It's the last day of the school festival.

　It's almost dark, but the school is still crowded with people as the magical lights are lit up.

　When I arrived at the meeting place, I let out a breath.
　Amu said there would be a good show at the end of the school festival....

''Oh, they're already here. You're early today.''
"Amu.

　I looked over at the voice and saw Amu.

'Is that one?　What about Yifa?
'She's going to be a little late. Oh, and....

　Amu says crisply.

''I actually have a sudden errand to run. I've got to go now.
What?
I'm sorry, but will you and Yifa have fun together?
'Well, that's the way it is, but...'
Yeah, yeah. I'll give you that.

　and Amu throws something brown to me.
　I'm going to take it in a hurry.

Is this a glove compartment?

　It was a leather pouch.
　It seemed to be the type to attach to a belt or something, and it was quite solidly made.

It's the kind that adventurers use a lot. It's sturdy, and you won't get pickpocketed, so use it if you get a chance.
How come you didn't get pickpocketed?
If you do that to an adventurer, you'll be half killed or even killed outright.

　Oh.....

Thank you. But why?
"Present.
Huh...?
Well, I'm gonna go now.

　With that, Amu leaves.

　I look down at the gift pouch.
　It is indeed a good one. I appreciate it, but....

But I don't know what's going on.
Oh, did you forget yourself, Seika?
What's that?　Yuki.
Today.....

Oh, Seika-kun!

　Yuki hurriedly hid when she saw Yifa running up to her.

''What's wrong?''
No. Yeah, Yifa. That guy from Amu had to go do something and then he left.
'Oh, really?　Amu-chan, it's not that bad....
Hmm?
Oh, no. It's nothing.

　Yifa shakes her head.
　What is it?　Oh well.

I wonder what kind of spectacle Amu was referring to.
Well, it's supposed to start after dark. I can get a good view from here.
Wow.

　Come to think of it, I feel like people are coming together.
　It's not a big street or plaza, but it's different from the spectacle at the Kyoto festival, I guess.

'Seika-kun'
Hmm?
I actually have something for you today.
Yes, what is it?

　To Effa?

Here you go.
This is....

　What was handed to me was a small knife in a sheath.
　It was small in size and did not look like a weapon. The scabbard and handle are carefully decorated, and it looks like something you would use in everyday life.

　Yifa laughs and says.

'Happy birthday, Seika-kun.
Birthday?　Ah!

　Oh, by the way........it was today.

What, you forgot?
I forgot all about it...

　I wouldn't have even been aware of it if I hadn't seen Luft and Grye being celebrated.
　The gift Amu is talking about is a birthday present.

　Yifa says to me with a smile.

"That knife is a bit of a shocker," she says with a smile. Hold it to the paper.
"Yeah, yeah...

　I took out a human body and traced from top to bottom in the middle of it with the blade of the knife I'd pulled out of the sheath.
　A faint stream of force.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

''Is this........magic?''
Yes. The blade is enchanted with a little wind magic. If it's something thin and soft, you can cut it off just by tracing it.
Oh, wow.
'Seika-kun, you're using those big cloth-cutting scissors you brought from the mansion to cut through the spell, right?　I thought that would be difficult to use, so I thought this would be convenient.

　Yifa says, "I saw this at a magician's shop in town.

'When I saw it in the city's magic shop, I thought I'd give it to you. But it was a bit expensive.

　It occurs to me.

Maybe that's why he said he wanted the money.
Uh, yeah...

　Yifa nods in embarrassment.

　Yeah..........
　Once again, I think you're too good........

''But........if you don't have to do that, if you have the prize money for the treasure hunt.......''

　Yifa's lips pursed slightly as she heard.

I wanted to get this for myself. I've only ever gotten it from Seika-kun.
You don't have to worry about that.
I care. But that prize money was nice, too. Now I can give you something good next year, Seika.

　Yifa says with a smile.
　

'When we were at the mansion, Seika-kun seemed a little sad on his birthday, so I always wanted to do something for him, but.......back then we didn't have much money, and we didn't even know what to give the noble Seika-kun, so in the end we couldn't do anything. Nah. But then you came over here and finally........are you crying, Seika-kun?
Hey, I'm not crying, I'm not crying.

　I wipe the corners of my eyes with my sleeve.
　This reminds me of the first time I received a gift from an apprentice.

Thank you, Yifa. I'll take good care of this.

　I stop my hand in the air as I reach for my head.
　Yes, that's right, Amu didn't like me doing this....

　Yifa asks with a curious look on her face.

"Aren't you going to pat me on the head?
Well I thought you might not like it.
I don't mind.

　Yifa tilted her head slightly.
　Well, that's fine then.
　When I patted Yifa's head for the first time in a long time, the feeling of soft hair felt good in my hands.

''Eh, hey,''

　Suddenly, Yifa hugged me.
　I can smell the faint sweet smell and feel the warmth of her body through her uniform.
　I chuckled and patted the back of Yifa's head and said, "What?

I chuckled and patted the back of Yifa's head. Yifa's a spoiled brat, isn't she?

　Eventually, I let go of my body.
　Yifa smiles, looks into my eyes and opens her mouth.

"Seika-kun.
Hmm?
I'll always be on your side, Mr. Seika.

　Yifa says.

'So someday I hope you'll talk to me.
Well, that's...

　Then, the sun was setting.
　The sun had gone down, and there was a thump in the sky.

　I was startled and looked at the sky and was surprised again.

　There was a huge flower blooming in the night sky.

"What the hell was that?

　The flowers scatter as you watch.
　Then a fireball shoots up from the ground, and with a thump again, the flowers bloom in the night sky.

　It seems that the flowers are drawn with fire sparks.
　Magic.........not. Don't tell me it's gunpowder?

Wow, wow... they're called fireworks. Amu said that.

　Yifa mutters.
　In the meantime, the night sky was filled with brightly colored fire flowers one after another.

　Come to think of it, in the Song Dynasty, there was a special wolfsbane (no-smoke) technology that used the flame color reaction.
　I'm not sure if the fireworks are the result of combining that principle with gunpowder, but they're just for fun.

　Yifa looks back at me and says with a smile, "Let's come to the school festival next year too.

It's a good idea to have a good time with the school festival next year too, Seika-kun. Amu-chan, let's come with you.
Yeah.

　I nodded at Yifa's words.

　But first...
　I have to give something back to Yifa for her birthday.

　And also to Amu.