahead, her pretty face slightly flushed, trying to speak calmly and earnestly: "With so many people, it's better this way. It would be troublesome if we got swept away by the crowd."
Of course, Asakura wouldn't say disheartening things like 'This is Soubu High School, even if you get swept away, you won't get lost.'
"Indeed, this would be better..." he nodded, going along with the girl's words, "Let's keep going forward. There should be fewer people in the club building and on the sports field."
If Amakusa Shino's information was correct, most guests' destination should be the auditorium where performances were held. Besides that, the more popular stalls were in the school building. The club building housed programs from various clubs, which were more niche compared to the more common stalls like haunted houses and cafes in the school building. The sports field, on the other hand, was purely because it was far from the school gate, and with the hot weather, the air-conditioned school building and auditorium were clearly more popular than the stalls on the field.
"What kind of stalls does Takuma-kun want to visit?" Asagumo Chihaya asked curiously.
"Hmm..." Asakura looked around. Most of the classes setting up stalls in the front and central courtyards were selling traditional festival items, such as fried noodles, takoyaki, and candied apples.
There was even ice cream mixed with paracetamol. According to the student selling it, 'This is ice cream you can enjoy even if you have a fever and headache!' That smug expression, as if he had invented something incredible, made Asakura want to run to the Student Council and ask them what on earth they had approved for the stalls...
"Are there no goldfish scooping or water balloon fishing?" After looking around, Asakura asked with some confusion. He thought that these recreational stalls should also be quite popular, and it was impossible for no class to set them up.
"Those stalls require a larger area, so most of them have been assigned to the sports field by the Student Council..." Asagumo Chihaya replied.
"Then let's go to the sports field first..." Asakura decided upon hearing this.
"Does Takuma-kun have an idea for the Holy Grail?" the girl asked.
"As expected of Chihaya, you guessed it right away..." Asakura nodded.
Since Amakusa Shino called the Holy Grail a 'prize,' it must be obtained by participating in a competition or challenge. Therefore, the Holy Grail certainly had nothing to do with snack stalls. Only challenging stalls would have the possibility of obtaining the Holy Grail.
"What does Takuma-kun want the Holy Grail for? Do you have someone you want to folk dance with?" Asagumo Chihaya asked with a kind smile.
"It's for the club budget..." Asakura inexplicably shivered, looked around suspiciously, found nothing strange, and continued, "That Amakusa didn't say the application form could only be used once. If one Holy Grail can increase it by 10%, then up to seven Holy Grails can increase it by 70%."
"That's a blind spot..." Asagumo Chihaya's smile became much more genuine. "But it's unlikely that Amakusa Student Council President and her team would let Takuma-kun do that, right?"
After all, even without prior notice, the activity description to be posted in the afternoon would surely have 'The Soubu High School Student Council reserves the right of final interpretation for this event' written in tiny print at the bottom.
"If I bring two Holy Grails and ask her to raise it by 20%, she definitely won't agree. But if I bring seven Holy Grails and ask her to raise it by 70%, she might agree to raise it by 30%..." Asakura showed a profound expression: "This is the broken window theory."
Although Asagumo Chihaya felt that Asakura's approach was definitely off, if it could really be achieved, there was no harm in it. So the girl still showed a gentle smile like a mother looking at her silly son: "Since that's the case, as a member of the Magic Club, I'll help too."
"Really? I thought Chihaya, you'd feel that this kind of thing doesn't feel like a date..." Asakura asked in surprise.
"So Takuma-kun is aware of that?"
"Ahaha..."
"It's okay. A date is when both people can have fun. If it's just to accommodate me and do something you don't like, then that's putting the cart before the horse..." Asagumo Chihaya said softly.
"But Chihaya, couldn't you say the same thing in reverse?" Asakura asked, "If you do something you don't like to accommodate me, then that's not a date either, is it?"
"Takuma-kun, you really don't understand..." Asagumo Chihaya smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"Chihaya, you occasionally say things similar to Yanami."
Asakura mumbled.
"First, when you're on a date with a girl, it's best not to mention other girls—" Asagumo Chihaya held up her index finger towards Asakura, then her middle finger to make a two gesture: "Second, in love, the person who falls in love first loses."
"Huh?"
Asakura was confused.
"Because Miss Chihaya has already lost completely, now it's my turn to pursue Takuma-kun—" Asagumo Chihaya showed a sly yet cute smile like a little fox: "So naturally, I will get used to and accommodate Takuma-kun's thoughts."
"…"
"Who told me to fall in love with Takuma-kun first?"
Faced with the girl's direct question, Asakura's old face flushed red, and he didn't know what to say.